10.
Indeed, Amanda experienced dismay upon arriving at Vulcan, greeted by the "stony basilisks" at Vulcan Space Central. There was not a smile or a head tilt among them. Not that she expected smiles, but Sarek had shown through example that some Vulcans exhibited body language. "No, my wife," he said on the way to their new home, "I taught myself to use body language to communicate better with Humans and other races."
"Oh, Sarek," she groaned, when they arrived at the house, "What shall I do? I'll never fit in here." They sat in the entry hall, removing their outdoor shoes, to put on beautifully crafted Vulcan slippers.
He stood to give her his hand, and she rose. "You will learn more about 'reading' my people. I think you will come to feel more at ease here. Meanwhile, my wife, I have endeavored to make you feel most welcome in this house."
As they entered the first sitting room, where they would entertain guests, Amanda gasped with surprise. Greenery stood in each interior corner, behind beautiful, functional Vulcan-designed furniture. The huge windows were shaded especially for her. There was a silken Kashmiri rug in the colors of autumn on the brown stone floor.
More surprises awaited deeper within. The music room had polished wood flooring and redstone walls; Sarek's lyrette had its own stand near a specially designed Vulcan chair, and near it stood Amanda's piano from her parents' house, a very old piano that had taken the journey to Vulcan along with all these other surprises and traveled very well. The music room was open at the top, so the music played therein would reach the rest of the house, but also had dampeners ["should we have a child who must necessarily suffer through an awkward musical stage before we take pleasure in his or her playing," Sarek explained].
A kitchen large enough for both of them to work side-by-side … they had taken considerable pleasure in cooking together on Earth after their initial bonding … a table overlooking an indoor waterfall made to use very little water, but circulate moisture through the air so Amanda would experience comfort; a large sheltered pond at its base where koi, also imported from Earth, swam. "Oh, Sarek, this is delightful!" Amanda exclaimed, watching the nine carp, in colors from solid gold and red, white-black-red speckled, and solid black, swimming in their leisurely, relaxing fashion.
"My wife, attend," Sarek said. Amanda raised her eyebrows at him and his eyes twinkled. "You will need to accustom yourself to this."
"Oh, I suppose," she mock-pouted, and followed him into the bedroom. There were … implements on the curtained walls. For a moment, she stared at him in incomprehension, and a sick feeling began in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes widened.
"My wife, do not be concerned. You recall how I spoke to you of ancient Vulcan tradition."
She nodded. Swallowed.
"These are from our past. My family's past, to be specific. You will see that they are instruments for personal combat." He stood by the wall and indicated each in turn. "The lirpa." This was a yard-long weapon with a metal club at one end of a staff and a half-round, lethally sharpened blade affixed at the other. "The Ahn-woon." A long strip of cloth or leather with a large heavy bead on each end. "The shek-ho-rah, ritual sword, and lipitah-ho-ra, ritual dagger. These were used in ancient days to claim a mate. And to defend her, should rivals or enemies come calling. Thus, their traditional placement in the bedroom. We Vulcans are very territorial about our primary relationships."
"…Still?"
"Even now. It is considered an indefensible breach of manners to touch another man's woman. Or, another woman's man. You need to remember this, since it is possible you might accidentally give offense by touching someone's hand or arm as you used to do on Earth. And certain males may show disrespect to you."
"Or to you, through me?" Oh, lord, Amanda was thinking. What have I got myself into?
"… A Vulcan marriage, my k'diwa," Sarek answered her, sensing her thought. "Come, sit on the bed; I will show you something."
Amanda arched an eyebrow.
"Later, my dear." Sarek touched a button and sheer curtains surrounded the bed, hiding the weapons from view. "Do you feel more comfortable?"
"Yes, thank you, beloved," Amanda answered. Light from an indirect "sun tunnel" flooded the room, even in afternoon, and lit the curtains. There was a huge panel above the bed, filtered from sun during the day, which would become clear at night to reveal the stars.
"Here is something else I think you will like, my wife," Sarek called.
Amanda followed the sound of his voice to a bathroom, just off the master bedroom. It, too, was lit with indirect sunlight, and had filtered windows that looked out over the Vulcan landscape, and a bank of plants at every window. Completely lined with brown stone, it featured a bathtub! A shower! Small, soft rugs … an everyday sonic cleanser and toilet, of course …
"But I understand how much you need water, my wife, so T'Rial and I designed a re-circulated micro-filtered water system for the house. You should be able to bathe Earth-style every other day or so. The water is treated, circulated and purified by reverse osmosis for re-use."
Tears came to her eyes then, and she hugged her husband, who returned her embrace. "One more thing to show you," he murmured, and led her out to the terrace, just off the kitchen. "We can watch sunrises and sunsets here. I think you will enjoy this as well."
The air was hot, but the huge terrace was shaded by a large peak coming off the roof of the house.
"T'Rial did a superb job, redesigning the house," Sarek said, holding her hand and communicating great satisfaction.
"She certainly did! And I know you had a great deal of input, my darling; thank you so much for this. I am overwhelmed, really." They stood embracing.
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Amanda used the subspace commlink -- necessary for the Ambassador, but so wonderful for her -- to continue working with her colleagues on the Universal Translator Project, at least for a few years until Spock was born. The commlink also gave her a needed outlet for "venting" to her parents about certain things in Vulcan society she found ridiculous, offensive, or hateful. She would sometimes knit while chatting. Of course she discussed, too, the things she found wonderful, such as the loyalty of her few Vulcan friends, Vulcan respect for the arts, and their fascination with the piano that had come from Earth with her.
She enjoyed certain aspects of planet Vulcan. There were hot springs in the L-Langon Mountains, and she and Sarek would hike up to them, and Amanda would sing to her husband.
Sometimes they visited the ocean and other Vulcans would join them to swim, colleagues of Sarek's, old family friends. On several occasions Amanda and her Vulcan female friends went swimming alone, although they professed ignorance of the term "girls' day out." Swimming or bathing on Vulcan was done in the nude, and Amanda soon became used to it; she was fond of "skinny-dipping," herself, but often found the combination of sober faces and pleasure in swimming rather odd.
There was very little splashing done, and no playing in the water except when she and Sarek were alone. Vulcans wore earplugs to spare their sensitive ears, and the Vulcan seawater was dense enough to allow them to float well enough to swim partially above water if they wished. [Sarek had found it quite impossible to float in the pools and lakes of Earth; his skeletal structure and musculature were too dense.]
After a diplomatic mission to the Federation Council, on Earth, Sarek surprised Amanda, who loved gardening, with rose bushes and herbs from Earth and soil suitable for growing them on the terrace. Together, they built an extensive garden where the terrace curved around the side of the house.
She learned Vulcan ways and occasionally [unnoticeably to most] subverted them, and she cultivated a special spark in her eyes to exchange with Sarek at public occasions when she could not show emotion. She developed quite an expertise -- and a good deal of pride -- in her "poker face," as she called it.
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