Survive

by Vera Nazarian

  However, Lady Isulat remains, along with the priestesses of Amrevet-Ra and the other seamstresses that came with her.

  Lady Isulat lowers her head before me and speaks in her gentle tone of voice. “My Imperial Lady Gwen, with your permission—we must now address the more intimate aspect of the nuptials attire—your Amrevet Dress.”

  At once I feel a warm flush rising. It’s natural embarrassment, and I’m grateful that there are only women left in the room. . . .

  My blush must be very obvious, because now the women are all looking at me with supportive, soft expressions.

  “Can you please explain to me what exactly an Amrevet Dress is?” I ask, having taken a deep breath of courage.

  “It is a beautiful, revealing garment worn by the Bride on Amrevet Night to please her Bridegroom during their first intimate union,” says one of the priestesses of Amrevet-Ra. “The Wedding Dress is intended for the public portion of your Wedding Day. Once Amrevet Night begins at tenth hour of Khe, you will first be sequestered so that you may prepare yourself and remove your Wedding Dress. Then you will put on the Amrevet Dress and go to him.”

  “I see,” I say quietly.

  “It might be easier if I show you,” Lady Isulat says, picking up her digital tablet.

  She calls up a catalog of intimate garments that could be considered corsets in Earth terms—not that I’m really familiar with Earth corsets, but it’s the closest thing I can compare. However, unlike corsets, these things are non-constricting, and instead drape loosely around the torso, emphasizing certain parts and playfully concealing others. . . .

  I see a lot of tulle or gauze see-through fabrics in all colors, intricate beading, fine scalloping, pleats and ribbons and other ornamentation, exquisite ropes of golden chains, and a sea of sparkling jewels.

  They are beautiful. But they are horribly embarrassing.

  Or, so it seems to my stupid, inexperienced self.

  “They don’t leave much to the imagination,” I whisper with an awkward laugh.

  Lady Isulat smiles. “They inspire and inflame the imagination—his imagination, as well as his body—which is their intent.”

  “If you say so,” I reply, wanting to sink through the floor with embarrassment.

  “My Imperial Lady, which of these do you like?” another priestess says kindly. “Any of these design elements may be chosen and re-combined, and made to your exact preferences.”

  “Do not be shy,” a third priestess adds. “Remember, this is for him as much as it is for you. Choose wisely, with your heart. Pick such details that your Imperial Bridegroom might like—whatever would bring him the greatest joy—”

  “—and you the greatest confidence,” concludes another woman.

  I tighten my mouth, bite my lip. . . . I’m filled with uncomfortable but not unpleasant thoughts.

  “On Earth, you have a custom of wrapping gifts, is that correct?” Lady Isulat asks.

  I nod.

  “Think of your Amrevet Dress as the ultimate giftwrap for this sublime gift you present to him—yourself.”

  Half an hour later, I’ve made my daring choice of Amrevet Dress. I can safely bet that Aeson will be affected in a good way when he sees me in it.

  Yes, right now, my own thoughts are making me blush. . . .

  The priestesses express their approval of my selection, and the seamstresses tell me it will be ready on the same day as the main Wedding Dress, for final fitting.

  And they leave me at last to myself.

  Immediately, I return to obsessing over my choice of Bridal Song.

  My current frontrunner is the haunting and gorgeous “What is a Youth,” composed by Nino Rota, also known as the love theme from the classic 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film Romeo and Juliet.

  It’s an utterly romantic song, it’s Shakespearean, and Mom sang it to us. However, I’m torn, because, well—Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers. And I just can’t have that kind of bad luck at our Wedding.

  With some regret I file this song away in the “no” compartment, and then get a bright idea—why not ask Manala? She must know what Aeson’s favorite songs are, and I’ll pick one of those to sing to him.

  Problem solved!

  I venture from my side of the Quarters, find Aeson, and ask him how his own musical choice is going. My question is playful, and im amrevu raises one of his beautiful dark brows and shakes his head at me with mock reproach.

  “I made my selection last night, Gwen, and I’m not telling you, for fear of the wrath of the Venerable One,” he says.

  I crane my neck at him. “Which Venerable One? Yours or mine?”

  “You know very well which one.” Aeson barely manages to keep his mouth in a straight line. “The one who is truly fearsome in her tiny little stature. We will not speak of this, since she hears everything. As for my song, you will find out on our Wedding Day.”

  Our Wedding Day. . . .

  My heart surges with warmth, just hearing that phrase. I try not to think of everything dire that’s still hanging over us, and instead focus on what small happy tasks lie before me.

  The remaining few days of Green Ghost Moon, the last month of Green season, go by in haste and excitement colored by a sense of urgency. No new crises emerge, and we enter the first week of Red Amrevet energized with anticipation.

  Indeed, all of Poseidon seems to be moving at a frenetic pace, as the city makes its own public preparation for the Wedding Day festivities. I find out that my three chosen flowers, the dewa, the li-hereret, and the iyatet, are being imported en masse from the nearby provinces that grow them. At the same time, the Imperial Palace is rushing to decorate and put up the marriage-themed ornamentations everywhere, while cleaning crews are polishing every inch of the premises, so that already-pristine seeming metallic surfaces are turned to razor-sharp mirrors as they reflect Hel’s incandescent daylight.

  Food ingredients for huge feasts are being readied in bulk all around the city. Bakeries are creating nuptials-themed sweet pastries including the popular amrevet pies shaped like four-point stars and special others formed to resemble the Imperial Kassiopei sunburst symbol. Every kind of commemorative souvenir you can imagine floods the markets—most of them bearing Aeson’s and my likenesses. Popular music artists are getting booked to play venues, public parks are upgraded with stunning new floating light fixtures, and I’m told there will be fireworks, Atlantean style.

  Media feeds are filled with Wedding gossip and ridiculous chatter about us, interspersed with continuing mentions of this year’s Games Champions and my role as such. Incidentally, the Games officials have finally completed their work behind the scenes in regard to the official revelations of the Champion Wishes, and the big Announcement finally happens, taking over the news cycle for a few days until the Wedding fervor returns to dominate. The Champions are notified a day in advance via the private online site, and get to share the excitement with each other before the public does.

  The Top Ten have chosen predictably in some cases, and outrageously in others. Kokayi Jeet’s biggest wish, besides his Parade, is the purchase of land and buildings to remodel and erect his own orahemaeon, which translates to a dance entertainment venue—a cross between a dance club, a dance studio, and a mid-sized theater. He’s also in the process of improving the most rundown sections of Sky Tangle City, although his mamai is not letting him “throw iretar around” as she calls it, and wants him to focus on his new entertainment business.

  Kateb Nuletat’s patent for his neural prosthetic invention inspired by the medical needs of his wife Yeraz (who is unable to sing), goes through, and he is proceeding with the manufacture of this product. He also buys Yeraz a new house in an upscale neighborhood not too far from Phoinios Heights.

  Hedj Kukkait is opening a major hospital complex in the Northern Mithektet Province to benefit the underserved agricultural population. Apparently, he is one of the leaders of organized labor there, serving in the position of ertarat, which is an intere
sting combination of spiritual advisor, military discipline monk, non-denominational cleric, and medical professional.

  Leetana Chipuo has requested a pardon for her incarcerated father, and major renovation—including clean water—for her extended family’s small town in the Western Xeneret Province. Both requests are being granted.

  Most of us don’t know anything about Ukou Dwetat who came out of nowhere to win the Athlete Category vacated by Deneb Gratu. Turns out, Ukou has been living homeless on the streets in abysmal poverty, so his humble main request is permanent housing for himself and his two young brothers. His wish is easily provided, and Ukou’s new property in central Poseidon not only has a large house but a sizeable garden where he expects to plant “a thousand vegetables and never run out of food again.” With over ten million iretar in his account, that’s not likely going to be an issue.

  Mineb Inei has requested citizenship for his entire family—his many children, and for his wife who wants to run for political office which is only open to citizens. I find this detail surprising, since I assumed that the only way to become a citizen was to personally win the Games, to be born to parents who are both citizens, or by Imperial decree for exceptional service to Atlantida.

  In fact, there is a little-known loophole, pertaining to Champion wishes. Champions may request citizenship for others, but only for members of their immediate family such as spouse, children, siblings and parents. Since this is considered such a big deal (and is generally discouraged), in exchange for this they must agree to forfeit all other wishes. However, they do get to keep their share of the Common Earnings Grail—which is a good thing in Mineb’s case, since he is starting up a very interesting hybrid tech company for integrating Earth and Atlantean technology, and he will need funding.

  Rea Bunit has been admitted to the prestigious STA Lyceum and Academy of High Technology at Poseidon, and will now attend as an upper level student—a high-security level available only to citizens. In addition, since Rea’s husband is already a citizen, their daughter will now become a citizen automatically.

  Rurim Kiv has revealed himself as a stage magician illusionist, and his unique performance art will finally be admitted for display in the highest Poseidon cultural arts center, and granted eligibility for the full honors of his profession. Rurim also explained that his entire participation in the Games was part of an extended magic act—an intricate performance by means of which he wanted to show that the technique of illusion could serve him as well as any other skill in the Games.

  Brie Walton has already revealed to me her secondary, minor wish of having Logan Sangre be at her beck and call for three months. Now I find out that her bizarre “revenge wish” was very much conditional. Logan was formally asked by the Games officials if he was willing to go along with it, and he said yes—no coercion would’ve been involved had he refused. Knowing this—that Logan was not forced but actually agreed to this weirdness—makes me feel a little better on his behalf. Though it does make me question his better judgment. I suspect there’s some kind of guilt complex involved.

  Meanwhile, Brie’s main wish—release from Correctional and decent living arrangements—has been granted. And surprisingly, so has her other major wish of being reinstated as an Earth Cadet in the Imperial Fleet.

  “It has to be the military for me—Earth, Atlantis, somewhere. Either that or chasing squirrels—do they even have normal squirrels here? Probably elephant-sized ones. . . . I don’t know what else to do with myself,” Brie admits to me in private. “You might say, it’s in my blood . . . a long family tradition of service.”

  One of these days I will ask Brie to tell me more about herself—if she lets me.

  As for my own Champion wishes—the granting of other people’s wishes mostly, my many requests on behalf of Zaap, Chihar, Lolu, Tuar, Sofia, Fawzi—they are all carried out and finalized. Chihar gets his primary seat on the Tatenen Committee of Education as my permanent voting proxy after I buy it. I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him about it! Tuar gets his pardon—and I get to tell him that in person a day early, rendering him speechless and close to tears with gratitude, even though he maintains his stoic demeanor. Sofia’s family gets their land, and Fawzi gets his opera house, and they are in for a happy shock when the Announcement hits the public feeds. . . .

  Zaap’s posthumous wish for a nature preserve in the Northern Sesemet Province is a reality, with the land purchased in my name, and now all I need to do is visit it and formalize some things—but it will have to wait until after the Wedding. . . .

  As for Lolu—now that her mother has received her lifesaving medical care thanks to Aeson’s quick response, my only thing to do is to give her family a gift of financial assistance in honor of her fallen brother Khadram, and of course see her in person when she comes to work for me. Lolu has insisted she must repay me, and I of course insist she must get paid, so the ongoing memorial gift will serve to do it without infringing on her sense of honorable obligation. I’ve decided that Lolu will be my personal assistant—whatever that entails—and she’ll start her duties soon after the Wedding, once Aeson and I return to our residence at Phoinios Heights.

  There is one more wish that I request, and that one is for myself. . . . I’ve considered long and hard. And, I must admit, I’ve been tempted to ask for some outrageous and practically impossible things.

  Save Earth from the asteroid.

  Abolish the Games of the Atlantis Grail.

  Free all the pegasei.

  Make all Earth refugees citizens.

  Make all non-citizen Atlanteans citizens.

  Get me a salami sandwich.

  However, the madness passed. And so, my personal wish comes down to something realistic and doable.

  I request that, starting next year, the Games of the Atlantis Grail offer an additional new prize—an extremely high set of points awarded to Contenders who advance through every one of the Four Stages by killing the fewest people. Instead of a kill count it’s an “anti-kill” count. I know it’s a tiny, weird change in the greater scheme of Games things, but it is an incentive to reduce the murderous violence, and it is a start. . . .

  And so, the formal Announcement of all our Champion Wishes is posted in public. It immediately results in renewed Games attention, and the Champions get invited to a new round of interviews. Fortunately, because of my impending Wedding, I am spared this particular media ordeal, at least for the moment.

  Meanwhile, Aeson continues to quietly work with the Star Pilot Corps, in-between his Bridegroom duties. At night, I see him poring over data in the workroom, and interacting with the Command Pilots of the various battle barges in deep space, sending out new patrols and moving resources around the Helios system, regardless of the inactive state of the alien golden grid.

  The Imperator calls more than once during these days to inquire about the status of the translated and digitized scrolls from the mystery puzzle-boxes that we unlocked at the bottom of the ancient ark-ship. No, we haven’t forgotten them, but since little of substance has been found—or at least nothing that seems relevant to our situation with the ark-ship and the Ghost Moon—looking at those translations in detail has been downgraded in urgency. Even so, Aeson and I both try to spare a few minutes throughout the day to examine at least a few of them.

  I should note that both the Imperator himself and the First Priest Shirahtet, have pounced on the translations as soon as they were made available and read everything already . . . days ago. Furthermore, quite a few others in the small circle of individuals who have been granted access to the secrets and the ancient ark-ship, are at present studying the translations. But because Aeson and I succeeded in opening those boxes with our Logos voices, the Imperator insists we continue to participate in this secret group task.

  While all this is happening, my family and friends have been active in the Wedding preparations, as much as possible. Dad and George call every night at an agreed hour, and we have our interstellar family
chat (and eagerly count down the days) even as they continue to speed through the depths of the cosmos toward us. Gracie and Gordie come over for informal Palace meals in our Quarters, or at least call me regularly. Sometimes it’s just them, Aeson, Manala, and I, having a niktos meal, with the Imperatris dropping by for a quick visit with no prior warning—to check in on us without causing a fuss—which I appreciate more than she can imagine.

  My friends often join us at these things. The civilians among them are actually busier with day jobs than the Fleet Cadets who remain on alert for deployment and have no permanent assignments yet, so I get to see Dawn and Hasmik a little less frequently than Laronda, Chiyoko, and Blayne.

  Meanwhile, there’s the awkward continuing situation of Laronda and Anu. Every time they’re in the same room together, the weird tension is palpable, and we all know it, but neither Anu nor Laronda has made any other move to advance their relationship.

  During our private talks, Laronda admits to me that she is thinking about it all the damn time, but thinks the “troll boy jerk” may not be ready or mature enough for any kind of real emotional relationship.

  “Why don’t you ask him out?” I try to persuade her.

  But Laronda just shakes her head. “Um . . . no. Let’s just see how it goes.”

  As for Anu, his pasty white face turns different shades of his Quadrant color whenever Laronda is nearby, but he does little else, and hardly even mumbles a word to her unless absolutely necessary. However, he constantly stares at Laronda when she is turned away, and makes a point of being present whenever she’s here. It’s probably not a coincidence that Anu recently got a new gold hair dye, and his previously-sloppy ponytail is somewhat neater in appearance.

  Laronda has definitely noticed. I even catch a little smile on her face when she points it out to me while rolling her eyes.