I contemplated this for a moment. “So something in Myshtal’s body language conveyed to Indigo that this symbolic gesture was being made towards me?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
Gramps shrugged. “I don’t know, boy. We’re talking about Caelesian versions of winks and nods. It may be things too subtle for the rest of us to notice, or if we did see something unusual, we’d probably just chalk it up to alien eccentricities.”
“But the upshot of what you’re saying is that Myshtal may be expecting this pact I made with Queen Dornoccia to result in actual matrimony.”
“No, not at all,” Gramps declared, shaking his head emphatically. “That would be like expecting you to marry Electra simply because you like her. So even if Myshtal does have feelings for you, it doesn’t mean that she’s already picked out her wedding dress.”
“Thank heaven for small favors.”
“Look, the main thing I want you to understand is that this is clearly more than just a simple business deal now. There are real feelings involved, real emotions. That means you’re going to have to figure out what’s the right thing to do here very soon, or someone’s bound to get hurt.”
“So basically, you’re telling me I need to man up.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he said laughingly as he clapped me on the shoulder. “But you’ve got excellent judgment, Jim, so I’ve got all the confidence in the world that you’ll make the right decision.”
“That makes one of us,” I stated glumly, causing my grandfather to chuckle again.
Chapter 16
Shortly after the conversation with my grandfather, we all left for the gala. Our ride was a chauffeured limousine, courtesy of Alpha Prime. It was a bit more pretentious than we had planned, but my father had insisted. Thus, we had all piled in after the car and driver showed up at the embassy gate.
The limo’s interior configuration was along the lines of what I expected, with two rows of seats set across from each other. My grandparents and mother took the forward-facing seats, while Myshtal and I sat on the rear-facing row, with our backs to the partition separating our group from the driver.
As we drove, Myshtal began peppering my grandparents with questions about proper Earth etiquette in social settings. This was, for all practical purposes, going to be her public debut, and she obviously wanted to make a good impression. However, she invariably charmed almost everyone she met, so in my opinion she was worrying over nothing.
On my part, I couldn’t stop thinking about what my grandfather had said to me. Myshtal and I had gone through a crisis together on Caeles, so it was undeniable that the two of us had a bond that had nothing to do with our marital pact. However, what Gramps had told me changed the entire landscape between me and the princess. I mean, it was one thing to imagine how things would be between us if I didn’t have a girlfriend. It was something else altogether for her to actually have romantic feelings for me (although it would certainly explain a few things).
I was about to ask what she was talking about, then realized with a start that she was right: my brow was distinctly furrowed. Smiling at my own gaffe, I relaxed my features.
Mentally, I chuckled.
I nodded in agreement. Like me, Gramps, and Myshtal, my mother and grandmother had also dressed up for the occasion. Now bedecked in formal attire and with their hair styled in a similar fashion, they looked more like siblings than ever.
She seemed to contemplate for a moment before responding.
As she spoke, I sensed an odd vibe in her, something like dolefulness mingled with disquiet.
She gave me a bewildered look.
My mother simply stared at me, and for a moment it seemed as though she wasn’t going to answer. Then she let out a telepathic sigh and simply announced,
Mom gave a mental shake of her head.
Now the frown was back on my face as I concentrated, trying to figure out what my mother was getting at. She helped me out by telepathically sending me a clue: an image of a black field stretching out in all directions, covered with twinkling lights.
My mother mentally shrugged.
I sat there for a moment without responding, still somewhat stunned by what I’d heard. Losing Indigo – the grandmother I was still getting to know – would be bad enough. But Gramps?
Along with my mother, my grandfather had raised me. Trained me. Taught me how to use my powers. I had a tough time imagining him suddenly gone.
And if it was hard for me, it had to be incredibly difficult for Mom. She’d have to say goodbye not only to her father – the only parent she’d ever known until a few weeks ago – but also the mother who had just come back into her life.
Overwhelmed with sympathy for my mother, I reached out to her empathically and detected an unusual potpourri of emotions: doleful sentiment mingled with bittersweet reflection and somber resignation, all encased in a shroud of wistful yearning so powerful that it was almost palpable.
The thought of not having her parents around was clearly distressing to my mother, and I wished that I could do something to ease her pain. I just found it hard to believe that my grandparents would simply take off like that – just when we were finally a family.
And just like that, understanding dawned on me. I knew exactly how I could help my mother.
My mother’s eyebrows went up in surprise.
Telepathically, she shook her head.
My mother seemed to contemplate this for a moment, but then gave another sad shake of her head mentally.
She didn’t respond immediately; instead, she just stared at me for a few seconds, mentally wrestling with a decision as she pondered what I’d said. Then she gave me a bright smile and a telepathic hug.
Chapter 17
For the remainder of the ride, Mom and I joined in the conversation with Gramps, Indigo, and Myshtal. Before I knew it, we had reached my father’s subdivision, passing through a gated and guarded entrance into an exclusive neighborhood of million-dollar homes and sprawling estates.
From that point, it should only have taken us about fifteen minutes to reach my father’s mansion. Unfortunately, we were still in view of the neighborhood entrance when our limo slowed to a halt behind a long line of equally ostentatious vehicles.
“Apparently we should have come early,” Indigo commented, prompting a grunt of annoyance from my grandfather. “Hopefully the line will move quickly.”
My grandmother’s hopes in that regard were soon dashed, as ten minutes later we had moved forward only a few hundred feet.
“This is ridiculous,” Gramps finally barked. “What’s the hold-up?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. There’s supposed to be a valet service, but I’m guessing they’re overwhelmed.”
“Half these vehicles are chauffeur-driven stretch limos,” my grandfather shot back. “They don’t need a valet.”
“So,” Mom mused, “you’ve got a bunch of oversized vehicles dropping people off and then trying to maneuver around in spaces that were probably designed for much smaller cars.”
Gramps seemed to ruminate on that for a moment, then let out a sigh of resignation, saying, “Okay, maybe I’m just being impatient, but it seems like we could have walked there by now. Or…”
He trailed off as he turned towards me, a suggestive glint in his eye.
Knowing what was being implied, I merely nodded. “Yeah, I could teleport us, but I wouldn’t in our current position.”
“Why not?” asked Myshtal.
“Because you’re all sitting,” I replied. “If I took us there now, you’d all flop down on your butts when we appeared, like some synchronized clown routine. Of course, I could hold everyone in their current posture telekinetically, but you might find it awkward.”
“Well, there’s a simple solution to that,” Indigo said, reaching for the door handle. A moment later, we were all standing outside the limo.
“Everyone ready?” I asked.
“Wait just a minute,” Gramps said, reaching for his wallet as he began walking towards our driver’s window. I then noticed him give the man a tip and then mutter something – probably letting the chauffeur know that we’d call him when we were ready to go.
After getting a curt nod in response from the driver, my grandfather turned and walked back to us, saying, “Okay, let’s go.”
Taking that as my cue, I teleported the five of us.
*****
We popped up in a French formal garden – a broad concourse consisting of exotic flowers and carefully manicured shrubs. In addition, there were fabulous water terraces interspersed throughout the area, and it was all arranged in an eye-catching symmetrical design.
I sensed a deep wonder welling up in Myshtal as she looked around, and I couldn’t blame her. Frankly speaking, the garden was spectacular and worthy of a spread in some national home-and-garden magazine, as the architect had clearly outdone himself.
As to Mom and my grandparents, I felt that they were suitably impressed but not overly awed by our present surroundings. (Now that I thought about it, it was possible that they had seen this garden – or others on the same scale – before.) In terms of location, it was notched off the rear of Alpha Prime’s mansion, a bit farther out than the pool area where I had spoken with Mouse and Braintrust earlier. I had chosen to teleport us here instead of directly into the mansion in hopes of being less conspicuous. That said, there were a few people in the garden when we appeared, but none took particular notice of us.
“Come on,” I said, and began marching towards the rear of the mansion. A few minutes later, we were inside.
Chapter 18
We were able to get inside my father’s mansion without a lot attention or fanfare. In fact, we were probably there a good ten minutes – with my grandparents inconspicuously greeting old friends and the rest of us following in their wake – before people in general began to realize that the guests of honor had arrived. (Apparently they had been expecting us to come through the front door.)
After our presence became known, we quickly found ourselves hemmed in on all sides by what looked to be scores (if not hundreds) of people. The atmosphere was a little madcap for the next few minutes, as various folks in front, behind, and on both sides of us tried to get a word in with my grandparents. Thankfully, Mouse – who had seemingly arrived early – was on hand, and quickly took charge. Bringing order to chaos, he placed the five of us into something akin to a receiving line in the mansion’s ballroom and then whipped the crowd into an orderly queue.
For the next fifteen minutes, it seemed as though I was incessantly glad-handing a long string of people, like a political incumbent who was worried about re-election. In truth, however, it wasn’t that bad.
I was fourth in the receiving line – after my grandparents and mother, but just before Myshtal (who was generally identified merely as my “friend”). Unsurprisingly, a good number of those I met were my grandparents’ contemporaries. Thus, they’d spend a quick minute chatting with Gramps and Indigo about the old days, devote a brief moment to Mom (whom many of them remembered as a child), and then briefly shake my hand – the grandson that few of them even knew existed. (And it was pretty much a certainty that none of them knew I was Kid Sensation.) But in all honesty, I think everyone gave me short shrift in order to get to Myshtal, who was as engaging as she was beautiful. In fact, it was difficult to say who the guests preferred speaking with – her or my grandparents.
I managed to obtain a brief respite from handshaking when one guest – a rotund, middle-aged fellow with a handlebar moustache – spent more than the average amount of time with Mom. Worried that she might be getting bored, I took advantage of the opportunity to check on Myshtal.
“Having fun yet?” I joked as I turned to her. “Hopefully it’s not too tedious.” I actually addressed her in Caelesian, which would give her a chance to give a frank response without worrying about anyone understanding what she was saying.
She giggled slightly before answering in her native language. “Oh, this is nothing. You should see the lines I have to endure when I attend an event with the queen.”
I nodded in understanding, having actually seen Queen Dornoccia and Myshtal at a formal event and noting how many people they had to greet on such occasions.
“So,” Myshtal went on, “how man
y of the people here are supers?”
I took a quick glance around before answering. “Most of those on the guest list don’t have any special abilities to speak of, but there are a good number of people with powers present. For instance, that lady over there” – I pointed to a silver-haired woman who appeared to be in her sixties – “can shoot lasers from her eyes. That fellow by the far wall in the cowboy outfit and ten-gallon hat has a magic gun – or magic bullets, I forget which…”
I went on in that manner, pointing out a few other supers in the vicinity that I recognized.
“What about the gentleman speaking to your mother?” Myshtal asked, nodding at the guy with the moustache.
“Apparently he thinks his super power is charming women half his age,” I replied stiffly.
Myshtal erupted into laughter at my comment, the outburst making several nearby guests turn in our direction – including the man who had been talking to Mom. Thankfully, we had still been speaking in Caelesian so he surely hadn’t understood us, but his attention only made Myshtal succumb further to her giggling fit. A moment later, I joined her, chuckling heartily at my own quip. I was about to make a further attempt at humor when a familiar voice sounded behind me.
“You two,” said my grandmother, who had apparently stepped out of the receiving line without me noticing. “Come with me.”
Her tone was somewhat stern, and immediately brought our jocularity to an end. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked away; Myshtal and I quickly fell into step behind her.
Indigo marched determinedly across the ballroom, heading towards an empty patch of wall on the far side of the room. Once we reached it, she halted and turned to me and Myshtal.
“This should be fine,” she announced. “You’re discharged – both of you.”
Myshtal and I exchanged a confused glance; neither of us had a clue what my grandmother was talking about.
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