She hurried to the bathroom the moment he was gone and met Jasmine coming out.
“You aren't even ready for bed yet,” said Jasmine, looking her up and down. “Do you know how late it is?”
“Well I haven't exactly looked at the clock.”
“So where've you been, out with a boyfriend?”
“You're always asking me things like that,” said Tess. “But if you must, I haven't been anywhere except my room.”
“Really! Then why didn't you answer when I knocked or when Trent knocked maybe an hour later?”
“I was studying with my tutor ball. You know how they are about interruptions.”
“For over four hours?”
“Yes Mother,” said Tess, cocking her head. “You know I'm behind with my work since my folks's relocation. And if I don't get my grades up, we won't get a sublim board. Is that what you want? You and Trent certainly don't have the grades, but if I get caught up, I will.”
“That would be nice,” said Jasmine, suddenly pleasant. “I'm sorry. It's just that Trent and I thought you were just snubbing us. Don't you know? And we've really been hoping we could all become, you know, friends, now that we're all under this roof.”
“Jasmine, do you really want me to be your friend?” said Tess.
Jasmine looked puzzled.
“Then let me into the toilet before I burst.”
“Oh!” said Jasmine, stepping aside. “Righty-o.”
Chapter 22
“All right Nia,” said the doctor. “You can sit up now.”
“That's it?” she said, dangling a leg off the examination table.
“Not much to it is there?” he said, taking off his rubber gloves and turning aside to the sink. “Now all we do is wait and see.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Not a thing other than let us have a look once a day until we're certain that we have an implantation of the zygote (that's the fertilized egg) to the uterine wall,” he said, picking up a bar of soap and turning on the water with his wrists. “Most likely it will. And when it does, we'll simply proceed as if this a perfectly ordinary pregnancy.”
“And if it doesn't?” she said, sliding onto her feet.
“Oh, no problem at all. We have a few more of your eggs in storage, so all we have to do is add the potentate's DNA and repeat today's procedure, which you have already seen is practically nothing.”
“Are there precautions I should take?”
“Not until we know that you're pregnant,” he said, drying his hands. “And then only the usual ones such as, try to have an exceptionally good diet and get lots of exercise including plenty of daily squatting as you approach your third trimester. Weeding a garden is the most perfect delivery exercise ever was.”
“And illegal.”
“Gardens are illegal up top, but I'm sure that the potentate would be in favor of anything at all which would support the pregnancy. If you're serious.”
“When do I find out what sex it is?”
“Oh it's a girl,” he said. “We determined that when we did the fertilization. The potentate insisted on a girl.” He picked up a plastic bag with a light yellow capped vacutainer and snapped it to his clipboard. “Have you any other questions?”
Nia shook her head. “It might have been nice to have been consulted about the baby's sex,” she thought, but she knew that it would be unwise to ever bring up the matter. “What choice could I possibly have in any of this, anyway?”
“In that case,” said the doctor, “go ahead and get dressed. If you think of any, I shall be back directly.”
She stepped behind a screen and was dressed and waiting when the doctor returned with Pandora.
“Sweetness!” squealed Pandora. “Doctor Whimgrant tells me you did well and everything looks good. Isn't it all just so wonderful? We're going to be parents. Can you believe it?”
“Something to get used to,” said Nia, not certain what the best thing was to say.
“Oh it is!” said Pandora. “And we've so much to think about and to plan to be ready for our daughter's arrival. But right now we just need to get home and get you all settled in, my yummy little Fairy.”
Nia smiled and nodded in spite of her doubts about being “yummy.”
“Have you any instructions before we leave?” said Pandora.
“I'll need to see Nia tomorrow. If she lets us know when today, she'll not have to wait.”
“We shall be here,” said Pandora as she took Nia by the arm and walked out.
Benjamin opened the door for them when they arrived at the top of Orbis Terrae. “Could I get something for either of you?” he said as he quietly followed them in.
“This is a special occasion Benjamin,” said Pandora, plumping onto the puffy white davenport. “Champagne for me at least. Poor Nia has earned it, but she has just conceived. No spirits for her. Would you like some kind of juice?”
“Actually I don't remember the doctor saying anything,” said Nia, settling onto the far end. “But I'd have tea if you don't mind.”
Benjamin gave a deep nod and turned on his heel.
“Please feel free to rest for a bit,” said Pandora. “Your things will not be here until tomorrow, but you do have your overnight bag, and Benjamin will see that you have anything you need. This is your home now, and I want you to be comfortable.”
“Thank you, Pandora,” said Nia. “That's most thoughtful. I can't imagine not managing just fine.” She was about to express her gratitude for being brought into the household, when Benjamin left her wide eyed by arriving with the tea, champagne and another android.
“My agreeable little pet,” said Pandora. “I want you to meet my new steward and body guard, Anthony.”
Anthony looked identical to Benjamin, even giving the same sort of polite bow.
But where the pair of lights glowing behind the screen of Benjamin's fencer's mask were blue-green, Anthony's were red.
“But why would you need a new robot when you already have Benjamin?” said Nia. “Not that it's my affair.”
“Fiddlesticks!” said Pandora, taking her glass by the stem. “I was expecting you to ask that. As you already know, Benjamin is simply the perfect steward, servant and body guard. Anthony here is his exact duplicate in every way except for his personality. I just thought that since you and Benjamin have hit it off so well, he'd be the best choice for you.”
“I don't follow. I'm hardly important enough for any sort of servant or body guard.”
“Oh but you're wrong, my pet. You are most assuredly someone of importance.
You're now my partner, the very woman I've chosen to carry my child. And once that becomes common knowledge, you'll be in constant danger. My enemies would like nothing more than to find a way to get their hands on you in order to control me. So you see, it's vital that you're protected at all times, for your own sake and for mine.”
Nia was stunned. “This is certainly something to think about,” she said, suddenly noticing the tea and scones in front of her. “And thank you for allowing me to use Benjamin...”
“Sweetness!” said Pandora, drawing back a dribble of champagne on her lip. “Benjamin is yours. He is your very steward, at your service from now on.”
“Well I do like it that we're already acquainted. And I've been most impressed with him from the very beginning.”
Benjamin gave a gracious nod from where he stood nearby.
“Well he's yours,” said Pandora, setting her glass on the tea table. “Now, I want to see you to your new bower.”
Nia rose at once and followed after to an enormous bedroom and flat adjoining Pandora's very own solar, where she stood looking all about at a loss for words until she gasped with surprise and delight at a delicate silver white confection of a negligee laid out on the bed.
“You like it then?” said Pandora, following her carefully with her eyes.
“Oh I do!” said Nia, gathering it up at once. “It's the most beautiful thing I've ever s
een.” And without the least warning, she thought of Drake and the wedding they would never have. She squeezed tears from her eyes that spilt down her cheeks to her chin.
Pandora went wide eyed. “My poor little Fairy!” she said. “I'd never want to make you cry. Why don't I just go check on our supper and leave you to compose yourself?
And we can always get you a different gown.”
“Oh no! This gown is perfect. I don't want another. But I really could use a few moments alone.”
“I suspect you're overwhelmed by all that's happened,” said Pandora as she gave Nia a one armed hug. “Why don't you lie down for a bit? I’ll send Anthony to fetch you when supper's ready.”
“I think that might be just what I need.”
“A good nap then,” said Pandora with a nod and another squeeze.
“Thank you Pandora.”
Nia sat on the bed with a bounce as the door went closed and gave in to her despair at last.
* * *
Tess was just finishing up the supper dishes when Trent took a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and pried off the cap with his knife. “Hey Tess,” he said. “Want a cold one?”
Tess made a face and shook her head.
“Righty-o babe, but you don't know what you're missing.”
“I seem to be learning,” she said, scouring the bottom of a pan. “And I can do without.”
“If you say so, though you could live a little once in a while,” he said, taking a drink as if it were an example. “A nice cold beer's just the thing to help you relax. And by the way, that shit you fixed for supper was really good. What was it?”
“Spinach quiche, a kind of flan...”
“No shit?”
“Not a bit. Never use it.”
“Cute,” he said with another swig.
Tess set down her pan to watch him amble to the doorway of Jasmine's room. “Can't imagine he'd notice,” she said as she raised her brow and returned to her dishes.
She was done in short order, hurrying through a shower and shutting herself in her room to spend the evening, waiting for Daniel. After a time, she could hear Trent and Jasmine having one of their drunken shouting matches. She wondered why Children and Family never intervened, but shuddered at the thought of them doing so.
She stared out the window at the red sunset and thought about the times when Daniel had kissed her hand. “Wow!” she murmured. “Like in a Fairy tale. And I'm one of the Fairies.” She grabbed up a pillow and squeezed a giggle into it. “Will he ever give me a real kiss? Did they do that before marriage seven centuries ago?” She could see them getting married in a huge outdoor wedding surrounded by her grandparent's bounding glory of oaks and cow bells, peonies and singing orioles. She could see her mom and dad there and Nia. And they really could be, too. It was perfect, except for Trent banging on her bedroom door.
“Hey Tess!” he called. “Come on out and party with Jasmine and me! It's time you stopped ignoring us and let yourself have a little fun!”
“Thanks Trent!” she hollered back, mindful of her skinny. “But I had a long night last night getting caught up so we could get a sublim board and tonight I need to get some sleep. Another night, all right?” And she certainly hoped he would not remember.
“All right. But I'm holding you to it.”
“Another time.”
“All right babe. G' night.”
“Good night,” she said, sprawling onto her bed. The clock by her skinny said that it would be another hour to wait. She switched off her light and threw a towel over the skinny. She lay down on her bed and sat right back up. She was not about to let herself doze off. She opened the closet door and sat down on the floor in the doorway to wait in the light of the street lamps as they came on. Now the time was indeed going slow. “What if something's happened and they decided to put off the rescue for another night?” she thought. “Seems like more than any hour.” She had just made up her mind to climb out her window and go to Broadstreet when Daniel suddenly appeared in the closet.
He took her by the hand and gently pulled her inside. “Are you ready to leave?” he said as he closed the door.
“I've been ready for long enough to decide that you weren't coming.”
“But I'm exactly on time.”
“And important enough that I couldn't keep my mind on any thing else.”
“Well then,” he said as he took her hand once more and studied his ball.
At once they found themselves standing up beside the table in Maxi's conference room.
“And here be my baby girl,” said Maxi, looking up from the map he had spread out on the table. “And this be range map.”
“Of the prison camp?” said Tess, stepping closer for a look.
“Of the valley where it is,” said Teeuh. “But it's not shown. Nor is the big coal mine. The only thing shown is the terrain and this railroad coming into the valley from the north, where it simply vanishes right here. See?”
Tess nodded and looked back at the map.
“And this is a big fault that forms a huge bluff which runs for better than two miles along here, making up the west ridge of the valley and a great rock wall which sits atop a thick coal seam that the prison camp's inmates are being used to mine. And these along here...”
“More mountains?”
“Yea. Another great ridge of the Ash mountains that forms the other rim of the valley. And Sergeants Llygad and Philpott think that the prison camp is situated right out here, in the middle of the valley.” She looked up as Philpott nodded and drew a circle on the map with his finger.
“Where are these wards you spoke of?” said Tess.
Daniel put his arm about her waist and pointed. “My scry seemed to strike a ward about here by my reckoning,” he said, looking up at Teeuh. “And yours struck...?”
“Neigh here,” she said, pointing.
“Are they different wards?” said Tess.
“Not likely,” said Daniel. “Our magic is different. These points probably represent different ways of feeling out the very same boundary which undoubtedly encircles the entire camp, out away from the whole thing by a broad margin...”
“Which is why we're taking the time to explain it to you,” said Teeuh. “We can't go but so close by traveling spell if we want to stay safely wide of the wards. And that has us landing well away from the camp in rough country at night. We'll have a long way to find our way in the dark to a safe place to camp with reasonable access to lookout points which will allow us to determine how we're going in, or even to spot your folks.”
“In other words, sweetheart,” said Morrigan, “this undertaking is complicated enough that we've no idea how long it will take, so you may have several days running to pace the floor and be anxious.”
“And because of the wards, we can't be scrying or traveling in and out by spell to keep you informed,” said Daniel. “Even so, it would be good if you kept your green scrying ball handy. Can't you fit it into a pocket of those blue canvass breeches you wear?”
“My jeans?”
“I have no idea, but you have on a pair.”
“I have it in my pocket, right now.”
“Good.”
“Were you able to locate the night vision equipment you mentioned?” said Llygad.
Maxi shook his head.
“I reckon we'll do it the old fashioned way, then,” said Llygad as he sorted through the canvass bags and back packs lined up on the floor by the table. “So are we going to cash any 840 round ammunition cans when we get there, or are we just sticking to magazines and bandoleers of stripper clips?”
“No long time dig-in fly-out-bites,” said Maxi as he strapped on his double barreled pistol and shouldered his bag of twelve gauge solids. “Any jump-grab head- smash we do be on run on way out. Haul drag only what you can carry every bit of whole time.”
Llygad and Philpott went right to work loading their automatic rifles and shouldering back packs, bandoleers and pouches of thirty round
magazines. Daniel shifted his Elvish claymore to a better position on his back as he and Teeuh took up their staves and everyone gave nods and stood close together. Morrigan suddenly shrank down to Bart, and flew to Daniel's shoulder.
“Ooot! Ooot!” boomed Maxi, pummeling his chest with his fists. “We grab back you da and you fmoo. I...” He pounded his chest again. “promise!”
“I know you will Maxi,” said Tess as Teeuh gave her a hug and a nod of assurance. Tess squeezed Daniel's hand and kissed him on the cheek.
Without warning he returned her kiss. And with a look that told her that something really had started between them, he stepped back with his ball, joined hands and everyone vanished.
“Well I brought the chess board if we're staying,” said Drake.
“What?” said Tess getting her breath. “Chess board. Oh yeh. Good.”
* * *
They appeared atop a huge boulder on the great fault which ran the length of the west rim of the valley in the pale light of a hazy moon, high in a cloudless and starless sky.
“Fates forbid!” said Daniel as he steadied his footing. “What on earth is wrong with the air? I've never smelt anything quite like it.”
“Oh that has to be sewage from the prison camp,” said Philpott. “Plain old sewage.”
“You're used to it?” said Daniel. “I've smelt privies being mucked out and manure on sledges being hauled straight out of stables and hog houses, but never anything like unto this. Stumbling into a bucket of bubbling chicken slop is 'way nicer.”
“So where do we go?” said Llygad, nodding at the looming silhouette of the nearby prominence. “Up there?”
“That yonder should be the far south end of the big bluff that makes up the west side of the valley which runs right by the prison camp, said Daniel as he began climbing down from the boulder. “I want to get up there to be sure, but we ought to be able to follow it for a mile or two and come to some place which would serve for a lookout to study the camp and coal mine. Say Teeuh. Would you mind flying up yonder and seeing if it's what I think it is?”
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