Chapter 3
"Atrus! What are we going to do? What about Yeesha? She's still back at the library! Who's going to look after her?"
"Yeesha! May Yavo protect her! What can we do?"
A fizzing noise behind them made them jump. The shape of Lucy slowly appeared.
"Oh, Illuci! Thank the Maker!" Atrus cried, grabbing her arms. "Catherine's lost the Linking Book. I trust you brought one...?"
Lucy groaned. "I thought Catherine had brought it."
They all sighed.
"Well, it's okay for you," Catherine grumbled. "This is your home world. You know all about it. Our home world is back there, where we left our daughter!"
She paused.
"Lucy?"
"Yes, Catherine?"
"Since Atrus and I are stuck here, would you mind explaining your world to us? Because at the moment, everyone treats us like ahrotahntee."
Lucy led Atrus and Catherine down the street, and back to her house. The house was fairly small when compared to the shops, with a sloping, slate roof and red brick walls. The garden was a little unkempt, but it possessed a strange, wild beauty. Atrus and Catherine had never seen anything like it.
"My mum's gone to the shops, so it looks like the coast's clear," she told them.
Atrus was still staring at the house. "Where's the Linking chamber? Where's the big, gold dome? Where's all the rest of the house?"
"Atrus!" Catherine nudged him.
"We've got an underground chamber if it's any consolation," Lucy giggled. "Only we call it a basement."
"Oh, is it for the machinery of the house? Gold domes and the like?"
"Not exactly..."
Lucy led them down a dark set of stairs into a spacious room. It was only sparsely decorated, and there was no furniture. The only extravagances were a large sofa in the corner, a funny-shaped box against one wall, and a green table with holes in it.
Atrus sniffed. "Storage."
"It also makes a good, er, recreational area," Lucy informed them.
Catherine stepped cautiously around the green table. "Ah, a dining table. And the round holes are... Cup-holders!" She picked up a ball from the table and was about to put it in her mouth. "And this is fruit!"
"No!" Lucy cried. She picked up a long stick that was leaning against the wall. "It's a game. You have to get all the balls into the holes by hitting them with this stick."
Atrus took the other stick and laid it across the width of the table. In one motion, he dragged it down the length of the table, sweeping all the balls into the hole at one corner.
"No, no, you have to hit the white one with the stick so that it bumps into the other balls." She did so, and sent the blue and pink balls into two opposite pockets.
"Huh. Give me Gemedet any day. Now how are we going to get home?"
By now, Catherine had been examining the oddly-shaped box against the wall. It was made of wood, and had a lovely polished shine to it.
"Oh, you'll recognize that!" Lucy said, smiling. "I think you have something like it on Myst Island."
She lifted a lid in the front of the box, revealing lots of black and white bars, just like the organ on Myst Island.
"Oh, don't I just," Catherine said drily. "It's in that bloody spaceship of yours, Atrus."
"That 'bloody spaceship' is artistic, my dear! Besides, you have to admit, the piano is an endless source of fun."
"Not half as much fun as those hot Averonese guys you got to rebuild D'ni," she muttered.
"What was that, dear?"
"Oh, nothing, Atrus. Why don't we teach Lucy some D'ni folk songs on the piano?"
"Ah, yes. Would you like that, Illuci?"
Lucy nodded, and Atrus sat down at the piano and started tapping the keys to his heart's content. The melody was cheerful, and it sounded familiar to Lucy. Maybe it was one of the tunes used on Myst Island...? Perhaps not.
"Flyyyy me to the mooooon, and let me play among the staaars," Atrus warbled. "Let me see what spring is like on Riven and Ko'Ah..."
They heard the front door open.
"Lucy! It's me!"
"Oh God, it's Mum! Quick, hide! I'll be back in a minute."
Atrus and Catherine dived under the snooker table, then, deciding it was no hiding place, hid behind the sofa. They were waiting there for quite some time, until Lucy returned with a huge plate of sandwiches.
Catherine grinned. "Mmm, you brought food!"
"Shh. Not so loud. Mum doesn't know you're here."
Atrus looked puzzled. "Well, didn't you tell her?"
"No! Do you know how she'd react if I told her I was putting up a pair of people who are originally from the centre of the Earth-"
"I'm not."
"-Well, one person from the centre of the Earth, (or New Mexico, however you look at it) and one alien. She'd think we were all bloody mad."
"Couldn't we just pay our rent and be done with it?"
"You don't understand," Lucy whined in that annoying, teenage way. "Listen, I'll try and keep Mum out of here. Please be as quiet as you can, while I get you more food and drink. There's eighteen sandwiches there, six of each kind- Marmite, cheese and jam. I don't know if they have Marmite in D'ni. I expect you'll like it."
She jogged back up the stairs, while Catherine munched a sandwich thoughtfully. "This," she declared, "tastes of reekoo dung."
"Didn't know you'd ever been that desperate, Catherine," Atrus retorted. "I rather like this... this Marmite. By the way, what's that silver thing Lucy's left here? With the wires on it?"
Lucy returned with two bottles of lemonade, three apples and a wobbly, green, sugary thing, and nearly dropped them.
Atrus was dancing. Not only that, he was rapping. He must've found her Walkman with her rap CD in it, and thought he'd give it a try himself. To be fair to him, he was respecting her wishes and doing it a little quieter than he wanted to.
"We're in the house with Atrus of D'ni," he sang. "Who finds this rapping thing rather funny. He doesn't know why peeps spend their money, on music like this... something... -unny." He clapped his hands and jumped round, to face Lucy.
For a moment Lucy didn't say anything. Then- "What are you doing??"
"He's shaking his booty," Catherine said helpfully.
"I see. Nice rhyming, too. I'll leave your dessert here- when you want to sleep, the sofa folds out, and there's a blanket in the box next to you that you can use. Night-night."
"Atrus! What are we going to do? What about Yeesha? She's still back at the library! Who's going to look after her?"
"Yeesha! May Yavo protect her! What can we do?"
A fizzing noise behind them made them jump. The shape of Lucy slowly appeared.
"Oh, Illuci! Thank the Maker!" Atrus cried, grabbing her arms. "Catherine's lost the Linking Book. I trust you brought one...?"
Lucy groaned. "I thought Catherine had brought it."
They all sighed.
"Well, it's okay for you," Catherine grumbled. "This is your home world. You know all about it. Our home world is back there, where we left our daughter!"
She paused.
"Lucy?"
"Yes, Catherine?"
"Since Atrus and I are stuck here, would you mind explaining your world to us? Because at the moment, everyone treats us like ahrotahntee."
Lucy led Atrus and Catherine down the street, and back to her house. The house was fairly small when compared to the shops, with a sloping, slate roof and red brick walls. The garden was a little unkempt, but it possessed a strange, wild beauty. Atrus and Catherine had never seen anything like it.
"My mum's gone to the shops, so it looks like the coast's clear," she told them.
Atrus was still staring at the house. "Where's the Linking chamber? Where's the big, gold dome? Where's all the rest of the house?"
"Atrus!" Catherine nudged him.
"We've got an underground chamber if it's any consolation," Lucy giggled. "Only we call it a basement."
"Oh, is it for the machinery of the house? Gold domes and the like?"
"Not exactly..."
Lucy led them down a dark set of stairs into a spacious room. It was only sparsely decorated, and there was no furniture. The only extravagances were a large sofa in the corner, a funny-shaped box against one wall, and a green table with holes in it.
Atrus sniffed. "Storage."
"It also makes a good, er, recreational area," Lucy informed them.
Catherine stepped cautiously around the green table. "Ah, a dining table. And the round holes are... Cup-holders!" She picked up a ball from the table and was about to put it in her mouth. "And this is fruit!"
"No!" Lucy cried. She picked up a long stick that was leaning against the wall. "It's a game. You have to get all the balls into the holes by hitting them with this stick."
Atrus took the other stick and laid it across the width of the table. In one motion, he dragged it down the length of the table, sweeping all the balls into the hole at one corner.
"No, no, you have to hit the white one with the stick so that it bumps into the other balls." She did so, and sent the blue and pink balls into two opposite pockets.
"Huh. Give me Gemedet any day. Now how are we going to get home?"
By now, Catherine had been examining the oddly-shaped box against the wall. It was made of wood, and had a lovely polished shine to it.
"Oh, you'll recognize that!" Lucy said, smiling. "I think you have something like it on Myst Island."
She lifted a lid in the front of the box, revealing lots of black and white bars, just like the organ on Myst Island.
"Oh, don't I just," Catherine said drily. "It's in that bloody spaceship of yours, Atrus."
"That 'bloody spaceship' is artistic, my dear! Besides, you have to admit, the piano is an endless source of fun."
"Not half as much fun as those hot Averonese guys you got to rebuild D'ni," she muttered.
"What was that, dear?"
"Oh, nothing, Atrus. Why don't we teach Lucy some D'ni folk songs on the piano?"
"Ah, yes. Would you like that, Illuci?"
Lucy nodded, and Atrus sat down at the piano and started tapping the keys to his heart's content. The melody was cheerful, and it sounded familiar to Lucy. Maybe it was one of the tunes used on Myst Island...? Perhaps not.
"Flyyyy me to the mooooon, and let me play among the staaars," Atrus warbled. "Let me see what spring is like on Riven and Ko'Ah..."
They heard the front door open.
"Lucy! It's me!"
"Oh God, it's Mum! Quick, hide! I'll be back in a minute."
Atrus and Catherine dived under the snooker table, then, deciding it was no hiding place, hid behind the sofa. They were waiting there for quite some time, until Lucy returned with a huge plate of sandwiches.
Catherine grinned. "Mmm, you brought food!"
"Shh. Not so loud. Mum doesn't know you're here."
Atrus looked puzzled. "Well, didn't you tell her?"
"No! Do you know how she'd react if I told her I was putting up a pair of people who are originally from the centre of the Earth-"
"I'm not."
"-Well, one person from the centre of the Earth, (or New Mexico, however you look at it) and one alien. She'd think we were all bloody mad."
"Couldn't we just pay our rent and be done with it?"
"You don't understand," Lucy whined in that annoying, teenage way. "Listen, I'll try and keep Mum out of here. Please be as quiet as you can, while I get you more food and drink. There's eighteen sandwiches there, six of each kind- Marmite, cheese and jam. I don't know if they have Marmite in D'ni. I expect you'll like it."
She jogged back up the stairs, while Catherine munched a sandwich thoughtfully. "This," she declared, "tastes of reekoo dung."
"Didn't know you'd ever been that desperate, Catherine," Atrus retorted. "I rather like this... this Marmite. By the way, what's that silver thing Lucy's left here? With the wires on it?"
Lucy returned with two bottles of lemonade, three apples and a wobbly, green, sugary thing, and nearly dropped them.
Atrus was dancing. Not only that, he was rapping. He must've found her Walkman with her rap CD in it, and thought he'd give it a try himself. To be fair to him, he was respecting her wishes and doing it a little quieter than he wanted to.
"We're in the house with Atrus of D'ni," he sang. "Who finds this rapping thing rather funny. He doesn't know why peeps spend their money, on music like this... something... -unny." He clapped his hands and jumped round, to face Lucy.
For a moment Lucy didn't say anything. Then- "What are you doing??"
"He's shaking his booty," Catherine said helpfully.
"I see. Nice rhyming, too. I'll leave your dessert here- when you want to sleep, the sofa folds out, and there's a blanket in the box next to you that you can use. Night-night."