by Robin Roseau
"It does," I confirmed.
She shook her head. "So much magic, but it is the hot shower you would miss."
"I would miss much of it, but I would miss the hot shower more than anything else," I corrected.
"And after that?"
"I suppose the lights, and after that, the instant access to information."
"What do you mean?"
I didn't want to even try to explain about my implant, even though it was turned off. "My tablet does far more than show movies."
"And so you would miss your tablet, or if you had your tablet, the machine to lift its weights."
"Yes," I said. That was enough of an explanation.
She nodded. "You have given me much to consider, Cecilia Grace. Now I must ask. Has my refusal to share your bed stolen my goodnight kiss from me?"
I smiled. "Is this kiss to be our last, then?"
She returned my smile. "We shall see. Perhaps not." After that, she didn't wait, but moved to me. I wrapped my arms around her small form. She lifted a hand to the back of my head, just as she had before, and set the other on my hip. And then we were kissing.
It was a long, sweet, gentle kiss, the sort that means goodnight, but not goodbye. I tried to wrench control from her, but she made a noise and clutched my head more tightly, slipping her fingers into my hair, and I relinquished to her. She made a satisfied sound, and the kiss continued.
But then, slowly, she released my lips, much as she had before.
"Thank you for being rude during today's meeting," she said huskily. I barely understood her words. "We would not have had this evening if you hadn't." And then, before I could respond, she was out the door and away.
"Wow," was about my only coherent thought.
Seaside Conversation
I didn't see Sartine again for the next two days. I had hoped I would. On the second day, I rode one of our horses into town and was lucky enough to find Chaladine at home. She looked at me and smiled.
"Sartine has not taken you yet," I said in greeting.
She laughed. "Father has forbidden that," she replied.
"I know. Has she taken Rordano or Margotain?"
"She has not taken anyone yet." She looked me up and down. "You are dressed for the outdoors. Perhaps you would like to take a walk."
"I would."
"I will only be a moment," she said. She turned and hurried away, heading in the direction of her room. I took a seat and waited, but it was only a few minutes before she returned. She had changed clothes and pulled on a pair of boots.
I thought she looked quite dashing, and I began again to wonder if I should find a way to pursue her offer.
But that was a thought for another day, once Sartine was long gone, never to be seen again.
"Come," she said, taking my arm, and together, we exited the castle.
We walked quietly for a time, no apparent destination in mind. Then she talked about inconsequential things for a few minutes. I thought perhaps I represented an excuse to duck whatever responsibilities she had assigned.
We didn't take a direct route, but she took me down the hill to the harbor. There was a small park along the water, and she pulled me to a bench. We sat together, looking out over the water. There were a few fishing boats bobbing in the gentle waves. In the distance, I could see the open ocean.
"You have a beautiful home, Chaladine," I told her.
"Thank you," she said. "Mother works hard to keep it that way."
"Well, that home is beautiful, too." I gestured. "But I meant the entire planet. You know my mission here is not long, only a few years, but I hope when I am done, I am able to stay longer."
"Forever?"
"I don't know about forever," I said. "Forever is a very long time."
"I suppose it is. If I were going to travel to distant worlds, I would want to do so while I was young enough to enjoy it. But I suppose you have already done that."
"I am not done traveling distant worlds," I said. "But even then, I think I would wish to come back here."
She was watching me as I spoke, and I glanced at her. "Are you being a diplomat?"
"No. I speak from the heart."
"You have your choice of so many places, and most of them far more exciting than Talmon."
"I have had excitement." I shrugged. "I am sure I will have more excitement." I looked out over the water. "Why have you not taken me sailing?"
She laughed. "I get sick. Rordano would take you sometime, but it is late in the season."
"If Sartine does not take him, then I will ask again next summer. Or perhaps Sartine's brother and sister did not find someone they desire."
"She wanted me."
I said nothing. I wasn't sure if it was fair to share what Sartine had told me.
"Sartine has informed my father the galatzi raid will be tonight. Do you understand?"
"So they have chosen. Have they said whom?"
She shook her head. "No. Hints, but only hints."
"Tell me."
She shook her head again. "No. It is not proper."
"I am sorry."
She set a hand on my arm. "Do not be. You did not know. But do you understand? The raid is tonight."
"Tell me what happens."
"When two villages are close together, they agree to a galatzi trade, and then each village conducts their raid on the other village, sometimes the same night. Sometimes it is on different nights."
"I see."
"But because Indartha is so far, and we would never send a raid so far, instead Sartine will come to our home tonight. Father will have watchers, and as they approach, there is an ambush."
She had to explain that last word.
"Father has not said whether we are taking Hilopid or Mordain, but last night at dinner, Margotain said she does not want Hilopid. Father could take him for someone else, or he could take Mordain instead."
"And give her to your brother?"
"Yes, or to someone else. Sometimes the galatzi trade is specific, but oftentimes it is not. If father had allowed Sartine to take me, he would only have done so if he were satisfied with the match he were arranging. But I am the eldest daughter of the Vendart. Do you see?"
"Yes."
"When we take Hilopid, or more likely Mordain, we will be dressed in the traditional clothing. We wear black, of course. But then to show it is a galatzi raid, we wear a white-" then she used another word I didn't know, and I stopped her.
She gestured with her hands from one shoulder down across her chest and around her hip. "It is like a scarf."
"Mordain will fight us, and perhaps also anyone with her. How fiercely they fight will tell us how hard she will make her new partner work to woo her. But of course, we will have far more people with us than they will, and we will take her easily. Then we tie her and take her away."
I shook my head, but I didn't say anything.
"This is a strange custom for you."
"Yes. Then what happens?"
"Mordain is young. Father may not give her away for a while. But she is fourteen, so she is old enough. Father may take her straight to her new partner, or if he is giving her to Rordano, then to him. Or he may take her into our household as a daughter, and then give her away exactly like he might me or Margotain."
"You do not pick your own partner?"
She grinned. "Father tried to give me away once, and made the mistake of not asking me first. In front of everyone, I refused. He won't try that again. Yes, I pick my own partner."
"What happens tonight, after you take Mordain?"
"Sartine then returns to her camp outside the city, and they will dress for their galatzi raid. If they are seen, we may oppose them, and there is another fight. But we would not send so many they couldn't win. Eventually they will come to the home of the person they are taking, and then it is very similar to how we treat Mordain. But of course, they will take their galatzi prisoner home to Indartha."
"What happens if she decides to take you
, anyway?"
"She wouldn't."
"What if she did?"
Chaladine frowned. "She wouldn't," she said again.
"All right. What if she tries to take someone who doesn't want to go?"
"I imagine that person would fight very hard, and perhaps Sartine would realize this person was a poor choice. Perhaps they would overpower their choice and take him anyway. Or perhaps they would allow him to escape them, and they would take their next choice instead."
"What if he isn't home?"
She smiled. "They must find him, but they probably already have someone watching."
I looked around reflexively. No one was paying any particular attention to us. Chaladine laughed.
"I don't see anyone watching you," I said.
She laughed again. "I told you; she will not take me. Father has forbidden it."
"I am glad she is not taking you. Last night, Sartine asked me what I would miss without my technology. I told her my hot shower." Chaladine had already seen it, so I didn't need to explain. "But if she were to take you, I would miss you terribly."
She smiled, and then we both looked out to the water, sitting quietly for several minutes. Chaladine broke the quiet between us.
"Father told me of your conversation on the dance floor."
"I wondered if he would. Did he tell you I promised to protect Talmon as best I am able?"
"Yes. Will it be enough?"
I thought before answering. "I don't know. You are isolated. That is perhaps more protection than I offer."
"There is more protection if we have things to trade?"
"No," I said. "The best protection is if you have nothing anyone wants. But it is a beautiful planet, and that might draw attention you don't want."
"Would there be war?"
"No. But Talmon could be changed in ways you wouldn't like. What would you give for a tablet like mine?"
"I don't know."
"What would you give if I promised to take you somewhere you could fly?"
"I don't know."
"A lot?"
"Maybe. Some would."
"Some would unwittingly sell themselves. They would leave Talmon expecting a beautiful, exciting life, only to find the people who have taken them are not the good men they seem. But once they are away from Talmon, there are no brothers or fathers to protect them."
"We should send you all away. We should not accept any offers from your empire."
"Maybe, but if you do that, then you also are not under Imperial protection. If you are a member of the Empire, then you may call on the Empire to protect you. That protection may include a price. But without it, you have only the protection you can build yourself. And frankly, your only protection is your isolation."
"When you came, we thought it was a great thing. We were reconnected with the rest of humanity. I am not sure it was good."
"Being a part of the Empire can be a very good thing. It certainly was for Centos Four. The Empire is not ruled by evil, greedy people. It is ruled by people just like you and me. They have flaws, and they do not always understand the consequences of their choices. But The Empire is rule by people who take their positions not for money or power, but because the jobs need require people who will do their best."
"What is best for my planet, Cecilia Grace?"
"Best? If I find something so unique it exists nowhere else, something of great value, but so common it is there for all to pick up and trade. And then I 'accidentally' tell you how valuable it is, so you do not give it away too cheaply."
"Accidentally?"
"Of course, I work for the Empire. It would be a breach of professional responsibility to tell you."
She was watching me while I said that. "Would you tell us?"
"You know I will, Chaladine. You know I will. Accidentally."
"Accidentally. Of course."
"Your father may know that, but-"
"I understand." She took my hand and squeezed it for a moment. "You are a good friend to Talmon."
"I am trying to be. Please do not come to that conclusion yet. I fear I will disappoint you."
She looked back at the harbor. "You have not found this common thing that is unique to Talmon."
"Only the wonderful people, and the beautiful ocean and forests, and these are not easily traded."
Again we sat quietly. "Are you going to find something in Sudden?"
"When the Empire chooses to move, it can move very, very quickly. But it can take a long time for the Empire to make a decision. We have years ahead of us."
"You have been here a year."
"I am still learning your words."
"Father does not believe you will find what you seek in Sudden. He wants you to look more widely."
"And what do you believe?"
"I fear father is correct."
I nodded. "We will look more widely," I said. "Perhaps next year."
Unexpected Visitors
A loud noise woke me. I sat bolt upright in bed, my heart pounding. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to listen, but now all I could hear was the sound of my own heart.
Our houses were, after a fashion, soundproof. There is no such thing as being perfectly soundproof, short of the vacuum of space. But without opening the doors and windows, it would take a very loud noise from outside to invade its way inside my house. I tried to remember what the sound was, but it was one single, loud noise, and I just wasn't sure.
I climbed from my bed, pulling a robe over my thin night clothes, then prowled the house, looking for something out of place. Had something fallen?
Then I heard, as clear as anything, my front doorbell.
The Talmonese do not knock at a door with their hands, and of course, they wouldn't recognize a doorbell. Instead, doors have large knockers on them. One uses the knocker in a fashion similar to a hammer. But if I were to mount such a knocker on my door, the sound would still not carry inside. And so my knocker looked like a Talmonese knocker, but it was fitted with sensors, and when someone knocked, inside it sounded like a traditional doorbell from home.
"Lights, low," I said. My eyes were accustomed to the light, and I wouldn't need more than that. Any brighter would have been too bright.
I tried to consult my implant. I'd had one most of my life, and it had long been habit. I definitely needed to get this fixed, but until I returned to a modern medical facility, I didn't see any options. It wasn't broken, not exactly. It would work for a while, but then suddenly it would stop, usually delivering a killer headache at the same time, so I had disabled it.
On the way to the front door, I detoured to the kitchen to check the time on my tablet. It was after 2 AM, very late, and I'd been asleep for hours. Then the doorbell rang again. Alarmed, wondering what sort of emergency could have happened that required me, I hurried to the door.
Had someone been hurt during the galatzi raid earlier? Were they coming to tell me someone was dying, and she wished to see me? Was one of my staff deathly ill?
My mind jumped ahead, conjuring the worst possibilities. I glanced out the window near the door, surprised to see several darkly-clothed people, each of them wearing a white sash from shoulder to opposite hip. Sartain stood in the center of them.
I flung the door open.
"What is it?" I asked. "Is someone hurt?"
She seemed startled by my question. "No," she said. "Mordain fought. She fought harder than I expected she would. I think perhaps she expected them to pick Hilopid. But there were many of them, and few of us. Chaladine herself tied my sister, and then before they took her away and released us, she told me they would take good care of her. I will miss her terribly."
"No one was hurt?"
"Perhaps a few bruises," she explained. "Nothing more."
"Then why are you here so late? Did you come to say goodbye? Who did you take?"
"We haven't taken anyone yet."
I stared at her. My heart was still pounding, and I wasn't thinking as clearly as I s
hould. And my manners were gone as well; I didn't invite them inside.
"I don't understand, Sartine," I said. "Why are you here? Can't you find whomever you are taking?"
She turned away for a moment, looking at one of the women from the meeting whose name I hadn't learned. I remembered Sartine had called the other people her aunts and uncles, so this was one of her aunts. The woman nodded, just once to Sartine.
"Sartine?" I asked. "Can't you find her? I won't be able to help you."
"We know where she is," Sartine said without looking at me. Then she spoke too rapidly for me to understand. Her aunt answered, equally rapidly, asking a question. Sartine responded with a simple, "Yes". That I understood. Her aunt paused, and then spoke a few words, but I didn't understand them, either.
Sartine nodded then turned back to me. "Your house is very sturdy."
I offered a faint smile. "You didn't come to tell me my house is sturdy."
"No," she said. "We are here for our galatzi raid. Cecilia Grace, we are taking you."
* * * *
Her words stunned me into immobility, and then she was moving forward, pushing me into my house and opening my door more widely. The people with her swarmed in after her, two of them grabbing my arms.
"You can't take me!" I said.
The last of them, or so I thought, moved into my house, closing the door behind himself. I didn't recognize everyone. I recognized her aunt, and one of her uncles. There was another woman, and two men, neither of whom I'd met before. They were all dressed in black leather and long, black cloaks I thought might be wool, with hoods, and they each wore the white sash. Sartine's hood was down, but the rest wore their hoods up.
"We can," Sartine said. "And we are. Do not be afraid, Cecilia Grace. We will treat you very well."
"But-"
The woman handed Sartine a length of rope, and she stepped up to me. It was one of Sartine's uncles holding my left arm, and a man I didn't know on my right, and they tried to pull my arms in front of me, offering them to Sartine to tie.
Until that moment, I was filled with disbelief. I was still filled with disbelief, but that was the moment my years of training kicked in.
When you are ninety-seven years old, but your body is that of a thirty-year-old, you have had ample opportunity to explore a great many of mankind's endeavors. I have held a variety of jobs, even owning a business or two for a while, although I didn't care for it and probably wouldn't do it again. I had never been that interested in athletic competition, but I had also engaged in a variety of sporting activities. I had gotten rather good at some of them, relatively speaking.