"The chosen one will of course be true to Jamais from the instant of decision."
"Of course,” he agreed faintly.
"Ina has no trouble making men react, so she can have all the sex she wants while remaining demure. Ini sublimates it as research, but she is as lusty as any."
"You are amazing. All of you."
"And despite appearances, we can keep secrets."
That was surely just as well.
"The three of us voted on this contest, and the decision was two to one."
"Who voted against it?"
"I did. That is why I was annoyed. I don't like losing."
"But you have been the most passionate!"
"I wanted to make Jamais himself the arbiter of our competence."
Throe digested that for a moment. “So it was a recent decision to be virginal for him alone?"
"Yes. We wanted to be absolutely fair to each other. So we asked him to find us a man for the contest."
"Maybe it is just as well that you lost. Jamais would never have been fooled by your illusions."
"But he might respond to the illicit passions."
"I'm not sure. He seems to me to be a man of ordinary tastes."
She sighed. “Ina would have taken him. I know it. But at least Ini and I would have had him for a night."
"You make me sympathetic for your plight."
"Don't be. You will make me cry, and I don't like that."
Throe realized that her poses and passions were the cover for a hurting interior. “Oh, honey, I'm sorry."
Then she was crying, and he was holding her more in the manner of a daughter despite their nakedness. “You're a nice man,” she murmured through her tears.
"I am a trained killer."
"With a secret heart much like mine."
"Fortunately I, too, can keep secrets."
She found his mouth and kissed him with a quite different kind of ardor. “Gratitude."
In due course they got up, cleaned, had breakfast, and were ready when Jamais appeared. The castle was now a giant animal, the path leading into its gaping mouth, but Jamais approached without hesitation and knocked on the real door that was deeply buried by illusion. There was no doubt: he could see reality.
Before she opened the door, Ine embraced Throe one last time, pressing all of her bare body against him as she guided his hand to her bottom. “All that you feel is the real me,” she murmured, and kissed him with the passion that had emerged as her trademark.
He could tell that it was true. She was back to normal. “It is good enough.” And that was true, too.
"Age and commitments elsewhere are no barrier for secret passions."
"None,” he agreed.
Then she let him go and opened the door, the demure farm girl outfit forming around her. Throe realized that she was entirely clothed in illusion, so was actually naked. “Why hello, Jamais,” she said, as if moderately surprised.
"Put something on,” Jamais said, taken aback.
Her mouth formed a little O of dismay. She hurried to the wall and fetched a physical cloak, quickly covering herself. “I'm so embarrassed."
"Forgotten,” Jamais said gruffly.
Throe realized with surprise that though Jamais could see right through illusion, he was not immune to social deceit. Ine had deliberately flashed him, and made him back off. Probably the other sisters managed him similarly.
The two men stepped out the door. Ine caught Throe's gaze one last time, and shot him a smoldering glance of silent invitation, a small scene of ardently clasped bodies appearing just over her head. The image-women's eyes were closed as if in sleep, and her bare bottom was reddened. He had no doubt Ine desired him, but in precisely what capacity he wasn't sure, except that romantic love was no part of it. And he was responding in kind, wanting it, however temporary the liaison. Then she closed the door, and they were on their way.
"Have you decided?” Jamais asked.
"I have come to a conclusion,” Throe said, shifting mental frames. “The decision, of course, is yours."
"Which woman?"
"Permit me some discussion as we travel, for I would like you to comprehend my reasoning."
"I need no reasoning, merely an objective decision."
The man evidently lacked the perspective the sisters had. “My conclusion is: none of them."
Jamais halted, staring it him. “You did not clasp them?"
"I clasped them. I repeat: my reasoning may be relevant."
"As you wish.” The man was disgruntled.
They resumed walking. “Each woman has obvious virtues, and any of them would make an excellent wife. Ina is beautiful, Ini is smart, and Ine has marvelous talent as a sorceress. All three are highly motivated. But if you marry Ina, men will always be after her, seeking to sire her fourth or even to take her from you, because her beauty is real rather than illusory. You would never be quite at ease. Only when she ages, and loses the appeal of perfectly formed youth, will you be able to relax—and then she may not be of much interest to you, either, since beauty is her only trade."
"Men are already after her,” Jamais agreed.
"Ini, in contrast, is rather plain physically, but is a very intelligent seeker of information. Men will not be chasing her, both because of her lack of physical prettiness, and because they often don't like to be with women who are smarter than they are. She has her own agenda, which she expects you to support. This might bother you too, since she makes no effort to conceal her superiority."
"It does,” Jamais admitted.
"Ine is surely destined to be a prominent figure, because she will be a sorceress. You can see though her illusions, but others can't, so she will make whatever impression she chooses to make, on others. She also has a bit of a taste for masochism that might make you uncomfortable."
"It does."
"So each has assets and liabilities, and all are assertive. The one you marry will make you her adjunct, bending you to her will, rather than bending to your will. Are you amenable to that?"
"No.” Jamais walked silently for a while, and Throe let him mull it out. “Maybe that is why I couldn't decide between them. I thought it was their positives, but maybe it was their negatives. But I still have to marry soon, or the Air Council will assign me a wife not of my choosing. I do like them all."
"And they like you,” Throe agreed. “And as I said, all are worthy, and perhaps I have overstated the negatives."
"You have not. I see it now. You have opened my eyes in a manner that does not please me. What am I to do?"
"I do have a suggestion. This too may need explanation."
"You have an answer that will please me?"
"I believe so, when you understand the rationale. I believe I know of a woman who will be as lovely as Ina, as smart as Ini, as talented as Ine, and who will have no other agenda than to please you and support you and bear and raise your children."
"But what of the men who will seek her beauty, or of her need to exercise her intellect despite me, or—does she have weird sexual tastes?"
"She will mask her beauty so effectively that no one will notice unless you wish it. She will mask her intellect similarly, attributing her best ideas to you so that you will have the advantage of them. Her sexual tastes will be defined by your desires, of whatever nature. She will be completely dedicated to you, and all her properties will remain as she ages. Frankly, if there is a better woman for you to marry, I would be surprised."
"You describe a woman who is all three sisters combined, yet amenable to my will. How could there be any such creature, without my awareness of her?"
"Because you have not met her, and her qualities of modesty have kept her from your attention. One of her many virtues is her lack of desire for notoriety. She prefers personal anonymity."
"NonChroma!” he exclaimed. “A woman you know from elsewhere. I don't want that."
"I have not met her, but she is of the Air Chroma."
Jamais looke
d at him. “Enough of this riddling. What is her name, and where may I find her?"
"She is Ino, the fourth sister."
"But she's a nondescript child!"
"She is fifteen: old enough. And she likes you. She is the one."
"How can you possibly know this, when you have not slept with her, or even seen her? All these rare and ideal qualities you describe—did you make them up? Are you having fun with me?"
"I know her description and nature because of what she is. She is a changeling."
"A what?"
"Background: there is a class of people who are not generally known, and do not seek to be known, but are excellent specimens of our species. I have known four, and had an affair with one. They are so similar to each other that to know one is to know them all, to a degree. That may be one reason they conceal their abilities. But some are nevertheless destined for prominence. Some have been King, some King's consorts. Fine men—and remarkable women. As far as I know they have no hostile agenda; they achieve success because they are crafted to be human ideals."
"And one of them would marry me?"
"Perhaps there is a downside: with her support, you are likely to achieve considerable success in your profession. You may become a power in your Chroma. Is this objectionable?"
"No."
"Ino would marry you because she knows you through her sisters, and is attracted to the special ability you possess. Because she is young, she lacks much experience of men, and you have, I think, become her model of the ideal man. Normally that sort of thing passes as a woman ages, but the changelings are loyal to their spouses. I think you have nothing to fear; she will not become disillusioned with you or seek to cast you off. I judge in part by the changeling I know who is closest to her age; that one is absolutely loyal to her man, despite being unable to marry him. Yet she is a woman who could capture any man she chose, of any age."
"This word, changeling. What exactly is it?"
"This relates to my mission; I am in quest of further information about the changelings. But I can tell you that they are given to women by the Temple, magically implanted in them as if a man had done it, but not by a man; there is no sex. They take longer to gestate, but are invariably fine babies and, when they grow, fine people. All are very much alike, bearing more resemblance to each other than to their siblings. The details of their features differ, and of course their modes of upbringing, and their ages and Chroma, so they are not obvious, but underneath they are the same. Indeed, they are not blood related to their siblings. We think they are really variants of one person, closer to each other than brother and sister. That is why the changeling couple I know can't marry; they are too closely related. Changelings must marry non-changelings. Whether there is some larger purpose in their distribution by the Temple we don't know; we seek to discover their true origin, and then perhaps we'll have the answer. But each changeling is his or her own person, loyal to his own, not seeking goods or success for himself. You could not find a better wife than any changeling female—and there is one waiting for you. Marry her, and you will never regret it."
"Amazement!"
"I have not met Ino, but I am sure she is as I describe. This is my answer for you, but of course you must decide."
"Come with me to see Ino. If she is as you say, I will ask to marry her, and if she agrees, I will know you are correct."
"But my mission—"
"Your answer is not complete until I see Ino. Prove her to me, and I will see you as rapidly through your mission as I can."
Throe chafed at the delay, but had to agree. They set out in a new direction, and by day's end came to the house of the parents of the four sisters. Only the youngest remained there, the others having set up their own homes as they came of age to do so.
An older woman came to the door. She was handsome without being special; her illusion was intended to suggest her role rather than to impress anyone. “Why Jamais—what brings you here?"
"I come to see Ino."
"Inoffensive? But I thought you were interested in her elder sisters."
"I realized that I needed to meet the fourth.” Jamais indicated Throe. “I am guiding this nonChroma man, but something came up. May I see Ino?"
"Of course. Come in."
As they entered, a man approached. “What is this?"
"Introduction,” Jamais said. “This is my travel companion, Throe. These are the sisters’ parents, Intrepid and Innate."
"Acknowledgment,” the parents and Throe said almost together.
"I came to see Ino,” Jamais repeated. “It may be important."
Innate raised her voice. “Ino! Please appear."
A girl entered the room. She wore a dress of dull color, and had her hair tied back by a dull ribbon, but it was immediately apparent that she was a beauty. “Acquiescence,” she murmured.
"You're right!” Jamais murmured to Throe. “She is exactly as she presents herself. But what of her other qualities?"
"Permission,” Throe said to the parents. They nodded, uncertain what was in the offing. “Ino, I am from Triumph City. Can you tell us its dimensions?"
"That would be at present about two thousand feet on a side,” Ino said.
"At present?"
"It is a tetrahedron, or what is commonly known as a four sided pyramid, each face triangular. A property of this shape is that it can be added to on any side without changing its overall shape. Triumph City has been expanded many times in the course of the past thousand years, with new wooden courses added, surfaced by metal, and now is anchored on the water. It accommodates about one hundred thousand people, with one hundred square feet allotted per lower person, more for upper persons, plus space for the commons, storage, the King's residence—"
"Thank you,” Throe said. He turned to Jamais. “This is accurate. She seems knowledgeable."
The man remained dubious. “What of her talent?"
Throe addressed the girl again. “Ino, what is the nature of your ambition?"
"That will be defined by the man I marry. I will do his will, and support him in his endeavors."
"But you must be undertaking some training now."
"True. I am learning cooking, sewing, medicine, sexuality, child care, self defense, and other disciplines facilitating wifely duties."
"What do you make of me?"
"You are a skilled martial artist. I hope you are Jamais’ friend and not his enemy."
"How can you judge my competence?"
"By the way you constantly survey the room and people, the precision of your movements, and the convenience of your weapons. You even wear well-made fiber body armor.” She smiled briefly. “And the story of the brigands is current; you answer the description of the lone nonChroma man on a millipede who routed them without pausing."
Throe was taken aback. “I seem to have more notoriety than I thought."
"I suspect my sisters could amplify it, if they chose."
Ouch! Throe glanced at Jamais. “Satisfied?"
Jamais nodded. “Inoffensive, I wish to marry you. Will you accede?"
Now it was the girl who was taken aback. “But I did not enter that competition! That is for my sisters."
"Why didn't you enter?"
"It would not have been fair. I do not wish to interfere in their success or happiness."
"Why not fair? You possess the traits of all of them together."
She cast her eyes down. “Affirmation."
"You knew you would win if you entered!"
"They are my sisters. I would not hurt any of them if I could possibly avoid it."
"She is loyal to her own,” Throe murmured.
"Ino, will you agree to be my wife?"
She blushed, not concealing it with illusion. “I beg you not to ask me that question."
"I had already decided not to marry any of your sisters,” Jamais said.
"But they are good women! Any one of them would make you an excellent wife."
"But I real
ized that one sister remained,” Jamais continued relentlessly. “If I do not marry you, I must seek elsewhere, beyond this family. Please, Ino—"
"Oh, do not put it that way!"
"Marry me."
The girl looked desperately at her parents. “I did not seek this! I do not wish to hurt my sisters."
"We know,” Innate said. “They will understand."
Intrepid nodded. “Follow your heart, daughter."
Ino stared at the floor again. “Acquiescence,” she whispered. Then she burst into tears and fled the room.
"Ino is not truly of our blood,” Intrepid said. “She is our fourth. But I say it as shouldn't, she is the finest young woman extant. We shall be sorry to lose her, but happy to see her well married."
"She is our joy,” Innate agreed, shedding a tear. “We thought no girl could excel our prior three, but we were mistaken."
"I will return when this mission is done,” Jamais said. “I hope Ino is reconciled by then."
"She felt guilty for desiring you,” Innate said. “She tried so hard to avoid being selfish. We shall reassure her."
"Appreciation. I never met her before this hour, but already I love her."
"She has that effect,” Intrepid said.
Jamais grimaced. “I dread telling her sisters."
Throe shrugged. “This is my mischief, if we call it that. I will tell them, if you like, on my return trip.” Actually, the sisters would know the moment they heard about Jamais’ visit to this house.
"Appreciation."
They resumed their journey, but it was now dusk. “We shall have to stay at a hostel,” Jamais said. “I will make sure your mission is successful. You have changed my life."
"I think you now have personal reason to support my mission. We need to know where the changelings ultimately come from."
"I do. We do."
Jamais guided them to the nearest hostel. There were two other travelers there, comely young women. Of course with the illusion they might not be quite as they looked, but there seemed no reason to doubt them. “No fault?” one inquired.
"No offense,” Jamais said quickly.
"He became betrothed to the perfect woman just an hour ago,” Throe explained. “And I am forty."
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