Chapter 104

Darkness. Heat. The wandering caress of Sarek's hand down her spine. She breathed in his comforting scent and smiled. Again so soon?

She felt him envelop her, the rasp of his morning stubble grazed her neck as he kissed from her breastbone up her neck and along her jaw. His hot breath made her giggle and she pushed back on his shoulders to kiss him properly when she saw… S'Kelnek?!

"So this is how humans couple?" he asked.

Amanda screamed.

Bolting upright in bed, drenched in sweat, Amanda flailed in the darkness to push him away. The light suddenly came on and Sarek rushed in from the hallway.

"Adun'a, what is it?" he said, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

Amanda clung to his arm and looked around crazily but… no-one else was there…

She finally started to breathe again and letting herself go limp, she rested her forehead against his shoulder. Sarek attempted to tame her bed hair, pushing it gently back from her forehead.

It must have just been a dream, she told herself. Her subconscious trying to process all of the stress of the last few days…

"Just a… nightmare," she whispered finally, gratefully.

Sarek cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"What you saw was not real," he said firmly.

Amanda smiled sheepishly.

"Of course not."

She rested her forehead against his.

"Will you stay with me a while? I don't want to be alone."

He considered her for a moment and almost seemed as if he were about to say no but then his eyes softened.

"Very well," he agreed, pulling her back to lean on his chest as they lay down.

Amanda moved her hand to his side to feel the comforting beat of his heart and before long she had drifted off once more.

"Again!"

Amanda's legs trembled as she moved sluggishly back to the center of the room and sunk into the wide legged stance of the starting position. As she waited for the accompanist to begin to play the first notes on his lyre, she felt a bead of sweat roll unpleasantly down her spine.

T'Pen was suffering no such fatigue even though she'd spent the last three hours practicing with Amanda. They only had two days left and although Amanda's muscles screamed she knew that unless she practiced now she would be unfit to grace the stage – literally.

As the first three notes were plucked through the air, Amanda instinctively shifted through the first phrase of the dance. This one was slow, like a warm-up and Amanda had done it so many times she had it ingrained deep in her muscle memory. Amanda made the tableau with T'Pen concluding the first stage and took a deep breath in anticipation for what came next.

T'Nerrin, in her infinite wisdom, had declared that what she lacked in strength she had to make up with speed. In her mind, as Amanda was smaller and lighter than the average Vulcan woman she should be able to perform quick movements easier. The problem was that it meant a level of coordination so fast that if she stopped to think for just one fleeting second she would lose track of where she was. And there was no recovery after that.

Amanda pushed out a deep breath as the next phrase started and she threw herself into the sequence of leaps and turns synchronized with T'Pen's. She had memorized it this far but there was a difficult segment to follow. One which required them to continually move backwards without looking where they were going before twisting to face all corners of the room in rapid succession and then finally jumping to land on quiet feet. On the few occasions Amanda had made it that far she couldn't help herself from thumping into the floor like an elephant due to sheer exhaustion.

As the memory played across Amanda's mind she became distracted in her turns and stopped, leaning over to breathe for air.

T'Nerrin impatiently stepped forward.

"How many times have I told you, human? You have to breathe with the movement. Breathing gives you more time," she explained.

Amanda held out a hand to stop her.

"It wasn't… that," she panted, sweat streaming down her face.

She straightened and leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling.

"I simply lost concentration. My mind… is tired," she corrected.

T'Nerrin gave her a chill look.

"Enough excuses," she said tersely before turning to sit at the front of the classroom once more.

"Again," she demanded.

And so it went on. Amanda's movements became more sloppy and unrefined as her muscles fatigued more with each practice but T'Nerrin didn't stop. When finally they made it to the last and final jump of the dance, Amanda was so elated that she jumped high and upon landing on her sweaty feet, she lost her footing. She opened her eyes to find herself on her back looking at the ceiling and into T'Pen's concerned eyes.

Lying on the cool floor, Amanda couldn't help but giggle.

T'Nerrin's face came into view and she exchanged a meaningful glance with T'Pen.

"What is she doing?" T'Nerrin asked.

"Laughing," T'Pen explained. "Though I've never seen her do it before in the presence of others."

"Does she need a healer?"

Amanda stopped giggling and raised her hand to quieten them.

"I am still here, you know. And no, I don't require a healer. Though if they have some stronger foot deodorant they could lend me that would not go amiss," she said, pushing herself up into a seating position.

T'Nerrin's nose wrinkled as if she had walked upon a disgusting smell.

"Indeed. See that she gets it," she addressed T'Pen, before walking off. "Class dismissed."

Amanda was so relieved that the practice was over that she stopped herself from explaining that she had only been joking.

As Amanda walked stiffly back to her rooms accompanied by a pensive T'Pen, Amanda enjoyed the gentle breeze that whistled through the corridor in the night time air. Normally at this time she would be prone to anxious thoughts about the future but she was so worn out that such thoughts slipped by unnoticed. She grimaced as she felt a muscle twinge in her back as she walked. She was going to need to stretch when she got home.

Rounding the corner, Amanda stiffened involuntarily as she noticed a dark figure move towards them. T'Pen noticed and glanced back at her curiously. Loosening her shoulders, Amanda fixed her gaze forward and tried not to worry too much about her body odor causing alarm.

A couple of steps away, the man turned to address her.

"Shu-pal talsu?" he asked.

Amanda's eyes flickered as she recognized the voice but not the person. Looking carefully again at the man's face she finally recognized him.

"Socran! It is good to see you no longer dressed in white," she said. His entire posture had changed compared to what she knew.

"Indeed," he said. "What are you doing at this hour?" he asked, inquisitive.

Amanda saw that he had grown in confidence to.

"Dance rehearsal. I wouldn't get too close if I were you. You may find the smell offensive," Amanda explained.

"What are you rehearsing for?" he asked, ignoring her warning.

She gestured down the corridor.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to keep walking before I stiffen up completely. You can join me if you'd like to continue our conversation," she said.

Socran nodded and they continued down the passage together. Now that he walked with a straight back she could see how tall he really was. Taller even than Sarek was.

As Amanda walked, she saw an opportunity flower in her mind.

"I'm holding a diplomatic dinner and I will be dancing with T'Pen as some of the cultural enrichment for the evening. It's hard work but it will be worth the effort," she said, more to convince herself than him.

"I was wondering," she continued. "Are you available for commissions now?" she asked.

Socran turned his head towards her, eyebrow raised.

"It depends on the request but yes, I am available. What did you have in mind?"

Amanda sighed.

"I'm not very knowledgeable on that topic I'm afraid. I would be content with anything you decided to perform, I'm sure."

They walked in silence for a few moments. Amanda was beginning to wonder if he was going to turn her down.

Suddenly, he stopped walking and gave her a piercing look. Amanda staggered to a halt a couple of steps after.

"Do you know who the patron of my concert was?" he asked directly.

In her tiredness, Amanda missed a beat before continuing to walk on.

"I'm sure that whoever it was had their reasons for not revealing themselves," she said, avoiding the question.

Socran reluctantly followed.

"It is difficult to repay a debt when you do not know who you owe it to," he said sourly.

"Perhaps your patron doesn't consider anything to be owed," she suggested.

He gave her another searching look but she held his unfaltering gaze and gave nothing away.

At last, they had reached the entrance to her rooms. Amanda stopped to say goodnight.

"I must retire now," she explained. "Think about my offer and if you agree to it, send for one of my attendants. They will make sure that all your needs are cared for."

As Amanda opened the front door, he responded in a quiet voice.

"I will attend."

Amanda smiled to herself.