Rheya didn’t know every kind of flower, just the important ones. Even some of the poisonous ones. Most people loved the Imperial Bloom, for obvious reasons, like its bright red color and large bloom, taking up a full handspan when completely in bloom. It’s also a type of rose, which is a very popular choice.

But Rheya’s favorite flower, at least her most recent favorite is the orchid, with its bright and beautiful colors and no-nonsense way of existing, doing things its own way and without oversight. It also seemed to be a very popular flower among older women, which confused Rheya. 

She was working with a bundle of orchids when Gerald walked in having just finished a repair of their water pump in the back. It had “gone out” again. Rheya sighed exhaustedly when he came out smiling.

Namina followed Gerald into the shop lobby, Luceria standing at a table preparing other orders of flowers. 

“All in order, ladies,” Gerald said. “Now those flowers can get the needed drinks they, well need.” He laughed. Namina just grunted, but Rheya didn’t miss the grin Luceria had on her face. When will she ever see what he’s doing? Rheya thought. 

“Holler if you need anything else!” Gerald said, then walked out of the shop door and down the street switchback farther into the crater city. 

“That’s the third time this week,” Namia said. “He’ll get rich off us at this rate.” 

Luceria shrugged behind her. “I’d rather pay for a good job done well anyway.” Her smile was potent. Namina was no dummy. She could see a sparkle in Luceria’s eyes. 

Just as Rheya was turning to say something about Gerald, her hand clipped the stack of clay pots for the order she was working on and sent them tumbling to the shop floor, shattering all of them and sending clay shards across the majority of the shop’s tile lobby. 

Rheya raised her hands to her cheeks, which had gone red. 

“Rheya!” Namina said. “You clumsy girl! Watch what you’re doing!” 

“I’m sorry,” Rheya said. “I–”

Luceria held up a hand. “Do we have any more clay pots to fill that order?” Rheya looked around and realized it had been the whole stack that toppled. She sheepishly smiled and shrugged.

Luceria sighed. “You better go get some more, then.” Her eyebrow was raised. Rheya’s heart sank. She had just been happy about Gerald coming to visit and she had ruined it. 

Why can’t I do things as easily as everyone else? Rheya asked herself. 

“Take the bike,” Namina said. “And the cart attached to it. The closest potter’s shop is–”

“I know,” Rheya said, rolling her eyes. “Been there plenty of times.” 

Namina growled. “Hey, what’s with that? Just because you’re fifteen, doesn’t mean I won’t beat your—” Rheya didn’t hear the rest because she had already walked out of the shop and started rolling with the bike. 

Rheya knew her threats were hollow anyway.

Mostly.

The city had grown quite a lot in even the last few years of Rheya’s life, with more and more industry, development, and even more parks and stuff. The most beautiful parks were, of course, closest to the palace. That’s where a gorgeous orchid spread, which she had helped plant. It had taken a few sacrificial orchid plants to get it right, meaning Rheya had ruined it a few times by accident, but after the initial disaster, she had made it look wonderful. 

There were more businesses as well. A lot more restaurants and entertainment as well. The Emperor had grown more lax in many of his policies over the last ten years or so, allowing citizens to become more industrious. Rheya had always heard that no one liked him about fifteen years ago, even hearing rumors of rebellion a few times here and there on the streets. But that had gradually changed. People still didn’t like him, but they were more tolerant of his bad policies now, or at least that’s how Luceria had worded it for Rheya. 

Rheya didn’t like politics. It usually led to angry talk. 

She just liked pretty things.

But the world didn’t always like pretty things. It usually liked useful things, and Rheya didn’t always think she was so useful. But, she tried anyway. 

Rheya turned down another switchback, grateful for the downward motion to get her going without her having to do much. That switchback had taken her to a main road where all manner of vehicles traversed. Some were the newer motorcars, well sort of new, while there were still some hand-drawn carts here and there. The contrast was striking, a clear distinction between first class and third class intermingled. That same thoroughfare also led straight to the palace, as did the main roads in all the city before they reached the switchbacks that wound up the side of the crater. 

The sun had just barely gone behind the palace as it protruded into the sky, casting a long shadow down the road and up the side of the crater. The shade felt nice on Rheya’s face as exertion had begun to make her sweat a little. 

She turned down a side street and found the potter’s shop they liked to frequent and parked her bike near some other ones that were parked for the shop next to the potter’s, a small eatery that served thick noodles in bowls. The scents made Rheya hungry, a mix of savory and a pungent spicy aroma that tickled her nose in an annoying way.

She walked into the shop and the man standing behind the counter, Teth smiled a knowing smile. 

“How many did you break this time?” He asked. 

Rheya frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? 

“Hey, just messing with you,” Teth said, flinging his hands up in front of him with a smile. 

Rheya grunted, then said, “I need six.” She handed him a thin paper bill. 

“I can do that,” Teth said. “Same shape?” He took the bill and placed it in a drawer, sorting out change. 

“Yup. And Namina implied you could keep the change.”

Teth smiled. “She threatened you, then?” 

Rheya shrugged. 

Teth grew a bit more somber. “So the factions are meeting again.”

Rheya sighed. “I’m not interested in what you are going to say, Teth.” 

He frowned. “Well, we should know what’s going on in that cursed palace. I like to think that the factions might be able to challenge the Emperor and his…progeny. Some of the tax and fee structures they’ve been implementing are getting me one shade from killing someone.”

“I’m fifteen, Teth,” Rheya said. “I have bigger problems to deal with.” 

Teth smiled. “Your jokes are so subtle sometimes.”

“I wish my mistakes were too,” Rheya said. “That’s why I’m here instead of finishing an order before I can go to the parks.”

Teth had walked to another room in the back and returned with a box of wrapped and protected clay pots and vases. He handed it over to Rheya and smiled. 

“Take it slow, troubled one.” Teth laughed and waved her on.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rheya said. “Just trying to lighten up each day.” She waved and left with a smile, moving to secure the box in the cart hooked up to the bike.

This is gonna make me sore, She thought. Why did the Vol have to make this crater their capital? A flat city would have been just as good.

The sun had come out from behind the palace and now bathed the roads and switchbacks going up to the flower shop with unrelenting and unadulterated light. Hot light. It was still summer for another month and hadn’t begun to cool yet. And it was always more humid and hot in the crater. The wind was much better on the rim and in the city that had spilled onto the plain outside the crater. 

As Rheya pulled up to the shop’s entrance, a noticeably luxurious motorcar with polished metal everywhere, painted in Vol red, an eye-searing red, pulled away. 

That looked like an Imperial car, thought Rheya. She hurried to park then carefully removed the box from the cart and walked into the shop. She gently placed the box on the same table she had been working at half an hour before. She turned and saw the white faces of Luceria and Namina, standing still and staring at nothing. 

“Who was that?” Rheya asked, voice slightly unstable.

Luceria breathed in deeply, preparing to speak, but Namina beat her to it.

“The Emperor himself commissioned us to supply flora for one of the prince’s birthday celebrations. The damn Emperor!” Luceria turned and frowned at Namina.

Rheya stood motionless, heart threads twanging in a chaotic miasma of sound.

“Well,” Luceria said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“When is the celebration?” Rheya asked. 

“In one week,” Luceria said. “We have a week to impress the Emperor.”

“And if we don’t?” Rheya asked. No one had to answer.

They all knew what failure would mean. The Emperor had made it clear the kind of ruler he was, the kind of grip he wanted to reiterate that he had on the people, especially within the capital. 

It made the knot in Rheya’s stomach grow tenfold.