The Space Merchants of Arachne

by Wendie Nordgren

  "Hey, have you found anything that you want?"

  "Chirp." Thunderdrop and Cass had found new transports with larger wheels, and they both looked at me expectantly.

  "Yes, which ones do you both want?" Cass lifted one of his eight legs and rolled one to my feet, and Thunderdrop copied him. I laughed and picked the toys up. When I did, I saw we had a small audience. Two little boys watched us with large eyes. I smiled at the one I recognized.

  "Hello, Tetho. You may not remember me, but you helped me with all of my bags when I went shopping." He stepped forward leading the smaller boy by the hand.

  "I remember you and the spiders. I didn't know they liked to play," Tetho said.

  "Chirp."

  "Thunderdrop wants me to tell you that he likes to play with transports." The smaller boy pulled Tetho's arm until he leaned down, so he could whisper in his ear.

  "My little brother likes to play with transports, too," he translated.

  "Thunderdrop and Cass have just shown me the transports they want. Which ones do you both like?" The boys inched closer, hesitant of the spiders at first. The lady saw us and slowly walked toward us.

  "My lady, I hope my children are not troubling you," she said.

  "Oh, no ma'am. Your sons are very polite young gentlemen." Tetho smiled proudly and stuck out his chest a bit. "I remember Tetho because of how helpful he was when he carried all of my heavy bags to the transport."

  "Tetho is a very good boy and so is his brother," she said smiling proudly.

  "Chirp."

  "Yes, you are a good boy, too." I told Thunderdrop. "May I have your permission to give your boys the transports they are seeming to enjoy so much?" The boys looked up at their mother.

  "Thank you, Lady...."

  "I know. It's really long. Please, just call me Teagan."

  She curtsied. "Thank you, Teagan. The boys will enjoy the transports."

  The shopkeeper hovered behind the lady. "May I be of assistance, Lady Alaric Montgomery Lee?" I lifted my eyebrows, impressed that he got it all.

  "Yes, sir. My two young friends have chosen some transports." Tetho and his little brother held them up and smiled. "May I purchase them as gifts?"

  "Yes, of course. Young gentlemen, if you would both be so kind as to follow me, I will get you each a bag." The boys ran after him. I followed the laughing boys. I held my bracelet out for the shopkeeper to scan my credits. The boys hugged and thanked me before leaving with their mother.

  "Would you please hold these for us?" I asked as I handed the shopkeeper the other two transports.

  The spiders blinked and watched me, eager for me to see what else they wanted. The items that had them transfixed were not good at all. They had found little toy drums. Thunderdrop raised a claw and tapped the drum's surface. It made a soft "thump" sound, and he blinked at me and did it again.

  "Wow! That is really good. If I buy you the drum, will you promise not to play it when I'm sleeping?"

  "Chirp chirp chirp chirp!"

  "Okay."

  "Click click," Cass said. Cass tapped on a drum, too. ZeeZee just blinked at them.

  "Yes, Cass. You may have one, too, but you must follow Simon's rules about when you can play with it. Okay?"

  "Click," he agreed.

  "ZeeZee, is there anything you want?" He just blinked at me. The shopkeeper had listened to our exchange and gathered up the drums. Cass and Thunderdrop followed him. I saw Simon and Eliot talking to an enforcer by the door. Enforcers had been at the warehouse as well. The shopkeeper scanned my chip and carried the bags over to the door.

  "Are you finished buying everyone new toys?" Simon asked.

  "I think so. ZeeZee didn't show me anything he wanted though."

  Eliot coughed. "I brought him here last week."

  Simon took the bags, thanked the shopkeeper, and walked through the door that the enforcer held open for us.

  "Thank you," I said to him.

  "If I can ever be of service to you, my lady, please let me know," the enforcer said with a bow. I curtsied back to him which I didn't really have the hang of, but I tried. Simon smirked as he put the bags into the transport.

  I smelled something sweet and faintly of cinnamon on the air. My stomach growled, and ZeeZee clacked at me.

  "Do you smell that?" I asked Simon and Eliot. "Where is that coming from?" I asked as I turned in a circle trying to follow the scent.

  Simon said, "There is a bakery down the street."

  "Can we go? All I had this morning was Stewart's coffee." ZeeZee clacked at Eliot who seemed surprised to be admonished by his spider. "What was that about?" I asked Eliot.

  "He is angry that you were not fed."

  I patted ZeeZee and said, "Aw, thank you."

  We all walked toward the bakery. Inside, it was spacious, and had decorative tables and soft chairs. It had a long display case filled with cakes, muffins, breads, and pastries. I found the source of the smell. It was a fruit pastry drizzled with icing. I had to wait behind two other customers and could barely stand it. Finally, it was my turn.

  "May I help you?" a young man asked.

  "Yes, may I have one of those?"

  He placed it on a plate. "Would you like chilled juice, milk, or tea?" he asked.

  "May I have juice and milk?"

  "Yes, ma'am." He scanned my chip.

  Simon carried my tray over to a quiet corner table where Eliot seemed to be hiding with ZeeZee. Thunderdrop crawled to my knee. I drank the juice and the dug into the pastry. It was amazing, but then it was gone, so I drank the milk.

  "Feeling better?" Simon asked. I looked back at the case.

  "Do you mind if I have a few more? Aren't either of you having anything?"

  Simon said, "Stewart made me a large breakfast."

  "I had breakfast at home. I believe you slept through it," Eliot said.

  "Sorry." I took my tray back to the counter and ordered two more pastries and some milk. I paid, and Simon carried it to the table for me.

  A teenage girl, maybe a year younger than me with black hair, carried a tray full of cookies from the kitchen and slid them into the display case. When she noticed ZeeZee and Eliot, her face became awestruck. Her cheeks turned pink, and her brown eyes reminded me of how Mary's looked whenever Paul was near her. I followed Simon and the pastries to the table. They were warm and soft, and the filling was sweet and tangy. I licked my fingers and went after the third one. I washed it down with the sweet cold milk.

  "Okay, I feel much better now. I think I'll wash my hands. Which way is the restroom?" Simon pointed, and I went. Cass and Thunderdrop came with me. When we returned to the table, Eliot had an embarrassed expression. The girl cleaned tables at a distance and tried to sneak glances at him without being noticed.

  "Come on, Teagan. You must notice what is going on with the bakery girl. Aren't you going to tease Eliot the way you teased me at the jewelry store?" Simon asked. The woman at the jewelry store batted her lashes so hard at Simon that I feared her lids might fall off.

  "No, Simon."

  Shocked, Simon asked, "Why not? Are you giving Eliot special treatment?"

  "No, Simon. This is completely different," I whispered.

  "I don't see how," Simon complained.

  Eliot tried to remain aloof and regal in his bearing.

  "Simon, the shopkeeper at the jewelry store wants you in a different way than this."

  Eliot asked, "What do you mean?"

  I glanced at her. "She looks at you the way my friend Mary looks at her husband Paul, how both of your mothers look at your fathers, and how I must look when I look at Yukihyo. Can't you see that? I can even feel it. She is definitely in love with you, Eliot. It would be cruel of me to make fun of her for that. All she wants is to love and adore you. Is there something about her that you don't like?"

  Eliot became flustered. "She is very young," he said.

  I raised a brow at him. "If she is old enough to work, she is old enough to marry," I said. />
  Simon said, "There is a great discrepancy in our social standing as well."

  I was alarmed and hurt by what he said. I crossed my arms over my chest. Softly, I said, "I'm glad Yukihyo didn't feel that way about me. I don't think I ever would have gotten a fancy job like this. I had hoped to get promoted to Mary's job after she left with Paul."

  "What was her job?" Eliot asked.

  "She cleaned the restrooms in our sector. They were out of the sun and air conditioned. Do you remember what my job was before Hiroshi hired me?"

  Simon's eyes took on an angry look. I got up, said hello to the girl, who curtsied to me, and walked out. The sun was bright and breeze cooled my skin. I walked quickly down the sidewalk and felt angry tears begin to fall. An enforcer at either end of the street began to follow me. Thunderdrop held onto my shoulder. Simon easily caught up to me. He pulled me over to a bench under the shade of a tree. I didn't look at him. I didn't take the silk square he offered me. What had the angry look in his eyes meant?

  "Do you think even less of me than you do of her?" Simon dabbed at my tears.

  "No, of course not. You survived many difficult years, and I'm proud of you for it. The first time I saw you, I wanted to marry you myself." His words startled me enough that I looked up at him. "Someone else had already won your heart. It turned out for the best though, since we are related. That would have been awkward." Simon smiled at me and took my hand. "I love you as a sister, and I know you love me as a brother, and we will be together always." I took his silk square and dabbed at my own eyes.

  "Then, why did you look so angry back there?"

  Simon looked at the ground. "The reminder of how you were forced to live infuriates me. You never should have been alone or made to feel unwanted." Simon rubbed my back. "I will never forgive myself for making you cry today. I've seen you cry several times because of unexpected kindness, but never because of injured feelings." He lifted my chin, so I would have to face him. "Perhaps we should go back to the bakery for Cass, ZeeZee, and Eliot," Simon suggested. He stood and placed my hand through his arm when I joined him.

  Back inside of the bakery, Cass leapt to Simon. We saw Eliot and went to him and ZeeZee. The young woman stood in front of him, partially hidden from my view. Her hand was out to ZeeZee, who rubbed a feeler against her hand. She smiled and when she looked up at Eliot, it had to be clear to him that her eyes shown with both adoration and disbelief. Eliot sensed our approach and made a half turn toward us.

  "There you two are. I would like for you to meet someone. Lady Teagan Alaric Montgomery Lee, I wish to present Miss Auria Jones." Before she could curtsey to me, I thrust out my hand to her.

  "Please, call me Teagan."

  "My lady, that is far too kind of you," Auria said, but she shook my hand.

  "Lord Simon Montgomery, allow me to introduce Miss Auria Jones," Eliot said. Auria did curtsey to Simon, but he bowed to her in return and kissed her hand. As he did he looked deeply into her eyes and said, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Jones." Auria's hand trembled.

  "Auria, my cousins and I plan to have dinner tonight at the Tree House. Please join us. We can pick you up," Eliot said. I feared she would faint. Auria nodded a yes. "May we pick you up at six?"

  "Yes, Lord Alaric. Thank you very much for the invitation," she said.

  Eliot took a step closer to her. I thought that I could hear her heart thumping against her chest, and I squeezed Simon's arm. Eliot took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

  "I must insist that you call me Eliot."

  I glanced around at the very quiet bakery. Customers and bakers gawked. When Eliot released her hand, she held it to her chest. I stepped closer and held my arms open to Auria. She hugged me back in a shocked way.

  "It was very nice to meet you, Auria. I look forward to seeing you later," I said. Simon dipped his head to Auria, and Cass climbed from his back to his shoulder. Thunderdrop chirped. Simon led me back out of the bakery. We waited for Eliot.

  "You were right about her. When I looked into her eyes, the honesty of her feelings for Eliot was clear." I held tightly to Simon's arm.

  "Do you think Eliot realizes it?"

  "I'm sure he does now."

  "Do you think he likes her?"

  "Now that you have helped Eliot open his eyes, I believe he understands the treasure he could have in that young woman."

  Eliot exited the bakery with ZeeZee. He had an unfamiliar dumb grin on his face. Eliot walked down the sidewalk, and we followed him. Simon and I exchanged curious looks.

  "Did I just feel what I think I just felt?" I asked Simon.

  "Did it feel like a bubble of joy floating off of our cousin?" Simon asked.

  "Yes, I think so."

  Eliot entered a flower shop. We followed. Eliot ordered a beautiful arrangement of pink and white roses and began writing on a card. The shopkeeper was tripping over herself to please him. The shopkeeper gasped, and her eyes grew wide as Eliot wrote Auria's name on the small envelope. Eliot paid her.

  "Could you please have these delivered immediately?" Eliot asked.

  "Yes, Lord Alaric! Right away, sir!" she said.

  She called to someone in the back of the shop. Eliot began whistling a jaunty tune and went to the door, holding it open for us. ZeeZee seemed happy as well. Eliot waited outside of the shop and watched as his flowers were delivered to the bakery.

  "I wish I could see her face when she sees those flowers and realizes they are for her from you," I said.

  Eliot turned to me. "Do you think she will like them?"

  "Are you kidding? She'll probably melt into a puddle on the floor. That was so romantic," I said.

  "It wasn't too boring?" Eliot asked.

  "No way! If I were her, I might have fainted."

  "Surely, you get flowers all of the time," Simon said.

  I shook my head in the negative. "Yukihyo has never given me flowers. Whenever I stay with you, there are always pretty blue flowers in my room, though," I said to Simon. Simon snorted.

  "You expect us to believe that no other suitors have ever sent you flowers?" Eliot asked.

  "What other suitors?" I asked. My cousins stared at me incredulously. "I can be very good at blending in and escaping notice. Well, before Thunderdrop adopted me, I was."

  "I intend to have a long talk with your husband when he returns," Simon informed me.

  "Don't you dare. Yukihyo bought me this necklace, my very own beautiful transport, and dumped ten thousand credits into my account," I said. Simon made a dissatisfied noise.

  Eliot, lost in his own thoughts, said, "I wonder what father will think of Auria."

  "If she were to agree to a marriage contract of his design, he might be accepting," Simon suggested.

  "She might find it insulting," Eliot said.

  "If she has any common sense, she won't be insulted. I didn't hesitate when Yukihyo presented a contract to me. I knew that he had wealth that he had acquired, and that I only brought about five hundred credits with me that I had worked very hard to earn." Simon frowned at me.

  "What are the terms of the contract?" Simon asked. I shrugged.

  "I don't know. I never read it." Simon and Eliot looked aghast. "What? I trust him, or I wouldn't have married him."

  "I plan to read the contract," Eliot said.

  "As do I," said Simon.

  We entered the jewelry store. The shopkeeper who had helped us with Gram's gift seemed very pleased to see us when we entered. Gram wore the locket decorated in blue and green diamonds every day. My copy of the picture Simon, Eliot, our spiders, and I had taken to place inside of it was dear to me. ZeeZee clacked at Cass and Thunderdrop to behave. Simon and I followed Eliot as he searched through the cases. "May I help you Lord Alaric?" the man asked.

  "I'm not sure what I want," Eliot said. Eliot stopped and rested his hands on a case. "I want something for a sweet girl with soft black hair and eyes like warm chocolate cake," he said. I laughed, and S
imon chuckled.

  "Yes, Simon. I believe our cousin was able to open his eyes and see what was right in front of his face. Eliot, may I make a suggestion?" I asked.

  Eliot said, "Please, do."

  I searched through the cases and then spotted a long necklace of multiple strands of thin gold. Small light blue gems sparkled along the strands at intervals. I pointed to it. "What about that one?" I asked. Eliot looked at it as though he pictured it around her neck. "The stones will remind her of your eyes," I told him.

  "Let me see that one," Eliot told the shopkeeper.

  The man brought it out of the case and placed it in front of Eliot. Eliot picked it up, and the fine gold chains fell across his fingers like silk.

  "Ooh," I sighed. "How much does it cost?" I asked.

  The shopkeeper said, "This necklace of gold and blue diamonds is twelve thousand credits." My eyes bulged.

  Eliot said, "Could you wrap it in white paper with a blue ribbon, please?"

  "Yes, Lord Alaric. Right away, sir."

  I whispered, "Twelve thousand credits is a fortune, Eliot. We can find something else."

  He smiled and said, "It isn't a fortune, sweet cousin, and I intend to win Auria for myself." I lifted an eyebrow at him.

  "You had Auria's heart before you even said hello to her," I said. Eliot turned the full force of his gaze on me, and I felt bare.

  "I owe you a debt I can never repay. Had it not been for your observations about Auria, I would have continued to avoid her. Women have sought after me for my title and my wealth and have cared nothing for me. Auria cares only for me and thought my title and wealth were insurmountable obstacles."

  "Therefore, you are buying her a really expensive necklace," I said.

  "Yes, she should understand there are no obstacles between us," Eliot grinned. "Also, our families are so wealthy that a sum of twelve thousand credits is just pocket change. I would be embarrassed to spend less on Auria. Let's continue to look," Eliot suggested.