Manservant

The Pilgrimage

The palanquin is thankfully double-lined with silk cushions. Chiffon curtains turn the spectators' view of the new Kada into a vague silhouette. Even with the silk pillows and the slight breeze allowed through the chiffon, it's f*****g hot in this thing. It takes four bearers to carry me through the streets. It takes another twenty to keep the commoners from ripping me and the palanquin to scrap.

"Smile upon me, Kada!" One man yells, his outstretched hand reaching over the shoulder of one of my guards.

"Smile upon my family," yells another, a woman this time. "My daughters are poor and thin. Smile upon me so they can marry and bring us honor!"

I fall back on the cushions and throw my hands over my eyes. The force of my movement makes one of the bearers grunt. Shut up. "I'm not that heavy." I murmur to myself.

The sleek coolness of the silk underneath me feels good. I glide my hands over it and wriggle my body. Even the brief pleasure of this moment pisses me off. Who will I run my hands over if I want to feel something even better than this?

"No one." I tell the cushions. I wriggle some more, trying to convince myself the silk can scratch that itch.

The previous Kada was always alone. My beautiful Aunt Alayna spent a long 20 years on that pedestal. After that, she went off to the mountains to live out her days with a few of her servants. Most Kadas leave the city once their duties are through, no point in staying when there are no opportunities to advance. Kadas can't even marry once their term has ended. I groan to myself and resist the urge to sit up. The mob seems to get more excited if they see me moving behind the curtains. I stay still and stare at the palanquin's ceiling.

This palanquin is only ever used by the Kada. It was carved from oak and adorned on the outside with ivory, jade, and rubies. The ivory lines its bottom and creates a white lip that rises a few inches up the sides. Jade and rubies are used as pistils in gilded flowers carved into the oak. The inside, though, is mostly plain, stained dark brown and glossed a few times a year, but plain nonetheless. Its ceiling, though, is worth looking at. There is a mural painted over it that shows a Kada standing at a pedestal with two men bowing before her, fanning her with large, ostrich-feather fans. In the corner of the mural is a man with a cup in his hands and a collar around his neck. His head is bowed as he walks towards the Kada, a chain from his collar dragging behind him on the floor. Must be a Manservant.

My Aunt Alayna had a Manservant. She brought him with her when she left the city. Many Kadas employ one. They're meant to fulfill the needs of a Kada, being that they...we...can never marry.

I turn over to my side, eliciting a noticeable response from the crowd, and whisper to my cushions, "Maybe I could get a Manservant."