by Robin Roseau
"You already have someone."
"I might. I'm not telling you."
I turned away, frustrated. "Is it Delilah?"
"I'm not answering that, either."
I paced to the window. "I need to know."
"No, you do not."
I turned back. "Please, Cecilia. Is it Delilah?"
"Why are you so upset?"
"I-" I looked down. "I'm sorry to have bothered you. I will accept your judgment." I kept my head bowed submissively.
She rose from her seat and crossed the room to me. I didn't move. But then she lifted my chin. "Good. But now you are going to tell me what is really going on."
I pulled away and looked down again.
"Nothing."
"Do not lie to me," she said firmly. "This is not 'nothing'. So I will ask a more direct question. Do you want me to give you to Delilah?"
"I will accept your judgment."
"That is not what I asked. Do you want me to give you to Delilah?"
I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to say bad things about her niece.
"Tell me," she ordered firmly. "Or I will drug you, take you off planet to a highly disreputable rejuvenation facility, roll your age back to seven years old, then put you over my knee and paddle your bottom!"
The very thought caused my lips to quiver. I looked up at her. "It's about time."
"Excuse me?"
"It's about time you admitted you want to fondle my bottom. Just think how different life could have been if you admitted that years ago."
She laughed.
"You don't need to roll my age back," I said. "You can spank me right now. Shall we move to the bed, and I can lay across your lap?"
"Shut up," she said. "Oh god, Sartine would kill both of us."
"No, she wouldn't. But she'd paddle your bottom. I think I'd get a lot worse, however."
"Oh yeah. And I wouldn't enjoy the paddling, either."
"I can't believe that's your best threat."
"It's not. It was the most amusing I could think of. You're going to tell me or I'll come up with real threats."
"I don't want you to give me to Delilah. Someone else. Anyone else."
She took my hand and drew me to the sofa. We sat down on the sofa, and she said, "Tell me everything."
"I don't want to talk ill about your niece. Or grand niece, or whatever she is."
"Niece, once removed," she replied. "Just tell me, Chaladine. Don't we trust each other that much?"
And so I did. "She's not a nice person. She hates Talmon, and she's rude to everyone." Then it all spilled out, every little bit. I even told her some of the things I didn't think I'd ever tell anyone.
And when finally I had it all out, she pulled me to her, and I laid my head on her shoulder.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"All right. Good." Then she was quiet for a minute. "Okay," she said. "They'll be here in a few minutes."
"Not Delilah!"
"No not Delilah. Mother and Savannah."
I pushed away. "No!"
"Yes. You said you would trust me. And now you are going to." She caressed my cheek. "It's going to be okay, Chaladine. I knew you just needed some time to clear your head. I'm so proud of you."
"You are?"
She smiled.
It took a few minutes, but then the door opened. "Cecilia?" Christianna called out.
"Come in, Mother."
I cocked my head at Cecilia. "I unlocked the door," she explained tapping her head. "I'll lock it again, too. No one will disturb us."
A moment later, Christianna and Savannah stepped into the room. Christianna took one look and so, "Oh, thank god. Finally."
I looked up at her. I stared, actually. She sat down on the sofa on my other side and said, "Come here, child." She pulled me from Cecilia, and I found myself enveloped in her arms. She felt as good as Cecilia did.
Knowing she was a century and a half old probably explained why I felt so deeply mothered.
Savannah stood by, then said, "I take it a few days away from my granddaughter cleared her head enough she could think."
"Yes," said Cecilia.
"I don't know why you had me introduce her. I told you we shouldn't bring her here."
"Savannah," said Christianna. "Sit."
Savannah took another seat. Then Christianna said, "Everyone in this room has a portion of the story. I believe Cecilia has all of it, or all that matters. I believe I have everything that matters. But it appears my younger daughter and my young friend here are somewhat less informed."
"That sounds accurate, Mother. We're going to need your help."
"Of course. That's why I'm here." She pushed me away. "You invited my daughter here to ask if she was giving you to Delilah in this galatzi trade you have requested."
I nodded. "You know about that?"
"I do. She came to me to discuss it. My daughters trust their mother." I was willing to believe that.
"Delilah? You're going to give her to Delilah?" Savannah asked.
"Not a chance in hell," Cecilia said. "I'm sorry, Savannah, but I couldn't possibly trust your daughter with anyone from Talmon, especially not Chaladine."
"But-" I looked between all of them. My eyes settled on Savannah. "You said she was very important to you. You love her."
"She's my granddaughter. Of course I love her. But she's a manipulative bitch."
"Then... why did you introduce us?"
"Because I asked her to," Cecilia said.
"Really, Cecilia," Savannah said. "We've got an entire planet of sheep, and you bring that bitch here? I don't understand why you would do that."
I straightened up. "We're not sheep."
"Yes, Darling," she replied. "You are. You are collectively and individually the most decent, trusting people I have ever met. We go to the baths, and we all just leave everything in those baskets."
"So?"
"We leave our money there."
"So?"
"Anyone could take it!"
"No one would."
"That's what I mean," she said. "You just know that no one would do these things. Do you know, I was about to overpay for something at a shop, and the shopkeeper took my hand and said, 'My Dear, you are paying too much. Let me teach you how to bargain'."
"But... she wouldn't want to cheat you!"
"Do you know how I see it?" I shook my head. "I was willing to pay her initial asking price. It wasn't very expensive, just a little keepsake from Indartha. Something small I can put on my desk to remind myself of where my sister has chosen to live. But it's lovely and unique. No one, and I mean no one on Centos Four has anything like it. If I took the contents of that shop to Centos Four with me, they would sell for ten times what she's asking. So if I was happy to pay her price, and she was happy to sell it to me, then we are both happy, and she should sell it to me."
"But... it wouldn't be a fair price."
"This is what I mean," Savannah said. "You are all sheep, waiting to be shorn. And my granddaughter would happily shear all of you."
"But-"
"Sister, why did you make me bring her?"
"For Chaladine."
"But-"
Christianna turned me to face her. "A warning, Darling," she said. "A warning while Cecilia is here to make sure you don't get too badly hurt from the lesson."
"I wasn't being entirely self-serving that way," Cecilia said. "Yes, that was half. But I also thought it would be a chance for Delilah to learn something, too. I thought she would see the good in Chaladine, the trust and the innocence. I thought she would realize she doesn't need her damned pheromones to get what she wants."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Savannah, but your granddaughter is a bitch."
"My daughter grew up in a household run by a very domineering mother." I had to think about that twice before I realized what she meant. "And so she vowed to make her own mistakes. Delilah learned early on she could get what she wanted if
she batted her eyelashes in a cute fashion. It's only gotten worse."
"Are you angry with me, Chaladine?" Cecilia asked.
I turned to her. "You thought I'd teach her to be nice."
"I did."
"I tried."
"I know you did."
"I can't say no to her."
"I know you can't. It's not your fault. She's been drugging you."
"Drugging me?"
"With pheromones," Cecilia said. "We all produce them, but in much smaller levels than she does. She had to go to a very disreputable rejuvenation center to have that enhancement. We're immune." She gestured between the three of them. "You are not."
"She doesn't just smell good," Christianna said. "Every time you breath in, you are breathing the drug."
"That's why I sent you here," Cecilia said. "So you could clear your head. If we didn't have this conversation this time, then I'd make up another reason in a few weeks, separating you again. I knew you could see through her but I knew you couldn't pull yourself from her without some separation. I hope you're not mad."
I looked down. "No."
"Good." She lifted my chin. "If you can't teach her to be nice, no one can."
I sighed. "You want me to keep trying."
"Hell, no. I want her off my planet."
"Finally," said Christianna. "What do we do with her until the shuttle arrives? It's not like we can let her run loose."
Cecilia smiled. "Chaladine, I want you to break up with her tonight at dinner. I presume you want to break up."
"I won't be able to. You know I won't! I've been trying. I've tried four times."
"You're going to break up with her at dinner. You're going to be nice about it, because that's the way you are. She's going to amp up the pheromones, and you're going to start to waver."
"I won't just waver-"
"We're doing this my way," Cecilia said. "You'll start to waver, and then I'm going to interfere. She'll try to hit me with her pheromones. It won't work, but she's so accustomed to it, she'll try anyway." She smiled, and it wasn't nice. "And then she will have attempted to drug an imperial governor, and that gives me all the authority I need to resolve this more permanently."
No one responded. Then Cecilia asked, "Will you help me, Chaladine?"
"I'll try, but-"
She put fingers to my lips. "No buts. Will you help?" I nodded.
"What are you going to do to my granddaughter, Governor?" Savannah asked.
"I am going to send her to rejuvenation. I am going to have her ability to control her pheromones removed. I am going to remove her body's ability to produce any pheromones at all. If she fights me, I will also take her beauty, and then I will see to it she never receives another rejuvenation treatment at any facility anywhere."
Everyone turned to Savannah, waiting. "Very well," she said. "Yes."
"You have the power to do this?" I asked.
"I have absolutely no authority over a single Talmonese beyond that you grant me if you accept a job from me," she said. "But she is an off-planet visitor to my planet, and my word is law. Mother, am I wrong?"
"No. But how are you going to get her to a treatment facility?"
Cecilia smiled. "Chaladine, I need you to trust me again." A moment later, the doorbell rang.
"That can't be Delilah!" I said.
"It's not." Then I heard the door open, and a moment later two women appeared, both wearing uniforms. I recognized Colonel Blue. We all stood, and I stared.
"Darkside isn't here. We would have heard you."
Colonel Blue smiled. "Darkside is loud when Darkside wishes to be loud. But Darkside is also capable of being very, very quiet. And that, young lady, is a secret you will not share outside the people in this room."
"Of course, Colonel," I said. I looked at Cecilia. "I don't understand."
"Chaladine, this is Commander Amanda Holt. The Commander is a doctor."
"Is someone sick?"
The Commander stepped forward. She offered her hand. "Your name is Chaladine?" I nodded. "You are a Talmonese citizen?" I nodded again. "I need you to come with me."
I turned to Cecilia. "She's going to help you," she explained. "She has to take you to Darkside. It's okay."
"Delilah is probably out there somewhere."
"It is four steps to our jumper," Colonel Blue explained. "We'll rush you aboard, but I have two security officers with me as well. No one will bother you."
I turned back to Cecilia. "Will you come with me?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I have to stay here. Mother?"
"I'll go," Christianna said. "We'll take care of you, Chaladine."
And so, I let them herd me to the door. Colonel Blue stepped out, and then she gestured.
They basically ran me to the waiting jumper. It was parked far too close to the bungalow, and I frowned. They had crushed some of the vegetation. But then I was aboard, with Christianna immediately after me. They settled me into a seat, a security officer buckling me in. I knew how, but I let him do it.
"Do you speak English, ma'am?" he asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Have you been in a jumper before?"
"Yes. Lots of times."
"This is going to be a little rougher than you're used to, but Fred is a great pilot." I looked forward, and a woman was facing me, smiling. "You sit tight, and we'll be at Darkside in just a few minutes."
"Thank you..." I looked at his insignia, but I didn't know how to read it. "I don't know what to call you."
"Lieutenant," he replied. "Quite all right, ma'am."
Christianna and the others had all settled in. Then the lieutenant took the front passenger seat, and a moment later we were in the air.
Fred may have been a good pilot, but it was a good thing I had a strong stomach, as it wasn't a gentle flight. And I screamed when we dived into the ocean south of the resort. But Christianna reached over and took my hand. "It's okay, Darling," she said. "Darkside is just hiding where no one would look."
I looked out the window, and above us I saw the surface disappear. "But- but-"
Colonel Blue was behind me. She set a hand on my shoulder. "We know what we're doing, Chaladine." She spoke Talmonese, and she wasn't remotely as practiced as Cecilia, but it was comforting just to have her try. I reached up and clasped her hand.
I don't know how deep we went, but it was a lot, lot deeper than I would ever swim. And then we were inside Darkside, passing from the water to air just like it was nothing.
More Imperial magic.
I had never been aboard Darkside. Cecilia said this was a small ship but it didn't seem small to me. We settled into our berth, and then the Lieutentant was back.
"We probably should have warned you," he said. "But it's tradition the first time. We got some great film of you screaming."
"Very funny," I said. "Have you ever been cliff diving?"
He laughed. "Actually, I have. Have you ever been to Gladeen to go flying?"
"No. I once asked Governor Grace to take me, but she turned me down."
"Perhaps she didn't turn you down," Christianna said. "Perhaps she just asks your patience."
"I offered myself in galatzi trade, but she's with Sartine now. She turned me down."
"Well, that's a discussion for another day. Maybe someday I'll take you."
"But that's also a discussion for another day." And she grinned at me.
* * * *
Colonel Blue, Commander Holt, and Christianna led me a short distance through the ship. I clasped Christianna's hand the entire way. If I hurt her, she didn't say anything.
Everything was so strange; I couldn't describe any of it. I'm not sure if I should even try. But we entered a room, and Commander Holt said, "This is the medical bay."
"What does that mean?"
"It's like a little hospital," Christianna said. "Do you know that word? Cecilia said there's no equivalent word in Talmonese."
"I know the word. This is like a rejuvenation center
."
"Yes, sort of," said the Commander. "We don't do rejuvenation here. But we take care of other things. In this case, I'm going to run some tests. None of them will damage you, but I need to take a little blood." She eyed my clothing. "I need you to change clothes. As long as you're here, I'm going to do a full work up."
"I don't understand." I turned to Christianna. "I'm scared."
"I know," she said. "We're safe here, Chaladine, and it's just a few simple tests."
"But... what do they want? Why are we here?"
She smiled. "They're going to make you immune to Delilah's pheromones."
"Her scent?"
"Yes. In fact, they can even make it so she smells bad to you, if you want. But first they have to check to see how healthy you are."
"I'm perfectly healthy."
"Yes, but they're going to check anyway. It's fine. I'll be right here."
No one rushed me, and Christianna's expression was so kind. "What do I have to do?"
"They want you to change clothes," she said. "Your current clothing, while quite dashing and attractive, is in the way. They're going to ask you to put on an absolutely horrible hospital gown. No one likes them, and it's not that much better than being entirely naked, but they want you to wear it anyway. I can't tell you how many times I've worn one of those dreadful things."
"Does it hurt?"
"No, Darling. It doesn't hurt. It just doesn't cover as much as you might prefer."
"All right," I said. "You're not going anywhere, are you?"
"I'll stay right here."
"All right."
That seemed to be what they were waiting for. Colonel Blue took her leave but said she'd be back when we were done here. Another woman appeared, a Lieutenant Griffon, who was introduced as a medic. She had a hospital gown that Christianna had mentioned. "There's a head there." She pointed to a door.
"A head?"
"A water closet," Christianna said.
"Oh. I have no immediate need."
"It's for your modesty while you change."
"We're on Talmon. Unless we need it for your modesty, I can change right here."
Christianna smiled and nodded, and I began undressing. When I got to my underthings, the medic told me I could keep those on. But then she said, "The gown goes the other way with the ties in back."