“This should do for tonight’s affair,” N’Fawnele remarked, “and I strongly suggest that in the future she consider styles like it that reveal her features, instead of hiding them away under such a frightful tangle.” She glanced over her shoulder at her attendant, who was just completing her work on Maya’s make-up.
“While my assistant finishes, let us consider the gown. I have several glowgowns that I wanted you to see, Captain bel Lissa; two of the latest designs from Thermadon in the Consular style, and one from a very promising designer from Sita.”
The dressmaker adjusted the hologram and pulled back out until they were all looking at a full figure again. “This first one” she said, tapping out instructions, “will bring out her green eyes and her skin tone very nicely.”
The gown appeared, a classic affair composed of loose flowing layers and a long train, complimented by a long sleeved over blouse. The theme woven into its holographic fabric was a dark wooded forest, with only hints of light showing through the animated trees.
“This next one, I personally like,” the dressmaker said. “It is also from Thermadon, in the Consular style.” This time the dress was a sleeveless affair, and the image of deep ocean waters, dark and inviting, coursed through it. It seemed to bring Maya’s features completely into focus, and even her untrained eye could appreciate the end result.
“That’s it,” Bel Lissa said. “It is, as you and I both know, perfect.”
“Yes,” Madame n’ Fawnele agreed. “I was going to try out one more style, but you have a dressmaker’s eye. Now, for the jewels.”
A few more taps, and a set of light gold earrings appeared, made of delicate chains and reaching down to just caress the image’s shoulders. A matching necklace with a large Kalian emerald completed the ensemble. What stared back at Maya and everyone else in the room was every bit the princess that Felecia n’Calysher had been. The transformation was breathtaking.
“Excellent!” Madame n’ Fawnele exclaimed. She clapped her hands and the second attendant began to work on Maya’s hair. “We will order the jewels and have them brought up with the dress within the hour. That should give you plenty of time to dress her and get to the Captain’s table for dinner.”
“As always, Madame n’ Fawnele,” Bel Lissa replied, “it’s been a pleasure and an honor to witness your work.”
***
Maya’s dress arrived six standard minutes after Madame n’ Fawnele had concluded her visit. Bel Lissa and Sarah quickly helped her into it, and then left her alone to go and get changed themselves.
While she waited for them, Maya looked in the mirror in her stateroom, still not quite believing the transformation that the dressmaker had wrought. Living on the streets, and in and out of spaceports, she had always eschewed frilly things in favor of the practical, but now, looking at herself, she had to admit that she liked what she saw. Maybe not for everyday wear, but there were touches that she wanted to carry over into more casual settings.
She finished admiring herself, and walked back into the central foyer. Bel Lissa and Sarah soon joined her there, accompanied by Zara, and each of them was as transformed in their appearance as she was.
Bel Lissa had chosen to wear a fine silver-grey comerci with a dark wine, colored cravess offset with simple gold earrings. Maya recognized them immediately as finer copies of her single Sisters of the Coast earring. Zara had followed her Captain’s lead and had gone with a dark brown comerci and a crème colored cravess, but true to her nature, had retained her single earring.
It was Sarah who had altered her appearance the most, opting for a dark hologown that portrayed the farthest reaches of the Outer Arm, complete with slowly spinning images of neighboring galaxies. Dark, filmy gauze covered her arms and shoulders, which Maya found to be a bit odd, but not being familiar with the latest fashions, she assumed that it was in style nonetheless. If anything, the dress made what skin she had left exposed appear even more ethereal and exotic than ever.
Like Maya, her dark hair had also been piled high. In her case, in a neat French twist. Her Daughter’s earring had been suspended on a thin gold chain, and she was sporting a pair of platinum earrings with dark purple gems in her ears. She looked like a mysterious queen from some unknown and forgotten world.
“You all look so wonderful,” Maya said.
“So do you, Maya,” Sarah replied. “Now, shall we go to the Captain’s table and dine?”
The women made their way out of the suite and over to the private lift. After consulting Bel Lissa’s pathminder, they boarded it and started down towards the ship’s dining room. On the way, Maya’s crewmates did their best to prepare her for the experience of formal dining. For someone used to using only a knife and spork, the list of do’s and don’ts proved to be extremely daunting.
“Now, remember, Maya,” Bel Lissa advised, “Keep your feet flat, with the hand you are not using in your lap, and your elbows close to your body. You can be a bit more casual when the meal is over.”
“Yes, definitely,” Zara agreed, “Also, make sure to use your silverware from the outside in. Oh, and cut only one piece of food at a time. And when you’re done, leave the knife above the fork, blade facing you. The knife blade should always face you on the table and on the plate.”
“Oh yes, and Maya,” Bel Lissa interjected, “Make sure you take your spoon away from you when you eat with it. Don't blow on the soup, and eat off the side of the spoon.”
Until just then, Maya had believed that she already knew how to eat. What her crewmates seemed to be describing was more like some strange alien ritual than an evening repast. Her head spun as she tried to take in everything her companions were telling her.
“Stop it, you two!” Sarah finally said. “Can’t you see that you’re overwhelming her with details? Maya, just watch me and follow what I do. Don’t worry much about it. This is, after all, your first time and you’re bound to make mistakes.”
“Yes,” Maya replied doubtfully, trying to work up her confidence with a deep breath.
The lift reached its destination and the doors opened onto the Versailles, the Aphrodite’s main dining room. The Versailles was a gigantic vaulted chamber, with tall slim windows that opened out onto a dramatic view of space. Literally hundreds of tables dotted the expanse, and, raised above them all, was the Captain’s Table itself. A huge golden image of the goddess Aphrodite stared down from a pedestal behind this, as if overseeing the entire affair herself.
A hostess greeted them as they stepped out of the lift. “Good’ eve, gentleladies,” the woman smiled. “If you will come with me, I will escort you to the Captain’s Table.”
Maya followed her friends closely, suddenly realizing that the thousands of diners in the room were watching them as they made their way across it. If a hole had opened up in the deck right then, she would have gladly thrown herself into it and hidden from their stares.
As it was, no escape offered itself and she was forced to keep walking, desperately hoping that she did nothing to embarrass herself in front of so many onlookers. A real princess, like the Lady Felecia, would have handled it all with more aplomb, but gown or no, she felt like a pretender.
“Our main courses tonight,” the hostess was saying as they reached the Captain’s Table, “are fresh quadsa with wild jasa rice, and chisan salad on the side with a fine lemonaisé dressing, or lamb saafora complimented with fletch’a and krechi-leaf pasta. Our featured wine is a Zommerlaandar veizenwien. Dessert is a choice of house pastries, or yemyem l’Aphrodite.”
Maya only recognized one or two of the dishes, but she wasn’t worried about how edible the meal would be. Her stomach was so tied up in knots that even a simple bowl of Chikka-broth would have been a challenge to get down.
Most of the diners at the Captain’s Table had already been seated, among them Lady Felecia n’Calysher and her companions, along with an older, stately woman that Maya decided had to be the Senatrix herself.
Following their hostess up
to the huge table, Maya and Felecia made eye contact. There was no mistaking the welcome in the young patrician’s eyes, or the spitefulness of her companions.
“Do you see that, Chandel?” Mellissy n’Dwavaa remarked, just loud enough for Maya to overhear, “They’re letting her eat up here with us! I’d think that a girl like that should be fed in the kitchen with the rest of the help.”
Chandel responded with a malicious laugh and Maya would have gladly smacked the haughty looks off their delicate faces, but she remembered herself and walked on with her crewmates.
Their seats turned out to be just to the other side of the Senatrix and her daughter, at the Captain’s right hand. This alone, caused some chatter among the other diners, and a look of pure outrage on Mellissy and Chandel’s faces; only guests of the highest status were afforded such seats. Maya rewarded the two girls with a smile of pure triumph as the Captain stood to personally greet Bel Lissa.
“Inish!” Captain bel Mandi exclaimed, embracing her, “I had heard you were aboard! Good to see you again, old friend.”
“Captain bel Mandi,” Bel Lissa said, indicating her companions, “you already know Zara and Sarah. Meet our newest crewmember, Maya n'Kaaryn.”
“It’s always a pleasure to meet a crewmate of Inish’s,” the Captain replied warmly. Then Maya noticed the single earring of the Sisters of the Coast in Bel Mandi’s left ear.
A smuggler, she thought, or a former one at the very least. A thousand questions suddenly begged to be asked, but Maya simply returned her smile.
“I take it that Hari didn’t work out?” Captain bel Mandi observed with a noticeable twinkle in her eye.
“Uh, no,” Bel Lissa said. “You might recall that she was always a bit too emotional for our kind of work.”
“Just as well then,” Bel Mandi agreed. “But I am forgetting myself. Let’s be seated before our fellow diners perish from hunger!”
They took their seats, which was a signal to the waitresses to begin serving the dinner. “So, tell me, Inish,” the Captain was saying, “How fares the JUDI? Is she still just as fast as I remember?”
“Even faster,” Bel Lissa responded. “Zara’s made a few modifications to her since you were last aboard.”
Last aboard? Maya wondered. Captain bel Mandi hardly seemed the type to take a ride on a smuggler ship, but there was no denying the Sister’s earring that she was wearing. Mystery upon mystery, she thought.
The conversation quickly drifted away from the JUDI to less interesting subjects, and a waitress came up and offered her a holomenu.
“Gentlelady? What may I serve you for dinner?”
Maya looked at it, completely baffled. The menu might as well have been written in some alien language.
“She will have the quadsa with wild jasa rice, and the chisan salad,” Sarah interposed, “and I will have the same.”
She reached over and gave Maya’s hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry,” she said quietly, “this will go fine. Just follow my lead. Now, take your napkin and put it in your lap.”
Maya did as instructed and then took stock of her utensils for the first time. She was horrified at how many forks and how many spoons were arrayed in front of her.
Three wine glasses? What in all space were they for?
“Remember, Maya,” Sarah whispered, “Just use the first utensil on the outside and work your way in with each course.”
Maya picked up her fork and looked at it as if she were seeing one for the first time. Down the table, she overheard a hateful laugh and saw that Mellissy was watching her, clearly enjoying her perplexity.
“Bitch!” she silently mouthed back. To her immense satisfaction, the girl’s jaw dropped open in shock. Felecia, who had noticed the exchange, rewarded Maya with a smile that she hid from the others as she pretended to blot her mouth with her napkin. How such a girl could stand companions like Mellissy and Chandel was as much a conundrum to Maya as Captain bel Mandi and her connection with the JUDI.
Go ahead and sneer, she thought, glaring at Mellissy with undisguised malice, and maybe this “common dockworker” will teach you a thing or two. The image of ripping out Mellissy’s fine golden curls by their roots brought her spirits back up sharply, and she smiled at something someone said with genuine pleasure.
Their meal, although exotic, turned out to be surprisingly delicious. Quadsa with wild jasa rice was an instant favorite the moment that Maya tried it. The flying insectoid, a native of Nemesis, proved to be a rich meaty creature that tasted like heaven with drawn butter and garleeq, and the chisan salad was a light, but extremely rewarding experience. Maya resolved from that point on, not to be as hesitant in trying out new foods. In one sitting, she learned that an entire universe of gastronomical delights was waiting to be discovered. Even better, with Sarah’s patient guidance, she also managed to complete the meal without humiliating herself.
After dessert, the Captain rose, which was a signal to her guests that the meal was officially over. While she and Bel Lissa moved off to the side to discuss something in private, Sarah gently guided Maya down to the dance floor.
“Now, Maya,” she said, “I think its time that you reacquainted yourself with your young friend. I believe that the Lady Felecia was watching you through the entire meal, and if I read her right, she is secretly hoping for a dance with you.”
“With me?” Maya gaped.
“Yes, it was unmistakable,” Sarah replied. “Even without my talents, I could tell that she finds you incredibly exciting. You would be best advised to honor that.” Before Maya could object, Sarah took her over to where Felecia and her companions were standing.
Mellissy and Chandel, realizing that they were approaching, tried to draw Felecia away, but the girl remained where she was. Then Mellissy’s expression became pained, and she rubbed at her temples.
“Oh, I have the most dreadful headache,” she complained.
“I’m not feeling very well either, “Chandel added. “It must have been something that we ate.”
“Perhaps you should both go and lie down for a bit in your staterooms,” Felecia suggested. Niether girl protested and they quickly took their leave of her and left the dining room in haste.
Watching them depart, Sarah winked at Maya. “Consider that a small favor to be repaid at another time,” she said in a low voice. “Now, shall we go and claim your prize?”
Maya suppressed her delight at her enemies’ retreat and walked up to Felecia with her crewmate.
“Lady n’Calysher?” Sarah said, “I understand that you and your entourage are staying on the Platinum Deck with us?”
“Why, yes,” Felecia responded, “but I am afraid that we have not been formally introduced, gentlelady. You have me at somewhat of a disadvantage.”
“I am Sarah n’Jan and of course, you already know my crewmate, Maya n’Kaaryn. We are serving with Captain bel Lissa. No doubt you saw Captain bel Mandi and her conversing together before dinner?”
“Yes, I did, gentlelady,” the girl replied, “and by the way, I must say Maya, that your gown is very striking. You look quite lovely in it.”
Just then, Sarah pretended to recognize someone in the room, and excused herself. “I hope that you two ladies enjoy the remainder of your evening,” she said. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady n’Calysher.”
With Sarah gone, Maya suddenly felt awkward and shy again. Sensing this, Felecia quickly made small talk. “Did you enjoy the meal?”
“Yes,” Maya replied, “It was quite good. I’ve never had food like that before.” She instantly regretted the remark, knowing that this made her look rough and unsophisticated, but Felecia was unfazed.
“Yes, I gathered that some of this was rather new to you,” she replied, “and I imagine that it might even seem a bit silly.”
“Some of it,” Maya admitted, “but other things are wonderful.”
“Yes,” Felecia agreed, looking into her eyes. “Some things are at that.” Maya flushed, a
nd suddenly her knees felt weak.
Glancing around her to see if anyone was near enough to overhear, Felecia leaned in a little closer, “I understand from my mother that Captain bel Lissa is some kind of pirate, or a spy. Is that true?”
“Well,” Maya stammered, at a complete loss for words, “not exactly. I mean--”
“I fully understand,” Felecia replied conspiratorially, “You couldn’t tell me if she was—or if you were. Just the same, I’d imagine that your lives are full of daring adventures and not nearly as boring as mine.”
Maya said nothing.
“I knew it!” Felecia said delightedly, “Just by your silence alone, I can tell that it’s the truth! You really are pirates. Oh, how incredibly exciting! And here I thought this voyage would be another dull round of dinners and tedious conversations!’
“Rest assured though, I’ll keep your secret to myself. I believe that Mellissy and Chandel are scandalized enough thinking you a common sailor. The shock of finding this out would simply kill them! And even though they do deserve to die for the terrible way they have treated you, their mothers are friends of my mother and their deaths would prove somewhat… awkward.”
Maya laughed, and relaxed a bit.
“Would you like to dance?” Felecia asked. Before Maya could refuse, she added. “I know, you probably don’t have much experience with dancing as an interstellar secret agent, but I’ll help you just like your friend did through dinner. Really, it’s a lot of fun once you get the steps right, and besides, no one will dare laugh at Senatrix n’Calysher’s daughter, or her friend.”
She extended her hand, and led Maya out onto the floor to join a Corrissan waltz that was just beginning.
Felecia proved to be correct; once Maya had learned the basics, dancing was actually quite pleasant. Especially with Felecia in her arms.
***
The crew of the JUDI decided to use the next day to tour the ship. Bel Lissa was determined to go shopping, but Zara and Sarah had an eye towards doing some gambling in the liner’s casino. Intially, Maya had wanted to join Bel Lissa, but by the end of their breakfast together, they had convinced her to join them instead.
Sisterhood of Suns: Pallas Athena Page 44
