by Robin Roseau
"Of course," I told her. "But I believe we will allow Blaine to hold the reins."
Blaine smirked. "It's perfectly safe," he said. "There are no reins to steal away from me. If you will each take your seats, I'll help you get settled in."
He was patient. He helped Mordain into her seat, and she became fascinated by the imperial magic she was staring at. Once the rest of us were settled in, he moved from one to the next, telling us we had to buckle in. He taught us the English phrase, then showed us the wide buckles attached to equally wide straps. There was one strap to go around our waists, and then two more came over each shoulder and along our sides to buckle into the strap about our waists. Blaine tugged everything tight, and I felt like I was being hugged by the seat.
"These are not absolutely necessary on such a nice day as today," he explained. "But if the weather would poor, you could get badly hurt. We could be tossed around on the winds like a ship on a stormy sea. Today, it will be smooth, much smoother than a galloping horse or even a carriage on your streets, but still... Regulations require you to be buckled in."
"Of course," Father said. "We would not violate regulations."
Then he looked a little chagrined. "In front of each of you is a little pocket." He gestured. And then from in front of Mother, he withdrew a small, paper bag. "Sometimes people get sick. It's rare, but it happens. If you are going to be sick, try to be sick into the bag." He moved to put the bag back in the pouch in front of Mother, but she snatched it from his hands.
Blaine looked at her then knelt down so their eyes were on the same level. "Valtine, I know this is all very new, but I promise. You are absolutely safe. I am a very good pilot." That was another English word. "A driver of this craft," he explained. "It will be a little unsteady for the first few seconds, but that is normal and perfectly safe."
Mother looked at him but didn't say anything. Finally she nodded.
"Here's what we're going to do," he said. "I'll get Mordain settled in then climb into my own seat. It will take me a minute, but then I'll get us started. I'll then make sure everyone is ready, then we'll begin to fly. I'll take us on a gentle loop around Sudden. And then if you want me to take you straight to the convention, I can. But if you want a little longer trip, we have time. We know this is very new and startling, but we planned for time to let you see a little."
"Thank you, Blaine," Father said. "That would be perfect."
He nodded. "If this were a longer flight, we would have refreshments for you, but unless I fly slowly, it's only five minutes to the convention center."
"It's twenty kilometers!" Mother exclaimed.
"Yes, ma'am," Blaine said. "I want the four of you to decide something. When we leave Sudden, we can fly high, and after we are a thousand meters above the ground, the movement seems slow, but you can see a very great distance. Or we can fly lower, much lower if you like. I personally enjoy flying at the height of the tree tops, just off the coast. Then it seems very, very fast. Flying high is smoother and not as startling, but flying low is exciting."
"You would fly so high?" I asked. "Isn't it more dangerous to be so high."
"We are perfectly safe, Chaladine," he said. "The craft is very reliable. But in the case of some sort of equipment failure, which is very, very rare, being higher is better. You have more time to decide what to do about it. But we will be safe, regardless. This is the imperial envoy's jumper, and it is exceedingly well tended."
"This is Cecilia's jumper?" Mother asked, her first words since we climbed aboard.
"Yes," he confirmed. "She would have come for you herself, but she is so busy greeting the other guests. And so she sent me." He smiled. "I'll get us moving, and you'll see."
He moved forward. Mordain had buckled herself in, having watched Blaine with the rest of us. He checked her straps, tugged one a little tighter, and then quietly said something to her I couldn't hear. She turned around and grinned broadly.
Blaine took his seat, buckling in much as we were, but his straps were looser. Then he did something, and the panels in front of him -- and in front of Mordain as well -- all lit up, just like Cecilia's tablet.
I stared. All this imperial magic.
Mordain squealed with delight.
"All right," Blaine called out a moment later. "We're currently still on the ground, but I'm going to lift us up about a meter. It is a little startling, but the craft may rock a little, somewhat like a carriage does when someone climbs aboard. It is perfectly normal."
He paused just a moment, and then we lifted straight up. Mother gave out a little squeak, and then her hand dashed across the aisle, searching for Father's.
"Are you all right, Valtine?" Blaine called out.
"Yes," Mother said. I wasn't sure that was true, but I wasn't going to say anything.
From the set of Father's shoulders, I thought perhaps he was nearly as nervous as Mother, but he was Vendart. It was his duty to appear strong, and mine as well. But it was difficult amongst all the changes.
"All right," Blaine said. "If everyone is ready. I'll fly over the town at two hundred meters. It will be out the right side. But if anyone is feeling ill, the best thing to do is look straight ahead. If you look down too much, that's how you're most likely to get sick."
Then he called our names one at a time, and we each declared we were ready. Mordain was last, and she was actually giggling. "I guess Mordain is ready," Blaine said. "Here we go."
He did something -- I couldn't see what -- and then we began moving forward, racing along the field, climbing no higher until we were going so fast. Mother gave a little shriek and stuffed a hand into her mouth. I wanted to copy her, but I remained strong.
Then we began to climb into the sky. We were going so fast! A horse would not have kept up, even the fastest horses we had. And Blaine had been right. It had been a little rough at the beginning, but as we climbed into the air, it crew much smoother.
"All right," Blaine said a moment later. "We're flying at only a hundred kilometers an hour. That is slow for this craft. Gentle turn to the left."
The craft leaned to the left, only a little. Mother bit at her hand, but she made no noises. Mordain was making enough from the front, laughing openly with her joy. We made a wide turn, and then the lean disappeared. A moment later, Sudden appeared outside my window.
It looked small.
"I'll circle the town," Blaine said. "We'll lean left and right a little bit. Don't be startled."
And we did just that. I stared out the window, enrapt.
I could see everything!
In the streets, people stopped, pointed, and stared as we did our circle. Then we were out over the waters of the bay, a couple of ships flashing past underneath us. A minute later, we were turned back towards the shore, and then we flashed along the south side of town.
"I'll take us higher," Blaine said. "And we'll do that again. Then let me know whether you would like a short trip to the conference, or a longer one, and whether we should follow the coast or fly very high."
The front of the craft pitched up slightly, and then we were leaving the ground even further behind. Mother squeaked, and then she closed her eyes.
Mordain never stopped laughing. The little snot.
But I had to wonder if her joy didn't help Mother remain calmer than she might have otherwise. And Blaine was so calm. He looked relaxed at the reins of Cecilia's carriage.
"Five hundred meters," Blaine declared. And then we did another half circle of Sudden, high in the air.
"We can see so far!" Mordain said. She craned her neck around. "Which way is north, Blaine?"
"Behind us," he said. "I'm sorry, we can see far, but not so far as your mountains."
"Oh," Mordain said. Her enthusiasm waned for a moment, then she asked, "Where is the conference?"
"Just... in front of us... now."
Mordain pointed. "There?"
"That's it," he said.
Father was shaking his head.
"I could
throw a stone that far!" Mordain said.
Blaine laughed. "Maybe not quite, but it doesn't look very far from here, does it?"
"Blaine," said Father, "perhaps the softest path would be best today."
"Awww," Mordain said. But she glanced back at Mother. "Blaine, will you take me again sometime?"
"I cannot promise that," he said, "but I will relay your request to Cecilia. It is her jumper, after all."
As Blaine had promised, it was a short flight. We spent more time circling Sudden than we did flying to the conference. But I believed the flight could have ended sooner for Mother's taste, and if I were being honest, I would admit I was probably as scared as she was.
Still, no one was sick, and if we were a little unsteady on our feet as we climbed from the jumper, perhaps that was understandable.
Mother continued to clutch Father and said, "When it is time to return to Sudden, I believe I would prefer to travel by horse."
"Of course, Darling," Father said to her. "I understand completely. Imperial magic is very startling."
We stood near the craft, our feet firmly upon the ground, collecting our bearings. Blaine had helped us from the craft and gestured where we were to go, but then he ignored us, letting us decide for ourselves when we would move forward.
I looked around. Cecilia Grace stood fifty meters away. She was talking to Madge, not paying any attention to us. And so she didn't notice while I stared at her.
She had returned to us three years ago, but I still wasn't used to this new appearance. She was very petite, with long white hair and a complexion to match. It was a shocking look, unique on Talmon, and made more shocking because she was a woman of so much power. That much power seemed strange in such a small package.
Finally Mother nodded, and then the four of us stepped forth. And while it may have seemed no one was watching us, they must have been, for as soon as we stepped forward, Cecilia's eyes turned to us. She watched us approach, and Madge stepped away, leaving the imperial envoy alone to greet us.
She smiled as we approached, but it was not the sort of smile she had once offered us. I realized it was the sort of smile father offered when dealing with someone he'd rather not deal with, and like it always did, it broke my heart. Three years later, and we were still estranged. It killed me to realize it, yet again.
She said she had forgiven us, but deep down, I didn't believe she had.
But we exchanged clasps of our hands, and then we received our next shock of the day. She handed us a tablet, just like hers. "This is for you to keep. You've seen mine enough to know how to use it. But if you press here-" and she pressed a button on the machine "-it goes straight to a screen that offers more help. If you press the button again, it goes back where it was." She went over the features for another minute then said, "Everything we're going to present is in here. And the tablet has all the sorts of features mine does, so you can take pictures and even video. Chaladine, I believe you know how."
I nodded.
"There's also a map of the facilities here, and a schedule for the first few days. After that, it will be up to the vendarti to decide the schedule, but we will update your tablets for you. Each of the bungalows has space to charge your tablet, and we will send you home with the things you will need to charge them at home."
No one knew what to say.
"Come," she said with a gesture. "I have a little time before the next group arrives, so I will drive you to your bungalow myself." She led us towards another imperial vehicle.
Mother eyed it warily.
"Valtine, this is just a carriage," Cecilia said.
"There are no horses."
"No, there are no horses, and there are no wheels, but you will be no higher from the ground than one of your carriages, and we will go only a tiny bit faster than a carriage in the streets of Sudden but not as fast as a galloping horse."
And so we all climbed in. There were more straps with buckles, but not as elaborate as in the jumper. Cecilia got us settled, and then a moment later, we were moving forward. She didn't warn us that we were about to lift from the ground, and Mother gave a little screech, but then it was a very smooth ride after that, far smoother than if we'd ridden a carriage, even if it was louder.
And while she said it would be a slow trip, none of us had ever driven a carriage through the streets of Sudden at a horse's gallop, and so it wasn't that slow. But then the imperial carriage settled to the streets in front of one of the houses -- what Cecilia was calling a bungalow. She led us inside, showed us around, and showed us how to charge the tablet.
"It will last all day," she explained, "but if you do not leave it here at night, it will not last the next day."
She asked if we had questions, and then she said, "I must go. I have more guests to greet." And with that, she was gone.
I had longed for a hug. I had longed for a friendly word. Instead, she had been very crisp. Oh, she'd been quite proper, but there was none of the warmth we had once shared. My heart ached.
I missed my friend.
Forgiveness
Everyone knew why we were all summoned to the resort by the ocean. We all knew, and we all thought we understood.
The Empire would invite Talmon to join them, to become a planet of The Empire.
We also already knew what our answer would be, although many of us were justifiably concerned about what it meant.
And so we spent weeks discussing it. Cecilia and the others from her delegation answered all our questions, so many questions. There was skepticism, a great deal of skepticism. Few believed Cecilia's claim to be a hundred years old. Sartine and I competed to become her most ardent supporter. And thereafter, any time someone accused the people from The Empire of lying, it became a race for Sartine and me to say, "Cecilia Grace would not lie."
Some -- those who had met Cecilia during her first year amongst us -- stated this woman was not the same women who had first arrived here. But Sartine stated emphatically, "It is the same woman."
And so, slowly the debate moved from wondering whether Cecila spoke the truth to wondering what the effects would be upon Talmon. And that was when my father spoke.
"Cecilia Grace would not lead Talmon down a bad path. She would protect us. She made that promise to me, long ago."
Sartine stood at that point and said, "She made a similar promise to me."
Another vendart stood. "But we know how well she keeps her promises. She summoned the empire to help her run from a valid galatzi trade. She dishonors our traditions."
"No, she did not," Sartine said. "It is true the empire came to rescue her, but she did not dishonor the tradition. I did."
The room broke out in an uproar. Cecilia had been watching over our debate, listening as time after time people questioned her honesty, not saying a word, letting us work it out. But as Sartine explained what had happened, Cecilia slipped from the room, and later, it was Mallory who stood and said, "We're going to break early today. We'll meet again tomorrow."
But in the meantime, Sartine explained, "Of course, she didn't understand as well as we thought. And portions of the tradition chaffed at her. But I was the one who made mistakes. I made mistake after mistake, and repeatedly she forgave me for them. But then she made a mistake, and I failed to forgive her in time."
"What mistake did she make?"
"She made the mistake of telling me her age," Sartine said. "And I rejected her for it."
The room grew quiet.
"But even for that, she forgave me. I treated her poorly for weeks, but when finally I returned to her and begged her forgiveness, she gave it again. But then, just after she had offered me a great, great deal of honor, I rejected her again, and that was once too many." Sartine hung her head. "When she left, she told me to find a woman a little closer to my own age."
She looked up. "I took Cecilia Grace in the dark of the night. She was perhaps the only one who didn't realize I had chosen her, as she didn't believe a woman of the empire was subject to a g
alatzi raid. And she was very angry. She grew even angrier at the way she was treated, but who here has been tied for two days as a galatzi prisoner? I have, to make sure I understood, and it is exceedingly unpleasant."
"I didn't last four hours," one vendart stood up. I didn't recognize her. "We were going to offer a galatzi trade with East Waters, but it takes six hours to leave their lands, and if I could not last six hours tied in that fashion, I wouldn't have done that to anyone else."
"Cecilia Grace honored our tradition," Sartine went on. "Even when I neglected her, she honored our tradition. She could have caused such mischief, but she didn't. Even as angry as she was, she offered her medicine to those in need. And she was scrupulously honest, far more than I might have been. If Cecilia Grace offers a promise, she keeps it. If she says something, she means it."
After that, there might have been grumbling, but no one doubted her.
* * * *
Cecilia was back the next day, and if she had been upset about yesterday's conversation, she didn't let on. She answered more questions, and more, and more. Or if she didn't answer, she directed someone from her staff to answer.
From time to time, she admitted, "That's hard to explain. I will provide an overview, and then we will send more information to your tablets. You may read further if you like."
We asked her if The Empire would appoint a vendart over us all.
"There would be a Governor," she said. "But he will have only the authority you grant him, and I would encourage you to grant very little. He and his staff become your main contact with the empire, and he has authority you do not control. He decides what technology is allowed on the planet, and how quickly it may arrive. He also has the authority to deny immigration to anyone requesting to move to Talmon. Whether there are more controls is up to you. But he is not Vendart over you all. He does not make your laws. He cannot try your people for crimes unless they are committed against the empire."
"What does that mean?"
"Kidnapping an imperial envoy might be a good example," she suggested. That was met with disquieted laughter. Sartine, Father, and I hung our heads for a moment. But she went on. "I picked an amusing answer, but I believe I have made my point at the same time."