“I don’t need a babysitter, Eden.”

“I'm not your babysitter, I'm your partner.”

Roselle snorted and shoved her clothes into one of the many deep, wooden cubbies provided to the public. Eden took a second to note the small ‘twenty-three’ that was scratched neatly into the wood, since Rosie often forgot which one of the many alcoves contained her clothing and was frequently scolded by the forewoman for it. So much so that when they padded by the portly woman and into the bathing shallows, they received their usual withering stare.

“Thetan doesn’t trust me,” Rosie said, staring at sun-warmed bedrock as they walked. “Not even with bathing.”

“Thetan doesn’t trust anyone,” Eden replied gently. “And I need to bathe too, you know.”

“You wouldn’t be here unless Thetan ordered you to come with me. You hate this place.”

Eden didn’t have much of an argument for that. It was true she disliked the bathing pools. It was too crowded, too loud, and there was nowhere to hide. She much preferred the rain-water shower around the back of their house. Granted, the water was a lot colder unless left to sit in a bucket for a few hours, but Eden didn’t mind if it meant she got to be alone.

Thankfully, it was still very early and the pools did not yet contain the hoards of giggling girls that noon usually saw. She and Rosie headed to their usual spot behind the falls, where the rock behind was carved away to make a dozen shallow little caves. It was private enough to give the Loon peace of mind.

Eden kept her towel securely around herself and parked her bottom on the edge of the pool, a waterfall gurgling just a few feet away. In stark contrast, Rosie leapt from the edge, tore her towel from her frame and whipped it at Eden’s face with a laugh, all before splashing into the water.

Her reflexes were a bit too fast to fall for it, but she laughed none the less.

Rosie surfaced with a gasp. “Holy shit that’s cold.”

“Joke’s on you,” Eden said with a tiny smirk as Rosie paddled over. The Lotus crossed her arms and hooked herself on the edge of the bedrock.

“You know, the more I think about it, the less I like this place too. Do you know how much time I’ve spent here? Washing, shaving, trimming, tanning—”

“Don’t lie, you love the tanning flats—”

“Hours of my life gone,” she flicked her fingers outwards. “Poof. Just gone.”

“Rose, you’re nineteen. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, and there are far worse ways to spend your time.”

Her shoulders bobbed as she rested her chin on her arms. “Nineteen doesn’t last. Sometimes I wish our roles were reversed. At least then I’d still be of value when Thetan decides I’m too old to look at.”

Though Eden’s mind whirled with shock, her training forced what would have been a gasp into nothing more than a slow blink. Rosie stared up at her innocently, a knowing smile playing about her lips.

“You don’t want my job,” Eden said slowly. “My job contains beatings and bruises and enough punishment to teach both of us a lesson. Seriously Rose, is that where your mind has been lately?”

Another shrug.

“You should be happy,” Eden said. “You get to retire long before the rest of us. Thetan will find you an apprentice and then marry you to a wealthy man and you’ll live out your days in comfort and safety.”

“Ugh, Eden,” Roselle groaned, pushing away from the wall to float on her back, bare breasts peaking from the water. “I think you’re trying to comfort me, but I am never sure.”

“I am.”

Rose closed her eyes and drifted a little further from the falls, out towards where the sun was piercing the water with its brilliance. “Yeah he’ll find me an apprentice long before he finds the rest of you one. I’ll be training a smaller version of me – a prettier little me. Once she’s more beautiful, he’ll sell me to the highest bidder. I’ll be… we’ll be apart.”

“No,” Eden said sharply. “I won’t let that happen. I’m nothing without you. He knows that.”

“You’ll always be intelligent, Eden, but I won’t always be beautiful. It’s a fact. I know you like facts.”

“That fact is garbage.”

Rosie laughed, turning her face in the water to look over at her. “Subtle, Loon.”

“You should be focusing on the mission,” Eden pressed. “Not these… suspicions.”

Rosie continued to float, turning her eyes to the sky. Again. Again with the distracted silence.

“What?” Eden drilled, drawing out the word warningly.

“I think I’ll ask Thetan where Basira is once we complete this mission…”

Eden was already pressing her fingers to her forehead and pinching her eyes shut. “Rose… not this again,” she groaned.

“What?” Rose quipped, rising to her feet. “He said he would help me find her. What better reward for us than the woman that took everything from me? I’d happily retire after that.”

“Once you’ve killed her?” Eden mumbled, not looking up.

“Once I’ve destroyed her. I’ve waited almost ten years. I need to know where she’s hiding.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes I do, Loon,” Rosie pressed, coming towards her. “I need to know and he promised to help. If he won’t tell me, then I’ll have to bargain with him.”

Eden shook her head. “He doesn’t want you to become vindictive.”

“It’s way too late for that,” she laughed bitterly. “Look at me. Look at what I’ve become. I’m basically her. What I do for Thetan, she did to my father. I’m going to find her one way or another--hey,” her eyes went so wide that Eden knew nothing good was coming, “you could help me find her!”

“No, Rose!” Eden admonished immediately. “That is completely off the table—”

“But you know this city!” the Lotus pressed excitedly, she came close enough to grab Eden’s feet playfully. “You’re just as smart as Thetan — we wouldn’t even have to tell him. We could locate her on our own and he would never have to know—”

“We could never—”

“I can’t wait any longer, Loon. I have to strike now while I’m still strong – while I’m still beautiful.”

Eden stared into her friend’s eyes helplessly. This was the Lotus’s burden; the certainty that her only strength was her beauty and without it she was useless. It was heartbreaking. It was madness.

It was completely untrue.

Obviously sensing her dilemma, Roselle gave her one last push. “You’ll help me, won’t you Eden?”

The Loon deflated, shoulders slumping. “I won’t help you find Basira, Rose, I don’t want any part of that… but I’ll discuss it with Thetan. I’ll tell him you want this very much--”

Rosie gasped before she had even finished, wrapped the Loon’s legs in her arms, squeezed them and squealed like a little girl, bouncing in the water. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thetan always hears what you have to say—”

Eden pushed her hand against the top of Rosie’s head. “Hey, get off of me. You’re naked. This is weird.”

Roselle grinned and pushed away, sloshing back into the water. “I’m coming for you, Basira,” she hissed, dog-paddling determinedly away.

“That’s real scary,” Eden chuckled. “Can we please get back on track now?”

“Alright,” her friend amended, rolling her eyes. But Eden caught the excitement beyond the movement, the coiling of determination.

They set to work cleaning themselves. Eden followed along with Rosie’s beauty regimen for the most part. Though she was sure her eyes were glazed over with boredom for most of it, when the both of them participated Rosie treated it more like a tea party and less like a chore.

“So, what if he tries to give me one of those chocolates?” Rose asked almost an hour later.

“You’ll have to eat it,” Eden murmured, tugging gently on the end of Rosie’s hair with a polished coral comb. “If you don’t then for certain he’ll know we’re in league. I suspect I am the only one of his subjects to ever detect the drug. Two women in a row is suspicious.”

“He asked if I knew you,” Roselle said. “He might already suspect we’re somehow connected.”

Eden handed the comb back to Rose, and the Lotus placed it back in her bathing pouch. “What exactly did you tell him after I left?”

“The usual: that I’d never seen you before.”

“Good.”

“But, Eden, what if he doesn’t actually believe me? What if tonight he just tries to ask me more about you?”

Eden raised a brow, confused. “That is not going to happen. You’re a beautiful woman; the likes of which he’s never seen. Don’t underestimate the value of that. Use your skills, but don't be too forthcoming.”

Roselle kicked at the water. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Eden…”

Surprised, Eden tried not to react. She didn’t know where Rose learned such a philosophy, and knew even less how the Lotus came to believe it. Although her training had been far different than Rose’s, she was certain this was not one of Thetan’s teachings.

“Who taught you that?” She asked evenly.

“My father… a long time ago.”

The Loon bit at the inside of her lip. Sympathy made her words quieter. “You should keep this to yourself. Thetan would disapprove,” she said.

“I know. It’s my job to be beautiful to as many people as possible…”

“Right.”

“But it’s not possible to seduce everyone. It’s just not.”

In all of one moment, Eden knew something was going on in Roselle’s mind that shouldn’t be. In the last year, their conversations had been growing increasingly deeper. Deeper than ever before. Deeper than the Loon was ever supposed to take the Lotus. She found herself having to constantly guide Rosie away from certain thoughts or subjects, distract her, interrupt her.

Control her.

Smother her.

Prevent the sprout from blooming.

She was not sure for how much longer she could. Especially when she didn’t want to.

Even now, Roselle was perched on the edge of the pool, looking up at the sky with a quiet thoughtfulness that could rival her own. Something had grown inside of her friend within the last year that Eden could not get her to abandon. Her fire was gone – her desire to conquer – she was quickly becoming someone else. Someone that Eden could not protect, and surely someone that Thetan would not want.

Eden tried to call her back down to reality. “You have a near perfect mission success rate. Why are you doubting your skills now—”

“Thetan doesn’t like me,” Rose said, turning inquisitive blue eyes onto Eden. “If I’m so great at what I do, why doesn’t he like me?”

Eden leaned back and blinked repeatedly, her mouth refusing to form words. A horrid hunch felt like it was trying to bash its way into her thoughts, but Eden fought it off. Rose couldn’t possibly be so foolish… could she?

She fell back on her safe words. “Thetan doesn’t like anyone—”

“He likes you.”

“Because I do what I’m told,” Eden said. It came out almost like a hiss, a lash of impatience mixed with frustration. “Because I focus on the mission at hand, and I don’t stray from it despite distractions.”

“But all you care about is the mission,” Roselle replied. It didn’t sound accusatory, merely factual. “What if I care about more than that?”

“I care about you, Rose, so I’m going to tell you this only once. You can’t. You can't. I didn’t take all of those beatings for you just so you could have your heart broken by Thetan’s indifference instead.”

Rose blushed – actually blushed – something the seductress never did, and in doing so, set flight to all the jittering misgivings that Eden held at the back of her mind.

Finding herself unable – no, unwilling – to say more, Eden pushed herself up from the water’s edge. She wasn’t supposed to leave; Thetan had sent her to oversee Rose as the Lotus clipped and shaved and scrubbed herself raw… and mostly she had. But the tanning flats were next in Rose’s routine and Eden didn’t want to participate in that or any more dangerous conversations regarding Thetan.

She placed a hand on Rosie’s shoulder and said, “Your clothes are in number twenty-three. I’m going. Stay safe.”

The Lotus merely nodded, perhaps sensing her mistake. Even so, when Eden turned away, the blond tilted her chin and looked back up at the sky.