Immunity, page 5
This woman could have passed for the star of Game of Thrones, if Amelia Clarke were six and a half feet tall, or as Ms. Clarke would put it, two meters in height. She was dressed in a blue gown that appeared to be silk, with tall, strappy sandals. At her waist was a sword, and another, much larger sword rose at an angle above her left shoulder. It was undoubtedly my imagination, but her power was palpable.
Her hair was long, white, and worn in a complicated style. I’m sure if I’d had photos from the television show, it would be a close match. We’ll come back to all of that.
She cocked her head, and then her eyes narrowed. “What happened?” she asked sharply.
“Professor Newman’s tone with one of the city guards was not sufficiently servile,” Chasianna offered.
“Which guard?” the Khaleesi asked. “Wait.” She groaned. “Enania. If I could have accurately predicted your arrival, she would have been assigned elsewhere. What else do I need to know?”
“Aniyah inserted herself.”
“Which one is Aniyah?” she asked. But she lifted a finger, looking back and forth. “Ah. The bodyguard. Step up here.” Aniyah moved to my side. The Khaleesi studied her. “Did you draw blood?”
“No.”
“Would you have?”
“Oh, yes.”
“You drew steel.”
“Yes.”
“And threatened a member of the city guard.”
“Most definitely.”
“And did you apologize?”
“Of course not.”
“By our laws, your life should be forfeit,” she said. She lifted her finger again. “I have no interest in that response.” She turned back to me. “You will withdraw any complaint you intended. I will ensure you have no further interactions with the guard in question. And that will be the last we need to discuss this issue.”
“Your laws should be amended when a bodyguard, as you put it, is doing her job.”
“Perhaps that is true,” replied the Khaleesi. “But that is a potential future conversation.”
She waited. I considered then said, “We have an implied agreement. I withdraw my protest. I wouldn’t suppose I can get some ice.” Tears began filling my eyes. I wondered if they’d been there for a while, and I just hadn’t noticed.
“Perhaps I can do better than ice,” she replied. She lifted her hands towards me but then said, “I will need to touch you. I will be most gentle.”
“Magic,” I whispered. “Can you make it stop hurting?”
“Of course.” She treated that as permission. Her hands began to glow. She didn’t even speak. She touched, one hand on cupping my head, the other pressed against my face. Her touch was cool, and I felt the coolness spread.
The immediate relief was nearly overwhelming, and the tears began crawling down my cheeks. Her touch moved a few times, leaving cooling relief in their wake. And then she bent lower and kissed away the tears. “All better,” she whispered. “It may take a moment.”
“Thank you.”
I felt unsteady, but Aniyah was right there, an arm around my waist, supporting me. The Khaleesi stepped away. “A relationship?”
“No.” But I leaned against the woman.
“A friend, then. Well, I will give you a moment.” She turned her gaze. “And the aide. Step up here.” Hillary joined us. “Your name?”
“Hillary Bender. Do you foster this appearance?”
The Khaleesi laughed lightly. “Sometimes. It amuses me almost as much as the people who first made the reference.” She gestured to her hair. “My maids were frantic to rearrange my hair, and if you had stepped only slightly faster, you would have seen them scurry away at the final moment.”
“Is there an iron throne in one of the towers?”
“There was,” she said. She gestured behind her. “It stood there. It is now slag. Well.” She smiled broadly. “Welcome to Algonae. I am Rhosani.” She stepped back in front of me. “We have met. You may not remember.”
I cocked my head. “Has your appearance changed?”
“This is my natural hair color, but back then it was black and worn somewhat less ornately.”
“It was some time ago.”
“Yes.”
“London, a conference,” I said. “You sat in back.”
“You do remember.”
“You asked a question. I’m sorry, I don’t remember.”
“I asked if you were a woman who appreciated a good adventure.”
“Ah. Yes. And I made a comment about romance being more my style of literature.”
“That wasn’t the type of adventure I asked about, but now I have brought you here.”
“So you have,” I agreed.
“Well. You are undoubtedly weary from your travels. You have assigned quarters. There are human servants. They will see to your needs.” She gestured us closer, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Do not interfere with their expected behavior.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You’ll remember my words if it becomes an issue,” she said. She leaned away again. “You are the only humans on Algonae who speak English, and you will find very few speak Elvish. The servants will show how you may communicate with them. Dinner tonight is casual. We’ll speak more then, and tomorrow there is a reception. I am pleased you are here, Professor Newman.”
“I look forward to our conversations, Khaleesi.”
“You may use my name,” she said.
“Rhosani,” I said. “And I am Amelie.”
* * * *
Four of the palace guards led us through the palace, eventually reaching a corridor on the second floor. There were more guards waiting, and a pair of doors opened. We were gestured inside, the doors closing behind us.
There were four human women waiting. We came to a stop, staring at them, as they were all kneeling, their heads to the floor. And they were dressed in…
“They look like harem girls,” Aniyah observed.
Silk, most of it sheer, their most intimate areas barely disguised.
“This is why she told us not to interfere,” I said. “We’re not here to champion human rights.” I turned to Aniyah. “How is my face.”
She stepped to me, setting fingers against my cheek. “Is it tender? I can’t even tell you were struck. I’m sorry, Ambassador.”
“It happened too fast for anyone to respond,” I said. “Thank you for not drawing blood.”
“Do you think she would have executed me?”
“I think she would hold it over my head if I hadn’t backed off concerning the guard. She clearly has a sense of humor, but she led a revolution and is now ruling an entire world. There are significant implications.” I gestured to the kneeling humans. “And more implications.”
“How do we know they really don’t understand English?” Hillary asked.
“We don’t.”
I looked around. We weren’t in a bedroom. It was more some sort of living room, with narrow windows along the far wall. There were doorways at each end. The furniture was sized to be comfortable for elves. I wondered if that was intentional, but then I wondered if we would be receiving elves in these quarters.
“It’s beautiful,” Hillary said. “Do you think we can safely explore?”
“I want a shower,” I said. “I wonder if that’s even possible.” I stepped to the nearest human and knelt down, setting my hand on her shoulder. “I know you don’t speak English.”
She looked up then said a word. All four of them stood, although they kept their eyes lowered in a very submissive fashion. The woman stepped past me, picking up a piece of stiff paper from a table near the door. She pointed it to me.
Hillary took it from her. “Translations,” she said. “It won’t do me a bit of good.” She handed it to me.
There were two columns. “Cuneiform,” I said. “Just how long have humans been here.”
“Can you read it?”
“No. But I can point.” I scanned the list. I turned it towards the woman and pointed to bathe and clothing.
She spoke in her language. I’m going to call it Persian. From the cuneiform, it was probably once Old Persian, but that would have been not one millennium, but two, several hundred years Before Common Era. I wasn’t a historian, so I was guessing. But I’ll call it Persian, lacking another word.
The four women scurried about. Three disappeared through the doors on either end of the room, coming back only moments later carrying cloth over their arms. Then the first gestured to the main doors.
We followed her. She spoke to the guards, also in Persian, and we acquired a four-person honor guard. I didn’t care for the implications. Our guide turned us right, opposite of the way we had originally come.
There was a staircase. We descended into a basement area. One of the women hurried ahead of us, and by the time we stepped into the next room, she was lighting several lamps.
There were pools. The guards stayed at the door, the rest of us moving in. The women hung up the clothing over their arms, and I realized they were bathrobes. They quickly stripped themselves. And then they turned to us, one each to Hillary and Aniyah and two of them to me.
They began plucking at our clothing. “Let them do what they want,” I said. But we had to help them.
My two brought me to one side of the room, and then they bathed me. They didn’t let me do any of it myself.
I would like to say they did their job with some joy. That would be a lie. They were efficient and thorough. I detected no malice but simply a matter-of-fact attitude. This was how things were done.
Once they were done with me, they led me to the pools. The water was pleasantly warm, and they led me in, walking backwards, tugging gently on my arms. The water was lightly scented, and it felt nice. There was an underwater bench, and they led me to it, one on either side. I let them settle me.
And then I let them pamper me as I closed my eyes and relaxed.
“Hey!” Aniyah complained a minute later.
“Let her do what she wants,” I said.
“You have no idea what she wants.”
“Unless she’s lingering about it,” I said, “Yes, I do.”
“Fine,” she said. “But this is wrong.”
“We can’t apply our standards to an alien society,” I said. “You’re a smart woman, Aniyah. Think about it, and we’ll talk later.”
“This is ridiculous.” But there were no more complaints, and it was another minute before she joined us in the pool, her attendant seeing to her.
I closed my eyes again. “I don’t mind this part.”
It took a minute, but then Aniyah said, “This isn’t bad.”
I waited until they were all settled, then I opened my eyes. “With the river nearby, water may not be precious. Hot water, however, undoubtedly is. There are a number of human societies that use communal pools like this, and most of them pre-bathe.” I closed my eyes again. “You can rest more comfortably knowing the previous bathers were treated the same. We’re not soaking in someone else’s sweat.”
“Or worse,” Hillary added. “I’m still not drinking this water.”
“Important safety tip.”
We didn’t stay long, perhaps twenty minutes or so. But I felt far better by the end, and I didn’t resist when they urged me from the tub. They dried me carefully, buffing my hair and wrapping it in a towel before adding a robe. They quickly dried themselves before donning their own clothes.
But when Aniyah went to collect her old clothing, her woman stepped in front of her.
“Don’t fight her,” I said. I turned to mine and pointed at the clothing. She tried tugging me to the door. I pointed again. She held up one finger then ran from the room.
I heard remnants of a conversation in a hallway, then one of the guards entered with her. “Your clothing will be laundered and returned to you.”
“We want our personal things,” I said. “In the future, we’ll leave them in our room.”
She spoke Persian for a moment, and then the women helped us collect our things, including an assortment of weapons.
* * * *
Our bags had been delivered – and opened. I wasn’t pleased about that. We didn’t get a chance to look through them, however. The women pulled each of us to a different bedroom. My two pushed me into a chair facing a dressing mirror, and they went to work on me.
They brushed out my hair, drying it further. They braided it for me.
Then they insisted on dressing me in soft, comfortable underthings, and a dress of silk, white, but trimmed in the same color the Khaleesi had been wearing.
I felt better, and checking my reflection, I looked better, too. I thanked them, hoping they understood, then returned to the central room. Hillary and Aniyah weren’t out yet, but I turned to our packs. I was displeased they’d been opened. I sorted through and saw all the clothing was missing. Everything else seemed to be untouched, as far as I could tell.
I looked to the two women, who were kneeling – not with their heads to the floor. I gestured to the packs then fingered my clothing. The leader got back up, retrieved the cheat sheet, and pointed to Laundry. I brought my bags to my bedroom, waving both the women to remain where they were. I got back in time to see both Aniyah and Hillary emerge from their own rooms, dressed similarly to me, the colors and cuts different, but the same style.
“You both look nice,” I commented.
“I look like a girl,” Aniyah said.
“I’ve got news for you,” Hillary said.
“You can be deadly and feminine at the same time,” I said. “Check your packs. They said our clothing is in the laundry.”
Aniyah squeaked before running to hers. She sorted through it before hauling it into her room. She looked a little grumpy when she returned, but she asked me, “Where is your knife?” I gestured with my thumb over my shoulder. She stepped past me and into my bedroom, back just moments later. She knelt down behind me and fastened my knife to my leg.
She, of course, was fully armed, including her sword. No one had tried taking it from her.
“What are we supposed to do with them?” Hillary asked, gesturing to the kneeling women.
“I have no idea.” I moved to a sofa and plopped down, closing my eyes. “Let them do whatever they want.”
Aniyah joined me. Hillary picked up the cheat sheet and reviewed it. “There’s nothing here that says Stop Kneeling.” She eyed the women. “I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t do that for more than about three minutes.”
“Maybe find something else for them to do,” Aniyah said. “Send them on errands or something. You know, even I’m glad we’re finally here. The bed looks amazingly comfortable.”
“I’m going to send them for refreshments,” Hillary said. She carried the cheat sheet to one of the women, knelt down, and pointed.
* * * *
It took Hillary about an hour to run out of distractions for the four women. She stood over them, staring at the tops of their heads, then walked to the door. I heard quiet voices, and then she came back and sat down beside Aniyah. “They pretended not to understand me. My Elvish isn’t that bad.”
“We should talk about our mission,” I said. “But I just want to turn my brain off for a while.”
“Our travel was stressful,” Aniyah said. “We never knew when something would jump out at us, grab Hillary, and fly away with her.”
“Hey!” the woman complained.
“Tell me you weren’t worried about that.”
“Maybe they would fly away with you.”
“Is that what you believe?”
I opened my eyes. My aide had been deeply unflappable the entire time I’d known her. “Aniyah has a point, though,” I said. “And the worst part is, this isn’t that complicated a mission. We aren’t going to be here very long. And then we have to retrace our steps. It won’t be any easier going back. Do you regret coming, Aniyah?”
“No. Do you?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I still don’t understand why me.”
“Maybe the Khaleesi will tell you,” Hillary suggested.
“I think the Khaleesi is very good at playing her cards, and far, far better than I am.”
“Maybe that’s why you,” Aniyah said. “She knew who you were. Maybe she didn’t want to deal with a career politician.”
“I can’t blame her for that,” I said.
“You speak her language.”
“Her English is far better than my Elvish.”
“You don’t know who will be in the talks,” Hillary pointed out. “Do you think she’s going to want to negotiate in English then translate for the others?”
“Fair point,” I admitted. “There are others who would be better.”
“But others she’s met, even if it was from across a crowded room at a conference?”
“Maybe she didn’t like your cute answer to her question,” Aniyah said. “And this is getting you back.”
“I’ve considered that possibility,” I replied.
“She’s clearly intelligent, and intelligent people frequently have multiple reasons,” Hillary said.
“Like, maybe she has the hots for you.”
I snorted. “Maybe she remembers a much younger version of me.” I opened my eyes. “How is it of the three women on this trip, all of us are lesbians?”
“You don’t have to be a lesbian to find the elves attractive,” Aniyah replied. “Ooh, la, la!”
Hillary and I both laughed, and then I said, “Nice deflection.” But neither of them proposed a hypothesis, and I hadn’t come up with one, either. But the conversation wasn’t quite over.
“I’ve never done anything like that,” Hillary said.
“Let yourself be taken by several elf women at a time?” Aniyah asked.
“You’re making a joke, but yes.”
“I think it’s something in the water,” she said. “The first night, I didn’t even question it.”
“Neither did I,” Hillary admitted. “Alloralla kissed me. Shael wrapped her arms around me. I was along for the ride.”
