A/N, this story is now being edited with Word Starter, so it should start looking better. Better grammar and punctuation, woohoo!
It was a lonely trek home. Olaf had some things to take care of at the castle, and Anna would be staying overnight as well, she will want to make sure Kjekk is comfortable in his new home. With this new role, Anna and I will spend a lot of time separated. It's just part of the job. But I will miss her tonight, as we just got back together. As much as that feeling pains me, I want her to follow her heart, and be free to pursue her passions.
Pursuing your passions is the right of everyone here, and that freedom starts at home. In fact, it is my belief that this is the most important thing we do here. Passions played second fiddle to work and homes and health care and family and work and work and work ad infinitum. We were so busy trying to survive that we forgot how to live, and I'm going to change that.
I just wish I had set up some communications with her. I could just go to the castle, but this is her time, and I'm going to let her have it.
As a monarchy, we must be able to communicate at all times. Olaf is going to need a friend. The other orbs at the castle were actors, and didn't have any autonomous programming. Just more ground to cover with Olaf.
When I got home, I decided to do a little investigating. I went into the bathroom and checked over all of Anna's personal hygiene products. The good news was, since she wasn't 'activated' yet, she had no use for menstrual products. It would be a few years before I would have the delight of monthly mood swings, and I wasn't in the mood for rummaging thru those things.
What I wasn't finding was anything scented of any kind, that lavender smell was all her. I really want to hear the explanation for this one. I probably should have investigated this sooner, but there were so many other things to worry about besides how she smelled. It's going to have to wait until tomorrow, Olaf never came back.
Dinner came and went, and after several Cars records, it was time to go to bed, where I proceeded to stare at the ceiling for several hours, wondering just what influences her pheromones had on me.
In some of the stories I had written, Anna had magical powers. What I witnessed today is as close to magic as I ever want to come. Well..., that replicator comes pretty close, but that is tech designed by people that can fold space. She was casting a spell on a wild creature, like she was some kind of witch. I have a feeling these horses haven't been domesticated in some time, and now Anna comes along and makes it look like they've been tame for centuries.
They didn't even look like horses from Earth, well at least not the current batch. They have a more curved face, and the eyes were set a little narrower.
I took her pillow and set it on top of mine. That scent had permeated it, and I finally got to sleep.
Got up kinda' late, but who cares? I can't remember the last time I looked at a clock.
"Good morning, Michael. I hope you slept well."
"Not a chance in Hell, Olaf."
"What troubles you?"
"Well, let's start with Anna's ability to hypnotize wild animals, or other living creatures for that matter."
"We have been keeping this from you Michael, but I feel it's time to start sharing more info with you."
"Please, Olaf. Do go on."
"Her scent is only what the creature smelling it wishes it to be. In your mind, its lavender, in the horses mind, it might be the scent of a female he wishes to be with." Of course my mind went with the most disgusting thing I could think of, causing a bought of laughter.
"You mean like a female horse in heat, Olaf? That could be dangerous."
"Well…, no, but that is kind of funny! Don't worry; when I left them about thirty minutes ago everything was fine." I'm glad this is the first thing that Olaf found funny, although laughter still escaped him. There's nothing like some good bestiality humor, or not.
"Did she sleep in the stable?"
"Yes." Yep, perpetually Anna.
"Does the odor that she emits have an influence on me, or any other human?" There's that damn pause again.
"Yes, Michael... Please do not get angry…., that did not work out so well the last time."
My God, this is it! This is what happened to me. I didn't go crazy just because Anna left me. I was addicted to her, I probably still am. I was a junky, and Anna leaving me meant I wasn't going to get my fix anymore. There are some very serious implications to this. Any feelings I have for the woman may not be real, I was right all along, but that epiphany nearly killed me, just like a strung out heroin addict.
When she's away from me, I have this wrenching feeling in my gut. Now it is all starting to make sense. At least I'm aware of it now, and I'm just gonna' play along until I find a solution. Unlike heroin, Anna is a pretty good drug to be addicted to...
"Don't worry Olaf, I have control of that now, I've grown too. But you must understand, I find that fact a little sinister, and any plans that are behind my back are going to be a problem for me. Olaf, it is time for your people to come clean. If I am to lead these people, they must be able to trust me, and have their best interests at heart. You are going to need an intermediary between your race and ours, and it's time we meet face to face."
"We are considering it now, Michael. We didn't know at first how your hierarchy would be structured when we brought your species on board. We figured it was best to let your kind decide on its own, and personally, I think your people have made a good choice."
"The thing is Olaf; we're at an early stage here. Some of our citizens are unknown to us. One of the things I want to do is go on a meet and greet tour of all the Habitats citizens."
"Another excellent idea Michael, when do you plan to start this endeavor?"
"In about a week…, Anna's capture of Kjekk has backed up my timeline a bit."
"She is very pleased with this new development."
"I'm happy for her. This is the energy sink she needs. She'll be a stronger person for it. I have something else I'd like to bring up. I think Anna needs her own personal assistant. There will be times when we are separated and I want to be in constant communication with her."
"You missed her last night, didn't you?"
"Yes, Olaf. Thanks for pointing out that particular mental failing. If we are going to rule this place we are going to need some things above and beyond what the everyday citizen needs."
"Agreed…, I can arrange for a sentient drone to accompany..." He just stopped mid-sentence, like he short-circuited. I thought he might fall out of the air. So it begged the question;
"What is it Olaf, why the hesitation?"
"It's just that I've become attached to you both. I dislike the idea of being separated from either one of you."
"Jeeze, Olaf. You're starting to worry me with all this touchy-feely stuff!" While that got a laugh out of me, he was dead serious.
"Olaf, look... I need someone I can trust, that's you. Anna will be getting the new assistant."
"But I've been deceptive with you before, how can you trust me?"
"Because I've been learning your tricks, I know when you're bullshitting me now."
"What kind of personality should Anna's drone have?"
"I have the perfect person in mind..." So I told Olaf my plan and he took off to set it in motion. I decided it was time for some tunes as I was now alone for real. As I bent over to pull a record off the shelf I noticed a balled up sock behind the end table. Anna had a bad habit of flinging the things all over the place much to my chagrin. I picked it up and took a whiff of it. Lavender, it's such a weird smell to start with. The Masters probably went with this as it was a reminder of my mother. Kinda' freaky, but they may not have understood that you shouldn't associate someone you have sex with, with your Mom. Maybe they seen the one universal truism, no one loves you like your mother.
I felt that calm that Kjekk must have had when Anna blew her pheromones at him. Apparently whatever stinky spot on humans is where the effect is strongest. So I decided I'd collect her socks when she misplaces them and keep one or two handy. This was a really creepy thing to do, but the upside was my addiction could be satiated while she's away. I replicated a small satchel to keep them in, and then hung it around my neck; it was something I could hide under my clothes. But I have to wonder, what does she really smell like?
Probably like a skunk stuffed with feta cheese.