The Cultivated Girl

Chapter 8b - Mecca

A/N - Hello lovelies, you all thought the last chapter was a bit long so I split it :-)

"Wow. What, did you smuggle Kensington Gardens down here?"

Soft green grass sprinkled with tiny, wild flowers lushly carpeted an enormous open area, which was spread with a matching patchwork of pastel blankets. Although underground in the middle of the labyrinth of caves, a great funnel opened onto the sky bringing fresh air, light and sunshine down into the area filled with chattering girls.

Each blanket was surrounded by four carved, sturdy posts supporting an almost transparent square of gauze shot through with silvered thread to protect the damsels beneath from the sun.

"Welcome to the Mecca," said Alexia. "It's where we take all our meals."

"Isn't that, I don't know, sacrilegious or something?" said Simone.

"Why?" said Alexia, genuinely puzzled. "At the Sanctuary we believe your body is your temple. Food and nourishment are vital. Don't you believe the same?"

Simone thought back to her Big Mac dinner of two or was it three nights before?

"Kind of."

"Come on, let's get a blanket before the address starts."

The five girls headed for a pale yellow blanket loaded with small, delicate mother of pearl plates.

Bloduewedd reached straight for a selection of succulent leaves and popped them into her mouth.

Alexia tut-tutted. "You're lucky it's Spring, in any other season we'd get demerits."

"What for?" said Nada.

"Not using your cutlery. Winter's the worst, it's terribly formal, even for me."

"That's silly. Food always tastes better when you eat with your hands," Nada countered. "Oh look, music."

She clapped her hands in delight, pointing at a small quartet playing light trilling notes in a central pagoda. Looking around, Simone wished so little could make her happy. The new sun shone down on the rainbow-hued girls, most of whom sat with their legs crossed or in lotus position. Others dressed in sackcloth glided from blanket to blanket offering to refill plates and cups from generous silver platters piled high.

Simone waved one of the sackcloth girls over and bombarded her with questions about the titbits of food, especially why all the servings were so small.

"Stop worrying her, she's in her time of silence," said Alexia to Simone.

After an agonising choice between a delicious, frothy, hot spiced drink poured from a matching mother of pearl teapot or a long, cool, refreshing flower juice from a brightly jewelled jug, Simone picked the juice.

Then spat it out, much to Alexia's horror and Jolie's amusement.

"It's them," she said, waving an arm at the pagoda.

"Who?" said Nada, resuming her frightened gazelle look.

"The Principal?" said Alexia, shooting Simone a sharp, silver-eyed glance.

"I thought that was the head of the school?"

"It is. With the exception of the Empress herself, these three women are the most powerful of all trained in the way of the Goddess. They're known only as 'The Principal'. They run the Sanctuary."

Simone's heart sank to the bottom of her bare feet. She was looking at the three wickedly witchy women she had spied on previously. Alexia was still droning on about them, making them sound even scarier.