“We are very impressed that you successfully
made the transition,” Kanika said as she worked. “It is supposed to
be a very difficult process, especially without any training.”
“Mmm.” Amber closed her eyes and slowly
reopened them. Something in the water was proving so relaxing that
she stopped paddling to keep herself buried under the water.
Instead, she floated, limbs loose, as Kanika finished cleansing her
hair.
“There are those who did not think that
half-humans would be strong enough for the transition,” Kanika
continued, her tone soft and soothing. “Will they not be
surprised?”
“They shouldn’t be,” Amber found herself
saying, her speech slower than usual. “Humans are stronger than you
give us credit for.”
“Ah, but you are not entirely human, are
you?” Kanika pointed out. “We must rinse your hair.”
They spent some time in silence completing
that task. Then Kanika added the contents of another bottle to her
hair, insisting that it would add sheen and conditioning. So
tranquil that she couldn’t argue, she just let Kanika take care of
it.
After a while, Kanika broke the silence by
saying, “Once you are dressed in your ceremonial garb, we will take
you to the destination revealed by the Elphresti elder, Jabari, to
Simon once you transitioned so that you can meet again with your
sisters.”
“And Gabriel?” Amber asked. She wondered why
her voice sounded a bit slurred.
“Oh, well, that I cannot say,” Kanika replied
with a shrug in her voice.
“Why?” Amber struggled to regain some focus.
The conversation had taken a disturbing turn.
“Well, it depends, of course, upon how
archigos
Gabriel fared during the transition.” Kanika
started rinsing the last combination of solutions from Amber’s
hair. “There is a high possibility he will be in no mental
condition right now to participate in the ceremony. It might take
time for him to reorient himself to our plane. And no one believes
that he will come through remembering anything of his human
experience, so he might not understand the significance of the
ceremony in time to attend.”
Alarmed, Amber’s eyes widened. She started
paddling again, her mind sharpening at this news. Was that why she
couldn’t hear him in her thoughts anymore? “What do you mean?
Ini-herit said there was at least a fifty-percent chance that he
would—”
Kanika interrupted with a humorless snort.
“Fifty percent? The Corgloresti elder was lying.”
All sense of relaxation abandoned her. Amber
sat, taut as a bowstring, as Kanika finished her work on her hair.
Her mind tumbling from one thought to another, she accepted the
washcloth that Kanika handed her with the contents of the next
bottle all over it. She numbly used it to wash herself as she
considered the exotic Orculesti’s words.
Had her worst fears come true? Was Gabriel
somewhere right then with absolutely no memory of her? No memory of
their love for each other?
The bitter sting of tears hit her behind the
eyes and she fought to keep them back. She had joked with Gabriel
about making him fall in love with her again on this plane if he
forgot her, but what if she couldn’t? What if he was incapable of
experiencing that level of emotion, as Ini-herit expressed was the
case for older Estilorians? Or worse, what if he was entirely
different and didn’t like her at all? Would her heart be able to
withstand that rejection?
She took a deep, calming breath. Despite
Kanika’s concerning words, she felt pretty confident that she would
sense it if Gabriel was gone from her in more than just a
geographic sense. And she was still wearing the ring he had given
her. That had to have some significance, didn’t it? On top of that,
since he was the first of his kind to have ever attempted this,
then there had to be at least a fifty-fifty chance of it
succeeding. Although she absolutely hated math, Gabriel had forced
her to learn at least enough that this thought calmed her back
down.
“I think you will like the ceremonial garb
that our most talented Lekwuesti have created for you,” Kanika said
conversationally. “They have been working on it for years.”
“Years?” Amber couldn’t contain her surprise.
“How could they possibly know what size I would be when I
transitioned?”
“Hmm. How do I explain? You see, the essence
of your Estilorian form has been fully matured for some time.
Although we did not know the exact final details that your physical
shape would assume, we knew enough to determine measurements for
tailoring.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean, ‘fully
matured?’”
“I mean, your Estilorian form is…how do you
say it? In its adult stage. You will not change from what you see
in the mirror today.”
Amber nearly dropped the cloth in her hands.
She was sure her jaw was hanging open. “Ever?”
“That is correct.”
“But we’re only eighteen!”
“In your human age, yes. But Estilorians
never change from the form they assume when they transition. You
will find that most of us are very young in appearance. We have
come to believe that when they transition, human souls assume a
shape that to them represents the most vital age at the time of
their human existence. Thus, many of our oldest Estilorians are the
most youthful in appearance, because life expectancy was much lower
thousands of years ago. We were not sure what would happen with you
and your sisters due to your half-human natures, but when your
forms on this plane grew at such a rapid pace and then stabilized
for a number of years, we realized what had happened. Regardless of
what age you think you are due to your human upbringing, you are
fully mature on this plane.”
Amber handed the washcloth back. “So, we can
live as long as any other Estilorian?”
“Well, that remains to be seen, does it
not?”
Unable to argue, she ascended the steps and
allowed Kanika to wrap her in the soft towel she held out for her.
They were silent as Amber dried herself. Kanika directed her over
to a tall, flat stone beside the pool, out of range of the mirror,
so that she could begin brushing her hair.
“Please, can you get some scissors—hell, a
knife—and cut some of this off?” Amber implored.
Kanika clucked her tongue. “We must not
change a thing about you until after the Becoming ceremony. That
would not be tolerated.”
Rolling her eyes, Amber relented. It took a
tremendous amount of time to get her hair combed, so much so that
it was dry enough for Kanika to style when she was finished combing
it. She sang softly as she worked, which helped distract Amber from
freaking out about Gabriel. It also made her very much miss her
guitars. Did they even have instruments here?
When Kanika finished styling her hair, she
went to work on Amber’s makeup. She wouldn’t accept any argument,
once again citing the upcoming ceremony.
“You do not understand,” she said as she
applied color to Amber’s eyelids. “You and your sisters are a
heralded presence on our plane. I know you are aware that not all
of us think of you as a blessing, but many of us do. On this plane,
a male can look at a female with appreciation for her form, but not
truly understand why. The depth of true passion—and all other
strong emotions—is missing, especially among the elder males.”
Amber thought of Gabriel and simply couldn’t
reconcile what Kanika was saying with the young man she loved.
“It is our hope that you will introduce new
blood to our people. And, in doing so, help those of us who most
need it to remember those emotions.”
Before Amber could analyze that thought,
Kanika sat back, studied her work and then nodded. “I will get the
ceremonial garb.”
The “ceremonial garb” was little enough
material that Kanika brought it back in one hand, and Amber’s eyes
widened. “Uh, just how many Estilorians are expected to attend this
ceremony?”
“Oh, do not worry about that,” Kanika said
with a wave of her hand. “The important thing for you to know is
that this is ceremonial. The makers of these garments wanted to
display at the Becoming ceremony what they considered your finest
attributes.”
Unconvinced, Amber reached out to see just
how little fabric was in the other female’s hands. Before she made
contact with the clothing, Kanika grabbed her hand. Her eyes
flashed in a way that had Amber blinking in confusion.
“How is it you still wear this ring?” she
demanded.
Amber snatched her hand back, surprised and
uncomfortable with Kanika’s reaction. At first she wondered how the
Orculesti knew about the ring at all. Then she remembered the Big
Brother monitoring methods Ini-herit had described and realized
Kanika must have mentally viewed the vow exchange. She didn’t see a
reason to respond to Kanika’s outburst, though, and just stared at
her in silence. It was, quite frankly, none of the other female’s
business.
After a moment, Kanika’s gaze again grew
calm. She gave Amber a small smile. “How interesting. Well, let us
get you ready, shall we?”
The Gloresti standing behind you right now
is James. He worked very hard to bring both of us over to this
plane
, Aurora thought to Olivia.
Beside him is the Waresti
second commander, Alexius. He is the larger of the two.
With a mental nod, Olivia held the sheet to
her chest and rolled so that she could see the Estilorians Aurora
referred to. “Hello, James and Alexius,” she said, giving them each
thankful smiles.
Alexius tilted his head, but said nothing.
She was surprised to note how young he looked. No more than twenty
human years old, if she had to guess. He stood with his arms
crossed over his broad chest. His burnt orange eyes were quite
intense. She noticed that his daunting muscles were covered in
orange markings and wondered at their significance. His dark hair
was worn close to his scalp. His expression was unreadable, making
him even more intimidating. Her smile faltered.
James was quite handsome, she realized as she
shifted her gaze, and he also looked no more than a couple years
older than her. His straight hair, worn in a kind of choppy cut
around his face, was that just in-between shade between brown and
blond. He wore it long enough in the back to brush the neckline of
the maroon tank top he wore. His eyes were the blue of dark, ripe
berries, and studied her with obvious curiosity. He seemed to be
processing the fact that she knew their names.
“Hello, Olaya,” he responded in a melodious
voice. He attempted to return her smile, but it looked like an
unfamiliar action.
Finding his behavior humorous, she sat up,
using one hand to hold the fabric that had been covering her in
place and the other to reach out and pet Aurora’s head. Looking
behind her, she noted the long length of her hair and raised an
eyebrow. But then, she imagined there were many things about her
transition that would surprise her. The biggest surprise of all to
her was that she had made it across. And she knew that she owed
that entirely to James.
Turning back around, she said, “Thank you for
all of your efforts to bring us across. I know words aren’t
enough—”
He blinked in apparent surprise and
interrupted her. “But that was my duty,” he said, as if that
explained why he had gone to so much effort.
For some reason, that just increased her
humor. “I’m sure it was. And you’re excellent at your job. But that
doesn’t mean I’m not grateful for it.”
He didn’t seem to know what to say about
that. He tilted his head slightly in consideration and then said,
“Your assigned Orculesti is second commander Dalila. She will
prepare you for the Becoming ceremony.”
“Oh. Okay.”
For another long moment, he just stood there
staring at her. Then he turned and walked away. After taking his
own turn to study her in silence, Alexius followed him.
Aurora gave a mental chuckle.
Of all of
the males here to see to your protection, they are the only two who
stood by you until you awoke. I think I frightened the rest
away.
Really?
Olivia gave that some
thought.
I think I like them
, Aurora
thought.
I do, too.
The male Estilorian who stood in front of
Skye when she became aware was rather exotic in appearance. His
skin color was somewhere between tan and very tan. His long, dark
brown hair was a series of soft curls that he had tied back into a
ponytail with three separate loops around it. But his most
compelling feature, his almond-shaped, dark blue eyes, drew Skye’s
full attention. She thought she could have gazed into those eyes
until the world came to an end.
“Get up,” he said.
The smile that had formed over her thoughts
of him suddenly froze. “Excuse me?”
“I said, ‘Get up.’”
Unused to such rudeness, Skye wasn’t sure how
to react. So she sat up.
The Estilorian’s gaze shifted down and then
back up, over her shoulder. “Cover yourself.”
Sighing, she did as he instructed.
“I am Caleb,” he said, “the Gloresti who
watched over your Estilorian form and assisted in bringing you to
this plane. Behind me are the Waresti who have stood in protection
of you since your birth. Together with your assigned Orculesti,
archigos
Malukali, we will prepare you for the Becoming
ceremony.”
“Well, isn’t that something?” Skye responded
tartly, deciding she didn’t at all like Caleb’s tone. “I’m Skye
Tomaganuk, and I’m here to save your entire people. So…how about
that?”
“Okay. Take a look.”
Amber gave herself a mental pep talk before
she stepped in front of the mirror. She once again thought of the
analogy of Alice and the looking glass. Just too appropriate. Then
she took two steps to her left and looked.