“There are no longer slaves on Cendis. Elan, my husband, and his advisors, the children born the same night, they are with me. This is why I had you disarm yourself. They and the Cendian people have been nothing but kind to me. In my pod, I also have several Avalian slaves. Elan and I gave every single one of them the option to be returned here instead of coming with us. Every single slave wants to go to Ragnis Crystal, but I have several on my pod who wanted to see Avala. They wanted to see where they are from. They wanted to find family here. They may change their mind and choose to stay once they see Avala and that is their choice.
“All of you have the same choice. You can come or you can stay. But I must ask something of all of you. I will be making this same announcement to our people. I ask that you still protect us, even if you don’t want to come. If you disagree with me marrying a Cendian, put it aside. If our people react badly to this alliance, it’s not just me and the Cendians that could get hurt. Our people could get hurt too. Think of them, even if you disagree with me. If you do agree to come and you agree with this alliance, I need you to know something. I also need you to know something if you don’t.
“All of us are speaking to bond animals like our people used to have. They are telling us things that make us think they are very old and might know the gods. I am pregnant with twins. I am being told they are powerful and will bring Ragnis Crystal into a Golden Age. If you agree with me, I need a few of you to be near us when we make our announcement. If you disagree with me, just let me leave. Don’t hurt babies when they have done nothing to you and will be through the wormhole when they are born.”
Fjola was holding her breath watching all the faces in their black uniforms. Slowly, they all started to take the knee to her. Fjola could only see they were recognizing her as queen and would protect her, but Isolde could hear everything they were thinking.
“All of the Cendian military has also agreed to come. I hope you will all teach each other what you know and train. When we first arrive and get settled, the desertion laws will be different. There will be an adjustment period where everyone is picking homes and deciding how to furnish them. At that time, if you decide it was always your dream to be a farmer, scientist, or doctor, it will happen. No one will judge you and no one will look down on you. The desertion laws will not apply and you will not face punishment.
“If you joined the military because of a juvenile record or because there was no other option, your record is forgiven and you have options now. The government will also be run differently. Elan and I will rule with advisors from those born the same night as us, but each area will have a governor that meets with us and reports changes that need to be made in that area. Everyone will have a voice on Ragnis Crystal.”
Gregor looking like he was itching for something and Fjola hoped it wasn’t his gun. “Gregor, if I let Elan and the others out, do you promise to be nice?” Isolde smiled. “I should tell all of you, in addition to having ice, I can hear what you’re thinking. I can turn it off when I want and I won’t always be peeking in on your private thoughts. I’m just listening now because I love Elan and I care for everyone on this pod. I don’t want to see them hurt.”
Gregor cleared his throat. “No offense, my queen, but you’re proving yourself quite fierce. We need to see our new king can handle you.”
Isolde threw back her head and laughed. Elan came out and wrapped his arm around her waist. Now that Fjola could see him in person, he towered over Isolde by at least five inches and his body was ripped with muscle. The rest of the Cendians came out, followed by shy, Avalian slaves. Fjola didn’t know how she missed all fifteen of the Avalians hiding, but they ran out and started pairing up with the Cendians. There was a lot of hugging and some of them were already comfortable enough to passionately kiss each other in front of everyone.
Elan finally decided to speak. “I know some of you might find it strange at first to see Cendians and Avalians together like this. Whoever decided to create us that night gave us mates and we bond like we do with our bond animals. Isolde and I have a strong connection and your water boiled and cleaned itself the night we bonded. It’s not expected for any of you to pick a Cendian mate. If you meet one and fall in love, by all means, marry them. If you have your eyes on an Avalian girl, you can ask them now.”
“What if we were forced into a marriage with someone we can’t stand, but we’ve always loved someone else?” one of the female soldiers asked
Elan and Isolde did that silent communication thing Fjola didn’t understand because as far as she knew, Elan’s mind was off limits to her. They looked back out at the woman and Elan spoke.
“There will have to be a process for that. Divorce was common on earth according to history. The only reason it wasn’t when everyone landed and arranged marriages started was that they wanted the stronger people to breed stronger babies even if they didn’t love their partners, No one should be with someone who makes them unhappy when there is someone else who could make you whole.”
“I can hear you all wish to come with us. If people want to stay, we will be leaving them with no military,” Isolde called. “On Cendis, we decided to form a police force like they did back on earth. Volunteers from the military will stay and teach them to use weapons, tech, and how to investigate crime. Think now if you want to come or stay behind for a little while and teach. The ship that will be bringing everyone over is large, but it will still take several trips if most of both planets wants to come.”
Isolde went over and started whispering to one of the Avalian slave girls. She pointed to a man in the crowd and called him forward.
“Ivan, this is Sylvia. She’s been raised on Cendis as a slave and wanted to see Avala before she came to Ragnis Crystal. Perhaps you could show her around?”
Ivan broke into a huge grin and Sylvia smiled shyly. They must have been thinking about each other pretty loudly for Isolde to hear them over everyone else. Ivan took her arm and the two of them disappeared.
“The rest of the Avalians with me have heard the speech I’m going to be giving twice now. Are there any volunteers to show them Avala?”
The J20 ramp was getting less crowded as all the former slaves had a partner willing to show them around. Fjola caught snippets of conversation as people passed trying to find out family names so they could meet long-lost family.
Isolde started giving orders and some were directed at her so her attention snapped back into focus. She didn’t intend to waste any time and intended Fjola to start a gathering and she wanted it done quickly. The ramp on the J20 would have been heated and she hadn’t had a chance to give out the clothing she brought. Isolde was scowling at the slave uniforms all the Cendians started to pull over their clothing.
“I never want to see these again when we leave.”
Elan pulled her to him and kissed her head. “It makes sense and you had to do it too. At least your slaves have warm clothes made for them instead of just getting discarded clothes no one wants.”
Fjola didn’t want Isolde angry with her about anything else and she did want to show her she was trying. “These are just to get them inside. I took a page from Sartika’s book and had clothing made for all of you. Even you, Isolde. It’s not like the clothing Sartika made, but it’s neither Cendian nor Avalian. I tried to make it look like you are here for an alliance for Ragnis Crystal and keep all of you warm.”
Isolde’s face briefly softened and Fjola thought she might ask to have that talk. “The cold doesn’t bother me,” she snapped, grabbing Elan’s hand and stalking off.
Fjola hoped she could have a civil conversation with her without getting punched in the face.
Chapter 45
Elan hadn’t said anything to Fjola or Isolde, but he and the others could keep themselves warm. She slipped her hand into his on the walk back and he realized why she had asked for the clothes. Everyone was wearing thick clothes and they would have stood out. The cold didn’t bother her either, but she was wearing a thick jacke
t. He was trying to take in Avala as they walked through the forest to the palace.
The trees weren’t like Cendis. They were tall and straight, not twisted and faceted like Cendian trees. Isolde leaned in to say they would be going to meet Soelva later. The palace was unlike anything Elan had seen before. The buildings on Cendis were wide and squat while the buildings on Avala were tall and imposing. The palace itself was a shiny tinted glass that seemed to cover half the ground and reach the sky. They had ornate, carved wooden doors on Cendis, but all the doors on Avala were thick metal.
Her boots clacked on the shiny gray floor as the front door slid open in the palace. She had to let go of his hand when they started approaching people. Most everyone hardly looked at him, but a few people stared longer than a few seconds. Isolde was whispering in his head what different things were like the gathering room they were in now. She took her place on what looked like a huge glass throne and the others took chairs around her. Elan and the others were told to stand behind them.
When the room was full, Isolde didn’t stay seated. She paced with her hands behind her back and gave the same speech she gave earlier today, but with some additional facts. She gave full disclosure with what they had learned about the mutations. She promised she and Elan would both go for tests too and the other Cendians would go too. She swore she wasn’t doing this so they could dissect their people and make everyone like them. They were just trying to get to the truth because they wanted to know themselves.
She called a few names and the slaves from Avala came forward. She got the family names they knew on her pod and she started calling them out. Tearful people came forward to embrace their long-lost family. Elan thought this would probably be the last time he heard this speech, but she wasn’t done yet. She had nearly won them over, but she had something left to say they might not like.
“You got your families back. It’s time we do the same for the Cendian slaves here. I’ve actually already spoken to them. I’m friends with some of them. They have almost all agreed to come with us, but I’m giving you all the same option. If you’d like to stay on Cendis, I will take you back, even if it’s just long enough to see your home. There are still Avalian slaves on Cendis who did not make this trip with us. They wanted to prepare and go to Ragnis Crystal with us. What say you? I will open the floor to questions.”
She’d already addressed nearly everything since this was the fourth time they would have given this speech. Elan gave it to the Cendian military and his people and she’d already spoken to the Avalian military. They already had a good idea of what kind of questions they would ask. A few people wanted to meet him and the others, so they stepped forward and started answering questions. She’d already prepared him for how to answer. Speak firmly and confidently and that would win the people over.
Some people thought the Cendians were primitive and both Elan and Isolde tried to speak. Isolde spoke volumes about their art and food and Elan told them about Cendian technology and medicine. They both wanted the Cendians and Avalians to work together on all of that. There was a red-faced Avalian scientist in the back who was curious about all the Cendian remedies and was shooting questions at Elan. Some of it, he didn’t know and Nia stepped in and easily answered all of her questions.
“I’m a healer too. I have the ability to plant images in your head. If there is no cure, I can make the transition into death a little more pleasant. It was always intended that when I’m not helping Elan and Isolde, I would work in the hospitals alongside the doctors.”
A voice called out from the other side of the room. “You would all work?” Elan saw the face. It was a man with dirt on his face and a rip in his shirt.
“Yes, of course,” Isolde pointed out. “We all have things we are good at. We’re still mostly human and we have skills and hobbies. I think most of you have seen my pod. I will be putting that design up for production once we are on Ragnis Crystal and I think I want to try my hand at designing other things as well. Jaka and Oleh behind me are whizzes with gadgets and I spoke to Karta and Atikah on the ride over. They’d like to try their hands at designing too if they can learn what kind of tech they have at their fingertips. Lusinda and Roegin, from our sixteen, they have interest in technology that will make farming easier. We all have interests.”
“What are Elan’s interests?” a high-born girl purred.
“Being with me and raising our children,” Isolde growled.
The crowd finally laughed and the girl blushed and bowed her head. Isolde announced she would be showing Elan and the others around for the next few days while everyone made their decisions if they were coming or staying. She gave them the same options about government Elan gave the Cendians. The crowd started spilling out the large palace and he heard her stomach growl. He could feel she was determined and probably wanted to go see Soelva, but he asked her to take a break and eat.
She agreed and they all spilled into a hall. It was strange sitting in a chair to eat and not having her in his lap. The table was at his waist instead of his knees. Most of the faction had joined them and Isolde was trying to tell everyone what she heard inside everyone’s heads. It was the same as on Cendis. Most everyone intended on coming, but there was a scattering of people on both planets that intended on staying. It was going to take time to get everyone through the wormhole, even with all the pods at their disposal.
When the food was brought in, he had no idea what he was looking at. There was a piece of meat on the plate with no spices on it and vegetables he had never seen before. He recognized the potatoes, but they were white instead of blue.
“That’s smoked Ogeloupe. It’s kind of like a pig. The potatoes are mashed with garlic and next to it is spinach with Skyr. I hope we can make it on Ragnis Crystal.”
Spinach was something they grew in greenhouses on Cendis. He’d only had it because of where he was born. The smoked Ogeloupe was good, but he was imagining it cut up into pieces and flavoring the spinach. The Skyr was tart and he decided he liked it. Avalian wine was much tarter than Cendian wine, which was fruity and sweet. Isolde had mostly stopped drinking once Tati told her she was pregnant. She wasn’t drinking wine at all with this meal. She was drinking some sort of red juice with a contented sigh.
“What are you drinking?”
“Chimera juice. It’s quite sour, but I love it.”
“She’s been drinking that since she found the fruit on a hunt,” Fjola said. “No one else can stomach it.”
Isolde shot her a foul look, so Elan tried to distract her by asking to try it. She looked like a kitten with milk as she handed him the glass. To say that it was tart was an understatement, but he actually liked it. There was a sour candy only the bravest Cendian would eat that it reminded him of. Most children tried it for the first time on a dare. It was either a love or hate type of thing. Elan handed her the glass back.
“Can I get one?” he said, winking at her. He would tell her about the candy later.
Fjola and the faction didn’t seem to want to let them out of their sight, but Isolde insisted on taking Elan to see Soelva. The others wanted their mates to meet their bond animals too because they had questions. Elan knew Fjola wanted to talk with Isolde, but it wasn’t going to happen right after she landed. It probably wasn’t going to happen until things were settled on Ragnis Crystal. Elan hoped she wouldn’t push it.
Before Isolde would take him to meet Soelva, she demanded Fjola give Elan the clothes she had made. Fjola just sighed and told her they were in her closet along with the ones Fjola made for Isolde. The clothing didn’t seem to bother the others and they disappeared with their mates. Isolde led him down a glass hall with framed painting every few feet. The paintings ranged from beautiful abstract works to things that looked like a Cendian had done them, but were probably Avalian stories.
Isolde put her face near a wall and a green light scanned her face. He heard a lock click and her door swung open. Her chambers were so different than his. Her bed was sleek, black,
and the headboard was built into the wall. The walls were glass, but had been tinted with something that made them a matte gray. All of the furniture was black or smoky gray. She had a lot of art on her walls and he could see why she liked Cendian art so much. The paintings on her wall looked like some sort of illustration of out a storybook.
He couldn’t even see a closet until she went and started pressing a keypad on the wall. A false wall swung inward to reveal a large closet.
“Do you want to come look?” she called. “It looks like she threw out some of my clothes to make room for yours.”
He hoped that wasn’t another thing she was going to be furious with Fjola about. He walked in and it looked like the closet was hooked to a computer system. Some button she had pressed had swung out a rack with his clothes. He didn’t look at them right away because he was making sure she wasn’t upset.
“She got rid of all those gowns I hated on two racks. She’s either trying or she’s doing the exact same thing with these clothes.”
“Just look at them before you get upset with her, okay?”
They both went to their racks. Elan had never seen clothing like this before. It was almost like body armor, but it was too light and moved like leather. Sartika must have sent his measurements. The shirt and vest fit like a glove, as did the pants. Isolde was dressed a little similar to him, but her vest was cut differently and accentuated her body. She was eyeing him hungrily and she looked like a warrior in those clothes. He was starting to hope they would both be out of them soon.
Isolde let out an irritated sigh. “Fjola did well with this, but Soelva has ordered me to get you out to her mountain now and save what we want to do for later.”
He let out a growl. He couldn’t wait until everything was settled on Ragnis Crystal and they weren’t constantly being pulled somewhere. She led him through long hallways until they were in a large building that looked like it held these squat vehicles that looked like they sat two people.
Child of Fire, Child of Ice-A Sci-fi Romance Series (The Waljan Chronicles Book 1) Page 35
