Looking backward may seem a simpler exercise than looking forward, but it can be more painful.

—ORENNA CORRINO, the Virgin Empress, private diary

Two days, Princess Anna thought. Only two days until she would have to join the Sisterhood escorts and go to Rossak … exiled because she had dared to love the wrong man, because she made her own decisions, because she refused to follow the rules her brothers imposed. In a sense, it seemed romantic, a demonstration that she had stuck to her principles and followed her heart … and now she was being sent to an all-women’s school. It was so unfair!

The clock was ticking down. She had imagined running off with Hirondo, but even he had balked at the risk. Now she knew she would never see her lover again. Despite Roderick’s assurances, Anna wasn’t even convinced he was still alive. Maybe she could run away by herself.…

Her heart beat rapidly, and she had trouble catching her breath. How could she not be upset over being taken away from the only home she had ever known? Salvador treated her like a spoiled child. Why should he make all the decisions for her?

And though the Sisters had come here, clumsily trying to make her feel comfortable about her new situation, the insular women seemed strange and ethereal. Even at court, she had never liked the lanky Sister Dorotea who always watched and whispered advice to her brothers. Now she was going to be immersed in a whole school of women like that. Anna had no desire to join them, or to be like them—but she had no choice. The heartless Emperor had commanded it.

Guards would prevent her from leaving the extensive palace grounds; nevertheless, Anna hurried outside, feeling a desperate need to hide somewhere, to escape … if only for a little while. She took a flagstone path through the ornamental gardens surrounding the Imperial Palace and crossed over a walking bridge that traversed a flowing brook. Glancing back to be sure no one followed, although hidden monitors no doubt tracked her every move, the young woman quickened her pace and took a side path through a grove of Salusan elms. She sought only a few last minutes of freedom before she was formally taken into custody and carted off to another planet. Anna already felt like a prisoner.

Ahead, she spotted one of the larger cottages on the grounds, now boarded up and long abandoned. The structure straddled the brook, so that the water gurgled underneath and turned a tall waterwheel. A chill ran down her spine. She rarely visited this portion of the gardens, given the bad memories associated with that cottage … the place where so long ago she had witnessed the terrible crime against her stepmother, Orenna—a crime that had deeply traumatized her and triggered a cascade of bloody events she could never forget.

Anna had only been a little girl then. In the years since, she had forced herself to return here a few times, approaching the isolated house, trying to get closer each time so she could face her fear. Though panic always swirled around her head like startled blackbirds, she tried to convince herself that setting foot inside would somehow erase the nightmares. But Anna never managed to summon the necessary courage. Now she would never have the chance. The scars would remain.…

Leaving the manicured trail, Anna made her way toward a maze of fogwood shrubs where she used to play as a child. The unique Ecazi plants were blue-green now, based on a choice Anna had made years ago, using the power of her mind. And, though she had not done so in a while, she could change the colors of the leaves whenever she wished—and otherwise modify the sensitive plants—when she walked by.

Many fogwood species were responsive to human thoughts and moods, but Anna had a particular affinity for this variety, more so than most of the growers. The palace gardeners considered the ornamental shrubs to be defective, because their thoughts could not penetrate them. As a consequence, she had spent much time here as a little girl, surrounded by the dense knot of plants, sensitizing them to her mind; it was her little secret.

Anna had discovered her affinity for these particular plants even before she’d witnessed Toure Bomoko’s brutal attack on her stepmother. The dense fogwood grove was her secret place, a child’s hideout where no one else was permitted to go. Now, the stiff branches brushed against her as she pressed through; they parted just enough to let her pass, then closed behind her.

Inside, she took a deep, calming breath and sat upon a small bench of bent branches that she had fashioned with her thoughts; above her, the woven branches let in filtered sunlight. In other nooks and baskets mentally shaped out of living twigs, she kept a stash of tins of food, water, games, and old-style books. She could hide here for days and emerge when it was safe.

Most of the time, no one even noticed that she had disappeared, but with the Rossak shuttle due to depart soon, someone would try to hunt her down. She wondered how long it would be before guards raised the alarm. If she could hide long enough, maybe Salvador would think she had already fled to some distant star system. When she finally emerged, perhaps her brother would be so relieved to see her safe that he would decide to let her stay after all.

Half an hour later she heard voices outside her hideout, palace guards calling her name. She ignored them and settled into reading a historical book, an analysis of the events surrounding the rape of the Virgin Empress and the bloody retribution Emperor Jules had commanded against Toure Bomoko and the CET delegates to whom he had granted sanctuary inside the palace grounds.

Anna had been not quite five years old then, so she hadn’t understood any of the politics—she still didn’t understand them completely, in fact—but the images had been burned into her brain. Emperor Jules had made his young daughter watch the executions, too, somehow believing that the horrific sight would make her feel better. Her mind had been frayed ever since.

As a mark of courage, Anna tried again to learn the complicated background, to understand the decisions and justifications. If the Sisters were going to drag her to Rossak and brainwash her with their mysterious training, this might be her last chance to set her thoughts right.

She used a mental command that made one of the twig-walled cupboards open for her, and she retrieved a tin of melange chocolate biscuits. Nibbling on a biscuit, she continued to read the dense book.

The violent response following the release of the Orange Catholic Bible had taken Emperor Jules by surprise. Three years into the riots, after several delegates had already been murdered, the hounded CET chairman, Toure Bomoko, rushed to Salusa Secundus with his party of refugees and begged the Emperor for sanctuary and protection.

Jules’s advisers warned against siding with the delegates, pointing out that eighty million people had already been killed in the unrest against the Commission. Hearing that, the aloof Emperor shrugged and famously said, “You exaggerate the danger—that’s only six thousand per planet. I lose more than that to tainted sausages!”

So, by the Emperor’s command, thirty-five delegates were given sanctuary on Salusa, along with Chairman Bomoko. Jules still didn’t understand what people were so upset about, and he assured Bomoko that he would try to calm the masses. However, when the Emperor attempted to address a bloodthirsty mob in Zimia, the appearance did not go well, and, for his own safety, he was forced to retreat with his guards. Tensions remained high for more than a month.

At the time, her brother Salvador had been thirty-one and Roderick twenty-nine, while Anna was just a child, pampered and sheltered from all the unrest. One day, while playing on the grounds, she had wandered into the waterwheel cottage, looking for her stepmother. She came upon Orenna in one of the chambers, her clothes torn off, and Chairman Bomoko—also naked—attacking her.

Anna had been much too young to understand, but she screamed. Shocked and terrified, she kept screaming. She remembered Orenna screaming as well, then many other chaotic shouts. The guards raced in—Anna recalled only a blur of images now, and she tried to drive them away as she focused on the words in the historical account, such cool and crisp letters to describe a horrible event. One entire chapter was called “The Rape of the Virgin Empress.”

Supposedly, Emperor Jules had never shared a bedchamber with his legitimate wife. Realistically, the historians admitted, their marriage may well have been consummated, but Jules and Orenna simply didn’t like each other. He preferred his concubines, with whom he had fathered his three children.

However, the furor over the assault on the Empress—raped by a man to whom Jules had so graciously granted protection—drove the ruler over the edge. The Emperor ordered his guards to seize and execute all members of the delegation.

Anna’s heart pounded now as she recalled the desperate hours when Imperial guards hunted down and slaughtered all thirty-five of the delegates, bloodying the palace and the surrounding gardens. Though some of the men and women tried to flee, they were caught, dragged out into the public courtyard, and butchered. Anna’s father made her watch; Orenna also stood there, as white as chalk, speaking not a word. One delegate after another fell to the hacking blades, begging for mercy that never came.

And somehow in the turmoil, Chairman Bomoko slipped away. He vanished from the palace, which—to the people—only proved his evil genius. Sure that the rapist had received help from some of the staff, Emperor Jules interrogated fourteen suspects; and although they revealed no information, they did not survive the questioning.

Distraught but steely, Emperor Jules had placed himself before the swelling crowds and addressed them again, this time condemning the CET delegates, telling the mobs that he had been wrong before. That was the same year that an assassin’s bomb had killed Rayna Butler, which only inflamed the Butlerian movement. Troubled times.…

Traumatized by the event, Empress Orenna went into seclusion for many months, and to this day she refused to talk about those dark days. The remaining five years of Emperor Jules Corrino’s reign had been hard and reactionary, but Toure Bomoko was never found, despite countless supposed sightings.

Anna closed the book and ate another one of the melange biscuits. Soon, she would be away from reminders of that part of her past. On Rossak, among the Sisters, very little, and perhaps nothing, would bring the events to mind. Maybe it would be for the best after all. Sometimes she hated being part of the Imperial family.

Though she thought the guards had gone to another part of the grounds to look for her, Anna now heard movement outside her fogwood haven. A woman’s voice called out, firm but not unfriendly. “Anna, I know you’re hiding in there. Move these branches and let me in, please.”

Anna froze like a startled deer; she sat on her wooden bench, held her breath.

“Child, you don’t fool anyone. It’s Orenna—let me in so we can talk. Please. I want to help you. I’m alone.”

“I’m not a child,” Anna said, surrendering a little.

“I know you’re not, and I’m sorry. I’ve seen you shape the fogwood before, but I never told anyone about your secret hiding place, or your special ability with the plants.” The voice was soothing. “Come, let me say goodbye.”

Anna did have a special bond with her stepmother. Oftentimes, they would talk about plants and birds, or just walk together, silently admiring the natural beauty around them. Orenna had once confided that she thought the two of them were good for each other, therapeutic in a way that neither could have expected.

Even after all these years, they never discussed the rape Anna had witnessed, but it hung there between them, like another presence.

With a sigh of resignation, Anna sent a thought that parted the fogwood branches. Orenna entered, glancing around. “I’ve always wondered what your hiding place looked like inside.” The older woman wore a white silkine gown, with the golden lion Corrino crest embroidered on one lapel. “This is very nice.”

“At least it’s peaceful.” Anna made a branch bend down to create a seat for her stepmother.

Gathering her skirts, the Virgin Empress sat down. With a wink of her rheumy blue eyes, she said, “You won’t pull this out from under me, will you?”

Anna giggled. “That depends on what you say. Are you going to try to convince me that I’ll be happy on Rossak?”

Orenna looked closely at the young woman. “We have an understanding between us, a bond of friendship. Do you trust me, Anna?”

She needed several moments to answer, but said, “Yes.”

Her stepmother pushed silvery hair out of her eyes. “You must realize that there is nowhere for you to go out there. Other than this small refuge, you cannot hide anyplace on Salusa Secundus, and you cannot get off-planet without alerting the Emperor.”

“Then I’ll stay right here. You can bring me food and drink.” She knew the idea would never work even as she suggested it.

“Sooner or later, I’d be noticed, and you’d be discovered.”

“Then I will die here. I prefer that to being sent off to Rossak! My life ended when they took Hirondo away from me anyway.”

“But must the lives of others end as well?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t turn up soon, Salvador will execute Hirondo, and the entire kitchen staff for helping him keep the secret of your love affair.”

Tears streamed down Anna’s face. “I hate my brother! He’s a monster!”

“He is very traditional, and he knows what the public expects of a royal family. He only wants what is best for you, and for House Corrino.”

“You’re taking his side, just as Roderick does.”

Lady Orenna shook her head. “On the contrary, I’m taking your side, child, and I want you to thrive and grow old. I want you to be as happy as possible—as happy as you can be without the man you love. Just as I’ve tried to be.”

The words made Anna pause, and she asked, “What do you mean? Did you love someone you couldn’t have?”

Orenna seemed sad, but she made an unconvincing smile, brushed distractedly at her sleeve. “Oh, that was a long time ago, and none of it matters now. I had to move on, and you must do the same.”

Anna wiped the tears from her cheeks, gazed at the older woman through reddened eyes. Whom had she really loved?

“Rossak is where you belong now. It will be your sanctuary, just like this little place. Go with the Sisters, learn from their teachings, and when you return you’ll be stronger than ever. I promise. Be the best you can possibly be without Hirondo, and in time your sadness will heal. Let him go somewhere else and find a new life.”

“But the Sisters don’t believe in love. How can you possibly think that will help me?”

“You must find a new kind of inner strength, one that does not rely on your relationship with any man. I have had to do this over the years, and I am stronger for it, a better person.”

Anna sat for several long moments, listening for sounds outside, any noises of searchers waiting for her. She went to the perimeter of her chamber and mentally created an opening to look through. The gardens and the woods were perfectly still.

“All right, I’ll try it—for you.” She embraced her stepmother, then unfolded a leafy doorway and led the way outside.