The bodies of the two men were transported to the morgue two shards after she and Doan had dragged them to the bench. Doan had gone with them. Sui decided to walk through the park. The militants didn’t seem to care about her safety. They had lost lives for the first time today. Sui wondered if any Shivs would care about her. She was from the gentile district, but she was still wearing her cleaning uniform.

She did pass some people. A chubby woman who seemed stressed. She walked past Sui at a tents pace. Sui felt the leaves of bushes as she walked along an inner ring of the park. She walked into an open area of grass. The branches of trees swayed in a breeze. She felt itchy. While she shuffled and scratched over her sleeves, she decided to rest in the next alcove. 

Unfortunately there was no bench in this one. Instead she found that same girl laying on a mound of earth. Her eyes were closed but moving. Her brow was creased. She was stitching a bit in her sleep.

“She won’t get much rest like that.”

Sui sat there, deciding whether to wake her or not. She decided. When her hand touched the other girl’s side, she jolted up and looked around. she was even more tense now. Good thing these people are in the park. It’s designed to be peaceful.

“Hi, uh Lilly.”

“Huh? cleaning girl?”

“Yes. I’m Sui.”

“Oh yeah I forgot.”

Lilly was holding two daggers in tight grips. “I couldn’t find Doan.”

Sui was quiet. 

“Are you aware that murdering two militants will get you imprisoned? You’re lucky we don’t execute people. You might deserve it.”

“I- They killed innocent people! My mama! Shawn deserved it. I don’t care what they try to do with me!” Lilly stood up as she said this and loomed over Sui. She didn’t loom very well. The daggers were still firm in her grip.

“You might be the only seven year old I know who will have wrinkles. You might want to frown less.”

“Yes. I like it. Rage is important. I had a happy life. I hope they don’t have kids too.”

“How do you know it was them?”

“Thettan told me about Shawn.”

“Why did the officer deserve to die?”

“He’s part of it. I'm sure all three were there that night.”

“It was the Shivs that attacked.”

“All this talking.”

“Is helping you think and not end someone’s life.”

“Goodbye Sui.” Lilly stood up and began to walk away. 

“How old are you?”

Lilly turned around at the bottom of the raised earth. “I’m seven cycles.”

“Sun cycles, or astral?”

“Astral cycles.”

“Well I’m ten astral cycles. I’ll see you when you get arrested.”

Lilly chuckled. So not all rage after all, are you Lilly?

Then she walked out past the tall bush wall that formed this alcove.

Sui had to get back to work. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing the dead militants on display, but that would be tomorrow. She found herself shaking as she walked back. “How did I have that conversation? I’m still terrified.”

Sui tried to calm her nerves, but they wouldn’t obey. She touched a tree trunk to steady her heart. “I’m sorry the people didn’t listen to you today. Maybe they need to bring their pet chiltons along to tell them which dressblooms to smell.”

______

Lilly went straight to the hall. That’s where Doan would be. Drizzel had told her of three ex-militants Shivs had as leaders that must have been accepted back into service. These militants were not very careful. Who was leading them? Those three must not have cared who they work for. Or…they didn’t like being told what to do after they got to tell other people what to do for a while. Thettan had knives and plasma rods in his office. An irritating piece of knowledge lingered in her mind. She’d assumed Thettan was one of the terrorists, but without confirming it. She acted when she only knew that Shawn had killed her mama. Thettan did try to kill her in the hall. But he failed. Did he deserve to die? Maybe not. 

She turned herself in at the entrance of the hall. She gave the shivs away and allowed two bronze rings to escort her to a second floor room. The room had sand in it in a wide open room that led to a chamber with big open locks the size of both men standing next to her. They directed her in without force. She looked at the huge door locks. Once inside they ordered her to turn around and stand against the far wall. She did so. The room shook. Beams slammed down into the locks. The locks rose to close the seam. The locks were the door. 

There was a bed and water. She had a change of clothes and even a relief tub. 

“I'm still angry. I’m not sad. I’m not sad. She wanted to play with Chila or tell her mama about her day. Then tell papa how they’re entire astral cycle went while he was gone. Instead the rage burned in her. She knew the rage would burn until she removed all the killers from this life. They didn’t really deserve it. her mama didn’t deserve to die. Nobody deserved to die early. That’s why she did this. They would keep killing. There was dried food to eat. Did they want to avoid opening the door again?

She chewed some of the leatherbark. She drank some water. Soon tears rolled out of her eyes, and she knew the rage was accompanied by grief. 

________________

Sui was walking back from the hall when she felt someone watching her. She turned around, and looked everywhere someone might be hiding or sneaking up. She didn’t expect to see them. Her mama taught her to look alert. Sometimes that made stalkers wary. This time it worked. She stepped up to her house door and turned the key. She still felt someone watching even as she closed the door.

“Huh.”

Only once the door was closed did she realize she had work still. She’d gone straight home instead. Better in bed than dead. 

____________________

Lilly had only to think in her prison cell. Sui. She’s only three years older. She’s brave to talk to me after I killed two people she knows and trusted. She surprised herself by imagining Sui’s life. Did she still have a mama? Did she have an apartment, or did she live in the militant hall? Sui found her somehow. She was glad it was her and not a Shiv. What do they want?

Sui. She was cute. Her short light orange hair, almost the color of her mama’s hair. She was confident. She trusted the militants. She didn’t know. Sui probably observed a lot. Did she talk to adults that way too? She was so mature. So calm. Lilly was not calm. Lilly was swift action. She was movement. While others plotted and planned, she attacked. Now there was no action to take. Sui had convinced her to turn herself in. How did she do that?

I have nothing to do in here…

Lilly’s thoughts became introspective.

She was seven, and she remembered as far back as four astral cycles ago. In those years she spent time with her father and mother in a small apartment, then the bigger one they had now. She’d been to the park. She’d seen the militants be aggressive. She’d felt the tension in the streets with the lights and the secret police her papa told her about. 

She was a girl in her own world because she chose that over the real one, not because she was young and naive. She hurt kids in the daycare because they shouldn't just be able to bully her. There was never any good reason for bullying. Bullies just wanted to feel good.

She made friends just days ago. It was easy to have friends after she stood up to a bully and got seen doing it. That was the exact same day her mama died. When would her papa find out?

Her mama didn’t underestimate her. Lilly saw a shift in her eyes - some look of understanding. Why was it in her eyes only? She didn't say anything. Her expression wasn’t different, but it also wasn’t treating her like a child. For some reason Lilly felt thrilled by that look and her mama’s energy that morning. Even now she felt the same thrill. 

Vlashen. She remembered her mama’s name again. Her papa’s was… Flan’yr. She was Lillian. Gleyflat was their city name. Because they lived in the apartment flats in the grey zone. Did they have other last names before they moved to the city? What… were their last names before they were? She didn’t know that. Could….could she find out from the morgue? From her mama’s work? From the militant hall? There were so many places. She wanted to know.

Lilly then remembered how her papa had helped her sleep until she was five. They had search lights keeping her awake. Red and blue. Her papa put a thick blanket over the window. She recalled what he’d said.

“Red light, blue light, no light, Good night!”

That was it. She got in the bed and felt the love of her parents in her sweet warm memories.

That night she ended three more lives.

______________

Lilly was woken up from her sleep - true sleep - by the same militants that had escorted her here. This time they were rough. They dragged her by the arms, but did not help her over the sand. She had to stumble and push through. They dropped her arms half way and went ahead with their long adult strides. That was almost worse because walking through the sand was slow for her. When she finally made it to the door, the men moved her along by her shoulders. 

I’m still a kid you know! She didn’t complain out loud. She’d seen it get worse for people that did that. They took her through the front door and along the way she’d gone earlier that day. They went through the same streets. Their destination was a wide open area in view of the university but still far away by walking speed. There was an audience of citizens and militants. The night had taken hold of the world, but lanterns lit this area. The night was free of mist but there were clouds high in the sky, and Lilly could hear the moan of a skywhale. 

“Lillian Gleyflat.” 

“Yes… um Officer.”

“You and your friends are guilty of murder and mayhem. Do you deny disrupting the peace of Droon and ending the lives of the very people tasked with protecting you?”

Friends? Lilly looked around. Two other people were sitting too far to reach even if they both held their arms out and leaned in. 

“I killed two militants.” She didn’t explain herself. She knew that they didn’t care.

“And what is this? You had this with you.” 

I don’t know. It was there when my…” She felt her eyes watering. She held the tears back. Where had her rage gone? The two others did not look afraid. They glared at the audience. 

______________________________

“Hey that's mine! Where did you…Oh my… Did it work!? Did I save your life?”

“Oh Rhea, sit and spectate! You’re not to talk at these.”

The woman was brought down to the stage. 

“We’ll have a chat later, artificer.”

“I’m still a student. I can prove that invention is mine.” The woman did not wait for approval. She pulled out a clear glass bottle. She uncorked it with a surprisingly loud pop. Out of the bottle came a beautiful blue flow of water. Le’falyne! Lilly felt something between the part keeping her together and this newly freed water. It was something deeper than the other water had felt for her. Almost like they came from different places.

This one entered the orb and spun it around. The woman tossed the orb in the air and out blasted the water. It sprinkled down on the entire open-air auditorium.

“Lovely. It is time these criminals pay the consequences. The punishment for murder is rehabilitation. He pulled out some sort of mini plasma rod and pressed it on one of the other captive’s arms. They screamed and pulled away. It was too late. They were branded.

The Le’falyne was rising like a sea of fearies and burst back into the orb. This time it blasted itself out without prompting, at everyone on the stage. They were knocked backward. Then water rushed in from all directions and churned under the spectators as well.

A sea of Le’falyne played with the people of Droon, a tumult of raging water, but after the chaos, it was found that none caught in the flow were injured. Indeed - even the branded Shiv member was unhurt save for a scar that remained. The most curious outcome was that four people present on the stage that night went missing.