CHAPTER 10: Surprise, Things Become Complicated.
Bloom followed Tecna back in to the palace, and through the maze that led to the little door that led to the little room that led to the time machine. Tecna didn't dally; she just went straight in to the next room. This time, followed by Bloom.
The room was full of large machines beeping and whizzing. Tecna squinted, looking at all the lights coming from the machines, and hastened to put on goggles. Bloom was apparently unaffected by the lights, because she wasn't in need of goggles herself. Tecna sat right down in a chair, and pulled it up to a desk with two complicated looking pieces of equipment. Tecna examined them, and scratched notes and diagrams into a black leather book.
After a while, Bloom got bored of watching Tecna tinker and write, and began to poke around. She did NOT want to mess up a single thing.
When she had exhausted all of her options of things to look at and be amazed by, Bloom decided that she would wander the grounds, or visit the library, like she did on Andros, but when she went to the door, she found the only way to open it was with a finger print. She tried in vain to scan her finger, but the scan pad didn't even pick up her touch.
Bloom sighed. Not only was she bored, she was anxious. She wanted so badly to go home, or at least know when the machine would be done. She sat on the ground and thought. She'd been doing a lot of thinking lately, mainly because she had nothing else with which to occupy her time. She thought about Musa, whose relationship with Riven was nowhere near perfectly healed, which Bloom was hoping would come about ASAP. She thought about Layla dealing with Musa, as well as taking care of her kids while Nabu was gone. She thought of Flora, who was pregnant and afraid to tell Helia. She thought about Tecna, who was so stressed about this machine of hers, she seemed to be neglecting herself. She expected too much of herself!
After what felt like 11 agonizing hours of being trapped in Tecna's little room with her and the beeping machines that drove Bloom insane, Tecna stretched tiredly and hung up her goggles. She turned off the machines, and the lights, and staggered out the door. Bloom had never been more relieved to hear nothing. She followed Tecna as she clumsily walked up the stairs and through halls until she reached a large room with a chandelier so huge, that it covered the entire high ceiling, and standing in the middle of the room, if Bloom jumped, she could touch the crystals that hung off of it. Tecna stumbled to the bed, and fell on to it, so that her feet stuck off. She didn't move. Bloom didn't know what to do! Surely she shouldn't just let Tecna sleep like that? In her clothes and shoes? And makeup? Thankfully, Bloom didn't have to fret for long, because Timmy entered the Room.
Seeing Tecna, he sighed. He turned off the massive light, and proceeded in the moonlight from the window to gently take off her shoes and place them on a rack in a huge closet. He came back and carefully took off the rest of her clothing so that she was only wearing the black cotton T-shirt that she had been wearing under her sweater, and her underwear. Timmy carefully pulled back the blankets on the bed, picked Tecna up, and tucked her in. She didn't stir once during any of this, making Bloom believe that this wasn't a rare thing, what Timmy was doing. He got on to the bed next to Tecna, and propped his head in his one of his hands, and used the other to stroke her cheek.
"Oh, Tecna." He said quietly. "What am I going to do with you? I miss you so much, I can't stand it."
Bloom was suddenly aware of the fact that she was crying. Tecna must have been putting so much attention in to this project of hers (she had worked all day with no breaks) that there was no time left for her and Timmy to spend together. Bloom felt Timmy's pain, how lonely he was, being so close to his loved one, but her not noticing him. But, at the same time, she was captivated by all the love in the room. She didn't know Timmy to be a very romantic guy, but she did know him to care very much for Tecna. It made her smile to think of how there was hope for them. Meaning, she prayed, there was for her, too.
Lingering as long as she could, Bloom finally left the room to the couple. She wandered through the halls, thinking of what her plan was. She needed to figure out how long she'd have to wait before the machine was ready. Where could she find that kind of thing out without being able to ask people? Then it hit her: The black books in the lounge! She ran down the corridors, twisting and turning for at least 45 minutes before she found the small door that led to the drab room. There it was. The shelf full of black books, which Bloom knew were full of Tecna's notes on her project. She took the first one off the shelf, and opened to the third page.
"Project Proposal" It said in Tecna's pristine handwriting. What followed under that heading was a bunch of complicated proofs and algorithms and diagrams that Bloom didn't even bother to read. She flipped to the end. Nothing there, the proposal had taken up the whole first notebook!
Bloom put the book back on the shelf, and took the one after it. Opening it to the fifth page, it read: "Agenda" Bingo. She read through an elaborate day-by-day plan, before she realized, she didn't know the date! How in the world did she not know the date? She looked around the room for a fancy clock or a calendar, but saw nothing. She looked back at the book, and flipped through the pages. She stopped when she saw an asterisk at the bottom of a page almost half way through. It read:
*Note: Protective eyewear will no longer be needed at this time*
Bloom looked at the Date above. September 12. Tecna was still using goggles, so today must be some time before September 12. She flipped to the very end, and realized, to her horror, that on July 25, the last day in the book, the machine would still not be ready to take her back home. Fear grew up inside Bloom's stomach like a sinister flower. She shakily took the next book off the shelf. The first page held the title: "Agenda, Continued." Bloom flipped before reaching the last written on page in the volume, more than ¾ of the way through, which read: July 9: Maiden voyage.
Bloom fell to the floor and sobbed. A year? More than that! She would be stuck in the past forever! She howled with uncontrollable sobs, she knew that nobody could hear her, and she hated it.
"Please! Please somebody help me!" She shrieked. "I just want to go home! I don't belong here!"
Bloom woke up to Tecna's voice. "What are these books doing on the floor?" She mumbled to herself, as she gathered them up, stepped through Bloom, and put them back on the shelf. Bloom didn't care, she just closed her eyes and went back to sleep. She woke some time later, (though she didn't know exactly when because the room had no clock or windows) to the sound of a door shutting. Tecna must be going to bed for the night. Meaning that Bloom had slept for 24 hours. Funny, she felt no need to get up from her spot on the floor.
Tecna's cell phone rang. She sighed.
"Hello?" She answered, sounding very tired
"What? Tecna?" A sickly looking man showed up on the screen. He had magenta hair a short magenta beard, and a pale, gaunt face. He wore a crown.
"Oh, daddy!" She exclaimed, suddenly wide-awake.
"Tecna, are you alright?" Tecna's father asked sternly, noticing, no doubt, his daughter's exhaustion.
"Good," Bloom thought, "He can talk some sense in to her. All day again in that work room! When does she eat!?"
"Yes! I've just been working very hard!"
The man coughed. "Excellent! How is your invention coming?"
Tecna hung her head. "I've experienced a setback. The front defragmenter malfunctioned this morning, and it's taken several hours to fix it."
"I'm sorry to hear that." The king said brusquely, before coughing again.
"But, Tecna…" He added, "I'm very proud of you. You are proving yourself to be a very intelligent and diligent young woman. I'm sure… I'm sure you'll make a fabulous queen."
Tears began to form in Tecna's eyes. "I'm working hard for you, daddy, I want to be finished soon so that the council will accept my machine as proof of my intelligence, and let me be take the throne, so you can retire and get better! I'm worried about you!"
"Let me finish." He continued. "I know that you are aware that the council is on the fence about you, being a woman and all, and I'm guessing you know that they are working you harder than they would be if you were male. But just keep trying, Tecna. Keep going. You are destined for greatness." He paused to cough for a minutes. When he finished, he saw Tecna's concerned face, and his expression, for the first time in the conversation, softened, "Don't be worried about me, pet." he sighed, "This is all a very natural part of life."
He began coughing a lot, and managed a "Talk to you later." Before hanging up. After her father hung up, Tecna stood stationary for a few minutes, before shakily sitting down on the floor, tears silently streaming down her face.
Bloom suddenly felt ashamed and vial. She had been in worse situations than this. It had barely been a week of this. She was the fairy of the dragon fire! She had rediscovered the planet of Sparks, and reunited the company of light! She would figure out a way to get home, even if one day she just woke up back at home, like when she left.
Tecna, on the other hand… this was her reality. Her father was very sick, and she was working so hard, Bloom now knew, so she could prove herself a worthy ruler of Zenith, and take the throne. Bloom knew that Tecna wouldn't give up for anything, especially because the fate of a loved one was in her hands. That was just the kind of person she was. Tecna was giving up her relationship with Timmy for her people and her father, but Bloom was willing to bet Tecna didn't realize how much her husband missed her. Bloom got up and sat next to Tecna, holding her in a comforting embrace. Bloom remembered holding Musa like this only a few days previous, and realized that all of her friends lead troubling lives in the future. Bloom frowned. She didn't like that idea.
Timmy entered the room, holding a sandwich on a china plate.
"Tecna!" He exclaimed, dropping the plate on the ground. He ran to her, picked her up, and carried her to the couch. She sat, leaning on his chest, and cried softly while he stroked her hair.
"What will I do if he dies?" She asked quietly "The machines not ready to present to the council, and they won't except me as queen."
"That's ridiculous," Timmy said reasonably. "You defeated Darkar, Valtor, the Wizards of the Black Circle, the Ancestral Witches, and the Trix. You sacrificed yourself for the sake of the universe. You survived the Omega dimension, and saved the water stars. We won't even begin to talk about how many times you saved MY butt. And that was just high school, Tecna, you're amazing."
"Timmy," She said quietly "You're too good for me. I ignore you and don't spend time with you, and you bring me sandwiches and cover me up when I pass out on our bed, and you want to spend time with me, and… and…"
Tecna Buried her face in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her skinny frame.
"Tecna, Love." He said quietly "I know we haven't been married for very long, but I think I know how it's supposed to work. I support you through your struggles, and one day you'll help me with mine. Yours just came first, that's all." He paused to think. "But… don't get me wrong... How do I put it…? It's not like I feel obliged to help you. It makes me feel good to know that I'm doing what helps and being who you need right now." He took her by her shoulders and pushed her away from him gently so that he could look in to her wet, bloodshot eyes. "Ok?" He asked quietly.
"Ok," She smiled, as he pulled her in to a sweet kiss.
Bloom was dumbstruck. This older Timmy was nothing like the socially awkward Timmy she knew. Her Timmy would have stuttered and stumbled through the whole conversation, and made some comment about how "illogical" it would be for Tecna to assume what she had was true.
"Come on." He said to her when they parted. "You need sleep. You've been working really hard, plus the sparks ball is tomorrow. And you're going to Stella's early in the morning. You're still going to the ball, right? I told Sky we were."
Tecna sniffed. "Yes."
Bloom's heart skipped a beat. "Sky?" She thought to herself. She suddenly felt stupid beyond comparison. Throughout her whole time in the future, she hadn't once thought of her life with Sky. That is, if they were even together. But why wouldn't they be? They were engaged when Bloom left…and all of the others were still together! Well, except for Riven and Musa… maybe… right? Bloom put that out of her mind. She couldn't stand thinking about Musa and Riven anymore. She hated the sadness and the uncertainty of it. She thought about herself and Sky instead. Were they King and Queen of Eraklyon or Sparks? Why else would Timmy call Sky about a "Sparks Ball"? Were they troubled like Flora and Helia? All of the other girls' problems had put Flora out of Bloom's mind, but she wondered: had Flora told her husband that she was pregnant yet? Did Bloom's future self have children? Her head was spinning. She needed fresh air.
She left Tecna and Timmy alone in the lounge, and wandered the halls until she found a door that led to the huge garden. She sat on a bench under a tree, and spent hours imagining her life in this futuristic world. She spent time running through the garden and dancing. She had a lot of pent up energy.
It was very late at night when Bloom heard Tecna and Timmy's voices penetrate the serene sounds of the night (And Bloom singing to herself).
"This tradition of you girl's is just illogical!" Timmy (Who had returned to sounding like his old self) commented cautiously, as the couple walked down the path that Bloom knew lead to the hangar.
In response, Tecna laughed lightly. "Maybe, but it's the only way we can all get together."
"All…?" Bloom said. "All of us together? Does that mean that…?"
"Of course, Bloom won't be there. She's been preparing for this ceremony for months!" Bloom's heart sunk. She desperately wanted to know more about her future life. "Oh," Added Tecna. "And no Roxy, she couldn't get off work until 2:00 her time, which is… 6:44 on Eraklyon…"
Roxy? Who was Roxy and why did she get to participate in traditional "keeping in touch" get-togethers? Bloom followed the couple until they reached a running air ship and 3 guards.
"Your highnesses." The guards bowed. Timmy shook each of their hands.
"We'll be escorting you to Solaria this morning." One of them said.
"Solaria?" Bloom said. "I thought we were going to Eraklyon…"