Tilli found the common strangely empty on Autun morning. She supposed this was due to Mun temples having service on the last day of the week. They were close enough the Nefralean coast that it was the dominant religion in the area. With Victoria House to herself, she collected her art roll from her room and spread her supplies on one of the tables.
The art roll had been a gift from Applestar just before she came to Faraday. Like most sprite children, Apple had learned a variety of woodworking skills from her parents, though the smooth, hollow cylinder for Tilli to store her drawings had clearly taken time. The box, though slightly crooked, was perfect for Tilli's pencils, pens, and pastels.
Inspired by her favorite artist, Tilli drew the wind passing through the tree her mother had planted to mark her birth. She worked for some time, shading the fall leaves, as she kept an eye out for any familiar faces. She saw Mat pass by with Antony, and later, Miriam left. Ayan went to eat and came back. Key seemed to be holing up in their room. Tilli guessed her roommate was also completing homework she hadn't spent time on during the last two days.
By the time Miriam returned, Tilli was too engrossed in her drawing to notice. She jumped when Miriam pulled out the chair next to her, and she let her picture roll shut. But Miriam wasn't attending to the work Tilli had laid out, and she was clearly upset about something.
Tilli pushed the rolled up paper aside. "Are you okay?"
Miriam shook her head. "I just..." She slammed her fist on the table.
"What happened?" Tilli had seen Miriam act odd before, but never violent.
Miriam pulled back from the table and took several deep breaths. "Remember you told me I should visit Eclipse?"
"Did you?! Wait, did something bad happen?" Tilli struggled to imagine someone having a bad time at her favorite coffee shop.
"I ran into my cousin."
"Your cousin?" Tilli toyed with the pencil she still held in her hand.
"Jo. She goes to school here." Miriam eyed the still open art box and the other pencils inside.
"Oh." Tilli placed the pencil in the box and closed the lid. "That makes sense."
Miriam paused, then said, "Why does that ring true?"
"It's a family thing, right? I mean, everybody expected me to come here because my brother and sister did. I know what it's like to live in your family's shadow."
"Actually it's more like she's living in my shadow. She seems to feel a need to compete with me." Tilli waited for Miriam to elaborate. "My uncle disowned her two years ago and gave me her inheritance."
Tilli raised an eyebrow at this unexpected turn of information. She knew her brother would disapprove, but she couldn't resist. "Why?"
Miriam pulled her chair in and leaned her elbows at the table. "What do you know about the Alajan conflict?"
Tilli shook her head, then realized Miriam wasn't looking at her. "Pathetically little." She could hear her family's disappointment as she said it.
"Well, it's gone on for decades. The old king died and his sons fought over who had the right to rule, so the nobility divided up the provinces." She traced a pattern in the table's wood grain.
Tilli tried to think about what knew of Nideon history. "I thought Alaj still had a king."
"Technically, we do. But he mostly does what the leader of the Weeping Province wants him to. And he doesn't have enough authority to keep the rebellions down. There are skirmishes along the borders sometimes. And people go missing. Jo promised several wealthy families she would help them find their lost children, and then ran off with their money."
Tilli let out a low whistle. After a moment's pause, Miriam added, "When I saw her this morning, she was with Mat."
Tilli toyed with the wedge of the paper roll. "Well, Mat probably doesn't know anything about her..."
"Of course he doesn't. Which is why he's going to get hurt." Miriam looked up at Tilli and quickly dropped her gaze again. "What are you going to do?" Tilli wondered what her siblings would do. Caddie would either confront Mat or blackmail Jo. Sam would suggest she didn't have enough information to choose a course of action yet.
"I don't know." Miriam punched the table again, more lightly this time. "Mat's so nice. I don't want him to fall into her lies."
Tilli decided Mat probably wouldn't approve of Caddie's methods. She put a hand on Miriam's, and then pulled back. If she didn't like meeting someone's eyes, maybe she didn't like being touched either. "You have to trust him," she said as kindly as possible. "Mat's smart, and if she's not genuine, he'll figure it out." As she said it, she realized she believed it. Miriam may have been the one with the ability to recognize the truth, but if any of the rest of them were going to learn that at Faraday, it was Mat.
