by Alma Nilsson
Drusilla,
I hope this will help us find each other tonight.
Dru wondered what could be in the small package. She quickly opened it to find a silver ring with a small clear stone in the middle. However, when she put the ring on her finger, the stone quickly began to change color in the most fascinating and beautiful way right before her eyes, as if it were filling with a different color smoke that was constantly moving like rain clouds shifting above the ocean. She was fascinated but didn’t have a clue as to how this ring would bring her any closer to Mr. Mystery.
She looked at the card again, no name. But when she opened her desk drawer to add it to the other cards, she noticed that the handwriting on this one and the last one that came with the flowers was the identical. She took out all the cards and spread them out across her desk. She saw that only these two matched. She knew the flowers came from the Earth Store and that this ring today was from a completely different store, so Mr. Mystery must have written these two himself. She was charmed by that and thought, His handwriting is impeccable, I hope he isn’t overly religious. In the Alliance, one’s handwriting reflected their closeness with the gods.
Dru wondered then if her Mr. Mystery had been a doctor at the symposium, as he had to have been on planet both then and now. She didn’t have the energy to get the list of potential Mr. Mysteries out again and cross examine it, as she had gone over it too many times already and in a couple hours, she would know who he was anyway. But first things first, she had to figure out how to work the ring, so she opened a live VM to Madame Bai.
“You’re not wearing your hair up?” was the first thing Madame Bai said when she saw Dru on the screen. “And human face paint?”
“I think I look better this way,” she defended her appearance. “That’s not why I am calling. I’ve a question. I just received this,” she held up the ring that now instead of being clear was midnight blue, “but I don’t know what it is or how it works. How it is supposed to help me find the man who put the ban on me.”
Madame Bai looked at the ring and smiled, “It’s a location ring. The man who has given it to you is on the planet or in orbit, that is why it is midnight blue. The closer you come to each other, the lighter the colors will be. When you are in the same room, it will be clear again and will become very warm. It is symbolic that there is nothing standing between you anymore but the warmth of your hearts.”
Dru looked at the ring, “Nothing except I am not of age to be courted yet and I don’t even know this man. How can there be warmth in our hearts?”
“That doesn’t matter, he is revealing himself to you tonight and you can choose whether or not you would even enter a courtship with him after your birthday which is not too far away. Everything he has given you is without prejudice,” she reminded Dru. Madame Bai had realized with a lot of the human women that they felt obligated to men who gave them things and she always needed to remind them that the men did that with the knowledge they may be rejected. And that they need not cater to any men’s feelings that they don’t naturally return. “You can’t have a relationship with a man you don’t feel attracted to. Everyone knows this. You’ll know when you meet him how you feel. Trust in the gods.”
“I will,” she said knowing full well she still didn’t believe in the gods. Every day she went to the shrine in their building and said her prayers, but they were still hollow for her.
“Enjoy this evening as much as you can,” Madame Bai said warmly to Drusilla and then ended the conversation.
Dru looked at the ring and asked herself, “Who are you Mr. Mystery? And do you already love me?”
Ket entered the Imperial Meeting Hall. It was filled with many more eligible men than women and everyone who could be there was in attendance as this was the Year Assembly, the grandest of the Assemblies. Ket had arrived with his sister, but she had already left him for some friends. He scanned the great room, looking for Drusilla. He looked down at his location ring which was connected to hers. It was now a light pink color almost white and showing signs of transparency; she was here somewhere. He thought, She is the only human here and she has red hair, this shouldn’t be difficult. He decided to move through the crowds and begin looking for her. He didn’t want to talk to anyone else. He wanted to find her and spend all his time with her, as tonight would be the only night they would have to spend time together, alone, until she was of age.
After 20 minutes of looking around the spectacularly crowded grand hall he finally found her. She had been at the complete other end of the building. He was only ten meters from her, they made eye contact and his heart stopped. He had been waiting for this moment for so long. His mind reached out to hers, Stay, I’m coming to you, he projected. He began walking towards her and then Rez addressed him completely out of line. It was uncustomary for a woman to stop a man. It was supposed to be the other way around so Ket was annoyed. And she was the last person he wanted to speak to, but he was too polite to just walk away and if anyone noticed it would make him look terrible, even though she had been the one to step out of line and stop him.
“Ket, it’s so good to see you here.”
“Rez, I’ve to see someone.”
“Not so fast,” she said sweetly and by protocol he could not leave her side, otherwise he would be breaking the rules just as she had done in stopping him.
He stopped, mid-step, waiting for her to speak and when she didn’t, he said, “If I may go?”
“No.”
“Rez, this has nothing to do with you,” he said impatiently.
“I know that and that’s why I am not letting you leave yet. I want it to have something to do with me,” she was half pleading, but she couldn’t help it. She was looking up at his handsome face wondering why he didn’t want her anymore. Her mind reached out to his, We can still be together.
Ket was uncomfortable and ignored her telepathic comment by speaking to her out loud, purposely creating distance between them, “What I said to you last year still stands and my feelings are still the same. I’ve no doubt the gods have someone perfect planned to be your husband.”
“And that person is you. I know it is you. Why don’t you see that?”
He touched his chest over where his heart would be with one finger, signifying sincerity, “Because I think about another. Trust in the gods for your own fate and stop chasing fantasies. Goodnight.”
She said nothing and so after a couple seconds he left. He had forgotten about Rez. He truly wished she would move on. He knew that there were lots of men interested in her. He let those thoughts slip away though as he realized he had lost track of Drusilla again. He scanned this whole area of the room and went to stand where she had been standing. He was so confused they had made eye contact he had reached out to her. Didn’t she know I was coming to speak to her? Didn’t she notice her ring?
A beautiful older woman Ket had never seen before standing nearby said unsolicited, “The human woman went into the garden. She looked upset when you began talking to that other woman. If I were you, I would go and make amends before she gets herself too worked up about it.”
Ket nodded, “Thank you.” He walked quickly into the garden determined to find her and not be detained by any more people.
The goddess of home smiled then as she watched Ket go and said to herself, “What would these mortals do without us?”
Ket cursed in the garden, he couldn’t see Drusilla anywhere and the grounds around the Imperial Hall were massive. The garden encompassed 45 hectares and had dozens of paths both large and small and some very dimly lit for privacy. He feared he wouldn’t find her, and he couldn’t take that chance, so he pulled out his IC, even though it was forbidden, and he would be fined, and brought up a view of the whole garden. He asked for an overview of the occupants of the garden, also forbidden, and immediately all the names appeared. He found hers and then walked in her direction. As he approached her, she was oblivious to him, standing in front of the pond, leaning on the ornate ra
iling, looking at some fish. He could hear her sweetly talking to the small creatures as he advanced.
“What kind of little fish are you?” Dru said rhetorically to the red colored fish thinking they looked remarkably like goldfish with larger fins. “And do all of you ridiculously marry as well? Is it always Assembly night in your pond?”
“They are simply called ‘red fish’,” Ket supplied as he walked up next to her, their arms just barely touching. “And these are the Imperial Halls which are used for many different functions throughout the year, so I doubt the fish are always at Assembly, but who knows?” He loved being close to her, there was an electricity between their arms, and he wished he could touch her more directly. She smelled divine, she was wearing the perfume he had sent her for her hair, and it mixed well with her own unique fragrance. He wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through her long red hair which she had the boldness to wear loose tonight. Any Alliance woman would have worn her hair in a braid to signify her humility at meeting the man who put the ban on her. He loved that Drusilla did the opposite. She wouldn’t feign humbleness for anyone, he thought.
“Ket,” Dru said happily as she turned. She hadn’t heard him approach. She spilled some of her wine on her hand and his, but smiled up at him, nonetheless. Taking in his formal uniform, thinking how handsome he looked in it with his copious amounts of ranking jewelry, He is an Imperial Doctor after all, she reminded herself. His hair was pulled back and braided more intricately than she had ever seen it before, and his formal uniform was much more fitted, so it showed more of his muscular physique. Not that she needed to wonder, she had memorized some of the pictures of him without clothing.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said while looking down into her big green eyes and then after a second his eyes couldn’t help but drop down to look at her perfect pink lips. She looked so beautiful tonight, so exotic with her human paint on. So exotic, but so familiar at the same time. It was taking all his self-control not to reach out and stroke her face.
“I was hoping to see you and Dera tonight.” She noticed the location ring was warm and tingley but didn’t want to look at it now and be reminded that there was another man, besides Ket, looking for her. She wanted only the man in front of her, even though, she knew she couldn’t have him. Madame Bai had discounted him and said that he could speak to her because he was above most others in social rank. But she wanted to speak to him now and pretend, even if for only these minutes, she could have him.
“Would you like me to get you another glass of wine?”
“No, I wasn’t really drinking it. I was just biding my time with these fish before I could leave.”
“I’m surprised. I thought you would be waiting for someone.”
She laughed a little, “Yes, the man who put the ban on me was supposed to reveal himself tonight, but I haven’t seen any sign of him. And all of the other humans are in quarantine or onboard the Zuin. Until the ban ends, I’m like an apparition at these Assemblies, women ignore me, and men don’t speak to me, well, except you.”
“I’m here now, Drusilla.” he said most seriously, looking deeply into her big green eyes.
“Thank you Ket, but it seemed like you had a lot of people to talk to besides me,” she resisted adding, ‘like Rez.’ “Please don’t feel that you have to stay with me. I’m sure someone else will turn up as I’ve heard that there are a lot of high-ranking men here tonight, so maybe someone else will be curious and want to talk to the human. If I become too bored, I’ll find Dera. You can go,” it was the last thing that she wanted him to do. She reminded herself, He is not for me and I must dismiss him, or I might lose my friendship with him over my own rudeness at wanting to keep him to myself. She didn’t have much, but she still had some pride.
“Drusilla,” he said her name with such fierceness she almost jumped, but simultaneously she had butterflies in her stomach. Then his tone softened, “I came out to the garden to find you.”
“Oh,” Dru said a bit breathlessly, “I just …” she trailed off when he reached out and caressed her cheek with his open hand. It had been at least a year since a man had touched her in any romantic way and her body responded in kind. Dru leaned into his strong, cool hand and made a small sound of pleasure. She knew it was forbidden for him to be touching her, but she didn’t care. And she knew that Mr. Mystery might throw her off completely now and she could never be with Ket for real, as he was too high ranking, but she didn’t care. She wanted him to touch her now.
When Dru leaned into his hand, the most perfect and pleasurable sound he had ever heard escaped her lips and then she closed her eyes, reveling in his touch, he felt as if he was in a dream. He couldn’t resist leaning down and kissing her perfect pink lips chastely. When he drew back, she looked up at him with desire in her eyes and he almost forgot that she still didn’t know who he was to her. He made an even bolder move then and gently and very slowly, with some pressure, ran his hand from her cheek down the side of her exposed neck, to her shoulder, past her elbow and took her small hand in his. He then raised her hand so that the location ring was clearly visible in front of her eyes between them. It was clear and shimmering as it should be. They were matched and standing right in front of one another.
Dru looked at the ring astonished, “It’s clear!” Then looked into his piercing grey eyes for acknowledgement and he nodded. All kinds of emotions were bubbling to the surface now. She was elated, but cross at the same time. She couldn’t’ help it, some tears began to fall down her cheeks. She wanted to wipe them away, but he was still holding her hand and she wanted him to never let go. She was frustrated and upset he had put her through so much but overjoyed at the same time. “It’s you,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
He saw tears fall from her beautiful green eyes and he couldn’t help himself, he let go of her hand and cupped her face and wiped the tears with his thumbs, getting some of her black face paint on his thumbs. He looked around then and realized that they were mostly alone in this area of the garden, so he just brought her into his embrace and stroked her long soft hair, her face against his chest, hiding her tears there. Her little form felt so good next to him, but he didn’t understand why she was crying,” Why does this make you sad?” This was not the way he had imagined this going. He had never put a ban on any woman before, but everything he had heard about the experience from other men was that it was romantic at best and ended in friendship at worst.
Dru was so comforted by his tender embrace that it took her a minute to regain herself, she didn’t move but asked into his fitted uniform, “Why didn’t you tell me at the symposium? When we first met? Why didn’t you tell me in all the messages we sent back and forth?”
He didn’t stop stroking her long red hair, so different from his own, “It wasn’t the right time.”
Dru allowed herself to enjoy his touch for just a few minutes longer, while she decided if his answer was enough, if this was enough for all the heartache she had been through. Finally, after deciding she couldn’t forgive him yet, as much as she liked him, she couldn’t, she suddenly stamped on his toes, hard, and began walking away without a word. She needed time alone to think about all of this. She knew she was being childish in not articulating her feelings to him, but she was just too overwhelmed with the entire situation. She was trying to regain control of her emotions as she walked back into the grand hall, wiping away the tears. How could he not tell me? All the times we talked, was this a joke to him? I feel so foolish, she thought over and over again as she walked aimlessly in the room.
Ket’s toes did not hurt as much as his pride. This was not the way he imagined this happening at all, and he definitely did not want this to play out in front of an audience. Unfortunately, Drusilla was walking fast to the great room of the Assembly and entered before he could stop her.
“Drusilla, could we please talk privately about this?”
“I can’t,” her eyes were glittery with tears again. “I
need to be alone to think about all of this before I can discuss it. I’m sorry about your foot,” she added the last statement very quietly.
“I don’t understand why you are upset. Most women would have been flattered by the ban,” he also spoke quietly as they were drawing a crowd.
“I’m not most Alliance women, if you haven’t noticed” she said agitated by his ignorance. “You put me on display, by myself in this alien world and you didn’t even tell me it was you who had done it when you had the opportunity. Countless opportunities.”
There was an audience growing around them but Ket knew enough about humans from Tir to know that if he didn’t act now and tell her, audience or not, she wouldn’t forgive him. He took a deep breath and spoke the truth, knowing that her telepathy was good enough to know if he lied, and already cringing at this being all over the gossip columns tomorrow. “Drusilla,” he took her elbow and she looked up at him. “When I saw your picture as one of the women rescued by Admiral Tir, I was spellbound by you and desperately wanted to meet you. However, as I was still on the frontlines of the war with no end in sight, I needed to make sure that you wouldn’t already be emotionally involved with someone else by the time I was able to come back to the Capital Planet. So, I did what any Alliance man would have done in that situation, I put a ban on you. It didn’t occur to me that it would make you feel so isolated or negatively showcased. That was not my intention. However, I take responsibility for being so thoughtless about your ignorance of Alliance culture and I apologize.” He was not going to discuss why he didn’t mention it before in front of everyone. If she wanted to know, she would need to speak with him privately.