On the second morning of 'Spring Cleaning', they were all gathered before the grand stair again.

  But when carefully looking around, Katharina felt a certain emptiness in the rows and lines.

  Her eyes were forcefully drawn to look elsewhere, and the brand stung whenever she thought of a face that was supposed to be there, but now left an empty spot.

  The anger that she felt over how these people were erased from their memories made her aura jitter, which in turn drew unwanted attention from nearby guards.

  Katharina drew in a slow breath and felt her aura settle, calm and contained beneath her skin. This was not the time to be unsettled over things she already knew.

  Instead, she focused on what was important; she had slept, not well, but enough to replenish a little of her aura. Her limbs felt steadier than they had any right to after the day before.

  And in her mind was a clear objective for today.

  Contrary to the day before, Katharina found her feet moving her to the group of those to be evaluated in the morning.

  A moment of relief washed over her. A morning evaluation meant the rest of the day could be spent on assigned work without having to conserve what little aura she had.

  It meant she could give her all now, without fear of burning herself out before it mattered.

  Her hopeful greed barely got to live before it was quelled by her feet turning down an unexpected corridor of the manor.

  They were led not toward Furrow-Brow, nor toward Madam R?fna's mirrored halls, but into the familiar practice hall with its polished floor and balcony doors. The dance instructor sat waiting on her stool, a book nestled in her hands, her attention already engulfed in the story.

  Katharina immediately felt the expectation drain out of her soles and into the cold floor beneath, leaving her sour and dejected.

  That first half of the day went exactly as Katharina expected. The brand commanded that they perform each and every dance they had learned; their instructor would look up now and then nod or scowl.

  Before Katharina even saw a single opportunity to impress, it was time to proceed with the actual cleaning of the manor.

  Though it was indoors, the afternoon task turned out to be much worse than what Katharina could have predicted; the presence of a guard alone should have been a warning enough.

  They were led through the finer parts of the manor, past rooms already restored to pristine order. Polished floors gleamed beneath their feet, tapestries hung straight and dustless, and the scent of clean stone lingered faintly in the air.

  When they were ushered into the next chamber, Katharina felt something tighten in her chest.

  For just a moment, the brand stirred at the memory of Runa howling in sorrow on this very floor as her final chance slipped away from her. Katharina swallowed it down and kept her gaze forward.

  Along one wall stood a large fireplace, its frame inlaid with gold filigree fitting for the suffocatingly opulent room. The marble plates flanking its opening had been removed, exposing a layer beneath carved with familiar runes. They reminded her unpleasantly of those found on the pump by the stables.

  Large canvas sacks lay spread across the floor beneath it.

  Images rose unbidden, fragments of documentaries from her old world she had half-watched in school. Stories of little boys had been used throughout history to perform this unforgiving task. How they would cram their little bodies into claustrophobic conditions, inhaling sometimes lethal amounts of soot, just so the rich may warm their houses another day.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this task must be done regularly. A manor like this burned fires constantly through the winter, and the chimneys had to be cleared to prevent fires. She just hadn't noticed it done.

  As Katharina had anticipated, their group divided before anyone even gave an order.

  It happened just as it did yesterday. The brand sorted them, those meant to be the brawn and those meant to drain their aura until they collapsed. Katharina felt the tug in her own limbs, a steady insistence toward the line forming near the hearth.

  To keep from moving, she ground her toes into the line between the floorboards. With cautious eyes, she prepared to observe exactly how this task had to be performed.

  The guard who was overseeing them was an impatient man, and even before everyone had found their place, his voice bellowed across the room to get a move on. Around Katharina, she saw how several brands flared visibly through thin cloth, little red suns blooming on wrists, necks, and backs.

  Two boys reached the front first. They dropped to their knees before the fireplace and placed their palms on the exposed runes with the solemnity of prayer. Two girls grabbed the corners of the prepared sack, bracing in anticipation.

  Seconds ticked with no change, except the focused expressions on the boys' faces growing pained.

  Their shoulders trembled as if they were lifting the very fireplace. Their aura swelled into the air, invisible but thick enough that Katharina felt it like pressure against her skin.

  Then a heavy gush of soot poured down like a sudden avalanche, thick and dry. The girls yanked the sacks forward to catch every last speck.

  A few more gushes kept coming before one boy's body suddenly seized, and he collapsed sideways in a loose, ugly sprawl.

  The second boy lasted two breaths longer before he fell backward with a rasping gasp, heaving for air.

  The impatient guard was not impressed; he looked at the boys with disgust.

  "Out of the way! Next in line, get a move on!"

  It was obvious that this task was far more taxing than drawing water. Katharina knew exactly which team she was going to join and pushed down the urge of the brand, costing her a little bit of aura but saving her from a lot of hurt.

  Two wallflowers moved forward to take the boy's places, both of them looking glum at the task at hand. Unfortunately, the result was roughly the same as before.

  Katharina had chosen her task and reached for the corner of a sack as a new pair of unfortunate souls moved forward to perform the aura task. But before she could grab hold, a slender hand intercepted hers.

  "What are you doing?" The condescending girl from the previous day tugged at her sleeve. "You have to do the aura task."

  She stared at Katharina with an expression that told a story of genuine confusion, almost asking directly why she was not following the brand.

  Katharina shot a glance toward the guard. Luckily, his attention was elsewhere, fixed on the boys being dragged aside and berated for their weakness.

  "I-e don't know how." Katharina was curt in her refusal; she was not about to find a way to solve this for everyone. "I just take the dirt out."

  The girl tilted her head in incredulous astonishment. She stepped closer to the hearth and dragged a finger along the upper inner edge.

  "You see this? This is soot. All of it has to come out." She looked back at Katharina, impatient. "Just listen to your brand."

  The mention of the brand made Katharina uncomfortably aware of how hot it was burning on her shoulder.

  "It's simple," the girl continued. "All you have to do is imagine brushing the walls."

  The brand burned hotter, pushing against Katharina's ability to stay calm until it became difficult to breathe. "No, I can't do it."

  Katharina could feel her head start spinning; it was time to please the brand by being productive, or it would undoubtedly alert the guard, who seemed to be growing bored from berating the unconscious boy.

  But the girl was not backing down. In a split-second decision, Katharina grabbed her wrist and pulled her in, close enough that Katharina's lips touched her ear. Through gritted teeth, she let aura lace her words as she carefully spoke in the forbidden Voice.

  "Stop, just leave me be."

  As Katharina pulled away, she saw how the girl's eyes went blank, and as though Katharina had never existed, the girl returned to the queue.

  There was no time to spare, Katharina grabbed a filled sack, the effect was instant, the brand calmed as she hauled.

  By the time Katharina returned with the empty sack, the line of people had nearly depleted, but the hearth now stood dark and clean.

  What remained of the soot lay packed away in sacks already being dragged from the room. There was no pause to admire the work before the brand started pulling. The guard shouted an unnecessary command, maybe to feel useful.

  "Next room. Move."

  The procedure was the same; those capable of performing the aura task lined up, but this time, they were already sweaty and exhausted. The first of those who had worked the previous hearth stumbled forward on unsteady legs. The one boy still unconscious had to be shaken awake before being forced to kneel again.

  Whenever someone could not stand, Katharina watched as the guard dragged the person upright by the collar and shoved them into place.

  Katharina made sure to take her position among the haulers. Sack after sack, she dragged the weight away, the dry powder seeping into her hair, her mouth, her lungs. Each trip back through the corridor felt longer than the last. But the worst of it was the growing knot in her that tightened at every sight of injustice carried out against the rest who could not refuse the brand.

  On her lone way out with another sack, Katharina caught her reflection in the corridor window. For a moment, she barely recognised herself. Her face was smeared black with soot, except where tears had cut clean lines down her cheeks.

  She lifted a soot-stained hand and dragged it across her face, smudging the tear tracks away until there was no sign left of weakness. When she looked again, the girl staring back at her was evenly dirtied, hollow-eyed, indistinguishable from the rest of the haulers.

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  When the day finished, Katharina crawled into her bed, but instead of the blanket's softness, she felt her skin crawling with the events of the day. To be selfish was to hollow out her morality, but at least her body was whole and her aura stable for tomorrow.

  When light broke on the third and final day of spring cleaning, Katharina's moral hangover had to make way, as this was her final chance to secure a spot, and given the two previous days had not exactly gone to plan, she had to make this day count.

  Contrary to the previous days, the congregation of slaves gathered before the grand stairs was not split into teams; instead, they were herded like cattle through numerous stations.

  It was like participating in a school-wide health check, but instead of measuring their health, it was their monetary value that was measured.

  Somewhere in the chaos, Katharina managed to grab hold of Lian. They only exchanged a single glance and, without uttering any words, agreed that they would try their best to stick together.

  First, they were made to strip and scrub down, removing any and all grime from the previous day's tasks. Katharina wasn't exactly sure what Lian had been through, but she had somehow gotten large bruises on her knees and elbows, which colored her fine skin a deep muddy red with purple streaks running up her arms and legs.

  Then everything from their teeth, the number and placement of every mole on their bodies, to any blemish and scar was noted down.

  Katharina nearly choked on the woman's hand as she practically jammed it down her throat to tug at every tooth.

  "You have excellent teeth, my girl, take care of them, and the Master will be pleased."

  The comment, combined with the hand in her mouth, left Katharina speechless. It almost made her want to break a tooth or two just to piss off the Master, but she knew that wouldn't be worth it.

  As they moved along and were measured, Katharina found that many of the staff commented positively on her body. It felt rather off to be praised like that, sort of like a piece of meat being valued by its tenderness and fat distribution.

  As they walked from one room to another, Lian slowed down, making them fall to the back of the group, before she leaned in.

  "Katharina, you are doing far too well." A serious look filled Lian's large eyes as she whispered to Katharina. "Maybe you should try to fail at the next few tasks."

  Katharina's confusion only lasted for a second, and she realised this was how Lian survived in the manor for so long, always remaining at the top of the class yet staying off the radar where it mattered. It was great advice if Katharina intended to play the game just like Lian, but Katharina didn't have two years to play the long game.

  The next many tasks involved dressing up in a slokel, doing it as fast and perfectly as possible. In one swift move, Katharina clipped it to her left sleeve and practically swirled it into position. Then, guards measured their composure, obedience, and any other thing that had not been covered in the days before. And Katharina did her utmost to achieve perfection while Lian watched in horror.

  Finally, the cattle were herded to one of the many great halls in the manor. Furniture that normally crowded the space with comfort and status had been dragged away until only the essentials remained. A red chaise longue had been placed at the far end, angled to give her a full view of the open floor.

  Here sat Madam R?fna expectantly, ready to judge all that came before her.

  Katharina felt the little spring in her core tremor.

  Without rising from her seat, Madam R?fna let her aura fill the room, calling for the attention of every Roman Sculpture and Wallflower.

  "You will form a line. Each of you will stand before me and display your best talent." Her voice bellowed a hint of aura that tinged the words and made the crowd move in obedience, forming a line. "If you seek to be chosen to serve the prince on his visit, this will be your final chance to prove your worth."

  Katharina couldn't help but feel that Madam R?fna's hawk eyes rested on her as she said that last part.

  The line snaked along the side of the hall, slow enough that it became its own punishment. Katharina and Lian had managed to remain close, slipping into place behind each other. Lian stood directly behind Katharina now, and in front stood none other than Sabuh.

  Katharina wasn't exactly sure how they had ended up behind her like this. She could have sworn her avoidance of her had been meticulous. However, Madam R?fna's use of the voice had left her acting without thinking.

  Ahead of them, each new contender offered what they thought would impress the Madam.

  Everything from extravagant dances that contorted the performer beyond what should be possible, to awkward bows that earned nothing but scorn and a hand wave to get out of the Madam's sight.

  Of the thirty or so people ahead of them, only less than a handful dared display any trick that involved aura.

  Katharina recognised one of the said aura users; it was the boy who had refused to look her in the eye during their joint cheerleading lessons.

  He displayed an impressive use of his aura to enhance his raw abilities and practically jumped about the room like a rampant grasshopper, only the roof limiting the reach.

  The rest were not worth noting, and Katharina felt sure that even if she was far back in the line, she would still be able to impress Madam R?fna once it became her turn.

  Sabuh stepped forward, graceful as a crane in flight, not a moment of hesitation. Swooping in and laying claim to her turn.

  When she stopped before Madam R?fna, she bowed with perfect elegance, then lifted her head, and from each of her palms she let her aura unfurl.

  Katharina felt it immediately. She had witnessed a display like this before on Lysies' Night, when Sabuh had woven light and warmth into images of the story.

  But this was of a different magnitude. It was no longer little images hopping from one hand to the other; this was taking up the entire space before her, forming into a cloud of golden shimmer.

  Within the flickering light emerged a creature.

  It had a massive body that slowly found its shape. Scales of light slid into place one by one, until a great reptile stood suspended before them.

  Its head was unmistakably crocodilian, long jaws parted in a silent snarl, rows of radiant teeth glowing fiercely.

  But it had the legs and claws of a bird of prey, ready to strike. A feathery mane framed the beast's snarling head, swaying as though caught in an unseen wind.

  Then it unfolded its broad, powerful wings and reared into a majestic display of a silent roar, before taking flight.

  It soared above for a moment, until the struggle to keep the illusion alive became visible on Sabuh's otherwise immaculate smile. Then she let the crocodilian splinter into a million glowing flakes that rained down over the awestruck crowd that had formed beneath.

  There was no denying it; it was an impressive display of aura control. Katharina wasn't even sure how Sabuh achieved these conjurations.

  Katharina stood only a few steps away when Madam R?fna stepped forward through the shimmers and placed a hand of approval on Sabuh's shoulder.

  "You have done well, Sabuh." Her face was bathed in a smile Katharina never could have imagined existing on Madam R?fna's lips.

  "You are free to go and enjoy the rest of your evening." Madam R?fna pointed to the exit, and Sabuh bowed one last time before leaving the wall in a confident stride.

  Earning a spot through spectacle had just been taken off the table with the wondrous display Sabuh had put on. Katharina would have to distinguish herself in a way only she knew.

  Katharina's feet started carrying her toward the Madam.

  Her eyes darted around the room searching for an answer that could only be found within.

  The Voice was a forbidden skill, and there was no way she would risk showing it to Madam R?fna, but what else was there? All her other aura abilities were just practical applications of what she knew from her old life, but there was no task to solve here.

  One word filled Katharina with hope. Madam R?fna herself had taught her the exact skill that would now make or break her chances at getting chosen.

  She stood before Madam R?fna and bowed as expected, elegantly as taught.

  While pulling in a deep breath, Katharina slowly moved her hands up until they covered her face.

  With all her might, Kathairba envisioned a deep abyss, a bottomless nothingness, a black hole. This emptiness devoured everything that makes her a person, and suppressed her aura deep within the little spring.

  She had become the perfect shell.

  But this was not enough; her shell still existed in the minds of every person in the room.

  It was time to tear away even that, exactly how the brand could tear away the memories of those who were no longer at the manor. Katharina knew how that felt. She felt it from the empty spaces in the mess hall that were not allowed to be named. From the sting in her shoulder whenever her thoughts insisted on a missing face in the morning assembly from the past few days.

  She knew it from the fight she had fought every day since Runa been taken.

  Runa's memory had become something she held with both hands in her mind, knuckles white, refusing to let the brand burn it to oblivion.

  Katharina let herself remember how it felt when the brand won.

  She opened that sensation up. The hollow pull. The quiet insistence that something had never been there at all. A space where no one thought to look twice.

  Then she let her aura take the shape of a thin, colorless miasma which slipped from her, gentle enough that no one noticed it begin. It drifted low and wide, clinging to the floor, sneaking up on the unsuspecting, inhaled with every breath. It carried the sensation and forced the brand's command upon its victims.

  It was the embodiment of forgetting her.

  And soon every glance around the hall seemed to pass her by as though there was nothing where Katharina stood.

  But there was one person in the room who should still observe Katharina. And so she imagined the chaise longue as an island. Madam R?fna was a stone that could not be worn down. Katharina let the aura thin as it approached her, just a taste, just enough that the Madam would see the technique for what it was.

  A boy a few steps away shifted, frowning faintly, as though something had interrupted his thoughts. His gaze slid past Katharina without settling. A girl behind him adjusted her stance, then blinked, confused as to why she had moved at all.

  Katharina stepped sideways, approaching the guards along the wall. None of them reacted; in their eyes, the hall probably looked as orderly as could be.

  As she stood right in front of the guard who had accompanied them yesterday, she couldn't help but feel a smug smile pressing on the corners of her mouth.

  She raised her hand and pressed a finger briefly to the tip of his large nose. And held it there, waiting for a reaction.

  He did not blink. Merely waved a hand as though a fly had landed that needed to be wafted away.

  Then she settled back into her spot before Madam R?fna, whose sharp eyes were the only ones that followed her intently. And slowly but surely, she undid the spell.

  As the final drop of her miasmatic aura had found its way back to her, and the abyss had dirgorged her personhood, it was as though she snapped back into existence.

  A gasp swept through those still in the hall, as they undoubtedly felt the inexplicable pain of something precious they had forgotten.

  Katharina stood plainly before Madam R?fna, visible again, and bowed once more, as perfectly as she had been taught.

  Madam R?fna did not smile in reverence as she had done with Sabuh, and no one around even knew what had transpired. Instead, she stood with an icy expression, but a glint of pride in her eyes.

  "Thank you, Katharina." The words were uttered with a genuine softness that was hard to believe came from this strict woman.

  Katharina looked to Lian to confirm that she had heard correctly. Did Madam R?fna truly just thank her? Lian's eyes were filled with surprised awe, and a hint of confusion as to why the Madam was so pleased.

  Though it had clearly taken her aback, Lian didn't hesitate to step forward and have her turn. Katharina, who knew that Lian had some aura but not enough to impress, managed to linger long enough to see what she had come up with.

  Graceful as ever, Lian first bowed before Madam R?fna, then, surprisingly, she turned to their dance teacher and bowed once more.

  As if on cue, the normally distracted woman handed Lian her book and stepped back, giving the figurative stage to Lian.

  Her act was simple; she opened the book somewhere mid-way through, and in a clear and silky voice, she read the page out loud.

  Once she had finished, they were dismissed unceremoniously. The anticlimax of walking unknowingly through the evening, nothing more to do, no more opportunities to impress, left Katharina hollow and restless.

  Once in bed, Katharina lay tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Thoughts of whether she had done enough of what she could have done better swirled. Whenever sleep snuck up on her dreams of Madam R?fna calling out the names of the chosen, just for hers not to be on the list, kept waking her back up in a panic.

  At some point in the night, Katharina had given up on the thought of sleep, and she lay staring up at the ceiling, which was barely visible in the dark of night. On her right, she heard the rustling of Lian's disturbed sleep. Did she always toss and turn as well? Katharina realized that even though Lian had become her closest friend, they barely knew anything about each other.

  "Katharina, at this rate, you will be chosen."

  For some reason, Lian's voice in the night did not surprise Katharina; they were probably both equally wary of tomorrow's outcome.

  "Yes-e Lian, that is what I want."

  "But why? I thought you hated how the Master and His Highness torment us."

  The question hung in the air for a moment. Lian was not wrong, of course, but there was more to it than that.

  "There are things... that his highness wants from me, and there are things I can get by... by staying close."

  Lian didn't press any further, merely turned over and fell back into sleep. But her concern had somehow calmed Katharina, and soon she, too, found her way into her usual nightmare.

  Katharina awoke to a familiar tingling sensation, the type of nervous response she would always get on the day of an important exam.

  However, today was not another exam; it was the day of the verdict.

  Where Katharina would get to find out if her performance yesterday had been enough to convince Madam R?fna that she was worthy of the privilege to serve his highness.

  As they walked through the manor, headed for the final time to the courtyard before the grand stairs, Katharina felt as though she was looking out through the eyes of someone else. The crunch of the rocks beneath her feet as she found her spot in the line was both maddeningly loud compared to the absolute silence with which they walked, and at the same time, it didn't feel real.

  It wasn't until her eye saw the roll of parchment in Madam R?fna's hand, which undoubtedly held the names of those chosen, that she was finally pulled back into the moment. And she could tell how the moisture of the morning air clung to her skin.

  Madam R?fna uncurled the roll and spoke with authority that seemed to make even the birds quiet down.

  "Those fortunate, who have shown they have both grace and wit, that have been chosen to serve his highness and his entourage are..."

  An eerie silence fell over the yard as all the people waiting for the result held their breath in unison.

  "Sabuh." With an open hand, Madam R?fna pointed to the proud and poised Sabuh who stood at the front of their line, not a glimmer of doubt had been on her face that she would be chosen.

  "Tom."

  Madam R?fna listed a few other names, some for women, some for men. The more names she listed that weren't Katharina, the more it looked like she had failed.

  But just as Katharina saw her starting to roll up the list, preparing to announce the very final chosen one, Madam R?fna's sharp hawk eyes met hers.

  "And finally... Katharina."