“This time of year, sixteen hours of daylight.” Riveh tilted her head.
“Wonderful. I have dreamed of this all my life.” She turned to face the bot.
“Well, if you will not sleep, Lady Enari is eager to speak with you.”
“Where is she?”
“In her private rooms. When her husband is off world, she stays in the women’s quarters of the palace, which is where you are.” Jadoree looked down. “I think I need some pants then, possibly some undergarments.” Riveh returned to the wardrobe and pulled out the trousers that matched the tunic. She then pulled out two wisps of silk and handed them to Jadoree. “There you are. I will set up a breakfast in the main gardens. Out the door, to the right whenever you are ready.”
The bot left her alone, so Jadoree got dressed, found a brush and worked at her hair until it was a thick column of braid down her spine. She slipped on the underclothing with a bit of struggle, and when the trousers were in place with their drawstring tight, she crept out of her room and to the right.
The walls were made of a pale stone, and the scent of flowers assailed her nostrils. A hugely pregnant woman with a cascade of scarlet hair that rivalled the blooms nearby was sitting at a table while Riveh shuttled food and tea to her.
The woman smiled brightly. “Welcome, sister.”
“You are Lady Enari?”
The woman extended her hand. “I am. I would get up, but I save the effort for going places nowadays.”
“Please, remain seated. I have two sisters with children, and they weren’t nearly as pleasant as you are when they were this far along.” Jadoree inclined her head. “I am Jadoree Yix.” She took the hand Enari extended and bent over it before joining the woman at the table.
“So, you fell out of the sky?” Enari poured two cups of tea and handed Jadoree one of them.
“I did. Well, I believe that the dark star is a separate universe, a bubble that can only reach this plane when the stars align. Last night they did.”
The tea was a foreign scent but not unpleasant.
Jadoree sipped and casually sent her gaze across the table. Enari didn’t say a word but casually shoved two small pots toward her. One contained crystals and the other a white liquid. She took a spoon and poured some of each into the spoon in turn. She tasted the liquid and imagined it in the tea, and then, she tasted the crystal and smiled.
A little of each created a more mellow flavour than she had initially experienced.
“So, you simply jumped into a ship and flew here when the door opened?” Enari sipped at her tea and parked her cup and saucer on her belly when she was done.
“Something like that. I stepped into a museum piece, and it closed in around me, transporting me here in a surge of power that came from the pod itself. The original designer was Diyar’s ancestress as far as I can tell.”
“And therefore Drion’s and this little one’s. I have thought privately that their dark eyes were a genetic aberration, but looking into your features, I don’t think that they could be any other colour.” The cup and saucer began to rattle in sharp jolts.
“It’s very strong.” Jadoree inclined her head. It was a compliment on Haxos.
“It is trying to come out the hard way. I can’t believe I am supposed to have three weeks left. I feel huge. You said your sisters had children?”
“Yes, I have four nieces and three nephews.” She bit her lip and looked up at the bright sky. She was not going to see them grow up, and it suddenly caused a sharp ache in her chest.
“How did your sisters stand the last few weeks?” Enari groaned and put the dancing cup on the table before the baby kicked it away.
Jadoree smiled sadly. “I took them shopping.” Enari cocked her head and looked at Riveh.
“Riveh, is she going to have to go through the same training I did when I arrived?” Riveh shook her head. “No, Lady Enari. Jadoree is a very special case. Once the science teams question her, that status may change, but for now, she is a woman of an as-yet unknown species, compatible only with the Velu clan. Diyar has already requested her as his wife. She answered his prayers and fell from the stars.” Enari winked. “In that case, I think a trip to the city is just what she needs. Riveh, arrange transport and a guard.”
Jadoree sat up straight. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am serious. My husband is off blowing up a series of bases on an alien world, I need you to entertain me, sister.”
“Why do you call me sister?”
Enari reached for a flat piece of pastry and started to eat. “Because some things go far beyond blood. You are going to join the family. I could tell the moment that Diyar woke me up on the com and pestered me to make friends with you.” Jadoree felt disappointment. “You had to be asked to be friendly to me?” Enari smiled. “You arrived after I was asleep for the night. I didn’t even know you were here until Diyar woke me up and started nagging. I swear that boy was acting like a child on their first day of school.”
“Boy?”
Enari laughed. “I am wed to the eldest, so everyone younger than my Drion is one of the little brothers, though they are all well into maturity.”
Jadoree smiled shyly and reached for one of the pastries waiting for her. She nibbled cautiously before taking a huge bite.
Breakfast tasted more familiar than the tea did.
She munched her way through learning more about the Lady Enari than she expected to.
Enari’s hand bore the tell-tale signs of a seamstress. She had spiking marks on her fingers and a peculiar nimbleness to her movements.
“That colour doesn’t suit you. You need something in metallics. I think your body would be set off by gold, silver, bronze and copper.”
Enari cinched the conclusion that Jadoree had drawn.
“Fascinating. I don’t have any local currency. I came out of the pod, and all I have is my skin.”
“It will be my gift for you, a welcome to the world of the Asku. What style of clothing did you wear at home?”
Jadoree described the skirts and tops she wore at home. As a woman of the Haxos upper class, a premium had been put on appearance. Since she was a child, she had been acutely aware of how she looked at any given moment, trying frantically to blend in. Here, she had no choice. Her eyes ensured that she stood out, and she had no option in the matter.
Enari smiled as Riveh confirmed that transport and a guard had been arranged. “Come along, sister. It is time to meet the Asku at home. The fiercest warriors in the galaxy await.” Jadoree helped her to her feet and began the second adventure in as many days.
Chapter Four
She should have been more surprised that Diyar was the guard that Riveh had arranged for them. His presence and the brooding intensity of his gaze combined with the knowledge that he had already put in a proprietary claim had the effect of keeping Jadoree quiet.
Enari kept looking between them, and a slow smile spread across her lips as they flew into the city.
Jadoree looked over at her sister and fought the urge to smack the smug expression off her face.
The pilot flew the ship from the palace to the heart of the city, and Jadoree looked away from Enari to absorb the world around her in all its brightly coloured glory.
The colours of Haxos under the light of Velu were deep and muted by the means of lighting that her people had created. To see the bright light and vibrant clothing as it was meant to be seen was humbling. It was like dreaming a world and then walking into it.
She pushed her distraction about Diyar away and let her senses take in the bright confusion of the marketplace. The pilot settled them on a pad designed to support their style of vehicle, and Diyar helped Enari disembark. When he held his hand out to assist Jadoree, she hesitated but allowed him to take her hand to help her down.
The slide of his skin against hers energized her the same way the light did. She felt powerful and dizzy at the same time.
When he let her go and he moved to help his s
ister-in-law down the stairs, the heady feeling did not fade as she watched the care he offered to the dangerously pregnant woman.
She moved quickly so that she did not lose sight of them, but she didn’t need to worry. Enari waited for her at the base of the stairs. “Who would ever have thought that up was easier than down?”
“Anyone who ever had a baby. Now, where are we off to?” Jadoree linked arms with Enari for stability.
“Fabric for baby stuff, fabric for you, then lunch, then tea, then shoes, possibly jewellery.” Enari checked the list off on her fingers. “Maybe a snack between baby stuff and fabric, let’s see where my belly leads.”
Jadoree nodded. “I am in agreement with anything your belly has to say. Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?”
Enari snorted. “It has a ninety-nine percent chance of being male, so the Asku don’t even bother testing. I have slipped in a few girly pastels and embroideries, just in case.” Diyar shook his dark head and smiled, not commenting.
When they walked into the baby shop, the pilot waited near the door, and Diyar gamely carried any object that took Enari’s fancy.
Jadoree offered her opinion of the baskets that Enari was interested in. “Don’t you simply put the child into a pack and carry it against you?”
“Do you?”
“Sure. It keeps the baby happier according to my sisters.” Jadoree shrugged. She had babysat for her sisters’ children, and they had all enjoyed being carried around in packs, strapped to whichever adult had possession of them at the time. “Mind you, the children of my people may react differently.”
Enari shrugged. “It can’t hurt.” Jadoree sighed and winked at Diyar as he was spared carrying another basket. The shopkeeper was attentive and took them quickly to show them the variety of baby wraps and bundling devices.
Diyar grunted under the weight of the purchases, and Enari was immediately apologetic.
“I am sorry, brother. I forgot.” He smiled with the light of pain in his eyes.
“It’s fine, Enari. I am here to recover, and now, I understand why you consider a shopping trip to be a workout.”
The pilot stopped two Asku from entering the shop, but they waited outside as Enari concluded her purchasing of what seemed to be the entire shop. Apparently, her kind nested with a vengeance.
Jadoree took a bag to ease Diyar’s burden, but he removed the bag from her hands. “I won’t get better if everyone keeps trying to help me.”
“What happened that you need to get better from?” She simply asked the question, but everyone within earshot froze.
Enari offered her an arm again and announced, “I need a little snack. To the teashop.” Diyar handed the purchases to the pilot and spoke softly to the two men who had been waiting for them. He returned to the ladies and inclined his head. “My mother is waiting in a teashop around the corner.”
Enari let out a blast of air. “Good. She can help me with colours for Jadoree. I am thinking metallic, but in the harsh light of day, they might need some softening.”
Diyar snorted. “Drion told me to keep an eye on you, but he didn’t mention that you are obsessed with acquisition.”
“When you are growing a person inside you, then you can judge.” Enari gave him a feral smile that made him back up a step, and Jadoree stifled a laugh.
The two Asku who had come to invite them led the way to Enari’s mother-in-law.
The passersby on the street gave them a wide berth but looked fondly over at Enari’s abdomen.
“So, pregnancy here is a big deal?” Enari chuckled. “You could say that. I have already received enough gifts to outfit nine children, but I need to choose some specific things for myself, and anything I don’t use will be passed along to the next woman in the town or the family.”
They rounded the corner and an open courtyard with tables in it marked their destination.
A woman sat with a huge and bulky Asku next to her.
Diyar stiffened and then straightened into an alert posture.
Enari whispered, “Doron is Diyar’s father. Nishka is his mother. Doron is recently retired from the highest position the Asku have.”
“So, that is Diyar’s mother? She doesn’t look old enough to have a child his age.” They had gotten close enough, and Nishka looked up at them. “Thank you, daughter. I can assure you that I feel every one of the years I have lived. Seven sons will do that to you.” Diyar rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t as bad as that, Mother.”
Nishka smiled. “I remember it differently.” Doron got to his feet and embraced Enari.
“Drion will be home soon. Hopefully, before you add to the family.”
Enari sighed and kissed Doron on both cheeks.
“I will hope the same. With each day this small person takes on the weight of a neutron star.” Doron helped her sit, and Nishka reached out to take Jadoree’s hand.
Jadoree looked down into the eyes that held a brightness that blinded her senses. A reflex she had never experienced flared out and dampened the light to a more bearable level.
Doron cleared his throat. “I see you are introducing yourself to the Radiance, Jadoree.”
“Radiance?”
“Nishka can blind with light or use it to lead men to their doom.” Doron sat next to his wife and lifted one of her hands to his lips. “Ask me how I know the last one?”
The group of them burst into laughter.
Jadoree sat next to Nishka and rubbed her eyes.
“I am getting used to so much light, but it does hurt at times.”
Nishka took her hand and squeezed it. “I apologize. I forgot you are of a different race. What did you do in return? I haven’t been sent back into my own head that fast in years.” Jadoree shrugged. “I don’t know. I have never had to deal with that sort of light before.” Doron poured the cups of tea, and with a gesture, a pitcher of iced water was brought, each one of them had a cup with the water and a cup of the tea.
Diyar smiled and took the seat next to her, his thigh pressed to her own. “How are you adapting to the light all around you?” She sipped at the tea and then doctored it as she had earlier. “It is coming slowly. I mean, I am sure that I am going to have a breakdown shortly when it strikes me that I cannot come back, but since I knew that going in, I have no idea when it is going to hit me.”
Enari smiled and sat back. “Tell us about your daily life under the dark star.” Jadoree blinked, but every face around the table was eager and interested. “I was born to a wealthy family, but I was always drawn to the tales of the one woman who had broken through the stars to find light on the other side. I wanted to see that light, so after collecting all the information that I could via family connection and supporting the museums, I finally had to enter higher education at the Stellar Science Academy to pursue my dreams.
“On a daily basis, I would get up, have breakfast, go to classes and then out for dinner with family or friends.” She smiled and sipped at her water.
Diyar smiled. “You are going to have to retell your story over and over again. The researchers were beginning to think that the Velu family are simply a genetic aberration that had no peculiar origin whatsoever.”
“Oh, good.” She sipped at her drink. “For two thousand years, my people have been worried about how your bloodlines were perceived. Whew! Glad I could clear that up for you.” Doron cracked up and Enari followed. Nishka and Diyar frowned before smiling ruefully.
Apparently, humour was as lightly sprinkled in the light as it was under Velu. Well, she learned something new every minute in her new home.
Chapter Five
The rest of the meal was a little tense for Jadoree. Nishka kept glaring at her, and Doron had to sooth his wife several times during their conversation.
Diyar, on the other hand, was leaning back with a grin as his mother and Jadoree faced off over childcare issues and light versus dark.
Jadoree couldn’t help it. The darkness was what she was used to. She defended it when it
was described as the concealment of all evil deeds. She didn’t even know how the conversation had gotten to attacks in the night when she last remembered commenting on what time to get a baby to bed.
Enari finally called a halt to the bickering with the even phrase. “I think we need to get shopping. The clothing that Jadoree has doesn’t suit her, and I have three weeks of waiting to burn off. A project for her will be just what I need.”
She levered herself out of her chair and smiled at Nishka and Doron. “It was nice having a little break. I will see you back at the palace.” Jadoree rose to her feet and inclined her head.
“Pleased to meet you both.”
When she shook the hand Nishka extended, dark and light fought visibly around their contact.
Jadoree released Nishka and rubbed her fingers. “That is going to take some getting used to.”
Nishka gave her a long look and smiled. “You couldn’t do this at home?”
“No. It… I feel the light and something in me is reacting.”
“I look forward to seeing what you will become then, daughter. Diyar, take care of her, she is a waking power and needs to be watched.” He looked from his mother to Jadoree, and his smile was slow. “I won’t let her out of my sight.” Jadoree must have made a face, because Enari was laughing her head off as she led the way back into the shopping area.
It took the better part of the afternoon for Enari to be satisfied with the fabric and clothing blanks for Jadoree. Halfway through the shopping, Jadoree heard her name being shortened to Jade and didn’t mind at all.
Diyar was, once again, holding all the purchases, but they didn’t take up as much space as the previous ones.
“So, Jade, what do you want to do tomorrow? I have the afternoon off, and I would love to get together again.” Enari was chipper, her cascade of crimson hair rippled down to her waist as she swayed with every step.
“Um, I don’t know what Riveh has planned or what the researchers will want to ask me or when.” Jade shrugged.
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