Chapter Eight: "The Kissing Moon Festival"
Marlena had been to many parties in her life. Some of them family related parties, like birthdays and graduations and holidays and weddings and just-for-the-heck-of-it parties. Some of them were work parties - like when something worked really well for the first time or had just been repaired. However, those parties do not compare to the one Eternos was preparing for.
It was the second week of March now and the Kissing Moon Festival was going to kick off tonight. Even from her vantage in one of the guestrooms in the Palace, she could smell the wonderful foods and drinks. Fireworks were being tested all day. Music was already kicking things off.
She wanted to look the best for tonight. Things had gone well at the Hall of Wisdom. Very well. And even though she hoped to someday return to Earth, Marlena had realized that she was going to be stuck here for a while. And while she was here, she might as well enjoy herself. Late afternoon was rolling in and King Randor would be starting the festivities right before sunset, so she didn't have much time.
Susannah waited patiently outside Marlena's dressing room as the former NASA Captain put on her dress.
"How do I look?" asked Marlena, showing off her beautiful light green dress. It cut a little low at the top and had no back, but she still looked incredible.
"Perfect. The King will love it."
Marlena blinked. "The King? What does King Randor have to do with it?"
Susannah's eyes widened. "Oh. Nothing, I suppose. Forgive me. I spoke out of turn."
Marlena wasn't quite sure what was going on, but decided to scoot it all off and head downstairs. A crowd was gathering and Marlena felt her stomach flutter with some light nervousness. While most of Eternos were human-like, there others coming as well.
Strange ones.
These were the real aliens - the ones from shows like Star Trek and movies like Star Wars. She had gotten lucky with the ones that looked somewhat normal - but she was getting worried about how she would react when she saw one of those . . . Insectoids or the Bears or Widgets.
"This is going to be weird," she told Susannah as the pair walked down a staircase.
"Understandable, my lady. Best to just take it strides."
"Mmm. I guess. Still, I'm pretty nervous."
They came to the entrance of the Palace, and outside the party thrived. Music was playing, lights were strung all across the city; the smell of food and fine drink filled her nose. It was a party unlike she had ever seen.
"Marlena!" cried Randor. Marlena turned to see the King coming over to her with two people following him.
"King Randor, hello," Marlena greeted, giving him a small bow.
"Lady Marlena, I'd like you to meet my siblings. Queen Johanna of North Eternos," he introducing, waving to a young brown-haired woman.
"Good to meet you," Johanna told the alien.
"Same here."
"And this is King Stephan of West Eternos."
Stephan lifted Marlena's hand and kissed the back of it. "I've heard quite a lot about you, my lady."
"Thank you. Good things, I hope."
He looked up from the hand in his and grinned. "Oh yes."
Marlena found that statement a bit strange, but went with it. "I have the feeling I'll be meeting a lot of people today."
"Oh yes!" Johanna exclaimed. "I'll introduce you to some. Come on."
"Okay."
Marlena and Johanna walked off, leaving Stephan and Randor. As soon as they were out of earshot, Stephan turned to his older brother.
"I wish I had more of a chance to talk to you, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time," Stephan said as the pair walked away from the bulk of the crowd.
"What is it? Something wrong?"
"Maybe something, maybe nothing."
"Just tell me, brother."
Stephan looked out across the city. "I hate to bring such foul news, but . . . it's this dream. It's come to me three times in as many weeks. I can't shake it."
"What's the dream about?"
Stephan didn't answer; he didn't need to - Randor read his expression. Keldor. It was about Keldor.
"It's to be expected," Randor said quietly, thankful to be away from the party crowd. "He was our brother."
"But this dream . . . Randor, he was holding his own heart!"
"A metaphor, Stephan, created by your mind in the dark hours of the night."
Stephan took a deep breath. "I don't know, Randor. I'm worried. I think we made a mistake doing what we did to him."
Randor glanced back to make sure no one was listening. "Maybe, maybe not. But it doesn't matter anymore, does it? Keldor made the choices he did and he needs to live with that."
"We treated him wrongly - this I now know. Consider it a sort of new wisdom from being a King, but I know now that we were awful to him. I am starting to blame myself."
Randor gazed at his brother with surprise and a little shock. "Stephan, it's not our fault. We need to stop blaming ourselves. Listen, we can talk about this later. Right now, there's a festival going on and some girls over there are giving us googally eyes."
Stephan seemed to suddenly light up. "Googally eyes? Where?"
Randor jerked his head at a group of ladies in big dresses giggling a little and smiling at the brothers. Stephan grinned. "See you around, bro."
As the two separated, Randor caught a glimpse of Duncan. He was leaning on one of the balconies, looking outward to the north. Randor the King had seen the expression plastered on Duncan's face on countless others and knew what it met. He had suspected that his best friend had fallen in love for quite some time, but found himself more curious now than ever as to whom this happy girl was.
"Duncan."
Duncan looked over from his place and smiled. "Randor."
"Who is she?"
Duncan paused, the brief silence filled with music and laughing. "Her name is Teelana."
"Why isn't she her?"
"Working."
"On the Kissing Moon Festival?"
"Yep."
"Where does she work?"
"For the Elders."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah."
"What does she do?"
"Protect the greatest secrets and the highest powers in the universe from the forces of evil."
"Really?"
"No."
"What does she do then?"
A pause. "She's a desk clerk."
"For the Elders?"
"Yep."
"Is that why Eldor wanted to talk to you the other day?"
"Yes."
"Is she pretty, Duncan?"
"Very. The prettiest girl I've ever seen."
"You're quite smitten with her, aren't you?"
"Very much so."
"Can I meet her?"
"She's getting some time off this summer, so yeah, after that."
"Excellent."
Another pause.
Duncan: "So . . . what's this about you having a crush on Marlena?"
Randor raised an eyebrow. "Huh? First I've heard of that one. Speaking of which, I need to make sure Johanna hasn't dragged Marlena into something they'll both regret."
Not so, oh king, for Marlena found herself sitting a what could best be described as a very large picnic table, filled with wondrous and amazing foods she had never even thought of. Brand-new fruits, brand-new meats, brand-new drinks . . . it was incredible!
"See? I told you it was delicious!" Johanna said to Marlena as the former Captain bit into a large purple melon.
"It is! Oh my gosh! It's great!"
"Johanna, are you trying to fatten her up?" asked Stratos from across the table.
"Of course not," laughed Johanna.
"Mind if I have one?" came a new voice to the table. Marlena looked over at it's course and gasped.
Standing above her was a huge Bee. While his chest and torso were the usual striped yellow and brown, his arms were a darkly tanned flesh that looked rather tough and meaty. Four small claws were arranged like fingers where he hands should have been.
A pair of large yellow wings were neatly tucked on his back in a criss-cross. His face was yellow with two huge segmented blue eyes. The rest of his head was completely brown - including two small bumps on the very top.
Despite the fact that this Bee was only a teenager, Marlena let out a sudden gasp.
"Oh!" Johanna realized. "Buzz-Off, this is Marlena. The visitor from the other world."
"Ah, yes, pleased to meet you."
"Uh-huh."
"First time seeing an Insectoid?"
"Uh-huh."
"You should have seen her reaction the first time she saw me," Stratos told the young Buzz-Off.
Marlena swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm still pretty new to all this. It's a pleasure to meet you . . . uh, Buzz-Off?"
"Yes. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
Just then, a loud horn sounded calling everyone's attention to a huge stage. King Randor was there, waiting for everyone to quiet down enough for him to talk. It was the first time Marlena noticed how handsome King Randor was. She smiled to herself a little.
"Midnight! Midnight is here! The time has come, my friends!" Randor announced. "The time has come for the Companion Dance! Find a partner, come on, find a partner!"
Marlena looked around as huge groups began to assemble in front of the stage. It was here that she saw so many different peoples that she must have missed from before. Widgets, who only came to her waist, went running past her with wide, toothy smiles. Not far away, a group of Bears in regal clothing went into the crowd.
The astronaut suddenly found herself totally alone. A band started up, playing huge instruments that looked like a cross between a violin and a cello. Flutes were being played. The music was beautiful as the huge crowd began to pair off and took positions. She imagined that the entire city was doing this - with the exception of herself, who had no idea what any of this meant.
Just as Marlena was going to make herself scarce simply because she felt out of place, a hand touched her shoulder. She turned and saw King Randor standing there.
"Mind if I dance with you?" he asked, face a little red.
Commands the most powerful kingdom, but still blushes when he has to ask a girl to dance. I like that, Marlena thought to herself.
"Sure thing, but it looks like some of those girls your brother was wooing are pretty disappointed."
"Oh, they'll find someone to dance with, I'm sure. Honestly, Captain, you're about the only intelligent female here that doesn't already have a partner. Besides, you were looking pretty lost."
"Well, I'm new in town."
The two moved into the huge crowd and a drum started beating, kicking everyone into dancing. "What does this dance mean?"
"It's a traditional dance meaning that winter has passed and spring and summer are on their way. The moons are kissing and so should our bodies."
"Does that mean everyone kisses?"
"No. It means that our bodies are touching. Here, just follow my lead."
Randor took her hands into his and the two began to circle each other, slowly and moving with the hundreds of others that were doing the same thing. Under the glow of the moonlight, they all danced a beautiful rhythm to the stirring music from the stage-band.
The dance was to last a full hour, and the hour flew by. During the first twenty minutes, one song played with a slow beat that was duplicated in a slow dance. Then second twenty minutes were spent with a faster, far more intimate song; in these twenty minutes, the bodies were bought closer together and many dancers were dancing cheek-to-cheek. The third dance was faster and the bodies separated, their feet speeding along. Each twenty-minute dance represented a different season - the first winter, the second being spring, and the third being summer and fall.
Marlena found herself strangely enjoying the closeness she had with Randor during the Spring Dance, and wasn't surprised to feel her face in continuing flushing during the whole time. Randor, as well, seemed a little embarrassed.
When the dance ended, Randor and Marlena bowed to each other. "Good job, Lady Marlena."
"Thank you for showing me the ropes."
Randor grinned and kissed her hand respectfully. "You are very welcome. I do have one question for you, though."
"What is that?"
"What does the word 'wooing' mean?"
Marlena laughed.
