Kyle sat me in the car and shut the door. I felt the purr of Aaronmon's Saab beneath me as we started to pull away.
"Okay, well, now we have something new to try and have you control." Aaronmon sighed. He was discussing the new trick with my empathy from earlier. "I guess you are multi-talented."
"Yeah, that was weird."
"I'm curious to know if you hold any other talents of your kind."
For the rest of the car ride home, Aaronmon was quiet, thinking.
CHAPTER FIVE
The sun beamed through the window, allowing the rays to warm my body as I stretched out on the bed. It was weird how I looked at the world differently these days. Sure, I didn't feel any different, aside from my heightened empathy. But the knowledge I knew, I couldn’t give back. I wondered about what was true and not true in the world. I mean, I guessed I always knew there must be life outside of Earth. Why would we be so special out of the millions of stars in the sky? It just came as a shock to find out I was one of those beings. Still, I seemed human enough, but I wondered if I could ever tell Kyle. Would he see it that way?
Tired of running scenarios in my mind, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. I wanted to make a bowl of cereal before Aunt Trish decided to cook something alien. I was about to round the corner, but I stopped when I started to hear some whispers.
"You are going to have to tell her at some point," I heard Aunt Trish say. The pan stirred as she pushed the spatula around.
"Look, I know this is what her father wanted, and at some point we will tell her. You let her get too attached here. She is never going to accept it."
"I just wanted her to live without fear. I didn't think any harm could come out of that." Trish raised her tone just a little bit.
"SHH," Aaronmon hushed her.
What was it that they weren't telling me? I knew I couldn't hide around the corner forever, so I made my appearance.
"What's for breakfast." I smiled, hiding the fact that I’d heard them talking.
"I just made you some of our Emréian eggs." Aunt Trish held up the pan. I was surprised to see normal looking eggs.
"Okay." I shrugged and took a seat.
"I think it might be best if you didn't go to school today." Aaronmon pulled out a chair beside me. "Perhaps, you should stay home and allow me to help you with your powers.”
I really wanted to go to school and see Kyle, but I knew he was right. I couldn't handle the whole school’s teenage hormones, nor would I be able to stop myself from pushing my own onto someone else.
"Yeah, I think I will stay home today." I agreed with him. “But, won’t it be weird that you are missing your second day of school?”
“It’s not like I am here to study,” Aaronmon pointed out.
I quickly pulled out my cell, sending a quick text to Kyle:
I am staying home from school today. I just want to make sure I feel better. I love you.
"You have to concentrate on yourself." Aaron's frustration burned through me. All morning we had been concentrating on controlling my empathy. After last night, I was sure I could not get a handle on this empathy thing.
"Well, I'm sorry! It's hard to concentrate on myself when your frustration is making me more frustrated!"
Aaron sighed to relieve his annoyance. Good thing too, I was about ready to throw a vase at him.
"Can we work on something else?" I flung myself onto the couch and wrapped my arms around a pillow. I couldn't handle my empathy at all. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be cut off. What if I was doomed to lock myself away from people for the rest of my life?
"Carson, all you have is empathy. There really isn't much that I can do for you except help you with it."
I thought about this for a minute. Knowing he was right, I thought of anything else we could possibly do as I nuzzled my nose in to the pillow. After a long two minutes, my mind finally conjured up an idea.
"So, why don't you teach me the Emréian language?" I offered. Anything was better than working on empathy.
Aaron looked as if he’d forgotten a million dollars on a bus.
"Yeah, you should probably know our language before you take the throne."
"I didn't say I was taking the throne. However, learning that there is an alien planet out there is pretty interesting," I admitted. "And, it is part of my heritage. Plus, one day I want to have a conversation with my mother and be able to know what she is saying to me."
"Who else is going to take the throne if you don't?"
"Look, I know everyone is depending on me, but, truth be told, I just want to graduate and figure out exactly who I am now. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be a princess or Lenai, whatever it is. It might have been different if someone could have been straight with me from the beginning, but I've been allowed to grow up in this life. Now, I'm just really confused about everything."
"Understandable." His eyes softened. I felt relieved that he wasn't going to fight me on it.
It was true, every girl wanted to be a princess when they were young, even Trish filled my head with stories of being a princess. I didn't realize she was telling the truth, of course. However, as I grew up and the princess stories seemed like a stretch, I had new goals and new dreams, none of which included Emréiana. I just didn’t know what to think of all this. I was even confused about my mother. Was I happy that she was alive, or was I disappointed that she sent me away? I felt like my whole life had been nothing but a lie, and in some way that scared me.
For hours, Aaron taught me Emréian. I struggled with the memorization, but the pronunciation came quite easily. Animals, clothing, food, verbs, and adjectives were all rolling out of my mouth in Emréian. The language was actually very beautiful. It almost reminded me of the Romance languages. It really was something out of this world.
Aaron left me to my studies with the abula, where I could look up any English term and it would translate it into Emréian.
After I got bored with translations, I decided to scam through the abula to look at animals and plants on Emréiana. It was funny how alien these creatures were.
There were tiny kitten like creatures; however, they weren’t kittens! They were full-grown, with huge round eyes, and their claws were poisonous. They were not that dangerous if they were declawed, but apparently, from what I was reading, nobody wanted to run into a wild one. They were worse than a rabid dog.
That was when I found myself going through Helentania's planet. The planet itself was rocky and like a huge desert. The buildings, towering to the skies, were made of black metal to shield them from any attacks. There were small villages of people, suppressed by their government. They didn't get any say in what they wanted to do. Their goals were to please their leader, Vemous. Vemous promised to give Helentania what they believed was rightfully theirs, the universe. I kept reading. I kept hearing about the Bremoir, but never had anyone explained to me their weaknesses, their strengths, or their reason for wanting to destroy.
I wondered how Aaron learned English. So, after our curianae, a type of pig like animal we ate during lunch, I found myself exploring Aaron's life.
"How did you learn English so quickly in three years? Is it some alien power we have? Do we just learn languages fast?"
"Um, no." He cocked his head to the side. "But I did go to taeu annonun."
I raised my brow.
"It's like college, except you learn about other planet cultures. You can even study on different planets. I went to one on the planet Amara. It is really beautiful there."
"So, you can learn different languages in taeu annonun?"
"Yeah, as many as you please.” He smiled. "Most planets don't have as many languages as Earth does, though. Some might have two or three, but it is rare to find one that has so many."
"Why did you choose English?" I was curious as to why with all the planets in the universe, he would choose Earth English. We had way too many exceptions to the rule. Curse the English grammatical ways. Of course, I hadn't gotten to full le
ngth conversations yet in Emréian. So who knew? Perhaps it was a bit more complex. I wondered what type of literature they had there. Leave it to me to wander through more stories when I was living a real life science fiction.
Aaron was silent for a minute, causing Trish's humming in the kitchen, while she washed dishes, to be the only sound that stirred the air.
"For my work," he finally answered.
"You couldn't possibly have known that you were going to be my garnix for that long." My brow rose with suspicion. To my surprise, his cheeks flushed slightly. My empathy stirred a slight embarrassment coming from him. I didn't understand what was so embarrassing about that statement.
"It may not be a bad idea for you to go to taeu annonun after we leave Earth. It will help you learn more about your home planet." Aaron tried to change the subject.
"Unless something happens, I don’t think I am going to be leaving Earth," I stammered.
Aaronmon didn't say anything. I could tell he wasn't convinced. It was funny, because even then I didn't try to convince myself that I wasn't going to leave Earth. After the shock had surpassed, the idea of seeing space and other planets intrigued me. It was even kind of cool that I was a princess; although, I really didn't feel like one with Aaronmon bossing me around. However, the responsibility to make a decision for an entire planet was more than enough to stir me away. Or perhaps it was the thought that if I left Earth, I would also meet my mother. Was I ready to meet her?
Aunt Trish had always told me stories about my mother. When I was a kid, right before bed, I would make Aunt Trish tell me all about her. It did seem kind of odd that she didn't keep any pictures of her; Trish just gave me a good oral rendering of her. She told me how her hair was long and thick like mine, but unlike my hair, it was a shade of red. She told me how her fair complexion complimented her mellow personality. A warm feeling crept over me while I thought about how she would look in person.
But that didn't change the fact that I had a life here on Earth. I couldn't just abandon my friends. I couldn't abandon Kyle.
"Don't worry you won't be leaving just yet." Aaronmon cupped his hand over mine. "Space Flight is extremely dangerous right now, especially for any Elaeye. Even transporting you is going to be a challenge. Anyway, that is why they searched for the perfect Emréian to be your garnix and bring you back home."
"Which reminds me, tell me how you got to be the lucky guy?" I pushed the question with a smile.
At first, it looked like Aaron was going to try and weasel out of another personal question, but then it looked as if something had changed his mind. Aaron started to open his mouth, but Trish came in and interrupted him before he got the chance to speak.
"Carson, Kyle is on the phone."
Irritation shoved its way into my feelings. It wasn't my irritation though; it was Aaronmon's. I just rolled my eyes at him. He knew I was tired of the little game he and Kyle had going on.
I looked at Aunt Trish and reached out my arm for the phone. Aaron got up and went to the spare bedroom he’d been sleeping in. I sighed and put the phone up to my ear.
"Hey," I said into the phone.
"How are you feeling beautiful?" I heard Kyle's sympathetic voice.
"Better. I would have come to school today, but I thought I could use the rest." It wasn't that much of a lie. I was getting tired of not being able to block people's feelings. Not to mention now I could push feelings upon others. There was no telling what would have happened at school today.
"Yeah, that was probably a good idea. Look, if you’re not feeling up to going to Karlie's, it's okay."
"I'm feeling better. I'll come." I said, trying to hide the fact that I had forgotten about going to Karlie’s.
"Great! Do you want me to pick you up?" he asked quickly.
I thought about it for a while, but decided against it.
"No, I think I’ll drive myself there."
"Are you sure?" he questioned me. It was unlike me not to ride with him.
"Yeah, I'll see you there." I bit my lip.
"Okay." He hesitated. "I love you."
"I love you, too," I said into the phone before hanging it up. I did love him, but I wasn't sure how my secret would impact our relationship. It was a scary thought.
"Going somewhere?" Aunt Trish asked with a raised brow.
"Just over to Karlie's with Kyle," I casually replied. However, I knew circumstances had changed. They were not going to act casually about it.
"Carson, you know you need to learn to control your empathy," Trish pointed out.
"No, it will be okay." Aaron stood up from the couch. "It would be better if she was in a larger crowed. That way she can focus on trying to block them out, or she can emphasize on one person."
"Great. I wanted to hang out with my friends and forget this just for a night, and now I have homework," I muttered.
"Take Aaronmon with you," Trish said with an odd smile.
It wasn'tthat Aaronmon and I weren’t getting along; the problem was I wanted this evening to be alone with Kyle, like we used to be. Then, there was also how all the girls swooned over Aaronmon. I meant, what was it, some alien hormone? Aaronmon did look hot, but I didn’t think he was drop dead gorgeous. He had more of a dorky attractiveness to him. It was too weird watching all my girl friends look at him like he was the last piece of steak during an apocalypse. No, I just wanted this one evening to myself, so I could feel somewhat normal.
"Please no!" I looked over at Aaronmon pleadingly.
"How about I drop you off and then pick you up. I need to be able to protect you in case the Bremoir found out who you are. We know they are here in Alice."
“How do you know that?” I asked him.
“The Bremoir have Borain Warriors with them. They are beasts and excellent trackers, but they have to eat. That is how I know they are here.”
“Eat what?” I asked.
Then I thought back to the newspaper article that described the strange findings of three killed deer at Cane Creek. It was said to be an animal attack, but nobody could figure out what animal could kill the deer in such a disturbing manner.
"How about you drop me off, and Kyle can bring me back home."
Trish stood there awkwardly, giving Aaron a funny look.
Aaron pressed his lips together. Ever since last night, something seemed off about every time I talked about Kyle. They were hiding something from me, and I wanted to know what.
"Okay, I want to know exactly what is going on. You promised no more secrets and there is a big secret being kept here," I demanded from the both of them. They were both quiet, but I knew whatever the big secret was, it had to do with my relationship with Kyle. I held my breath for a quick moment, knowing that if I asked the question on my mind, I would not like the answer I was be given.
"Is it wrong for me to be with a human?" I came out angry.
Trish and Aaronmon darted weary glances at each other.
"We don't have laws preventing interracial marriage," Trish explained.
Okay, well, that explained absolutely nothing to me.
"On Emréiana, marriage is of the highest level of respect. If you are married you get the most respect. Because of this, it is always asked that the Elaeyes, once of age, become married." It took me a second to realize that the word marriage was just used, and when it did I could feel the color on my face drain.
"Why can't I marry Kyle?" I knew there was another catch. I knew they wouldn't let me be with him. There was always something.
"I will take you to the party, and I will let Kyle bring you home. If anything goes wrong, call me on the cell, and if you can't get in touch with me call your aunt." Aaron sighed. They were avoiding the question.
"Okay, I got it," I said, walking up the steps. Nothing. I always got told nothing. It's wasn’t like they hadn’t kept me in the dark for my entire life, and now they wanted to keep me in the dark about my future and love life.
With my empathy, I threw every bit of anger
at Aunt Trish. I wanted her to know how upset it made me that they couldn’t just for once be straight with me. I made sure she knew how upset I was that everything I grew up to know, everyone I grew up to love, was a lie. I was upset that the future I had anticipated was only a placeholder until the truth came out. All I wanted to know was the truth; that was the least they could give me now, after all the years of lies.
I flung myself into my computer chair and took in a deep breath. I opened up my browser and looked up the shelters latest animal rescues. I saw one new guest. I only knew it was a dog on account of the description. However, if I would have gone on looks alone, I would have thought this poor animal was a rat hybrid. Don't worry little thing, I get to work tomorrow. They were always happy to see me, and they always seemed to understand me. Now, I wondered if that had anything to do with my empathy. Either way, it made me feel better to be around animals.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. By the guilt that lingered outside my doorway, I could only assume it was Trish.
There was a light knock at my door.
"I don't think I want anymore Emréian dishes tonight." I talked to the door.
"Don't worry. I just want to talk." Trish's voice became clearer as she slowly opened the door. She walked in and sighed as she looked at my computer.
"I had always thought, when you were a kid, that you were going to be an Aríenom. You were always so fond of animals, and they always liked you. I guess that was really the empathy. Anyway, I realized that if you knew about all the danger you were in, you wouldn't have really lived. I also realized that if you knew who you truly were sooner, you would want to find your mother. It was my choice not to tell you." Trish walked over and sat on my bed. I knew she was trying to get to a point, but there was only one thing I wanted to know right now.
"So, what does this have to do with Kyle?"
Trish sighed. "The thing is, I wanted you to live how you wanted to, not out of fear. It's true that Emréians don't date. We court and typically bond in marriage with one person. I like Kyle. I really do, and I had thought that you would end up together."
Gemini of Emreiana Page 6
