This chapter opens with a conversation between the two women. The first woman asks the second woman if she heard anything from sol. The second woman replies that she didn't hear anything from the first woman either. She's just trying not to distract sol from the test. She doesn't want sol to think she's trying to get away with anything. She says that for people of lower status like them, things like this are "life and death" . The woman wonders if the men were just trying to make fun of her, but the woman says that's not the case. She also says that men and women are special, so they can't just act like this all the time. She tells the woman that she was surprised that the king listened to their petition. He listened to it, she says, because he knows that there's nothing that he can do without the help of the men. The men are trusting the king. They can decide who wins the test based on who gets the most correct scents. The women are excited. They've gone back in time, they say. The only difference is that sol is between them. They look older than they did before, they smile, and they're the only women in the world.