Prodigy

pardoning me today, the guards aren’t sure exactly how to behave. Guard me like a criminal? Or kiss up like I’m a high-ranking Agent in one of the capital’s patrols?
    The waiting drags on. I feel slightly dizzy. I’d been given some medicine after finally mentioning my symptoms to Anden earlier in the day, but it hasn’t helped. My head still feels warm, and I’m having trouble keeping count of the time in my head.
    Finally, when I’ve counted off twenty-six minutes (possibly off by three or four seconds), Anden emerges from the doors at the far end of the room with a team of officials behind him. It’s clear that not everyone is happy; some Senators hang back, their mouths pulled into tight lines. I recognize Senator Kamion amongst them, the man Anden had been arguing with on the train here. His graying hair looks disheveled today. Another Senator I remember from occasional headlines, Senator O’Connor, a blubbery woman with limp red hair and a mouth not unlike a frog’s. I don’t know the others. Aside from the Senators, two young journalists flank Anden’s sides. One has his head down, taking dictation furiously on a notepad, while the second struggles to keep his voice recorder close enough to Anden.
    I rise when they reach me. The Senators who were bickering amongst themselves fall silent. Anden nods at my guards. “June Iparis, Congress has pardoned you of all crimes against the Republic on the condition that you will continue to serve your nation to the best of your capabilities. Do we have an understanding, Ms. Iparis?”
    I nod. Even this slight movement makes me light-headed. “Yes, Elector.” The scribe beside Anden frantically jots our words down. His notepad’s screen flickers under his flying fingers.
    Anden takes in my listlessness. He can tell that my condition hasn’t improved. “You will enter a period of probation as advised to me by my Senators, during which time you’ll be
closely
surveyed until we can all agree that you’re ready to return to duty. You’ll be assigned to the capital’s patrols. We’ll discuss which patrol you’ll be joining once we’re all settled at Pierra’s base this afternoon.” He raises his eyebrows and turns to his right and left. “Senators? Any comments?”
    They remain silent. One of them finally speaks through a thinly veiled sneer. “Understand that you are not yet in the clear, Agent Iparis. You will be watched at all times. You should consider our decision an act of enormous mercy.”
    “Thank you, Elector,” I reply, tapping my head in a brief salute as any soldier would. “Thank you, Senators.”
    “Thank
you
for all of your help,” Anden says with a subtle bow. I keep my head lowered so I don’t have to meet his eyes, to see the double layer of meaning in his words—he’s thanking me for the help I supposedly gave in protecting him, and the help he wants from both Day and me.
    Somewhere outside, Day is in position with the others. The thought makes me nauseous with anxiety.
    The soldiers begin escorting our party back to the front of the conference hall and toward our respective rides. I take each step deliberately, trying hard to maintain my focus. Now is not the moment to fail because of illness. I keep my eyes on the hall’s entrance. Since our last train ride, this is the one idea I’ve settled on that just might work. Something to throw off all the Patriots’ timing—something I can do to prevent us from heading back toward Pierra’s main military hall.
    I hope this works. I don’t think I can afford any mistakes.
    With ten feet to the doors, I stumble. Instantly, I right myself again and continue walking, but then stumble again. Murmurs from the Senators rise up behind me. One of them snaps, “What is it?”
    Then Anden is there, his face hovering above me. Two of his guards jump in front of him. “Elector, sir,” one says. “Please stay back. We’ll take care of this.”
    “What happened?” Anden asks, first to the soldiers, then to me. “Are you injured?”
    It’s not too hard to pretend I’m about to faint. The world around me fades, then sharpens again. My head hurts. I raise my head and make eye contact with Anden. Then I let myself collapse to the ground.
    Startled exclamations buzz around me. Then my ears perk up when I hear Anden above them all, saying exactly what I’d hoped he would say: “Take her to the hospital. Immediately. ” He remembers my last piece of advice to him, what I’d