As he entered the hall, he found the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable. At one end, there were several photonic games in progress. Some resembled the videogames he remembered, while others were vastly more intricate forms of chess, and checkers. One of them was nearly identical; with a king, queen, and even rooks, and pawns. Chakrab, as the game was called, was played not on a flat board, but on a floating sphere. The squares were replaced by triangles, and the game-pieces held odd designations for many reasons, mainly because titles such as king and queen never existed on Penticore Prime.
On the opposite side of the room, a band was playing. While out in front, some three dozen couples danced, laughed, and talked about things that Candor could only guess.
“So, are you going to talk to her, or am I going to have to do it for you?”
Zyphon’s insistent voice startled him, and he turned to see his friend standing behind him. His arms were crossed over his chest, as if daring him to go back on his word.
“Where is she?” Candor asked.
“Over there,” Zyphon said, inclining his head toward the dance floor. “She’s with Ghedron.”
Candor scanned the floor. He didn’t see them at first, but then he caught sight of Thalia’s red dress, and his eyes became magnets. Nothing in the world held such beauty or fascination for him, nor could anyone be found in his memory that he ever harbored so much desire. Truthfully it scared him, because he’d never felt like this. What frightened him was not that Thalia would reject him, but that she would accept him. If she took him into her arms, Candor knew that he would give himself to her completely.
Ghedron spotted Candor, and smiled with a knowing grin. As the pair turned so that Thalia’s back was to them, he waved Candor over in a muted gesture. If Thalia noticed, she gave no sign of it, and Candor discovered that his feet were not responding to his wishes. He felt the sweat breaking out on his skin, and then evaporating as he breathed, expelling a musky scent.
Great, thought Candor, now she’ll be able to smell how nervous I am, on top of sticking my foot in my mouth.
Zyphon sighed in disappointment, even though Candor knew that he was taunting him. “Okay, I guess that I’ll be dancing with her after all.”
He started forward, when Candor stopped him with an upturned hand. He wasn’t ready, but then again, he knew that if he didn’t overcome his fear he would regret it for the rest of his life. Which being a Penticorian, meant a long time indeed.
“No, Zyphon,” Candor said. “I’ll go.”
Zyphon smiled and took him by the shoulder. “Then I wish you success, my old friend.”
Candor heard him, but he was too nervous to answer as he shuffled across the dance floor. As he approached, Ghedron saw him, and he cradled his sister in a flourishing gesture as he took her by the hand. Reversing the move, he stepped back so that by the time she stopped, Thalia found herself standing directly in front of Candor.
Thalia’s golden eyes considered him, and Candor swallowed hard. She frowned, her lips pressed in a gesture that Candor found seductive, even though he knew it wasn’t meant to be.
“Brother Ghedron,” he said in a formal greeting, and then cleared his throat. “If it pleases you, I would like to ask your sister for this dance?”
“It most certainly does please me, brother Candor,” replied Ghedron.
Ghedron began to walk away when Thalia said. “And what if it does not please me to have this dance? Did you think to ask me, dear brother?”
Ghedron looked confused. He thought his job was done concerning the two of them. Clearly his sister had other plans, which caused them both to freeze with shock. Candor didn’t know how he managed it, but he bowed before Thalia, enraptured by the sound of her voice as he tried to salvage the situation.
“Forgive me, Lady Thalia, I should have asked your permission. Would you honor me with a dance?”
As Thalia decided, Candor saw something behind her frown. It looked like the glimmer of mischief, hanging there like raindrops, behind her deep penetrating stare. She knows she has the upper hand, thought Candor, and she wants to see me squirm.
“You may go,” she told Ghedron. Then taking a step toward Candor, she placed his arms around her waist, and then wrapped hers around his shoulders. All of this while managing to keep a tiny bit of space between them.
Candor didn’t know what just happened. He looked for some guidance from Ghedron, who only shrugged as if to say. She’s all yours buddy, you’re on your own.
He felt himself flush, and knew that he was turning a dusky crimson-green. Sometimes I really hate that about us, he thought. Instead of wearing the damn mood ring, we are the damn mood ring!
Looking at Thalia, he felt his gut tighten with nervous anxiety. He couldn’t believe that he was this close to her. She smelled wonderful, like lavender and jasmine, and her skin against his neck was even warmer and softer than he’d imagined. Her hair glimmered like midnight silk under the romantic light of the chandeliers, and he wanted…no, he needed her.
“Are you going to stare at me all night, or are we going to dance?”
“What?”
“Dance,” Thalia said as she indicated his feet. “I’m sure you remember. You just move your feet to the flow of the music.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said as he began to dance, albeit a bit awkwardly.
The symphony played as they danced in uncomfortable silence. Although admittedly, Candor knew that he was the only one who was uncomfortable.
“So, did you like the movie?” Candor asked, trying to start a conversation.
Thalia favored him with a curious expression, one that entranced him. And for the first time he noticed the freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks. They were not the common red, blue, and gold, but silver. They captured the light, twinkling with a brilliance that reflected against her eyes, enhancing her beauty.
“It’s strange that you call it a ‘movie,’ but we’ll get back to that. First, I have a question.”
Candor realized that Thalia was toying with him. And more, she had a plan, an agenda. Yet he didn’t mind, because no matter what the outcome, he had this moment with her. And he knew, even as strange as it sounded, that he loved her. Do with me what you will, he thought as he smiled, and with that smile, he gained some confidence that he didn’t know existed.
“Why is the great Candor Shuveen nervous?” Thalia began.
“Because I love you, and I don’t want to mess this up,” he replied without hesitation. And there it was, the bare truth ensconced in one simple sentence. He was shocked that the words flowed from him so effortlessly, and he cursed himself inwardly for being so abrupt.
Thalia looked deep into his eyes, but she didn’t pull away from him. “Love me? You don’t even know me. How can you love me?”
“I don’t know,” replied Candor. He was in for a penny, in for a pound, and had nothing to lose as he told her. “I just know that from the moment I saw you in the shop outside the Great Hall, that I loved you. You’re all I’ve been able to think about.”
“Right,” she uttered with a laugh.
Candor braced himself, as he realized that the floodgates of her displeasure were about to be given a voice. “I noticed you as you passed, and I knew who you were, from the photonic images, and the Interlink reports. Candor Shuveen, the great tale-smith and Penticorian extraordinaire. Yet there are other reports, reports that say you cover your bedchamber with young females for your pleasure, and that you travel throughout Ruxoss in search of debauchery, and the thrills of tempting death. Oh yes, I know you, Candor Shuveen. So, believe me when I tell you that I am neither a prize to be won, nor a conquest to be hunted, and then discarded.”
It was Candor’s turn to frown. “Yea, I’ve tried to get rid of the playboy image, but it’s tough to do.”
“What does that mean, ‘playboy’?”
Candor smiled without realizing it. He also understood that he was at a critical juncture. Honesty was paramount if he hoped to ha
ve any kind of a relationship with Thalia. His smile disappeared as he told her. “Basically, a playboy is just what you described, a citizen who is promiscuous, and has the means and the position to maintain that lifestyle. The word comes from my memories of being human.”
Thalia looked shocked. “You mean like the humans in your moritainyoss?”
“Those would be they.”
“How horrible those memories must be! Were the humans like that in your memories, brutal and deceitful?”
Candor laughed softly and said. “To some degree, yes, but there was also good in them. But unlike the humans in the movie, the humans in my memories didn’t possess the ability to travel between planets.”
“Good,” she said. “The humans in the…movie, frightened me.”
“My intention was to portray a gritty and disturbing vision. Nevertheless, I’m sorry if it frightened you.”
Thalia was silent for a moment, thoughtful. Slowly she moved, pressing her body against Candor, and drawing them closely together. Candor almost moaned with delight as he felt her body against his, doing everything he could to keep himself from getting aroused. A new song began, and he wondered why the tempo of the music remained slow. That is, until he glanced toward the stage and saw Zyphon and Ghedron standing beside the conductor.
They’re keeping the mood going, giving me time to break the ice, he thought.
“I heard reports that you were changed after your rejuvenation,” said Thalia. “It is said that you work endlessly, while acting as a responsible and honorable citizen. But you don’t fool me, I think that you’re still recuperating, and as soon as you do your old habits will return.”
Candor fell deeply into the ocean of her calming gaze as he said. “It’s been over a year. I hardly think it would take that long if my intentions were less than noble. Besides, Zyphon says that I’m physically fit. Although mentally is still a matter for debate.”
“So, you are mad then?”
Candor let out a laugh, wishing he’d chosen his words a little more carefully. “No, I’m not mad. At least I don’t think I am. I just have no memory of my life before rejuvenation.”
“Really, how can that be?”
“I don’t know. Zyphon can’t explain it, and my parents don’t know about it. I would appreciate it if you could keep that between us.”
“How have you been able to survive? Wouldn’t you be lost without your memories?”
“True,” replied Candor, “but I was fortunate that my mother assigned her simulacrum, Jinx, to look after me. He’s been invaluable, a true friend who’s helped me get to where I am today.”
“You assigned a simulacrum gender?”
“Why is it so easy with you?” Candor asked her.
“Why is what so easy?”
Candor looked deep into her eyes, and although she remained skeptical, there was the barest glimmer of hope and understanding. “Why is it so easy for me to tell you everything, and to bear my soul? I feel that if I didn’t share everything with you, or made omissions, that I would be lying. And that is something that I simply could never do.”
Thalia smiled, and Candor felt his heart leap in his chest as her arms coiled around him a little more tightly. “You still didn’t answer my question,” she reminded him.
“Got me there,” he replied, “but I didn’t assign Jinx anything, I just asked. Jinx is more than a simulacrum, he’s my partner, my friend. Being completely honest, however, I must say that I suppose in the early days I was grasping for anything familiar. Everything was so new, so alien to me.”
“You speak as if the humans were real, and you were really one of them. Do you believe that you were?”
His brow furrowed as he tried to uncover his thoughts on the matter. In truth, he’d never asked himself the question. He tried to convince himself that it was just a dream, something done to him by the Goddess to show him the value of humility. But honestly, he didn’t know for certain. Part of him deliberately buried those feelings and memories, because to face them, was to face himself.
“Do you plan to omit the truth now?”
“No, no absolutely not,” Candor assured her. “I just never thought about it, and the truth is, I’m not sure. I know that as each day passes, that portion of me feels more like a dream. On the surface, if you want an answer, then I would have to say no, I don’t think it was real and that I was ever a human. But below the surface, deep inside, I don’t know what I experienced.”
Thalia nodded in a silent reply to a question that only she knew. “That’s fair enough,” she said. “But I still don’t see how this relates to you saying that you love me. If you don’t even know your own mind, how can you possibly know that what you feel for me is not you, deceiving you?”
“Hmm,” Candor grumbled. Thalia made a lot of sense, her logic was impeccable.
Running a hand through her hair, he let his fingers mesh with Thalia’s deeply flowing tresses. It was soft and smooth like fine threads of silk. And she smiled at him, allowing the delicate gesture, while gazing into his eyes as she waited for an answer.
“Okay,” Candor said. “The truth is, I know I love you because I’ve never felt this way before. When I look at you, I see the depth of who you are. I can feel it and sense it, even though I can’t explain it. I know that you’re fiercely loyal and devoted to your family and friends. I also know that you’re equally loving, and tender, and I’ve seen that you possess a sharp intellect, and a wonderful sense of humor. Yet most of all, beautiful Thalia, when I gaze into your eyes I can see the brilliant reflection of the Goddess herself. And I feel at peace in your presence.
“So, I swear to you now that if you would have me, I will never give you a reason to think ill of me. I will love you with all my heart, forever. I vow that not a day will pass when I will not tell you how much I love you, or long to see you favor me with a gentle smile, or a soft caress. For I will be yours and yours alone, and never will I leave your side.”
Thalia blushed, and for the first time since their conversation began, she looked away from him. Taking a hand from his shoulder she reached into his front pocket and removed a handkerchief. She dabbed lightly at her cheeks and forehead before returning it to him.
“I’ve never heard anything so beautiful, my dear,” she said. “And I believe you. It’s just that…”
“What?” Candor said, thrilled to the marrow of his bones that she graced him with a term of endearment.
Thalia was hesitant, yet Candor’s eyes were earnest and full of longing.
“It’s just that this is all going a little fast. I believe that you believe what you say, and what you feel. But your reputation is well known, and I am not inclined to be hurt in such a manner. I’m sorry, but I do not give my trust and love easily, nor quickly. And please do not think me brash or cold. Both you, and Sir Zyphon, have my eternal gratitude for the incarnations of my mother and father.”
Candor was deflated, when suddenly he thought of how hard it had been for Thalia. Taking care of her dying mother took sacrifice, and a strong will to endure. Candor also remembered that he was a Penticorian. Time didn’t have the same meaning for him as it did for a human. If it took a hundred years to gain her trust, then so be it. What was that to him? He would live three-thousand years or more.
“I understand, it must have been difficult for you, all those years, sacrificing yourself to care for your family. I know that my reputation precedes me, and is a difficult obstacle to overcome. So instead let me make this pledge. I will be there for you from this moment on, and you will reside in my heart, always. There will be no other for me than you, and even if it takes five-hundred years, I’ll wait for you.”
Thalia smiled, and it was warm and genuine. She pressed herself into Candor, and a thin tear ran from the corner of her eye, and down one delicate cheek. Is this true? She thought. Can another see my pain and the sacrifices that I have made, and love me still?
As if in answer, Candor brought the tip of his fing
er to her face and wiped her tear away. “Someone as beautiful as you should never be allowed to cry,” he told her.
Thalia moved her hands to Candor’s waist, placing his arms around her shoulders as she embraced him. It felt wonderful to rely on someone else for a change. As so often, others looked to her to be a pillar of strength. Even if this doesn’t last, I have this moment. She thought, as she put her head on his shoulder. I have this wonderful night to remember, and Candor’s strong arms to comfort me. If nothing else, I can be content with that.
They remained in that embrace for some time, and Candor had to keep himself from laughing. Each time the stage came into view, he caught sight of Zyphon and Ghedron. They grinned and waved as they gave him the “thumbs up” at every turn. Finally, he quit looking. Instead he concentrated on the smell of Thalia’s hair and skin, and the gentle brush of her body against his. He wanted to enjoy this time with her, because he was serious when he told her that he would wait for her. Candor knew that he could have his pick of any female that was of age, and not bonded to another. Even now he saw them hovering around the edges of the dining hall, watching and waiting for the opportune moment to move in, and warm his bed for the night. Yet Candor had no interest in them. His heart belonged to Thalia, so no one else existed.
“Candor,” Thalia whispered in his ear. Her melodic voice sent chills of delight racing up his spine.
“Yes, my love.”
“How much do you love me? Please tell me, I need to hear it.”
Candor smiled. He was a tale-smith, and both words and images came to him with a clarity that was beyond any human perceptions. His emotions ran strong, as there on the dance floor he composed a poem for her. A poem that would belong only to her, and would never be repeated to another living soul.
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