Dhanurana

Chapter 5: The Day

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It was a pleasantly warm day and the water was on the cool side of tepid, unlike the hot baths Janurana knew growing up. Regardless, it was clean, there was no pond creature waiting to nip her for daring to relax in its home, and it felt divine being even partially submerged. The wind outside was gently billowing the curtain of the single window, carrying the scent of the spices from the market into the room. She sank lower into the tub, the tips of her hair getting wet.

A pale blue silhouette flashed in Janurana's vision. Her back seized and Janurana jerked awake. She leapt to her feet, about to bolt out of the room, only to remember she was safe Inside once more. It had been so long that she could sleep in a sitting position and feel safe that her manic morning energy faded away. But because of her movement water had sloshed over the sides of the tub. She sucked her teeth at having made a mess when she noticed it was flowing to the small hole near the corner of the room. It was covered with a round bit of stone.

"A drain?" she asked herself, then noticed the floor was slanted gradually toward it. "When did drainage get so advanced?" She cocked her head, then mumbled as she thought, 'Was I just too young to remember these things back home?'

She wasn't sure if she saw them in other cities. Regardless, after lifting the stone to let the water out, she settled back into the tub, pressing her toes against its wall to help curl herself into a tight ball. She sunk deeper into the water, almost submerging her nose, her hair fanning out around her, and closed her eyes once more.

Dhanur fidgeted with her soup in silence as Janurana bathed. It was good and she was thankful. But things about her guest still didn't sit quite right with her. She needed to clear her head. Since her washroom was occupied, Dhanur dragged her fingers through her hair again, doing her best to detangle it, then donned her armor.

As she closed the door, Dhanur stared up at the sun. Its rays warmed her as she took a long breath.

Taking one last quick glance to the small mountain in the distance whose peak barely poked out above the city walls when not on her second floor, she stopped a passerby.

"Hey. Ya know if Aarushi—The Maharaj," she corrected herself, "is holding the service today?"

The man readjusted his grip on his urn of butter. "Nope. She's not. Sorry."

He waddled off, but Dhanur sighed in relief.

"Thank the Rays," she mumbled to herself.

She went back inside and scooped up her own urn of butter from the hearth, one Janurana had thankfully not noticed.

By mid-morning on any normal day, most of the Capital's citizens would be pouring from their homes to attend the market. But most were instead attending their local temple for the weekly services. Dhanur, however, decided to make her way to the Keep and its looming temple to the sun which jutted out from the white walls like a circular horn of yellow brick.

When she reached the main way, she glanced up and down the street over the few less pious traders who were setting up their stalls in the choicest locations. The market stretched along the whole main way from each of the four gates to the Keep's hill itself. With the city's walls being so formidable, and plenty more in the Outside to fear from the Scorching, trade had become the lifeblood of the city. Shipments of food had fallen since losing so many smaller villages and farming towns in the fires, thus traders from further afield were brought in to hock their wares. Patrols left the Capital every time a gate was opened to range along the plateau's roads to secure their routes.

Dhanur circled the Keep's hill. She walked past the stable at the hill's base feeling the gaze of two bronze–clad Keep guards directed at her. Trying to pay them and the Keep itself as little mind as she could, she stared at her feet as she walked, but the imposing, if short, gleaming white walls above drew her gaze more than once.