by Jess C Scott
Anya’s head was beginning to spin, though she was still following Nin.
“I’ll lead you around,” Nin said cheerily. “Tavia’s—”
Suddenly, there was a loud boom. Anya and Nin ducked, as Tavia ran out from her room. A heavy door across her room swung open—Dresan stepped out, wearing gloves and a pair of yellow goggles.
“We’ll stick to the old plasma slugs,” he said, holding up a charred plasma gun with spewing smoke from one end. He threw an empty canister onto the ground—a slug, Anya presumed—before returning into the room.
“Boys will be boys,” Tavia remarked, before seeing Nin and Anya to the side. “Hey there, Anya!”
Anya waved back, though Tavia had already turned to go back to her work.
“Tavia’s getting everything ready,” Nin continued from where he had left off. “Fake security tapes, and all the little, but extremely important details. She’s really good at that.”
Anya sat on the couch, keeping cool and calm. “Keys in metal case, hit ‘2-1-7’ to unlock. Grab keys labeled ‘Janitor’s Room’ and ‘V.’ Wait for Tavia to distract head guard. Get missing parchment piece,” she summed up.
Nin put a hand up, in salute.
Anya smiled, imagining the already handsome Nin in military attire, before looking blankly up at the ceiling. “We have…a few hours to burn.” What were they going to do in the meantime?
Nin tapped his fingers together, as Anya observed the fine bone structure of his face. “Come with me,” he said. Furtively, almost.
A few hours, he thought, to get to know you a little better…
It was why he’d asked to meet at nine. No one needed three hours to explain the directions on a map.
Chapter 6:
Nin started crossing the living room. Anya followed close behind, soaking in the relaxing invitingness of the underground living arrangement. It encouraged one to lie back, unwind, and savor the simple things in life.
“I thought elves were…against technology,” she said, turning back for a look at Tavia’s room. The door was open; Tavia was working on three different screens at once.
Nin hesitated. Had they ever given that impression?
“Didn’t you say something about the history of elves and humans…” Anya explained, “having a falling out because of art and science?”
One of Nin’s shoulders went up in a half-shrug. “We keep up with the times.” He opened a door which led to a pantry. “Some of our elders think technology’s the way to the devil, though, or some even say the devil’s way in.”
Anya saw a basket with rolls of bread, on a circular wooden table. A bottle of olive oil and a small, cinnamon-scented candle stood beside the basket. Celtic music played softly, somewhere in the background. Or was it Elven?
Nin removed his black leather coat. He was wearing a black shirt underneath, which fit quite snugly to his toned body. Anya was enjoying the view—he had more lean muscle than she initially guessed.
“What would you like to eat?” Nin asked. “And, to drink?”
Anya would have accepted bread and water, if that was all that was available. While she wasn’t a fussy eater, she did have her preferences. “I like milk,” she said, “and meat. Lots and lots of meat.”
Nin turned quietly, without a word.
“Oh…” Anya felt a cold volley of pinpricks on the back of her neck. “You’re vegetarians?”
Nin had gone into an opening at the back of the pantry. Anya heard the sound of a couple of doors opening, then shutting. They sounded quite like refrigerator doors.
“Bread is fine!” Anya yelled, grabbing a piece. “I think killing animals is cruel,” she continued, almost babbling. “But I’d just die if—”
A strong aroma filled the pantry just then, teasing Anya’s taste buds.
Nin was standing with a platter piled high with shreds of roasted meat. “Rabbit okay with you?”
Anya knew she wasn’t the only one who’d kill for some of that. She stared at the platter, before Nin placed two bottles of milk and some cutlery onto the table.
Anya was ravenous—she had never tasted such good food before. She couldn’t remember the last time she had sat down to a nice meal—with fresh, non-prepackaged food.
“How many seasons, I mean”—Nin corrected himself—“how old are you, Anya?” The candlelight gave Nin’s mysterious eyes an inviting, warm glow.
Anya swallowed her food before replying. “Eighteen,” she answered, before adding, “What about you?”
“It’s complicated, but in human years, I’m the same age as you.”
“In Elven years? Complicated, how so?”
Nin wondered whether to launch into the metaphysical theories behind the comparison of Elven years as compared to other beings. “Two hundred and eight. It’s something to do with the attractions between the atoms of the universe, the basis of all forms of life.”
Anya stopping chewing for a moment, bewildered.
“In other words, our sense of time is slightly different from yours,” Nin said with a wry smile.
Our. Anya pondered on the word, that referred to the Elven species as a whole, collectively.
“So, what’s it like being an…” Anya turned her head toward the living room, in the direction of Tavia and Dresan. “…elf?”
Nin leaned back, stretching his legs out. His feet touched Anya’s. She noticed—though he didn’t seem to. “I could ask the same of you, you know…what’s it like being a human?” Nin said playfully. Then he continued more in earnest, “The three of us here are a band of thieves who scour the world for lost Elven treasures. We’re a little bit like you and Leticia, actually, in that sense. Puts all our training to good use.”
“Training?”
Nin’s fingers brushed against Anya’s, as he steadied the platter she was setting back on the table.
“Ever noticed how skilled elves are, with a bow and arrow? In fantasy books, and movies…”
Anya nodded. She was recalling watching Lord of the Rings and how good the elves looked in the movie. Now she wondered if Tolkien had maybe met real elves, like she and Leticia just did…
“It’s not just a myth.”
Bits and pieces of Anya’s research the day before—before Leticia and Julius had stepped into her room—resurfaced in her memory. Something about not being fooled by the lean bodies of elves, about the strength that lies underneath...
“We also help the elves do their good work, those who live alongside humans. We make sure they’re…well-funded.”
Anya grinned, showing the upper row of her teeth. “Why hide your identity?” Deep down, Anya knew the answer, and she wasn’t pleased with the fact.
A slightly overcast, yet knowing look, went across Nin’s face. “Blending in is safer. Humans are notorious for…stirring up a lot of trouble, especially about things they don’t understand.”
Anya paused, waiting. “I’m human, you know.”
Nin waited for the same length of time before answering, “I’ll take my chances.” He gave a semisweet smile. If he had nothing but bad vibes from Anya and Leticia, he wouldn’t even have stepped out from behind the pillar at the stone church.
“If you don’t mind me asking—have you had any work done?” Nin suddenly changed the subject. He gently held Anya’s chin, tilting her face slightly to the side. “You’ve a nice nose. You can tell me, I can keep a secret.”
Anya was a little surprised—and flattered to receive the compliment—but shook her head quickly. “No, no…I’m…all real. No plastic surgery for me.”
Maybe in the future, when things start sagging, said a small voice in Anya’s mind.
Some elves weren’t adverse to technical implants, and Bioware: genetically engineered implants which enhance a person’s abilities. A few elves had also augmented their bodies with TN.09 implants, but not Nin. Dresan supported the fusion of man and machine. What if machine intelligence surpassed human or Elven intelligence? That was why Nin always
held himself back, from invasive cybernetic surgery. He just couldn’t trust it.
“I think it’s funny…it’s like how the rich starve themselves skinny, while the poor perish from thirst and hunger. Can humans excel in life, only if they look perfect?”
Anya looked back at Nin. “All three of you look pretty…perfect.” She said the last word with a patronizing touch.
Nin licked his upper lip. “Aesthetics is a natural thing for us.”
“Unfair.” Anya folded her arms and pouted. “It’s all to do with looks, with humans. The hotter and younger you look, the better. That’s what gets you ahead in life.”
“Then humans should all be altering their looks.”
“They do—those who can afford it, and those who want to ‘get ahead’ in life. Leti—”
Anya cut her sentence off midway. She wasn’t supposed to say anything about that. Leticia was a natural beauty, or so she said, to everyone who asked!
Nin raised an eyebrow. “Yes? What about L…”
The expression on Anya’s face gave it away—she hoped Nin would do as he said he would, and keep a secret. Even from the other two elves he had introduced them to.
She sighed. “Leticia has always been, attractive…but she’s had some…procedures, to enhance a woman’s features.”
Nin didn’t bat an eyelid. “How many procedures?”
“A brow lift—non surgical— for…” Anya raised her brows and her hands along with them, to signal a high arch. “Lips,” Anya said, automatically licking hers. “Boobs, but a decent size. And a very slight nose job. Though she said that was to ‘fix a deviated nose septum.’”
She covered her mouth, then looked away, resting her head on her hand. “Oh no,” she whispered. She’d never told anyone, ever. She hated how it slipped out. Trust was something she shared with all her close friends.
“I won’t tell.”
Anya felt like smacking herself across the face. What more would she carelessly let Nin know about, just like that?
Nin was quiet. “We’ve heard of young people undertaking these…cosmetic proceedings, after being accepted to a prestigious university or job…because they felt they were expected to resemble a preconceived image of perfection. Is that true?”
Anya looked a little blank, like it was a no-brainer, and standard fare for everyone. “Yes, it is.”
“That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something…real.” Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his arms. “Real love, real friends, real body parts…”
Anya felt so near and yet so far. She yearned to be in his arms. She was drawn to his depth, to the reserve of energy in him. She couldn’t lie to herself—she wanted him, to know and share the real existence he seemed to understand…just that something that was real…that could be shared between them.
Anya wondered how much of Nin’s history she’d be able to dig out. She felt compelled to ask, since he’d gotten Leticia’s Secret out of her earlier. “I wonder what your family thinks of you.”
Nin tilted his chin up, slightly. “Which one?”
“Are they…family?” Anya turned her head toward the living room again.
“Friends are the family you choose.” Nin could pack a lot in a few words.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Leticia and I are BFFs.” Anya looked down at her hands on the table, as she tapped one of her heels against the ground. Nin’s feet stayed in place. She gazed up at Nin. “You know what that stands for?”
“Best Friends Forever.”
A message came in on Anya’s cell, from Leticia:
Ok, will be there at 11.45. Thanks!
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Anya dropped her phone onto the table, then covered it with her hand, pretending she had wanted to slam it down. “Had one, when I was sixteen.” Anya half-smiled at Nin, as she recalled the absurdity of the experience. She played with her drink bottle, twirling it around in her hand. “He was kind of psycho…he used to stalk me. Both on and offline, after things stopped…working out.”
“Couldn’t get enough of you?”
Anya shrugged and rolled her eyes, in a “who knows” kind of gesture. “I can’t even picture him clearly.”
“It was that bad?”
Anya could picture her ex’s online avatar on 1stWorld better—a combat-clad army cadet named ‘Nuke.’ Her own avatar was space opera styled.
“I never knew if he was more infatuated with ‘Sinead’—my online avatar,” Anya explained to Nin, “or my computer gaming skills in real life.” After all, she had been the champion of the 2033 1stWorld Girls’ Solo Division. “Some people live their lives online. That’s the side of life they’re more comfortable with.”
The words “side of life” stood out, to the both of them.
Nin thought of Na’urtha. “The other side of life,” he said aloud. Na’urtha was sacred to the elves. He hadn’t mentioned it to Anya and Leticia, when they first saw the third portion of the poem. It was a resting place for souls, for the chosen dead, and rarely talked about, because not much was known about it.
“That doesn’t really count, does it?” Anya continued.
“Hmm?”
“I mean, it was mostly an online relationship…”
“People get married, divorced and die because of relationships that develop online,” Nin pointed out. “The feelings are still there, even though it might not be face to face.”
Anya smiled at what Nin said. “Yeah. It took a while for things to…settle.”
“Breaking up is hard to do.” Nin hummed a tune Anya had trouble recognizing.
Nin looked down at his N-Gage. He’d switched the volume off, but his Google news stream was still coming in constantly. He logged off, so that he could concentrate on the conversation with Anya.
“Well…some good came out of it—Leticia and I got into hacking that way,” Anya said animatedly. “We figured out how to change our IP addresses—cover our tracks, or stay hidden, so to speak. How to stay invisible online, browsing with anonymous proxy servers. All that led us to…do what we do.” Apart from Leticia, Anya had never shared the story with anyone. “Oh, and it made it easier for my dad to contact me, too.”
She didn’t feel overly cautious, sharing the details with Nin. From what she knew so far, she didn’t think he’d have much to gain from their background information. Nin reached for a small stone dish on the counter behind him. There were pieces of what looked like little black tea leaves inside. He set it on the table. “Yesterday…at the train tracks. You said your dad’s on the run? What did he do?”
He remembered, Anya thought to herself.
Nin set a pot of hot water on the table, and handed a teacup to Anya.
“He was an activist.” She looked at Nin, and saw him scatter a pinch of the black leaves into his teacup. She took the same amount. She would have taken triple the amount, otherwise. “He used to stand around in public, on the streets…he’d hand pamphlets out to people, telling them to, be themselves…to not be afraid, to stand up for something. He got arrested for being a public nuisance. But then he escaped from jail with two other inmates, ha ha.”
“I see where you get your bandit skills from,” Nin said, toasting his teacup. “Establishments are a joke too. They just brainwash and control people—why not start a revolution?”
Anya took a whiff of the tea. It was strangely stimulating, yet relaxing, at the same time. And that was just the tea’s scent.
“Coca leaves. The Mayans lived a good life.” Nin raised his eyebrows for a moment. “You can smoke it too, but this brings out the flavor better.” Anya figured what Nin meant, after her first gulp. The drink seemed to ebb away any tension in every fiber of her body, and gave her brain a light buzz, like she was ready to float away.
Anya gazed at Nin, wondering why he was being so nice to her. Maybe he’s just nice to everyone.
“Have you?” she asked.
&nb
sp; “Have I what?”
“Have you ever fallen in love?”
“Better—I was supposed to get married.”
Anya’s eyes would have widened more, if it weren’t for the calming effects of the black tea. She made a note of the Coca leaves to herself. This was a good way to get somebody comfortable to talk about anything.
“Whatever happened?”
Nin took a sip of his drink. The teacup was made of delicate fine china, high quality stuff. He thought of Saerah, the Elven princess, who was exquisite, but exquisitely boring too. “About…two human years ago. It wasn’t what I wanted…it was arranged…she and I had nothing in common. Just…royal blood.” He paused, waiting to see the well-known effects of elitism.
Anya narrowed her eyes, as if trying to sharpen her vision. “You’re royalty…a prince?”
Nin sat up and rested his elbows against the table. “Used to be—Ithilnin, Prince of Helli’sandur.” Ever since he had relinquished his duties, the title felt like a foreign language. “But I’ll settle for being King of The Velvet Underground.”
“You must find this more…” Anya looked around the pantry, at the sturdy, handmade cabinets, and small orange lights that graced the ceiling. “Fun.”
Another boom went off outside. Not as loudly as the first.
“I miss the snow, though.” Nin had a faraway look in his eyes. “Helli’sandur’s a ravine. A canyon of ice.”
If Anya looked hard enough, she thought she could see an ice kingdom in the depths of his pupils. Whether he chose the title of ‘prince’ or ‘king,’ he was still ‘in charge,’ to some extent. “What do you do, as a leader?”
Nin mulled over it. “I delegate,” he said with mock superiority, and the most charming wink Anya had ever seen.
“Funny thing, though.” Nin mumbled his uncensored thoughts. “‘Cold as my heart,’ that’s what Saerah said of me—Saerah’s the…one I was betrothed to—quite fitting, with all the ice around, don’t you think?”
Anya was half-listening. She was daydreaming about Nin—who seemed to be a walking enigma. He wasn’t overly aggressive, but wasn’t a complete pushover. He seemed to be genuinely nice, and seemed to have an honestly devilish side too. An eclectic and rather delectable mix of qualities. He’d have a lot of admirers, if he were in the human world a lot of the time.