For four months, their secret life had been going on as it had started. They kept to the shadows, staying out of sight. Their father had come looking for them. He posted their description in the city and offered a meager reward for them, more of a token effort than what Sayana had expected.

Kallam was seen by one of the household servants, but he’d told the boy he wouldn’t be telling Jarim where they were. None of the servants were pleased by Jarim’s plans to sell the children. Kallam told Sayana that according to the servant, Jarim’s wife made it clear she didn’t want him wasting resources or money on his bastards that could be better spent on their legitimate children, which was why there wasn’t a more concerted effort being made to retrieve them.

Adjira, Ethian, and Eon were getting painfully thin. Sayana fretted endlessly about this. Kallam believed it was because they weren’t getting enough food. But both he and Sayana agreed they didn’t dare steal more for fear of detection. Sayana was so worried about her brothers and sister that she failed to notice that she too was losing weight.

It had been a bad night for thieving. Both Kallam and Sayana were frustrated, and the younger children were worried. The older two decided to try again the next night. Everyone curled up and prepared to go to sleep.

A strange sound caught Sayana just as she was dozing off. She sat up and reached out with a quick psychic burst, something she was getting very good at. She cried out in alarm just as the hatch to their little hole was ripped open and hands dragged all the children out into the alley. Bright lights shone in their faces. Adjira, Eon, and Ethian began to cry.

“Pen was right.” The voice came from their right side. “These older two will be perfect for Atania. The younger three can get shoved back in the hole. They’re useless.”

Kallam and Sayana pulled their vibroblades and slashed at the startled men. They backed away quickly. The two older children put themselves between their attackers and the younger three, who huddled together behind their siblings.

“You stay away from us.” Kallam tried to make his voice sound deeper than it was.

A well-dressed man came forward, staying back from the knives, but kneeling down so he was on their level. “I take it the girl and the younger boys are important to you?” he asked in a gentle voice.

“They’re our brothers and our sister, and we’ll die before we let anyone separate us.” Sayana’s voice only quavered a little.

“My name is Pen,” the man told them. “I’m a recruiter for the courtesan and scholar academies on Atania. You two are quite pretty children and will very likely make good courtesans when you’re older. I’m afraid the younger three aren’t pretty enough for that. However, as I said, I recruit for both academies. Do you like books?” He directed this question at Adjira and the boys.

“I like books,” Adjira admitted, after a moment’s pause. “Eon and Ethian barely know how to read, so they don’t know if they like books or not.”

“Fair enough.” Pen nodded. “What if we sent you to the scholar academy on Atania? It’s well known and is a respectable institution. Lots of children go there every year to learn to be scholars, teachers, technicians, and other such professions.”

“What makes you think Saya and I want to be courtesans?” Kallam demanded. “We know how courtesans are treated. Why would we want to be abused, mistreated, and killed by our patron?”

“Who told you that was how a courtesan was treated?” Pen seemed startled by Kallam’s hostility.

“Our mother was a courtesan, and that’s how our father treated her. Why would we want to go into a life like that willingly?” Sayana glared at the man.

“You only know how your mother was treated by your father. I can assure you that isn’t how most patrons treat their courtesans.” Pen gave the children a reassuring smile. “A courtesan is a valued member of the household, treated with kindness and respect. A standard patron contract is three years and then he or she moves on. I take it from your ages your mother didn’t have the standard contract?”

“Mother was father’s courtesan for fifteen years, until she got sick, and he let her die because a doctor was too expensive to be called in just for a courtesan.” Kallam regarded Pen with some suspicion. Sayana watched him closely.

“A real patron would have called for a doctor as soon as there was any sign of illness in their courtesan. Your father sounds like a miserable man who deserves all sorts of misfortunes to fall on his head.” Pen looked at the children. “Though I am curious. If your mother was a courtesan, why didn’t your father send you to her academy when she died?”

“He wanted to make a profit off of us, so he was going to sell us.” Sayana frowned. “We found out about it, so we ran away. That was four months ago.”

“You’ve been out of his hands for more than a month. As you are the children of a courtesan, you no longer belong to him.” Pen looked at them thoughtfully. “You can go to Atania without any problems. I know your mother did not lead a great life, but I can assure you that the academy at Atania does not allow something like that to happen to their courtesans.”

“Pen, you’re wasting time. Let’s just grab these brats and be done with it,” one of the others growled.

Pen glanced over his shoulder. “No, I’m not doing that. They are reasonable, thinking individuals and I will treat them as such. They have suffered horribly it seems, and they distrust the idea of becoming courtesans. I want them to entertain the idea and consider it carefully.”

“Saya, I could be a scholar. A real scholar.” Adjira tugged on her sister’s sleeve.

“It’s a better life than we can give them.” Kallam looked over his shoulder at the younger three. “And if we have to be courtesans like mother, well, isn’t that worth the price of seeing them thrive and be successful?”

“Yes, but how would we know they’re successful? Mother lost contact with her family when she went into the academy.” As much as she wanted to help Adjira and her brothers, Sayana knew if they went into the courtesan academy they’d never know if what Pen was telling them was the truth or if something awful would happen to them.

“I will speak with the Head Matron. Perhaps something can be arranged.” Pen smiled at them.

Sayana looked at Kallam. The two nodded and put up their knives. The five children followed Pen out of the alley and out towards the port. They boarded his ship and left Kiolea behind.

“At least now father won’t be able to find us.” Kallam grinned.

“That’s true.” Sayana giggled nervously. “He won’t expect us to go to a different courtesan academy than the one mother went through.”

“And he’d never think Addie and the boys would be scholars.” Kallam looked over to where the three younger children were looking around at the ship with wide eyes. Sayana wished she could be a scholar instead of a courtesan, but for her siblings’ sake, she’d do what she had to in order to support them. As she always had.

“We’ll be safe from him. That’s all that matters.” Sayana reached out and took Adjira’s hand. Adjira looked up at her older sister and smiled.

“Then let’s not worry about it too much and focus instead on Addie and the boys.” Kallam ruffled Ethian’s hair. “They’re going to have to learn to do without us at the scholar academy.”

“I know.” Sayana swallowed past the lump in her throat. “And we’re going to have to learn to fend for ourselves at the courtesan academy.”

“Focus on Addie and the boys. Let’s get them ready for the scholar academy. We can worry about ourselves once we get there.” Kallam’s attention was on the men around them.

“Okay Kal.” Sayana turned her attention to the adults in the area, watching them for signs of hostility.

“Pen?” Adjira left Sayana and walked over to the recruiter

“Yes dear?” Pen asked with a smile.

“How long will it take to get to Atania?” Adjira seemed very intent on hearing his answer.

“Six weeks,” Pen told her. “It’s several systems over.”

“And once we’re there our father won’t be able to take us back?” Adjira glanced back over her shoulder at the rapidly dwindling planet outside the porthole.

“No, little one,” Pen reassured her. “He won’t.”

“Good.” Adjira joined the other two younger ones and climbed into the bunks they were given. Soon they were fast asleep.

“You two should get some sleep as well.” Pen looked at Kallam and Sayana.

“Too wound up to sleep.” Kallam eyed him warily and Sayana wondered if her brother still didn’t trust him. Not that she blamed him. She wasn’t sure if she trusted him yet either.

“What are your names?” Pen asked.

“I’m Kallam.”

“I’m Sayana.”

“And the other three?” Pen asked.

“That’s Adjira, Eon, and Ethian.” Sayana pointed to each of her siblings in turn.

“How old are all of you?” Pen asked.

“I’m eleven,” Kallam said. “Saya’s nine. Addie’s six. Eon’s five. Ethian’s four.”

“How in the name of all the stars were you managing to support yourselves on the street?” Pen stared at them incredulously.

“Thieving.” Kallam put the devices he’d taken from his father on the table. “Didn’t have such good luck tonight, but we usually get a decent enough haul to support ourselves for a couple weeks. It’s not enough to be full on, but it’s enough to keep us going.”

“How long do you think you could have kept this up?” Pen looked at the two older children inquisitively.

“We were going to hide for five years.” Kallam shrugged. “That’s how long it would have been until I could get a real job. Then it would’ve been another two years and Saya would have done the same. We always took care of Addie and the boys, even in the wing. Mother was often too distracted or too sick to take care of them, so it was our responsibility.”

“You know you’re going to have to let them go.” Pen looked at them with some sympathy. “I’ll do my best to convince the Head Matron to allow you to keep in contact with them, but I may not be able to manage that.”

“Then we’ll just have to let them go.” Sayana’s voice trembled a little when she spoke. “We’re not going to think about that until we get there. We’re just going to focus on getting the other three ready for the scholar academy.”

“Well, don’t neglect getting yourselves ready for the courtesan academy in the process,” Pen warned. “Or you’ll be blindsided by it.” Sayana yawned. “Why don’t you two go lay down? Even if you don’t sleep, you can still get a little rest.”

“Okay Pen.” Kallam led Sayana over to the bunks. As soon as they were laying down, Kallam leaned down from his bunk above hers. “Saya, what do you think? We told him a lot. Can we trust him?” His voice was very quiet and the sound of the environmentals would mask it from the adults.

Sayana nodded. “I didn’t sense he lied to us in any way. He was telling us the whole truth, even about not being sure he could keep us in contact with Addie and the boys.”

“Good. If he keeps being honest with us, I’ll feel better about being cut off from Addie and the boys if it comes to that.” Kallam seemed to relax a little.

“So will I.” Sayana tried not to think about how hard it would be to say goodbye to her brothers and her sister.

“Get some sleep, Saya.” Kallam disappeared up onto his bunk.

“You too, Kal.” Kallam just laughed quietly and fell silent. Sayana closed her eyes, sure she wouldn’t be able to get to sleep. But she was soon dozing peacefully like the rest of her siblings.

Over the next six weeks, the children asked Pen a lot of questions about where they were going. Pen answered all of them carefully and as honestly as he could. If he didn’t know the answer, he told them that instead of making something up. He made it clear that whichever academy they ended up at, they would have to work hard. There would be a lot of classes for them to take, and they would be expected to keep up and perform well in all of them.

There was some fear from the younger three as they gradually came to realize they wouldn’t have Kallam and Sayana there to help them anymore. They promised to look out for each other. It was just hard to accept that the older two wouldn’t be there for them like they’d always been.

They arrived at Atania late in the morning six weeks after leaving Kiolea. Pen let the children say goodbye before leaving the younger three at the scholar academy. He then took Kallam and Sayana to the courtesan academy, where he handed them over to a woman with a nasty expression on her face.

“Matron Nashira, here are the two children I found that I think would be perfect for the academy.” Pen bowed to the woman as he introduced the children to her. “This is Kallam Akitane and his sister Sayana.”

“The boy is impossible. He’s going to the Scullery. The girl may be useful. I’ll think about keeping her.” Nashira gave them both a disgusted look.

“Nashira, you haven’t even spoken to them. You don’t know anything about them,” Pen protested. He whispered something to one of his men, who nodded and hurried off. “You can’t be serious about sending the boy to the Scullery without testing him first.”

“I don’t like his look. It’s too ordinary. Besides, he’s what, fourteen? He’s too old.” Nashira glared at Pen.

“He’s eleven, so no, he’s not too old. You know what the Head Matron told you. Sending them to the Scullery without testing them first is against the rules.” Pen glared right back at her.

“Who’s here to say I didn’t test them?” Nashira sneered. “Your word hardly carries any weight, Pensival. You’re not even that great a recruiter.”

“No, but my word is law, and I happen to find what you’re doing reprehensible, Nashira.” A stunningly beautiful woman walked in with a very angry expression on her face. “I understand you haven’t even tested them and you’re already sending one of them to the Scullery?”

“Look at him, Hannelore.” Nashira gestured at Kallam. “He’s fourteen at the very least. He’s too old to be trained.”

“He’s eleven, and the girl is nine.” Pensival showed Hannelore something on his pad. “I was able to pull their birth records from the planetary database once I got their names and the names of their parents from them. Neither of them is too old.”

“I see.” Hannelore fixed Nashira with a baleful stare. “Nashira, you were warned what would happen the next time you tried to send someone to the Scullery without testing them. Remove yourself from this academy. I will test these children myself and ascertain whether or not they are worthwhile.”

“You can’t be serious, Hannelore.” Nashira stared at her incredulously. “Where do you expect me to go?”

“Why should I care where you go?” Hannelore’s expression was unchanged. “You have become a detriment to the academy, Nashira. We have only one option for someone like you.”

Two men came and forced Nashira’s arms behind her back. She was dragged screaming from the room. Sayana didn’t even blink. Cruelty towards courtesans was nothing new to her after all.

“I’m afraid this isn’t a very good first showing, Matron.” Pen sighed. “Not for these children.”

“What’s so special about these children, Pensival?” Hannelore looked at him inquisitively, her expression softening.

“Their mother was a courtesan from Treolia and was treated very poorly by their father. They have a low opinion of the role of a courtesan to begin with, and this can’t be changing that.” Pen glanced down at Kallam and Sayana.

“Does their mother know they’re here?” Hannelore seemed surprised by something.

“Their mother’s dead, killed by their father’s neglect and cruelty. He didn’t send them back with her body because he planned on selling them to make a profit. They have three younger siblings I took to the scholar academy, who they would like to stay in contact with.” He looked at Hannelore with a determined expression on his face.

“That’s not possible, Pensival. You know that.” Hannelore turned her gaze on Kallam and Sayana and looked them over.

“I said I’d talk to the Head Matron on their behalf, and I mean to plead the case of them being allowed to stay in contact with the younger three.” Pen was not deterred, and Sayana was pleased he was going to keep his promise. “The five of them were living rough on the streets rather than letting themselves be sold and I had to take away all sorts of interesting devices from the boy. Be wary of these two – they are armed. I couldn’t get them to give up their blades no matter how much I asked.”

“We’ve got a right to protect ourselves.” Kallam glared at Hannelore. “No one else will take care of us. We have to do it ourselves. We’ve always had to do it ourselves. Same as we’ve always had to take care of Addie, Eon, and Ethian.”

“How old are your siblings?” Hannelore’s voice was gentle.

“Adjira’s six, Eon is five, and Ethian is four. Addie will take care of Eon and Ethian now, but she’s going to need to ask us for advice because she’s never been the responsible big sister before like we have.” Sayana felt shy around this beautiful woman. She was even prettier than their mother had been.

“You two have been responsible for your siblings? For how long?” Hannelore gave every indication that she was truly interested in what the children had to say.

“Since Addie was born pretty much.” Kallam shrugged. “I took care of Saya and Addie until Saya could help me with Addie and by then we had Eon and Ethian too. We’ve been taking care of them since I was seven and Sayana was five. Mother was sick and couldn’t do much and father never bothered with us except to punish us if we made too much noise.”

“By the stars, you mean you’ve been tending to three small children on your own as young children yourselves?” It was obvious Hannelore was appalled at the thought.

“Mother helped when she could.” Sayana felt the need to defend her mother to this strange woman. “She wasn’t completely an invalid for most of it. But father never called a doctor for her so we didn’t know what was wrong with her and she struggled a lot, so Kal and me did what we could to make things easier for her.”

“I see why you wish to speak to the Head Matron on their behalf, Pensival.” Hannelore smiled. “I will support you in this, I think. So long as it is limited contact.”

“I told them it wasn’t going to be all the time.” Pen smiled.

“As long as you’re aware it may only be once a week.”  Hannelore sat down and gestured for them to come to her. “Now, why don’t you come closer so I can get a better look at the both of you?”

Kallam and Sayana moved forward. “You know my eye, Matron. I don’t pick the absolute best, but I pick good ones every time. They’ll grow into very attractive adults, unless I miss my guess.” Pen’s comment made Sayana wonder what was so attractive about them.

“That black hair and those green eyes are definitely quite charming.” Hannelore looked them over. “They’re both a bit thin, but as you said, you found them living rough so I’m sure a steadier supply of food will fix that issue. I see the potential you do, Pensival. I must say I agree that you have found us a pair of excellent candidates this time.”

“You’ll likely have to win them over to the courtesan lifestyle though, Matron.” Pen’s voice held a note of warning. “All they have to go by is what happened to their mother, and they didn’t exactly buy my explanation that what happened to her wasn’t normal.”

“How long was she your father’s courtesan?” Hannelore looked inquisitively at the children. “I imagine it was quite some time if she has five children.”

“She was with him for fifteen years,” Kallam told her.

“By the stars, he must have been paying her academy a small fortune to be allowed to keep her for so long.” The shocked expression on her face told Sayana that maybe Pen had been telling the truth. “No, that is not normal. We contract out for three years, and we expect regular check-ins and checkups every six months to make sure our courtesans are being treated well. If we find out that they’re not, we pull the contract and send our agents to retrieve our courtesan and bring him or her back to the academy. We will tolerate no abuse of our courtesans, no matter how much the patron has paid to have that courtesan grace their home.”

“What happens if a patron misses a check-in and a checkup?” Sayana asked.

“Then the courtesan is pulled immediately.” Hannelore’s expression told them that was something that was a firm rule in this academy. “We tolerate no abuse of our system. In the old days there was rampant abuse of our courtesans, and many were left for dead. Our current Head Matron put a stop to all that and has done a lot to turn things around for our academy.”

“You’re telling us what happened to our mother doesn’t happen here?” Sayana watched Hannelore closely for signs that she was lying.

“No, it does not. I won’t say it didn’t in the past. We’ve had our issues. But with our new policies well in place these past three decades, we’ve only lost one courtesan to a bad patron, and he has been blacklisted from our academy and from several others based on our recommendation. It was his actions that started the six-month check-ins and checkups a decade ago, and frankly I wish we’d had them sooner.” Hannelore looked a little sad and Sayana wondered what the story behind the check-ins was.

“Was that the situation with Lord Vasco?” Pen shuddered. “I was just starting out as a recruiter when that all fell out.”

“It was. He now causes trouble for the academies every chance he gets because he’s been blacklisted from all of us. The emperor and the council don’t comply with his wishes though.” Hannelore glanced at Kallam and Sayana. “But that’s nothing you two have to worry about. I know what you saw with your mother has ill-prepared you for this life, but trust me, it is nothing like what you saw her experience.”

“What happens when we’re too old to be courtesans anymore?” Sayana’s curiosity got the better of her and she asked the question she’d always wondered about with her mother.

“That depends entirely on you, my dear.” Hannelore smiled. “When a courtesan retires, they are given the money we’ve saved for them from their contracts. They can take it and leave the academy. They can continue living here and pursue their own craft. They can choose to teach a class here at the academy if they wish. It just depends on what they want.”

“What about Imperial Courtesans? Pen says that they don’t get to retire,” Kallam challenged.

“The topic came up in conversation one day.” Pen shrugged as Hannelore looked at him.

“Yes, that is true. Imperial Courtesans are the one exception to our rules. You’ll learn more about this in your lessons, but Imperial Courtesans are special. They serve a member of the Imperial family and only that person. They live in a wing of the Imperial palace and are cared for by a eunuch. They have no outside contact with anyone, so they do not fall under our rules,” Hannelore explained. “They serve until they die. It is a hard position but a rewarding one to some.”

“I don’t think I’d like being an Imperial Courtesan.” Sayana felt sick at the thought.

“It sounds like prison.” Kallam nodded in agreement with his sister.

“It has its pleasures, as you’ll learn in your class, but it does have its drawbacks as well.” Hannelore looked at the two children. “Now, why don’t we get you two settled into your rooms? I’ll have the wardrobe Matron fit you with your uniforms while Pensival and I go have a word with the Head Matron about those siblings of yours.”

“Thank you, Matron.” Kallam and Sayana spoke in unison.

“Now, I am going to have to ask that the two of you surrender your blades.” Hannelore looked at them sternly. “We do not allow weapons in the academy.” Kallam and Sayana exchanged worried looks. Sayana reluctantly untied her blade from around her wrist and handed it to Pensival. Kallam was slower to give his up but finally pulled his out and handed it to Pensival as well. Hannelore nodded approvingly. She called for someone. Another Matron came at Hannelore’s call and ushered the children out of the room.

A/N: Here again is the YouTube video of me reading chapter 3. Please take a moment, if you can, to go and watch. If you enjoy listening, please leave a like and subscribe on the YT channel as well as here. It boosts me over there (ONLY if you want to – NO OBLIGATION TO DO SO! The fact that you read my stories is MORE than enough.) Remember to drop your questions here, if you are so inclined, or over there and I’ll pop a Q&A video up after the 10th post/video to answer them!