by Robin Roseau
Cecilia was not there, of course, nor were Erica or Mallory, the two others I knew better than the others. Instead, I spoke with a dour woman whose command of Talmonese was rather weak. I told her I wished to send a message to the Governor, and she looked at me blankly. It took me four tries before she finally understood.
Then she wanted to know who I was that I expected the Governor to be troubled with a message from me. She couldn't understand that answer, either.
So I asked for Erica. She wasn't there. Mallory wasn't there. I worked my way down the list. Finally, I got to Blaine.
"Blaine busy."
"Tell Blaine Chaladine is here."
She frowned, but then she cocked her head. A moment later, she said, "Blaine come."
"Just like that?" And she didn't understand.
I sighed and took a seat when she gestured.
It took Blaine perhaps ten minutes to appear in the embassy building. The entire time, Dour Face gave me dour looks.
When Blaine finally appeared, he was in disarray. "Chaladine," he said. "Don't hug me. I'm a mess."
"Hello, Blaine," I said. "Thank you for interrupting your normal duties. This woman," and I pointed, "speaks almost no Talmonese. I can't get her to understand who I am or why Cecilia would accept a message from me."
"Ah, we call her Hatchet Face," he said. "She seems to believe it is her job to prevent anyone from bothering the Governor. I believe Cecilia would ship her right back out, but she is Anna White's great-niece."
"Who is Anna White?"
"Cecilia's boss."
"Cecilia has a boss?"
"Everyone has a boss," he said. "Well, what can I do for you?"
"I want to get a message to Cecilia. I would like to meet with her in person before she and Sartine leave, and the more time before they go, the better. If I could somehow see her later today, I would."
"She's up in Indartha. She's not expected back here until the night before they leave."
"Oh."
"Maybe you would like to pop up there," he offered.
"Pop up?"
He smiled. "It's not a long jumper ride. Give me a minute." Then he cocked his head. A minute later, he smiled again. "Mallory will come get you, but it won't be until after dinner. You would have to stay in Indartha for a day or two before someone can bring you back. I'm sorry, that's the best I can do, unless you want to wait until they're about to leave."
"Mallory would take me?"
"Maybe Sartine's sister could go, too. Is that allowed? I bet she'd love a trip home."
"It would be Balotorid's choice," I replied. "But he dotes on her, so if she asks to go, I am sure he'll agree."
"Well then, I can't say exactly when Mallory will arrive, but if you come shortly after dinner, you might have to wait, but you'll be ready to go right away. Will that work, Chaladine?"
"She can fly after dark?"
"She can," he said.
"Then it's perfect, Blaine. Thank you so much."
"I'll tell Hatchet Face if you ever stop by again that she should give you what you want. She is accustomed to planets where everyone bothers their governors. Talmonese don't ask to see her unless it's important."
"She is a busy woman. We wouldn't bother her unnecessarily."
"Everyone always believes their need is the governor's responsibility to fill." He shrugged. "If she gives you a hard time in the future, just tell her to call me. I'm always here somewhere."
"Thank you, Blaine," I said. I moved closer and kissed his cheek. "Could I ask a personal question?"
"You can ask."
"Are you as old as Cecilia?"
He laughed. "No. I'm exactly as old as I look."
"You haven't had rejuvenation?"
"I have. My eyes used to be brown. That's all I had them do." Blaine had piercing blue eyes; all the ladies in Sudden talked about his eyes.
I laughed. "Your eyes are the key to your... um... success here."
He grinned. "I know. Please don't tell anyone."
"I won't. Thank you, Blaine."
* * * *
Four hours later, Mallory was helping Mordain and me aboard her jumper. She offered the front seat to me, but I couldn't deny Mordain's beseeching expression, and I laughingly gave it to her.
Mallory got us both settled in and talked to us about the flight. What was most interesting was the duration.
"It's about a ninety-minute flight. We'll fly ten kilometers above the ground, although that can vary depending upon conditions. When I do this alone, it takes about six minutes to climb that high, but I'll be a little gentler with the two of you."
The numbers were astonishing.
"Do you have any questions?"
I had so many I wouldn't know where to begin. I kept my questions to myself. Mordain was bubbling with excitement, but somehow she managed to contain the worst of it.
"Thank you, Mallory," she did say. Then she bounced in her chair, as much as the seatbelts would allow.
"You're both welcome," the woman replied. "All right. Here we go..."
* * * *
The flight was beautiful. Stunning. Unbelievable.
But I was happy for it to end. The last two minutes were deeply frightening. Mallory admitted landings in Indartha were a little intimidating. It will take me a moment to explain.
It was winter in Talmon. Well, it was winter in our portion of Talmon. In Sudden, that meant it was typically wet and dreary, and every few years, we saw a little snow. The sun set early, and it was already dark by the time we left Sudden in Mallory's jumper.
When Mallory told us we would be flying so high, it didn't occur to me that we would fly above the clouds. And so for most of our trip, we could see the stars above us, but it was dark below us.
Then Mallory warned us. "Indartha sits at the bottom of a valley. We'll descend normally for a while, but the last portion of the flight is somewhat startling. We have to drop down between the mountain peaks."
I knew what mountains were, but I'd never seen any.
"Do we come in from the south?" Mordain asked.
"The north," Mallory said. "We'll fly about forty kilometers past Indartha during our initial descent, then turn around and head back. As we pass over the ridge north of the village, we'll begin to really drop. It can be a little disconcerting. I'm sorry about that, but we do this all the time. It's perfectly safe."
It was ten minutes later before we were back in the clouds. The stars above us disappeared, but we caught glimpses of white, like ghosts, visible in the lights of the jumper.
I sat in my chair, mostly looking straight ahead, and pretending to be far calmer than I was. Mordain was asking questions a mile a minute, but then Mallory said, "I'm pleased you are so excited and curious, but now I need you to settle in until we land. I need to concentrate."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said immediately.
"Quite all right," Mallory said. "I'd have said something if it were a problem earlier." A minute later she said, "We're about to descend out of the bottom of the clouds." And sure enough, a minute later, we could see.
I didn't think we would be able to see. Below us -- and around us -- it was white.
"We can see!" I said.
"Yes," Mallory replied. "Night is not absolutely dark, and the snow reflects the light."
"It can be very dark in the shadows of the valley," Mordain said, "but even on the darkest nights, you can see the mountains."
I could see the mountains. They were on either side of us, and they were so big!
"Okay, quiet now," Mallory said. "One minute to the ridge." She paused, then she was speaking, but it was English, and I didn't understand anything, except I heard her say 'Indartha' a few times.
Then we flashed over a ridge, and I could have sworn we could reach out and have touched it. Mallory said we would descend rapidly from that point, and so I expected her to push the front of the jumper down, but instead, the nose lifted, and I could no longer see forward.
Bu
t then it felt like we were falling. Falling!
"I know it's startling," Mallory said. "This is normal. This only lasts a minute or so."
I glanced out the side, and there were rocky, snow-clad mountains to my right, and more rocks and snow right below us. The world rushed up around us.
Then the nose lifted even higher, and the vibration lessoned. Our descent slowed, stopped, and then we were running along an wide, open field of snow. Thirty seconds later, we turned sharply to the right. There was a great deal of noise, and the nose lifted even higher, and then we came to a stop, settling onto the snow.
The world grew quieter, then quieter, still, and then the only noise I heard was the pounding of my own heart.
And then Mordain began to laugh. "That was amazing! Can we do it again?"
Stars above, she was a snot. I swear.
Mallory unbuckled, Mordain seconds behind her. I fumbled with my own buckles, and Mallory turned to help me. Then we all stood.
"How do we get out?" I asked.
"You better bundle up first," Mallory warned me. "You're going to find it very, very cold."
And so I pulled my cloak around me as closely as I could. Mordain exchanged a glance with Mallory. Mallory shrugged. "She won't die of frostbite in the amount of time she'll be outside."
"How bad can it be?" I asked.
Neither of them said anything. Mallory led the way to the rear of the jumper. "Here we go," she said. She pressed a panel near the rear door, and a ramp began to descend, creating the door we had used earlier. It wasn't down more than a half meter before a blast of cold air blew into the jumper.
"Oh blue circles of hell!" I exclaimed, pulling back.
Mordain laughed.
Have I mentioned she's a little snot?
"I'm sorry, Chaladine," Mallory said. "I have little control over the weather."
The ramp finished descending, and the entire jumper grew deathly cold nearly imediately. I tried to retreat further from the cold air, but there was nowhere to go.
It was so cold!
Mordain didn't seem to notice. She ran down the ramp, and then I heard her exclaim, "Sartine! Sartine!" And she disappeared to the left.
"Come on," Mallory said to me. "Stick your hands inside your cloak and we'll move quickly. We'll get you inside as quickly as we can."
I hesitated, and then I hurried forward, practically running down the ramp myself. But Mallory called out, "Slow! You don't know how to walk on ice."
I made it to the bottom of the ramp, took one more step, and if Mallory hadn't caught me, I would have landed flat on my ass.
"Step carefully," she said, setting me back on my feet. "You won't know where it's slippery."
"Whose idea was this?" I muttered.
Mallory laughed and turned me to the left. Ahead of us, I saw the village. Even in the dark of night, I could immediately see it was much smaller than Sudden. Bundled in cloaks that looked far, far warmer than my own were two people. Mordain was hugging one of them, and I presumed that was Sartine, but I couldn't have told you. Mallory led me closer, and I couldn't recognize either of them.
But then I saw the white of Cecilia's hair, and she said, "Welcome to Indartha, Chaladine."
"Cold!" I said. "It's so cold!"
Sartine laughed then pushed her sister away. "Mordain, we have blankets in the carriage." She pointed. "Run and bring one for your vendart's eldest daughter."
"Yes, Vendart!" Mordain said. She turned away and ran towards the carriage.
In the meantime, Cecilia pulled me into a hug, and then I accepted one from Sartine as well, which surprised me. By the time she released me, Mordain was draping a heavy blanket around me, and as I stepped away from Sartine, she tucked it around me. I clasped it tightly, hiding my hands from the air as best I could.
"We have clothes you may borrow," Cecilia said. "But you wouldn't want to pull them on out here. Come on. I know it's startling." She put an arm around me and began leading me to the carriage.
* * * *
It took me twenty minutes to warm up in front of a roaring fire. It took me twenty minutes to realize I had been a horrible guest. Behind me, Mordain, Sartine, Cecilia, and a man I barely recognized as Hilopid, Mordain and Sartine's brother, were talking excitedly. Mordain kept moving around, first to hug Sartine for a while, then Hilopid.
I decided it was worth braving the cold to have been able to bring her here.
Finally I turned around. Everyone noticed me.
"I'm sorry. I have been an ungracious guest."
"Quite all right," Sartine replied. "The cold takes some getting used to, and you weren't wearing the right clothes, either."
"Feeling better?" Cecilia asked.
"Yes. Thank you."
"We saved you the place nearest the fire," Cecilia said, patting the seat next to her. "Come sit. Or were you tired, and wanted to be shown to your room?"
"I haven't lit the fire yet," Hilopid said. "I wasn't sure where we were putting her. I presume Mordain is in her old room."
"Yes," said Sartine. "Mordain, we've kept your room the way you left it. I never really thought you would ever use it again, but I've missed you so much, I couldn't bear to change it. And now you're here to use it, at least for a few days."
"Thank you, Sartine," Mordain said. She bounced in her seat. "The trip was amazing! How hard is it to learn to fly a jumper?"
Cecilia laughed. "It's not hard. Sartine has been learning. Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to teach you, and Darkside isn't in system right now."
Mordain cocked her head. "Was that last part in English?"
Cecilia laughed again. "I'm sorry. Darkside is the imperial spacecraft you've seen from time to time. It's currently off on some errand for the empire. It's commanded by Colonel Blue, who you've seen but perhaps not met. She's the only certified jumper trainer we have."
"She's a very busy woman, Mordain," Sartine said. "I'm sorry."
Mordain hung her head, but then she brightened. "I can be very convincing," she said with a glint in her eye.
Sartine sighed. "Mordain, I forbid you to bother Colonel Blue."
"Ye-" then she closed her mouth, cocking her head. "I don't live in Indartha anymore. You traded me for her." She gestured to Cecilia. "My vendart isn't here to order me to do anything." She grinned.
Sartine narrowed her eyes. "While you are visiting Indartha, I am your vendart again. And so if I tell you to leave Colonel Blue alone, you will leave her alone."
Mordain offered a rebellious look, but then she said, "Yes, Vendart." Then she smiled. "But she's not here, anyway. I've seen that star ship land outside Sudden. You can order me here, but once I'm home, I'm not subject to your orders." Then she stuck out her tongue.
I realized she wasn't rebelling against the vendart; she was rebelling from her sister's control.
Sartine looked at me. "A little help here?"
"Mordain," I said. "Do you recognize my authority?"
"No!" she said. I narrowed my own eyes. "I mean, yes, I recognize your authority. Please don't tell me I can't ask Colonel Blue to teach me how to fly!"
"I'm not going to," I said. I smiled. "Colonel Blue reports to the Governor. I believe if you wish to learn to fly, she is the one to ask."
Mordain took about a second to consider that before turning her beseeching eyes upon Cecilia. "Please..." she said, making the word take seconds to say.
Cecilia offered a dirty look at me. "Thanks, Chaladine," she said. She turned to Mordain. "You are now the forty-seventh person to ask for flying lessons."
"Am I really?"
"No. I made that number up. I honestly don't know how many have asked. You're not the first. If you can prepare a good argument for why we should teach you instead of one of the other people who have asked, then I will forward your request to Colonel Blue. If you attempt to go around me, I will forbid it and will never consider your request in the future. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Governor," Mordain said immedi
ately. "What would be a good reason?"
"That's a very good question. I look forward to your answer. I expect it in writing, in English."
"What?" the girl screeched. "Why English?"
"Because all the jumpers we have assume an ability to read English," Cecilia replied.
"But- but-" Her look turned truly mutinous. "I bet Sartine can't read English any better than I can."
"That's not entirely accurate," Sartine replied. "But I admit I do not speak English, and I would be unable to fulfill my galatzi wife's requirements as she just laid out to you."
"Then why are they teaching you but won't teach me?"
"Because Sartine accompanies me on every trip I take," Cecilia said. "And she now does all the flying once we're well in the air. But she only does the easy take offs and none of the landings. She has an exceedingly good reason to learn how to fly, even though she can't produce the written explanation in English. If you can come up with a reason as good as hers, I would consider it in Talmonese. But 'because I want to' is not good enough, and you know it."
She sighed. "Yes, Governor. How do I learn English?"
Sartine cocked her head. "You're going to learn English just so you can try to envision a reason for Cecilia to ask Colonel Blue to teach you to fly?"
"If that's what it takes."
Cecilia and Sartine exchanged a look, then Cecilia said, "If you learn English well enough to have this conversation with me, in English, and if Colonel Blue has time, and your husband approves of the reason I'd like a few Talmonese to learn to fly, and your vendart approves, then I will authorize your lessons."
"Really?"
"Really. Mordain, do you still have your tablet?"
She nodded. "Should I get it?"
"Ah, you brought it with," Cecilia said. "Yes. Go get it."
The girl popped to her feet. Our things were still in the foyer of the house, so it only took her a minute before she was back. She handed her tablet to Cecilia.
I had been a little jealous she had one and I didn't, but Father let me use his whenever I wanted.
Cecilia woke the tablet, then she cocked her head for a moment. Then she handed the tablet back to Mordain. "There. I added an English training program. There is a brief document written in Talmonese that explains how to approach the training, but the program itself is entirely in English."