Donen shook his head. “I don’t understand it. Now Piwaka, I can understand. He’s an open book, but Aquilla....” He shook his head again.
“Is he planning something, do you think?” Caleb asked.
“Like what?” Donen asked, “An invasion?”
Caleb chuckled. “Maybe he’s spying on you.”
Donen only smiled. “I think he’s sincere. That’s what’s so confusing.”
Aria spoke up. “Piwaka’s being very diplomatic about Roshin. I thought the two of them would be more hostile to each other.”
“Did you see his face when Aquilla mentioned Roshin?” Marissa asked. “He’s not being diplomatic. He’s just being silent. I’d say he’s a master at keeping his feelings hidden.”
“Maybe Aimee can give us a clue how he’s taking it,” Aria suggested.
“Don’t meddle with him,” Donen told her. “Leave well enough alone. If they can get out the door without fighting, I’ll be happy.”
Carmen and Anna came in. Carmen sat on the floor next to Marissa’s end of the seat. Anna took a chair near the tree. “Where is everyone?”
“They’ll be along any minute now,” Aria replied. “They’ll be in for breakfast.”
“I heard Aquilla up and around in the middle of the night,” Anna told her. “I wonder where he went.”
“How could he see with the power out?” Donen asked.
“Avitras can see in the dark,” she replied, “and their hearing is phenomenal.”
“There would be nothing to see,” Caleb added. “Everyone would have been in bed.”
Anna shook her head. “Something about his behavior doesn’t make sense. I think he’s up to something.”
“He’s not up to anything,” Donen replied. “He’s fascinated with the city, and I can understand why. He’s never seen anything like it in his life. He’s lived his life in trees in a vast forest, and this is the closest he’s ever come to Ursidreans, his old enemies. I’m not surprised he’s walking the passages in the dead of night. I’d be doing the same thing if I ever went to Avitras territory. I’m glad it’s him coming here and not the other way around. I don’t think I could handle it as well as he has.”
“Piwaka’s handling it just fine,” Carmen pointed out.
“Piwaka’s spend a lot of time around Ursidreans,” Donen replied. “He’s had dealings with me and Faruk and Menlo along the border for years. He’s negotiated with us while Aquilla’s been shunted to the background. This is a much more momentous experience for Aquilla than for Piwaka.”
Just then, Aimee and Piwaka entered, and the conversation died. Aria got up to offer everyone something to eat, and the room dissolved into several separate discussion on every subject other than the one they just abandoned.
Pretty soon, Penelope Ann and Aquilla came in, followed by Turk. “Where’s Chris?”
“I have no idea,” he replied. “She disappeared before the power came on. I woke up to an empty bed.”
“I haven’t seen or heard from Emily this morning, either,” Aria told him. “Maybe they went off somewhere together.”
“I hope so,” Turk replied. “I hope Chris didn’t get lost in the city somewhere.”
“You can’t get lost in this city,” Donen told him. “Wherever she is, she won’t be alone. Someone will bring her back if she can’t find her own way, People take care of each other here.”
Aria ferried bowls and plates to the table. “Come on, everyone. Sit down and eat. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”
“What have you got planned?” Carmen asked.
“Tonight’s Chri....I mean, tonight’s our big holiday dinner,” Aria replied. “We have some work to do to get ready for that. We have the decorations to finish, and I was thinking we could sing songs....if everyone feels like it.”
The other women exchanged glances. “Do you mean like Christmas carols?”
Aria shrugged. “Whatever. I always remember singing at this time of year.”
“I remember singing Christmas carols,” Penelope Ann told her. “If we don’t sing those, what will we sing?”
Aria spun away to grab another tray. “I don’t know. We can sing whatever we want. I just thought it would make the occasion more festive. But if you don’t want to, we don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion.”
“I don’t want to sing anything if we aren’t going to sing Christmas carols,” Penelope Ann replied.
“But we aren’t celebrating Christmas,” Aria insisted.
“I am,” Penelope Ann replied. “It’s Christmas time for me, and that’s what I came here to celebrate. Maybe you don’t want to call it Christmas, but I do.....And I want to give gifts, too. I brought gifts for everyone, and I want to give them.”
Aria stared at her. She opened her mouth. Then she closed it and pursed her lips. Her eyes hardened, and she turned away. “I won’t argue with you.”
Marissa interrupted. “What else did you have in mind, Aria?”
Aria turned around. “Well, I was hoping to hear from you all. What are some of your traditions you want to include?”
“We could make eggnog,” Carmen suggested.
“But we don’t have a fire to drink it in front of,” Penelope Ann pointed out. “All those traditions have to do with snow and keeping warm in front of the fire. What’s the point?”
Aria started to say something, but Anna stood up. “Forget it. Aria keeps saying we’re not celebrating Christmas because we’re not on Earth and all those old traditions about keeping warm in front of the fire don’t apply here. We have a nice tree and a bunch of nice decorations. Why don’t we just have a nice time with our friends and enjoy the happiness of good times?”
“Anna’s right,” Marissa added. “We’ve spent years working for peace so we could all sit around together without political conflicts keeping us apart. A little misunderstanding like this shouldn’t ruin it for us.”
Penelope Ann leaned back in her chair and Aria went on with her work without saying anything. Tension crackled in the room until Aquilla turned to Donen. “I would really like to visit your Supreme Council, and I would like to meet your son Mirin. I heard you say he’s taking over as Alpha, so he’ll be working closely with Roshin. I’d like to meet him if I can.”
Donen sprang up. “Of course! I’m sure Mirin would be honored to meet you. He’s down at the Council chamber now in deep negotiations with the members.”
“I wouldn’t want to interrupt him,” Aquilla offered.
Donen grabbed Aquilla’s hand and practically hauled him out of his chair. “Not at all, not at all. Come with me. I’m sure he would be surprised and delighted to meet you, and he would resent me for keeping you away. Come with me, and I’ll take you straight to him.”
They headed for the door. Aria set down her bowl. “Hey! What about breakfast?”
The slamming door answered her. She looked around the room. Penelope Ann smiled at her. Carmen came to the counter. “Let me help you put everything on the table.”
Aria’s shoulders slumped. “What am I going to do with all this nut mixture?”
“I’ll eat it,” Penelope Ann offered.
Aimee and Piwaka stepped forward. “And we’ll eat it.”
Carmen laid her hand on Aria’s shoulder. “It’s okay. We don’t want them hanging around while we get this celebration underway. They’re having a good time together. That’s the important thing.”
Aria sighed. “This isn’t turning out the way I wanted it to.”
“It’s perfect the way it is,” Marissa told her. “We don’t have to make it anything other than what it is.”
They settled down around the table and started eating. Sure enough, there was just enough nut mixture for Penelope Ann, Aimee, and Piwaka with none wasted. By the end of the meal, Aria cheered up.
Anna started clearing away the dirty dishes. “So what do you want to do first? How much work do you have to do for dinner?�
�
“Not a lot,” Aria replied. “I already programmed the transmogrifiers and the store chamber for everything we need.”
“The tree and the decorations are done,” Carmen pointed out. “What else is there?”
Aria hesitated. “The singing.”
Penelope Ann rolled her eyes. “Do we really have to? What do you want us to do—go caroling from door to door?”
Aria glared at her and pursed her lips. “We don’t have to sing at all, if that’s how you feel. I only wanted to include as many Earth traditions as possible. I wanted this to resembled our own treasured memories of Earth as much as possible.”
“Then why can’t we give gifts?” Penelope Ann asked. “We’ve got this big, beautiful Christmas tree with no presents under it.”
Aria turned away and didn’t answer.
Marissa studied her. “You really have your heart set on this, don’t you?”
Aria spun around and held up both hands. “You know what? Forget it. Forget all about it. Forget the singing and the gifts and the tree and dinner and everything. Let’s forget the whole project.”
“We can’t forget it,” Carmen pointed out. “Most of us have traveled a long way to be here for this.”
Penelope Ann stepped forward. She moved around in front of Aria. “I think Aquilla and I will go home.”
Aria gasped and her eyes popped open. “Go home!”
“This isn’t what I imagined it would be, and I’m not enjoying myself,” Penelope Ann replied. “There’s too many arguments about this and that and the other thing. I’m not comfortable here. I don’t want to cobble together a makeshift Christmas that doesn’t make me happy. I’d rather keep my memories intact of Christmas at home with my family.”
Aria opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Marissa spoke up. “Don’t leave, Penelope Ann. We’re all hundreds of light years from home here, and none of us expects this Christmas to be perfect. Stick it out and we’ll make it work for all of us.”
Penelope Ann shook her head. “I don’t think so. You can make whatever patchwork Christmas you want. I’m going home.”
Aria stared at her. Then she dropped her plate to the table with a bang and rushed out of the room. The door slammed behind her. A stunned silence descended over the remaining friends. Marissa turned to Penelope Ann. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I didn’t have to,” Penelope Ann replied, “but I did. I see no reason to suffer through this for anyone else’s sake.”
“Is it really as bad as that?” Marissa asked.
Penelope Ann nodded. “Christmas at home was a joyful time when everyone put aside their differences to come together in harmony to share the love and peace of the holiday. All I’ve heard since I walked in the door is how worried everyone is about Piwaka and Aquilla getting along, and how everyone expects Aquilla to start the next great war. It’s pick, pick, pick all day long, and I miss the sounds of the forest. I want to go home.”
“What about Aquilla?” Carmen asked. “He seems to be enjoying himself.”
“He told me we could go if I really wanted to,” Penelope Ann replied.
“Can’t you see how hard Aria’s trying to make this a nice holiday for all of us?” Anna asked. “Can’t you see how much this means to her?”
Penelope Ann rounded on her. “Can’t you see how hard I’m trying to make this a nice holiday? Can’t you see how much this means to me?”
“That’s not what she means,” Aimee told her. “None of us wants you to have a bad time.”
“This is my tenth Christmas on Angondra,” Penelope Ann told her. “I’ve had nine others since we landed here. How do you think they were for me?”
“Tell us,” Marissa urged.
“They were wonderful,” Penelope Ann told her. “They were some of the happiest Christmases I ever had in my life, even though I was alone with the Avitras and none of them had a clue what Christmas meant. I spent them with Aquilla and his family, and after Roshin was born, the three of us spent them quietly at home. I never put out decorations or had a tree in the house or made special food or sat around the fire drinking eggnog or singing carols or stringing popcorn. Those things are just cliches to me.”
“So what did you do that made them so special?” Aimee asked.
“I spent them with my family,” Penelope Ann replied. “I spent them with the people I love, in peace and tranquility, with no strife or tension. The holiday made me grateful for what I have, even when I’d lost everything and had nothing. Christmas in our village helped me more than anything to settle into this life and be happy with it. I never would have survived without it.”
The others stared at her. Even Turk and Caleb listened in silence. Marissa came to her side. “That is so beautiful. I don’t think any of us ever understood how it was for you, all those years alone.”
“You never wanted to understand,” Penelope Ann countered. “You were all too comfortable blaming Aquilla for your problems.”
Marissa nodded. “You’re right, Penelope Ann. I understand now why you want to go home.”
Penelope Ann sat down on the long seat. “I’ll just wait until Donen and Aquilla get back. Then we’ll leave.”
Chapter 9
Aria stormed down the passage, but she didn’t see anyone who passed her or greet anyone she knew. She charged blindly through the corridors, up to the top of the main cavern and back down. By the time she got back to her own apartment, her temper hadn’t cooled at all. The sight of her door made her turn away in disgust. She couldn’t face those people again.
After all the effort she’d put into this celebration, she should have known better than to expect anything else from Penelope Ann. She’s always been frigid and ungrateful to everyone who ever extended the hand of friendship to her.
Aria walked another few meters down the passage to her own quarters. She flung the door shut behind her and slumped down onto the bed. She propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. She let out a shaky sigh, when the sound of the door opening and closing set every nerve on edge. Before she could look up, a heavy weight settled down on the bed next to her and a hand touched her shoulder. It was Donen. She recognized his smell. “Is everything all right?”
“No, everything is not all right,” she grumbled. “Penelope Ann wants to go home.”
Donen cocked his head to one side. “Why?”
Aria waved her hand. “I guess my holiday celebration just doesn’t meet her standards of peace and tranquility.”
Donen studied her. “That’s strange, because Aquilla is having the time of his life. I’ve never seen him so animated and engaged.”
Aria pursed her lips. “Where is he?”
“He’s down at the Council chamber,” he replied. “I left him in deep discussion with Mirin about the future of our factions. I really think they’ve found their soul mates.”
Aria made a sour face. “I don’t appreciate you making a joke out of this.”
Donen smiled. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it anymore.”
“Really,” Aria went on. “Don’t you think you’re throwing Mirin into the deep end before he’s ready? He’s not Alpha yet, and you’re saddling him with more responsibility than he can handle.”
Donen shook his head. “He is ready. I’m more sure of that than ever. You should have heard the conversation between him and Aquilla. He’s Alpha already, if anyone is. I’m history. That’s why I’m here. He doesn’t need me anymore.”
“You keep saying that,” Aria told him. “He won’t be Alpha until after the inauguration ceremony.”
Donen shook his head. “You should walk down to the chamber and see him for yourself. That would put all your doubts to rest.”
“That doesn’t help me at all when it comes to Penelope Ann,” Aria shot back.
“If she really wants to go home so badly,” he replied, “you can’t exactly stop her.”
“Is that al
l you can say?” she asked. “All my plans are lying in ruins around my feet, and you want me to just let her walk off into the sunset? That’s just wonderful.”
“It wasn’t so long ago you and the others secretly hoped she and Aquilla wouldn’t come at all,” he pointed out. “If she’s not happy here and she wants to go home, let her. We can all go on having a good time without them.”
Aria shook her head. “I wanted all of us to be together again. Who knows how many more chances we’ll have for something like this?”
“What would stop us from doing it again?” he asked. “None of us is dying.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she replied.
“What did you mean, then?” he asked.
“You wouldn’t understand.” She covered her face with her hands again.
He sat next to her in silence. She waited for him to go away. She waited for all of them to go away. She didn’t care if they celebrated Christmas—or whatever you wanted to call it. She wanted nothing more than for all her friends and their mates to go back where they came from and leave her alone, with her own family in her own home, to go back to her normal everyday life. She envied Penelope Ann the guts it took to say those words out loud.
But Donen didn’t go away. The longer he sat there, the more annoyed she got. She was just about to take her hands away from her face and make some pretext of sending him out of the room when he shifted on the bed. “I have something here I want to give you.”
Her eyes snapped to his face. “What?”
“I have something I want to give you.” He dug into his pocket.
“Whatever it is,” she told him, “save it for when everybody leaves. I’ve got too much on my mind right now to....”
He cut her off. “No, I’ll give it to you now.”
Aria shook her head. “Listen, Donen....”
She never had a chance to finish her sentence. He grasped her hand and deposited something in her palm. Before she could formulate a protest, she found herself staring down at a simple wooden box no bigger than a matchbox.
She studied it, too surprised to react. “What is it?”
“Open it and find out,” he replied.
Angondra Holiday Special Page 6