Elliza lounged in her sitting room, back to the fire that warmed the space, a drink in hand, not the wine, which was now chilling in a bucket of snow. That had been a gift from her guest.
Delivered with the regular shipment from Earth two days prior and brewed, if his note was to be believed, by him, from cherries he had grown on his property, which she would open and sample with him upon his arrival.
At each corner of the room stood a silent guard. Silent because her honor guard took a vow of silence. Some particularly fanatical members had their vocal cords severed, primarily holdovers from her grandmother’s time.
Her mother had discouraged the practice, and she had forbidden it altogether.
It was all ceremony, really; she had wanted to be rid of the whole silly affair; her guards could protect state secrets and provide conversation, Goddess sake, they were released from their vow when they retired. But those old fools in parliament had balked at ending a time-honored tradition, and it hadn’t been worth expending the political capital.
Under normal circumstances, she would, in this season, at this time of night, be overseeing a session of parliament. But mercifully, she had more important tasks to attend to. Hosting a foreign dignitary, a male foreign dignitary. Yes, a far better use of her time, that.
Her drink was empty; she considered another, but at that moment, the door opened, admitting a messenger. The woman entered, offered the necessary supplication, then. “If it pleases her Magnificence, guests from Earth have arrived seeking her gracious hospitality.”
She stood, rolling her shoulders, and gestured for a guard to bring the mantel that completed her regalia.
“We should be pleased,” she said. “To receive them in Our throne room.”
“Yes, Magnificence,” the woman said and scurried out of the room.
This was all formality; Lisril knew where they would be received, and, knowing her temperament, Elliza would have to hurry so as not to be beaten to the throne room and save herself the embarrassment of being late to receive them.
Besides, she was eager to meet this man, this Alex; he was exceptional. She knew this, despite having never made his acquaintance, because he had, in a matter of mere months, charmed Lisril Dessier away from the just rewards of a lifetime of loyal service, as well as the inheritance of her mother’s sargenty.
The same who had for sixty-two years been a bachelorette and celibate and made sport of rebuffing with great viciousness those men who shared with her the secret smiles and fluttering of lashes at which men were so adept.
All the while daring, bold and bright as the sun, any woman to share her outrage and choose the time and means of her conveyance to the throne of saints.
A mistake Elliza had never made, despite having occasionally shared this outrage. For, by the age of twelve, she had seen twenty-one women lay down the gauntlet and be laid low with terrifying dispatch, as well as a twenty-second, who had made the mistake of dispensing with decorum and attacked Lisril on the spot.
The guard placed her mantle over Ellizza’s shoulders, and she tossed her dark blue hair over her shoulder, straightening her gown, a flowling orange piece, which left her arms bare and complimented her light blue skin, and the downy fur on her shoulders.
Elliza made her way, not by the halls held in common by the palace but rather by her private path through the meeting room and out behind the throne.
She sat and waited but a moment, and the massive arched doors swung silently open, admitting Lisril and her man.
He was tall and regal and had long hair that shimmered in the low light of her audience chamber.
They approached the dais, he bowed, shallowly, and she did nothing at all, looking straight ahead as though not having seen her, though, Elliza noted, her eyes and ears flicked this way and that, making quick tally of both the four guards behind her and the two hidden in the throne room’s shadows.
It suddenly occurred that if any woman could assassinate an Empress and live to tell the tale, it was this one.
Such a shame to lose her service, but at least it had been lost to an ally.
She spread her arms in greeting. “We are pleased to welcome you into Our house.”
He lifted his head. “It’s an honor to be received.”
She blinked; he spoke, not in the strange, slightly vertigo-inducing voice of the alien witch ear, which she found distasteful despite their having been sanctified, but in the delicate, lilting tones of the imperial cant, which he spoke with an intriguing accent.
She realized her slip and, with a practiced mental flourish, reapplied her mask. “You speak our language.”
“From a certain perspective, I’m the only one who does,” he said, smiling mysteriously.
She raised a brow. “how so?”
He shook his head. “Forgive me, just a bit of an irony I’ve discovered; perhaps we can talk more about it if we have an opportunity to sit together.”
She inclined her head. “It will surely be a scintillating conversation.”
She stood, descending the dais and coming to rest before him, offering her hand.
“On the topic, We would be honored to share Our table with m’lord this evening.”
He smiled, placed his hand in hers, allowed her to draw it up to her lips, then, unexpectedly, closed his fingers around her hand, and mirrored the gesture.
A fascinating little mockery of feminine chivalry. Yet, Elliza detected neither guile nor malice in his gaze and so took it in stride.
“Now that you mention it,” he said. “I am a little hungry.”
“Then it shall be Our pleasure to provide, come,” Elliza said.
She turned and began back the way she’d come. It was, she could admit, a little disappointing that, despite being his host, she hadn’t the occasion to offer the pleasant nicety of leading him.
But he was wed, and she had done nothing to warrant requesting the honor. Lisril would likely allow it, but the dignity of her station did not. The drawbacks of sovereignty.
They approached her sitting room, and at the door, Elliza stopped, glanced at her guards.
“Leave us,” she said. “And inform the kitchens that We should be please to be served in Our sitting room.”
If her guards had any objections, they weren’t expressed; instead, the women saluted, fist over heart, and executed their Empress’ desire.
She opened the door, allowed her guests to precede her, closed it, and caught Lisril up in a tight hug.
The older woman returned the gesture. “It’s been too long, hey Eli?”
Elliza could feel the tools of a lady’s trade beneath the heavy coat Lisril wore. “I see you’ve come prepared.”
Lisril stepped back, chest swelling with pride, and took her man’s hand. “I’m a wife now, and a wife must be.”
Elliza grinned; it was good to see Lisril finally wed; she’d never complained but also never seemed completely satisfied as a bachelorette.
“Well,” Elliza said with a clap. “Introduce us, so we can sit down and chat, it really has been too long, and I’ve yet to find another guard willing to break the rules.”
Lisril laughed. “Yes, your Magnificence, this,” she nudged her man forward. “Is Alex, the love of my life, chronically disobedient, oh, and something of an artificer, I suppose.”
“Alex, meet Elliza; she’s-” she sniffed. “Something of a minor noble; here on Nyx, mostly she’s known for being a somewhat disappointing fencing student.”
“My instructor had unreasonably high expectations,” Elliza laughed.
She took Alex’s hand and offered an appropriately chivalrous bow. “Forgive our previous, somewhat cold introduction, the demands of rank.”
He had a lovely smile. “Of course, I’m happy to be properly introduced.”
Elliza nodded and stepped around behind him. “May I take your cloak?”
He nodded and looked over his shoulder, exotic, bright green eyes delightfully alluring. “Of course.”
She wound her arms around his neck, worked the golden frog that closed the cloak about him. She could have done it from the front, but this was more enjoyable.
He smelled of leather and the wheat harvest, and the clasp was far too simple to open.
She stepped away, bringing his cloak with her, hanging it, and her mantle, which was stiff and heavy, by the door, leaving her in her brocade surcoat, richly inlaid with silver and gold, and him.
She eyed him openly, up and down, Lisril wouldn’t mind, and he seemed, by first impressions, a bold man, comfortable in himself.
He dressed to a much different effect than a Nyxian man, yet, she couldn’t complain. Dyrantoro men had gained a deserved reputation for a nearly, and, she supposed, literally, otherwordly beauty. As though they didn’t belong to the realm of the profane.
Some took this quite literally, suggesting that Dyrantoro men belonged to the race of the divine, Angels, sent by the Lady Goddess to prepare the race of women for the coming crusade.
To cleanse creation of those demons, the servants of the Adversary, that debased the celestial sphere and made sport of tormenting the Lady’s servants on Nyx.
She was not among these but suspected, from the tone of some of her letters, that Lisril may be and would, therefore, allow Alex the opportunity to change her mind.
She guided him to the table; Lisril would take care of herself and would expect, justifiably, the appropriate deference owed a man of status be extended to her husband.
She seated him, took her place opposite his, and waited for Lisril to take her spot, with him on her right hand.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Elliza stretched. “Thank you,” she gestured to the chilling wine. “For the gift, by the way. I’m looking forward to sampling it with you.”
“I hope you enjoy it,” he said, smiling.
“I’m sure she will,” Lisril said. “You wouldn’t believe the quality of Dyrantoro produce, Eli; they put the imperial gardens to shame.”
She was sure it was true; she had visited Earth once, on a diplomatic trip, just after contact, and had seen impressive gardens of flowering trees and bushes but had only been offered meat for her meals.
A faux pas, to be sure, but she knew it hadn’t been the product of malice and so had refrained from embarrassing her hosts. Her guests, however, wouldn’t eat like paupers, with a bit of meat set before them and not so much as a crust of bread or slice of fruit to set it off.
“I suppose,” she said. “We should first dispense with matters of business. I gather you’ve been sent to oversee some project to do with a correspondence between our worlds; the details, however, thus far escape me.”
He nodded. “there are engineers from Earth telecom’s here already, working on communications lines for on world communications.”
She nodded; it wasn’t news; she’d granted the warrants after all.
“But the distance between Nyx and Earth make conventional methods of communication between our planets impractical; we’d be better off sending letters, which is what we’re doing now.”
She held up a hand. “Why?”
“Are we sending letters?” he shrugged. “Because our ships are faster than the signals we could send instead, which is where this project comes in. My team and I have discovered a method of encoding information into entangled quantum particles, allowing us to send messages faster than causality should apparently allow.”
Much of this was spoken in Dyrantoro language, Nyxian speech being ill-equipped. She didn’t follow but didn’t want to reveal her ignorance.”
Lisril, clearly sensing her distress, cleared her throat. “Might my husband explain this in plain language?”
“Oh,” he said. “Well, Nyx and Earth are very far apart; it’s easy to forget, given how quickly we can travel from one to the other. You probably haven’t experienced it yet, but once communications come up, you’ll be able to talk in real-time with anyone on Nyx, but the signals you’ll be using still have to travel; they can’t hear what you’ve said before you say it.”
She nodded; it was all comprehensible so far.
“On Nyx or Earth for that matter, that time is negligible, too fast for you to notice, in fact. But between them, it would take too long for our purposes, dozens of years to reach you, and dozens again for your reply.”
“And thus this device,” she concluded.
He dipped his head. “Precisely, under traditional models, my device allows signals to be received, essentially, before they’re transmitted.”
“Under traditional models,” she noted to his obvious pleasure.
“Exactly, in reality, it works by creating a distortion in space, much like the warp drives, that reduces the distance between two points. Only instead of constantly pushing and pulling to drive apparent progress toward a point faster than should be conventionally possible, we instead create a location that, despite both terminating points being on different planets, leaves them directly next to one another.”
She nodded, satisfied that her understanding was sufficient. “Fascinating.”
“I think so,” he agreed. “Currently, the concept only functions at the subatomic scale; when I discover how to apply it at the macroscopic scale, well, this bother with the Community will be a foregone conclusion.”
She rested her chin on her hand. “You seem convinced it will come to violence.”
“How would you respond if some uncontacted tribe rose out of the jungles and declared themselves an independent nation?”
She nodded slowly. “Point taken.”
There was a knock on the door, and a moment later, it opened to admit a line of servants, each carrying a dish. As they arranged the table, her chef, Yilis, entered, bowed, and went about sampling each item.
They waited, long enough to know the chef wouldn’t keel over and die, and Elliza nodded. “Your efforts are most appreciated, madam.”
The chef bowed, her ladies waiting behind her. “Her Magnificence is too kind. Please, excuse our interruption.”
Elliza dismissed them with a wave. “Don’t allow Us to delay you, return to your duties.”
The assembled ladies bowed and filed out of the room, leaving them alone once more.
“Please, help yourself,” Elliza said.
Her guests served themselves, and she poured the wine before assembling her own plate. Roast fish and meat, hatchling birds baked into pastry, and, of course, fruits and greens, a meal sufficiently luxurious for an empress and her guests.
“Now then,” she said. “How may I assist you?”
“I’ll need laborers and some more scholarly assistants to help direct the construction,” he said.
“You’ll have them; anything else?”
He hummed to himself. “Not right now; I need to survey the progress on the other infrastructure projects being completed here on Nyx before I can say more.”
“Good,” she said. “Don’t hesitate; your every need shall be fulfilled.”
He smiled, and she sipped at her cup. “As always, Lisril, your taste is impeccable.” The wine was delicious and slightly effervescent. She said so and was rewarded with a grateful smile.
“Since matters of business are settled, I’d like to know more about your culture,” Elliza said.
“Oh?” he seemed genuinely surprised. “I think that question might be answered better by the diplomatic corps.”
She scoffed. “Those lickspittles are too worried about setting a foot wrong and inflicting some offense to tell me anything noteworthy. Not that they’ve no need for concern, given their obnoxious presence.”
“They’ve done something to upset you?”
“Not as such,” Elliza said. “Only, your government saw fit to send a gaggle of- well, call them women if you must, but I hardly find them worthy of the distinction.”
Alex seemed not sure how to respond, but Lisril broke out into a laugh. “I know just what you mean; having lived there, and seen the state of their women, it’s a wonder to think that they’ve managed to build such a stunning civilization. A miracle, really.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little unfair?” Alex asked.
“No,” she said. “And you ought to tell your contacts to send men to do the job.”
“They can’t just fire all the women and send men instead.”
“Why not?” Lisril demanded. “It would improve relations and give those poor men a chance to find a proper wife like you have.”
“Well, you can take the lioness off the prairie,” he sighed.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that human women don’t stand a chance next to you.”
Elliza, watching this exchange, burst into fits of giggles. “You two are perfect together.”
Lisril took her husband’s hand and gave it a pat. “He certainly makes things interesting.”
“I can see that,” Elliza said.
“you know, she’s probably right, though. I can see your government’s logic sending- women to deal with women. But I can’t help but feel that things might proceed more smoothly if I were dealing with charming lords such as yourself rather than the disappointing gentlewomen I’ve been provided.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good,” Elliza said. “See you do, and if you’ll forgive my curiosity….”
“What would you like to know?”
She leaned forward. “Everything.”
“We’ll have to start somewhere,” he laughed.
“I’m something of a fan of theater.”
“Literature, then. Well, I’m not exactly an expert myself; what if, instead of just trying to explain it, I added you to Lisril’s English lessons? It’d be easier to talk about if you had some first-hand experience anyway.”
She glanced between them. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lisril said. “You’re welcome, of course. I’ll warn you, though, it’s a dastardly difficult thing.”
“I’ve never shrunk away from a challenge,” Elliza said, chin coming up.
Lisril grinned. “Good; I have my lessons in the morning, just after dawn.”
She frowned but nodded. “Of course,” Dyrantoro men kept odd hours, but she would, of course, accommodate him. “Shall we meet here in the morning?”
“Sounds perfect,” he said. “You’ll have to share with Lisril until I can get some materials for beginners from Earth.”
“Thank you, I appreciate the invitation, and it reminds me, you said something about our language before,” Elliza said.
“Oh,” he said. “Yes, I did. Well, your ears are a biological wonder.”
It was a strange compliment, but she took it in good humor. “I shall have to take your word for it.”
“Sorry,” he chuckled. “Sometimes, I jump ahead of myself. What I mean, or should say, is you hear things that I can’t. Dyrantisa hearing encompasses most of the human range, excluding some of the higher frequencies, but you also hear frequencies far lower than human hearing allows.”
The intricacies escaped her, but she took his general meaning and so nodded along.
“The irony is, you speak entirely in the human range of hearing, and in its entirety, there are sounds in your language that I can hear, but you can’t. Not just- incidental nonsense, either, there are clear patterns of meaning and comprehensible grammatical structure present, despite no Dyrantisa having ever heard these sounds.”
“So that’s what you meant,” she said. “Very interesting and also quite perplexing.”
He nodded. “It seems God has a sense of humor.”
“It seems so,” she said, pensive. “I should be interested to learn more of this but fail to see any possibility without the capacity to experience it first hand.”
He glanced at Lisril. “Well,” he said. “Lisril has had some augmentation work done, so she can hear English; it would be hard to learn to speak it otherwise. So maybe you can.”
“Alex,” Lisril said. “I don’t think-”
“Hold on,” Elliza interjected. “I should at least like to hear him out.”
“It’s a small thing, a chip implanted in the scalp with leads protruding into the ear and embedded in the small bones found there. This then acts as a surrogate for the inner ear, translating the vibration into electric signals and conveying that to a trainer, a temporary implant that uses magnetic resonance to help the brain form the necessary connections for interpreting the new sensation. After the training period, the trainer is removed, and the process is redirected to the nervous system.”
“The system was initially used to treat the deaf, but that is, essentially, what Dyrantisa are to this range of sound, so modifying it to this use was relatively simple.”
Elliza nodded; she didn’t honestly understand how this process gave hearing to the deaf but knew miracles were commonplace on Earth, so she didn’t doubt his honesty.
“I fail to see the problem, Lisril,” she said. “That seems perfectly benign.”
Lisril shook her head. “Honestly, many still harbor suspicions about augmentation, even on Earth.”
Elliza slapped her hand on the table. “Then I shall have to set an example.”
Lisril laughed. “honestly.”
“An empress ought to lead her people down the right path.”
“You don’t need to invite controversy, Elliza.”
“And you think I argue with her,” Alex chortled.
The women glanced at each other and joined his laughter. “We’re not arguing,” Lisril said.
“We’re having a spirited discussion,” Elliza agreed, the two of them snickering under their breath. “It’s been far too long.”
He gave them a bemused look. “I feel I’m missing some context.”
“Oh,” Elliza chuckled. “Just that my mother used to say something quite similar.”
He smiled. “thank you?”
Lisril patted his hand. “Which isn’t to say you aren’t lord-like,” she assured her husband. “Just that you’ve revived a fond memory.”
“Well, don’t let me interrupt,” he said.
“Not at all,” Elliza said. “You’re my guest.”
He nodded. “thank you; actually, I could use the restroom.”
“The-”
“Privvy,” Lisril supplied. “I can show him.”
“No, you two should catch up.”
Lisril frowned. “Alex.”
“My guards could take him,” Elliza offered. “He’ll be perfectly safe with them.”
She didn’t seem happy but nodded. “You behave,” Lisril said.
“I love you too,” he said, kissing her.
The sight brought a smile to Elliza’s face. “Guard,” she called, to immediate response. “Please escort my guest to the toilet.”
The guard escorted Alex out and left them alone.
“Well,” Lisril said. “What do you think?”
“I’m happy for you; you seem like a good match,” Elliza said.
“It’s a strange thing; he has different expectations, but most gratifying,” Lisril said.
Elliza leaned back in her chair, sipping her wine. “Good, that’s good.”
“Have you escorted any young lords lately?”
Elliza laughed. “My duties keep me quite busy enough. Besides, I think any interested parties are still worried that a certain infamous guard might make an appearance.”
“Good,” Lisril snorted. “Let the whores squirm; if they were worthy of you, they’d show some spine.”
“And here I was worried,” Elliza laughed. “That marriage might have dulled your edge.”
The older woman scowled. “Don’t compare him to those horseflies. His affections are guileless and true as the Heavenly Mother’s.”
Elliza nodded slowly. “That must be nice.”
Lisril smiled, eyes distant. “He has no interest in my status, doesn’t want me for my mother’s title. It’s- hard to put to words. To be wanted, simply for the wanting. They’re special, Dyrantoro men.”
It wasn’t hard to surmise the older woman’s intentions, but, Lisril didn’t lie, not even when she ought to. So her honesty wasn’t in doubt.
“He must be to have enchanted you.”
Lisril smirked. “Interested?”
“What was that you said about avoiding controversy?”
“What was it you said about leading by example?”
“Shameless,” Elliza chuckled.
Lisril’s chin came up. “What’s to be ashamed of?”
“Nothing,” Elliza admitted, abashed. “You’re right; it’s perfectly chivalrous. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You shouldn’t have,” Lisril agreed. “Your apology is accepted.”
She glanced at the door, “he’s taking a while.”
“Fretting is unlike you; he’ll be back soon.”
“A woman is always justified in fretting over her man.”
“I didn’t say it was unbecoming,” Elliza said. “Just noting how you’ve changed.”
They were silent for a moment, then. “Lisril, I need-” the door opened, and Elliza shook her head. “Meet me later; if you can get away, I’ll provide guards.”
The older woman nodded, and they stood to greet her husband.
Lisril seated him, and they resumed their meal, lamps slowly burning down. The conversation was pleasant and easy, and she quickly learned to avoid matters of his professional interest and embarrassment at her relative ignorance thereby.
Finally, Lisril stood, bowing shallowly. “Forgive me,” she said. “For cutting this short, but I think my husband should take his rest soon, and I should like to introduce him to my relations before we retire.”
Alex nodded. “Actually, I should have probably reported to the Earth delegation by now too.”
Elliza nodded, crossing the table to help him to his feet. “Of course,” she licked his hand. “It has been an honor and pleasure to speak with you; I should be pleased to host you in my quarters tomorrow evening if it would be amenable.”
He smiled. “I’d like that.”
Elliza turned to Lisril. “The Dyrantoro embassy is temporarily based out of the east wing. Do you remember the way?”
“Of course,” Lisril said.
“Good,” Elliza nodded. “When you’re finished, ask any guard; they should be able to show you to your quarters; I suspect your effects will be there before you are.”
“Your consideration is most appreciated,” Lisril smiled. “Thank you, Eli; we’ll see you in the morning, ready for your English lesson.”