Chapter 11
By Nevermore
Author's Note: Well, I was planning on having Chapter 11 be the last chapter in this story, but as I started writing I found I had a great deal more to say than I had planned. (As the saying goes… How do you make God laugh? Make a plan.) I had then decided to cut this chapter into two pieces, then as I was rewriting what is the final scene in this chapter, the characters went off in a totally new direction of their own, which necessitated some reorganization of the scenes. Now it seems like there might be two more chapters after this one (unless the characters do something unexpected again). Please bear with me, and as you're reading this, keep in mind that I am hard at work finishing it all up, hoping to avoid angering Jaimi too much by keeping this story going too long.
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Andromeda shuddered into real-space from slipstream, and Dylan gazed at the large planet that dominated the viewscreen; it was a magnificent green and blue sphere looming before his ship.
"Report," the captain said.
"Stand by," Andromeda replied, drawing a surprised stare from everyone on the bridge. It was unusual that she was not immediately relaying the information she was getting with her sensors. "There seems to be some kind of interference," Andromeda finally said.
"Increase the range of the sensor drones," Dylan commanded. "See if that helps."
"What about a visual scan?" Harper suggested. He knew that while ionization in the planet's upper atmosphere might interfere with some scans, they should still be able to use a telescopic lens to get at least some idea of the planet below.
"There's some kind of semi-opaque energy field," Rommie answered. "I've never really seen anything like it. It's distorting any kind of detailed view, and its scrambling my sensors. I can only see what the rest of you can."
"Which isn't very much," Tyr commented.
"That's right," Andromeda agreed. "It looks like the planet's surface is dominated by a large ocean, with several continent-sized landmasses covered in lush vegetation. Then again, maybe there are just huge areas of green and blue rock that happen to look like forests and seas through the blurry energy shield."
"You can't figure out a way to run a scan?" Dylan asked.
"Like I said, I've never seen anything like it," Rommie explained. "In fact, some of my sensors are telling me it isn't even there."
"But there's obviously something," Beka commented.
"Well, all your systems seem to be operating okay, Rommie," Harper said.
"Beka, go down to the bay and prep the Maru with Tyr," Dylan ordered. "Then come back up here and take command while he and I go down there."
"I wouldn't advise that, Captain Hunt," a new voice said as Normaf appeared on the bridge, as out of thin air.
"Who are you?" Dylan asked immediately, knowing that behind him Tyr had already leveled a weapon at the intruder.
"Hmm… this is very nice," Normaf commented as he continued to look around the bridge, ignoring Dylan's question. "Much more advanced that what I would have imagined…"
"What are you doing here, Normaf?" Rommie asked, suddenly catching the faerie's, and everyone else's, attention by using his name.
"You know him?" Dylan asked.
"He was with Trance before she left," Rommie explained.
"You're the one that took Trance away?" Harper asked angrily, rising to his feet and taking a threatening step toward the intruder. In a flash, he felt Tyr's hand settle on his shoulder, putting on a show of holding him back, though Harper knew the Nietzschean would likely release him if he decided to rush Normaf.
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say I took Trance away," Normaf responded evenly. "It's not like I abducted her, though. I explained the situation, and she accepted it."
"And what exactly is the situation?" Dylan asked. Harper noticed that the captain's voice was far more pleasant than his own, and decided it had something to do with the skill Dylan always referred to as 'diplomacy.' Harper felt it was overrated.
"The situation is that Trance was summoned back home by her father," Normaf explained. "I know that in some cultures a child has certain freedoms, but within our own, she was not entirely free to resist her parents' wishes. Especially given the circumstances."
"What circumstances?" Harper asked.
"Well, Trance's parents are… people of some importance on our planet," Normaf replied evasively.
"They must be if they have trained lackeys to go and abduct their daughter and drag her home," Harper muttered. He took another angry step forward, pulling free of Tyr's restraining hand, and started to wonder what might happen to him if he were to try to rip off Normaf's head.
"Dear boy, I have shown a great deal of patience with you thus far, due primarily to my affection for young Trance Gemini and my knowledge that she cares for you a great deal," Normaf responded, something in his face suddenly growing dark and threatening. "I would expect, however, at least a modicum of propriety from you, as well. I find it hard to believe that Trance would have become involved with someone who is every bit as much a boor as you appear to be."
"Gentlemen, please," Dylan interjected smoothly, "I don't think we're going to get anywhere this way." He turned a warning eye on Harper, and the engineer took a half-step back as he decided to hold his tongue for the time being. The captain then turned once more to their guest. "Mr., uh… Normaf, was it?" The faerie nodded in confirmation. "I assume you didn't come here to my ship in order to trade insults with my engineer. What do you want?"
"Actually, I had come to invite your engineer down to the surface," Normaf responded simply, his tone once more even and unthreatening. "This really is a wondrous ship," he added, suddenly allowing his eyes to dart from one viewscreen to another.
"Perhaps I can arrange a tour for you at some later time," Dylan muttered. "As for my engineer, though, I think he would like to take advantage of your invitation, if it's still offered."
"Absolutely," Harper said with a grin.
"Okay then, Mr. Harper, if you could come here," Normaf said, motioning for Harper to stand at his side. "And as for you, captain, I have received word from our government that your ship may safely fall into orbit. However, no one from your ship is to be permitted to enter our atmosphere. I was instructed not to threaten you at all with this request, so let's just say that our people would like to avoid any unpleasantness."
"I understand completely," Dylan replied. "No one from this ship will approach your surface at any time, you have my word," he assured the faerie. "Though I would like to request that within twenty-four of our hours you allow Harper to contact us to let us know that he's still okay."
"Of course, captain," Normaf replied with a smile and nod. By that point, Harper had reached his side, and he turned to the engineer, the friendly smile he had given the captain suddenly becoming slightly unsettling. "Now please, Mr. Harper, clear your mind and make certain you do not stray from my side. This shouldn't hurt that much. " A moment later, the faerie and the engineer had vanished into thin air, leaving the rest of the confused crew standing silently on the bridge.
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What am I going to do? Trance wondered miserably. For two excruciatingly long days she had held out hope that Harper would come to rescue her from an eternity of loneliness. Worse than actually being by herself, though, she would be sentenced to living alone in a marriage, which Trance felt would actually be worse than being on her own for the rest of her life.
For another brief moment she considered the possibility of escape, but discarded that option, just as she had a thousand times before. Normaf was right - her father would never forgive her for fleeing Avalon to be with humans. He would have to answer such a slight, and the only appropriate response, in her father's eyes, would be to kill Trance's friends. Trance was strong, but she knew she was no match for her father. While she would very likely succeed in escaping, if that were what she decided to do, she would never also be able to protect the mortals that would become the target of her father's wrath.
So I'm stuck here, Trance cursed silently. Her mind pointed out to her that her sacrifice, though uncomfortable, was noble, if nothing else. At the same time, however, it did her little good to acknowledge how noble she was being. She knew that Harper would likely feel that she had abandoned him, and the fact that he would never know the truth of the situation is what bothered her most. If only I could explain…
She was suddenly knocked out of her reverie by a soft knock at the door. She continued to sit in silence, ignoring the sound. The last thing she wanted was another visitor trying to cheer her up. Again the knock came. And again. Trance could only think of one person who could possibly be so irritatingly persistent. "Go away, Robin," she said just loudly enough to be heard through the thick wooden door.
"Robin?" an unexpected voice replied from outside. "Who's Robin?" No, Trance thought, her heart suddenly leaping into her throat as she was certain she heard Harper's voice from outside. It can't be. It has to be some kind of trick…
She got up and strode to the door angrily, pulling it open as she prepared to throttle Robin for playing such a cruel prank. Unexpectedly, she came face to face with Harper.
"Harper?" she muttered, too shocked to say anything more. "Is it really you?"
"In the flesh," the engineer replied with a grin. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Not really."
"Then give me some lovin', babe," he replied, throwing his arms wide so that he could embrace his long-lost friend. "I can't believe it," Trance replied, launching herself into the engineer's grasp, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him into a passionate kiss.
"Well then maybe it's a dream," Harper said with a shrug, obviously not concerned with the possibility as he ran his hands up and down Trance's sides, his touch causing her skin to tingle.
"I can't believe this is happening," Trance muttered. She pulled Harper's face close again, pressing her lips against his and suddenly realizing that his lips were far dryer than they should have been. She pulled back and looked right at her white pillow as she shook herself awake, realizing that she had been dreaming once again. A single tear welled up in her eye as she stifled a sob. It was all so real, she lamented sadly. In a single moment of dream she had been happier than she had been at any waking moment since arriving back home.
"That's it, I'm leaving," she decided finally, not at all concerned about her father's anger. I'll just have to figure out a way to hide my friends, she resolved. He can't hurt them if he doesn't know where they are.
In a flurry of motion she grabbed the few remaining garments she had from her adventures off-world, and threw them in a large leather overnight bag that Harper had given her as a gift. I'll have to get at least a few miles from the palace before I try to leave, she knew. Only since returning to Avalon had she begun to study additional ways of using her abilities, and teleportation was the newest skill she had picked up. Being a novice, though, she knew that she would require a great deal of time to gather the necessary energy, and that doing so would instantly tip off her father as to her plans. He would easily sense that she was trying to leave the planet.
As she walked toward her chamber door, she silently wished that she had had a chance to say goodbye to Robin and Jasmine. Were it not for them, her stay in the palace would have been absolutely unbearable. I'll go out to Sunrise Bluff, she decided, hoping that she would once again run into Ali. She thought it would be nice to at least say goodbye to him.
As she opened the door, Trance immediately settled her eyes on two guards, and standing behind them was Normaf. "If I may have a moment of your time?" he asked pleasantly, his gaze seeming to pass right over her off-world outfit and the overnight bag slung over her shoulder.
"Not now," Trance answered evenly, hoping that Normaf would not inquire as to what she had been up to.
"Were you going somewhere?" he then asked, drawing a slew of silent curses in Trance's mind. She couldn't believe her bad luck.
"Well, umm… I was going to go for a walk," she lied.
"It's late, miss," Normaf responded. "I would think you'd like to get some rest, and you won't do yourself any good by getting worn out lugging that heavy bag around with you. You're to have a very busy day tomorrow."
"Which is why I need to go for a walk," Trance replied. "I have to clear my head… I have so much on my mind."
"Very well," Normaf said with a sly grin. "I suppose I will then instruct your guest to wait in your chambers while you're taking your walk."
"My guest?" Trance asked, wondering who had come to see her. The only guesses she could come up with were Robin and Jasmine, and neither of them would have gone through Normaf to gain entrance. They would have just walked by.
"Yes, your guest," Normaf said, gesturing off to his left, down the hall. Trance craned her neck out the hallway, and there, partially obstructed behind the larger of the two guards, was Harper.
"Hey there," he said with a small wave, looking as coolly unconcerned as he ever did. "Long time no see."
"Harper!" Trance squealed with delight, dropping her bag and pushing the guard out of her way as she grabbed her friend in a tight embrace. The engineer immediately pushed her back, softly, but firmly.
"Your friend here tells me we have some things to discuss," the human said evenly. "I think we should go inside."
"Umm… yeah," Trance agreed. She led Harper into her chambers, hardly noticing that Normaf gave the guards orders that no one, including Trance's father, was to disturb them under any circumstances.
Once inside, however, Normaf walked over into a corner and stood passively, completely unobtrusive as Trance and Harper enjoyed their reunion. For several minutes the two simply held one another in a tight embrace, staring at each other as they allowed their physical contact to erase the gap that each of them had felt develop during their time apart.
"I missed you," Trance said with a grin.
"And that makes you happy?" Harper asked.
"No, not at all," Trance replied quickly.
"Then why are you smiling?" the engineer asked.
"Seamus Harper, I'm seriously going to hurt you if you don't stop with the sarcasm," Trance threatened.
"As if you'd like me anywhere near as much if I suddenly became serious," Harper replied. He then pushed himself free of Trance's grasp and looked her over from head to toe, causing Trance to shift her feet uneasily. Only Randex had ever seemed to pore over her body as Harper had, although with Harper she didn't find it offensive so much as unsettling. She became very self-conscious when anyone looked closely at her, and it seemed weird to her having Normaf in the room while Harper seemed to undress her with his eyes. "Have you been working out?" he asked with a smile, suddenly putting her completely at ease.
"What did I just say to you?" Trance asked, though her amused smile belied her outwardly irritated demeanor. "How did you find me, anyway?" Trance suddenly asked, hoping to force Harper to be at least a little bit more serious.
"You gave me a hint," Harper reminded her, pointing to areas of his face with his index finger. "The Big Dipper… remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Trance replied. "I was just hoping you would."
"There any chance you could explain some things to me?" Harper asked.
"Like what?"
"Like why your people seem to write in an ancient Earth language," Harper began, "or maybe why it is that you're being held in your room like some kind of prisoner."
"Well, I'm in here because my father doesn't want me leaving before tomorrow," Trance explained. "It's pretty important."
"Why? What's tomorrow?" Harper asked curiously, feeling that Trance wanted him to ask the question so that she wouldn't be forced to volunteer that information on her own.
"I'm getting married tomorrow."
"What?!" Harper asked, a swell of emotions boiling up within him. He didn't know whether he wanted to scream, cry, punch a hole in the wall, or throw up. In the end, he simply stood completely still, a dumbfounded look on his face.
"It's not like I want to," Trance said quickly. "It was an arranged marriage. My parents picked my husband for me."
"An arranged marriage?" Harper asked. "They can't do that!"
"Yes, they can," Trance said evenly. Though she completely disagreed with that particular tradition, she didn't like Harper attacking the ways of her people. It seemed rather offensive to her. "We're not human, Harper," Trance reminded him. "We have different customs, and you're not going to win any points by coming in here raging against our way of life, claiming some kind of moral superiority the way humans always do."
"So you're going to get married?" Harper asked incredulously. "What the fuck, Trance? If you knew you were gonna get married, why the hell did you give me clues to get me out here? I would have been happier never knowing."
"Seamus Harper, you watch your language," Trance chided. "And as for the wedding, like I said, I don't want to do it. I'd rather…"
"Rather what?" Harper asked, part of him craving an answer while another part dreaded it.
"Never mind," Trance replied.
"No, seriously, what would you rather do?" Harper pressed.
"I'd rather marry you," Trance said quickly, wincing as she spoke the words. She was afraid of what the engineer would say in response.
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Harper asked with an amused smile. "Shouldn't I be the one to ask?" His brow furrowed in thought, and he got a faraway look in his eye. "On the other hand, though, does this mean I don't have to go to the trouble and expense of buying an engagement ring for you?"
"Keep it up, Harper," Trance muttered, confused as to how Harper could still be cracking jokes.
"You know I'd love to marry you, Trance," Harper said with a warm smile. "What do I have to do to change your father's mind?"
"I don't know," Trance answered. "First of all, when you say you want to get married, you have to be clear on something."
"What?" Harper asked.
"Well, my father kinda decreed that I'm getting married tomorrow," Trance explained. "If you're going to marry me, it can't be at some distant time in the future…"
"It has to be tomorrow," Harper concluded, getting a confirming nod from the faerie. Outwardly he seemed calm, but Trance could see how Harper was suddenly shifting his feet nervously and wringing his hands as his eyes darted around the room, avoiding meeting her gaze. Trance knew how unpleasant the situation was for her friend. She had known many human males, and none of them had ever liked the idea of settling down with one woman, even when they knew that the woman in question was perfect for them. "This is an awful lot to process, you know," Harper commented.
"I know."
"I didn't exactly expect this."
"I know, Harper," Trance said sadly. "I understand that you can't do this."
"I'm not saying that," Harper said quickly, surprising the faerie. "Trance, while you were gone I felt completely lost. I was miserable from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep. I can't imagine going through another day without you, let alone the rest of my life. If I have to marry you tomorrow to keep you with me, then I'll do so, no problem."
"You don't have to do this," Trance said, suddenly feeling guilty about the position in which she had the human.
"I know that," Harper assured her. "This is what I want to do, Trance. I want this. I want to marry you."
"Okay," Trance said, "I guess that's the first step."
"Wait a second," Harper said, a look of realization flickering to life in his eyes. "What exactly did you mean when you said your father decreed that you were getting married tomorrow?"
"Oh, that…" Trance answered. "Umm… well… my father's a king."
"A king ?"
"Well, yeah," Trance replied. "Didn't you notice that you're in a castle?"
"Not really," Harper said. "I was on the bridge of the Andromeda, and then your friend Normaf sorta teleported us down here, or something. I never really saw the building at all. I figured it was just a really big house."
"A really big house?" Trance asked dubiously.
"Okay, a really, really big house," Harper amended, "as in, a house that's so big it takes twenty minutes to walk to your room from the cellar that Normaf entered through. But it never occurred to me that I was in a castle, Trance. It's not exactly like I've spent much time around royalty in my life." Trance couldn't help but smile.
"Actually, you have," she said. "I'm a princess."
"What?"
"My father's a king," Trance pointed out. "That makes me a princess."
"Oh, shit…"
"Harper, watch your language," Trance said again. "I can't believe you talk like that in front of a future monarch."
"Wow, that's… umm…"
"Unexpected?" Trance guessed.
"That's one way to put it," Harper responded. "I can't believe this…"
"What?"
"Well, it was bad enough when I thought I was gonna have to go to a possessive father and get him to let me marry his daughter against his wishes," Harper explained. "But it's not even as simple as that, because the possessive father happens to be a king, and his daughter a princess. Can this get any worse?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Trance asked.
"No, but I guess if it does get worse than that, I'm gonna have to hear it sooner or later," Harper lamented.
"Well, the thing is…" Trance hesitated, "well… umm… see, my father sorta hates humans."
"Oh, great," Harper replied.
"Everyone else pretty much does, too," Trance added.
"This just keeps getting better," Harper groused. "Should I even dare to ask why they hate us?"
"My people used to live on Earth," Trance explained.
"What?" Harper asked. "Your people are from Earth?" While the statement seemed unbelievable, he knew it would do a great deal to explain the use of ancient Earth languages, and also why Trance had used an Earth constellation as a clue for finding her.
"We're not from Earth," Trance corrected quickly. "Some of us just lived there for awhile. It was like a colony of sorts. A bunch of us lived in small villages, mostly in the British Isles but there were also a few families spread around here and there. We had a couple named Isis and Osiris that lived in ancient Egypt, and a father and his two sons, Vishnu and Shiva, lived in India."
"Oh my God," Harper muttered, realizing the effect that Trance's people had had upon humans.
"Exactly," Trance said, seizing on the absolute appropriateness of Harper's words. "As you can imagine, our people didn't exactly take well to the idea of humans, suddenly armed with bronze, and then later iron weapons, violently taking back their world. We held on for quite awhile in the Isles, though. In the end, during a period the humans refer to as the Inquisition, the last of us finally fled in order to avoid getting burned at the stake."
"I had no idea…"
"Yeah, well, assuming we don't die from injury or illness, my people are pretty much immortal," Trance explained. "That means there are quite a few on this planet that remember Earth as it was millennia ago, and they miss it greatly. Avalon is a nice enough place, a comfortable colony to have as a second home after fleeing Earth, but it's not as nice as what we once had."
"So your father is really not likely to go along with this," Harper muttered.
"He's going to test you," Trance assured her lover. "He'll test you with every intention of having you fail."
"Your Highness," Normaf said from the corner, finally joining the conversation, "I don't believe that statement may be entirely accurate."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked curiously.
"Well, you've both already been tested rather thoroughly," the king's advisor replied.
"He tested us already?" Trance asked dubiously.
"Not exactly," Normaf answered evasively. "I never said your father was the one that did the testing, child. I only said that you had been tested."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked.
"Yeah," Harper agreed.
"Not now," Normaf said evenly, cutting off their inquiries. "I will explain it all when the time is right. For now, though, I suggest that you both freshen up a bit. We're going to speak with the king."
-------------------------------------------------
"Hello, father," Trance said softly as she walked into her father's study, Harper following closely behind. The king looked up briefly from a scroll and grunted to acknowledge his daughter's presence, but he paid no more mind than that. Trance and Harper stood impassively for several minutes, and Harper began to wonder just how long he would be made to wait. Trance, for her part, was hoping her father got to her sooner than he had at times in the past. He had once kept her waiting for thirteen hours before he finally looked up from his work to speak with her. She knew Harper would never be able to endure such treatment politely.
"So, this is him?" Oberon finally commented after almost half an hour, though he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the parchment in his hands.
"Yes," Trance replied. "This is the one I wish to marry."
"So you say," Oberon responded, finally looking at his daughter, his eyes boring into hers as he seemed to make a concerted effort not to acknowledge the presence of a human in his chamber. "What's its name?"
"His name is Harper," Trance shot back, immediately wincing as she realized she had returned to the same old confrontational pattern that had never gotten her anywhere with her father. "I'm sorry," she apologized immediately, leveling her voice and straining to muster the same thin smile she always saw on the courtiers. "Father, this Harper," she said, stepping to her left and gesturing to the engineer with a flourish of her hand. "He's come very far to find me."
"And just in the nick of time, too," the king muttered. Trance figured it was a safe bet that her father had hoped her human lover would never find her. It would certainly have made things far easier. "So does it speak?"
Trance was just about to respond angrily again when she heard Harper finally speak up behind her. "Yes, Your Grace," he said smoothly, shocking Trance with the tone of his voice. "My name is Seamus Harper, of Earth."
"Well then, Seamus Harper," Oberon replied, "I hope you and your friends were careful enough to make certain that no one followed you through slipstream. The last thing I need is more humans stumbling upon our world."
"I think your secret's safe," Harper replied, clasping his hands in front of him, appearing to stand more at ease. Trance could tell, however, that Harper was extremely nervous, as his hands were both starting to redden with the tight grip he was exerting.
"I've heard humans say that before," Oberon commented.
"That was in a different time," Trance reminded her father. "Humans have changed since then. They've gone to the stars. They built their Commonwealth."
"And they also destroyed it," the king shot back. "It's all too typical of them. Have I taught you nothing?"
"It wasn't the humans that tore down the Commonwealth," Trance objected.
"Yes it was," Harper interjected, hoping he would be able to get somewhere with his approach. He could tell that Trance was trying to convince her father that his long-held prejudices were incorrect. Harper knew that would never work, at least not anytime soon. He could remember how long it had taken him to accept Rev on the Maru with him. No, prejudice isn't something that can be quickly erased or adjusted, he knew. Then again, though, I don't have to convince him that his view of humans is wrong. I only have to convince him that I'm not like the rest. If I can make him see me as an individual, and judge me on my own merits rather than according to his view of my species, I may have a chance.
"No, Harper, it was the Nietzscheans," Trance pointed out.
"And when you come right down to it, the Nietzscheans are simply human," Harper replied, turning his attention away from the king and settling his blue eyes on Trance. "The Nietzscheans were developed from human DNA. They are the epitome of everything it is to be human. They're adaptable, cunning, ambitious, ruthless, and proud. In short, they're everything most humans aspire to be."
"You admit this?" Oberon asked incredulously.
"Yes," Harper said. "You expect me to deny it? I'm neither stupid nor a liar. I can see how most humans are. Besides, even if you argue that Nietzscheans are distinct from the humans they sprang from, the fact is that humans created them. We're responsible for the results of that action, so at the very least we indirectly caused the fall of the Commonwealth."
"Interesting," Oberon responded. "I can see what you're doing, though, Mr. Harper. It will take more than a few pretty words to get me to agree to your marrying my daughter."
"Of course it will," Harper answered, "but maybe if we all sit down and discuss this for awhile, we could all make some headway in getting what we all want."
"What I want is my daughter to stay here on her own planet, with me," Oberon said evenly. "I want her to marry an upstanding member of our society, a man from a respectable family that will take good care of her. And I want her to stop making time with her mongrel friends."
"Mongrel?" Trance blurted out angrily. "How dare you!"
"Silence, child!" the king bellowed, his voice thundering off the walls and shaking the room. Trance took several steps back in fear while Harper did his best to remain standing. "You have disgraced your people, Trance," the king continued, his voice returning to an unsettling monotone. "You have disgraced me, your mother, and yourself. I don't see how I can possibly allow you to marry this human. He's a rather unremarkable specimen, even by the standards of his pitiful species."
"You take that back," Trance said menacingly. Harper tried to decide whether he should step to Trance's side to calm her down, doubting that it would be wise to be standing next to her if the situation came to blows between her and her father.
"I will not," Oberon answered.
"You said I could choose who I would marry," Trance shot back. "You promised… and for the first time in my life I really believed you would keep your word… and that you actually cared about me."
"I do care about you, Trance," the king said. "That is why I can't allow you to ruin your life by marrying a mortal… and a human, at that."
"It's my life to ruin if that's what I choose," Trance responded angrily.
"No, it's not," the king said. "You're royalty, Trance. The people have certain expectations of you. They pattern their own lives after the choices we make. You have to understand what this could mean to our society."
"And you have to understand that I can't just abandon Harper," Trance returned.
"Ah, Your Highness," a new voice said cheerily as Normaf entered the room. "I've been searching all over for you." Normaf looked the scene over, allowing his eyes to fall, in turn, over the king, Trance, and Harper. "I truly hope I'm not too late."
"This is not a good time," Oberon muttered.
"I beg to differ," Normaf answered, drawing a surprised gasp from Trance. In all her life, she had never known anyone but herself to stand up to the king. She knew Normaf was suddenly walking a very fine line. "I have some information that I feel might be useful in this conversation."
"And what, pray tell, might that information be?" Oberon asked.
"Well, it concerns the matter of your daughter and her, uh… suitor," Normaf answered. "I presume you feel the human is not fit to marry the princess."
"That's a bit of an understatement," Oberon replied.
"I have proof of his superior ability and devotion to Princess Trance," Normaf said smoothly. "If you would allow me to bring in witnesses?"
"Fine, but make it quick," the king responded with a dismissive flourish of his hand. Normaf clapped his hands together twice and the door to the study opened quickly. Two young faeries walked in, one male and one female.
The male stood five and a half feet tall, with alabaster skin and long, straight auburn hair. His ice blue eyes seemed to cut a swath through the room as he looked everyone over quickly, seeming amused at the tension that hung in the air.
The female stood only a shade above five feet tall, with sea-green skin and indigo hair that was all accentuated by the light blue dress she wore. Her eyes, seemingly made of liquid gold, held a mischievous gleam that Trance found vaguely familiar. "Calypso?" Trance asked hesitantly.
"Yep," the female replied.
"Who's he?" Trance asked, pointing to the other faerie standing next to her.
"What is he doing here?" Oberon asked, also pointing to the same individual.
"You know him?" Trance asked her father.
"Of course he does," the male answered. "I've conducted some business for your father at many times in the past."
"I suppose you've been up to something," the king muttered, turning once again to Normaf. "I should have known."
"What's going on?" Trance asked.
"Your highness, this, as you know, is Calypso," Normaf said to Trance. "She was in the palace when you were very young, and she is my niece. This other one," he added, pointing to the other faerie, "is her brother, Puck."
"I've heard of you," Trance said.
"Well I would hope so," Puck answered. "Gods know I've been busy enough keeping my hand in the business of the universe. That's how I came to be here, actually."
"What have you been up to?" the king growled at Normaf.
"Well, Your Grace, I was understandably very concerned that young Trance had been spending time with humans," Normaf replied.
"As well you should be," the king agreed.
"Yes, all too many of them are nothing but trouble," Normaf said, drawing an angry glare from the princess. "The thing is, though, that some of them, all too few of them, actually, are like diamonds in the rough, possessing incredible potential if they could just be shined up a bit."
"So you took it upon yourself to find out if this one has even a modicum of worth," Oberon surmised, pointing to Harper.
"Yes, Your Grace," Normaf answered. "I knew that you would want to look into the character of your daughter's friends, but you were prevented from doing so by the fact that you are our king. It's doubtful the people would have understood."
"So what did you do?" the king asked suspiciously.
"Well, first of all, I sent my niece to test Mr. Harper," Normaf said.
"Test?" the king asked. "Exactly how did she test him?"
"Yeah," Harper interrupted. "I've never seen her before in my life. Whatever she says is a lie."
"Oh really?" Calypso asked the engineer, turning to face him. "You don't remember me?" As she spoke, her features began to shift and she grew several inches as her skin color changed from sea-green to human flesh tone. Her hair lightened from indigo to a bright blue, and her golden eyes darkened into a soft, all-too-familiar brown.
"Oh my God," Harper muttered. "Delilah."
"I'm flattered that you remember," Delilah replied.
"How did you…" Harper trailed off, wondering which of his countless questions he should ask first.
"I'm a shapeshifter," Calypso answered. "My uncle sent me to test you, to make sure that you were really as interested in Trance as you claimed. He wanted to make certain that the first alluring woman that came along wouldn't be enough to tempt you."
"What do you mean by tempt?" Trance asked suspiciously.
"I asked him to run away with me," Delilah said, turning toward the princess. "He refused."
"Of course I did," Harper said quickly.
"Though I think I almost had you the second time," Delilah added, turning back to the human.
"Second time?" Harper asked in reply. Again Delilah's body began to shift and reform. Once more she grew, this time taking on a form that stood over six feet tall and was heavily muscled. Her hair turned a dark brown, and a full, shaggy beard grew onto her face. Within seconds, Harper was once more looking at Captain Samson. "Oh, I don't believe this."
"What?" Trance asked.
"Captain Samson?" Harper asked. "So I guess there's no such thing as the Sayshell Union, then."
"Oh, there is," Samson assured him, "but I don't work for them. While I was aboard Andromeda as Delilah, I downloaded the computer virus into you, and that disabled the ship the first time you jacked into her system. Then I showed up as Captain Samson, to tempt you with fame and fortune. I think you almost took me up on the offer."
"Harper!" Trance shouted.
"The operative word here is 'almost,' " Harper said with a grin.
"Fame and fortune?" Oberon asked. "A human passed that up?"
"I promised him more money than he could imagine," Samson said as his form shifted back into that of Calypso. Even as the words were spoken, the pitch of the voice lost its hard, masculine edge and began to flow with Calypso's melodious, seductive tone. "I also promised him fame, a plethora of sycophants wherever he went, and a harem that was likely to grow daily."
"And this human refused?" Oberon asked, obviously shocked. "Interesting…"
"He is certainly not like most humans," Normaf commented. "In fact, I believe it might be worth our time to see if there are more like him. Humans have been suffering for centuries, sire. It might have been unpleasant, but the time has done wonders for their character."
"And what was your role in all of this?" Oberon asked Puck, suddenly turning on the slightly built faerie.
"I made certain that Puck kept an eye on the princess," Normaf said, answering for his nephew. "Perhaps you did not know, my king, but your daughter has become quite an accomplished dreamwalker. I didn't want her to contact her human acquaintances to help them along. It wasn't enough to simply test Harper's character - I also wanted to test his mind. Trance had given him a single clue as to her location, and I wanted to see if he was clever enough to figure it out."
"Which he obviously did," Oberon concluded.
"Yes, without any assistance from here," Normaf said. "Puck saw to that."
"How?" Trance asked.
"By interrupting you every time you were alone long enough to try contacting your friends," Puck replied, his own form beginning to shift. Ice blue eyes became an iridescent green, and his hair became a bright, curly blue. His complexion developed color, becoming human flesh-tone, and features changed just enough to allow Trance to come face to face with Robin.
"I guess I should have known," Trance commented. "Every time I tried to dreamwalk, you showed up at my door."
"And every time you seemed sad, Jasmine and I made certain you were amused and distracted enough so that you didn't become convinced you should try to run."
"So you knew Harper was being tested, and you decided to make sure I stayed here and out of the way until you were done with him," Trance concluded.
"Well, that's not entirely it," Normaf said with a sideways glance toward the king. "I also figured your father would like to know just how taken you are with this human."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked suspiciously, staring at Normaf with accusing eyes.
"He means that Harper wasn't the only one that was tested," Trance heard a familiar voice say behind her. She spun around and came face to face with Ali, who was standing where Robin had been only moments before.
"You bastard," Trance said. "You led me on like that?"
"I offered you an attractive alternative," Ali said, his silver hair and eyes reflecting the dancing light of the flames that burned softly in the chamber's large fireplace.
"What's going on?" Harper asked.
"Just as Calypso tempted you as Delilah, so did I tempt Trance as Ali," Puck said smoothly.
"And what happened?" Harper asked nervously, not entirely certain he wanted to know the answer.
"Nothing happened," Trance said quickly.
"I don't know that I'd say nothing happened," Ali commented, his features shifting quickly until, moments later, Puck was standing in the middle of the room, every eye trained on him. "You were quite tempted, Princess," he said slyly. "You realized that neither of the alternatives you were presented with - Randex and Harper - was exactly perfect. You care deeply for Harper, but he's mortal. He'll die within a short time, leaving you alone. Randex will be with you forever, but given his less than endearing personality, forever isn't exactly an appealing thought. Ali, however, offered a great, understanding personality, as well as the prospect of happiness for the rest of your life, however centuries or millennia that may be."
"Immortality isn't that important," Trance said quickly, having noticed through the corner of her eye that Harper was obviously uneasy with the conversation.
"Of course it is," Puck replied. "Immortal is what we are. It's like saying mortality isn't important to a human. It's probably the most important trait they have to deal with - it preoccupies some of their greatest thinkers. Day in, day out, the most enlightened humans realize that they will die, just as you must realize that you won't."
"Umm, Trance," Harper said.
"Not now, Harper," Trance replied, suddenly turning toward the door and moving away as quickly as she could. "I can't talk about this now." Within moments she was out the door and running down the hall, her quick footsteps fading quickly, leaving a dead silence in their wake.
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Coming Soon…… Trance has to decide whether she can accept the idea that a few years of love is better than a lifetime alone, and she learns the price of her father's consent if she decides to go through with her marriage to Harper. Oh, and Tyr gets in a fight, too…
Jaimi/Nevermore Copyright@2002
By Nevermore
Author's Note: Well, I was planning on having Chapter 11 be the last chapter in this story, but as I started writing I found I had a great deal more to say than I had planned. (As the saying goes… How do you make God laugh? Make a plan.) I had then decided to cut this chapter into two pieces, then as I was rewriting what is the final scene in this chapter, the characters went off in a totally new direction of their own, which necessitated some reorganization of the scenes. Now it seems like there might be two more chapters after this one (unless the characters do something unexpected again). Please bear with me, and as you're reading this, keep in mind that I am hard at work finishing it all up, hoping to avoid angering Jaimi too much by keeping this story going too long.
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Andromeda shuddered into real-space from slipstream, and Dylan gazed at the large planet that dominated the viewscreen; it was a magnificent green and blue sphere looming before his ship.
"Report," the captain said.
"Stand by," Andromeda replied, drawing a surprised stare from everyone on the bridge. It was unusual that she was not immediately relaying the information she was getting with her sensors. "There seems to be some kind of interference," Andromeda finally said.
"Increase the range of the sensor drones," Dylan commanded. "See if that helps."
"What about a visual scan?" Harper suggested. He knew that while ionization in the planet's upper atmosphere might interfere with some scans, they should still be able to use a telescopic lens to get at least some idea of the planet below.
"There's some kind of semi-opaque energy field," Rommie answered. "I've never really seen anything like it. It's distorting any kind of detailed view, and its scrambling my sensors. I can only see what the rest of you can."
"Which isn't very much," Tyr commented.
"That's right," Andromeda agreed. "It looks like the planet's surface is dominated by a large ocean, with several continent-sized landmasses covered in lush vegetation. Then again, maybe there are just huge areas of green and blue rock that happen to look like forests and seas through the blurry energy shield."
"You can't figure out a way to run a scan?" Dylan asked.
"Like I said, I've never seen anything like it," Rommie explained. "In fact, some of my sensors are telling me it isn't even there."
"But there's obviously something," Beka commented.
"Well, all your systems seem to be operating okay, Rommie," Harper said.
"Beka, go down to the bay and prep the Maru with Tyr," Dylan ordered. "Then come back up here and take command while he and I go down there."
"I wouldn't advise that, Captain Hunt," a new voice said as Normaf appeared on the bridge, as out of thin air.
"Who are you?" Dylan asked immediately, knowing that behind him Tyr had already leveled a weapon at the intruder.
"Hmm… this is very nice," Normaf commented as he continued to look around the bridge, ignoring Dylan's question. "Much more advanced that what I would have imagined…"
"What are you doing here, Normaf?" Rommie asked, suddenly catching the faerie's, and everyone else's, attention by using his name.
"You know him?" Dylan asked.
"He was with Trance before she left," Rommie explained.
"You're the one that took Trance away?" Harper asked angrily, rising to his feet and taking a threatening step toward the intruder. In a flash, he felt Tyr's hand settle on his shoulder, putting on a show of holding him back, though Harper knew the Nietzschean would likely release him if he decided to rush Normaf.
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say I took Trance away," Normaf responded evenly. "It's not like I abducted her, though. I explained the situation, and she accepted it."
"And what exactly is the situation?" Dylan asked. Harper noticed that the captain's voice was far more pleasant than his own, and decided it had something to do with the skill Dylan always referred to as 'diplomacy.' Harper felt it was overrated.
"The situation is that Trance was summoned back home by her father," Normaf explained. "I know that in some cultures a child has certain freedoms, but within our own, she was not entirely free to resist her parents' wishes. Especially given the circumstances."
"What circumstances?" Harper asked.
"Well, Trance's parents are… people of some importance on our planet," Normaf replied evasively.
"They must be if they have trained lackeys to go and abduct their daughter and drag her home," Harper muttered. He took another angry step forward, pulling free of Tyr's restraining hand, and started to wonder what might happen to him if he were to try to rip off Normaf's head.
"Dear boy, I have shown a great deal of patience with you thus far, due primarily to my affection for young Trance Gemini and my knowledge that she cares for you a great deal," Normaf responded, something in his face suddenly growing dark and threatening. "I would expect, however, at least a modicum of propriety from you, as well. I find it hard to believe that Trance would have become involved with someone who is every bit as much a boor as you appear to be."
"Gentlemen, please," Dylan interjected smoothly, "I don't think we're going to get anywhere this way." He turned a warning eye on Harper, and the engineer took a half-step back as he decided to hold his tongue for the time being. The captain then turned once more to their guest. "Mr., uh… Normaf, was it?" The faerie nodded in confirmation. "I assume you didn't come here to my ship in order to trade insults with my engineer. What do you want?"
"Actually, I had come to invite your engineer down to the surface," Normaf responded simply, his tone once more even and unthreatening. "This really is a wondrous ship," he added, suddenly allowing his eyes to dart from one viewscreen to another.
"Perhaps I can arrange a tour for you at some later time," Dylan muttered. "As for my engineer, though, I think he would like to take advantage of your invitation, if it's still offered."
"Absolutely," Harper said with a grin.
"Okay then, Mr. Harper, if you could come here," Normaf said, motioning for Harper to stand at his side. "And as for you, captain, I have received word from our government that your ship may safely fall into orbit. However, no one from your ship is to be permitted to enter our atmosphere. I was instructed not to threaten you at all with this request, so let's just say that our people would like to avoid any unpleasantness."
"I understand completely," Dylan replied. "No one from this ship will approach your surface at any time, you have my word," he assured the faerie. "Though I would like to request that within twenty-four of our hours you allow Harper to contact us to let us know that he's still okay."
"Of course, captain," Normaf replied with a smile and nod. By that point, Harper had reached his side, and he turned to the engineer, the friendly smile he had given the captain suddenly becoming slightly unsettling. "Now please, Mr. Harper, clear your mind and make certain you do not stray from my side. This shouldn't hurt that much. " A moment later, the faerie and the engineer had vanished into thin air, leaving the rest of the confused crew standing silently on the bridge.
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What am I going to do? Trance wondered miserably. For two excruciatingly long days she had held out hope that Harper would come to rescue her from an eternity of loneliness. Worse than actually being by herself, though, she would be sentenced to living alone in a marriage, which Trance felt would actually be worse than being on her own for the rest of her life.
For another brief moment she considered the possibility of escape, but discarded that option, just as she had a thousand times before. Normaf was right - her father would never forgive her for fleeing Avalon to be with humans. He would have to answer such a slight, and the only appropriate response, in her father's eyes, would be to kill Trance's friends. Trance was strong, but she knew she was no match for her father. While she would very likely succeed in escaping, if that were what she decided to do, she would never also be able to protect the mortals that would become the target of her father's wrath.
So I'm stuck here, Trance cursed silently. Her mind pointed out to her that her sacrifice, though uncomfortable, was noble, if nothing else. At the same time, however, it did her little good to acknowledge how noble she was being. She knew that Harper would likely feel that she had abandoned him, and the fact that he would never know the truth of the situation is what bothered her most. If only I could explain…
She was suddenly knocked out of her reverie by a soft knock at the door. She continued to sit in silence, ignoring the sound. The last thing she wanted was another visitor trying to cheer her up. Again the knock came. And again. Trance could only think of one person who could possibly be so irritatingly persistent. "Go away, Robin," she said just loudly enough to be heard through the thick wooden door.
"Robin?" an unexpected voice replied from outside. "Who's Robin?" No, Trance thought, her heart suddenly leaping into her throat as she was certain she heard Harper's voice from outside. It can't be. It has to be some kind of trick…
She got up and strode to the door angrily, pulling it open as she prepared to throttle Robin for playing such a cruel prank. Unexpectedly, she came face to face with Harper.
"Harper?" she muttered, too shocked to say anything more. "Is it really you?"
"In the flesh," the engineer replied with a grin. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Not really."
"Then give me some lovin', babe," he replied, throwing his arms wide so that he could embrace his long-lost friend. "I can't believe it," Trance replied, launching herself into the engineer's grasp, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him into a passionate kiss.
"Well then maybe it's a dream," Harper said with a shrug, obviously not concerned with the possibility as he ran his hands up and down Trance's sides, his touch causing her skin to tingle.
"I can't believe this is happening," Trance muttered. She pulled Harper's face close again, pressing her lips against his and suddenly realizing that his lips were far dryer than they should have been. She pulled back and looked right at her white pillow as she shook herself awake, realizing that she had been dreaming once again. A single tear welled up in her eye as she stifled a sob. It was all so real, she lamented sadly. In a single moment of dream she had been happier than she had been at any waking moment since arriving back home.
"That's it, I'm leaving," she decided finally, not at all concerned about her father's anger. I'll just have to figure out a way to hide my friends, she resolved. He can't hurt them if he doesn't know where they are.
In a flurry of motion she grabbed the few remaining garments she had from her adventures off-world, and threw them in a large leather overnight bag that Harper had given her as a gift. I'll have to get at least a few miles from the palace before I try to leave, she knew. Only since returning to Avalon had she begun to study additional ways of using her abilities, and teleportation was the newest skill she had picked up. Being a novice, though, she knew that she would require a great deal of time to gather the necessary energy, and that doing so would instantly tip off her father as to her plans. He would easily sense that she was trying to leave the planet.
As she walked toward her chamber door, she silently wished that she had had a chance to say goodbye to Robin and Jasmine. Were it not for them, her stay in the palace would have been absolutely unbearable. I'll go out to Sunrise Bluff, she decided, hoping that she would once again run into Ali. She thought it would be nice to at least say goodbye to him.
As she opened the door, Trance immediately settled her eyes on two guards, and standing behind them was Normaf. "If I may have a moment of your time?" he asked pleasantly, his gaze seeming to pass right over her off-world outfit and the overnight bag slung over her shoulder.
"Not now," Trance answered evenly, hoping that Normaf would not inquire as to what she had been up to.
"Were you going somewhere?" he then asked, drawing a slew of silent curses in Trance's mind. She couldn't believe her bad luck.
"Well, umm… I was going to go for a walk," she lied.
"It's late, miss," Normaf responded. "I would think you'd like to get some rest, and you won't do yourself any good by getting worn out lugging that heavy bag around with you. You're to have a very busy day tomorrow."
"Which is why I need to go for a walk," Trance replied. "I have to clear my head… I have so much on my mind."
"Very well," Normaf said with a sly grin. "I suppose I will then instruct your guest to wait in your chambers while you're taking your walk."
"My guest?" Trance asked, wondering who had come to see her. The only guesses she could come up with were Robin and Jasmine, and neither of them would have gone through Normaf to gain entrance. They would have just walked by.
"Yes, your guest," Normaf said, gesturing off to his left, down the hall. Trance craned her neck out the hallway, and there, partially obstructed behind the larger of the two guards, was Harper.
"Hey there," he said with a small wave, looking as coolly unconcerned as he ever did. "Long time no see."
"Harper!" Trance squealed with delight, dropping her bag and pushing the guard out of her way as she grabbed her friend in a tight embrace. The engineer immediately pushed her back, softly, but firmly.
"Your friend here tells me we have some things to discuss," the human said evenly. "I think we should go inside."
"Umm… yeah," Trance agreed. She led Harper into her chambers, hardly noticing that Normaf gave the guards orders that no one, including Trance's father, was to disturb them under any circumstances.
Once inside, however, Normaf walked over into a corner and stood passively, completely unobtrusive as Trance and Harper enjoyed their reunion. For several minutes the two simply held one another in a tight embrace, staring at each other as they allowed their physical contact to erase the gap that each of them had felt develop during their time apart.
"I missed you," Trance said with a grin.
"And that makes you happy?" Harper asked.
"No, not at all," Trance replied quickly.
"Then why are you smiling?" the engineer asked.
"Seamus Harper, I'm seriously going to hurt you if you don't stop with the sarcasm," Trance threatened.
"As if you'd like me anywhere near as much if I suddenly became serious," Harper replied. He then pushed himself free of Trance's grasp and looked her over from head to toe, causing Trance to shift her feet uneasily. Only Randex had ever seemed to pore over her body as Harper had, although with Harper she didn't find it offensive so much as unsettling. She became very self-conscious when anyone looked closely at her, and it seemed weird to her having Normaf in the room while Harper seemed to undress her with his eyes. "Have you been working out?" he asked with a smile, suddenly putting her completely at ease.
"What did I just say to you?" Trance asked, though her amused smile belied her outwardly irritated demeanor. "How did you find me, anyway?" Trance suddenly asked, hoping to force Harper to be at least a little bit more serious.
"You gave me a hint," Harper reminded her, pointing to areas of his face with his index finger. "The Big Dipper… remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Trance replied. "I was just hoping you would."
"There any chance you could explain some things to me?" Harper asked.
"Like what?"
"Like why your people seem to write in an ancient Earth language," Harper began, "or maybe why it is that you're being held in your room like some kind of prisoner."
"Well, I'm in here because my father doesn't want me leaving before tomorrow," Trance explained. "It's pretty important."
"Why? What's tomorrow?" Harper asked curiously, feeling that Trance wanted him to ask the question so that she wouldn't be forced to volunteer that information on her own.
"I'm getting married tomorrow."
"What?!" Harper asked, a swell of emotions boiling up within him. He didn't know whether he wanted to scream, cry, punch a hole in the wall, or throw up. In the end, he simply stood completely still, a dumbfounded look on his face.
"It's not like I want to," Trance said quickly. "It was an arranged marriage. My parents picked my husband for me."
"An arranged marriage?" Harper asked. "They can't do that!"
"Yes, they can," Trance said evenly. Though she completely disagreed with that particular tradition, she didn't like Harper attacking the ways of her people. It seemed rather offensive to her. "We're not human, Harper," Trance reminded him. "We have different customs, and you're not going to win any points by coming in here raging against our way of life, claiming some kind of moral superiority the way humans always do."
"So you're going to get married?" Harper asked incredulously. "What the fuck, Trance? If you knew you were gonna get married, why the hell did you give me clues to get me out here? I would have been happier never knowing."
"Seamus Harper, you watch your language," Trance chided. "And as for the wedding, like I said, I don't want to do it. I'd rather…"
"Rather what?" Harper asked, part of him craving an answer while another part dreaded it.
"Never mind," Trance replied.
"No, seriously, what would you rather do?" Harper pressed.
"I'd rather marry you," Trance said quickly, wincing as she spoke the words. She was afraid of what the engineer would say in response.
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Harper asked with an amused smile. "Shouldn't I be the one to ask?" His brow furrowed in thought, and he got a faraway look in his eye. "On the other hand, though, does this mean I don't have to go to the trouble and expense of buying an engagement ring for you?"
"Keep it up, Harper," Trance muttered, confused as to how Harper could still be cracking jokes.
"You know I'd love to marry you, Trance," Harper said with a warm smile. "What do I have to do to change your father's mind?"
"I don't know," Trance answered. "First of all, when you say you want to get married, you have to be clear on something."
"What?" Harper asked.
"Well, my father kinda decreed that I'm getting married tomorrow," Trance explained. "If you're going to marry me, it can't be at some distant time in the future…"
"It has to be tomorrow," Harper concluded, getting a confirming nod from the faerie. Outwardly he seemed calm, but Trance could see how Harper was suddenly shifting his feet nervously and wringing his hands as his eyes darted around the room, avoiding meeting her gaze. Trance knew how unpleasant the situation was for her friend. She had known many human males, and none of them had ever liked the idea of settling down with one woman, even when they knew that the woman in question was perfect for them. "This is an awful lot to process, you know," Harper commented.
"I know."
"I didn't exactly expect this."
"I know, Harper," Trance said sadly. "I understand that you can't do this."
"I'm not saying that," Harper said quickly, surprising the faerie. "Trance, while you were gone I felt completely lost. I was miserable from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep. I can't imagine going through another day without you, let alone the rest of my life. If I have to marry you tomorrow to keep you with me, then I'll do so, no problem."
"You don't have to do this," Trance said, suddenly feeling guilty about the position in which she had the human.
"I know that," Harper assured her. "This is what I want to do, Trance. I want this. I want to marry you."
"Okay," Trance said, "I guess that's the first step."
"Wait a second," Harper said, a look of realization flickering to life in his eyes. "What exactly did you mean when you said your father decreed that you were getting married tomorrow?"
"Oh, that…" Trance answered. "Umm… well… my father's a king."
"A king ?"
"Well, yeah," Trance replied. "Didn't you notice that you're in a castle?"
"Not really," Harper said. "I was on the bridge of the Andromeda, and then your friend Normaf sorta teleported us down here, or something. I never really saw the building at all. I figured it was just a really big house."
"A really big house?" Trance asked dubiously.
"Okay, a really, really big house," Harper amended, "as in, a house that's so big it takes twenty minutes to walk to your room from the cellar that Normaf entered through. But it never occurred to me that I was in a castle, Trance. It's not exactly like I've spent much time around royalty in my life." Trance couldn't help but smile.
"Actually, you have," she said. "I'm a princess."
"What?"
"My father's a king," Trance pointed out. "That makes me a princess."
"Oh, shit…"
"Harper, watch your language," Trance said again. "I can't believe you talk like that in front of a future monarch."
"Wow, that's… umm…"
"Unexpected?" Trance guessed.
"That's one way to put it," Harper responded. "I can't believe this…"
"What?"
"Well, it was bad enough when I thought I was gonna have to go to a possessive father and get him to let me marry his daughter against his wishes," Harper explained. "But it's not even as simple as that, because the possessive father happens to be a king, and his daughter a princess. Can this get any worse?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Trance asked.
"No, but I guess if it does get worse than that, I'm gonna have to hear it sooner or later," Harper lamented.
"Well, the thing is…" Trance hesitated, "well… umm… see, my father sorta hates humans."
"Oh, great," Harper replied.
"Everyone else pretty much does, too," Trance added.
"This just keeps getting better," Harper groused. "Should I even dare to ask why they hate us?"
"My people used to live on Earth," Trance explained.
"What?" Harper asked. "Your people are from Earth?" While the statement seemed unbelievable, he knew it would do a great deal to explain the use of ancient Earth languages, and also why Trance had used an Earth constellation as a clue for finding her.
"We're not from Earth," Trance corrected quickly. "Some of us just lived there for awhile. It was like a colony of sorts. A bunch of us lived in small villages, mostly in the British Isles but there were also a few families spread around here and there. We had a couple named Isis and Osiris that lived in ancient Egypt, and a father and his two sons, Vishnu and Shiva, lived in India."
"Oh my God," Harper muttered, realizing the effect that Trance's people had had upon humans.
"Exactly," Trance said, seizing on the absolute appropriateness of Harper's words. "As you can imagine, our people didn't exactly take well to the idea of humans, suddenly armed with bronze, and then later iron weapons, violently taking back their world. We held on for quite awhile in the Isles, though. In the end, during a period the humans refer to as the Inquisition, the last of us finally fled in order to avoid getting burned at the stake."
"I had no idea…"
"Yeah, well, assuming we don't die from injury or illness, my people are pretty much immortal," Trance explained. "That means there are quite a few on this planet that remember Earth as it was millennia ago, and they miss it greatly. Avalon is a nice enough place, a comfortable colony to have as a second home after fleeing Earth, but it's not as nice as what we once had."
"So your father is really not likely to go along with this," Harper muttered.
"He's going to test you," Trance assured her lover. "He'll test you with every intention of having you fail."
"Your Highness," Normaf said from the corner, finally joining the conversation, "I don't believe that statement may be entirely accurate."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked curiously.
"Well, you've both already been tested rather thoroughly," the king's advisor replied.
"He tested us already?" Trance asked dubiously.
"Not exactly," Normaf answered evasively. "I never said your father was the one that did the testing, child. I only said that you had been tested."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked.
"Yeah," Harper agreed.
"Not now," Normaf said evenly, cutting off their inquiries. "I will explain it all when the time is right. For now, though, I suggest that you both freshen up a bit. We're going to speak with the king."
-------------------------------------------------
"Hello, father," Trance said softly as she walked into her father's study, Harper following closely behind. The king looked up briefly from a scroll and grunted to acknowledge his daughter's presence, but he paid no more mind than that. Trance and Harper stood impassively for several minutes, and Harper began to wonder just how long he would be made to wait. Trance, for her part, was hoping her father got to her sooner than he had at times in the past. He had once kept her waiting for thirteen hours before he finally looked up from his work to speak with her. She knew Harper would never be able to endure such treatment politely.
"So, this is him?" Oberon finally commented after almost half an hour, though he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the parchment in his hands.
"Yes," Trance replied. "This is the one I wish to marry."
"So you say," Oberon responded, finally looking at his daughter, his eyes boring into hers as he seemed to make a concerted effort not to acknowledge the presence of a human in his chamber. "What's its name?"
"His name is Harper," Trance shot back, immediately wincing as she realized she had returned to the same old confrontational pattern that had never gotten her anywhere with her father. "I'm sorry," she apologized immediately, leveling her voice and straining to muster the same thin smile she always saw on the courtiers. "Father, this Harper," she said, stepping to her left and gesturing to the engineer with a flourish of her hand. "He's come very far to find me."
"And just in the nick of time, too," the king muttered. Trance figured it was a safe bet that her father had hoped her human lover would never find her. It would certainly have made things far easier. "So does it speak?"
Trance was just about to respond angrily again when she heard Harper finally speak up behind her. "Yes, Your Grace," he said smoothly, shocking Trance with the tone of his voice. "My name is Seamus Harper, of Earth."
"Well then, Seamus Harper," Oberon replied, "I hope you and your friends were careful enough to make certain that no one followed you through slipstream. The last thing I need is more humans stumbling upon our world."
"I think your secret's safe," Harper replied, clasping his hands in front of him, appearing to stand more at ease. Trance could tell, however, that Harper was extremely nervous, as his hands were both starting to redden with the tight grip he was exerting.
"I've heard humans say that before," Oberon commented.
"That was in a different time," Trance reminded her father. "Humans have changed since then. They've gone to the stars. They built their Commonwealth."
"And they also destroyed it," the king shot back. "It's all too typical of them. Have I taught you nothing?"
"It wasn't the humans that tore down the Commonwealth," Trance objected.
"Yes it was," Harper interjected, hoping he would be able to get somewhere with his approach. He could tell that Trance was trying to convince her father that his long-held prejudices were incorrect. Harper knew that would never work, at least not anytime soon. He could remember how long it had taken him to accept Rev on the Maru with him. No, prejudice isn't something that can be quickly erased or adjusted, he knew. Then again, though, I don't have to convince him that his view of humans is wrong. I only have to convince him that I'm not like the rest. If I can make him see me as an individual, and judge me on my own merits rather than according to his view of my species, I may have a chance.
"No, Harper, it was the Nietzscheans," Trance pointed out.
"And when you come right down to it, the Nietzscheans are simply human," Harper replied, turning his attention away from the king and settling his blue eyes on Trance. "The Nietzscheans were developed from human DNA. They are the epitome of everything it is to be human. They're adaptable, cunning, ambitious, ruthless, and proud. In short, they're everything most humans aspire to be."
"You admit this?" Oberon asked incredulously.
"Yes," Harper said. "You expect me to deny it? I'm neither stupid nor a liar. I can see how most humans are. Besides, even if you argue that Nietzscheans are distinct from the humans they sprang from, the fact is that humans created them. We're responsible for the results of that action, so at the very least we indirectly caused the fall of the Commonwealth."
"Interesting," Oberon responded. "I can see what you're doing, though, Mr. Harper. It will take more than a few pretty words to get me to agree to your marrying my daughter."
"Of course it will," Harper answered, "but maybe if we all sit down and discuss this for awhile, we could all make some headway in getting what we all want."
"What I want is my daughter to stay here on her own planet, with me," Oberon said evenly. "I want her to marry an upstanding member of our society, a man from a respectable family that will take good care of her. And I want her to stop making time with her mongrel friends."
"Mongrel?" Trance blurted out angrily. "How dare you!"
"Silence, child!" the king bellowed, his voice thundering off the walls and shaking the room. Trance took several steps back in fear while Harper did his best to remain standing. "You have disgraced your people, Trance," the king continued, his voice returning to an unsettling monotone. "You have disgraced me, your mother, and yourself. I don't see how I can possibly allow you to marry this human. He's a rather unremarkable specimen, even by the standards of his pitiful species."
"You take that back," Trance said menacingly. Harper tried to decide whether he should step to Trance's side to calm her down, doubting that it would be wise to be standing next to her if the situation came to blows between her and her father.
"I will not," Oberon answered.
"You said I could choose who I would marry," Trance shot back. "You promised… and for the first time in my life I really believed you would keep your word… and that you actually cared about me."
"I do care about you, Trance," the king said. "That is why I can't allow you to ruin your life by marrying a mortal… and a human, at that."
"It's my life to ruin if that's what I choose," Trance responded angrily.
"No, it's not," the king said. "You're royalty, Trance. The people have certain expectations of you. They pattern their own lives after the choices we make. You have to understand what this could mean to our society."
"And you have to understand that I can't just abandon Harper," Trance returned.
"Ah, Your Highness," a new voice said cheerily as Normaf entered the room. "I've been searching all over for you." Normaf looked the scene over, allowing his eyes to fall, in turn, over the king, Trance, and Harper. "I truly hope I'm not too late."
"This is not a good time," Oberon muttered.
"I beg to differ," Normaf answered, drawing a surprised gasp from Trance. In all her life, she had never known anyone but herself to stand up to the king. She knew Normaf was suddenly walking a very fine line. "I have some information that I feel might be useful in this conversation."
"And what, pray tell, might that information be?" Oberon asked.
"Well, it concerns the matter of your daughter and her, uh… suitor," Normaf answered. "I presume you feel the human is not fit to marry the princess."
"That's a bit of an understatement," Oberon replied.
"I have proof of his superior ability and devotion to Princess Trance," Normaf said smoothly. "If you would allow me to bring in witnesses?"
"Fine, but make it quick," the king responded with a dismissive flourish of his hand. Normaf clapped his hands together twice and the door to the study opened quickly. Two young faeries walked in, one male and one female.
The male stood five and a half feet tall, with alabaster skin and long, straight auburn hair. His ice blue eyes seemed to cut a swath through the room as he looked everyone over quickly, seeming amused at the tension that hung in the air.
The female stood only a shade above five feet tall, with sea-green skin and indigo hair that was all accentuated by the light blue dress she wore. Her eyes, seemingly made of liquid gold, held a mischievous gleam that Trance found vaguely familiar. "Calypso?" Trance asked hesitantly.
"Yep," the female replied.
"Who's he?" Trance asked, pointing to the other faerie standing next to her.
"What is he doing here?" Oberon asked, also pointing to the same individual.
"You know him?" Trance asked her father.
"Of course he does," the male answered. "I've conducted some business for your father at many times in the past."
"I suppose you've been up to something," the king muttered, turning once again to Normaf. "I should have known."
"What's going on?" Trance asked.
"Your highness, this, as you know, is Calypso," Normaf said to Trance. "She was in the palace when you were very young, and she is my niece. This other one," he added, pointing to the other faerie, "is her brother, Puck."
"I've heard of you," Trance said.
"Well I would hope so," Puck answered. "Gods know I've been busy enough keeping my hand in the business of the universe. That's how I came to be here, actually."
"What have you been up to?" the king growled at Normaf.
"Well, Your Grace, I was understandably very concerned that young Trance had been spending time with humans," Normaf replied.
"As well you should be," the king agreed.
"Yes, all too many of them are nothing but trouble," Normaf said, drawing an angry glare from the princess. "The thing is, though, that some of them, all too few of them, actually, are like diamonds in the rough, possessing incredible potential if they could just be shined up a bit."
"So you took it upon yourself to find out if this one has even a modicum of worth," Oberon surmised, pointing to Harper.
"Yes, Your Grace," Normaf answered. "I knew that you would want to look into the character of your daughter's friends, but you were prevented from doing so by the fact that you are our king. It's doubtful the people would have understood."
"So what did you do?" the king asked suspiciously.
"Well, first of all, I sent my niece to test Mr. Harper," Normaf said.
"Test?" the king asked. "Exactly how did she test him?"
"Yeah," Harper interrupted. "I've never seen her before in my life. Whatever she says is a lie."
"Oh really?" Calypso asked the engineer, turning to face him. "You don't remember me?" As she spoke, her features began to shift and she grew several inches as her skin color changed from sea-green to human flesh tone. Her hair lightened from indigo to a bright blue, and her golden eyes darkened into a soft, all-too-familiar brown.
"Oh my God," Harper muttered. "Delilah."
"I'm flattered that you remember," Delilah replied.
"How did you…" Harper trailed off, wondering which of his countless questions he should ask first.
"I'm a shapeshifter," Calypso answered. "My uncle sent me to test you, to make sure that you were really as interested in Trance as you claimed. He wanted to make certain that the first alluring woman that came along wouldn't be enough to tempt you."
"What do you mean by tempt?" Trance asked suspiciously.
"I asked him to run away with me," Delilah said, turning toward the princess. "He refused."
"Of course I did," Harper said quickly.
"Though I think I almost had you the second time," Delilah added, turning back to the human.
"Second time?" Harper asked in reply. Again Delilah's body began to shift and reform. Once more she grew, this time taking on a form that stood over six feet tall and was heavily muscled. Her hair turned a dark brown, and a full, shaggy beard grew onto her face. Within seconds, Harper was once more looking at Captain Samson. "Oh, I don't believe this."
"What?" Trance asked.
"Captain Samson?" Harper asked. "So I guess there's no such thing as the Sayshell Union, then."
"Oh, there is," Samson assured him, "but I don't work for them. While I was aboard Andromeda as Delilah, I downloaded the computer virus into you, and that disabled the ship the first time you jacked into her system. Then I showed up as Captain Samson, to tempt you with fame and fortune. I think you almost took me up on the offer."
"Harper!" Trance shouted.
"The operative word here is 'almost,' " Harper said with a grin.
"Fame and fortune?" Oberon asked. "A human passed that up?"
"I promised him more money than he could imagine," Samson said as his form shifted back into that of Calypso. Even as the words were spoken, the pitch of the voice lost its hard, masculine edge and began to flow with Calypso's melodious, seductive tone. "I also promised him fame, a plethora of sycophants wherever he went, and a harem that was likely to grow daily."
"And this human refused?" Oberon asked, obviously shocked. "Interesting…"
"He is certainly not like most humans," Normaf commented. "In fact, I believe it might be worth our time to see if there are more like him. Humans have been suffering for centuries, sire. It might have been unpleasant, but the time has done wonders for their character."
"And what was your role in all of this?" Oberon asked Puck, suddenly turning on the slightly built faerie.
"I made certain that Puck kept an eye on the princess," Normaf said, answering for his nephew. "Perhaps you did not know, my king, but your daughter has become quite an accomplished dreamwalker. I didn't want her to contact her human acquaintances to help them along. It wasn't enough to simply test Harper's character - I also wanted to test his mind. Trance had given him a single clue as to her location, and I wanted to see if he was clever enough to figure it out."
"Which he obviously did," Oberon concluded.
"Yes, without any assistance from here," Normaf said. "Puck saw to that."
"How?" Trance asked.
"By interrupting you every time you were alone long enough to try contacting your friends," Puck replied, his own form beginning to shift. Ice blue eyes became an iridescent green, and his hair became a bright, curly blue. His complexion developed color, becoming human flesh-tone, and features changed just enough to allow Trance to come face to face with Robin.
"I guess I should have known," Trance commented. "Every time I tried to dreamwalk, you showed up at my door."
"And every time you seemed sad, Jasmine and I made certain you were amused and distracted enough so that you didn't become convinced you should try to run."
"So you knew Harper was being tested, and you decided to make sure I stayed here and out of the way until you were done with him," Trance concluded.
"Well, that's not entirely it," Normaf said with a sideways glance toward the king. "I also figured your father would like to know just how taken you are with this human."
"What do you mean?" Trance asked suspiciously, staring at Normaf with accusing eyes.
"He means that Harper wasn't the only one that was tested," Trance heard a familiar voice say behind her. She spun around and came face to face with Ali, who was standing where Robin had been only moments before.
"You bastard," Trance said. "You led me on like that?"
"I offered you an attractive alternative," Ali said, his silver hair and eyes reflecting the dancing light of the flames that burned softly in the chamber's large fireplace.
"What's going on?" Harper asked.
"Just as Calypso tempted you as Delilah, so did I tempt Trance as Ali," Puck said smoothly.
"And what happened?" Harper asked nervously, not entirely certain he wanted to know the answer.
"Nothing happened," Trance said quickly.
"I don't know that I'd say nothing happened," Ali commented, his features shifting quickly until, moments later, Puck was standing in the middle of the room, every eye trained on him. "You were quite tempted, Princess," he said slyly. "You realized that neither of the alternatives you were presented with - Randex and Harper - was exactly perfect. You care deeply for Harper, but he's mortal. He'll die within a short time, leaving you alone. Randex will be with you forever, but given his less than endearing personality, forever isn't exactly an appealing thought. Ali, however, offered a great, understanding personality, as well as the prospect of happiness for the rest of your life, however centuries or millennia that may be."
"Immortality isn't that important," Trance said quickly, having noticed through the corner of her eye that Harper was obviously uneasy with the conversation.
"Of course it is," Puck replied. "Immortal is what we are. It's like saying mortality isn't important to a human. It's probably the most important trait they have to deal with - it preoccupies some of their greatest thinkers. Day in, day out, the most enlightened humans realize that they will die, just as you must realize that you won't."
"Umm, Trance," Harper said.
"Not now, Harper," Trance replied, suddenly turning toward the door and moving away as quickly as she could. "I can't talk about this now." Within moments she was out the door and running down the hall, her quick footsteps fading quickly, leaving a dead silence in their wake.
***************************************************************
Coming Soon…… Trance has to decide whether she can accept the idea that a few years of love is better than a lifetime alone, and she learns the price of her father's consent if she decides to go through with her marriage to Harper. Oh, and Tyr gets in a fight, too…
Jaimi/Nevermore Copyright@2002
