Crossing the Syrah 10.2

But Hakim didn't seem to be expecting much. He nodded, not dwelling on the young boy's delay, and took one last look around before setting off. With a chaotic scramble, the group slowly made their way towards the back of the caravan. A tunnel had been dug in the sand when the caravan was first set up, to allow the rare convoys to and from Yerm to pass through. They made their way through it, rounding the last of the buildings surrounding the rear of the sand ship.

Blending into the movement, Nea carefully steered her horse towards the young boy and called out to him.

-What are you doing here? Signor Meleme didn't appoint you, so how come you're coming with us?" she asked, surprised to see the teenager accompanying them.

I asked the Shouk directly, and he got the go-ahead from Signor Meleme," replied the boy.

Nea looked at him curiously.

-Do you have things to do in Yerm?" she asked him, too curious to see the taciturn boy, clearly uninterested in the outside world, join such a dangerous expedition.

-You could say that," he replied without elaborating.

Nea held back an exasperated sigh. It was impossible to get anything out of this stubborn man. She wondered why she had asked when she already knew how he would react.

They continued their walk through the tunnel in silence. The young woman's eyes had become accustomed to the darkness and she could now see the walls more clearly, dimly lit by strange green lanterns. The damp sand had solidified and was supported by a solid wooden structure, making the whole thing very secure. All the same, Nea observed the infrastructure with a certain respect for its designers.

Digging right through the sand must have been no mean feat, especially as the tunnel was so long. The work must have required a great deal of manpower... she thought back to the Manks. Obviously, with so many poor little hands at your disposal, it's easy to build infrastructures of this size. She felt a weight in her chest. This system was no different from the colonisation that had raged on her planet barely a century earlier. People were definitely the same everywhere...

A sudden warm gust of wind snapped her out of her thoughts. In an attempt to avoid the sand she had carried with her, the young woman tried to protect herself with her arm and fluttered her eyelids, but she couldn't stop the yellow cloud from blurring her vision. Suddenly, without her giving the order, her mount quickened its pace to a brisk trot. Panicking, Nea clutched her saddle and leaned forward, leaving the animal's neck free. She had learnt from her bad experience that she would never again touch the long neck that she had found so reassuring before leaving.

With speed, the dust dispersed and her vision cleared. Around her, the group had quickened their pace. Her mount had simply kept pace. Gradually, she detached herself from the saddle and sat up, reassured. Then she looked around her.

Under the radiant blue sky, the sandy desert was a peaceful infinity. Everyone, she realised, had thrown a light-coloured scarf over their heads to protect themselves from the sun's rays. The view was breathtaking. Nea had never been to the desert, so she was impressed by her first glimpse of this monotonous yet mysterious world. Letting herself go with the movement of her ostrich, the young woman lost herself in her contemplation.

---

The days passed in quick succession. The plan was for them to take just under five weeks to reach the capital. To do this, they rode every night, from sunrise to sunset, with the only breaks being for meals and to satisfy Lady Anne-Lise's needs.

The latter did not seem to appreciate the rustic journey. Of all the travellers, she was the only one with a raised folding tent that required the assistance of four guards to erect. She required a table to eat at and frequent breaks to walk and rest. Unable to force anything, everyone complied with her requests and the convoy fell behind schedule.

Nea didn't mind. She enjoyed this frugal journey far more than the hard work of the mine, where she was plunged into the sand trenches all day long, only to emerge again at nightfall. This trip gave her a chance to soak up the sunshine she had been deprived of over the last few weeks. She wasn't unhappy about it. And the social interaction limited by the discomfort of the trip meant that she was less likely to find herself at odds with others. She fully appreciated this gap in the world she was discovering, even though the travelling and camping conditions were harsh.

But she could feel another source of anxiety surrounding her. Ever since they left the caravan, the Shouk had continued to pay her attention, which she forcefully rejected but which he imposed on her all the same. In revenge, the caravaneer's daughter often asked Nea to do her chores for her. Thus, she was sure to find herself in charge of taking her aunt upstairs with the guards and preparing her meal if Hakim spoke to her or even glanced in her direction.

Amina was right: this woman's obsession with the Shouk was dangerous. And no matter how much she put herself at the end of the convoy or engaged in conversation with Kio or Amina every time he pretended to want to talk to her, he always found a way to approach her and talk to her at least once a day. This man was making her life a living hell wherever she was!

After several days, fed up with the wrath of the love-struck turtle-dove to whom nobody could refuse anything because of her rank, Nea decided to take matters into her own hands. After the frugal dinner of bread and dried meat, accompanied by a sip of Orik's milk, which they usually had before going to bed, Nea locked herself in her aunt, which she had planted a little way back from Kio and Amina's so as to be closer to the Shouk's. She waited a while, struggling to find a way to get out of the house. She waited a while, fighting fatigue to stay awake.