“Yes,” Nic said following him into the transport. She held the two bags she collected.
“You will never return here,” he growled. Justinian ran some sort of device over Lydia, scowling as he worked on her.
“Will she be all right,” Nic asked not able to take the worry.
“It will take time,” Justinian said.
***
“I have healed the injuries as much as I can until she is conscious,” Justinian said. The healing room crowded with the girls and Mycos. Several of the guards waited outside the healing room. “She needs rest but will wake in time.”
“How long,” Mycos asked looking at her unconscious form. He stayed with her while Justinian healed her.
“It takes time,” Justinian said. “The injuries were extensive. You know the healing takes time. Her body needs to adjust to the shock of the injury and the healing.”
“Is she gonna die,” Abby whimpered leaning on Mycos.
Mycos heard her fear, her grief, and picked her up. “Justinian is taking good care of her,” he said hoping he sounded reassuring.
“I want her to wake up,” Abby said her tears starting again. “She’s safety.”
“I know,” Mycos said. “She needs to sleep now. She will wake up soon.”
“You sure she’s not gonna die,” Abby said her face a picture of misery.
“Trust me,” Mycos said. He reached out a hand to smooth down Abby’s hair. “We are taking care of her.”
***
Gregor sat with Abby and Hannah sleeping on his lap. Hours passed slowly as Mycos held Lydia’s hand. She seemed so small and delicate. Nic sat in the corner watching all of them. She stood, stretched. She walked over to Mycos, put her arm around his shoulders. “If it weren’t for you, she’d be dead,” she said.
He glanced up at her, nodded, started to speak, but stopped as Lydia shifted her legs. “Lydia,” he murmured her name, stood leaning over her.
“Mycos,” Lydia said as her green eyes fluttered open. “Mycos. Abby?”
“We are fine,” he said kissing her, gently pressing his lips to hers. “You saved us.”
“Good,” she said with a sigh. Her eyes started to flutter closed.
“Please stay awake,” Justinian said. “I need to run a scan to see if everything healed properly.”
“I’m cold,” Lydia said. “Where are my clothes?”
“We took them off,” Mycos said. “To tend your injuries.”
“They didn’t do nothing funny,” Nic said. “You were covered up when they took them off.”
“Oh,” Lydia said embarrassed.
"How does your shoulder feel," Justinian asked as he scanned.
"It hurts," Lydia said. "I just want to sleep."
Mycos kissed her hand, rubbed her arm to soothe her. "We will get you whatever you need," Mycos said. "Stay awake a little longer so Justinian can help, please, mo chroin."
"Were any of the girls hurt," Lydia winced as she shifted.
"No," Mycos said. "Only you."
"All right," Lydia said her eyes fluttered.
"Don't die," Abby whimpered. "Please don't let her die."
"She is sleeping," Gregor said. "She's going to sleep some more."
"She's safety," Abby whispered. "I can't lose her. She makes everything safe."
"We are all here to keep you safe," Mycos said. He picked her up and held her close. Tears slipped down her face, Mycos wiped them away. "Do not cry," he pulled up the chair to sit really close to the scanning bed. "See, she is breathing, sleeping – not dead."
"I'll give her soft stuff," Abby said. She wiggled down, ran out of the room.
Gregor stood alarmed Abby went running off on her own. It was unlike her. He handed Hannah to Landros to hold while he followed her. Before he stepped out of the room, tiny feet ran back. They heard a stumble and woofed out air as she fell. Abby dragged the blankets from the bed they shared and the two stuffed animals she’d gotten. "Here," she sniffled. "This is all soft and warm. It will make her better, won't it?"
Seeing her desperation, Mycos went down on his knees and held her. "I am sure it will help, ceann bragge," he said. He picked her up. "You hold these two while we get the blanket tucked around her."
"Kay," Abby said snuffling and hiccupping.
Justinian picked up the blanket and helped lay it gently over Lydia. He cleared his throat and wiped a hand over his eyes.
Mycos asked softly, "Could she lay with her?"
Justinian looked around his med room. "If we move this scanner closer, the two smaller ones could lay by her," he said.
Mycos called to his men. In a matter of moments, they moved the scanner closer to Lydia, butted the bed right next to the one Lydia lay on. "You can lay right next to her," Mycos said. "You can rest like she is, but you must not jar her."
"She can have my softies," Abby said.
"You hold them for her," Mycos said. Gregor stepped out while the men moved the scanner. He returned with pillows and blankets. They made Hannah and Abby comfortable on the scanner nearest Lydia but the other girls curled on one of the other scanners. Justinian watched the vitals popping up on each of the screens.
The younger girls slept as Lydia slept. Mycos felt his soul died for every moment she was unconscious. Nic put a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you doing this," she asked.
"She is my mate," he said.
"Just because you want to fuck her, doesn't mean you would do this for her," Nic said.
"Do not speak about her like that," he growled turning on her. "She is a gentle soul. She needs tenderness and kindness."
"Mating is fucking," Nic said breaking it down to the basics of her understanding.
"Not for us," Mycos said. "Mating is a joining of hearts, minds, and souls."
"She's gonna fuck you for us," Nic said. "She doesn't want to go to the brothels but it's the only other option. If it means so much to you to be mated, you better figure out a way to make her understand you want more than fucking."
"Your language," Mycos scolded.
"You sound like her," Nic grinned. "We're a family. The seven of us have survived together. If you try to take us away from her, you’re gonna lose her."
"Why are you helping me," Mycos said. "Do you want more clothes?"
"No," Nic said. "I want her protected as much as I want the rest of us protected."
***
It took Lydia nearly a day to recover. Abby held her hand as they walked to breakfast the following day. "You can keep my bear," she offered looking up at Lydia.
"Have you named her," Lydia asked.
"Yes," Abby said softly. "She's Defur."
"What an interesting name," Lydia said squatting down. She steadied herself by putting her hand on the floor. "Where did you hear it?"
"Gregor said it's their word for sister," Abby said.
"It sounds like a lovely name," Lydia said. "You know there are rules for having a bear friend."
"What rules," Abby said leaning in wanting to hug Lydia but not wanting to hurt her.
Lydia opened her arms, put her knee on the floor to keep her balance. "Once you name a bear, you can't give her away. She's yours and you have to take good care of her. Now it's okay to loan her out in extreme cases, but you can't give her away."
Abby touched Lydia's shoulder with one finger, watched Lydia's face. "It don't hurt," she asked.
"Doesn’t,” Lydia corrected. “Let's try a little hug."
Abby leaned on her, cuddled into her, and sighed. "I can keep Defur," Abby whispered.
"You have to," Lydia said. "You've claimed her."
"Lydia," Mycos murmured her name, worried she would try to pick Abby up.
"It's all right," Lydia said. "Abby's helping me to breakfast."
"I'm holding her hand so she's steady," Abby said looking earnestly at Mycos.
"Seems like an excellent idea," Mycos said. "Shall I come with to make sure you both make it there safely?"
"Are we g
onna go to the quarm," Abby asked.
"Do you want to," Mycos asked.
"You said there were fish there," Abby said. "Do we eat them?"
"No, you watch them swim," Mycos said.
"Oh," Abby said. "Why?"
"On my homeworld, we have similar fish, but unless you see them when you swim, most of us have not seen them," Mycos said. "It is interesting to see them up close."
"You learn stuff from us," Hannah asked.
"I learn new things every day," Mycos said. "Would you like to learn new things?"
"You mean like school," Rachel asked. Mycos saw he captured their attention.
"Yes, like school," he said. "I thought for a few days we would do fun things like the shopping, the aquarium, perhaps a museum. Then we could determine what you need for education."
"We're gonna sit in a room learning dumb stuff," Nic said.
"No," Mycos said. "We have educational programs."
"You should bring in teachers to work with them," Lydia said. "Then you could do PR with them."
"What do you mean," Mycos asked.
"Go to the poorest schools in the city because no one gives them anything, and offer your programs," Lydia said. "Make sure you have media there. Get teachers involved."
"I'm not going to a damn school," Nic said.
"No but you can use the programs here," Lydia said. "Maybe a teacher could be brought in to help the girls get started."
"An excellent idea," Mycos said looking at Gregor, he nodded. Gregor made a small bow and left the breakfast room.
"He will get food," Hannah asked.
"He is checking on something and will be back to join us," Mycos said noting the girl's concern for Gregor.
***
In the transport on the way back from the aquarium, Lydia sighed. Mycos lifted the armrest between them and gathered her gently to him. "Too much," he murmured kissing her temple.
"It was wonderful," she said. "I have a lot to learn."
"There are programs for adults in our learning programs," he said. "There are informational programs about my homeworld."
"Hmmm," she said snuggling into his warmth. Wearily she let go and trusted him to protect her.
Gregor tucked blankets around the smaller girls. The trip to the aquarium took ninety minutes, even with their fast transport. He offered a blanket to cover Lydia, and Mycos nodded. Abby whimpered in her sleep. She hugged a stuffed dolphin.
"Hand her here," Mycos said.
Gently Gregor put Abby on Mycos' lap. "What's your word for brother," she murmured.
"Dearhar," Mycos murmured.
"Are you my dearhar," Abby asked.
"Yes," Mycos said. "Gregor is uncla, uncle."
"I like having a dearhar and uncla," Abby said pronouncing the words perfectly. Curling into Mycos, she closed her eyes again and slept.
Gregor cleared his throat. "I find I like being uncla," he said. "More every day."
"Absolutely," Mycos said.
***
“I’ve got it figured out,” Nic said.
“Good,” Lydia said. She picked up the small device Nic held out. “How do we know it’s real?”
“Don’t know,” Nic said. “I found a back-way in.”
“Of course you did,” Lydia said. She pushed the button on the device. Around them, a library appeared.
“This is the adult version,” Nic said. “The girls use a more kid-friendly interactive menu.”
“How do we find out more,” Lydia asked.
“Archives,” Nic said.
Archives available. Topic?
“What do we want to know,” Nic asked.
“Hylatian society,” Lydia said.
By family, planet, or overall
“Overall,” Lydia said looking at Nic with a shrug.
Current society was established in …
“Hold,” Nic said. “Bookmark this. Begin a second search on political make up of Hylatian society.”
Hylatian society is run by a council…
“Hold. Begin another search on environmental conditions on all planets,” Lydia said.
“Hold all searches,” Nic said. “What else do we want to know before we move there?”
Searching all relevant topics to immigrate to Hylatian planets
“That works,” Lydia said. “Visual display of first search, no audio.”
In front of her, a screen appeared with a summary. She started to read. “There’s references here to decrees and other things.”
“What are decrees,” Nic asked.
Decrees are the tenants followed by Hylatian people. These are enforceable with punishments outlined in the sanctioned annals of Hylatian society.
“Oh,” Lydia said. “Are they similar to human laws?”
Searching… Yes. In human terms, Hylatian decrees would be considered laws.
“If you touch them, it will take you to the new topic,” Nic said. “I’m going to start with the second search.”
“It’s a lot of information,” Lydia said.
“All from their perspective,” Nic said. “How much we gonna trust them?”
“Don’t know,” Lydia said as she skimmed the first page of information. “It will give us a starting place at least.”
***
"Where is Lydia," Mycos asked Gregor as he returned from yet another meeting. He had a free hour and wanted to spend it with her.
"She and Nic are using the program to learn our language," Gregor said.
"Voluntarily," Mycos asked.
"They asked me about it," Gregor said. "The two of them are pronouncing our language. It sounds different with their accent."
"They spent the morning going through our history and cultural programs," Gregor said. "While you've been in meetings over the last week, Lady Lydia has worked through what she called her high school levels and has started some of the advanced courses."
"The program determined her quite intelligent," Mycos said pride lighting his eyes.
"Yes, Lord Mycos," Gregor said smiling at the pride he heard in his lordship’s voice. "Do you want me to fetch her?"
Mycos sighed, wanting to be near her but all the girls still stiffened up when one of the men entered their rooms. "No," he said disappointed. "If she finishes, send her to me."
"Will you be in your office," Gregor asked.
With a nod, he started to turn away but stopped. He asked, "Did Elaxus arrive?"
"Arrived with the shipment from the ship," Gregor said. "He and his team of nearly two dozen."
"Have we found a school," Mycos asked.
"Lady Lydia suggested one," Gregor said. "It wasn't far from their warehouse. The conditions and their records are appalling by our standards."
"This is such a backwards world," Mycos muttered his mood foul since he wasn't likely to have time with Lydia.
"We must seem that way to you," Lydia said stopping short.
Mycos looked past Gregor. She stood with her hands behind her back. Bare feet, bright green pants and a white shirt. "On our world, we make sure each child is properly educated," he said defending his comment.
"I finished the program I was working on," Lydia said. "I wanted to talk to you about the plans for the school. Do you have time?" Her eyes narrowed as she assessed his mood and his words.
"I do," Mycos said. He walked over to her, slipped his lips across hers softly, heard her sigh with pleasure, and felt her lean into him. "Will you join me in my office?"
"I made a list of the steps we have to go through to make this donation," Lydia said.
"You have to make the donation," Mycos said.
"I do," Lydia said frowning. "Why?"
"They won't accept anything from us," Gregor said. "What did they call it?"
"Red tape," Mycos said.
"Oh. How am I supposed to give them anything," Lydia asked.
"In essence, you give them money with the condition it's spent on specific things," Mycos said. He put his arm around her
shoulders. The touch of her eased his tension and improved his mood. Hugging her lightly, he leaned down to inhale her scent.
"What will I have to do," Lydia asked uncertain suddenly of her list and the whole process.
"We will compare lists," Mycos said leading her towards his office.
"We'll help each other," she said slowly. "You know what you want to give and I know here."
"Exactly right," Mycos said pleased she found the compromise which allowed him to spend a great deal of time with her.
***
In one of her new outfits, Lydia walked next to Mycos. For several days they went over the details of the gift. They refined their plan and their gift. Elaxus and his team planned to start the implementation as soon as they got the approval and acceptance of the gift. "We were surprised by your offer," Administrator Emily Winston said. "Usually benefactors prefer to donate to more elite schools."
"My mate explained this to me," Mycos said. Several of his guards surrounded them. He saw children sitting in classrooms. At least forty to a room, they crowded into seats. "She felt the funds would be put to better use here."
"We have a number of programs," Emily Winston said. She tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear.
"Why are so many in one room? You have empty rooms," Mycos asked.
"We do have space for more, but unfortunately, we don't have the teachers," Emily said. "Ideally we prefer to keep the teacher to student ratio down to fifteen to one, but the teachers don't like working in this neighborhood."
"What would bring them here," Lydia asked. She gripped Mycos' arm. Despite his assurance that she was his lady and the person giving the gift, she still felt uncertain of her actions.
"Safety," Emily Winston said. "Throughout the city, there is a rule stating teachers must live in the district they work in. This neighborhood has a higher than average crime rate. Secure buildings or neighborhoods are non-existent. Between the gangs, poor quality housing, and questionable public services, people don't want to live here."
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