“Sir, I would never dream of it.”
I bowed as fake as I possibly could. This leader was a completely different leader than the one I had witnessed last night. Maybe he had to put on a show for his people? Either way, I wasn’t buying it.
“That’s better. What would you like to eat?”
He held out his elbow for me. I reluctantly took it.
“I have never tasted the food of your people. Perhaps we can try that.” I said honestly.
Something caught my eyes and I glanced up to the right. In the sky, there was a small patch of gray. The color was fading. The Minakai was sucking it out of me. I had to fight back. I didn’t want to waste any moment being miserable in this wonderful place.
“The food of my people? Yes. I know exactly where to take you. We shall cancel all plans and make new ones. Myrians!”
He snapped his fingers and stopped walking. Carlyle and Sebastian ran and turned to face us; they knelt down again.
“Yes?” Carlyle asked with his head very low.
“Go to the arvey. We will meet you there. And have some dydras, laques, and cannonberries waiting. Oh! Don’t forget the water in Murka.” He winked.
Both of them nodded and took off into the half gray sky. I couldn’t let him continue this sort of treatment around me or I had to find a way to ignore it. It was taking the heart out of me. I loved them and he was treating them like unwanted servants.
“Do you have to be that way?” I asked finally.
I let go of his arm. I wanted to run away and chase them down.
“Be what way?” He retorted.
Snatching my arm back, he tried to keep walking, but I wasn’t budging.
“You treated them like they were your servants. This is how you have loyal people?”
I crossed my arms. The sky snapped and the gray spread farther. I ignored it.
“Like servants? What do you think they are?” He laughed.
“Your people?!”
I was appalled at his remark. How could he be this way? How could any leader take such advantage of their people like this? Don’t his people realize what they are living with? Surely they see how unfairly he treats them.
“Yes, Aegyssusians. And in being that, they are my people. I am their leader. They serve me however I see fit. The only Aegyssusians I do not demand servitude from are the leaders of the four tribes.” He snorted.
“How could you demand servitude from your people in any way?”
I waved my hands in the air. My temper was flaring. I had to walk away at that point.
“What does that mean? What way?”
“They have feelings. You treat them with no respect.” I whispered.
“Aegyssusians don’t know what feelings are.”
He leaned over and smiled at me. It was devious and yet luring. Was he was trying to regain my trust? Was I being too naïve? This is his world, after all.
“Then how come Sebastian cried last night?” I sneered directly back.
“He did what?”
The Minakai seemed to lose his footing. Had I won?
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible. He does not have the right parts to achieve this emotion. You’re a liar.”
“Forget it.” I sighed.
“Good. I very much would not like to put on a show in front of my people anymore. There is a reason they can go without ever seeing me. So how about you pretend I can feel feelings, too, without me having to say another word, and let’s get on with it.”
“That’s called anger.” I blurted out. I couldn’t help myself.
He stopped trying to walk away from me. I felt very threatened. My heart was pumping and my adrenaline was racing, I didn’t do very well with intimidation. Apparently, he saw right through me. His lips curled in a very evil way. He reached his hand out towards me and I flinched. He hovered there for a second and then latched onto my arm.
I went to scream but my voice was engulfed in the wind swirling around us. My arm was burning. I tried to shake his grasp off of me. When he finally let go I had zero time to regain my voice. We seemed to be standing on the edge of a cliff.
My eyes widened. The burning in my arm was no longer there. I wanted to step back but I was frozen. I looked behind me and screamed. We were on the mouth of an old volcano. It was bubbling green and yellow. Was he going to throw me in? Had I offended him that badly? I lost my footing and stumbled backwards. He caught me with perfect balance.
“Do not question my judgment!” He ordered. “You are losing your vision! You must be stronger and understand this is how we live. There is a reason we have rules and titles. Just because your people have free will, does not grant the rest of us the same luxury.”
He stared into my eyes. He wasn’t mad. I nodded my head in agreement. I wanted to get off the edge of this bubbling pit of doom.
“There. Now, I’m very sorry that had to happen. Can we carry on and meet up with the boys?”
His voice was back to normal. It no longer lingered and echoed in the nothingness that surrounded us.
“I’m sorry, too. It never occurred to me to think that life outside of America was possible. I’ve been foolish, and sheltered, it was foreign to me. I just saw what you were doing as cruel and felt the need to…”
“I know.” He held up his hand to stop me. “Now, look again.” He nodded towards the middle of the volcano.
I swallowed down my fear and faced the edge again. There wasn’t any yellow or green lava swirling around. There were clear purple water ways, bright green grass, and brown sand shining like crystals. The animals had wings full of colors and they soared and twirled into the oasis. There weren’t many trees for shade, except for in this one patch near a lagoon down in the valley. I saw two black figures moving around. Could it be Sebastian and Carlyle?
The Minakai lowered his hand towards mine. He didn’t latch on as before, but waited for me to take it on my own. I trusted him this time and clasped my fingers around his. The familiar awful burn went up my arm.
We were standing underneath the trees. The water was such a beautiful shade of purple. I knelt down and ran my fingers in it. A fish suddenly jumped up. I fell backwards, unprepared for it. It took two huge gulps of air through its golden lips. The noise that act created was a strange whistle sound. Its scales were a darker gold than its lips. I watched it turn sideways and smile at me. I smiled back. Before I knew it, there was a suction sound, and its fins turned into feet. I watched the creature hobble off like a giant lizard towards some bushes. How peculiar.
Brushing the sand off my legs, I stood up and looked around me. Where was Sebastian? I couldn’t see the black figures anymore. There was a wooden table in front of me. It wasn’t carved or manmade; it seemed to have been created by the trees themselves. The trunks had sharp curves in them and went upright for chair support. Then they spiraled and swirled to their tops. The tops were bushy and each was a different shade of yellow.
When my head made its way back to the ground, I finally saw Carlyle and Sebastian. They appeared at the end of the table, facing us. The Minakai scooted in and crossed his legs at the seat on the right. The only spot left was the one on the left. There was no room for Sebastian or Carlyle. I didn’t like it but I tried to avoid that feeling.. They were here, at least they weren’t being excluded.
“As you asked.”
Sebastian bowed and moved his hand across the table. Plates and bowls of funny looking food appeared. There was a pile of green fruits, the one on top was cut in half. Inside, I could see that it was pink with black seeds. It was hollow, like a green pepper. I hoped it didn’t taste like one. There were also two slabs of some sort of meat. The pieces had white skin, or maybe bone, with the meat being orange. There were sesame seeds on the top of it and a sauce that was orange like the meat. The one thing that made my stomach curious was the one thing I recognized, a bowl of black and red berries. They were on top of a pile of green bread that made them look unappetizing.
<
br /> Sebastian started putting one of each on a plate for the Minakai; Carlyle did the same for me. I thanked him when he set it down. From the tree, he pulled a purple oval-like fruit. From the ground he plucked a hollow piece of vegetation and stuck it into the fruit. I made sure to thank them again.
“Oh, we need silverware, don’t we?” The Minakai asked.
“No, no. I ate breakfast just fine without it. I don’t need any, really.” I smiled. He smiled back.
“Very well. If you pick up the laque, the orange meat, that is where you should start the meal. Afterwards have the dydra, the green and pink...oh, you would call it a vegetable, I suppose. And then, you would call it desert, the cannonberries. They’re just lovely this time of the year.” He smiled.
He tipped the purple fruit Sebastian had placed in front of him towards me for a toast. I picked mine up and examined the juice inside through the straw mechanism.
“Just water from Murka.” He said with his mouth full of the laque. I nodded.
I picked up the laque with two hands. It was very odd to see meat this color. I wondered what sort of animal it came from. It smelt like it was cooked and seasoned; I really didn’t want to eat raw foreign food. There were so many horror stories of people getting parasites that way. I was being rude though, I needed to take a bite.
I closed my eyes and just did it. I chewed it to one side of my mouth and swallowed the flavor down. It wasn’t half bad. Appearance certainly wasn’t everything in this place. The sauce was the best part of the laque. I would have finished the entire piece solely to not waste any sauce, but I wanted to have room for everything. I figured trying a little of each would look a lot better than stuffing myself on one item and not eating any others.
I stared at the dydra next. I was pretty reluctant, especially after he had called it a vegetable. It screamed green pepper. I didn’t realize I was making a face until the Minakai said something.
“You wanted to try it.” He said matter-of-factly.
“I know.” I sighed.
I broke a piece off and munched on it. It was horrid. I looked at Sebastian and Carlyle for help. They were just standing there, purposely not making eye contact again. I just wanted them to be normal. I very well understood what the Minakai had said earlier about the way life here must be, but I wasn’t a Minakai. They should treat me like normal. I wanted to enjoy this day with them.
“You care that much?” The Minakai asked, bringing my thoughts out of my head.
“I do.” I nodded.
“Right, then, Myri- ugh, Sebastian, Carlyle, pull up a seat. Join us.”
Instantly, my world got brighter. I felt my heart beat heavier. I couldn’t believe he was doing that for me. Sebastian and Carlyle didn’t show the same emotion as I did, but they did nod and step aside. I heard an awkward sound from the tree next to us and watched it bend and shape itself into chairs. This world was amazing. Sebastian sat next to the Minakai, where he had been standing, and Carlyle was next to me.
“No, no, no. This will not do.”
The Minakai brushed them away. Carlyle and Sebastian jumped up at once. I looked at him, questioning his actions.
“Sir?” Carlyle asked.
“He needs to be sitting with the one that is in his heart.”
The Minakai pointed next to me. My smile spread from ear to ear. Sebastian really loved me that much, too? I was in his heart? I was speechless. Sebastian nodded and took his place next to me. Carlyle sat down and we all stared at the Minakai, waiting for the invite to eat. Well, they were. I was staring at Sebastian. I was so happy he was close to me again.
“Enjoy yourselves!”
The Minakai waved his laque in front of them. Sauce flung everywhere. He was an obnoxious eater. I didn’t care anymore. Sebastian was sitting next to me. I put my hand on his knee. He didn’t seem to acknowledge it. Was he still under the Minakai’s command?
“What’s the matter?” I whispered.
“They aren’t supposed to talk in my presence unless asked. I am the one that gives them their orders. They act no other way. It has been bred into them.” The Minakai said.
It almost sounded like he felt bad for them. I wasn’t sure how to take it, really. I went to say something but he interrupted me.
“This is all very new to me, too. You can’t expect this to come easy.” He sighed. “You two can relax and pretend I am one of you.”
Carlyle and Sebastian looked at each other to see if they had both heard the same thing. They studied the air, they thought about it, and then a smile came across their lips. Sebastian’s hand found mine and he squeezed it back. Carlyle took his own hand and dug into the laque. The air felt better, it was easier.
“Do you like it?” Sebastian leaned over and asked me.
“Yes. It’s delicious.” I lied. I missed his voice.
“She lies!” The Minakai said.
I looked at him and glared.
“I was referring to the laque.” I lied again. I did like the laque, but I knew Sebastian was asking about the dydra.
“You are taking advantage of what I am doing for you. You should try your own advice.” He warned.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to be rude, but the dydra tastes like grass with honey. I don’t really care for that.” I said.
They all started laughing. Carlyle spewed tiny chunks out of his full mouth. I looked at all of them with disdain.
“You only ate the shell. The inside is where the flavor is.”
Sebastian pointed to the pink part full of seeds.
“So I basically just ate what would have been the peeling of an orange?” I said.
“Yes.” Carlyle laughed again.
“Lovely.” I sighed.
I picked the vegetable back up and held it to my face. It smelled sweet. I took a bite of the inside and chewed it around. It was much sweeter; sour, almost. It tasted better. The seeds were more like poppy seeds and didn’t affect the flavor at all.
“And?” Carlyle asked.
“It’s good.” I nodded.
“Excellent.” The Minakai said.
A nice conversation picked up after that. We were all eating and talking about the food we liked the most in both our worlds. The Minakai was jealous he hadn’t been able to try my breakfast and had Carlyle promise to make it for him. Carlyle seemed very pleased by that. It was adorable how his face lit up. I ate slowly to enjoy the flavor. The food was so rich, everything was rich in this world. The color scheme, the air, the vegetation; I was amazed by it all. I wanted to wander off and explore more of it.
In the distance was a waterfall. When the sun hit the spray, there was a rainbow of twelve colors showing. I recognized a few from my world, but the others were just so vibrant. I had never seen such hues before in a natural setting. I wanted to dance in it. This valley, or arvey as they called it, was magical.
There were more of those giraffe-like things grazing around the edges of the valley. Their long necks gave them the ability to get into openings in the cliff walls. I wondered what food was worth trying to get out of there that they couldn’t get off of a tree. Something moved by the water and my eyes jumped back to the waterfall. It looked like a black mermaid was sitting on a rock just to the side of it. She was leaning back, basking in the sun. I smiled at her.
“That is Ngyench. She is a part of the Mazdar tribe. The underworld, if you shall.” Sebastian said.
I had forgotten he and the rest of them were sitting with me. My brain had tuned out their conversation earlier.
He nodded to the creature and she nodded back.
“She’s beautiful.” I whispered.
“I can think of someone much more beautiful.” He nudged me.
I let my eyes unlock from my surroundings and focus on him. He was smiling the cutest smile at me. I blushed and nudged him back. The warmth of his arm embraced my shoulders and the softness of his lips touched the side of my head. I never wanted to forget the way that felt.
“Liar.” I fi
nally said to him insinuating I was more beautiful than Ngyench.
Smiling, I rested my head under his chin and took a deep breath.
“I’m going to be very sad when you leave.” Sebastian said. “I’m going to miss seeing your smile more than anything.”
“Anything?”
I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow. He ran his fingers up my arm and twisted them around my own.
“I’ll be sad every time I look at my fingers and yours aren’t in the spaces between them. And I’ll be sad when I go to sleep and you aren’t there when I wake up-”
“Don’t talk of the sad things.” I quieted him.
“What is this?” The Minakai interrupted us. “Feel-ings?” He slurred the word, like it were a disease. “Sebastian? You feel for her? A human? It is real?”
“You called it out! You said he should sit with the one who was in his heart!” I blurted out.
“It was a metaphor. I knew you’d want to hear that. I was just trying to please you. He can’t actually feel for you.” He said. Was he jealous?
“Forgive me, Sir, I’m afraid you are wrong. I didn’t understand it myself until I saw her again. It was different than the times she had called me back to her. When she walked in the door at your manse, the emotions I had, well, I’ve never experienced them before.”
He kissed my hand deliberately in front of the Minakai. I felt like a school kid breaking the rules in front of the principal.
“Emotions?! Sebastian!”
The Minakai threw his head back and laughed. It echoed off the cliffs more as a roar than laughter. It was fitting, almost, that his echo was more fearsome than his persona.
“What’s so funny?”
I looked at him with caution; I was on guard.
“This is madness.”
He shook his head, laughing again. He was becoming more and more of a lion with each passing minute.
“You were the one who said it all in the first place. Even in your office, you said that both of us had strong feelings in our hearts. You asked if I returned them. And besides, I told you on the cliff that he had cried for me. It’s not my fault you’re choosing to not believe us.”
“Well, now! I'd said you cared for him, I never said he cared for you. You humans will love anything. We Aegyssusians are a much more superior race than that. It takes a pure heart and a pure soul to even stand a chance against us.”
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