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Chapter 1

Let me try," Cessie said.
     "Certainly not; go away; stop bothering me," her brother replied. "Why do you keep on at me?"
     "Because it isn't fair that we girls are not allowed to play and I can throw the ball over the wall as good as any boy." She grabbed the ball from him and bounced it all around him. He lunged at her and knocked her to the ground. She sat on the ground and glared at him.
     "Jadex!" came a sharp voice, as Fador, the team coach arrived, "leave your sister alone."
     "She's my stepsister and … " his voice faded as Fador frowned at him with annoyance.
     Cessie got up, dusted her grazed knee, and looked at the team coach. "All I wanted was to throw the ball over the wall."
     "I was trying to tell her that the game wasn't meant for girls."
     "Let us see what she can do," Fador said with a smile.
     Jadex looked at Fador with some surprise, but letting her try might be a good thing and once she knew how hard it was she would not bother them again.
     They both stood on one side while she took the ball to the centre of the court.
     "You can have three tries," Fador said gently, not to disappoint her.
     Cessie stood on the shooting circle and focused on the higher part of the wall.
     "Aim for the lowest first," Fador urged her.
     She nodded thank you to him.
     From somewhere in the building came the chanting of girls' voices, as they learnt the Laws.
     She shook her head. "Bother, I'm already late for class." She dismissed the thought and stood quite still, her eyes trained on the wall. She drew in a deep breath, ran forward with the ball, bounced it high in the green circle, caught it and threw it high in the air; waited for it to drop and, catching it cleanly, took aim and flung the ball aloft and over the lowest part of the wall. She ran around to the back of the wall and caught the ball before it landed and went back to the starting section again. Then she repeated it all again and threw the ball over the next highest part and then, again following the same procedure, threw it over the highest part of the wall and returned to the centre, waiting to hear their reaction.
     "Great," said Jadex grudgingly.
     "I agree," said Fador.
     "So can I train for the team?"
     "It is not for girls," Jadex was quick to answer.
     "There's no such law," she replied. "It says 'team member' not whether it is a boy or a girl." She looked at Fador, pleadingly.
     "Certainly you can, providing your father gives permission," and as he walked away both she and he knew that permission would not be granted. "Pity though," he thought, because she was good.
     Gina frowned at her as she slipped into her class quietly. Cessie opened her chant book and joined in the chanting.
     The Lawmothers stood on stage. Each took it in turn to keep the class going. One raised her hand and motioned silence.
     "You are late Celisia! Where have you been this time?" asked her Lawmother
     "I am sorry, Mam; I was delayed."
     "What delayed you child?"
     "I was trying out for the team."
     "You are not a boy!" stated her Lawmother. "You just do not even think about the team …!"
     Silence reigned in the room. The others stared at her in amazement. Then one bolder than the rest shouted out: "Did you get in?"
     "Did what?" the Lawmother queried harshly.
     "Yes, I got in!" Cessie said excitedly. "But Fador said I would have to get permission from my father first."
     The girls began to talk aloud until the Lawmothers silenced them.
     "This behaviour will be reported to the Council and you will be called before them this evening." The class was then dismissed early and the girls went out quickly to hear all about it from Cessie herself.
     That evening she was called before the Elders.
     "We have discussed your case," one said.
     "I checked all the Laws first," she said quietly.
     "We realise that, but you were late for class and rude to your Lawmother and upset the others in the class." They looked very serious and suddenly Cessie was very frightened, but she stood there in the middle of the room trying not to show it.
     Fador arrived and, looking at her, said: "She asked if she could try out for the team. I made her late because I said that she could."
     They looked at him now and said: "Did she make an appointment to see you, and did she get written permission from her Lawmother?"
     "No," he said sadly. He looked at her. "I tried," he said softly, "they are not ready for a change yet."
     The Elders stood up and chanted: "We The Elders of the City of Shadowex, do declare that this child is no longer fit to be one of us, and from this day on she shall be thrust out of the city to live as she thinks fit."
     They stood up and left her feeling stunned.
     Two guards took her to the city gates and pushed her outside.
     She stood there in tears, alone and frightened. Somewhere a wolf howled. Darkness descended rapidly. She had never been outside the city before. What was she going to do?

Cessie stayed by the big doors all night, sitting as close to them as she could. She shivered with cold and several times, got up and stamped her feet to get her circulation going again.
     At last morning arrived and she could hear signs of life from within. She stood by the small door in the main gate, waiting hopefully for someone to open it: after all, she had learnt her lesson and would do as she was told from now on – but the door remained closed. Sadly she left the safety of the city walls and followed a track that led away from the place where she had lived since she was five years old.
     The track was rough, which was surprising considering that the inside of the city was kept so well, and on either side of it were tangled growths of small bushes which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
     She walked quickly, thinking that it must lead somewhere.
     She stopped to empty a stone out of her shoe and then went on again.
     Where was she going?
     Where were the people?
     Were there any people at all? Maybe the tales she had heard were true – that the only people who lived on this planet were the Lawmakers.
     Did all the Lawmakers live in one city or were there other cities?
     Would those other Lawmakers let her in their cities or was she to be alone in this wild place?
     The sun came up and she felt warmer but now she realised that she was very hungry and thirsty. She must look for a stream. But she could not find one and, when she came to a crossroads, sat down on a fallen tree and wept bitterly.
     Just what was she going to do?

One hour after Cessie had left the city gates a man slipped out and followed her down the track. He was very annoyed. The Grand Elder had recalled him for a special briefing. It was bad enough being assigned to this godforsaken hole without being told that he had to keep a fifteen-year-old girl in order. To think that he, Medrix, who had passed top of his training class on Estolan, had even been given this task on Chetner was ludicrous, for hadn't he been responsible for infiltrating two drug-running gangs and bringing them to justice? The more dangerous the jobs, the more he liked it. He was good and he knew it. He was an Elders' man through and through, feared by the very people who admired him. He was ruthless in getting all he wanted. He obeyed the rules to the letter and thought nothing of reporting those who did not, even if they were his friends. The Masters had taught him and taught him well how an Elders' man should behave. Strength was power and power was his to use how he liked, and he had used that power to get everything he wanted, including the beautiful Jessanda, a daughter of one of the city Elders. They had become betrothed only a few days before he had been sent here. He had thought he had everything. Happiness was his and then this had happened. He was assigned to spy on the exiles on the planet Chetner under the jurisdiction of the Grand Elder of City One.
     It was bad enough that he had to mix with these exiles who had questioned the beliefs and rules of their Elders and so were beginning to undermine their authority to even rule them. He had to watch and report on all their movements and not let them know who he really was. It was easy. He did not like it easy.
     They were a group of people who had had it easy in the city who had been thrust out of all the comfortable surroundings to rough it in a place where there were no such comforts. The youngest were in their twenties; others varied in age, to one woman who must have been there for years, for she was about sixty. They all called her the Mother and she ruled the whole place and kept a motherly eye on them all.
     He had found nothing much to report; just little things such as the men saying that one day the Elders would get their just deserts and the women saying they were fed up with the men here, although they seemed to accept him: after all they thought he was Fador's twin brother and they all admired him, even though he lived within the city walls.
     He had told them that he had never lived in the city but had been kept safely hidden away by his mother who had already lost one child to the Lawmakers. The Lawmakers evidently took young children and brought them up as their own and, though he did not agree with this, he supposed that those who had been taken would have been given the best of everything and would appreciate it in the long run – after all, they had been taken when they were very young and could not remember any other life.
     So here he was and now he was to nursemaid this latest exile. She was trouble with a capital T he was told. Her stepfather said that she would come to a bad end and her teachers had said that she broke one rule after the other, was rude and disruptive in class and was a general nuisance to everybody and certainly not to be trusted, for she was as sly as they come and needed to be taught a lesson. He was to put her on the right track and, if she was taught to conform, then maybe she would be given a second chance within the city for they did not like to fail where a child was concerned. He thought she should have been given a good whipping and that would have been the end of it. Girls – women in fact – always obeyed after that punishment: a fact he knew was correct for that was how he treated any woman who annoyed him.
     He sighed as Cessie came into view.
     She was sitting on a fallen tree, crying. She was not wearing a bonnet and he saw that she had fair hair that shone like gold in the sunshine. He had this sudden feeling that he wanted to run his hands through that long golden hair and feel its silkiness. He shook his head. Those kinds of thoughts were not to be encouraged: he did not bed children.
     He stopped beside her and said, gently: "Why are you crying?"
     Cessie looked up, peering through her fingers at him. She had not realised anyone was there. He repeated the question.
     She put her hands in her lap and said: "I thought I was out here on my own and I did not know what to do."
     "I can assure you there are plenty of people around here if you know where to look."
     She looked at him without saying anything, wondering if she could trust him. He wasn't a Lawmaker for he had long hair and every Lawmaker had the standard cut as dictated by the Elders. His long brown hair meant that he was an exile ... or ... what?
     She jumped up and looked at him.
     "Who are you?"
     He smiled and she noticed that although he smiled, his eyes were ice cold.
     She shivered.
     "Are you cold?" he asked.
     "Yes. I have no cloak. I did not have time to get it before they put me outside the gates."
     Medrix opened the large pack that he had on his back and brought out a small rug and put it round her shoulders. She thanked him, smiling up at him.
     Her eyes were blue, his mind registered – as blue as the sky on a summer's day.
     "Are you hungry?"
     "Yes I am."
     He gave her food and some water to drink.
     Thanking him she asked who he was and then said: "You remind me of Fador, the Team Coach in the City."
     "That's because I am his twin brother. My name is Medrix. I am a Chetnerite like him, the only difference being that he was kidnapped by the Lawmakers and I was not. Chetnerite twins are telepathic and can open a channel to talk to each other: that's how I knew who you were. Of course the Lawmakers do not know we keep in touch, because they would exile him, too."
     "You must be careful, then," she said with concern.
     "Now, have you got your bonnet?"
     "Yes, it's in my pocket."
     "Then put it on, for you are still a Lawmother and must wear one."
     "I thought I'd be free of that!"
     She pulled the bonnet from her pocket but did not put in on, whereupon he said roughly: "Put it on now. Hide your hair; you are too conspicuous like that."
     She put it on and pushed her hair out of sight. Who was he to tell her what to do? She had hoped that she had left all those rules behind her.
     "Now, we must get on," he said. "We have a long way to go and it does not do to be outside when darkness comes."
     "Why? I am not afraid the dark."
     He sighed. Was she going to be one of those people who queried everything?
     "There are wild things about then."
     "Wild things? What kind of wild things?" She sounded interested but he was not going to tell her any more but hurried on down the track.
     She was hard put to keep up with him and was soon some way behind him so he stopped for her to catch up.
     "You must walk quicker; otherwise we will be out here in the dark."
     She nodded and asked where they were going and he told her they were going to Middle City.
     He walked more slowly so that she could keep up with him.
     "Middle City – not that I have heard of the place – where is it?"
     "Didn't they teach you anything in class or weren't you paying attention?"
     She was indignant that he should think her ignorant and said that she was most attentive but she had never heard of it before.
     He heard a different tone in her voice but all he said was: "Save your breath for walking and we will get there soon enough." And with that she had to be content.
     They stopped once for refreshment. He did not seem keen on talking; in fact she got the idea that he disliked her. She wasn't far wrong!

It was getting dark when he stopped by an old barn filled with hay and told her they would stay the night there.
     After they had had a meal, he settled down near the door to sleep and she went further in. She lay for ages listening to the strange sounds around her. She needed the lat so she crept past him to go outside and he grabbed her leg and told her to go back to her side of the barn.
     "I need to go outside, unless you want me to wet myself."
     He laughed and let her go.
     She wasn't long but, as she was coming back, thought she saw someone in the bushes and was surprised to find Medrix where she had left him. She told him what she had seen and he got up and went outside to look. He came back in and said it must have been an animal.
     She was still worried, but he did not seem at all upset so she settled back to sleep.

Medrix woke suddenly.
     He could smell smoke and he realised the back of the barn where she slept was on fire. She was just lying there.
     "Wake up, Celisia," he yelled.
     She did not move.
     He moved quickly, picked her up and ran towards the doors. They were locked.  To his left was a high window used to bring bales of hay into the barn. It had a pulley which was fixed to the roof, both inside and out. He pulled at the rope and tied it around himself and, carrying her, hoisted himself up to the window. Already parts of the roof were on fire. He attached the rope around her inert body and lowered her down to the ground beneath, then swung himself over the ledge and climbed down the rope. He released her and carried her away from the fire.
     She awoke coughing and spluttering and sat up seeming none the worse but, when she stood up, dizziness hit her and she collapsed in a heap.
     Medrix knew without doubt that someone had tried to kill her or him or both of them.
     Did someone know who he was?
     Did someone have a reason to kill her?
     Or, maybe there was another reason why the Grand Elder had asked him to see to her.
     "We must get help, little one," he said gently. "You need to rest somewhere before we continue our journey, and I know a good place."
     He left the track and did not stop walking until he came to some caves by a river. One of the caves had a sliding door at the back. He knocked and it slid open and he went in.

Cessie woke again to see a woman, a very small woman, sitting beside her who smiled at her and said: "Good. I can see you are much better."
     Medrix came over to her and said that the people who lived here were huntersnouts. They usually lived in trees but their home had been destroyed by earthquakes.
     They stayed in the cave for three days and, by that time she was better and again they set out for Middle City. Medrix was very gentle with her and seemed to have changed his attitude. In fact he was over-protective which she found a bit irksome but she made sure she stayed close to him all the way to Middle City, for he had saved her life and he would be her friend forever.
     They arrived at Middle City as it was getting dark and suddenly she felt afraid and put her hand in his. He felt her stiffen and realised that she was afraid. His long fingers tightened round hers and he stood still.
     "What's the matter?" he asked gently.
     "They will be angry with me, won't they?"
     "Why?"
     "Because they are all Lawmakers – so they will be."
     "Cessie, they are all exiles like you."
     "But they will not like me."
     "Why not?"
     "Because Lawmakers go out of their way to be nasty to me."
     He sighed. "We have to go in and you'll find that they will like you. Just be good and don't do anything silly, that's all." He let go of her hand and strode up to the city gates and rang the bell. She held back and he went back, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with him.
     The gates opened and swung back. They walked in and the gates closed behind them.
     The place was a ruin. One side was just a pile of fallen stones but the other side had a roof on it. The whole city was a low scattered settlement that spread as far as the eye could see.
     "It's big, Medrix."
     "Yes, it's been used by many generations, and not only by Lawmakers."
     Two women came towards them. They nodded to Medrix and told Ces to go with them. On the way to the part of the city where they lived, she saw a large game court but it had no wall and it was covered with rubble and leaves.
     She thought Medrix was following but when she turned round he was not there and she knew she had to meet everyone on her own.
     Two more women came out of a building and came over to her. One said that she was known as Mother Barta and was in charge of the whole place. She was elderly; the other was younger and her name was Nimma. They soon made Cessie welcome and took her into the building to meet the others.
     The women were in one section of the building and the men in another. She was not allowed in the men's section but the men joined them in the communal dining centre although, otherwise, they were kept apart. She was to share her room with two other Lawmothers whom she would meet later.
     It seemed that Mother Barta knew all about her but she did not tell Ces that she was wicked: she just welcomed her to the place, saying that providing she kept the rules, all would be well. Cessie asked about Medrix but they hushed her up and said she would see him at mealtime. She did, but not to speak to, for he was at the end of a very long table and he didn't even look in her direction.
     It was all very strange at first but soon she got used to the place and the people in it.
     She helped with the sewing and the preparing of food and sometimes she had to sweep the yard outside. She also took it in turns with her bed mates to keep their room clean and tidy. She only saw them at night for they were both in the laundry section.
     She was given work to do in the morning but her afternoons were free. During the evenings they stayed in their rooms. She went to sleep early rather than stare at the ceiling. She was up early in the mornings and walked around the ruins, wondering who had lived there all those years ago. Once she came past the men's section and was shooed away by Medrix and told to keep to her side, but no one else bothered her.
     The ruined game court troubled her. It had rubble on it and leaves but did not seem to be damaged in any way. She noticed that down one side of the court were steep steps and she went down them until she came to a door which she pushed open. As soon as she stepped in, a light came on and she saw that there was a long room with cupboards down one side. She looked in the nearest one and found a box of game balls. There was nothing wrong with them so she bounced one around the room. The other cupboards were empty but, on her right, was a sign which warned of danger from the machinery that raised the centre wall.
     She was just turning to come away when someone said: "What the hell are you doing here?" It was Medrix and he was angry.
     "Only looking. You know, I think the court is safe to play on: there are even balls here. The wall lifting gears probably need greasing before they will work but – here is a game court waiting to be used."
     "By you, I suppose?" he said sarcastically.
     "No – not by me: there are Lawmakers here ... why not them?"
     "Because they are well past it," he laughed. "Would you cripple the workforce here? They have fields to plough and other work to do."
     "Yes, but ..."
     "But, nothing. Now, clear out of here. Out – now!"
     She went and Medrix locked the door behind her.
     "Where did you get the key, Medrix?"
     "I found it in the door." But Ces knew he hadn't: therefore he must have had it in his pocket, but she said nothing: it was better that way.
     Mother Barta called her to her room and was very cross with her for exploring the game court. So ... Evidently Medrix must had reported her.
     She was told to stay in her room until further notice for venturing into places that were out of bounds. She stayed there for five days and was fed up by the end of it. When she joined the others she did not bother with them and refused to speak to Medrix.
     Whereas she had been happy before, now she wasn't and wondered what life would be like outside the confines of the city.
     She hardly spoke to people, and found places in the city where she could hide away. They were all Lawmakers under the thumb of the Elders still, and acted accordingly. She went off her food and was noticeably thinner.
     She was sitting on a ruined tower one morning when a Lawmaker came.
     "Mind if I join you?"
     She shrugged her shoulders and he sat down beside her.
     "My name is Sanor. I have been here six years. You get used to it after a while and it is a good thing to keep yourself to yourself as you are doing. Be careful to whom you speak; there are spies everywhere. Mother Barta reports to the Grand Elder in City One. She arranges through her what supplies are needed. If the report is good, we get big food parcels; if not, then we get very little."
     "So – she knows about me and the game court?"
     "Yes. We had a small amount of food then."
     "Oh dear, I did not know ..." she put her hand over her face, "I am so sorry."
     "Don't worry; you are not the only one to make a mistake. Now I must go and you must go for your meal. I'll see you around – and ... be careful."
     Ces watched him go and made her way slowly back to her section.
     So ... they knew. She would have to be careful ... be nice ... but careful.

Ces was kept busy every day and one day passed just like any other until she realised that she had been here for three moons. Medrix came and went and mostly avoided her. She kept herself to herself and that way avoided trouble. Nobody was unkind to her as they had been in City One, for which she was most thankful.
     One lovely sunny morning whilst they were all eating breakfast. Mother Barta said that everyone was to go out for the day; to pick berries. There was a great cheer and they all went outside to where three wagons, each drawn by a horse, were waiting for them.
     They all clambered up into the wagons and, amidst great cheering, set off.
     The journey took over an hour and it was very warm. The berries grew wild and, when they had reached the spot, they all got out. Baskets were given to each man and he chose his picking partner. Ces had a Lawmaker named Thern, an elderly man, who smiled a welcome to her.
     Mother Barta said: "Now, my dears, we have all these baskets to fill by the end of the day. As you know three quarters of them will go to City One as is our custom; the rest we can keep."
     "Why do they have so much?" Ces asked.
     "It is their right, my dear," she replied with a smile.
     "But we will have picked them ... so we ought to tell them how much they can have ... if any at all," Ces said indignantly.
     "Hush," Lawmaker Thern said.
     "Now ..." Mother Barta got no further as some of the others agreed with Ces.
     It was at this moment that Medrix intervened. "No one will pick anything if we go on like this," he said, "we should discuss it after we have filled our baskets and you, Celisia, are holding up everything so don't say another word."
     "But Medrix, we should trade them for something and ..."
     "That's it!" he said angrily. "You can spend your day in the wagons. We don't need you to tell us what we can and can't do!"
     Mother Barta nodded to her and as the others spread out to pick the fruit, Medrix marched her back to a wagon and left her there.
     She sat in it for hours. No one came back for her; she realised that she had forgotten Sanor's advice and had blindly rushed in. It seemed to her that although they were all exiles, they were still ruled from City One, yet Middle City was a city in its own right, so why did they not rule themselves? Next time she would shut up, she vowed to herself.
     The hours passed slowly for her and, seeing an empty basket near at hand, decided she had had enough of sitting still and would go and pick berries by herself. If she went in the opposite direction to everyone else, no one would notice.
     She had wandered quite a way and, being thirsty, decided she must go back to the wagons. Her basket was almost full and she needed to get back before the others but then she saw a small stream and made for it to quench her thirst.
     The stream was in a paved area which seemed strange to her, but she knelt down and drank. The water was ice cold but very refreshing. The time was going on so she thought she must take her basket of berries back to the wagon before the others came back. She got up and stepped back from the stream, then slipped and rolled down the slope and landed heavily on a large paving stone which moved, tipping her into a deep hole. She landed on a hay-strewn floor which took the bite out of her fall. Shaken, she stood up gingerly and soon got used to the half light. There were steep steps leading out of the hole so she went to climb them only to find her knees were very bruised and she couldn't. She tried again but it was too painful. She would have to call for help. She shouted and shouted but no one heard, for they were still picking the berries.
     It was getting dark and now she was frightened. What if the stone closed up again? No one would find her. She began to panic then calmed herself down. Passages went somewhere, so where did this one go?
     She spread her hands across the wall and a door slid open. She could see a long passageway and it seemed to be lit up. Maybe it led to another entrance that she could manage, or someone could be there to get help for her. It was worth a chance, she thought as she limped along.
     The passage went on and on. There were light vents in places and in one part it widened and there were wooden trucks in rows and, here and there, a rusty ladder led up to the roof above. Should she go on? She had come so far, she had better see where it led.

Medrix came back to the wagons, as did the others. He soon realised that she was not there. He was angry. Couldn't she do anything right? He looked across the slopes and saw her basket near the stream. He told the others he would go and get her but, when he got to the stream, there was no sign of her. He looked around and saw the hole in the ground and went to investigate.
     Evidently she had gone down there and had gone exploring, otherwise, why hadn't she climbed back up? She couldn't be injured because there was no sign of her. He shouted to the others that he was going to look for her and that two of the wagons should go and the other one should remain. Sanor and two other Lawmakers brought him ropes and her pack of refreshments. Although they offered to go with him, he refused their help and went down the hole and along the passageway to find her.
     By this time he was furious and decided that when he found her he was going to teach her a lesson she would not forget.

Cessie was almost giving up ever finding another way out when she saw a light in the distance which was evidently man-made. At last, she thought, people. She came to a large room and there were passages going in four different directions and all were well lit up. There was a table in the middle of it with a large map spread across it.
     She was just about to try and work out which way she should go when she heard people coming along one of the passageways and she knew the person's voice quite well.
     It was, without doubt, the voice of the Grand Elder of City One!
     She couldn't be found here, not by the Elders. She had to hide. There was an arch leading to one of the other passages and she ran and hid there. Then she saw Medrix come into the room and then the Elders. There was no way she could have warned him. They would think he was Fador and then there would be trouble. She could do nothing but see what happened.
     The Elders looked surprised and one of them said: "Fador, what are you doing here?"
     "I came to look at the map."
     The Grand Elder said: "I thought you had gone fishing. I gave you a pass, so why are you still here?"
     "I wanted..."  He got no further; Celisia knew she had to act to save him and Fador,
     She stepped out from her hiding place and said: "I asked him to come."
     "You ..." they chorused, "... what are you doing here?"
     "I came to see Fador to ask him if ..."
     "If what?" the Grand Elder said angrily.
     "If he was interested in playing the game against another city."
     "What city is that?" her Lawmother said.
     "Middle City"
     "Rubbish ... they haven't got a team."
     "Of course they have."
     "Just you, is it?"
     "No ..."
     "How did you get a message to him?" her Lawmother asked.
     "I left a message in his room."
     "How ...?"
     "I know all the passageways in this city; I often used to hide from my stepfather. When Fador was coaching, I slipped in and left a note; and he was evidently interested because here he is, but of course he did not know it was from me."
     The Grand Elder shook her head angrily. "Evidently you are not learning anything in exile. We will have to send you elsewhere."
     She turned to go, but Celisia had not finished and stepped out into the middle of the room and said clearly: "Wait! I have something important to declare ..." and before anyone could say anything she said in a clear voice: "I, Celisia Margaret Mantrex of Middle City, do challenge Fador and all the Lawmakers of City One to a match to be played in three moons' time on your court. This I declare and this I decree: a challenge I offer by the rules of our cities, one to another."
     There was dead silence; then the Grand Elder said that she accepted the challenge according to the rule books. If Celisia's team lost the game, then she would be sent to the prison ship off Pertalinga. Of course, if the game was not played for some reason or other, then it would be as if no challenge had been given and nothing would happen to anyone.  "You, Fador," she added, "must go to Middle City and check out the court there," – because it wouldn't do for people to know that she had let a child play ball on an unsafe court. She told him to go through the tunnels to the city and, without more ado he turned and did as she decreed. But she made Celisia stay behind after sending the others away.
     Celisia smiled and thanked the Grand Elder and said: "There's one more thing, Grand Elder."
     "What's that?"
     "The elderly Lawmothers have no warm cloaks and shiver with cold at times."
     "What do you want me to do about it?"
     "Simply exchange the baskets of berries for fifteen warm cloaks. We should receive something for all the hard work that went into picking them."
     The Grand Elder smiled and said: "How like your mother you are. Yes, we'll do that. Lawmakers will bring them over in the morning and exchange them for fifty-two baskets of berries."
     "No. That's too many ... but ... thirty would be right."
     "Very well ... I see you might be of some use to them after all. Go now," and she was dismissed.

Celisia went back the way she had come and Medrix met her and pulled her roughly to the waiting wagon. He was furious but could do nothing about it as the Lawmakers had accepted the story. Of course he knew that the Grand Elder knew who he was and he would have got out of it all easily but for Celisia's challenge, and he realised, too, that she had only done it to save him and, for that, must be admired.
     Mother Barta took her to her room. She was very angry.
     "I can see, girl that you are not to be trusted – you could have got Medrix into trouble."
     "Ah, but I didn't, because ..."
     "Medrix has told me how you saved him."
     "And they believed me, too," Cessie said, with a laugh.
     Medrix walked in and said angrily: "It is no laughing matter. It shouldn't have happened – you shouldn't have been there at all."
     "I know ... but"
     "You can't even keep the simplest of rules – I am not surprised you were exiled."
     "Everyone, except you Medrix, is an exile, so I am no different to anyone else."
     "No different – of course you are – you are as sly as they come – just waiting to cause trouble as the Grand Elder said you would."
     "She told you?" Ces said quickly, "how could she do that?"
     Medrix realised that he had said more than he should have done and quickly said: "Fador told me." Luckily for him, she did not query it.
     Mother Barta said Ces was going to the punishment room for the next ten days and, without more ado, she was taken there.
     Medrix inspected the court and wrote a report for the Grand Elder and gave it to Mother Barta to give to the Lawmakers who collected the berries.
     Then, telling everyone he was going fishing, he left the city and made his way to see the Grand Elder.
     Would she take him off this job, as he seemed to have failed where Cessie was concerned, or would he be allowed to stay? Although he didn't want to be here as nursemaid to a child, he didn't want to be sent home because he had failed. His fate was in the Grand Elder's hands – what would she say?

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