38 A New Ara (1)

The next morning when Feme opened up the tent flap and the rising sun shined through A-Narah rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Now, now," Feme chuckled. Feme pulled the blanket down and said, "If you want to choose the clothes then you need to get up now."

A-Narah groaned and pushed the blanket off. The rugs that hung inside the tent perfectly blocked the sunlight from shining through. The rugs were mainly used to keep the dust and sand from being blown and breathed in.

Feme came in and took down some of the rugs, so that light could come through the thinner fabric and so that the tent could cool down. The rugs also helped to insulate the tent. The desert was an incredibly cold and bleak place once the sun set.

A-Narah got up and went to help Feme roll up the rugs and place them to the side. "Thank you," Feme said as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead. "Okay now let's get you some clothes."

Feme went over to the small trunk and opened it. She took out clothes of all sorts of colors and a tiny box, which she set to the side. At the bottom she finally pulled out a long yellow orange skirt and dark magenta top. The yellow skirt was long and flowy, unlike the tighter soft hide skirts that most of the women wore. The magenta top was formfitting and it exposed her shoulders and collarbone. A-Narah had never worn anything like it before.

"The styles are a bit old compared to what most of the girls where now days, but you will be in better wearing these than your current grab," Feme said.

A-Narah looked down at her outfit and knew Feme was right. Her clothing might have been made from some of the best materials in Middle Kingdom, but it was made for a much larger female than herself. The dress she wore was a dull brown and two sizes too large. Her maids at home had worn more attractive clothing. What she wore had been packed for her by her mother so that she wouldn't stand out. The result was that it looked like she was wearing a potato sack.

"You go change, and once you are done I will do your hair."

"You don't have to do that." Feme already did so much for her. She didn't want to be even more indebted to her.

"Silly girl," Feme bopped her lightly on her forehead. "If I don't do your hair for you, whatever you attempt will just come undone five minutes after leaving." A-Narah pulled at her long messy hair. Feme was right. All she knew was how to brush her hair, anything else was beyond her capabilities. When traveling in the carriage most days she had just left it lose. She had been sitting peacefully inside most days so she didn't need to worry about it becoming unmanageably tangled.

When she had tried braiding it or tying it back herself, it had always fallen out.

"Feme instead of just doing it for me do you think you could teach me?" A-Narah asked hopefully.

"Of course! Now get dressed. We have a busy morning ahead of us." A-Narah went into the small changing area and put on the clothes. A-Narah was surprised at how easy it was to put on. The clothes she had worn at home were impossible to put on herself. Once A-Narah put on the clothes she tugged at the skirt nervously. At home she never wore bright colors. Doing so made her feel…uncomfortable.

"Are you finished?" Feme called.

A-Narah looked down at herself and figited. "Do you maybe have a mirror?"

Feme came over and pulled open the curtain, making A-Narah jump. "Ara you don't need to a mirror. You look lovely. Now come. We need to do your hair."

A-Narah slowly walked out, her arms covering her exposed midriff. Feme patted the cushion in front of her, indicating for A-Narah to sit. A-Narah sat, her back facing Feme.

"How would you like your hair?" Feme asked her.

"Something simple so that it's easy enough for me to do," A-Narah replied.

"Okay then we will just do a simple braid." Feme divided up A-Narah's hair and began explaining the process. "I'm sure you already know how to make a simple three plait braid, but the reason that it falls out is because you probably don't make it tight enough. You are unsure so you pull it forward so you can see what you are doing. You are making it too loose so it easily comes undone." Feme began braiding A-Narah's hair. A-Narah could feel the slight pull on her scalp as Feme worked.

"You can't be afraid of messing it up. You just have to go by the feel of it. Make it tight from the beginning so that it will stay in place. You might not be able to see, but you don't need to see it in order to do it. When you walk do you look down for every step you take? No, you just put one foot in front of the other. Do the same with your braids." Feme tied off A-Narah's braid and through it over A-Narah's shoulder. A-Narah looked down and stroked the large silky braid. The braid was long and hit her waist.

"Thank you, Feme. Tomorrow I will try it on my own."

"Good. Now let's go. The day isn't going to wait for us."

A-Narah and Feme left the tent. Last night she had convinced Feme to let her help with the chores. She didn't like having Feme wait on her like one of her maids. To A-Narah Feme was like another mother, and A-Narah would serve her mother before she would ever let her mother serve her.

A-Narah felt self-conscious when she first went outside, but that feeling soon left as her entire concentration was put to completing the chores. The chores weren't hard to do or learn, but they were tiring. After an hour of working A-Narah's back was already aching.

Feme looked over at her. "Why don't you take a break? You have done enough for this morning."

"No, it's okay," A-Narah said, waving Feme's suggestion away.

"Ara, go take a break. You can do more later. At this time most of the girls your age have already gone to the training grounds. Why don't you go there and rest for a while? You can work longer tomorrow."

A-Narah bit her cheek and furrowed her brow. She was unsure. She wanted to do more, but she really tired. "Okay, but I will be back soon."

"Take your time and don't worry about me. You were already a great help this morning. Now go. Shoo, shoo." Feme pushed A-Narah away, and A-Narah stumbled out of the tent, heading off. She would go check on her companions for a bit and see how they were doing and then she would come back.