Not too far away, some slightly younger children mimicked the older ones. But most had not quite grown beyond their dislike of the opposite gender and their attempts at serious talk often dissolved into childish romping.
It was this group that Imi headed for once she entered the water. There was a boy called Rissi among them who often boasted of his travels outside the city with his trader father, and of knowing secret ways to smuggle things out of the city, and she wanted to talk to him.
The children regarded her with wary interest as she swam up to them. They always let her join in their romping and listen to their conversations. She hoped this was because they liked her, not because they didn’t dare tell a princess to go away.
Rissi was among them. He grinned as she drew herself up onto the bank beside them.
“Hi, Princess,” he said.
“Hi,” she replied. “Been on any adventures lately?”
His nose wrinkled. “Father found out I skipped lessons. Won’t let me go with him on the next trip.”
She scowled in sympathy. “That’s no fun.”
“The king’s birthday is in three days,” one of the girls said to her. “Are you excited?”
Imi grinned. “Yes!”
“Decided who you’re taking with you yet?”
This was the third time the girl had asked this question in the last few weeks. Imi hadn’t understood why she might “take someone with her” at first, since she already lived at the palace. Then, last night, she had realized this girl wanted to come to the party, and hoped Imi would invite her.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask father,” Imi replied. She sighed. “He’s very busy. I haven’t seen him in a week.”
They made sympathetic noises. The conversation turned to other matters. Imi listened and occasionally asked questions. Some of the questions she’d asked .them in the past had been met with frowns or even smothered laughter, but the more she learned about their lives the easier it was to ask questions that made sense to them.
Teasing started, then the boys began wrestling. For once Rissi didn’t join in, though he watched their antics with a grin. Imi moved closer and called his name. He looked at her in surprise.
“If your father won’t take you out of the city, why don’t you go on your own?” she suggested.
He stared at her, then shook his head. “I’d get into trouble.”
“You’re already in trouble,” she pointed out.
He laughed. “You’re right. I may as well do what I want. But where would I go?”
“I can think of a place. I overheard someone talking about it weeks ago. A place where there’s treasure.”
From the way he looked at her, she knew she’d caught his interest.
“Where?”
She swam a little away from him. “It’s a secret.”
“I won’t tell.”
“No? What if you were seen swimming out the main tunnel? They’d want to find out why.”
“I wouldn’t tell them.”
“What if your father said he wouldn’t take you out ever again? I bet you’d tell then.”
He frowned and looked away. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t go that way.”
She feigned surprise. “What other way is there?”
“A secret way.”
“There’s another way into the city?”
He looked at her. “No. You can only go out that way ‘cause of the currents.”
She waded closer and lowered her voice. “If you show me the way out, I’ll show you where the secret treasure is.”
He paused and regarded her thoughtfully.
“It would be lots more fun than hanging around here all day,” she said.
“Do you promise to show me the treasure?” he asked.
“I promise.”
“On your father’s life?”
The vow was a common one among the children, but it still made her pause.
“I promise, on my father’s life, to show you the secret treasure if you show me the secret way out of the city.”
He nodded, then grinned. “Follow me.”
She blinked in surprise. “You want to go now?”
“Why not?”
She glanced back at Teiti, who was watching her closely.
“Wait. We’ll have to trick my aunt or she’ll stop me.”
“No need,” Rissi said. “You can get there from this pool. She’ll see you dive, and not know where you came up. By the time she realizes you’re not here any more, we’ll be gone.”
This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, but still she hesitated. Teiti was going to be so angry.
Rissi’s eyebrows rose mockingly. “What? Afraid of getting into trouble?”
She swallowed, then shook her head. “No. Show me.”
He waded into deeper water, then dove under the surface. She took a deep breath, hoping that Teiti thought they were competing at how long they could hold their breath for, then followed.
Rissi headed for the deeper water near where the older children lounged. He swam quickly, forcing Imi to work hard to keep up. A tunnel entrance appeared, and she felt the current that kept the Children’s Pool fresh pull her in after Rissi.
She had never swum into this tunnel before, and could only trust that Rissi would not have come this way if the tunnel didn’t come out somewhere before they ran out of breath.
It was not long before she saw the rippled surface of the water above. Rissi swam up, took a breath, then dove down again. She followed suit, catching a glimpse of a poorer part of the city.
They swam through several more tunnels, the water and houses growing dirtier each time. She realized with distaste that they were in the outflow currents that bore waste out of the city, and made sure she didn’t swallow any of the water.
The current grew ever stronger. Surfacing near a crumbling wall of a house, they clung to rocks at the edge to prevent themselves being swept on. Rissi looked at her, his expression serious.
“This is the last part. When we come out we’ll be in the sea. The only way back in is through the main tunnel. Or we can climb out now and walk back.”
She looked in the direction the current was surging. It would pull them through whatever tunnel lay ahead. If there was a blockage or she got caught somehow, she might easily drown.
“How many times have you done this?”
He grinned. “Once.”
Her heart was racing. She realized she was terrified. “This is a bad idea.”
“We don’t have to go through,” he told her. “I won’t tell the others you didn’t go. I’ve shown you the way out, so you have to tell me where the treasure is.”
She looked at him and felt a surge of frustration and anger. He hadn’t said it would be so dangerous. But he had done it before and survived. How hard could it be? She just had to let the current take her through. She gathered her courage and forced herself to stare at him defiantly.
“Not until we get to the other side,” she said.
He laughed then gave a whoop. “Let’s do it! Try to keep in the middle of the flow. And take a really big breath. I’ll hold on to you as long as I can. Ready? On three. One, two...”
Her heart was in her mouth, but somehow she managed to suck in a breath.
“...three!”
They dove down into the current. He grabbed her wrist and held tightly as they rushed into darkness. She wondered how she was supposed to keep to the middle when she couldn’t see, then she realized the walls rushing
