Gifts:

A few days latter, Cítiê joined us for breakfast. The little woman was obviously happy, she smiled every few minutes and did not constantly scold the girls for their constant noise, as is her custom. Burya watched her suspiciously, Zai and Mem whispered to each other, and Sarab devoured a bunch of grapes, not giving a damn about what was going on around her.
— You spent the night with the emperor, right?- Burya suddenly rebukes.
Zai choked on the wine she was drinking and Mem patted her on the back. Cítiê smiled slightly, looking the Russian in the eye.
— Is it so obvious?- asked Cítiê sighing.
— Oh it´s written all ovar your face . We only see that silly smile on it when you spend the night with our lord.
Cítiê frowns.
— As if you didn't come back lost in happiness after being in his bed.- she sputters.
— Is it true what the maidens say, Cassandra is forbidden to come and annoy us?-Mem releases.
The other women gathered at the table direct their gazes in Cítiê's direction and I immediately tense.
— It's true. -answered the little woman.
— Who will take care of the Pavilion from now on?-Zai asks.
— Me.- Cítiê replies firmly.
— The emperor has given you more responsibilities and then he spent the night with you, typical.- Sarab murmurs.- The very tyrant exploits you in every possible way and you are there, smiling like an idiot.
— The emperor did more than that.- I explain.
They all look at me with puzzled expressions, while Cítiê smiles showing all her little white teeth.
— Your dispute with Cassandra has cost you dearly, Umara.- Burya whispers sadly all the girls turn to me, looking at me with different levels of pity in their eyes.
— Our Lord not only removed your necklace, but you have been degraded.- explains Zai.-You have returned to the rank of concubine, like the rest of us.
—And now Cítiê has the same status as Cassandra.- comments Mem.
I smile widely, the girls' expressions change and they all look at me like I've gone crazy.

—It doesn't really bother me, I consider that Cítiê deserved the honor of being declared a legitimate wife much more than me. She has served in the palace for a long time, even the emperor praised his qualities last night…-I cut myself off. I don't want them asking too much about what happened last night. How could I tell them that if they did something to our master's displeasure one of them could be killed?

Cítiê shakes her head.

—Despite the fact that you have been with us for a month now, Lady Umara, everything seems to indicate that you have not learned enough about the importance of status within the palace."
I bow my head ruefully, smiling to myself. If the loss of rank and collar guarantees that beast of a man won't come near me, I reckon the loss was more than beneficial.

*********

Cítiê left, she had many things to supervise in the palace kitchen. As soon as the little woman turned her back, the twins organized an archery contest. They took turns shooting at various targets, but the most curious thing is that tongues of reddish fire sprouted from the tip of Zai's arrow, which consumed the target in moments, as soon as the arrow hit its target.
However, stalactites sprouted from Mem's arrow, freezing the targets.
I looked at them stunned and open- mouthed.
—It's impressive, isn't it?- Burya commented next to me.
—How is that possible?- I asked in amazement.

Burya looked at me strangely.

—What makes us one of the Lunas of the Empire is not just being married to our lord. Each one has a mark on her body, something like that. - She explains showing me the crescent-shaped mole that she has inside her wrist.
—I have one too.- I murmur, remembering the thousand and one times my mother accused me of being a witch, due to the singular mark on my back. However, mine looks more like a bloody crescent.

Burya agreed.

—Besides, each of us has a special ability. The twins generate fire and ice respectively, Sarab can disappear at will, but the anklet prevents her from becoming totally invisible or moving great distances.
—Ah, that's why you said that what he wears on his ankle was more a shackle than an ornament.- I remember that they got very nervous with that conversation.
—Yes. Cítiê, for her part, generates walls of energy that are impossible to cross, and I…- she smiles and just above my head a small cloud settles that begins to release tiny snowflakes.
I reach out, catching a few of them in my palm.

—It's so beautiful.- I sigh. Living in the desert I had never seen snow, I had heard of it and I knew it existed, but the little cloud that Burya has created drops on me the first flakes I have ever seen in my entire life.
—That's nothing.- Sarab comments with a bored expression on her face. -Last year this Miss here unleashed a terrifying blizzard! For three days we were up to our ears in snow.
Burya blushes.
—It was not my intention. It was my birthday and my family had come to see me but Cassandra forbade them to enter the Palace. I got angry.- he explains.
I look at them doubtfounded.

Burya snorts.

—My weather powers are tied to my mood. If I'm sad it rains, if I'm angry it snows…- she says raising a shoulder, as if controlling the weather was the most normal thing in the world.
The twins join us, they come laughing and pushing each other.
—Cassandra has the gift of predicting the future. Her ability is very useful for our Lord because it gives him the advantage in battle. No neighboring kingdom dares to face him because as he knows the future beforehand... - Zai murmurs.
—He always manages to come out undefeated.- Mem finishes.
My mouth has been drawing a small o, from astonishment.
—What about you?- Sarab asks me. - Do you have any gift apart from falling into trouble every three minutes?

I compress my lips.

—Being good at recognizing different types of plants, planting them, and helping them flourish, counts?-I whisper.
—No.
—Well, no.
—I don't think so.
The girls in the pavilion answer.
—Then no. I have no special gift. – I reply defeated.