“What? That’s ridiculous! Doesn’t that make analyzing the course pointless?”
Something was off about her voice, though Vir couldn’t quite pinpoint what.
“Y’know,” she said, “I can’t help but think this all has a military feel to it. Isn’t this how soldiers train?”
Giving up on meditation, Vir opened his eyes and stared up at the obstacle course.
“I dunno about that. You really think they go through something like this?” Vir knew nothing about how soldiers practiced, but if that was true, he pitied every single soldier who had to endure this Ash-damned training.
Maiya approached and offered a towel, which he graciously accepted, wiping the sweat and sand off his face.
“Who knows, Vir? What I do know is that hurting yourself like this can’t be good for you. Even with Riyan’s Life orbs, I don’t think it’s healthy for your development.”
“Not much I can do about it, right? Besides, how can I just take things easy when Rudvik sacrificed his life for me? Working myself to the bone is the least I can do to honor him.”
Maiya squeezed his shoulder. “You are, Vir. You are.”
Vir finally turned his gaze to her. “Thanks, Mai—w-w-wha—who!” he cried, scampering back on all fours. A black-haired boy was facing Vir, and he burst out laughing. “Took you long enough, you dolt!” said the boy, with Maiya’s voice.
“What’s going on? Is—Is that you, Maiya?” Vir said. Not only had her gender changed, but she didn’t look anything like the Maiya he knew. This boy wore a small cap, a plaid shirt, and corduroy pants.
“You look like a merchant’s son or something,” Vir said, circling around her while she bowed. “This is incredible. Did Riyan do this?”
Maiya nodded. “I guess he relented after seeing my glacial progress on the obstacle course. He’s been teaching me the art of makeup and disguise.”
Something clicked in Vir’s head. “Is that where you’ve been, lately? I thought…”
Maiya laughed. “You thought I got depressed, didn’t you?”
“W-well, yeah,” he said sheepishly, averting his gaze. She hadn’t been joining him on the course at all lately. He figured she just needed some alone time, so he’d avoided the topic whenever he saw her. It made for some awkward conversations.
“Well, you’re not wrong. I was feeling pretty down for a while. Then Riyan started teaching me this stuff. He says I have a knack for it!”
Vir’s eyes bulged. “He complimented you?”
It was rare for that man to say nice things. He wondered whether the world was ending. It was either that, or Maiya really did have some serious talent for it. One look at her told him it was the latter.
“I’m honestly shocked. Even your eyes are a different color. No one would ever guess who you are.”
Maiya giggled. “If I fooled you, I guess it works pretty well! It’s honestly still kinda awkward for me. Riyan’s been teaching me how to lower my voice, too, but I still gotta work on that.”
“So, is this just practice, or is there a reason you’re in disguise?” Vir asked, taking awkward glances at his transformed best friend.
Maiya tossed him a piece of parchment, which he caught and unfurled. “What’s this? A list… of supplies? Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Uh, huh. Riyan wants us to journey north to Saran to buy supplies for the next three months. We’re finally gonna visit a proper city!”
A trip! He agreed with Maiya. The thought of some new scenery made Vir’s heart pump, even if they were just doing the man’s menial work for him.
“But first,” Maiya said, holding up a small brush, “we gotta do your makeup.”
“Uh, Maiya? Why are you grinning at me like that?”
Vir had a bad feeling about this.
27THE NORTHWARD BOUND
“Sit still, Vir! How am I supposed to work with you fidgeting around like that?”
“This is awkward. Like, really, really awkward,” he replied, sitting on a stool in a storeroom that Maiya and Riyan had converted into a makeup studio. She’d forced him to sit there for hours as she worked, applying foundation, coloring, bronzers, and other nonsense words she clearly just made up.
“And done!” Maiya announced, puffing out her chest.
Skeptical, Vir took the mirror from her… and gasped. His ashen complexion was entirely gone, replaced by the healthy tones and fair skin of a merchant’s son. Except…
Vir reached up to his head and promptly removed the wig she’d put on.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” said his indignant makeup artist.
“Maiya, I don’t need a wig. My hair’s already black. What’s even the point?”
Maiya blushed.
Had she not realized it was unnecessary?
“It’s—I mean, I have other colors too?” she squeaked.
“Thanks, but I don’t think I need it. I love the rest of the makeup, though. The disguise works just fine, even without a wig, yeah?”
“R-right. Here…” Maiya said, holding up a leather case with a handle.
“What’s that?” Vir asked, but when she opened the box, revealing two thin lenses with black pupils, it became obvious. “This is how you changed your eye color, isn’t it?”
Maiya nodded. “It’s a thin film that goes over your eyes. Riyan said they’re incredibly expensive and rare, so we have to take good care of them. They require daily maintenance, and they’re a little hard to get used to, but they work pretty well.”
Vir worked with Maiya to learn how to apply them. It took him a few tries, but he eventually slipped them in. She was right, they were uncomfortable. He blinked rapidly, since that was his body’s natural response, but doing so only made the irritation worse.
He wished he could do without them, but there was little choice in the matter. Only Ashborn had red eyes like him. If he had to choose between being ostracized or having watery eyes, he’d go with the latter ten times out of ten.
“Here, your clothes,” Maiya said, handing Vir his merchant’s loose pants and white-collared shirt. They were nicer than anything Vir ever wore, so he took them without complaint.
“We’re supposed to be two sons of a merchant family operating out of Daha,” Maiya said. “Riyan’s written down all the supplies we’re to buy at Saran along with their quantities, and he’s given us a list of shops he wants us to visit to buy them.”
“That’s surprisingly detailed of him,” Vir remarked. “I feel like his instructions are always vague and frustrating.”
“I think he just doesn’t want to leave anything to chance,” Maiya said with a smirk. “He left this morning. Didn’t say where he was going, or when he’d be back.”
Vir took the parchment with the list of supplies from Maiya. “Saran, huh? That’s the coastal town to the north, isn’t it? Thought it was pretty far.”
“It is,” she said, taking out the rough map they’d drawn together on their cartography trips. “Riyan mentioned it was a little over two hundred miles as the Acira flies. So, maybe two hundred fifty, realistically?”
“That’s incredibly far! Is that really the nearest town?” Vir asked. If it was that far, this wouldn’t be a day trip.
“I mean, Brij is closer,” said Maiya, “but that’s off-limits, for now. Anyway, he wants us to stay off the roads until we get closer to Saran, where it’s safer. Said we should hug the coastline to keep from getting lost. And we’re to avoid anything that looks even remotely dangerous. Especially bandits. They patrol the Saran-Daha highway. Oh, and he wants us to leave Neel behind. Said that Bumpy couldn’t handle the weight of all three of us and the supplies.”