“I’m never wrong about such things! He was innocent of the Oxan fire, I’m sure about that, yet I had no way of proving it… But about the girl that looked so much like Armina, I’m sure they had slept together and know where ever he is, he is with her,” Ashid replies and gets up, leaving the room. Lealy tries to remember Dalia’s face more clearly. What could make her resemble someone else? She has to wait and see Armina. Yet she can’t believe that Dalia had betrayed her too! She had been kind to her, taken her in and had taught her how to treat people in a short time they had together. She had done all that to gain Tirad’s approval! She remembers the Saviour Ship’s deck when Dalia’s mother was beaten. Dalia had lied to her then. She should have never trusted her. Tirad should have never forgiven her, yet alone trust her with his life. She had thought by coming to the Parsana Ship she could order her thoughts and calm down, but she is more puzzled than ever, thinking about Tirad and Dalia sleeping together. She feels pity for herself and wipes the tear that has rolls down her eye. A man enters the room.

He introduces himself as Pejhan and takes Lealy with him. He says they have to climb down and go to the central boat. The guards hold up umbrellas for them, escorting them to the ladder. Pejhan tells Lealy about the floating bridge that they put up in the dry seasons. She listens with disinterest. But she has enough time while reaching the central ship to ask this man who says he is the chief of the eastern ship, first about Ashid then Tirad and at the end Armina. She wants to know whether Ashid’s words are reliable or not. And wants to have Pejhan’s account of Tirad coming to the ship and at the end she needs to know who to expect when encountering Armina. Pejhan confirms everything that Ashid had said and his account is similar to Ashid’s.

“How come no one questioned him about where he was going?” Lealy asks.

“We couldn’t let him stay but we knew he was innocent. That’s why we didn’t ask,” Pejhan replies, saying they did care to know but thought if the knowledge somehow leaked, it would put Tirad in danger. It was better not to know it at all! He doesn’t say much about Armina, probably wants Lealy to see for herself.

Armina is indeed like Dalia! She has no eyelashes and no hair! Even her lips and her hand gestures resemble her, she is just older. Armina gives her a warm welcome saying that Hurmaz had often talked about her in his letters. He had mentioned her as the best healer-maid the Saviour Ship ever had. She even says he had once written her a letter asking about the cure of a certain disease, a contagious illness that came with diarrhoea and vomiting. Lealy remembers it well! It was four years ago. Hurmaz hadn’t said anything about communicating with Armina, he had told her he had found the cure in one of the forbidden books: boiled mint and sugar! The Saviour Ship had spent a lot of money buying mint leaves and sugar from Atlan. Armina smiles and wants Lealy to say what she has come to say. Lealy faces down and starts telling her about her life and Tirad and their relationship on the Saviour Ship. She doesn’t know why she is saying these to her. But she feels unburdened by hearing her life story through her own voice. She wants her to know that she is on Tirad’s side and wants Armina to trust her and ask her to help find him. Armina listens carefully.