Page 19 of Ahelno
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I sat in silence for a while as I contemplated the tale of the Lumanela. I could understand why the Ptexari called me that. I did resemble their tales. I did love to sing, although they didn’t know that, but many of them commented that they could somehow “feel” my voice when I spoke. I wonderedif humans had somehow lived here long ago, but couldn’t comprehend how that would at all be possible. Finetta pulled up some drawings and paintings on the comms panel of Lumanela. They were evidently a popular subject for artists over the centuries. Many of them looked surprisingly human… always blonde and blue-eyed, though. I wondered what they would have thought of me if I had brown or black hair. It was a strange coincidence that I perfectly matched their stories.
Andokar came to get me after our session, and I asked if we could walk back to the village. I knew it would take a half hour or so to get back, but I wanted to get a feel for the city, and I knew Andokar could fly back fairly quickly from the village. He agreed, so M’Pak and I followed him out the palace gates.
CHAPTER 19
The city was simply called “Capital” or at least that’s how it was translated by the device in my ear. Andokar patiently led us through the winding streets, which took longer than I expected because we were mobbed the moment we appeared outside the gates.
I scooped M’Pak up and put him in the satchel. His growls deterred some of the Ptexari, but not all. The Ptexari were intensely curious about me. They didn’t touch me, but they crowded close and sniffed me. I clung to Andokar, who finally grabbed me and flew me to a nearby balcony. The onlookers could fly too, but the hasty retreat and his yelling at them were fortunately enough for them to shamefacedly back away. Still, they remained on the street while gazing up at me. I, on the other hand, went ballistic, struggling in Andokar’s hold, triggered by an unpleasant flashback to my assault.
“My apologies, Princess, for touching your person without permission.” He held his hands up and stepped back. “My only thought was for your safety.”
I was shaking, but also realized that I was overreacting. Andokar meant no harm. He was trying to help. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, chanting “Andokar won’t hurt me, Andokar won’t hurt me” until I felt reasonablycalmed.
“No apology needed,” I told him. “I appreciate you getting me out of there.”
He eyed me askance, clearly uncomfortable. “I can call for a backup squadron to either bring us a vehicle or accompany us on the walk while maintaining a larger perimeter,” he said. “Which would you prefer?”
I still wanted to see the city, but agreed the extra protection was a good idea, so we waited for a few backup guards to arrive. The guards formed up around me as we continued our walk. They kept random people from approaching me as Andokar pointed out some of the more popular food stalls and stores for weapons, jewelry, clothing, home furnishings, and personal care, such as crest grooming and wing oiling.
I tried not to gawk in the windows of the wing oiling salon. It looked like a combination of a massage and nail salon, with technicians stretching, buffing, and polishing the patrons’ wings. “It looks pleasant,” I commented to Andokar.
“It is,” he smiled as we moved on. I admired the buildings, all with open rooftops and balconies. Both the upper and lower tiers of the city were equally busy, and I walked slowly, taking in the colorful mosaics on the walls, red paved streets, and large shade bushes systematically planted every few blocks for pedestrians. The streets were wider than what I was used to, and all seemed to be designated as one-way, but with separate lanes for 6-wheeled vehicles, 2-wheeled motorbikes, and pedestrians. It was all very orderly, in its own chaotic way.
After an hour, we stopped at a food stall with cushions for patrons to sit on and enjoyed Oonag and stewed ovina in a flatbread. Mystery meat in a pita pocket. It was flavorful, andhonestly one of the best things I’d eaten. I tried not to think about the froggy grasshoppers I was eating. M’Pak enjoyed one as well and purred in contentment.
When we finally returned home, I was tired and overstimulated from the day. Exhausted, I fell onto my pallet, while M’pak curled up beside me and dreamed of chasing ovinas well until dawn.
CHAPTER 20
It had been nearly four months since I first arrived on Ptekennan. Although I still felt like a fish out of water, I was starting to develop a comfortable routine and pattern to my days. M’Pak was up early each morning, begging to go outside. He had grown astronomically and was larger than a Saint Bernard. We made the morning rounds to tend the vegetables, and I had acquired a flock of ovinas, much to M’Pak’s delight. It turns out ovinas laid quite tasty eggs, which I enjoyed. M’Pak enjoyed chasing them, but was a fierce protector against any other wildlife that might approach them at night. I think my neighbors envied me my “guard dog.”
Karelch approached me the week before to remind me that M’Pak was nearly full-grown and should be released to the wild soon. M’Pak practically rolled his eyes at me when I suggested he would go back to the forest of his birth, quite comfortable in my backyard, even if he was getting too big for my small cottage, anddefinitelytoo big for my small sleeping pallet.
“I will stay with you, Mother Andie,” he declared confidently. “You need my protection.”
His thoughts and speech had both grown more sophisticated. He did remind me of a moody teenager at times,but he was devoted to me, and if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t really want him to leave. He accompanied me everywhere, and while the villagers all accepted him as a sort of wild “pet” of mine, he kept the more curious onlookers from getting too close to my personal space. One snarl from him, with his lips pulled back to show his monstrous teeth, was enough to put off even the nosiest of neighbors.
Speaking of, Camavel usually made an appearance mid-morning for a cup of Oonag and to catch up on the latest village gossip. She also loved hearing about the goings-on at the palace and my luncheons with the King and his daughter.
Robnar kept me well supplied with clothing, for Kashtinela had warned me that, as a member of the royal family, I was expected to set the fashion tone in the Capital. I was channeling my inner Kate Middleton, thanks to Robnar. He was thrilled that more and more females were coming to him to design shirts and full dresses (with wing cutouts, of course), instead of the typical short skirts they wore. I wasn’t sure what the males thought of this, but I noticed the uptick in covered female torsos each time I ventured into the City.
Kashtinela had quickly become a friend to me. Princesses experience their own form of loneliness, I soon discovered. She confessed that she never knew if someone genuinely wanted to be her friend or if they were attempting to curry influence with her father. She considered us to be on equal ground (which I doubted, but didn’t contradict), so I was touched that she was so open with me, and she served both as a confidante and someone I could laugh with. She had come to love M’Pak, and was the only person besides me who was willing to rub his belly, for which he absolutely adored her.
By unspoken rule, we didn’t talk about her brother. I don’tknow if her relationship to him was a close one or not, and she never asked me about the assault, not that I wanted to share it with her. We avoided the topic completely, which I was, frankly, grateful for.
Her father King Akapa was also kind to me. The three of us had lunch together at the Palace about once per week. He frequently asked me about my lessons with Finetta, occasionally questioning my knowledge about a particular point of Ptexari history or culture. He seemed pleased with my progress, and I was glad, because Finetta was an ogre of a taskmaster, and if I had to suffer through her lessons, at least I could be sure we were getting good results.
On days when I didn’t go to the palace for lunch or lessons, I often strolled about the village with M’Pak by my side. I was learning to cook in my kitchen, and I was always on the lookout for herbs, fruits, and vegetables that reminded me of Earth dishes. I had started a bit of a diary for myself equating what I’d found. There was a fruit similar to an apple or a pear. I had found one herb that reminded me of cilantro and another that smelled a bit minty, for example. M’Pak tolerated my kitchen experiments, some of which were more successful than others. Fortunately, he would eat anything.
I’d also taken to learning to make a few traditional Ptexari dishes. Overall, I found the food a bit spicier than I was used to, but seriously lacking in salt. It seemed the Ptexari didn’t sweat like humans, so they didn’t have the need for much salt in their diet. I was fortunate to find a trader who brought various minerals to market and was able to sell me a block that I ground myself with an instrument similar to a mortar and pestle. I put in an order for future blocks, since I hadn’t seen salt sold anywhere else.
Although I was settling in, there were tons of small things - like salt - that I missed about Earth. I tried not to think about my parents and my friends too much. Every now and then, I’d miss something bizarre, like a pair of scissors or a vending machine. The thoughts would pop up at the oddest times, and I’d realize that I was never going to have an iced latte again in my whole life, and I’d burst into ridiculous tears, not about the latte itself, but because I profoundly missed thesmellof coffee.
By far the thing I missed most - other than my parents, of course - was music. As a music major, I had been surrounded by it. Some of my fellow students were specializing in opera, some in jazz, some in musical theater. Others were dance majors, focused on ballet or modern dance. I hadn’t appreciated that music was in the air nonstop at my university, and I missed it profoundly. I hummed to myself frequently, which the Ptexari seemed to enjoy. They told me they could feel it on their skin, and encouraged me to hum or sing more, even if they didn’t fully understand it. The lack of music hit me keenly from time to time.
I had confided these things to Kashtinela, and she surprised me one day with a small Ptexari flute. There were vid tutorials that I could watch on the comms panel, she told me. It was the most touching moment of my entire experience on Ptekennan so far. I threw myself at her to hug her tightly. She was surprised, as Ptexari didn’t embrace, as a general rule. She held herself stiffly, and I grabbed her arms and pulled them around me to experience a “human hug,” and she complied. She chortled at my “quaint custom,” but didn’t let go until I did. It was the highlight of my whole month.
