She Sings at Dawn

XXIII. Ghost's Meeting (Part One)

I genuinely fear my head is going to fall off as Lady Nyoko presents the second finance log I must read. The sheets jammed inside the dull leather cover rival the thousand-page log I finished. This is my life for the next few weeks, perhaps months. Now, there's truly no escape from the palace or my studies.

Except at night, I remind myself. When night comes, I can see Odeia and hopefully get more answers.

"Get started," Lady Nyoko says. "We'll do what we did last time with reading one hour every day."

The finance log bears down on my legs, which I figure is the best way to hold it. Forget training, I'll get muscles dealing with this monstrosity every day for the next few months. That's how long it'll take me to finish reading it. I flip to the table of contents since Lady Nyoko insists I pay attention to every aspect inside the log, from the title page to the final notes. Already, my mind wanders to my plans for tonight. I allow myself to zone out, to inch through lines and lines of tiny, block letters. Lady Nyoko will probably give me another volume to read when I finish, so there's no reason to rush.

Father's handwriting doesn't start until the first entry. Lady Nyoko explained that the king's job is to approve the budget and purchases made, while scribes are the ones who set up the log, curate the list of expenses, and fill in the table of contents. My eyes rove over my father's cursive signature and jotted notes to the date of the first entry.

January 1, 1571.

My resolve vaporizes. No longer can I creep through this log. I have to reach March of 1571, the month my mother died. I can't explain my compulsion, nor can I predict if I'll find anything. But dead end or not, I must collect all the information I can about that time period.

I scan the first page, then move to the next one. My fingers rub the side of the book, itching to skip ahead. I glance at Lady Nyoko who's reclined on the opposite couch, absorbed in a book. Quickly, I look over the page. A few more go by, perhaps I pinch two or three sheets at a time as I flip. Then, I flick through larger sections, eyes switching from entry dates to Lady Nyoko. She doesn't look up from her book. How anyone can slip into concentration mode so easily is beyond me. Though I suppose that's one of the skills she aims to teach me by reading the log.

Finally I reach March, 1571. There are scores of entries per page, so I only glance them over.

New end table: 216 s.

Weekly food expenses: 690 s.

I skip a few sheets ahead.

Weekly food expenses: 534 s.

Uncle Rothbart - new robe: 110 s., The History of D. Foua: 28 s.

Clemaina - makeup: 43 s., scarf: 5 s.

I skim even more pages, reading the lines faster and faster.

Queen Dianne - loose speciality tea: 16 s.

Sigvard - four creampuffs: 3 s. each

Uncle Rothbart - ink: 20s.

King Ivandor - silk bonnet: 76 s., lace parasol: 52 s., marbles: 14 s., three broaches: 50 s. each

A week before the incident, three days before, the day before, the day of, the day after, the days after, the week after.

Weekly food expenses. Satin pillowcases.

Vonimir - new hat: 69 s.

Odeia - three pens: 25 s.

A few more pages, and I'm into a new month. That's the end of it. I flip back, reading over the weekly expenses again and again.