Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Exotic. There were many words that one would use to describe the planet of H'Karun, but all was normal to the natives.
Most of the people that inhabited H'Karun dealt with magic of some sort or the other, but the majority of H'Karun's people were sprites or, the rare wisdom-seeking nymphs. Faeries were there, of course, but they had crossbred with the other beings, so full faeries were almost non-existent. Everything was nice and gentle on the inside, but the tradition-bound people were aching for a revolution.
Elders, the wisest and most powerful, governed the various villages. Then the villages were divided up into sectors, ruled by governors, and then the all-powerful Mage ruled all of H'Karun. Only a son could take rule after his father, as was the same of everything else.
Women were of no power, they were there to raise the children, cook, and clean. That was their purpose. When they turned 21, they were married off to the family of the girl's choice. It was not like the extreme Muslim beliefs of ancient Earth, but it was still strict. The women were not allowed to associate with men unless it was for business and business only. They could have small merchant shops, but nothing other, or higher up on the chaste system. Overall, most women were happy with the way they lived; it was easy and not stressful. But some of the more feminist ones wanted to become writers, doctors, and teachers, all of which were denied to them. Revolution with a democratic government, instead of the current monarchy, was the only option.
Adasta looked at her garden. Well, the plot of bare soil that was soon to be her garden. She frowned, thinking of what plants she wanted to grow there. She focused them all in her mind, and closed her eyes, seeing the garden full of plants. She spread her hands, slowly bringing them upward, feeling her magic emitting off of her. She felt the life beginning there, felt the seedlings sprout, then grow from babies to mature producers. She opened her gold-flecked amber eyes, smiling at her accomplishment. Her garden looked exactly as she had pictured it. Full of life and just as beautiful. Her cupid-like lips parted in a wide smile.
Adasta was a nymph. An earth nymph, to be exact. A fairly common element, but to a nymph, it was the best to have control over. She could grow flowers and plants out of thin air, even out of her palm.
She tossed her tawny shoulder length strawberry-blondish hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear as she went into her parents' home. It was nice and spacious, with hardly any doors, only exquisite archways. Plants were everywhere, especially in Adasta's room. She sighed happily.
"Ready for the dancing tonight, Adasta?" Her mother asked, as she swept gracefully into the room. Her mother always held a regal air about her, like she was royalty.
"Of course!" Adasta replied happily. Her mother smiled gently.
Adasta was Gracarda's only daughter, and only child. She had to have surgery done to prevent her from bearing any more children. Gracarda had always treasured Adasta's bubbly personality and her quickness at learning. Adasta wanted to be a doctor, but since the laws prohibited it, she could not. That is why Gracarda had named her Adasta, for 'wishing star'. That was the reason for Gracarda to join one of the rebel Revolution groups.
"I'm going to wear my new clothes," Adasta said, looking at her mother as her father strolled in.
Adasta and Gracarda bowed their heads to their 'superior' gently. He nodded at them, and they looked up.
"Good morning, dear husband," Gracarda said, getting up and hugging Cyton.
"Good morning, Father," Adasta chirped to him. "Going to the dance tonight?" She asked, getting up and pouring three steaming cups of green tea.
"Yes," He said, sipping his tea delicately. "Are you?"
"Yes," Adasta replied. "I'm going to go into the market today and get a new outfit." She looked up at him. She was not yet 21, she still had one more week of freedom left.
"You may go," Her father said sternly. "But no where else," Braun ordered. Adasta bowed her head in submission. After they ate their breakfast, she dressed in her outing clothes and went to market.
She bought a new bra-like top, and a matching amber sarong skirt. It took her a long time to barter with the toothless jewelry dealer over an amber necklace and earring set.
"One hundred sou," The old man said.
"This set is not even worth fifty," Adasta said scornfully, smiling inside. She had already knocked him down by fifty sou, which meant she was doing good. "I will give you seventy-five." She said.
"Ninety." He countered. Today was not Balthar's day.
"Eighty," She said, frowning still, pretending not to like the set.
"Seventy-five," He said nervously, his words slurred somewhat.
"Done!" Adasta said triumphantly. She handed the old man the sous and grabbed her new jewelry happily. "Good day to you!" She called as she was walking away.
She could hardly wait till the dance (Rendezvous). It was in three hours, and she was already dressed and applying her make-up. Her golden amber clothes were gorgeous. And when she put on her amber jewelry, she looked like the sun goddess.
She took her gold eye-stick (like eyeliner and eye shadow rolled into one) and applied a thin line on her lower eyelid, bringing out the line a few centimeters. Then she shadowed her upper lid, and brought out the line there, connecting the upper and lower lines, like the Egyptians of Ancient Earth used to do. She put tawny beeswax on her lips and rubbed them together, tasting the sweetness of the wax. She smiled then went down to her parents.
When she got there, the drums were already playing and some people were dancing. (Think the big party scene in Zion in the Matrix reloaded) The atmosphere was teeming with energy from all of the people. This was the only thing where married women could do whatever they pleased. Adasta smiled widely. Already several young men about marriage had approached her. She had ignored them all, feigning she already had a love. That was not true; to her all of the H'Karun men were obnoxious and stupid.
She swayed and moved with the music, feeling it surging through her. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was partly open. She felt as if she was floating on heaven. Lush grasses and flowers, being grown and nurtured by the magic emitting from her, had carpeted her area of dancing. She twisted and twirled in small circles, feeling the power of the people pounding through her. That was when the voice was heard.
"Revolution!" It screamed to the mass of swaying people. "Power to women!" The music stopped, the dancing stopped. The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a blade. Then the pandemonium began.
Magi, the Mages elite army, stormed into the large cavern where the Rendezvous was being held. Screams from women in pain, being sliced in half, blanketed the air. Angered men's roars, accompanied by the beating of over five hundred pairs of feet, bombarded Adasta's ears, almost deafening her.
Looking around her, she saw an exit that was unblocked by the Magi. She ran towards it desperately, fear pulsing through her. She heard grunts towards her left, and saw a huge, very muscular man fighting with a Magi. The muscular man was already wounded by a huge gash in his side. For no reason at all, Adasta ran over and stood behind him, facing the guard.
"Stop!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, grabbing the arm of the Magi's opponent and pushing him out of the way. The battle-crazed Magi warrior rounded on her, and she summoned her magic, thrusting her palm out. A huge vine shot out, wrapping itself around the guard, and throwing him to the floor, rendering him unconscious. Adasta froze in the waves of people, unaware of their existence. She had defied a Magi. Now, if they found her, she would be put to death. At the sound of falling rock, she jerked back to reality and tried to run, but was tackled by two Magi. A piercing pain filled her stomach. Vaguely thinking, 'I am impaled on a sword, as she crumpled to the floor, in a pool of her own blood, unable to defend herself. They had seen her attack their companion, and were going to kill her.
The goliath she had saved ran up and threw them off of her. She got her senses back, and began crawling to the exit again. Her journey was cut short by falling rock.
She was struck on the head by a good-sized stone, and it knocked her to the floor, unconscious. The last thing she felt was being nudged by a boot, then being tossed over a huge shoulder.
"What in the fuck am I doing?" Riddick thought to himself as he ran through the crowd of screaming people. He wasn't even sure why he came here in the first place. He felt something warm seeping through his tank top, and realized it was the girl's blood. He felt pity for her. She probably wouldn't make it to his ship. She couldn't have been more than twenty or so. And when she had shot those freaky vines out of her hands… damn. That was freaky.
He reached his ship quicker than he thought he would, and moved quickly to the med bay. The girls' breathing was becoming shallower, lighter, and quicker. He began to worry. It was probable that she would die before he could save her. She had saved his life- basically- and he felt obliged to save hers.
His boots clunked loudly through the steel hallways as he reached the med bay. He laid her gently on the metal examination table, and got out the kit, and began examining her wound.
It was not a long gash. It was only four inches long, but it was pretty deep. The sword hadn't hit any major organs or arteries, which was good, but stitches were needed. The girl stirred, but she didn't wake up. Her fingers twitched, and Riddick realized that she was going into shock. He got a rag and wetted it with ice-cold water, and laid it on her forehead.
He turned on the bright examination lights, and aimed them at her stab wound. He grimaced again. Geez. It was surprising that she wasn't dead already.
Riddick got a syringe and filled it with anesthetics, and injected above the crook of her elbow, directly into her bloodstream. Second, he went and got the cleansing stuff and poured it on the wound, and it sizzled and did its stuff, finally dying away. Then, came the bad part. He had to stitch it. He didn't mind killing people, just that operating on someone other than himself made his stomach flip-flop.
Riddick went and got a sharp needle and the strong adhesive thread used for medical purposes, and began his task.
He pinched the skin together gently, and pushed the needle through the skin. It came out blood-stained. He looped it over and tied a knot. So far, so good.
He made six more stitches before butterfly bandaging. He felt like puking. Hell, he hated operating.
Riddick picked her up gently, and carried her into his room, and laid her on his bed, pulling the covers around her and propping her head up on the pillow. He took one last glance before walking to the bridge and sitting in the pilot's seat, chin in his hand. He took off with out much trouble, and was soon floating leisurely in space. He still did not know who this girl was, or the whereabouts of her family. He did know that she was going to be pissed off when she woke up, though.
Adasta woke in a blanket of pain, especially on her side. She tore the blanket away from her body, investigating Riddick's handiwork. The stitches were clean and precise, and the area around it was clean, but the rest of her body was not. Her new clothes were covered in blood and dirt.
She groaned as she sat up. The air around her was biting cold, and she shivered, pulling the blanket tightly around her. She stood up, the pads of her feet meeting the cold steel of the ship.
Adasta looked around the ship curiously. She had never been inside a spaceship before. Tradition banned women from traveling more than three villages away. Adasta hated that.
The ship was interesting to her, but she didn't like the cold unfriendly steel of the room she was in. She frowned, and looked around. Adasta saw a bucket in the corner, and walked over to it and picked it up.
She sat on the floor, and blew air into the bucket, thinking about mineral nutritious soil. Her warm breath materialized into the soil she had been thinking of, and, pinching her forefinger and thumb together tightly then pulling them apart, she made a large seed.
Delicately, unaware of the large man standing in the doorway behind her, she planted the seed. She held her hand in the air above where the seed was, palm down, and brought her hand up, sending her magic flowing out of her to the seedling beneath the soil. The seed sprouted and grew, and burst out of the dirt layer, sending its branches up. Flowers budded and bloomed, petals a delicate periwinkle blue.
Adasta smiled at her handiwork, and set the now-occupied bucket in the middle of the room. She stood up stretching, and looked around for a shower.
"Can all of you people do that shit?" A low voice rumbled at her. She jumped and leapt onto the bed, back against the wall. Her amber eyes were wide open in fear.
Riddick could smell her fear everywhere. He knew that it was because he had startled her while she was… playing green thumb. He also knew that she was trying to blend in with her surroundings so he might not see her. He looked at her through his black goggles, suddenly interested.
He took one step towards her, and she squeaked, and jerked her hands up. He thought a bug or something had bitten her, but that all changed when a tree trunk enveloped her and closed her off to him, leaving only one small peephole to look through. He raised his eyebrows at her defense mechanism. The trunk was covered in huge four-inch long thorns, and he stepped up to look through the hole. He took his goggles off and looked through the hole, and saw her still cowering against the wall, like a frightened little bird. She saw his eye at the gap, and looked at him with interest in her eyes.
His eyes were silver. Silver like the steel room she was in, steel like the moons over her home. They were beautiful, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring. Never had she seen eyes like his, and she bent closer to look at them.
Riddick watched her, interested. Her fear was almost gone, and was replaced by curiosity, awe, and mischievousness. He wondered what she was going to do. No girl, except Jack, had ever looked at him like she was doing. She had not been afraid of the dark, she had been afraid of what was in the dark. His silver eyes bored into her amber ones, almost as if he was trying to read her soul.
"Hey, you can come out-" He began to say, but she blinked quickly and squeaked again, and the same vines shot out of the trunk and wrapped around his waist, picking him up and depositing him gently in the hallway. They flew back into the room and into the tree, and the door slid shut quickly. He got up and rubbed his midsection angrily. "Thrown out of my own fuckin' room," He grumbled, before going to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
Adasta made the tree trunk vanish, and climbed gingerly off of the bed, checking to make sure the big man hadn't gotten back in. She knew that he had saved her, but she was terribly shy and didn't know why she had reacted the way she had done. After she had checked in every nook and cranny, she opened the door and quietly stepped out into the hallway.
The hall was long and just as bare as the room she had been in. Adasta suspected that it was the man's room. She did not stop to 'improve' the hallway, instead she walked quietly down the hall, looking at all the doors individually and reading any map she came too.
Curiosity, as well as a need to decorate her new surroundings, filled her. Her spirit was back to it's normal bouncy self when she saw the window. Desperation filled her as she realized that she was in space. A realization that she could not see her parents again made her almost cry. But, a weight felt as if it was being lifted off of her chest, as she realized that she would not have to marry in a week, as long as she stayed here, which to her was doubtful. She turned away, making a mental not that she would have to come back and look out again.
She turned the corner, and saw the big man walking towards her. She ducked to the wall again, and he turned and went into a room. Adasta hoped that he didn't see her.
Riddick had seen her looking through the window, and was going to try to approach her again, but she had gotten frightened and had ducked away. He smiled. He would let her come to him.
Adasta went to the doorway he had walked through, and read the inscription. 'Kitchen', it said. She smiled, and felt hunger pains. She walked up closer to it, and it slid open, the gears squealing slightly. She walked in cautiously, and saw him leaning against the countertop, sipping some coffee. The same fear thudded through her, but the curiosity overpowered it. She looked at him, studying his body, his face, and his clothing. He was large and muscular- very muscular. His muscles were almost too much for her taste. He was dressed plainly, she noticed, and was wearing goggles for an odd reason.
Riddick knew she was studying him. It was normal for a new acquaintance to do that. He also sensed her curiosity again.
"Decided to come out, did you?" He asked, looking at her. She smiled a bit, looking at him.
"Yes," Adasta said. Her eyes flicked to the floor, then back up at him. She smiled. His face showed no emotion, but she knew his eyes would if she could see them. "Can I see your eyes?" She asked quietly, looking at him from across the room.
Her request made him falter a bit. No one had ever asked him that. He cocked an eyebrow, then reached up and pulled off his goggles. She smiled widely again, confirming that it was he. She walked up to him silently and delicately, until she was a few inches away from him.
Adasta was easily a foot shorter than him, and she tilted her head up, looking at him happily, studying his eyes. She blinked slowly, looking in to their crystalline depths. They were the prettiest eyes she had ever seen! Like diamonds, or polished crystal. She tilted her head to one side, and the colors shifted and swirled, until they became the same marble-like orbs.
'What the hell is this chick doing?' He thought. He felt like she was judging him or something. He felt like doing something, then she straightened back up.
"Where is your shower?" She asked.
