I kept my gaze downcast, and I tensed when Nuni’s fair-skinned hands slid over mine in a gesture of comfort. I couldn’t help but notice the difference. The back of my hands were considerably darker than hers. My palms were lighter but still not as light as her skin. My skin was calloused from years of hard labour on The Farm, and hers was smooth and untouched. She was definitely not a slave back on Earth. If she was, she wouldn’t look so well put together.
She’d have the scars, marks of great pain, to show her upbringing.
“Levi,” Nuni repeated. “You’re free, sweetie.”
Free, I thought. I’m free.
I found myself nodding. “I know, I’m sorry. I just … forget.”
“That’s okay,” she assured me as she leaned forward and gave me a tight hug. “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you, sweetie.”
Nuni was an augmented human. She lost both of her arms during an explosion back on Earth when she was a child, and because her family had some wealth, they had her fitted with new arms. They were the expensive kind because to look and touch, you would think they were natural. It was in Nuni’s tight embrace that I could feel the difference because they made her very strong.
“And ignore Hilah,” she continued as she tightened her hold on me. “She’s meaner than a bee-stung bull when she doesn’t get enough sleep. You didn’t wake me. Her big mouth did.”
My lips twitched, but I didn’t return Nuni’s hug.
I had been her homemate, along with Hilah, since the day we arrived on Ealra aboard the Ebony and were sorted into our homes. She was nice, really nice, but I was taking my time when it came to forming friendships. I wanted to be sure about every person I let into my life. I had no control over whose company I was in before, but I had all of the control now, and I wanted to make the right choices for myself. The only relationship I had was with Nicah, my friend and the soon-to-be mother of my half-brother or half-sister. Nuni was starting to break me down, though. I spent a lot of time with her and really enjoyed her company.
I thought she was wonderful.
“Come with me.” Nuni beamed as she pulled back from our hug. “It’ll be daystar rise in a couple of hours, and we don’t wanna miss it. Yesterday, I spoke with a seer, a special and rare Maji who has an ability called sight. He said the rise of the daystar will be most beautiful today.”
I spent the next couple of hours with Nuni just on the edge of Royal City.
Patrols of the Guard greeted us when we passed them by, and each of them stopped and stared at some point during our interactions. Females were highly sought after by Maji males, and seeing so many human women was still taking some getting used to for them. Not that I blamed them. I still had to get used to the Maji, Ealra, and my new life in general.
It wouldn’t happen overnight.
After Nuni and I watched the beautiful sunrise—I mean, daystar rise—we ventured into a canteen designated for single females only within Royal City and had some food to break our fast. Once we were finished, we checked our bracelets for our daily schedules.
Eventually, all human women would take up a job of some kind. It would be different than it was on Earth because the Maji did not work for credits or individual wealth, they worked for the entirety of the people. Trade workers, cooks, healers, engineers, scientists, hunters, tanners, weavers, gardeners, all the members of the Guard and many more … they all worked for each other, and soon, us women would too.
I still did not know what I wanted to do with my time. I learned early on that I was not a skilled huntress or a good cook, and today’s schedule told me I was to partake in a herbalism class. I shrugged my shoulders. I loved the vegetation on Ealra, so learning about that would likely interest me. I was relieved to see Nuni’s morning schedule matched mine, so I stuck close to her as we went to our group’s meeting point and waited for our guide to introduce himself.
Today’s Maji guide was named Nero. He looked super intimidating. He had eyes the colour of liquid gold, and his golden blond hair was long, braided, and hung over his shoulder. His skin was a lustrous grey, and he had thick, black tattoos that spiralled from the back of his hands, up his arms to his neck and onto his chest and abdomen. They disappeared under the band of his trousers which made me swallow.
His clothing was similar to what all the other males wore on Ealra apart from the jewellery he donned. That jewellery told me he was a highborn male; only the Royal and highborn families of the Maji wore jewellery during day-to-day activities. His sculpted torso was bare. His trousers were a baggy, colourful red and were cuffed at the ends. I thought he was twenty-five-ish, but I knew that meant he was really old in Earth years. Getting used to the aging system of the Maji was difficult.
If they looked young, it meant they were old in Earth years, and if they looked old, it meant they were really old in Earth years.
“Females,” Nero said with a serious expression when we were all gathered around him. “We’re being honoured today. Prince Ezah of the Maji will accompany us on our herbalism lesson as the group healer. Should you need medical attention, he is the male whom you should seek. Do not speak to him unless you need the help of his ability.”
I could have been dying of a wound of massive proportions, and I still would not seek out the prince. He was as tall as a mountain with broad shoulders, vivid grey skin corded with muscle, and sunset pink eyes so menacing I feared they would look in my direction and burn a hole in me. His head was shaved on both sides and braided at the top where his mane hung down the centre of his back.
Its colour was whiter than Nuni’s skin.
At the thought of her, she threaded her fingers through mine as we walked, and it brought a small smile to my face. She did this a lot when we left our homestead, and I had only recently noticed she also did it whenever we were in a large group. It was like she knew that being around so many strange people scared me. By holding my hand, she gave me the courage not to cower away like I so often did out of fear. I appreciated her greatly for that.
“Nuni,” Nero called, looking up from the paper-thin tablet in his hand. “Where is Nuni?”
Nuni raised her free hand. “Right here, baja.”
“You’re interested in herbalism, yes? You made a note of it on your human profile.”
Each human woman had a profile that we completed in the early days of being on Ealra. It contained basic information as well as our picture, interests, and our bracelet identity chip number. Everything was uploaded into the System that connected all Maji. Each time we attended a lesson, our profile was updated. It was kind of like a map of our journey on Ealra so far. We took lessons until we found something we were interested in and wanted to do for full-time work. It was also a fast way of giving us some education on Ealra and the Maji as people and a culture.
There was a lot to learn.
“Yes, baja,” my friend answered with merit. “I did.”
Nuni was fascinated with the plant life of Ealra. She talked about it whenever she could.
“Come to the front.” Nero gestured her forward with his hand. “The plant life in this area is special, so you might be interested in learning about it. If a healer is not around, chewing some of these plants to a paste and tucking them into an open wound can save a life from infection and blood loss.”