Emily glanced around the room. “We won’t have a blazing fire here.”
Chris sniffed. “I know. It’s not the same.”
The others sat in silence for a moment. Then Aimee spoke up. “That’s the one thing I miss from my time with the Lycaon. I loved sitting around the fire on frosty winter nights, with the stars twinkling overhead and the heat on your cheeks making you sleepy. I’ve never had anything like it with the Avitras.”
No one said anything. Anna sighed, too, and Emily rested her chin in her hand and gazed out the window. Penelope Ann scooped a handful of popcorn into her mouth and munched it.
In the middle of this reverie, Donen and Piwaka came back with Turk and Caleb. Donen and Piwaka sat down in the chairs vacated by the women, while Turk and Caleb leaned against the counter. The men took not the slightest notice of the tree or the decorations. “But getting back to our earlier discussion,” Donen began, “the Council takes a different stance on the border than I do. I’m all for reducing the border patrols and eventually phasing them out, but I can’t convince the Council to go along with it. I wish I could do more to show our willingness to compromise, but they’re set in their ways and won’t budge.”
Piwaka waved his hand. “Compromise? I wouldn’t call it compromise when you’ve given all the concessions and we’ve given almost nothing. The Council has every right to defend the Ursidrean border, especially when most of its members can remember the last war and many of them fought in it.”
Donen grimaced. “You and I fought in the last war, too, and here we are, talking like old friends. The Council can put their old grudges aside and work toward peace the same way we are. It’s the least they can do.”
“I wish there was more I could do, too,” Piwaka told him. “I wish I could stay Alpha forever, or at least until this peace agreement was set in stone and no one else could come along and change it.”
Donen brightened up. “There’s still one more person you haven’t met. I think when you meet him, you’ll be more optimistic about the future.”
“I am optimistic,” Piwaka replied. “I couldn’t be more optimistic if I tried.”
“Wait until you meet the man I have in mind,” Donen told him. “If anyone can bend the Council to his way, this man can.”
“Who is he?” Piwaka asked.
“My son, Mirin,” Donen replied. “He’s slated to become Alpha after me.”
Piwaka raised his eyebrows.
Donen held up one hand. “Just wait until you meet him before you pass judgment. He’ll be inaugurated as Alpha in three weeks, and he’s already done more with the Council than I’ve done in all my tenure as Alpha. He’ll usher in a new era, and I’m certain he’ll seal this peace agreement so no one can ever change it.”
Piwaka lowered his eyes. “We have a new Alpha moving in, too. I wish I could be as certain of him as you are of yours.”
The women stirred, and Aimee moved away from the table to intervene in their conversation. Donen didn’t notice her. “When does he take over?”
Piwaka shrugged. “We have a ceremony at the next full moon, but it’s up to me exactly how much power I hand over and when. He’s never really supported the peace agreement. He’s already taken over the Guard, but he knows enough to keep out of my way. He keeps the Guard on patrol for weeks. He doesn’t dare show his face in the village as long as I’m in power.”
Donen started to say something, but Aimee sat down next to Piwaka. “What do you think of our decorations?”
Piwaka spun around and noticed the tree for the first time. “It sure looks fancy.”
She placed a bowl in his hands. “Have something to eat. You must be tired after all the excitement of the day.”
He took the bowl, but he shook his head. “I’m not tired. I’m energized by our meeting with the Council. It gives me new enthusiasm to get back to work.”
“How does Aquilla feel about his son taking over the Alpha position from you?” Donen asked.
Emily and Anna leapt up from the table and hurried over. “By the way, Piwaka, Aquilla asked us to tell you he’d gone across the passage to his quarters. He thought you ought to know.”
“That’s not what he said at all,” Aria interrupted. “He said to tell Penelope Ann. He never said anything about telling Piwaka. I’m sure Piwaka doesn’t need to know Aquilla went to his quarters.”
Anna rounded on her. “Can’t you see he does need to know?”
“What does he need to know for?” Aria asked.
Anna smacked her lips. “We just talked about this before. Have you forgotten?”
“What are you talking about?” Aria asked. “We never talked anything about this.”
Penelope Ann stood up. She towered over the rest of the group, and her stunning beauty and straight blonde hair hanging down her back cast a magnetic presence over the group. “I think I’ll go over to my quarters, too. We’ve had fun decorating the apartment, but I’ve had enough. I want some quiet time. Thanks for everything, Aria. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Aria nodded. “No problem. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I’m sure you’ve thought of everything,” Penelope Ann replied. “See you guys later.”
She strode out of the apartment. A tense silence remained. Then Aimee stood up. She extended her hand to Piwaka. “We should be going over to our quarters, too. I want to lie down for a while. Come on, darling. Come with me.”
Piwaka started to protest, but Aimee turned a look down on him that left no room for contradiction. He took her hand, rose from the chair, and bowed to Donen. “Thank you again so much for your kind hospitality. I hope I can return it someday.”
Donen bowed forward in his chair without getting up. “I’m sure you will. Have a rest. We’re all meeting here for the evening meal, so we’ll expect you for that.”
Aimee and Piwaka went out. Donen waited until the door closed behind them before he turned on Anna. “What is the matter with you?”
“Me?” she shot back. “What’s the matter with you?”
“How could you be so rude?” Donen asked. “You interrupted a very important diplomatic conversation.”
“How diplomatic could it be?” she asked. “Don’t you know how he feels about Roshin taking over as Alpha? You couldn’t have brought up a more sensitive subject.”
“Just because it’s sensitive doesn’t mean it’s off limits,” Donen countered. “We’re old friends. It would be ridiculous of me not to ask about it.”
“But we agreed before not to talk about it,” Carmen pointed out. “It’s hard enough having the two of them here, sleeping next door to each other and coming here for meals. Rubbing Piwaka’s nose in it will only make them more likely to butt heads.”
“Who said anything about them butting heads?” Aria asked. “Roshin taking over is a foregone conclusion. It’s already decided. Piwaka must have come to accept it by now.”
Anna whirled around to face Aria. “But you’re the one who said we should avoid the subject of Roshin. You’re the one who said hostilities could erupt between them if we brought it up.”
“I never meant we shouldn’t mention Roshin’s name at all,” Aria argued. “That would be impossible.” She snorted with laughter. “It would make this whole celebration a farce.”
“You said we shouldn’t discuss politics,” Emily pointed out, “and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“We’re talking politics right now,” Caleb pointed out. “Arguing whether to talk about Roshin is a political discussion.”
“It’s a joke,” Turk growled. “Practically everyone I’ve talked to asks me how Taig is getting on. Don’t you think Aquilla would notice if no one asked after Roshin? Our children are good friends. It’s got nothing to do with politics.”
“Everything has to do with politics now,” Chris pointed out. “Our children are Alphas of their factions. Taig is Alpha of the Lycaon with Tara as his secon
dary. Reina is taking over the Felsite, and now Roshin is following his father as leader of the Avitras. Pretty soon Taman will become secondary to Mirin, the same way Faruk acted as secondary to Donen. All our lives are political.”
“So what are we going to do?” Carmen asked. “We can’t keep pussy-footing around Aquilla and Piwaka. We came here to celebrate, and this subject is making our gatherings so tense no one wants to be part of them. Look. We’re making such a big deal about this, Piwaka and Aimee and Penelope Ann and Aquilla don’t even want to be around us.”
“I don’t really blame them,” Emily remarked. “I don’t want to be around it, either. I would just as soon break the subject wide open and ask straight out how Piwaka feels about Roshin taking over. At least that would get it out in the open.”
“You can’t do that,” Anna told her.
“Why not?” Emily asked.
“What’s he going to say?” Anna shot back. “He’s not going to say he plans to do everything in his power to thwart Roshin as Alpha.”
“He basically already said that,” Carmen replied. “He said Roshin opposes the peace agreement, and he would do anything to make sure it went ahead.”
“We all know the story,” Chris pointed out. “Roshin didn’t support the peace agreement because he never thought it wise to leave the borders undefended. He turned out to be right, not because the Ursidreans posed a threat to the Avitras, but because the Outliers planned to invade. Once he made friends with our children and they agreed to work together to keep the borders strong, he changed his position on the peace agreement.”
“Piwaka doesn’t seem to understand that,” Caleb added.
“He never said he doesn’t understand it,” Marissa told him. “He said Roshin never supported the peace agreement, and he’s right. Roshin keeps out of his way, and rightly so. He has no reason to challenge Piwaka’s power before he actually takes over.”
“None of this is helping us decide what to say to either of them about Roshin,” Aria pointed out.
“I say we drop the whole pretense of keeping the subject quiet,” Emily replied. “I say we speak freely, about everything, including Roshin.”
“Hear, hear,” Donen chimed in.
Anna shook her head. “This is a bad idea. We shouldn’t talk about him. Heaven knows we have plenty of other things to talk about.”
Chapter 6
Aria and Emily worked in the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. They got dishes out of the transmogrifier and set them on the table, along with cutlery, plates and bowls, drinks and cups.
“Don’t forget the nut mix for the Avitras,” Aria called from the counter.
Emily surveyed the table. “It isn’t like Christmas dinner at all. Where’s the ham and turkey? Where’s the pie and ice cream?” She sniffed. “I want to go home.”
Chris laughed. “I’m sure you can pull pie and ice cream out of that magic box of yours any time you want to. I’m surprised you still have your figure with that thing around. I’d be having pie and ice cream three meals a day if I had one of those back in the village.”
Emily smiled. “You just get used to it. Pretty soon, you don’t even think about all the junk food you could pull out of it if you wanted to. You crave real, healthy food.”
“I’m sure living in this city helps a lot,” Carmen pointed out. “Everyone here is living a productive, healthy life. I haven’t seen one person out of shape or slacking off. It must be very inspiring.”
“The Felsite don’t exactly slack off, either,” Emily countered.
“No one on Angondra does,” Anna added. “These people just don’t have the same hang-ups we had to struggle against on Earth. Why is that?”
“Who cares?” Marissa asked. “I’m glad I’m here. I wouldn’t go back.”
“None of us would,” Aria pointed out. “We had the chance, and we all chose to stay.”
“And here we are,” Anna went on, “celebrating Christmas.”
“And arguing about Roshin,” Emily added.
“It’s enough to make you wish Aquilla hadn’t come at all,” Anna chimed in.
“Of course you wish Aquilla hadn’t come,” Chris told her. “You hate Aquilla after what he did to Menlo.”
Anna studied her. “I don’t hate Aquilla. I never hated Aquilla, not even when he was at his cruelest, and Menlo and I would never have gotten away from the Avitras if Aquilla hadn’t let us go. He’s a good person. I truly believe that. The circumstances conspired against him. That’s all. I’m just so glad Menlo is on border patrol right now. I don’t think I could stand having him and Aquilla under the same roof.”
Aria dried her hands on a towel and sat down next to her. “I’m glad, too.”
Anna cocked her head. “Did you plan it this way? Did you arrange to have this gathering when Menlo was away—for that reason?”
Aria covered her hand with her own. “I hope you understand, sweetie. I did it for all of us.”
Anna squeezed her hand and smiled. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to me.”
Aria nodded. “Of course I do. I would never do anything to endanger Menlo, and if he and Aquilla were in the same room together for any length of time, we would almost certainly have to pry his fingers off Aquilla’s throat. This was the easier way to go.”
Anna laughed and gave her a hug. “You’re a genius.”
Aria jumped up and hurried back to work. “Now if we could only come to some agreement about Roshin, we’d be set.”
“Just talk about him.” Emily waved her hand. “Talk about him freely. What’s the big deal?”
“What are you going to do,” Anna asked, “if you start talking about Roshin and find out Piwaka has a burning vendetta against him and Aquilla for robbing him of power? What are you going to do then? You can’t put the genie back in the bottle once you let him out.”
“How could Piwaka have a burning vendetta against him?” Emily asked. “Piwaka has no children. He has no one to take over for him. He won’t live forever, and he’s not even the real Alpha. Roshin’s the rightful heir. Piwaka would have to be mentally ill to stand in Roshin’s way.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Anna replied. “Better to keep quiet about the whole subject than to risk hostilities between the two of them. It would ruin our whole Christmas.”
“It’s already ruining it,” Emily muttered.
Just then, the Avitras came in. Piwaka and Aimee sat together on the long seat, and Aquilla and Penelope Ann took the two chairs opposite. The friends studied the two couples at close range, but no one could tell from watching them whether they hated each other or whether they were the closest comrades.
Aria broke the ice. “Did you see any more of the city?”
No one replied. They looked back and forth, from one to the other, until Aimee asked, “Who are you talking to?”
Aria stared at them. Then she burst out laughing. “I....I’m really not sure. I guess I was talking to Piwaka and Aquilla....and you, Penelope Ann. The rest of us have seen it enough times.”
“I haven’t,” Marissa pointed out, “but I’d like to.”
Aria stared at her. too. Then she laughed again. “I guess I’m just trying to put everybody at ease.”
Aquilla’s feathers rustled when he lifted his head. “I saw some more of the city. After I left here, I rested in my quarters for a while, but I couldn’t get that vision of your city out of my head. I had to walk back to your central area to look at it again. It really is truly awe-inspiring.”
Aria smiled at him. “Do you really think so?”
Aquilla nodded. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I had heard stories about it, but it’s nothing like what I expected. I could stand there and stare at it for days on end and never get bored.”
Emily came closer. “What about it fascinates you so much?”
He put his head on one side. “It’s just so different to the Avitras world. It’s
like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I don’t mean the technology. I don’t even notice that. That’s what’s so startling about it. All those people going about their lives, doing their work, having their mundane little conversations about the minutia of daily life—they could be anywhere in the world. They could be Lycaon, living with no technology at all. They could be Avitras if they had feathers and lived in trees. But they aren’t. They’re Ursidreans, and all this is happening under the ground, in the heart of the mountain. It’s mind-boggling, when you think about it.”
Aria gazed into his eyes and drank in every word. “I only wish it hadn’t taken so many years for our people to come together. I wish you could have seen it long ago.”
“I don’t think I would have been ready to see it before now,” Aquilla replied. “I hated the Ursidreans too much. I never would have crossed the border.”
“What changed for you?” Emily asked. “What makes you ready to visit the city now?”
“Roshin is becoming Alpha,” Aquilla replied. “He’s redeeming me somehow. He’s becoming the Alpha I could never be.”
A tense silence filled the room. Carmen coughed.
“I never really believed in the peace agreement,” he went on. “I thought it was fool-hardy, and I told Roshin so. But now he supports it for some reason. He hasn’t told me why, but I trust him. He’s old enough and responsible enough to make that decision for himself. I can rest in the knowledge that he’ll make the right decision for our faction. I could never be satisfied with the knowledge that I would make the right decision. The responsibility weighed me down too much.”
Aria glanced across the room at Piwaka. The old Captain listened to Aquilla with a frown furrowing his brow. He clenched his jaw in a steady rhythm, but said nothing. Aria shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, I’m glad you saw your way to come now. It’s an honor for all of us to receive you.”
Aquilla bent his head. “Thank you, Aria. The honor is all mine.”
Angondra Holiday Special Page 4