Sullha
Only last night she'd been so worried and stressed that even that sweetest of lullabies hadn't done the trick.
She had a deadline, and she was out of time.
They had three days to gather all the mothers and the women she chose to bring along on her own list, have Yaaf help vet all of them, and make the final decisions about who was coming and who was staying.
She'd thought she would have more time, but things were moving faster than expected, and she couldn't keep approaching one woman at a time.
She was going to have to do it all at once, summoning them all for a meeting in the playground, using the teaching cover story as the excuse, and giving it an emergency spin. Those she managed to bully into coming would get a chance, and those who decided they didn't want to participate would not.
The math was simple but cruel.
If some of the women decided not to come, she would forever carry the guilt of failing to coerce them, but there was a limit to what she could do.
Sullha tied her hair back, kissed Tomek's forehead, and went to find Saphira.
The class did not start for another two hours, but Saphira usually started her preparations for the day early.
Sullha found her in the covered area beside the dining hall, setting out the mats and arranging the small wooden blocks she used for the youngest children's morning lesson on counting.
The light was still pale, and Saphira had a lantern hanging from one of the rafters that cast a soft yellow circle over her work area.
"What brings you here this early in the morning?" Saphira asked.
"I need a favor. I need you to watch Tomek today. I have a lot of women to talk to about the teaching positions, and I'll get much more done if I don't have to drag him around with me."
After all the classroom help Sullha was providing, the teacher owed her.
Saphira set down the blocks she was holding and looked at her. "Why the sudden rush?"
She'd expected the question and had prepared a plausible enough answer.
"We don't know how much longer this respite from the breeding duties will last, and we should have everything in place before things return to normal.
I want to have a meeting with all the candidates at once so you can explain to them what's required.
I don't know enough to answer their questions. "
Saphira nodded. "That makes sense. When do you want to have the meeting?"
"After dinner at the playground. Six should be good."
"How many women are we talking about?"
"Ten or so. Maybe twelve. Depends how many I'll manage to rope into helping."
Saphira regarded her with a questioning look on her face. The woman was far from stupid, and Sullha's sudden urgency must have seemed suspicious to her despite the reasonable explanation.
"Do you need me to watch Tomek the whole day? Including lunch?"
"Yes, please. Just bring him with you to the meeting."
Saphira let out a breath. "I guess you will need to talk to many women to get ten or twelve to agree to come."
"Thank you." Sullha smiled. "I owe you."
"Nonsense." Saphira waved a dismissive hand. "You are doing this for the kids. I'll tell Tomek that he's my helper for today. He's going to love it."
"I know. He's going to brag about it for days."
They were both pretending that this was nothing out of the ordinary and that it was all about teaching and helping kids, but Saphira knew something was happening and had just decided to play along.
"If he gives you any trouble, come find me."
Saphira chuckled. "Tomek is not going to give me any trouble. He never does." She leaned closer to Sullha. "I'm not supposed to have favorites, so don't tell anyone, but Tomek is definitely my favorite student."
Pride swelled in Sullha's chest, and tears prickled the back of her eyes. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you to say."
Saphira shrugged. "It's the truth."
After breakfast, Sullha delivered Tomek to Saphira's class and kissed him on both cheeks.
"Listen to Saphira and don't give her any trouble."
He still looked a little worried about her being gone all day, but he was trying to be brave about it. "I'll be good. I promise."
"I know you will." She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheeks again. "I'll see you at the playground after dinner."
He pouted. "Why can't you take a break and eat lunch with me? You always eat with me. Why do I need to eat with Saphira today?"
She took his hands in hers. "I told you.
I have a lot of ladies to speak to about teaching positions, and I want to be done with that today so I won't have to do it tomorrow and the day after.
Tomorrow we will spend the entire day together.
I won't even work in the garden. I'll stay with you during all your classes. "
That got a bright smile out of him. "Okay."
With one last kiss on his forehead, Sullha left him in Saphira's care and went to find Burda in the garden.
She found her on her knees at the far end of a bean row, her gray-streaked hair tied back with the strip of fabric, and her hands deep in the soil.
She looked up as Sullha got closer. "You don't have a shift today."
"Good morning to you too, Burda."
The woman grumbled a good morning. "So, what is it? I'm sure you didn't come here because you missed seeing my old face and couldn't wait until tomorrow."
"I love your old face. I always want to see it."
Burda rolled her eyes. "Flattery means that you want something. Just tell me what it is."
"I need your help."
"Doing what?"
"I need to find several women today, and you know everyone. You can save me a lot of time by taking me to them."
Burda sat back on her heels, wiped her hands on her work pants, and studied Sullha's face.
"Who are the women you need to find and why?"
Sullha had the list memorized. "Mirumah, Baruha, Karina, Zohara, and Gindah. I also need to speak to Rohilah and Asira, but I know where to find them. There are also a few others, including my mother, but I'll tell you about them on the way."
Burda raised an eyebrow. "That answers the 'who' question. It doesn't answer the 'why.' What do you want with those women?"
"Teaching positions. I told you that I'm looking for candidates. We need more teachers."
Burda snorted. "Tell that story to someone who will believe it.
Other than Asira and Rohilah, none of those women are interested in teaching.
Gindah probably can't even read and write, and Karina is a recluse.
Mirumah is one of the kitchen supervisors, and she can read, but I doubt she has patience with kids.
I don't know what Zohara and Baruha do."
"But you know where to find them. Right?"
"I can ask around, the same as you can."
"It will be easier with you. No one will wonder why you are looking for someone."
Burda's frown deepened. "What's going on, Sullha? I know this can't be about teaching positions."
Sullha took a deep breath. "I can't tell you. Not yet anyway."
"Are you in trouble?"
"Not at the current moment."
"Are you going to be in trouble?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Are you putting anyone in danger?"
She might, but she might also deliver them from slavery to freedom, and it was worth the risk.
"Nothing worth having is ever easy. You told me that yourself. Some outcomes are worth taking risks for."
Burda was quiet for a long moment, turning her trowel in her hands.
"You are talking in riddles. Don't you trust me?"
Sullha shook her head. "I trust you more than you know, but if something goes wrong, the less you know, the less trouble you'll be in."
Burda set the trowel down, wiped her hands again, and stood up with a grunt and the sound of cracking knees.
"All right. I'll help you without asking any questions. For now."
"Thank you."
Burda responded with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"We start with Karina," she said. "She is probably going to refuse, so we can cross her off your list. She's not much of a team player."
"You're the boss," Sullha agreed. "You decide the order."
Burda nodded. "We will end with your mother, because she's going to refuse as well."
Karina lived in dormitory number five. Burda led the way through the corridors, and Sullha followed.
When they reached the right door, Burda knocked. "It's Burda. Can I come in?"
Silence from inside the room.
"I'm here to see Karina."
Another silence. Then the small sound of a chair being pushed back. Then footsteps. Then the door opened a few inches, and a woman's face appeared in the gap.
"What is it?"
"Good morning, Karina. This is my friend Sullha. She works in the garden with me, and she wants to talk to you."
Number Five's mother was thin, with a few gray strands woven through her light brown hair, and blue eyes that, thankfully, lacked the religious fervor of the Sacred Mothers.
They were dimmed, in the way the eyes of many of the women in the enclosure were, but she didn't look nearly as dead on the inside as Sullha's mother.
Karina's eyes moved from Burda to Sullha and back to Burda.
"About what?"
"A teaching position," Sullha said. "Saphira needs help with the younger children, and I'm collecting possible candidates to meet with her tonight at six at the playground to discuss it. I was told that you might be interested."
Karina blinked. "Who said that?"
Sullha shrugged. "After talking to so many women, I don't remember who recommended whom. I'm visiting every woman on the list I compiled."
"I am not a teacher."
"No one is born a teacher," Sullha said.
"Some feel it's their calling, but others need some coercing before they start and then discover that they love it.
I have a five-year-old boy, and I help in Saphira's class because she needs the help and because working with the little ones brings joy to my heart. "
"I am not good with kids."