Eliuteria

Chapter 15

I stared up at the ceiling replaying my whole life in the darkness. I hadn't known my mother, my father had always said she died when I was born, but I wasn't so sure anymore. He'd described her to me, how we had the same dark hair. She had loved to laugh, I knew that too. He told me she wanted nothing more in the world than to be my mother.

But he hated the Morri.

I couldn't make sense of it, as much as I tried.

I was obsessing. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think of anything but what Ró had told me. I couldn't get it off my mind that my perfectly human name was not my real name. Tau and Ró had no reason to lie to me about such a detail, but I still couldn't make it make sense. Why would my father have lied to me about my name? Some humans liked the way Morri names sounded, but if that were the case, why hide it from me?

I tossed and turned a while longer before finally throwing the covers off of my body and sitting up in bed.

I needed to see it for myself. I had to know. I didn't know what I would do when I have confirmation one way or the other, but it seemed necessary. I could have, and probably should have, waited until my next meeting with Tau and Eliro when I could demand they show me proof. Without knowing when I would next see them and knowing I couldn't sleep until I knew, I couldn't wait.

"Analiese," I whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," she said in a hushed tone a moment later. The sigh in her voice suggested she hadn't had any luck finding sleep either, something that was probably my fault.

"Have you ever worked a holo-screen?"

Analiese sat up in bed, eying me curiously. I was sure she wondered why I was asking such a question in the middle of the night. She nodded her head before speaking. "My father was issued one for communication purposes since we lived so far outside the city, but he would let us play with it sometimes when I was younger. Why?"

"I don't know how to work one," I said.

She huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Why are you asking me, Lena?"

"There's one that stays in our clinic, I can go grab it without being caught, but I'll need help working it."

"No," she said slowly. "You're not getting it. I will help you, but I need to know why."

"It's probably better that you don't."

She shrugged like it meant nothing to her. "Then I'm not helping you." She pulled her covers back up to her shoulder and laid back down. I watched her, shocked that she was so quick to refuse.

"I just need to see the records or whatever. I just need to confirm something."

"What?" she asked without moving. When I didn't answer, she sat up and, reaching over turned on a lamp. The room flooded with dim lighting before she spoke again.

"Lena, I will help you with whatever you need, but if I'm putting myself on the line, I deserve to know why. And I think you probably need to talk about it because you're behavior is... erratic and insane. You told me for weeks when I came here to keep my head down and make sure no one noticed me. You warned me not to take risks! Now you're spending all this time with a royal Morri, and don't think there aren't rumors about the veetrala ordering you to attend to our zashar. I am worried, and I'm not the only one."

My face, I was sure, expressed my surprise. No one had said anything to me or made any insinuations that my change in behavior had been noted. Mia had, of course, spoke to me more than once about the predicament I was in but Analiese and everyone else always seemed a bit oblivious. I hadn't even seen much of Analiese except when she was sleeping or just after waking up.