They retraced their path to the staircase and ascended to the second level. Barla led her down an equally lavish hallway past several closed doors. Amanda admired the art hanging on the walls as well as the fine furniture placed along the edges of the hallway. Almost at the end of the hall, Barla turned to her left and pushed open the door gesturing for Amanda to take the lead into the room.
The massive bed was the focal point of the room; the four posters reaching almost to the ceiling. Cushions and pillows were piled against the carved wooden headboard on top of the silky green comforter. Beyond the bed were two tall windows on the far wall with wide, deep cushions on the window seats.
Amanda crossed the room and paused as her feet landed on a plush carpet covering the glossy, wood plank floor. She leaned over, touched the soft fibers, and exclaimed, “This feels wonderful! What’s this made out of?”
“It’s foxl hair. Amazing, huh?”
Amanda did not remember seeing any pictures of a foxl in any of the books which she had been studying. She asked, “Does your library downstairs have anything on the animals of Tuala? I should probably know how to identify animals as well, don’t you think?”
“Probably. We can look for it if you like. A foxl reminds me of a cross between a sheep and a cow.”
“I can’t even imagine what it would look like,” Amanda laughed. “I can’t wait to see it. Is it relatively common?”
“Yeah, most everyone has it as part of at least one meal each day, unless they’re vegetarians.”
“Do they call them vegetarians here as well?”
“Surprisingly, they do.”
Amanda walked over to the window and looked out at the view. The house was just high enough to be able to see the Gulf of Thulen as well as a small jetty of land protecting the harbor. “The view is wonderful,” Amanda said as tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. “I really miss home, Barla!”
Barla came forward and circled her arms tightly around Amanda’s shoulders. She rubbed her back and murmured, “We’ll find a way to get you home, don’t worry. It’s okay, it’s okay, hun.”
“Do you really think so?” Amanda sniffed as she tried to control her tears. “You didn’t get to go back.”
“You have it wrong, Amanda. I chose to stay; I fell in love, remember. I miss home sometimes. My family probably believes I died in the Gulf of Mexico, and it makes me sad. Other than that, I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of for my life.
“Come on, no more tears now. Let’s try to enjoy your time here okay?” She moved her across the room and opened another door which Amanda had not yet noticed, which led to her own private bathroom. “Why don’t you take a nice bubble bath? Then, when you’re relaxed, put on this robe and come down to the library. We can look for books for you to continue your research. Does that sound good?”
Amanda nodded and crossed the threshold into the bathroom. She took the offered robe from Barla’s hand and set it down on the chair next to the tub. “Barla?”
Barla stopped midstride on her way out of the bedroom and turned around to reply, “Yes?”
“There’s something which has been bothering me.”
“What is it, dear?”
“I was wondering,” Amanda paused to put together her thoughts, “since you have so many students apprentice with businesses, how come none of them are helping Captain Ahn with his paperwork?”
“Oh,” Barla exclaimed and raised her hand to cover her smile. “It’s my fault, really. Ahn kept telling me he could do the work himself if he were just shown how to do it efficiently. So I finally sat down with him and figured out a system so he could keep organized.”
“Well, that didn’t work out too well,” Amanda scoffed.
“Tell me about it!” Barla concurred. “So when Ahn said he needed someone to come and take care of it, I made other arrangements for the five students old enough to help so he’d be forced to do it himself.”
Now it was Amanda’s turn to start laughing. “When do you think he was going to get around to it?”
“Ahn and I were just talking about it the same morning you showed up. He was so happy when he came home that night, you would’ve thought he’d just won the lottery! I guess the joke was really on me then because my plan backfired. I am glad we were able to have work for you, though. Anyway, enough about that, it’s time for you to take your bath!”
“Thanks, a bath sounds like just the thing I need right now.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then. Everything’s going to be fine, all right?” She smiled warmly at Amanda and then quietly closed the bathroom door as she left her alone.
Turning on the tub faucets, the water filled rapidly, which told Amanda the house had excellent plumbing. Amanda tried to recall the last time she was able to take a leisurely bath; she failed to remember when it was and shrugged indifferently as she removed her shorts and t-shirt. She folded them neatly and stacked them on the chair beside the plush robe; then she removed her undergarments and added them to the stack as well.
She sat on the edge of the tub and swirled her hand through the warm water. Picking up the decorative bottle of liquid soap, she removed the stopper on the top and poured a generous dollop of pearly liquid into the bath. Bubbles immediately began forming on the surface quickly obscuring the water altogether.
She turned the faucets off and stepped slowly into the hot water, luxuriating in the feel of the warmth on her calves, then knees, buttocks, back, and shoulders as she lowered herself into the bath. A soft moan escaped her lips as she shut her eyes and rested the back of her head against the curved edge of the tub.
Clearing her mind of all of her troubles, she concentrated only on the warmth seeping through her skin and muscles. She continued to take deep, relaxing breaths as she allowed her arms to float. “Wow, this is wonderful,” she whispered to no one but herself.
Chapter Nine
SOMETIME LATER, WITH the water cool around her, she woke up from her pleasant dreams. She was loath to move, but the coolness of the water decided it for her. Without looking, she reached behind her head for the towels on the rack by the chair only to be startled into screeching at the sound of a voice.
“Here you go, miss,” a little girl said as she deposited a warm towel into her hand.
Water sloshed out of the tub as Amanda moved hastily to cover herself with the towel and turn to face her visitor. “How long have you been sitting there?”
“Sorry if I startled you,” she said promptly. “Lady Barla asked me to check on you about an hour ago. When I told her about you being asleep, she asked if I’d come back up and sit by you quietly, warming your towel until you awoke, just to make sure you didn’t slip under the water.”
“Well, I should be thanking you for keeping me safe then, shouldn’t I?” Amanda smiled at the cute little girl. She noticed the beautiful blue crystals formed into the shape of a tree hanging from an ornate chain around the child’s neck. Oh, she thought to herself, I need to ask Barla why all the children wear those necklaces. Smiling at the girl, she said, “I really like your necklace.”
The little girl’s hand rose to cradle the pendant as she looked down at it and said sadly, “It was a gift from my mommy and papa.”
“They must love you a lot to give you something so pretty.”
The little girl looked sad as she said, “They’re dead.”
“I’m so sorry. It must make you happy to have it to remind you of them, then. Hmm?”
“Yes, it does,” she whispered.
Amanda was at a loss of what else to say so she asked the next thing which came to mind, “Would you mind running down and letting Lady Barla know I will be ready to meet her in the library in a few minutes?”
“Okay,” she replied pertly as she hopped down from the chair, scampered across the room, and out the door leaving Amanda alone.
Remembering she had not finished cleaning herself, Amanda returned the towel to the rack and dunked her head into the cool water. She pic
ked up the bottle of bath liquid and poured some soap into her hand to wash her hair. After scrubbing her scalp until it tingled, Amanda again dunked her head into the water to rinse it out.
Amanda triggered the drain in the tub, stood up, and retrieved the towel to dry herself off. She stepped out of the tub and into a huge puddle; she scrambled for another towel to sop up the mess before it ruined the flooring. She wrung out the wet towel into the now empty tub.
She had considered putting on her regular clothes but realized the robe was her only option since her neat stack of clothes was missing. She picked up the plush robe, inserted her arms into the sleeves, crossed the front sides over each other, and tied it closed with the belt. She realized there was a matching pair of slippers on the floor under the chair, so she slipped her feet into them. These must be made from foxl hair, she thought because of how soft they were on her feet.
She walked across the bathroom to the vanity and picked up the hairbrush on the counter. She watched her reflection as she ran the brush rhythmically through her long, brown hair. I still look tired, she thought as she set the brush down.
She left the bathroom, walked across the bedroom, and hesitated when she got to the hall door. She turned and looked back at the room in which she would be spending the night and wondered whether her future held happiness and security such as she had felt in this house, or if it were going to bring sorrow and uncertainty such as the little girl had known. I’ll just have to take one day at a time and hope for the best, she said to herself as she opened the door and walked into the hallway on her way toward the stairs.
At the library, Amanda found Barla sitting in one of the plush chairs in front of the blazing fireplace. Captain Ahn was sitting opposite her in a matching chair. Amanda smiled at both of them as she entered the homey room.
“Pull up the chair over there, Amanda. Enjoy the warmth of the fire with us,” Barla said as she pointed to another chair a few feet behind her.
Amanda did as she was bid, pulling the chair over, and sitting down facing the fire. It was then she saw the child curled up asleep on the floor with her back to the fire. It was the same little girl who had been in the bathroom with her. “Who is this?” Amanda asked Barla.
“Her name’s Corva; she’s one of my foster children,” Barla replied as she looked tenderly down at the sleeping child. “She came to us two anons ago after her parents died in a house fire.”
“How sad,” Amanda replied. “In the bathroom, I complimented her pretty necklace; she told me her parents gave it to her and that they were dead. She seemed pretty sad about it. I hope I didn’t upset her.”
“I don’t think so; she was pretty young when it happened. She thinks of us as her parents now. I think she would like to remember her real parents more, but as time passes her memories fade,” Barla assured her promptly.
“This reminds me of another aspect of Tualan culture you should know,” Barla continued, “When a child is born, the parents give them a protective crystal pendant to wear at all times. They’re all similar to Corva’s in size, but the colors can vary greatly.”
“How does it protect them?”
Barla leaned over to whisper directly into Amanda’s ear, “Parents can see what their children are doing because of their connection with the crystal. The children never know about it until they become parents themselves.”
“Really,” Amanda exclaimed, thinking the crystals were more powerful than she had imagined. “Can they do anything else?”
“Yes, depending on the color,” Barla replied. “The darker the color, the more protection it instills including keeping them from harming themselves or allowing others to harm them.”
“How do you know what color to give to them then?”
“All children are presented to either an Elder or a wise-woman usually within the first day of birth, but definitely no later than their seventh day of life. They look into the child’s soul through their eyes and can tell what color is required. It’s a mystery to everyone else how it’s done, but they’re always right. I believe they read the child’s future; the more dangerous it is, the darker the crystal assignment. I may be completely wrong, but it’s how it has seemed to work out.”
“You’ve never said such a thing to me before.” Captain Ahn leaned forward looking intently at Barla as he spoke for the first time since Amanda had entered the room.
“Am I to assume your theory isn’t common knowledge?” Amanda inquired.
“Definitely not! I think because I come from Earth I look at things closer and question more than the people do from here.
“Think about it, Ahn,” Barla continued with her thought, “What colors are the stones of the kids we foster? They’re almost always in dark tones, right? Think about our friends’ children; they’re all in lighter tones. Do you see what I mean?”
“Like you said, as a native Tualan, I’ve never actually thought about it. I’ve a feeling I’ll be looking more closely from now on!” He smiled at Barla and relaxed back into his plush chair and shut his eyes.
“There’s something else about the stones: they can change colors,” Barla continued. “When Corva first came to live with us she asked me why her stone had changed to blue. At the time, I asked her what color it used to be, and she told me it used to be black.”
Captain Ahn opened one eye and said, “You never told me that, either.”
“I didn’t think you’d believe me. Anyway, I’ve witnessed myself the stones of the other children we’ve had. As they go through their adolescence, their stones would get lighter or darker depending on their friends or their activities. Parents would probably do well to watch the color to see if their children should be kept at home more often to stay out of danger.”
“Hmph,” grunted Captain Ahn.
“Where do the crystals come from then?” Amanda interrupted hurriedly thinking to forestall an argument.
“Oh, the Elders and the wise-women keep a stock of them. I’m pretty sure they are supplied to them directly from Jehoban. Once the color has been determined, they then provide the pendant to the parent as well as a phrase they should use when they put it on the child; the phrase differs slightly from child to child depending on what they see in the child’s eyes.
“The parents usually hold a crystal donning ceremony within the first twenty-four hours from drawing their first breath in front of all their family and friends. Once the parents place the crystal pendant around the child’s neck along with the proper phrase, the necklace cannot be removed until after they come of age. When the ceremony is complete, everyone celebrates by congratulating the new parents, complimenting the crystals, and then discretely speculating amongst each other on the reasons for the color assigned.”
“How interesting,” Amanda commented, not knowing what else there was to say about it.
They sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes. Barla stared without seeing or blinking as thoughts continued to race through her mind about the different stones she had encountered in her twenty-two years on Tuala. Suddenly she shook her head and exhaled loudly as though she had been holding her breath. “Sorry,” she apologized, “I lost myself for a moment. Where were we?”
“We just finished talking about the crystal ceremony,” Amanda supplied helpfully.
“Oh, yes,” she said brusquely. “I was just thinking about how the children are changed when they receive their birth crystal. The massive amount of elemental energy, which we all call by its shortened term ‘elemy,’ which surrounds the crystal around their neck matures them more rapidly. I’ve noticed their motor skills become enhanced as well as their abilities to think, reason, and speak.
“Ahn told me this was important for our children so they will be able to understand the concepts of their world in a manner which will be safer and more productive. Without the crystals, the children would be at risk for so many more dangers.
“I found this while you were bathing,” she reached beside her chair, picked up a hard
-cover book, and handed it to Amanda saying, “This has pictures of the foxl in it.”
Barla stood slowly and stretched, “It’s getting late you two, and we need to get poor little Corva into bed before she scorches her back. Ahn, would you mind carrying her for me? She’s getting so big. I can barely hold her anymore.”
“I think you say such things just to stroke my ego, Barla,” Ahn exclaimed as he gently picked up the sleeping girl. “She’s light as a feather,” he whispered as he straightened up and led the way out of the room.
“Goodnight, Amanda,” Captain Ahn and Barla said in unison as they left the room.
Amanda wondered whether she should stay and read by the fire or go back up to her room. She did not know of what the weekend routine consisted; sleep in, get up early, wait for a bell to come down. Who knew?
Almost as if on cue, Barla reappeared in the doorway and addressed Amanda, “You can stay in here as long as you like. Feel free to look over the books on the shelves to see if anything else catches your eye.”
Seeming unable to help herself, Barla rushed back into the room and gave a quick hug to Amanda. Seeing the dark circles still under her eyes Barla took Amanda’s chin in her hand and spoke seriously, “I want you to sleep as late as you can tomorrow. You definitely need the rest. Don’t worry about breakfast, everyone eats as they get hungry on Sabtu, nothing formal. Okay?”
Amanda felt again as if she were with her own mother, she smiled, and replied, “Yes, Barla. I’ll probably sleep the entire day on such a wonderful, plush mattress.”
Barla smiled back and patted her cheek. “Good girl. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked out of the room and left Amanda alone.
Amanda decided to stay sitting by the warmth of the fire so her hair could dry. She looked through the book of animals and was amused at the different names the Tualans had given to the same creatures found on Earth; common house cats, for example, were called kittilees. She found the foxl to be just as Barla had described. Its fur was about five inches long, straight when dry, curly when wet. The foxl’s head was more like a sheep than a cow, but the body size and shape was more cow-like.
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