The Ciphers of Muirwood (3 page)

“Three days ago,” the Aldermaston said, walking forward and taking her hand. “I tried to Gift her with healing. I sought the Medium’s will to Gift her with life, but it was not to be. The Medium took her from us.” He shook his head with sorrow. “Sadness, disappointment, and troubles are inescapable, Marciana, but there is more to life. Of course, I do not seek to diminish how
hard
some of these events are. Words cannot always comfort grief. As has happened in your life and the life of your mother, troubles can last a long time. But try to remember this, Marciana. You must not allow them to consume you.”

Maia knew from the look in his eyes that he too was intimate with suffering.

“I wish I could have seen her one last time,” Maia said, her voice choked.

“You
will
,” the Aldermaston said fervently, tightening his grip on her hand. “Death brings sorrow. It always will. But you will do something important here, Maia. You will open the Apse Veil again. The dead are grieving all around us because they are condemned to linger here in this world. You will open the gates of their prison. Your mother knew it. I know it. You were foreseen to do this. Someday, you will see her again. You are bound together by irrevocare sigil.”

Maia looked away, unable to gaze for long into his intense eyes. He was so quiet, so soft-spoken, yet he was filled with certainty and conviction that was harder than stones and stronger than storms.

“Thank you, Aldermaston,” Maia said haltingly.

He led her over to a chair and helped her sit. Then he took his wife’s hand and guided her to a table heaped with scrolls, quills, ink, scriving tools, a small tome, and various other tools and implements. Once she was seated, he sat down himself. Sabine settled into a chair near Maia, and Jon Tayt slouched on the window seat against the wall.

“Tomas,” he said, “would you explain to the High Seer what we heard from Comoros?”

“Yes, Aldermaston.” Tomas stayed standing, hands clasped in front of him. He sighed. “Chancellor Morton was . . . I do not know how to say this delicately . . . he was beheaded at the greenyard of Pent Tower for not signing the Act of Submission. This was done in the morning in front of a crowd of at least five hundred witnesses, including all the prisoners in the tower. Those are the facts as I understand them.” He sniffed, his jaw clenching with pent-up anger.

Maia stared at him. She had heard the news first from her husband, Collier. It had happened less than a fortnight ago. Thinking of her husband made her sick inside. She had fled Naess, and he had been imprisoned for her treachery.

Jon Tayt snorted. “They killed a man for not signing a piece of parchment?”

Tomas nodded, rocking on his heels. “The Act of Submission places the king’s authority above the Medium. Abbey lands now fall under the king’s tax. All Aldermastons will be appointed by the king and not the High Seer. In short, he is a bloody, raving lunatic!”

“Tomas,” the Aldermaston said gently.

“I should not have said that,” Tomas said immediately, his cheeks flushing. “I neglected to remember that his daughter has just arrived. Lady Maia, I beg your pardon, but I do not have kind feelings toward your father at present.”

Sabine leaned forward. “He will be surprised when he learns I am at Muirwood.”

“I would think so,” Tomas said, rocking on his heels again.

Jon Tayt sat at the window seat, scratching behind Argus’s ears. “He had better not come here,” he said gruffly. “I may lose my temper with him. To think, he
beheaded
the man in full daylight?”

The Aldermaston leaned forward and folded his arms. “We cannot let the current situation distract us from the Covenant of Muirwood. When the queen died, and I believe she was poisoned, we sent a message to the palace to inform the king. I am expecting news imminently of what is to be arranged for the state funeral. We may very well have a royal host descending on Muirwood.” He lowered his voice. “That would be most inconvenient. The king would learn that the abbey is nearly complete and that construction was not halted as he ordered. What do you advise, High Seer?”

The thought of seeing her father again, especially so soon after her mother’s death, made Maia grimace and clench her fists.

Sabine stared hard at the Aldermaston. “Maia does not have much time to pass the maston test.”

“I agree,” the Aldermaston replied, only adding to Maia’s concern.

“Who have you chosen to be her companion?”

The Aldermaston turned to his wife and gestured for her to speak.

“High Seer, we have many capable girls among the Ciphers,” she said. “Some are highborn. Some are wretcheds. I feel impressed by the Medium to choose Suzenne Clarencieux as Maia’s companion.”

“Tell me of her,” Sabine said thoughtfully.

“This is her final year of study, and she is to pass the maston test herself come Whitsunday. She is of a respectable Family, the oldest of three children. She helps the others learn, and does not have airs. She is well respected by the other learners and has influence among them. I believe she will be discreet in this matter. She is a Cipher, so she can be trusted with secrets.”

“Send her in,” Sabine said. Tomas smiled, flashing his dimples again, and left to get her from the anteroom.

“You prepared the tome, I see,” Sabine said to the Aldermaston once the door had been closed once more.

“As you instructed,” he replied thoughtfully, indicating the tome in front of him.

“That tome is for you, Maia,” Sabine said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “I asked the Aldermaston to engrave a page. The final page.”

The door opened, and the tall steward returned to the room with a young woman, nearly Maia’s match in age and height. She was a beauty, Maia saw, and wore a silk-and-brocade gown that must have cost at least a thousand marks. A jeweled choker circled her neck, and her hair was braided into a long golden rope. Her appearance made Maia feel a prickle of envy, as she was once more dressed in plain clothes that did not speak of her station. The girl’s expression was one of alarm, especially when she saw she had been brought into a crowded room.

Sabine rose from the chair and greeted her. “Welcome, Suzenne. Be at ease.”

Her eyes widened. “You are the High Seer,” she gasped, then did a deep curtsy.

“Have you told her, Joanna?” Sabine asked the Aldermaston’s wife.

“No.”

Sabine nodded, then reached out and took the younger woman’s hand. “You are probably fearful. Be at ease, truly. You are here because of your merits, not as a punishment.”

The girl flushed at the compliment. “Thank you.”

“Suzenne, you are here because the Medium wills it. I asked the Aldermaston to choose a learner of great ability and discretion to assist us. The Medium impresses upon my mind that they chose well. I have a duty for you to perform that will require the utmost secrecy and discretion. Before moving forward, I must ask if you will willingly accept this charge.”

Though she looked overwhelmed, and her eyes were shiny with held-back emotion, the girl did not hesitate to reply. “Yes, High Seer. Of course! I will serve however the Medium wills.”

Sabine nodded and released her hands, then walked over to Maia and gestured for her to rise. “This is my granddaughter, Lady Marciana . . . Maia.”

Suzenne looked at Maia, her eyes widening with shock. “The king’s daughter?” she gasped.

“Yes,” Sabine said, stroking Maia’s arm. “She will be studying at Muirwood. She is to become a Cipher before she takes the maston test. I need your help to teach her, Suzenne. The fate of the abbey rests on her.”

“Yes,” Suzenne stammered. “Of course. If you wish it, High Seer.”

“There is one thing you must understand. It is knowledge that you must protect above all else, Suzenne. Everyone in this room will know, but no one else can know. Do not be frightened. Maia . . . please show her the mark on your chest.”

Maia’s stomach lurched and she felt herself go pale with shame. Obediently, she tugged at the bodice of her blue gown and exposed some of the shadowstains on her chest, the whorl of tattoos that had afflicted her since she first wore the kystrel, which now hung around her husband’s neck.

Suzenne’s eyes widened with fear.

“This you must keep secret,” Sabine said, motioning for Maia to cover the marks. “It is written in a tome on the Aldermaston’s desk.”

Maia felt the flush of the Medium engulf the room. A small stone Leering on the desk began to glow red-hot. The Aldermaston produced a set of tongs and set them on the Leering, heating them up.

The Aldermaston looked at the trembling girl. “Suzenne, you must safeguard this secret. It is the Medium’s will. Maia was deceived by the Dochte Mandar and tricked into becoming a hetaera. You will understand what that means when you take the maston test shortly. You must know that she did not make this choice willingly. She will carry the mark the rest of her life, but she is not evil. I want you to know that I trust her implicitly, just as I trust the High Seer . . . just as I trust the Medium. That is how I know Maia belongs here. This place is her only refuge, her only sanctuary. You must guard her secret, Suzenne. Will you do so?”

Suzenne sniffled, dabbing tears from her eyes. “I will, Aldermaston.”

With that, the Aldermaston nodded and pulled the tongs from the burning Leering. His wife fixed a band of solid aurichalcum across the bottom of the tome, pressing together the final page and the page above it, which was blank. With the tongs, he gripped the ends of the bands, allowing the heat to fuse it around the pages. Then he set down the tongs and pushed the tome away from him.

Sabine took up a scriving tool from the table and drew a symbol into the molten gold. The Medium thrummed in the chamber, making Maia feel strange and wonderful.

“This is a binding sigil,” Sabine said softly, setting down the tool. “No one will be able to speak of Maia’s secret.” She looked at Maia. “Not even our enemies.”

Or your husband
, her eyes seemed to say.

We all face difficulties, but they should not become our core. We grieve, we suffer, we weep. Challenges are experiences that help us to grow, like the winds that help strengthen the roots of the apple trees in the Cider Orchard. Storms are always temporary and should never distract us from the beautiful days that were before or will come after. Do not become so fixed on a single injustice that you can no longer remember others may be suffering near you. Like the healing of the body when it is ill, the healing of the heart requires patience.

—Richard Syon, Aldermaston of Muirwood Abbey

CHAPTER THREE

Suzenne

A
gentle hand on her shoulder awoke her.

“Maia, it is time.”

Her eyes blinked open to smothering darkness, the shadows dispelled by a single fat candle. The room in the manor house was like a cave, the darkness thick and oppressive. Maia struggled to remember where she was. For the past few weeks, falling asleep had meant a Myriad One might wrench control of her body and plunge her mind into vivid dreams of the past. But now she was free of the being that had taken root in her. She could not remember any dream, nor could she remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was lying awake, listening to the sound of Suzenne’s breathing.

“Thank you,” Maia said, brushing strands of hair from her eyes as she sat up. There were two small beds in the room, both set into tall wooden stands with sculpted poles and gossamer veils. A large hearth was against the far wall, a Leering carved into it. She remembered Suzenne dousing it with her mind before they had climbed into their respective beds. The two had not spoken at all before they had gone to bed, as Suzenne had needed to pack her belongings and move them to the room. She had several chests, and she had spent hours hanging beautiful gowns in the wardrobe. Suzenne was so quiet and busy that Maia had felt a sense of awkwardness in speaking to her. She hoped they would get a chance to get to know each other later.

After setting the candle down on a nearby table, Suzenne quickly
removed her nightgown and chose one of the many elegant gowns
from the wardrobe, though she examined several before deciding on
one. Maia had nothing to wear but the clothes that had been
given to
her—the wretched gown and a nightgown for sleeping.

“May I borrow a comb?” Maia asked softly.

Suzenne startled and then nodded, gesturing to the small table where an assortment had been set out the previous night. Maia quickly combed through her hair, pausing a moment to finger her earrings, which had been part of a jewelry set given to her by her husband. She had left the rest of the jewels behind when she fled Naess, but she had been unable to part with these. For a moment, she was lost in the memory of how Collier’s fingers had trembled as he tried to put them in her ears. Sighing, she let her hand fall, wondering where he was sleeping at that moment, deep in the northern kingdom of Naess. What would
he
feel when he woke up? Did he hate her?

After dressing in a gown just as opulent as the one she had been wearing earlier, Suzenne quickly scooped some water onto her face, dried it with the towel, and reached for the candle.

“We must go and light the Leerings,” she said to Maia. “I always go to the cloisters a little early to make sure things are ready.” She paused, her expression uncertain. “If . . . that is all right with you?”

“Yes, of course,” Maia said, feeling the awkwardness stretch between them.

Suzenne smiled. “We bring our tomes,” she said, grabbing a heavy leather satchel with a strap, which she slung around her shoulder. Maia had been given one as well, so she did the same, and was impressed by the weight of it against the small of her back. Suzenne then led the way down the darkened hall to the Aldermaston’s private chamber. There was not a soul moving about, and their feet crunched softly on the fresh floor rushes. After delivering a short knock on the door, Suzenne opened it and Maia followed her inside. A small Leering provided illumination for the Aldermaston, who sat at his desk, poring over a tome.

“Good morrow,” he bid them, motioning to the anteroom door.

Maia smiled at him and he gave her a tender look. Then he glanced back down at the tome, his eyes scrutinizing the glimmering page.

The anteroom was a small waiting chamber with a padded bench and a side table. There was a nice carpet on the floor, which Suzenne lifted, revealing a trapdoor. She handed the candle to Maia and then pulled the handle to open the door. She started to hurry down the steps. Maia reached down to return the candle to her and started down after her.

She was about to close the trapdoor above her head, but Suzenne stopped her. “Leave it open for when we return. We must always be very cautious and quiet and not raise suspicion that we are learners.”

Together they walked down a darkened corridor that smelled of earth and must. It was a strong smell, but not an offensive one. The tunnel was long and narrow, just wide enough for them to walk side by side. Partway down, another pathway intersected theirs.

“That way is to the abbey,” Suzenne said, pointing. “Our path will bring us to the cloisters.”

Her words had been very efficient so far. Not condescending, yet certainly not inviting. Suzenne reminded Maia of some of the little girls she had known as a child, playmates who’d let her win at every game. Always there had been awareness of who she was, who her father was. She had been sent to live in Pry-Ree and help administer her father’s policies when she was still very young—younger than Suzenne had been when she first started learning at Muirwood. Her contact with others her own age had been even more limited there. And then she had been banished and no one had dared befriend her. Throughout her life, her closest relationships had always been with those who were older than her. Except, of course, her husband. Maia’s mind cringed at the thought and she pushed it away. She did not want to think about Collier at that moment; she could not bear to. She bit her lip and said nothing.

Eventually they reached the tunnel leading to the cloisters and ascended a steep, narrow set of stone steps to reach the floor. The trapdoor was open, and voices could be heard from above, the sound of other girls.

Suzenne sighed, and Maia could tell it bothered her to be late to her duties.

“There you are,” said a pretty dark-haired girl when they climbed into the room. “You are
never
late, Suzenne. Were you sleepy? It was quite dark when we came.” Her smile was impish.

Several of the girls held candles. There were six young women, eight including Maia and Suzenne. Maia stared at the room in amazement, taking in the sight of the sturdy shelves full of gleaming tomes and the low study desks equipped with squat legs to support the weight of tomes, each surrounded by four chairs. Against one wall was a shelf of scriving tools, clamps, tubs of wax, and so forth. One of the younger girls, who looked to be about twelve, was standing in front of a Leering that slowly started to glow. Leerings always had a face carved into them, and in this room, all the faces were female. Maia thought it interesting that this was where all the boy learners received their lessons.

Suzenne answered the teasing with seriousness. “It is a farther walk from the Aldermaston’s manor, Maeg. I can do that, Sissel,” she said, brushing aside the young girl who was slowly lighting the Leering. The look of strong concentration on Sissel’s face proved the Leering was only barely obeying her. Suzenne stared at it and the brightness grew more quickly.

“I was only teasing,” Maeg said, giving Suzenne a look of annoyance. Then she looked at Maia, sizing her up quickly, her look superior. “So you are the new girl,” she said, a little chuckle in her voice. “Another
wretched
.”

Suzenne walked to a different Leering and it started to awaken slowly, the glow chasing away the shadows. “She is not a wretched,” Suzenne said over her shoulder. “She is Marciana, the king’s daughter.”

“Princess Murer’s half sister?” Maeg said, surprised. “I mean, her
step
sister? The banished one? I always heard they dressed you as a servant.”

Maia felt a prickle of heat enter her cheeks at the girl’s condescending tone.

“Maeg,” Suzenne said warningly. “Be nice.”

“I thought I was,” Maeg said, the impish smile returning to her face. “This is your new companion, Suzenne? Poor thing.”

It was not clear which girl she pitied more.

“Pull out your tomes,” Suzenne said firmly. “We need to be ready when the Aldermaston’s wife arrives. Where are Jess and—ah, here they come.” Three more girls came scampering up the stairs, making it eleven, one of them rubbing her eyes sleepily. She glanced at Maia, smiled, and then joined the other newcomers at a table. Maia saw the uneven match in numbers. Of course it would be that way, she realized. Every girl had been assigned a companion before her arrival. She was upsetting the order of things.

“She is right behind us,” one of the girls said breathlessly. They opened their leather satchels and lifted out their heavy tomes. Maia stood awkwardly, not certain where she should sit as she watched the others quickly assemble in their usual places. Maeg looked her over again, a small smile curling her lip.

Suzenne looked flustered as she hurried over to the third Leering, obviously distraught that the Aldermaston’s wife might arrive before her duties were complete.

Maia did not understand why she had not simply lit all the Leerings at once. With a flex of thought, Maia bid the others to awaken, and light spilled down from the walls. Suzenne gasped in shock, startled, and the other girls reacted the same way.

“Did you see
that
?” one of the girls whispered.

“Suzenne, how did you . . . ?” another said.

“I did not,” Suzenne said, shaking her head, backing away from the Leering. She turned and looked at Maia, her eyes widening with . . . was it fear?

“That was
you
,” Maeg said from her table, her expression altering from curiosity to contempt.

“Not even Jayn could light so many at once,” another girl tittered.

There was the sound of footsteps, and the Aldermaston’s wife appeared in the cloisters, wearing her gray robes and a white shawl.

Suzenne quickly walked over to Maeg’s table, where every other seat had been taken. She fumbled with the straps of the satchel as she seemed to realize that Maia was still standing awkwardly alone and there were no empty chairs at the desk. A flush of scarlet bloomed in her cheeks.

“It is all right, Suzenne,” the Aldermaston’s wife said gently, walking up and putting a frail arm around Maia’s back. “She will work with me today. I am the lucky one this time.” Her voice was gentle and soft, yet it had the power to quiet the room to absolute stillness. “This is Marciana, the Princess of Comoros. Her mother, as you know, has passed on. Treat her kindly, as you would wish to be treated yourself if you were in a new situation. She is here to study with us.”

One of the younger girl’s hands shot up.

“Yes, Ellzey?”

“Is she a Cipher too?”

The Aldermaston’s wife smiled patiently. “Yes, but she will serve in a different way since she is a princess. Most Ciphers will become ladies-in-waiting or perhaps chambermaids. Many of you will join a royal household in some manner. You study so you may gain wisdom, so that you may be a counselor and advisor to those you serve. There are great gems of wisdom in these tomes. To find them, you must be able to read. Even though that is forbidden by the Dochte Mandar, it is the way of the mastons. Many of you will marry men of a higher rank. They will choose you not because of your beauty, your cleverness, or the way you play a lute or a harp, but because you have passed the maston test and they value the wisdom of your mind. As I have told you before, Ciphers keep secrets. You must keep the secrets of the lady you serve. You must keep the secrets of your lord husband. And you must keep the secret of what we do here in Muirwood Abbey. Some of you may have the privilege, someday, of serving even a king or a
queen
.” The hand on Maia’s back increased pressure, just a little. “Let me introduce you to the Ciphers, Lady Marciana.”

“Please, call me Maia,” she said, uncomfortable with being the focus of their intense scrutiny. Some she could see stared at her with interest. Others, like Maeg, with jealousy. Suzenne’s look was the most guarded, but it was not a look of approval. It was serious and solemn.

“If you wish it,” the Aldermaston’s wife said. She brought them to the first table, which seemed to have the youngest girls sitting at it. “We only choose a few girls from among the newcomers who are sent to learn at the abbey,” she explained. “Many of the girls come to Muirwood for lessons in languages, embroidery, healing, and music. The Aldermaston and I watch them their first year to see whom we can trust. These are all second-year learners the Medium has sent to us. This beautiful young woman is Haven Proulx from Caspur Hundred. She is the daughter of the Earl of Caspur. Next to her is Joanna Stay. I like her name, because that is
my
true name.” She put her hand tenderly on the girl’s shoulder. “My husband and I were not always Aldermastons of Muirwood. She is also from Caspur Hundred. This is Ishea Haut, a transfer from Claredon Abbey, a third-year learner but a first-year Cipher. I love her braids. And this is Keresia Draper from Norris-York Hundred. She is a wretched.”

Maia nodded to each one, and the Aldermaston’s wife took her to the next table, quickly introducing her to each of the girls, who came from a variety of Hundreds. One of them wore an apron and smock that Maia recognized immediately. “You are from Hautland,” she said curiously. The girl blushed and nodded, saying nothing. Maia’s experience in Hautland had indicated there existed a profound division between the sexes in that kingdom; women there were treated with great suspicion.