The trembling of silverware against fine porcelain made me feel as if we were in the middle of a mild earthquake, but the seismic activity ended when Paula set the plates down on the table and took her hands off them. She had clearly been struggling to keep her composure as she prepared and carried the snacks and drinks to the table, but Karen never made a move to help her or even say anything and, reading the room, I followed suit.

  “Y…you have something to speak about with me?”

  She placed simple wide but short cups in front of us that didn’t match the décor of the kettle’s thinly brushed purple flowers. When she poured its contents a waft of citrus and morning grass filled the room. On the plate beside it were pastries in the shape of cookies but made with a biscuit like material and reddish jam in the center.

  “The…trouble down south is over, right? You’re safe now, right? So, you should be leaving again, shouldn’t you?”

  In just a few sentences I sensed relief, confusion, and impatience. Karen did say she had been using the ether ways to communicate with her sister, so she must have been informed on the emergency her sister had been wrapped up in, even if her neurotic state made me question how much she actually told her. On the other hand, I could only guess from her questions that Karen never informed her she’d be returning to the capital before moving. None of us used the ether ways when we were traveling, but she still had a few weeks in which she was most likely speaking with her and would have had the chance to tell her. Only after considering it did I realize that this excitable woman had no idea we were showing up today.

  “That’s right, I should be, but something came up. We’ve been ordered to do some work in the capital before I can actually finished my transfer.”

  She spoke frankly, but evenly as if she was trying to soothe her sister with her tone but not paying any attention to filtering her words.

  “W…work in the capital? As a scrubber? I…is it?

  She flinched a bit.

  “No, nothing serious has happened. Just some silly politics.”

  That was most likely right, but we couldn’t rule out an outbreak situation being threatened either. It could only be one or the other and it would depend on the involvement of the scholar.

  “Oh…okay then. Good luck with work.”

  There were a thousand questions that should have been raised, but not one of them were asked. Paula’s face almost appeared triumphant for a moment for having ended the conversation.

  “Is everything going alright with work?”

  Paula just nodded in response before adverting her eyes. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be learning where she worked that day. They had a few more back and forths with issues personal enough I could gleam little from them other than their mundane nature. I had thought she had forgotten, perhaps willfully, that I was in the room when I was suddenly brought up out of nowhere.

  “Wh…whose he?”

  Once again, no preamble and rushed words. I had half a mind to state my name even though it was clear that wasn’t what she meant.

  “He’s a scrubber I met when I was away down south. He’s…”

  It was odd to see someone wearing such a warm smile tense without the smile taking on a pursed nature. She was hesitant to define me, and I believe it was in fear of the reaction it might trigger.

  “We’re together. As a couple.”

  She winced then looked back and forth between us while blinking erratically. She quickly squinted at me and then avoided my eyes seeming to have come to a decision.

  “O…Oh”

  I thought that was going to be it again, but she surprised me with a follow up.

  “Are you going to go live with him?”

  Her face seemed to glow as she said it. It was true, but it wasn’t what anyone would have assumed based on how long we had been seeing each other. It was odd. It was clear that she cared about her sister, but it was just as clear she wanted her somewhere else.

  “I know it’s sudden, but that’s the plan. Don’t worry. Douglass is a good man, I’m sure he’ll treat me well.”

  It hurt to hear it. I would, though. Even if it was a hollow thing I would.

  “It might feel hectic for me to be around your sister’s energy every day, but I promise you I’m looking forward to it.”

  I’m not quite sure how to describe the way she once again flinched while also seeming to welcome my words. I’d like to believe she hadn’t assumed I would never talk, but that was most likely the case.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  They were welcome sure, but taken at face value. She neither probed at my intentions nor my character for the next two hours we spent chatting within the dining room. I hardly remember what else was said for how little substance it had. Just like the drink I had sipped on that day had a strong fragrance in its first impression but was nearly tasteless leaving a hint on the tongue that might be bitter or just bland. My part in the conversation became automated as my attention was taken by tracing patterns in the wallpaper and furnishings. I made sure to keep my frayed concentration inside my peripheries so I would display a polite demeanor over my boredom.

  It was still at least a few hours out from dusk when we excused ourselves to go explore the city for the rest of the day. She practically pushed us out the door and I imagine I would have felt harried by the pressure had she exerted any willpower.

  “C…come back and visit anytime.”

  I could only wonder if she actually meant it, but more importantly it was said as if Karen wouldn’t be staying in what I had assumed to be her own home while in the capital. Incredulously I eyed the door on the other side of the house, highly suspicious that it might not be the residence of another occupant, but I wouldn’t find out later when we returned.

  “Of course, we’ll be back at least once a day while we’re staying in Monderlow.”

  She frowned as she replied.

  “I l…look forward to it.”

  Despite how frail she looked as she pulled herself back into the house, the door still managed to slam in our face. Karen silently began walking me on a tour out of the residentials and deeper into the city.

  “She’s like that even when it's just the two of us.”

  “It must get tiring on a daily basis, but I could tell she was at least trying.”

  She nodded at this.

  “It’s not that she actually wants me gone, she just can’t feel comfortable around other people even if it’s me. She acts differently in the ether ways. Inside the dream she can talk at length about anything we want. When were together in reality its like she’s always anticipating my departure, but in the ways, I can tell she’s looking forward to seeing me.”

  I wasn’t going to ask the reason. In a vacuum I would assume it was some malady of the mind, but all the clues I had received pointed to it not being a naturally formed ailment.

  “That’s why I can’t hate the ways, or my job. It’s because of them I’m able to face my sister and know who she is beneath everything.”

  Of course.

  The truth was both mundane and clean. Far cleaner than myself and all the harder to swallow for it. I wished that the revelation could have torn me from my paranoid crucible, but I understood by now that I couldn’t be pulled out from the outside. My eyes were unmoved by the truth when they could only see the filth it wore on the surface.

  “Well then why don’t I reintroduce myself with you tonight in the ether ways?”

  “Would you really do that? I imagine you don’t normally use the ways.”

  It was, admittedly, uncommon for a scrubber to enter the ways outside of work. It was not that we couldn’t, it was more that we just didn’t want to be reminded of our work if we didn’t really have to. There were, naturally, times when one of us might need to and there were surely some of us who didn’t care at all on an individual level, but as for me I hadn’t used the ways once since I had taken on the mantle of scrubber nine years ago. If there was an exception, I could no longer recall it. It was a small concession to make especially for an issue as serious as this, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.

  “It will be a novelty. Besides I’d like to get to know your sister properly as well since she’s someone so important to you. Maybe the experience will even change the way I look at my job.”

  She leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my own left one with a look of relief at my enthusiasm.

  “Thank you, Douglass.”

  It was too early to eat after the refreshments we just had so we made our way to a wide throughfare not far from the palace. The already large street opened up into a massive oval plaza covered in the same cobble stone. The only decoration made with their red and blue colors was a giant imprint of our flag that included the outline of the cloth and post unlike other designs in the city had done. The space had blue hedges running down the center and swarms of vendors outlined their perimeter.

  After a short stint of window shopping, I had a new jacket that was dark green and thinner, but tougher than my old one. Karen walked away with a bracelet that had silver lining and small emerald triangles around it.

  “Oh, I’m glad they’re here today. I wanted to be able to show you something I’m sure you’ve never seen.”

  Happily, she dragged me over to a high wooden stage that a performer with a bizarrely colorful tuxedo stood on. He held an assortment of strings in his hand that looked like they should be tangled just from their number and proximity, but they all stood straight. The puppet on the end of the strings came up to his knee and wore the same obnoxiously brightly colored tuxedo. I assumed he was going to use the puppet to stage some manner of play but couldn’t understand why it had so many strings.

  Instead, he began dancing wildly, skipping through the strings like a convoluted jump rope as the puppet danced below him in response to his movements. He twisted himself through the thicket of yarn but never became entrapped and his miniature spun like a top from limb to limb somehow weaving through the encroaching entanglement. It all happened so fast that I couldn’t pick up on the nuance of how he was keeping each line of string separate from one another even as he let them intertwine haphazardly. I clapped in earnest when the performance was finished.

  “Just what do they call this art?”

  “They don’t call it at all. From what I know he’s the only one who practices it and he’s never told anyone the name of his performance or his title. Rumor says he’s a mute and I’ve never heard him speak to contradict it. The locals just call him the puppet dancer, so I guess puppet dancing works well enough as a name.”

  There were other performances being held, but nothing quite of the same caliber. I still enjoyed them nonetheless as they were far more sophisticated than anything that was held back in Duskhovel. When dusk finally reached us, we dined at a restaurant that had many entrees I found exotic but sadly held no animals for Karen to gush over, so I guess that really was a win for Duskhovel after all.

  When we headed back to Karen’s home, my suspicions were confirmed when we entered the door adjacent to the one, we found her sister inside. After a short intimate moment to ourselves we retired into sleep, but for once I had taken the civilian version of the tonic necessary to enter the ether ways before laying down to rest. I was not at all mentally prepared for what I found inside.

  “Karen!”

  She shouted as she ran into an embrace, spinning once around before settling. I was expecting her to lose a portion of her nervous edge not to gain another personality entirely.