Healers led me to Cevit Ion’s bed. I was a bit nervous. It had Challet, King Of Elshar Zheiea, Cevit Ion who was 7th Galaxy Minister. His clone’s back on Earth doing UN stuff. His brother Jirris just married Ghen. All of Challet’s Council is here, and Wasa Mai is visiting.
Jirris’ eyes were dark blue and went black when I took his hand. “Hi, I’m Bedelia. I’m on King Nitomahan’s Council.” Such a cold hand! I felt his struggle to project that healthy image, more than I felt from others. His hand’s icy! And sweaty. When he realized I could feel it, he trembled harder. I waved up ea fae and rubbed some on it.
“Why do healers follow you?” There was a slight waver in his voice. Sara, Cevit Ion’s wife, took his hand and put it in his Thordes buddy’s hand. That struck me as odd. His brother’s Cevit Ion.
I swallowed. Honesty, right? “Most of our Esta Fahoans are sick, and they hide it, like you are doing. Our healers are fearful and wish to heal everyone.”
Tears powdered down his cheeks and he turned light gray. “What do you see?”
“It is harder for me to see through your image. Maybe my Gift is more for Esta Fahoans. I am sorry this is uncomfortable for you, but your family is worried about you.”
“I wish nae to worry them, but I miss Pondaiash, my tutor! If he sees me, worry shall kill him!”
He was on the next bed with his wife, Leyla holding him and her two girls, all looking scared. “My son, I think worry is worse for him! Can his healer bring him, and will you let him see so your healer can help you?”
His hand got even colder! “I fear for him!”
I hugged him, and to my shock, he was a lot thinner than he looked! He clung to me and wept. “I think you are afraid of more than that. If you share your fears, healers can help you more.”
“How? When Cev became minister, I had to hide from everyone, so they nae knew of him. I could nae tell anyone of my family and had to live apart from them, and all of them are strange to me! Rish!” He grabbed for his Thordes buddy’s hand.
“It is hard to learn not to hide when you form the habit. I hide things, too.” Oh, that was awkward! But if he’s going to trust me, I have to let down some.
“You do? But you are Earthan! Did you have dangers because of one in your family?” His concern for me nearly folded me!
I almost laughed, but I did have dangers, because of Atherton. “I—worked for a slaver. Because of me, my parents and my best friends died.” My voice broke.
“O, I am sorry, Lady! Your husband comforts you?”
“I love Keiley, but he died in my arms, twice, and I’m scared!” I sobbed, and cried. Wasn’t going to do that!
But, like magic, as I held Jirris, his image quit and his healer, his friend Rish, put his hands on his head and sang healing! Rose, his wife, sang some comfort for me.
Pondaiash’s healer brought him. He wept when he saw Jirris in this condition, but his healer sang because he was hiding, too. Somehow, when I quit hiding, all of ‘em who heard my memories stopped, too! Even Cevit Ion needed healing from Ahstam. That’s one of his clones and he had been hiding, sitting next to him. Wow!
Because they couldn’t hide around me all these men, including King Challet, got healing and looked lots better!
Cevit Ion pulled Jirris into his arms. “O, I am sorry, Ba!”
“I love you, Cev! Perhaps I can feel safe now.” His wife and Pondaiash added their arms and all of them got the sunny yellow color back. Rish made them all share a platter of pastries. As they ate, healers sang and they put weight on! All of these men were thin, but you’d never know it because they hid it, even from their healers!
Jirris fell asleep, and so did Pondaiash. But Cevit Ion hugged me. “Lady, you have a great Gift! Nito is very fortunate to have you on his council!”
“I am happy that you have healing!”
“I wish for healing, for you and all of Esta Faho! You have trials even we nae have!”
Didn’t want to agree with that! I never had to worry about slavers coming to snatch me, as a kid. All the Elshar Zheien, whether on worlds of Rahn Estar or K’hasa Zha, or on Elshar Mashai, they all had that. Half of ‘em spent time with slavers. Horrible!
Challet pulled me into his lap and hummed. “Lady, I wish to reassure you. All of us have healers. All of our lost, they live again, because of Pirad. Know you of Marenalay? Zheien Marenalay and Elshar Marenalay are here with us—”
Pondaiash snapped his head up, from a sound sleep! “My liege, is Fa here? My family?”
Challet frowned. “I feared to upset you, but eae, they are all here! Asha, can he bear?”
The old healer picked him up. “Let me take him to them. Leyla, Becky, Cara, come!” They all ported to the next bed, and happiness from those Zheien relatives tingled on us. We all laughed!
So did Challet! “Lady Bedelia, you are well for us, all of us! Thank you, on behalf of our people! We all feared for our Pondaiash, for slavers took him, he escaped, and his ship crashed on Earth. This is how Leyla met him, with her family. They had to marry quickly. Asha feared all of this was too much for him, but feel his happiness, and that of his family? Now the burden of worry is gone from him! Jir, see this!”
The king let go of me and lifted Jirris, who startled awake. Blinked sleepily at the happy family, about 20 people, on the next bed. “O, happiness! Pon has his family! How he missed them, years! So many of Marenalay, gone from us, and all returned? O!” His happiness tingled on me!
He had Cevit Ion’s hand and Rish’s hand, and both of them giggled. I did, too.
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But, I looked at Wasa Mai and gasped. He was also watching, but with sad eyes. His image dropped because his attention was all on them. I moved over and took his hand, and before my eyes, his skin turned dark gray. Dripped green sweat-powder.
Those eyes looked at me, sunken eyes. “Oh, na fear, Lady Bedelia. Pirad recloned me, but he cannot compensate for years of poisons. You can see through it, but Pirad must heal me.”
Pirad appeared next to him and white light flashed, but he looked the same. No one else saw it. Pirad looked at me. “Do you know why I cannot heal him?”
Me? I shook my head.
Pirad sighed and his lips did the fan thing. “I will speak with Ella about his progs, then.” He popped over to her bed and startled her!
Wasa Mai hugged me. “I fear for my colonies, Child! Becky found Dosilian enemies here, and they are na of my level! Please, see all of my people. Healing will comfort them. Because you helped my friends, Cev and his family, I know you can help others in my kingdoms, also. Fear na for me. When I fall, I have bae to take my Reign.”
I hugged him harder. He’s dying?
“It will be a few years more. My bae are helping me with meetings. They are able now, but I have to be here because I am fahie to all of my people. I will always be that, even after my death. I lived many lifetimes because Pirad recloned me.
“Your husband is awake. Go and spend this time with him. You need it, don’t you?”
I nodded and ported over there.
Keiley looked good, though four healers held his limbs untwisted. His eyes went from dark to light when I ported over. “Dear wife! O, let us walk in a garden near here!”
We appeared in a huge garden near the sky blue palace. Except for the huge front doors with decoration, it looked like all the other buildings.
“O, the Kings House always has doors designed on Zhea~ from which all of us came. Nitomahan had ancestry in Esta Faho Prov of Zhea~, which moved first to Elshar Mashai, then to Esta Faho, which was—” He lost the happy smile. “I should know the name of our world!”
I hugged him. “It’s all right. Tell me about Esta Faho Prov.”
We walked in the garden. This is his Outer Circle, a virtual telepathic place, but it’s so real, it’s like we really are here. I enjoyed the flower scents without having to get close because Zheien senses are better than ours.
The feel of his straight hair in my fingers came from his and my senses at once and made us giggle. It’s blond on the ends and gradually turns brown at the roots. Every part of it feels my fingers, and he enjoys it. Forgot his upset about that name. “Each of our worlds came from a different prov of Zhea~, in our ancestors. We had different talents with mining, so scientists selected worlds that needed those talents.
“Rahn Estar had many scientists who knew mines with materials for shipbuilding and weapons.
“Some of ours worked with them, but knew mines like ours with materials for the most powerful weapons known. Our weapons facility was on our world before our colony came, established by Lisbaar that supplied them for the war. I know little of that. Farley taught me what I know.” He looked through to our bed, and Farley was talking with Ella. His head nodded occasionally and his face got orange. Keiley got embarrassed, too.
“Y’all shouldn’t be embarrassed, Love. This rest is good for all of you.”
His anguish about it got stronger and tears powdered his cheeks. “How I long for this to be over, this torture of herbs! I wish to wake and speak longer with you, Bedelia! We are strange to one another, and I wish so for you to know me more than one who barely speaks, as I was!”
I thought about him in Rainbow. “Love, we talked a lot there! You shared all your sorrows with me, and I did with you—” Not all of it. Scared to upset him too much, or his heart--
“Eae, you feared my death, but Love, I am strong. I have nae unwells of my heart. Please, nae hide from me!” Keiley sobbed and clung to me.
I opened up and let him see what I showed Cevit Ion’s family. That was hard, and I felt really dumb the way my crying sounds.
Like happened with them, he wasn’t able to hide any more, and Wulai gasped! He brought several other healers, including Pie, the older bald one. “Pienog, help me! I cannot help my wife!” Didn’t realize Pie was his shortname! Oops.
He hugged both of us, a bit awkward when healers still had all his limbs stretched out! “Nae this fear. You feel nae as much sleep near you today, eae? We decrease our herbs as you have more rest. Soon, you may walk in the festival. For now, I see more and can offer healing—”
“And, I shall sleep!” My poor husband sobbed!
“I can give nes if you promise to sleep long, after. You will have an hour with your Bedelia.”
“Only that? She needs to share many sorrows with me, and fears my death! O, that we never met, that I cause her this suffering!”
I gasped, and both of them looked at me. “Keiley, I never knew that I could be a good person, without our love! I probably would’ve let the slavers—” I had plans to help Atlanta Police more, before I found Nespa, but when I took him to Molly’s and knew Keiley was still alive, I decided to go to Rainbow. Because of my husband, I died there, not with slavers.
He saw it, and had a seizure! Oh, I felt awful! Healers let go, and I talked fast as his body went limp. “Keiley, I love you! I’ll be here! I won’t leave you!”
Pas rubbed the back of my straight, rusty hair. “Nae this fear. I am sorry he can nae wake—”
“How do I stop upsetting him like this!” I felt so exasperated with my emotions! I used to have more self-control!
Gently, Pas re-propped my husband and those healers untwisted his limbs again. This time, they put tnshey on him because they were splotchy and maroon with bruises! That vanished with the tnshey, thank goodness! Seeing that just upset me more.
Pie held a vial of the white stuff. “Breathe this. I know, is painful that his upset brings shakings, but you need this honesty. Nae can hide for long. Know that he is strong enough to bear it, knowing your sorrows. All who marry have trials, which are greater when sorrows are also great. Elshar Zheien have more than any. But know what I know, that both of you are strong enough to bear. Jos Keil spoke the truth when he told you his heart is well. He is mostly well, and healing. Nae of his unwells threaten his death now.”
“But, Pirad said, after recloning he can’t fix everything!”
“Pirad taught me how to adjust his progs, Lady. He will have problems with memory, and certain other unwells, but he will nae travel where progs can nae reach. He nae has the severe injuries that harmed him so in the Rainbow you remember. Pirad saved all of Esta Faho’s Burial Chambers—”
“Then, why aren’t they here? Esta Faho’s population is still 400, when other cities are bigger now!”
Pie sighed, and it rumbled on me. “Most of them were colonists with relatives in other colonies, so they returned to be with their families. Esta Faho had more who came to replace those who died. If they stayed, Esta Faho would be larger than K’hasa Zha!”
That made me feel a lot better! I’d thought Pirad couldn’t wake them up!
I didn’t want to leave my husband, but healers took me to other beds.
This building holds thousands! After about a hundred more, I went back to Keiley and hugged him for a nap.