by ammyford1
“It would be very strange if someone just materialised in the middle of a busy shopping mall,” he continued.
It was just as odd materialising in a wood, I thought to myself.
“So what do we do? Just walk through it and bingo we are there?”
“Yes, pretty much,” he said without any further explanation.
It seemed so easy. I had expected spaceships and flashing lights, I couldn’t help feeling more than a little relieved.
“What’s Ramia like?”
“Dinara, which is the kingdom I am from, is very beautiful, you can see for yourself if we go now.”
“Now?” I said in a high pitched voice.
“The sooner we go, the quicker we can get back.”
“We can’t go today,” I argued. “I want to see Audrey and I need to speak to Sandie and I need to pick Toby up from school at 3.15.” I knew I was stalling. Suddenly, I didn’t feel comfortable travelling to another universe through a portal. What if I disintegrated or something? It was alright for Ahran he was a superhuman and used to it, I was a mere, what did he call me? Sapien?
“We could be there and back in a couple of hours,” he reasoned.
I stared at him feeling a little dazed, I’d run out of excuses. “Okay, if you are sure we won’t be long,” I said hesitantly.
Oh hell! What had I just agreed to?
“Just give me a minute.” A hefty dose of fear was beginning to settle in. I went upstairs to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Wild panic was now galloping through my veins. “I can do this,” I said to my reflection, trying to ignore the terror in my eyes. Please don’t let me burn up, I prayed. I splashed some water on my face and patted it dry with a towel. I grabbed my bag from the bedroom checking I had everything I needed. What did I need for a trip to another universe? I hadn’t a clue. Before stalling much longer and changing my mind, I went back downstairs.
“Shall we go then?” I said nervously. Ahran nodded and followed me out of the back door. I locked it and put the key under a nearby plant pot.
The thirty acres of woodland behind the house belonged to me and I often walked through it with Mungo. Little did I know that anything like a space travelling portal existed in it. We walked through the back gate. Ahran took the lead and we started down a worn footpath.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No,” I said shakily. I scrutinised my familiar surroundings suspiciously and couldn’t see anything that resembled a portal, not that I had any idea what one looked like anyway.
“You will be fine,” he said with a hint of a smile. I narrowed my eyes at his back as we continued to walk down the path. That’s easy for you to say!
We veered off the path and I carefully picked my way through the dense undergrowth, trying to avoid the tree roots and the tangle of brambles that clawed at my ankles. I tripped a couple of times, crying out as the brambles hooked my flesh. Ahran slowed and offered me his hand. I hesitated before taking it. It galled me that he didn’t seem to be having any trouble walking through the vegetation.
“Not far now,” he confirmed. “I should perhaps mention that people are affected differently when they travel through portals. It is a bit like travel sickness, some people get really sick and some people are not affected at all. Do you get travel sick?” he asked.
“Not generally,” I said, wincing for the umpteenth time as a sharp stick jabbed into my leg. “I’m not great on boats though,” I said, not feeling heartened by this most recent piece of information.
“You won’t know how you are affected until you travel through one,” he explained.
My stomach started to churn at the thought and I had a horrible feeling I might be one of those people who got sick.
“It’s over there,” he said pointing to a big oak.
“What, that tree?”
“No,” he said chuckling.
“I’m glad I amuse you,” I said, narrowly avoiding a tree stump.
“It’s just in front of that tree.”
I squinted to see if I could see anything that resembled a space travelling portal but my not so superhuman eyes let me down. “Oh of course, silly me, so it is,” I said, defaulting to sarcasm to hide my nerves.
We approached the tree. I held his hand and gripped his arm with my other hand as if my life depended on it. Which, I thought to myself, it actually did.
“You won’t let go will you?”
“No, of course I won’t.”
He stopped and looked down at me.
“Okay, take a few deep breaths. Are you ready?”
“No, but yes,” I said, my stomach feeling like a boa constrictor had taken up residence. I eyed the indistinct spot in front of the tree nervously.
“Let’s go then,” he said.
I felt like a World War One infantryman who had just been ordered to go over the top and I clung to Ahran as we walked towards the gateway. As we neared it, I spontaneously put my hand out thinking we were going to walk right into the tree trunk, but instead we kept on walking, hitting nothing. Suddenly, the only thing I was aware of was darkness and the feeling I was in a lift that was hurtling towards the ground.
It was a really unpleasant sensation.
I gripped Ahran’s hand as tightly as I could and screwed my eyes shut. My stomach began to heave as I lost all sense of gravity. We took another step and I jolted forward as if I had misjudged the distance stepping off an escalator.
After the darkness of the portal I was not prepared for the intense brightness and clamped my hand over my eyes trying to shield them. “Ah, that’s bright,” I exclaimed. I don’t know what was worse, the nausea or the near blindness I felt. I did a quick mental check. Thankfully I hadn’t burnt up on entry. In fact, not one hair was singed. I took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of warm undergrowth.
“Here, put my sunglasses on,” Ahran said, placing them in my other hand. “You will need them until your eyes have adjusted. Our sun burns much more brightly than yours.”
I put them on but didn’t open my eyes immediately.
“How are you feeling?” Ahran asked.
“Not great,” I said as my stomach began to heave. I reached out to steady myself, grateful when my hand made contact with his arm. A second wave quickly followed the first and I bent forward and threw up. When I had finished I spat out some biley dribble. “Ugh! Sorry.”
“Sit down and have some water,” he said, placing a small bottle in my hands. I didn’t argue and gingerly sat down resting my forehead on my knees and took a few deep breaths.
“That was horrible,” I croaked. “I guess I’m one of those people that gets sick.” I felt disgruntled at my bad luck and laid my head back on my knees.
After a few moments the nausea subsided enough for me to sit up straight and sip from the bottle Ahran had given me.
“Take your time, you should find it gets easier the more you do it,” he reassured.
For the time being, I didn’t want to contemplate going back through the portal. Gradually, the nausea began to pass. I slowly opened my eyes unprepared for what I was about to see.
“Wow!”
We were sat on high ground looking down into the most beautiful valley I had ever seen. It was flanked by two ranges of enormous snow-capped mountains. Lower down they were beautifully lush and green. Wispy clouds ambled from mountain to mountain whilst the river below mirrored the startling blue of the sky above as it snaked into the distance. Nestled along its banks was what looked like a small town in a uniform, grid-like pattern. The air was crystal clear and it felt like someone had just removed a fuzzy filter from my eyes. The colour of the lake, grass and trees was so vibrant and the sky was the most brilliant of blues. I greedily drank it all in. “It’s so beautiful,” I said breathlessly. “Where are we?”
Ahran had been watching my reaction. “This is Dinara, and we are in the grounds of the King’s private estate.”
I breathed in a lungful of air and it felt like it was doing me g
ood from the inside out.
“Dinara is particularly known for the purity and clarity of its atmosphere. We have very strict rules about pollution.” We sat there for an immeasurable amount of time as Ahran waited for me to have my fill of this new world.
“How do you feel now?” he asked.
“A lot better than I did thanks. It’s so warm.” I felt overdressed in my pink sweater and I peeled it off, my t-shirt riding up underneath as I pulled it over my head. Ahran’s eyes lowered to my midriff before I could pull the hem back down to meet the top of my jeans. I felt a certain sense of satisfaction that he wasn’t quite as immune to me as I had thought he was.
“Now I know why you always smell of the sun,” I said, tying my sweater around my waist, although immediately regretted saying it, it made me sound like I paid far too much attention to him.
He smiled and stood up, offering his hand to help me up. “Shall we continue?”
He pulled me to my feet effortlessly. He had removed his jacket and had casually slung it over his shoulder like he was about to do a photo shoot. Dear lord, how was a girl supposed to keep her eyes to herself?
“Whoa,” I said, feeling woozy and losing my balance. Ahran put his hands out to steady me.
“Our atmosphere has a slightly higher concentration of oxygen and it can make you feel a little light-headed to begin with, so just take it easy, your body will adapt.”
Most of the physical contact I’d had with Ahran so far had been as a result of me collapsing or tripping or crying on him. I made a mental note to try and be more robust, besides all this close contact was not doing my nerves any good. Fighting the urge to lean into him, I pulled away. “I’m okay. I’m not usually this feeble, it’s just that a lot has happened over the last couple of days,” I said, making my excuses.
He took my hand. “Come on, that’s the palace down there,” he said, pointing to an extensive building that was nestled into the hillside.
“Why isn’t the portal inside the palace?” I asked as we began to make our way down a path.
“The frequency of a portal causes too much interference; it needs to be a certain distance away from buildings.”
“Oh, I see.” Well, at least I tried to. “Does King Halsan know we’re coming?”
“Yes, I contacted him before we left; he is looking forward to meeting you.”
I liked the idea of royalty looking forward to meeting me. In spite of my initial apprehension, I was starting to enjoy myself. The sun was warm, the scenery was a sight to behold and I liked the feel of my hand in Ahran’s more than I cared to admit. We descended the hillside and I noticed the light glinting off reflective surfaces at various points on the opposite hill.
“Are those houses built into the side of the mountain?” I asked squinting.
“Yes, a lot of houses are underground or partially underground here in Dinara. They are more energy efficient and have less of an impact on the landscape. Everything we build has to have minimal impact on the environment,” he explained.
I compared this stunning place with Earth and felt embarrassed that we were only just beginning to realise the importance of looking after our planet.
Before long, we were walking along a gravel track. At the end of it, there was a pair of large wooden gates flanked by high stone walls that traced around the hillside. It was a non-descript entrance like that of a multi-million dollar Hollywood pad. There were cameras dotted around the entrance and along the wall and as we approached, the gates slowly opened. I was beginning to feel more than a little nervous. We walked through the gateway into a large gravelled area. To our left the grounds were terraced and led up to an extensive, modern, wooden and glass, largely single storey building that adhered itself to the contours of the hill. It had a wonderful vantage point of the lake and town below. There was a beautiful fragrance coming from the unrecognisable blooms in the flowerbeds and I could hear running water but I couldn’t see where the sound was coming from.
A middle aged man in a dark suit came out of the building and trotted down the wide steps to meet us. This must be King Halsan, I thought and wondered whether I should curtsey.
“Ah Ahran, good to see you, we haven’t seen you here for a while,” the man said as he approached, his spoken English was clearly a gesture for my benefit and demonstrated his excellent manners. He wasn’t as tall as Ahran but he was in good shape for a man of more senior years. His fair hair was peppered with grey and he had a kind face. The man bowed his head towards Ahran, and Ahran responded with a slight dip of his head which didn’t seem quite as reverential as I thought it should have been.
“Sulaan, I’d like you to meet Sophie McAllister.”
Okay so this wasn’t the king.
“Miss McAllister, we have been anticipating your arrival.” He bowed his head for a second time. Sulaan must have been the King’s butler or footman or whatever you called someone like him in an alien royal household.
“Sophie, this is Sulaan, the King’s premier aide.”
I noticed he didn’t extend his hand so I just nodded awkwardly.
“Er, hello, pleased to meet you.” I had no idea what the standard etiquette for meeting the King’s premier aide was, come to think of it I was pretty clueless as to how to greet a King. I hadn’t thought to ask Ahran to brief me on the finer details of meeting and greeting his head of state.
“If you would like to follow me the King is waiting for you,” he said turning. We followed on.
I gave Ahran an uncertain look and he winked at me. Playful Ahran. Now that was new. I was trying so hard to fight my attraction for him. It was so much easier when he was being abrupt.
We walked into the palace together and it was like we had just stepped into the pages of ‘Hello!’ magazine. I pushed the sunglasses I was wearing up onto my head. The entrance was opulent in an understated way. There were several cream chaise longue chairs lining the walls on either side which were interspersed with ferns and other greenery. Hanging on the walls were large pictures of subtle abstract art and there was a large modern chandelier which hung from the double height ceiling. Sulaan’s shoes clicked on the polished marble floor as we walked through the entrance. We turned down a long corridor. On the right hand side were doors leading to modern, spacious rooms with views out onto the valley. To our left there didn’t appear to be a wall as the corridor circumnavigated an enormous open air rectangular courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard was a large shallow rectangular pool with a water fountain. This must have been the source of the running water I had heard out on the terrace. It was deliciously cool and tranquil inside.
I found it difficult keeping up with Ahran and Sulaan, their strides were so much longer than mine. We walked through a number of other glass corridors fringed by rooms. The ones I had a chance to peek into were large, understated and tastefully furnished. I marvelled at how the place managed to stay so cool in spite of all the glass. I managed to get a good look at one of the dining rooms. It had a huge glass dining table with a number of large leather chairs around it. In contrast to the simple lines of the table, was another intricate glass chandelier hovering over its centre. I thought about my cosy little cottage back home, this place could not have been more different. It wasn’t particularly to my taste but it was beautiful and expensive.
“Nearly there,” Sulaan announced. We had been walking for a good few minutes.
I suddenly wished I’d put on something a bit smarter rather than jeans and a white t-shirt.
“Okay?” Ahran asked.
I had butterflies at the prospect of meeting Toby’s grandfather. I nodded.
We walked down to the end of the corridor to another nondescript door and Sulaan knocked and waited.
This is it!
Ahran must have sensed my nerves because he smiled at me flashing his lovely white teeth. A voice from inside invited us in and Sulaan opened the door. Ahran gently took my elbow and steered me into the room. Sulaan didn’t follow but quietly shut the d
oor behind us .
Chapter 9
The room was bigger than the whole of the downstairs of my house. We were facing a glass wall with that spectacular view out onto the valley. In front of the window was a large desk, and sat behind it was a man, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Sean Connery, although he was perhaps a little broader. He stood up and came out from behind it. He was tall with short greying hair that must have been dark brown once, and he had a closely cropped greying beard. He wore a pair of light casual trousers and a loose white, short-sleeved linen shirt. He carried himself with the confident air of someone with authority. This was King Halsan.
He wasn’t what I had expected at all. What had I been expecting? A wizened old man, wearing an ermine cloak and crown and holding a sceptre? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t had time to give it much thought. He walked towards me with his hand extended, showing surprisingly strong looking forearms. So they did shake hands here. I felt relieved this was the standard formal greeting, I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to pull off a curtsey.
“Miss McAllister, I am extremely pleased to meet you.” His voice was deep and reverberated around the room but instead of the Scottish lilt I had been half expecting he spoke with the same accent as Ahran. His eyebrows were darker than his hair and beard and he had beautiful brown eyes. They struck me as familiar and then I realised why, Toby had a replica pair. He was an inch or two shorter than Ahran but he was a handsome man and all in all, rather impressive. I was more than a little star struck.
I cleared my throat. “Sophie, please call me Sophie.” I shook the hand he offered, his handshake was firm and confidence inspiring.
King Halsan turned his attention to Ahran. He shook Ahran’s hand and clapped him on the arm at the same time. He was obviously fond of his nephew.
“Ahran, it has been too long, good to see you.” Like Sulaan, he spoke in English in my presence and I was thankful, it made me feel a little less like a fish out of water.
“Thank you for bringing Sophie here safely,” the King said, expressing his gratitude.
