The crowd watched them too intently, expectant smiles on their upturned faces, for Kayo to do anything but smile serenely, even when she [i]wanted[/i] to turn and give Osahar a piece of her mind. Even when Cajira turned, placing a crown of fragrant julep on Osahar's head, and a crown of lavender on her's, Kayo was still silently simmering. Their best bet for getting through this trial, she realized, was to talk and interact as little as humanly possible.

When the chief dismissed them from the dais, Kayo was quick to turn on her heal and stomp away. Out of his presence, she could breath again, [i]smile[/i] again--without it feeling like a pasted effort. She ate and drank and danced, enjoying the late afternoon revelry.

Yet even on this day, Enisha haunted her. Every time she walked through the crowd, the dead girl's name passed the tribe's lips.

[i]It should be Enisha...

If Enisha was still alive...

I wonder if Kayo really poisoned her...[/i]

She wanted to be happy and enjoy this moment she'd worked so hard for, but a shadow loomed over her, making it impossible. By the time the sky reddened and the sun became an amber orb on the horizon, Kayo's energetic cheer had waned. Her [i]kashra[/i] suddenly felt heavy and tight, the scent of the lavender in her hair cloyed at her nose, and the turmeric-spiced grains congealed to a heavy blob in her stomach.

On the steps of the temple, drummers began to beat a haunting rhythm. It was time. On leaden legs, Kayo trudged to the dais where the chief and priestess waited. She fell into line beside Osahar, unable to look at him.

"Today," called Remir, his deep voice making the crowd hush. "Is a very important day for our tribe. We send two of our most promising members into the desert to meet their fate. The challenges they will face out there will be great. Not all who have ventured out on this quest have returned."

Behind him, Kayo gulped, fidgeting restlessly. Her green eyes flicked up to Osahar--tall, handsome, utterly imposing. Would they make it back? Would she die out there with him on the dunes?

Would he, perhaps, return without her?

"Their final trial requires Osahar and Kayo to work together, as the Chief and High Priestess work in tandem, the heart and spirit of their tribe." Remir raised his arm, showing the tribe a length of rope. "As we send them out, we bind them together. They are forbidden from cutting the rope that joins their hands. They shall walk side by side into the sands of Sonriette, and only when they stop to lay down their heads are they permitted to untie the knots."

Remir ushered them forward. Side by side, they raised their arms--Kayo's left and Osahar's right. Remir wrapped the rope around their wrists again and again, and he gave them a friendly smirk when he made several complicated knots. It would be difficult to untie, but that was the point. They'd have no choice but to work together.

Cajira stepped forward, talking to the crowd, but Kayo couldn't hear her. Her blood was rushing too loudly in her ears, her heart hammering nervously in her chest. Osahar had a small pack of supplies and she had a map, but nothing more. Was that really enough?

How long her mind raced, Kayo wasn't sure. But suddenly Cajira was behind her, urging her forward through the parted crowd.

"Good luck, child," the priestess murmured.

And then they were at the gates of the city, passing beyond the sandstone walls into the rapidly cooling desert. Their future was ahead of them, uncertain and terrifying.