It wasn't always this way. As a child, Zatinya was steeped in a culture of honor and faithfulness, trained in the ways of martial combat and of servitude. For her mother and father had wanted to keep the Old Ways. Of martial combat and service. Perhaps she could become a solider, they dreamed, and live with the Army.
But the Old Ways did not always work in Hive--especially not where she grew up, a knife's edge above the Lake, the slums. For her, honor and faithfulness were at odds. There was the need to survive, to bring money to the family. Maybe her younger siblings could be sheltered and keep the Old Ways. But for Zatinya, survival meant not being a people apart, but instead being one with Hive.
In the beginning, Zatinya encountered Hive as she sold her wares. As she blossomed, Zatinya began to encounter men as she sold her body. And then one day, she encountered a woman. She encountered Her. "You were born to be a Snake, my dear," She said to Zatinya. "Yet you spread your legs passively, allowing them to take you. There is a better way."
The Mistress took Zatinya in, made her one of the Sisters. She honed her already impressive skills at combat, now aided by a War Fan, a seemingly innocent courtier's or dancer's fan that, in truth, was backed with a set of deadly blades. And the Mistress unlocked Zatinya's affinity for charming magics. For there was power in the blood of a Nagaji.
The Sisters were bodyguards, assassins, courtesans. But most of all, they were information brokers, trading in secrets. They were the spies of the Syndicate, a crime ring of renown in Hive. And it was said that the aristocrats and clergy dared not move against the Syndicates for fear of their secrets being revealed. As a Sister, Zatinya owed her loyalty to the Mistress and the Syndicate.
So when Zatinya began a flirtation with Delphi, the heir to House Hawkwood, she hoped desperately that the Sisters would not take notice. Because she was enamored beyond all understanding, and to her surprise, Delphi returned her passions. Oh how she dreamed of becoming his wife, caring for their baby amidst servants at the very heights of Hive. Yet of course the Sisters took notice, and they reminded her of her duty--to learn the secrets of Delphi and House Hawkwood.
But she couldn't do it. She couldn't betray the man she had fallen in love with. Instead, she told Delphi who she was. "Don't worry, Zaza," said Delphi. "I'll protect you. Tell me who this Mistress is, and she will bother you no longer. I will make sure you have your freedom." Zatinya did not know the Mistress's name. She wasn't sure if anyone did. But she told him everything she knew.
And then, in a few short days, it all fell apart. Suddenly, Delphi was away, busy, and unavailable. She waited longingly, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. And then, she got the note, from a fellow Sister. The Mistress knows, it said. You must come and beg for forgiveness. And then she knew. Zatinya had been used. The man she loved so much had charmed her, and then dumped her after extracting her secrets. And now, her livelihood, even her life, was in grave danger.
It was too painful to think about. Zatinya had thrown it all away, and now, what did she have except a broken heart? How could she have been so stupid? Her heart shattered, Zatinya sought to drown her sorrows in the drink. And when a cheeky thug grabbed her ass, hoping to take a drunk girl home, Zatinya acted impetuously. She charmed another large man into throwing a murderous fist at the thug. And as a small fight begain, she tried to kick the distracted thug from behind. But her drunken attack missed horribly, striking someone else--she didn't know who. Then, it felt like all hell broke loose, if only she could remember . . .
Now stuck in a dungeon, charged with drunken and disorderly conduct, Zatinya hopes that the Syndicate's tendrils did not reach down into this cell. For having now caused so much trouble, she was not sure she'd live through the night.
