| Subject: read this its really long but good |
Author:
Satan's Footman
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 17:01:37 09/13/01 Thu
well, a good friend of mine is writing this book, some of you know her, but her name will remain undisclosed for the simple fact that she would probly have a fit! and if you know the author please be respectful and leave their name anonomous.
The first time I entered Zell Prime I was 14 years old. My father had just died in battle a few days prior. He was a military man, a great general, and a very loving family man. He had six kids in all: myself, my twin (Kevin), my younger brother Owain, and my three younger sisters Faith, Hope, and Chastity. My dad picked my sister’s names, if you couldn’t tell. He was very oriented toward strong values, my father. And then one day he was fighting at the front lines and he died.
Since I was a very little girl I can remember getting little bits here and there of other peoples thoughts. Especially when they were upset. And Kevin and I have a link in which we can speak telepathically. When my father died I heard his last thoughts and broke down, having what is called an Event. Everyone in my town heard my Mind Voice at the same time scream “No!” and then became comatose until the Mage’s Council sent Doctor Leah Valenra to Contain me. Containment is when a powerful, older mage blocks a young mage’s powers until the young mage can get a handle on their powers.
So, at 14, my brother and I were moved to Zell Prime to train in the Mental Arts. Kevin was displaying telekinesis as well as mild Mind Sensing abilities. Zell Prime is the capital of our Empire, also named Zell. I was unconscious at the time, so I didn’t get to appreciate the beauty of the place until much later, when I could finally be left alone. Kevin never really missed Dad the way that I did, so when Dr. Valenra told him that he had to keep constant vigil over me, he was completely willing.
When I finally awakened and was able to be trusted on my own I met Mia. Amelia Kashevron was very far removed from the life that I knew. She used magic that was based on the powers of Water. Her hair, which she wore chin-length, was a blue that was nearly black and her eyes were dark purple. They seemed to slide right past whatever pretense you were using and get to your heart without more than a second’s passing. She helped me get through my first years at Academy. Back then Leah only had us three and Liv. Olivia Contessa was very innocent and unassuming. She always made me feel as if I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was going on. Liv was going to become an incredible Healing Adept. We all knew it. And a decent defensive mage as well. Liv had blond hair, shoulder length that was curly and sweet. And blue eyes, to boot. She was perfect looking in every aspect. And I’m sure the fact that she had huge breasts helped.
So for a while it was we four, living and working together, trying to help eachother train. Amelia and I became lovers after some time, and we stayed that way for a few years. Eventually our relationship became that of close friends. After about a year Benny Kenvazya came to the Academy. None of us actually knew her first name. It was always an enigma among us. She was comatose for a while after her Event and we all helped her through the stresses of it all. Her powers were founded on Fire. Her hair was a very pale pink and so were her eyes. From far away her eyes looked sort of brown, in a way. But when she got upset those eyes would blaze and her hair would darken nearly to black. She rarely talked to the rest of us, but when she did it was always with a perverted or funny remark of some kind.
Nate came to us after his Event some time after Benny. Nathan Wells was born to a farming family in the middle of nowhere on the outer rim of the Empire. He was the biggest man I had ever seen, even when he was only 14, his age when he came to us. He had 6 older brothers and 7 older sisters. He was about ¼ of an inch shy of 6’ 6”. He was built with wide shoulders and a naturally strong body. He was also very well versed in his literature. Though when it came to common sense, he was at a loss. Nate used the magic of Stone, or Earth.
After Nate it was Levin O’Daniel. We knew very little about him as well. Well, except that he enjoyed practical jokes. He and Liv had a few tussles over the years on the subject. Levin was blessed with devilish charm, a winning smile, pale green hair and emerald green eyes. His gift was the use of Wind magic.
And now we come to the last member of our rag-tag band. But before I tell you about her, let me first say this. When she came to us I was 17 (as was Kevin, obviously), Olivia was 18, Levin was 16, Nathan was 17, and Benny was 17 as well. We were all very young, though the last of our number was the youngest. She brought with her a world that was far beyond what we could understand or even try to control. I think that it was fate that led us to all come together when we did. Oh, and by the way, my name is Andrea Stardust. And this book that I’ve written is really about the youngest of our group, Lynn Kai Mei Zelleraine.
It was nearly midnight. Everyone else was in bed, asleep, snoozing away while the world passed him or her by in the night. It was easiest for me to concentrate when the suite was unoccupied or sleeping, mainly just because the daily dramas of our teenage/young adult lives made everyone edgy and oversensitive. And, quite frankly, it’s hard for me to read when I can hear the racing thoughts of six other people. So I sat in the common room of our suite and proceeded to try desperately to absorb my Geometry lesson. Math was most definitely not my favorite subject. But I was also distracted by the drone of muddled thoughts coming from whoever was in the room behind me, sleeping. Leah had forbidden us to see the new one at all. They’d had her drugged to the gills, as far as I knew from my Mind Probing. The poor girl’s parents had just been killed. She was having nightmares about it. I sighed, too preoccupied to actually get any studying done. Maybe I could fake sick and study all day for the test I was going to have to take when I got back.
I set down my Geometry book and walked into the sleeping girl’s room, carrying a candle with me as I walked in. There weren’t any candles in her room, so I only had the one to see by. I was struck speechless by her beauty. Her hair was the color of burnished gold. Her face was that of an angel: not sweet or innocent, but mature and knowing and caring. The blankets were pulled up over her breasts and her arms were situated so her hands were over her abdomen. I took one of them, feeling the cold of the soft skin. Her hands were long and the tips of the fingers tapered at the end. With my left hand I held her right hand and with my right hand I pressed the tips of my index and middle fingers to her forehead. I closed my eyes and sunk into her mind slightly. I found the connection that was triggering her nightmares and cut it off. I took my fingers away from her forehead just as she was starting to wake. Her eyes fluttered open and I was struck by the incredible colors; forest green flecked with silver, gold and brown that were all seeming to glow with their own light. She tried to get up and I pushed her gently back down.
“Where am I?” She asked. Her voice was the voice of a practiced bard who had trained her voice for many years to sound beautiful. I helped her to sit up and helped her to drink of the water in the pitcher at her bedside. As I did this I replied,
“Doctor Leah Valenra brought you here. She will be your teacher once she feels you can start training. She put blocks on your powers so you won’t hurt anyone or yourself. My name is Andrea Stardust, but you can call me Reah. Mind telling me what yours is? I don’t bite, I swear. Well . . . hard . . .” She giggled weakly and said,
“I’m Countess,” she winced at the title, “Lynn Kai Mei, of house Zelleraine. And you really didn’t tell me where I am.” She was obviously very astute. Her tone was forced into cheeriness. When I quickly swept over her mind on the surface I got one thought, :I will not cry in front of a stranger.: repeated over and over again as she attempted to make small talk. I said,
“Well, we’re situated in the Inner Ring of Old City, right next to the Imperial Palace and-” She sighed and put a finger over my lips to silence me. Her expression was one of exasperation.
“So basically I can assume that we’re in the Imperial City.” Her tone was bland. I could see a transformation taking place. She was slowly holing herself up behind a tapestry of politeness and a wall of stone. But there was really nothing I could do. I felt an attraction to her that I couldn’t deny or resist. And she was emotionally closing down.
“Yes, you can. I’m sorry, when I get in on a subject I take it to strange new places. Where is your region located geographically?” My voice sounded forced, even to my own ears. But Lynn replied personably enough,
“We’re down south a little bit, in the plains. All you can see, wherever you look, are tall grasses and the occasional tree every so often; the plain is a lot like the ocean. Well, it’s-” Leah burst in through the door. The venerable teacher had wispy white hair and kind silver eyes. Well, they were usually kind, when she wasn’t upset. Now they had gone as red as blood. She asked in a whisper,
“Andrea, what the hell are you doing, interrupting the sleep of an unstable Magic user? I thought you had more sense than that!” I recoiled at her harsh words. Lynn rose her chin defiantly. She then spoke in a voice that had been engineered to freeze adults on the spot and let them know just whom was superior,
“Well, since I’m so unstable, why are you in here, huh? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll have an episode?” Leah’s face lost its color. But it was obvious to me that Leah had been warned by someone about this voice, because she replied,
“Unlike some people, I feel a sense of duty toward the weak.” Lynn smiled cruelly and her eyes narrowed.
“It’s a good thing, then, that I am strong enough to control the urge to flatten you against the far wall, isn’t it?” I took her hand, drawing her attention. She looked at me, some of her anger dissolving. That expression wrenched my heart and played on my heartstrings. I said,
“Leah, please go. I’ll talk to you in a moment.” I kept my eyes locked on Lynn’s. I was sending waves of calm to her. Leah left, shutting the door with a huff. I said, “I’m sorry that that was such a bad introduction to the doctor. She really is a good person. She is just trying to look out for your best interests. Well, and mine. She was afraid that I would excite you and your emotional triggers would make you have another Event. Here,” I pushed her gently down into the bed and pressed my index and middle fingers against her forehead, “now is the time for rest.” I sent the suggestion of sleep. She blinked and then drifted back into a dreamless oblivion.
I stepped out into the common room with my book and the candle in hand. Leah pounced on me immediately, “That was a foolish thing to do, Andrea! You could have had the entire palace down around our ears in a moment! With a blink we would be surrounded by rubble, if not dead!”
“Stop yelling, Doctor Valenra,” she winced at the formal title “or she’ll wake up. I managed to give her a Sleep Suggestion but that doesn’t mean that she’s not gonna be able to wake up. And she was having a nightmare, for your information. Do you remember when Benny had that bad nightmare and engulfed the entire library in flame? I didn’t feel like having a repeat.” Leah was taken aback. I continued, “I know it wasn’t responsible to stay in her room alone, but she’s closing down emotionally. And the only Mind Healers are either so old that no one lets them walk alone for any reason, are too young to do anything more than a Happy Suggestion, or are off curing insane dignitaries.”
“You’re still young yourself, Andrea,” Leah replied. But by her tone alone I could tell that I was about to win. I pointed out,
“But you have said before that I’m much more powerful than the average Mind Healer. And besides, it wasn’t as if I was trying to dive in Deep Wall!” Deep Wall is the term used when a Mind Healer/Censor goes past the conscious mind to the subconscious to make rights to hard-wired habits and tendencies. “I was only trying to ensure that something would be left to heal once they get back.” Leah sighed. My argument was made, and now she was about to recognize that I was right. She said,
“Alright. The point is moot, at the moment. What I’m really worried about is you taking it too far.” I stared at her, flabbergasted. She continued, “She is a very beautiful child. And as far as I could tell, you were attracted to her. She’s a breeder, Reah, and royalty to boot. And I can remember the last lover you took . . .” She trailed off. I felt myself blanch. I could also remember that little escapade. The girl I had been with (one Aurora Clifton) would take me to her bed whenever it was convenient for her. And would deny being a lesbian up and down until she became blue in the face. I walked over and embraced my teacher.
“Don’t worry, great teacher mine. I learned my lesson the first time, didn’t I? I didn’t go back to her, right?” She returned my embrace with a chuckle. Her robes smelled of rosemary and lavender. It brought back many memories of crying in the arms of the woman that had become so much like my mother. She held me at arm’s length and looked me over. Finally she said,
“You’ve grown up so much over these past 3 years, Reah. You carry yourself with so much more pride than many people. Most women don’t take care of themselves the way they should. Just remember that I’m proud of you, and of your accomplishments. Now go to bed, my little scholar. I’ll write an excuse for you for tomorrow’s classes, all right? And we’ll get to cracking on your Geometry studies. Maybe some mind imagery will help you.” She pushed me toward my door. I blew her a kiss and she laughed, catching it with her right hand and putting it over her heart.
When I entered my room Kevin was still awake. He was lying on his side away from the door, staring at the wall. I walked to him and lay my hand on his shoulder.
“Kev, what’s wrong?” He refused to look at me. A tear slipped down his cheek. He replied,
“I can’t sleep again. I think I’m about to invest in those sleeping pills everyone is talking about.”
“No, those will just mess with your head, Kev. You need to purge whatever it is that’s bothering you! Tell me about it.” He sniffed and then sobbed,
“It’s Levin!” I sighed and climbed into the bed. I’d known for some time that Kevin liked him, but as far as everyone knew Levin was straight. I held my brother as he wept. He sobbed, “He’s leading me around on a leash, like a little helpless puppy dog! It’s not fair! He knows that I like him but he endlessly flirts with Olivia! Playing practical jokes on her and all of that!” I stroked his hair away from his face and asked,
“Why don’t you just confront him? I know that you’re nervous about the whole thing, but you should let him know what’s going on. It’ll make you feel better, I swear. You really have to start taking risks, you know? You’re never going to find someone if you don’t start looking.” He turned over and embraced me. He said,
“Thank you. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“No, you’ll do it now.” He looked me in the eyes and nodded. He knew, after so many years of listening me, that when I said to do something immediately, he should. He got out of bed with a little grunt and walked to Levin’s room. I put myself behind Kev’s eyes and watched the action. Kevin entered the room and Levin looked up, startled, from his reading. Levin’s hair was a very pale green and his eyes were a wise emerald. Kevin’s heart rate jumped through the roof. Levin asked,
“Hey, what can I do for you?” Kevin stuttered something. I Mind Spoke, :Take a deep breath and don’t worry about sounding perfect and witty.: He did as he was told and began,
“I can’t take any more of these mind games!” Levin rose one eyebrow and set aside his book.
“Kevin, come in,” his tone was kind and a little sad. Kevin did as he was directed. Levin said, “Come here, and sit down.” Kevin sat. His heart rate doubled even higher, pounding against his ribcage steadily. I was really afraid for him. Levin said, “I only pretend to be interested in Olivia to keep Nate from trying to move in on her. She’s afraid of a real relationship, and she isn’t ready for it. Nate thinks that he doesn’t have a chance with her because of me. It’s hard on him, but it keeps everything in a balance. There is nothing going on between me and her.”
“But . . . do you like her?”
“No! Good grief, man, of course not! Listen,” he laid his hand over Kevin’s heart. Kevin jumped a little at the sensation. Levin took Kevin’s hand and put it over his own heart. My eyes widened when I felt the heart beat beneath my brother’s hand. Both of them were as scared as hell. Levin said, “I like you. I’ve liked you since we met!” His cheeks mantled with a blush. I giggled and felt like jumping up and down. Kevin asked,
“Are you a . . .”
“Virgin? Well . . . not to women . . .” Kevin laughed. It took the edge off of the tension in the room. Levin suddenly kissed him. I was taken aback by the whole thing, as was Kevin. But Kevin kissed him back eagerly and reached his hand underneath Levin’s shirt. I waited a little while to make sure that Levin wasn't going to bring their activities to a halt. When he didn't I withdrew from Kevin's mind. I slowly probed into Mia’s mind. She was asleep, dreaming about something. I made a few changes and then entered her Dreamscape. Every mind has it’s own plane within which other people can enter the mind or can be pulled into. Mia’s Dreamscape is, as a general rule, a swirling mass of light on which you can “stand.” So I slid into her Dreamscape and there she was, scowling at me. She asked,
“What is it? I was having a good dream!” She smiled conspiratorially and winked. I sighed dramatically and looked down at my feet. We both burst into laughter. “But seriously, Reah, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Kevin has a new lover.”
“Really? Who?”
“Levin.” She gasped and then giggled.
“Finally!” I smiled at her as she laughed with delight. Mia really was too good-natured sometimes. “I’ve been waiting for Kev to get up the courage! What did I tell you? I knew Levin wasn’t straight! And it’s kind of cute how their names rhyme . . .” Before she could start chattering mindlessly I interjected,
“I talked to the new girl.” Mia stopped talking. She detected the note of loss in my voice and her face fell. “Her name is Lynn Kai Mei Zelleraine.” Mia gasped.
“Isn’t house Zelleraine the Imperial Protectorate?”
“Yes. And what’s more, her parents were recently assassinated. She’s the Countess now.” Mia mulled this over for a while. She had made the transition to psychologist and was now reading things through. It took her a little while to make all of the connections but when she did her expression was serious and a little angered.
“She’s a breeder. And you’re attracted to her. Reah, ever since that last tryst with that stupid bitch Aurora you’ve been withdrawing from the rest of us. I know about how you haven’t been sleeping and you’ve actually been doing your homework in the midnight hours. I know that everything seems to be coming together for everyone else but you, but you will find the one for you.” I sighed deeply, not really trusting my voice. I finally said,
“It’s not a big deal. I’ve always known that I wouldn’t have a life-mate, Mia. I just thought I would tell you about the recent developments so you’ll be prepared for the differences in everyone’s behavior.” She sighed. She knew that when I was in this sort of mood that it was pointless to try and muscle me into talking. So she said,
“Alright, Andrea. But I want you to know something: Kevin is worried about you. Olivia is worried about you. Nate is worried about you, Levin is worried about you, I’m worried about you, and even Benny is worried about you. Every five minutes someone is coming up to me and asking, ‘What’s wrong with Andrea?’ and I have to look at the expression on their face when I say, ‘I don’t know,’ and they know that I don’t. Benny worrying about you, that bothers me. Even she, the Empress of the Night-Time Fiascoes, cares about you.” Benny was known for her “just-sex-no-emotions” policy, her main survival tactic.
“Look, I’m just a little down in the dumps. Nothing is getting any better. You know how I don’t go to the training sessions? That would be because there is nothing for me to learn. I haven’t learned anything in the past month, Amelia. I’m just tired of going to my academic classes knowing that I don’t have anything to look forward to when I get home at night.” Mia looked down at her hands. She hadn’t had a lover in a long time; but then again, Mia was never the type of person who needed others. She had no problem being along with herself for prolonged periods of time.
“Please, just try to spend some time with us every so often, ok?” Her eyes were pleading. I tried to smile and couldn’t. She took my hand with a little sigh.
“Look, I’ll try. That’s all I can promise, because I won’t lie to you. I really like Lynn and it’s going to kill me inside knowing that I can’t have her. And when the other kids tell her about me it’ll all be over. She won’t want anything to do with me. If I can’t pursue a relationship I would at least want her friendship. And she’s emotionally closing down. Setting up masks and walls and complicated explanations for why it would be better to avoid people. And all of the Mind Healers are gone. Doing ‘high level’ work. Life is getting me down, Mia, and I don’t know how long it’s gonna be before I lose my marbles.” Through this speech my voice had started to thicken and at the end of it I was crying. Mia tried to embrace me and I drew away. She had a hurt expression on her face.
“Reah, just don’t hole yourself away from the world. We all love you, in our own ways. Just stop and think about that before you draw too far away.” Then she drew away and the world was black. I stood for a while in the darkness, trying to pull back into myself, trying to fall asleep. When sleep finally did come I had nightmares. When I awoke that morning I couldn’t remember what they had been about. But the case on my pillow was damp and my blankets were coiled around my legs as if I’d been struggling and thrashing in my sleep. I looked at the time candle on my nightstand and saw that it was midday. I got up from bed and went out into the common room. Lynn was lying in a semi-sitting position on the couch, propped up by several pillows. She was reading a book. Her hair was tied back loosely from her face in a bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were tired but somehow alert at the same time. When I walked in she looked up at me and smiled weakly. I took a chair and dragged it over. She said,
“Good morning. Well, afternoon, actually.” In full daylight I noticed some features that hadn’t been obviously the day before. She had a beauty mark on the left side of her face, a small black dot that added some character to her features. She looked very fragile and fine boned, even more so now that full light was on her face. But she seemed cheery enough, so I giggled and replied,
“Well, staying up until all hours of the night will do that to a person, I guess!” She laughed with me and set aside her book. She said,
“I had a chance to meet everyone this morning. I don’t quite remember their names very well yet, they were in a hurry to get out the door, but I did get an impression of their personalities. Your twin brother, Kevin, he’s a lot like you. You two have a similar presence about you.” I smiled and replied,
“Well, we are twins! But seriously, we do have a lot of the same mannerisms. I don’t know if it’s from being raised together or what.” She laughed and shook her head. She said,
“I have enough siblings to know that that isn’t the way it works out. I think that you two are just very similar. Twins usually are. At court there was this one family, the Denravue, with a batch of quintuplets.” I gasped and asked,
“Five kids?”
“Yes, and those girls were so annoying, you don’t even understand. They were all blond of hair and blue of eye and completely self-centered. But they all wore different colors, and it was the same color everyday. I don’t know if they coordinated that on purpose, but it was more annoying than their collective personality. And all of their names rhymed. Sarah, Kara, Dara, Lara and Astara. I half expected them to come into court and announce in autonomous voices, ‘We are Ara.’” I burst into laughter and couldn’t stop laughing until my stomach hurt and my eyes were watering in thin rivulets down my face. I ended up falling out of my chair. When I could finally breathe I got back up and wiped the tears off of my face. Lynn was still laughing at me a little from my previous fall.
“Are you ok?” She asked through her laughter. I took a deep breath and tried to make my face serious, which made us both laugh even harder. She started to get up to help me to my feet and ended up falling on the floor. So we lay on the floor giggling like mad for several minutes, not even attempting to get up. It was obviously futile to try. When I could finally speak I said,
“I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.” She looked over at me and said,
“I’ve never laughed that hard before in my life! Seriously, you should have seen the look on your face!” She giggled a little at the memory. I said,
“Well, it’s not like I meant to fall out of my chair!” She shook her head and got up off of the floor. She gave me a hand up and sat back down on the couch. At that very moment my stomach growled, demanding food. Lynn rose one eyebrow and looked at my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my abdomen and said, “So what, I’m hungry! Geez! Do you want something while I’m up?”
“No, I already ate. The girl with the pink hair made a really good breakfast . . . Benny! Is that her real name?” I laughed and said,
“No, it’s not, but none of us know what her first name actually is. She refuses to tell us. It’s sort of a running joke.” She was lying about something. Benny usually cooked breakfast; it was her thing that she did. Was the food bad? Or was it just that she had refused to eat anything, or lied to them and told them she would eat a little later? I walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the cold closet. When I came back in Lynn was sitting cross-legged on the couch with a few blankets heaped upon her lap. I sat down and as I was taking a bite out of my apple Lynn asked hurriedly,
“Is Kevin gay?” I nearly choked. She rushed on, “I mean, I know that that’s not a really great question to ask someone when you’ve just met them and whatever but I just got the impression and . . .” Was she that astute? I could see a little of Mia’s ability to read people in Lynn. Well, it was actually a lot. I could see that she was very talented at making inferences about people. And it occurred to me that she didn’t seem embarrassed about living in the same quarters with a gay man. In fact, she really only seemed embarrassed about asking a personal question so presumptuously.
“Yes he is.” She leaned forward, waiting for me to continue speaking. “Why do you ask?” She smiled a little and said,
“Well, it seemed to me that he and Levin exchanged a few too many meaningful glances. I mean, Levin was flirting with the blond girl and whatnot but I really didn’t get anything more than a best-friends feeling from it. And when I looked over at the blue-haired girl . . . Amelia, I think . . . she gave me a look as if to say, ‘Yep, they’re lovers, but don’t say anything about it, please.’ So I kept my mouth shut and chitchatted with Nathan. He really isn’t overtly smart in the common-sense department. He has a very expansive vocabulary, though, and that impressed me. Amelia is bisexual, right?”
I could feel the blood drain out of my face. She had analyzed everyone in the span of 5 minutes and had figured out a pretty big amount of secret information. Amelia would have taken about a week to figure out all of the things Lynn had puzzled out in around 15 minutes of contact and the past few hours worth to think about all of it. There was literally no blood left in my face. I could feel my hands start to shake. I could feel my downfall coming at break-neck speed. I wanted to dive in Deep-Wall, erase her memory and change all of her perceptions. I felt the urge to do it so badly that I had to put a mental clamp on my powers and push them back to the farthest depths of my mind.
She must have taken my expression to mean yes, because she continued, “She had the demeanor of someone who loves the whole of humanity in her own way. She was trying to figure me out. She kept asking me questions about my life before coming here. Does that sound odd at all?” I decided that I would have to tell as much truth as I could if I was going to keep everything buckled down. I could see that Lynn was going to turn our lives up side down.
“No, that sounds like her. Mia has a tendency to read people. She likes to understand people, that’s all. It isn’t like a personal thing, you know what I mean?” She nodded and I continued, “Well, the people at school know about Kevin and Amelia, so it’s not like you’ve stumbled onto anything new. Amelia and Kevin are good people, even if-”
“Oh, you must think I’m a bigot! No, it’s not as if I’m going to treat them differently just because of the people they’re attracted to. God, I feel so unbelievably awful right now . . .”
“It’s ok, don’t worry about it! It’s just force of habit for me to assume, you know? They've gone through a lot because of their sexuality and I just don’t want to see them endure any more than they have to. The speech I was about to launch into wasn’t personal. Forgive me?”
“Well . . . I don’t know,” she said playfully, “I’m kidding. It’s ok, don’t worry about it.” I felt a glimmer of hope. At least she wouldn’t hate me! “Why are you still here?”
“Leah said I could stay in today and she would write a note for me. I’ve been having problems in Geometry. It’s not my best or favorite subject, to be sure.”
“I’m pretty good with mathematics. Why don’t you bring over your book and I’ll help you with it?”
“Sure, thanks!” I ran to my room and brought back the book. She took the book and leafed through the pages I was studying. After a few minutes of thought she set aside the book. She looked at me, contemplating. Then she took my hands and said,
“If I help you with this you have to promise not to say anything to Leah because she only thinks I can use telekinesis, because that was what I used in my Event or whatever you call it.” I stalled for a few seconds before nodding. She closed her eyes ad said, “Close your eyes, too.” Then I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Tall grasses swayed in a clean, brisk wind. I could see green grass and blue sky going on forever. Lynn was standing beside me, her white nightgown swaying in the wind. I looked down at my nightgown and saw that mine, too, was swaying. I could smell the clean air and a gentle flower. I looked down and saw freesia at my feet. My feet were bare and I could feel the grass beneath them. This was Lynn’s Dreamscape. I looked at her with wide eyes. I could actually feel the warmth of the sun on my face.
“How did you construct this place? It’s so real.” There was genuine awe in my voice. I said, “I’ve known Adept Class Mind Sensors who could barely manage to change the color of their Dreamscape, let alone create a place like this. It’s amazing!” She blushed at the compliment and smiled hugely. Her face seemed to light up as bright as the sun when she smiled. All of her emotional transitions were dramatic and extreme from one subtle emotion to the next. It was almost a contradiction. But I could feel my heart swell up in my chest and felt a smile of my own spreading across my face. And what I was saying was true. Most Dreamscapes are a vague underlying echo of the person that created it. This . . . this was pure art. She said,
“Well, it’s not really that hard . . . the other people I’ve had in here didn’t think much of it . . .”
“Well then, they were blind and stupid and completely without sensory perception. There are so many details . . . I absolutely love this place. Is this like where you come from? Your province?”
“Yeah, it is. The castle is nice and all, but I’ve spent all of my happiest times outside, out on the plain, in the wild. Whenever it was raining outside or I couldn’t leave my room for whatever reason I escaped back to here. My family members all thought I was the perfect courtesan, and yeah, I guess I’m pretty comfortable in that setting, but I feel most at home in the stillness and the quiet. I feel safer, if that makes any sense.” I thought about it. She did look more herself out on the plains, as if she were meant for the life that the wild presented. She sat down demurely on the grass and I followed suit. She sat down with a thud, whereas I tried to be slightly graceful. But we both unconsciously situated our skirts so they wouldn’t go up and show our underwear. Then Lynn started conjuring images of triangles and lines and started showing me all of the formulas put into use. It took me a while to start grasping what she was doing, at first, but I did eventually get it. I had a sort of mental click go off in my head, or a bell, something of that nature, that signaled my understanding. When we finally finished it was an hour later and we had gone through my entire Geometry book. I exclaimed,
“I think my brain is fried!” She giggled and replied,
“Your brain is fried! Geez! Most of the time I was trying to remember my old math classes!” I threw a handful of grass at her and cried indignantly,
“It’s not my fault that you’re a genius!” She squealed and started trying to get the grass out of her mane of hair. She glowered at me and threw a handful back at me. I jumped up off of the ground and started brushing off my nightgown. She smiled smugly. “You’re mean!”
“No, you’re the one who started it. So,” she stuck out her tongue and blew raspberries at me. She looked away with her chin turned up slightly. She looked so full of herself! I decided she needed a lesson in adolescent warfare. I launched myself onto the ground and started tickling her. She immediately started struggling and fighting and giggling.
“Stop it!”
“No way!” We rolled along the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. But then she got the upper hand and pinned me on the ground. We were both panting. My hair was a mass of tangles and grass and leaves. She said,
“Surrender.” Sweat rolled down her cheeks. I could feel sweat on my own skin. A wind blew and we both shivered convulsively at the same time.
“Um . . .” I pretended to consider, “Never!” I took the top and started tickling her again. She cried,
“I surrender, I surrender!”
“I take no prisoners!” She screamed and started struggling harder. She managed to wriggle away and sat, panting, in the grass. I collapsed into a heap beside her, staring at the clouds flowing across the sky. “You are a formidable opponent, Lynn, but you still have much to learn.”
“Yes, and soon the student will usurp the master.” She said this with complete confidence. I turned on my side and started picking grass and leaves out of her hair. She said, “It’s no use to try and do that. Besides, when we go back to the real world they won’t be there. We’ll both be drenched in sweat, but the grass and the dirt won’t be there. Oh my God! You have a streak of dirt on your nose!” She exclaimed. She licked her finger and cleaned it off expertly. I wrinkled my nose and said,
“Ewwwww!” She snorted and rolled her eyes. I laughed and said, “You sounded like a pig!” She socked me in the arm and asked,
“Are you ready to go?”
“No, but we should get cleaned up before the others get back for dinner."
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 