Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
~Moshe Dayan

Chapter 03: The Young Woman.

The young woman was sitting on the bed, her long, elegant legs pulled up to her chest as she seemingly wrapped herself around the book in her hands. Her blue eyes were unfocused as her mind carried her to places she could not touch.

She was seventeen and beautiful.

Alima watched the young Skyla with a small smile on her face. She was truly maturing into a remarkable young woman. She had been living in this other realm for five years. It had been her mother's idea. Aurian had felt that Skyla needed to get away from the wingdom, away from the pain that Skyler's claim to the throne caused her. Her daughter, she had felt, needed a different perception of life and she needed to see what it was like to have a life devoid of titles and 'the correct breeding.' Mostly, she felt her daughter needed space to heal and to see that she could do so much more than just be a Lady-in-Waiting.
Something she would never be able to see in the wingdom.
Alima had not revelled in the idea. This realm was her haven and to have another from the Sky Realm there constantly would surely threatened the fragile freedom in which she and Aurian lived. Yet, her Lady-in-Waiting had been so passionate about it; she couldn't help but concede to the woman's wishes.

There were a lot of risks involved and Skyla had to be tutored privately before they risked exposing her to the world. Perhaps because she needed the distraction, Skyla threw herself into the routine and work and within six months they felt comfortable enough to enrol her into the boarding school. Skyla went to live in one of the dorms and, at a glance, became just like all the other girls. Although she remained solemn and a bit of a loner, she quickly started to excel in her classes, particularly in the school's only dancing class. Within a year, the instructor who taught her came to Aurian and told her that her daughter's natural ability was beyond his to scope to teach and they should seriously consider sending her to a private dancing school. Skyla had not wanted to go, but that prompted Alima to hire a better teacher for her own school.

Life fell into a strange sort of well oiled routine. The two women returned to the wingdom every other weekend as Alima always had and once a month they would return for a full week to spend some time with the rest of their family. Skyla didn't return nearly as much but only went back on the odd occasion to see her father and also spend some time with him during her school holidays.

Of Skyler and the court she saw very little.

It hurt her youngest, Alima knew this, but she could not fault the girl. As Aurian and Alima had once discussed, the best thing that Skyler could do for himself was forget about his childhood play mate and focus on his kingdom. The best thing Skyla could do for herself was keep her focus away from the kingdom and rather on herself. If enough time passed, both would forget about the other and, as she was watching the young woman, it certainly seemed as if she had moved on. It was the reason why she felt comfortable with the request she was going to bring under Skyla's attention.
Alima took a step closer to the bed and cleared her throat.

Skyla jerked in shock and looked up, her features startled as she slammed her book shut. When she saw who it was, she got up quickly and bowed deeply. Even after five years of living a little closer to her personally, some things didn't change. Behind closed doors, or when they were alone, Skyla still saw her as the Queen.

"Your Majesty," she said, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you enter."
Alima smiled and made a dismissive gesture with her hand, motioning to the girl to sit down. "I didn't exactly knock Skyla," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry for startling you. Good book?"

Skyla blinked at the novel in her hand and sat down on her bed a bit more formally. "I'm…" she hesitated. "Not sure honestly. The jury's still out. Stephen Donaldson's a good author, but a dark one." She frowned and put the book down before clasping her hands in front of her. "Not my scene really, but our English teacher recommended it. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Alima smiled and shook her head. "Not in particular," she said. "But, I do have a request. I have a sense that… my husband might call me tonight. Would you like to come back with me? Seeing as how your mother's still with your father. You know how the people are there, I will need a Lady-in-Waiting and I've been so spoiled by your mother I can't stand the other women of court."

The young woman blinked and sat back surprised. "You're not normally called when my mother's not around," she said. "I… ah. Do you know why you're being called?"

Watching the young woman, Alima shook her head. "No," she admitted. "You know that I can't communicate with the king per say. It's… a sense that I get. When that happens, I know to isolate myself and call your mother so that we can wait."
Skyla had raised an eyebrow in interest when the older woman spoke. "With sense you mean like… a clutching of your heart?" she queried. "As if you're being… sucked away." She blushed at the end of her sentence and looked at her hands. As she did so, Alima suddenly realized that she and the young woman had actually never been alone in an open discussion before.
"Almost," Alima said with a shrug. "It depends and tends to vary. But yes, I've felt like that before." She hesitated. "Are you feeling it now?"

Skyla looked at her uncertainly then took a steadying breath and nodded, her eyes troubled. "Just a bit," she admitted and rubbed her arms. "But, I haven't been home in a while and, my mom had wanted me to accompany her this time but I was busy." She smiled suddenly. "I guess I just feel guilty."

Alima smiled and held out her hand. "It happens," she said. "My husband once forgot to call me for Skyler's birthday… You remember that time? Yes…" Skyla's face had lit up with recognition at the mention of the event, but she quickly schooled her features to calm and rather allowed the headmistress of the school to pull her up. "He was supposed to call me a week before hand but ended up doing it literally in the middle of the day when Skyler's party was almost over. I had walked with such a sense of dread during that week. I told your mother it felt as if my soul was being sucked out."

Skyla smiled weakly and quickly put on a track suit over her clothes. "I remember thinking that it was very inconsiderate," she said without looking at the queen. "You must've been very angry with him?"

The older woman snorted and shook her head. "I always have been," she said. "That day was no exception." When she saw the young woman blink and stare at her, she blushed and shook her head. "I didn't mean it that way Skyla," she said quickly. "Please, do not lend your ears to a somewhat bitter woman. My husband is a good man and he had had a very good excuse for having forgotten to call me."

Skyla nodded slowly and sat down on the floor to pull on her running shoes. Touching her lip, she didn't look at the queen when she stated. "I don't think I've ever heard you call him by name."

It was a bold observation and an even bolder statement. Alima found herself smiling slightly when she looked at the teenager. She was blushing now, embarrassed by her own words. She was truly growing up…

"Yes," Alima found herself saying, her words gentle. "It is one of those things. You understand why we do not love each other." She held out her hand and pulled Skyla up when she took it.

The youth was frowning slightly in the same way she had been frowning when she was looking at her book. Alima recognized the expression for it was the same one Aurian would have when she was trying to solve the world's problems. It brought a fond smile to her face and the realization that she missed the woman's presence.

"Are you at least friends with the king?" Skyla asked, still frowning.

Alima nodded carefully as they stepped out of the young woman's room and started walking down the corridor. "Yes," she said. "I didn't use to be. But, now yes. We respect each other, we always have. We never claimed to be married for any other reason than it being prearranged. We never tried to put up the front of the loving husband and wife. And it's worked out in the end. We've raised two lovely sons that we both adore. Once you have common ground, friendship follows."

"What about love?" Skyla asked, making Alima smile and shake her head as she linked arms with the younger woman.

"Ah my dear," she replied. "Love is more complicated than that."

&&&

The feeling didn't vanish now that she knew she was going to return to the wingdom. Skyla carefully walked around the dining room of the queen's cottage, feeling awkward and tense. It was one of the reasons she had found herself reading a book she didn't particularly enjoy. She sighed and rubbed her brow, looking at the decoration and furnishing of the room. Despite the fact that she has been living in this realm for quite a few years, she had never spend a lot of time in the cottage. She had supper with her mother every second evening, but she never lingered. It wasn't that she wasn't welcome, but Skyla had a sense that she wasn't always necessarily needed. And, she had her own things to do in the evenings.

As her mother said she would, Skyla loved the freedom this world offered her. She felt as if she could, for the first time, become her own person. She knew that it was an incredible privilege to be here. Normally it was reserved only for members of the royal family and those who served them. Even as a child, Skyla had always been fascinated by this place her mother disappeared to. Her father use to tell her stories of this other realm and how one day, if the wingdom was in dire need, the queen and king would summon the mystical protectors called the Sky Dancers from this realm. It was why Alima had a school. At the end of every year, she identified a few of her graduates and kept tabs on them. Her father admitted that he wasn't sure how serious everybody was about it and Skyla herself knew that the queen was really just here because she could not stand being around her husband for too long. In giving up the chance to see her sons every day, she was given a little bit of personal freedom.

One she had chosen to share with Skyla's mother.

When Skyla thought of her mother she once again felt the strange clench in her heart. Frowning, she swallowed and ran her hand over the table, debating whether or not she should sit down. Queen Alima had explained to her that all they needed to do now was wait, that the king would call them back most probably within the next hour or two. She had left shortly after, to make a call and arrange both her and Skyla's absence.

Skyla sighed again and decided against sitting down. Rather, she wandered over to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. Instead of returning to the dining room, she wandered over to the living room, hoping to find something to read or do until the summoning came.

She went to the book case, but found nothing that took her fancy and sat down on the nearest sofa. Being stationary didn't help her either, so she got up again and walked around the room, studying it closely for the first time. It was strange how one could look into a room for years and not see it. She went in particular to the fireplace where she saw a series of photographs on the mantle piece. Some captured moments she recognized like the one of her competing in a dance gala two years ago, taken at the award ceremony and one of the Christmas that they had celebrated the previous year. There were some though she didn't recognize like the strange one of her mother fishing, or one of the Queen on a horse. She had a strange feeling in her heart when she saw the way the women looked at the camera or rather the person behind it, and quickly pushed them aside to look at the others. To her shock she found one of her father, towards the back of the mantle – his eyes hesitantly smiling at the camera. She touched it with a sudden feeling of warmth, wondering what her hard working, down to the earth father must've thought of this contraption. And, tucked away in the middle, she found one of Skyler and Skyclone. Her heart tugged painfully in her chest when she looked at her childhood crush. He wore a smile as he always did, seemingly no older than the day she had kissed him. Hesitant, half embarrassed. His attitude always served as such a good contrast to his brother's general reluctance and arrogance.

Skyla knew that deep down, she still loved him. She had come to realize that her love was childlike, blind. She had held onto the hope of a life that had in fact always been beyond her. Knowing this though, didn't stop her from loving him though. She doubted that it ever would, even if she had not spoken to him in almost two years.

She sighed softly and put it down where she had found it, rather turning her attention to the other pictures. She was studying another one of her mother and the queen on bicycles when she heard the woman walk in behind her. Feeling awkward suddenly, realizing that it was an invasion of privacy, Skyla put down the picture and stepped back, bowing her head in deference a lot like a servant would do.

The dark haired queen studied her with a frown, then carefully went over to the mantle piece to straighten up the photos. She touched the one with Skyla's father in it and sighed before she smiled.

"You're mother likes taking pictures," she said. "They are very precious." Her tone softened. "There's no need to look like that Skyla, you didn't do anything wrong. You looked at the one with Skyler? He loved having his picture taken. Skyclone was a bit more awkward about it."

Skyla smiled to be polite, still feeling awkward. "This can't be a recent one," she pointed out. "Skyler looks like… he did when I was…" She trailed off, feeling the ache again.

Watching her closely, the Sky Queen nodded. "This was taken just before you came here," she said a smile. "It was before everything… changed."

Skyla looked at the picture, then at the queen, feeling strangely hungry for information.

"I haven't… seen him in two years," she said, unable to look at the woman. "Has he… changed much?"
Alima smiled and motioned to her to take a seat. "Who?" she queried. "Skyclone or Skyler?"

Still not looking at her, Skyla took the closest seat. "Both," she said carefully. "I mean… I haven't seen them both in such a long time. And they were both… my friends." She knew the queen knew that it wasn't true concerning Skyclone. He had always picked on her when they were little. None the less, Alima smiled a humouring smile and sat down herself.

"Skyclone's… doing alright," she said with a pause. "This is still very hard for him. But, Skyler's trying very hard to include him. I'm very proud of him."
Skyla raised a hopeful eyebrow. "Skyler?" she queried to which the woman nodded.
"Yes," the queen said. "He's grown up in the past few years. He's surer of himself. You should see him again Skyla, he would like that."

Her heart skipped a beat but she had the self control to keep her face neutral.
"I'll see," she said. "I'm… I mean he… He probably has better things to do. I'm not even a Lady-in-Waiting anymore. There's really no reason why I should see him."

The older woman smiled at her, but turned her head ever so slightly as if she was listening to something. "Perhaps," she said with a smile and stood up, holding both hands out to the young woman. "But, you'll be one now. And, I should warn you Skyla, I intend to see my son tonight." She winked at the girl. "Now come on, we have to go. Take my hands…"

&&&

To Be Continued…

AN: Happy New Year everybody! My apologies for my long absence, I had worked to finish another fic before the end of the year and it had really drained me of my creative muse. This chapter is sort of an interlude that I just used to get myself back into writing. I hope you all had a super holiday season and that 2009 has a lot of promise! Oh, random. Priestess Mayumi's started a C2 community for Sky Dancers. Please sign up and participate if you want to! Because we're such a small fandom, I think it's vital that we 'pull together' so to say.
Oh, and Stephen Donaldson is a real author who published his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant in the 1970's. I can highly recommend them to any fantasy lover. Warning from the experienced though, his books are heavy. The: Chew off your wrists or rub them against the pavement until they bleed' kind of heavy. But, his books are amazing and puts all the modern day fantasy authors to shame really (except Terry Pratchett of course, but he's not really modern. He's been doing it since the 1980's…) Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Alyss

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