by Viola Grace
Apolan’s voice was amused, “You live with trees.”
“I do. My parents owned the house before me, and when they died, it came to me.”
“I am sorry. How did they die?”
She took a deep breath and said one word. “Tokkel.”
He stiffened and nodded. “I see.”
She glanced up at him and really doubted that he did.
Chapter Three
Daphne had never had a more restless night. Her parents’ screams of shock and pain as the landing party came down and took samples of the settlers rang in her mind. With only a blind panic, she had hidden in the woods, watching the ship sweep her loved ones away from her, unable to even cry out.
Two hours after dawn, dark circles under her eyes, she poured herself a cup of tea and looked out at the protective ring of forest that enclosed her.
“This isn’t doing me any good.” Her cupboard was bare as it normally was these days. She had not yet been paid for her service at the reception. That event was to have set her up for a few days.
Daphne slipped into her trousers and tunic, moving into the forest to look for some berries or other edibles.
A shadow moved, and her heart pounded in her chest.
“Good morning, Ms. Hallow. I wish you a good day.” Apolan moved into the brighter light and inclined his head.
“Good morning, Ambassador Leoraki. Why are you skulking in the shadows?”
He held out a basket that contained a loaf of bread, a selection of meats and cheeses and some fruit.
“When you invited me in for tea last night, I snooped. I noted that your cupboard was bare and could not have you starting your new duties on an empty stomach.” He gestured with his head, and when she stood still, he passed her and went on to her small house in the green shadows.
Bemused and not a little enticed by the food he carried, she followed him back to her house.
Apolan looked her up and down. “Is that a common clothing choice here on Gaia?”
She blushed, “No. I wear this for foraging.”
“And no shoes?”
“The forest doesn’t demand them. There are no noxious plants here, and so, I can run around without shoes.”
She watched as he removed plates, cups and cutlery as if he lived in the home with her. “You really were paying attention.”
“As my assistant, your well being is now my concern. Arvina has obtained a seamstress from the ship. They will be here this afternoon, so we will have to start a little earlier than I intended.”
He swiftly portioned the food with the ease of long practice. There was more on her plate than she would eat in three meals, but she sat across the kitchen table and ate what he offered her.
“Why don’t you live closer to the settlement?” Apolan’s question hit on her problem.
“Um. I can’t afford to. My parents were legal archivists who wanted me to live a life of the mind. I studied for years, absorbing every bit of history and learning every skill I could. Then, the Tokkel attacked. My parents were killed in the first strike. I was left with only this house to call my own. I sold what I could while I grieved, and from there, I sought out the jobs that would take me. With no job history and everything in chaos, there were plenty of small jobs to do, but with no family left, I had no one to help me ease into a steady position. Family is everything here on Gaia, and I now have no one, so I get along as best I can.”
He seemed shocked by her statement, but he kept quiet. They ate together, and when she stopped, he stopped. His plate was nearly empty, so she lifted a piece of fruit to her lips and nibbled slowly.
Apolan quickly finished his meal. She stopped and put the remains in the storage unit. She could get two days of meals out of what was left on that plate.
“Excuse me a moment while I get dressed.” Biting her lip, she went to her closet and selected sober wear with an elegant finish. They were leftover from her days as a reasonably well-to-do student. The shoes pinched but suited the clothing. They were going to be hell to walk in, but they matched the loose silken trousers and the buttoned tunic.
When she reappeared, Apolan got to his feet and frowned. “It will suit for today, but it is not appropriate for much more than this week.”
Daphne was embarrassed. “I apologize. I have not needed clothing with any formality for years.”
He immediately came to her and gripped her arms. His skin was deep brown with a green tinge, and his touch was tight but not confining. “I do not take you to task for your clothing, but I think that the fashions of the Nine will suit you well. The sooner we can get you looking the part of my assistant, the better.”
She sighed in relief. “I didn’t want to be inappropriate on my first day of a job that no one has seen before.”
He chuckled. “You cannot be inappropriate. You were the only candidate considered for the position. You are the only appropriate selection.”
A smile crept over her face, her grin taking over. “Then, let’s get walking. It will take close to an hour to walk to the settlement.”
“I have a better idea.” He took a small item off his belt and pressed it.
She heard a whirring sound, and the feeling in the air changed.
“I have a transport.”
He took her hand, and together, they watched a small platform ringed with a guardrail land in her front yard.
“Is that safe?” Daphne eyed it with nervousness.
“It is. I would not risk you.” His voice was deep and sincere.
The weird intensity she had noted tinged his tone again. Again, she pushed it back, and instead, got a grip on the railing of the platform.
Apolan used his remote and directed the platform to take them up and away. They skimmed across fields at a height of ten feet or less. When they moved over the forested areas, they caressed the treetops.
In ten minutes, they were landing on the roof of city hall. Daphne breathed deeply and exhaled quietly in an effort to control her racing heart. The settlement’s mayor greeted them, and he was definitely surprised to see her standing next to the new ambassador for the Nine.
“Ms. Hallow, what are you doing here?” Mayor Tetra smiled brightly, but his mouth was tight.
“Ms. Hallow has been retained as my assistant.” Apolan was polite but firm.
“As Ambassador Leoraki has said, I have been retained as his assistant to be his liaison to the settlers.” Daphne tried to behave in a reserved fashion, but the look of disdain on Mayor Tetra’s face was unmistakable.
“We will find you a more suitable assistant, Ambassador.” Mayor Tetra extended his hand to Ambassador Leoraki.
Daphne raised her hand to forestall him, but Apolan walked past the hand to the stairwell. She told the mayor, “The Nine do not shake hands. They can have biochemical reactions that are not predictable.”
She followed Apolan, and he waited until she caught up with him before starting down to the next level. Her hard-soled shoes skittered on the stone steps, causing her to clutch at the railing.
“Are you all right?” Apolan gripped her arm.
“I am fine. There is a lift on the next floor. I forgot how slippery these steps were.” She smiled and moved more carefully.
They exited the stairs at the next door, and he continued to hold her arm all the way to the lift.
“We are on the third floor.”
She struck the third-floor button, and this time, he clung to her for support. When the doors opened, they passed a security team of personnel of the Nine. They snapped to attention as Apolan passed, and one tried to bar her from entering the offices.
“She is my assistant, Drakil. She has full authorization to come and go as she pleases. You can call her Ms. Hallow.”
The Wilding that had his gloved and fully covered arm extended retracted it with a smile. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Hallow.”
“Pleased to meet you, Drakil.” She shut down her scent, or at least his perception of it, as quickly as she could.<
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His smile went from beyond friendly to confused in an instant. The other three guards did the same.
Apolan smiled and held out his hand. She took it, and he tugged her into the offices that he had been allocated.
“Oh, my.” The offices were decorated in what seemed to be Nine fashion. Rich colours, white marble floors and lovely vases full of alien flora made the room a definite representation of a foreign world.
“My office is back here, your desk and com unit are there.” He took her on a tour of the floor. There was a kitchen with rations suitable to the differing species of the Nine, three sets of lavs, an entertainment area, a dining room, boardroom and sitting room.
After the tour and meeting the rest of the guards who prevented them from being inundated with folks who were not invited, she was seated at her desk.
Daphne’s duties would be to take calls, arrange meetings for those who had a genuine concern and prepare lunches for the persons of the Nine who were on duty or visiting.
She settled at her desk and practiced with the com a second before it chirped at her. “Embassy of the Nine, how may I direct your call?”
A stream of words came through the line. Unfortunately, Daphne couldn’t translate any of them. Fortunately for her, her com system translated and displayed the information on the screen. “Madam, I am calling for Ambassador Leoraki. He has requested a seamstress at the Embassy, and I wished to know if I was welcome to come now?”
Daphne sighed, “Yes, please. We are expecting you. You will be welcomed.”
There was a pause on the other end as the other party was reading her words in the language of the Nine. “Thank you. We look forward to the meeting.”
“Where will you be landing?”
“Designated spaceport.”
“I will have someone pick you up.”
“That will be most welcome.”
The call disconnected, and Daphne looked up to see Apolan leaning against the side of her desk with a small box in his hand. “I forgot to give you a portable translator. It will help you until you learn Nine common and Forest select. While most of those travelling here have learned Gaian, not all of them have. I do not want you at a disadvantage.”
She nodded. “Thank you. Am I allowed to send some of your guard to escort the seamstress to this office?”
He blinked. “Of course. Did they call?”
“They did. The computer translated for me. The earpiece will be faster, I think.” She extended her hand, and he gave her the box with great formality.
As Daphne opened the box, she gasped in surprise. It wasn’t just an earpiece, it was a finely crafted piece of jewellery that had a piercing for the lobe as well as a cuff for the curve of her ear, all draped with tiny jewels and chains.
A little nervous, she placed the item on her ear and settled it until it was comfortable. She looked up at Apolan, “Is this right?”
He smiled. “Lovely. You look as if you were born to it.”
She blushed, and then, her eyes widened when she realized that he was not speaking Gaian. “Oh, that is strange.”
“It combines audible with mental impulses. If you are thinking about speaking to me, I will hear the words you intend, even if they are not the ones you speak. I also have a subliminal learning unit that you can link to at night. You should have a grasp of the common language of the Nine in a week or less.”
He grinned, patted her hand and returned to his new office.
Shaking her head in amazement and the strange feeling of the ear unit, she got to her feet and walked out of the embassy to speak to the guards. Her first day already held so much more than she had ever anticipated, and she had the feeling that the new experiences were not nearly over.
Chapter Four
“Hold still, Ms. Hallow. The formal clothing of the Forest folk is delicate. You don’t want it hanging improperly.” Xeero, a charming man of the Stone folk, had the lightest touch with a needle that she had ever seen.
Daphne held her breath as he carefully adjusted the fabric until the drawn tangle flowed gracefully to her ankles. She had already been measured for daywear, office wear, footwear and underwear. The formal gown was an issue, because the embassy gala was scheduled for the day that the building was completed and outfitted.
They had taken over the conference room for the fittings, and Xeero and his assistant spoke in low tones while they fussed, fitted and pinned her into each item.
While Xeero did the final fitting on the formal gown, his assistant, Xalik, was working with blurring fingers to finish some office clothing for her. The speed with which he assembled each article of clothing was astonishing.
He had already completed a set of flowing trousers for her. Now, he was working on the matching tunic.
Xeero stepped back, and a smile crossed over his grey features. “Lovely. I do good work, and it doesn’t hurt that the framework was such a pleasure to dress.”
She blushed and looked down at the leaf green silk of the simple gown. It hugged curves that she didn’t know she had.
Xalik looked up from his work and smiled. “Perfect. The colour suits you, Ms. Hallow.”
She waited while Xeero made minute adjustments.
Xalik held up the tunic with a grin. “Done.”
Daphne was amazed. In less than two hours, she had put on twenty changes of clothing with matching undies and had been analyzed by two complete strangers in every detail of her physicality. Against all logic, her day had gotten stranger.
Apolan was answering his own calls while she had her fitting. It was a peculiar turn of events when her boss was doing her job while she shopped, but it sort of fit the day.
Xeero smiled, “Time for a change of clothing.”
He selected the proper undergarments, which should have made her nervous, but the fifth time she had been standing naked in the middle of the boardroom, her mind had simply shut down embarrassment and mimicked a doll.
With the ease of repetition, she slipped off the panties she was currently wearing and exchanged them for the pair that Xeero was holding. The swift shimmy put the delicate things exactly where they should go.
“Hold still now, Ms. Hallow. We don’t want you bleeding on the gown.”
With Xeero on one side and Xalik on the other, she held still and moved with them as the wisp of gown was pulled over her head and the matching slip followed. Xalik folded the items away while Xeero brought her the new clothing.
In five minutes, she was dressed, had a bodice wrapping her from breast to waist and a sash around her hips. Every bit of clothing was in a variety of shades of gold and green.
The sleeves of the tunic made her smile. They were wide and had a graceful sweep that made every move seem like a dance. Soft calf-high boots were far more practical than the hard-soled shoes she had worn for her first day.
Her flowing trousers covered her boots to the ankle, and she had to admit, as she ran her hands down the new silhouette that she sported, she looked good. With absent hands, Daphne moved her hair to one side, framing the earpiece that was her only jewellery.
“Perfect. Just lovely.” Xeero smiled and clapped his hands. “You can return to your duties now. We will finish our day here and send a courier with the rest of your clothing when we have completed them.”
She nodded and smiled. “Welcome to the Embassy. May I get you a beverage or something to eat?”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing. “You may indeed. Thank you, Ms. Hallow.”
She inclined her head and stepped out of the conference room in her new finery. She walked silently down the hall to the small kitchenette and sought the icon for the Stone folk. Apolan’s morning briefing had explained how to select foods for the variety of the Nine. Each pack and item had a small icon on the bottom of it as well as a code that would be read by the preparer.
With her mind sorting through everything she needed for afternoon tea, she set the kettle on, prepared the tea set and slid sandwiches f
or the Stone folk into the preparer.
It was her first act as hostess to the ambassador, and she wanted to get it right.
Daphne grinned as she walked away from the conference room where the dressmakers were having tea. In an hour, she would return and retrieve the tray, but in the meantime, they had fallen on it with good appetite.
It was the right food for the right species in the correct quantity. Her first act as assistant to the ambassador was complete.
He seemed so surprised to see her when she stood in his doorway that she fought a smile.
“The clothing suits you, Daphne.” His gaze, however, strayed to her earpiece.
“May I get you anything, Ambassador? Tea or food?”
He smiled. “Water please and a light snack.”
“I will return in a moment.” She gave him the serving bow that she had been taught for the reception and backed out of his doorway.
Mentally, she was whistling happily when she retrieved his requests and brought him a tray. It was nice to be efficient at something.
She checked on the dressmakers and refreshed their tea. Xeero and Xalik were only too happy to show her their progress. She had a change of clothing for every day that week, an afternoon dress that was both graceful and sturdy, and enough underwear to see her through.
“Xalik enjoys making undergarments. It is his personal fetish.” Xeero smiled grimly.
She chuckled. “Everyone has their hobbies. Mine is learning. Any day I can learn something new is a good one.”
“It’s a good goal. We have been enjoying seeing the two Gaian ladies who are living on the ship. They each have peculiar talents. Is this true for the rest of your species?”
She looked at him in surprise. “It isn’t something that any of us discuss. I heard something about one of ours being declared someone of import to the Nine, but I never got the details.”
