Metamorph

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Author's Note: Please review, tell me if you liked it or hated it.

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Eventually Delenn's innate self-control kicked in and she picked herself up off the ground. She headed straight for her sleeping quarters and selected the most modest robe she could find, pulling the hood up so that it fully covered her face. Then she sat down on the sofa in the living area. She knew she needed help but she could not bring herself to leave her quarters and walk among the other residents of Babylon 5. Not looking like this. Delenn had never thought of herself as vain. Her appearance had always married very little – as long as she was clean, neat and tidy she was happy. If anyone had ever asked Delenn would have told them that beauty comes from the inside, from the heart and the soul. But, despite this, one brief glance in her bedroom mirror had convinced her that she didn't want anyone to see her like this. She could imagine the looks that everyone would cast, the stares that would be directed at her hideous deformity. And so Delenn sat on the sofa, legs curled beneath her, and awaited Lenier's return. She knew he would not leave the candles burning unattended for very long and so she did not expect to have to wait long.

And that was a good thing. Delenn was an intelligent, well-educated Minbari and she knew that her external appearance was the least of her worries. The procedure she had undergone would have –even if it had been successful – placed a huge physical strain on her body. Delenn had known that going in, known that even if everything went exactly as it ought to there was a good chance that the changes would be too great for her body to accept. That she would die and the weight of prophecy would fall on the shoulders of another. Delenn had no illusions about her place in the universe. The obvious failure of her metamorphosis suggested that perhaps even greater harm than that expected had been done to her physiology. Delenn was very much afraid that she was dying. Thoughts of her mortality – and exactly how death would come, fast and clean or slow and painful – occupied her mind fully until she heard the door to her quarters slide open. Lenier stepped through and she opened her mouth to call his name but no sound came out. She watched him walk over to the empty chrysalis while she swallowed furiously and struggled to speak.

"Lenier." Her voice, when it finally worked, seemed unnaturally quiet and unsure to her ears. She remembered sounding more confident. Her aide turned toward her, squinting through the gloom, unable to make her out due to her dark robe. Delenn knew she was merely the deepest shadow among many in the room. That thought grieved her. All her life she had stood tall against the shadow and now she was using it to hide in, using it to protect her vanity. She was suddenly ashamed of her fear of people's reactions to her appearance. She called Lenier's name again and moved slightly so that he could locate her.

"Delenn." The joy and relief in Lenier's voice almost made Delenn laugh. She had always enjoyed irony.

"Delenn, I am so glad you are awake. I was starting to grow quite concerned. You had been in there a long time, much longer than I had expected. And much has happened recently that you need to know about. I am not equipped to deal with it. I fear I have already taken several mis-steps." Lenier spoke quickly as he moved across the room towards his mentor who waited silently in the dark. In the dark… Suddenly that thought penetrated and Lenier realised that something was wrong.

"Delenn, are you alright? Why is the light off."

"I am alive Lenier. To that extent the change was successful. But it did not work quite as I expected. I…I am not certain what I have become, Lenier." Despite her best efforts Delenn's voice quivered slightly and she had to force herself to push her sleeve up and show Lenier the flaky crust that coated her arm. Lenier gasped. He reached out as though to touch it but Delenn quickly moved her arm away.

"I will call the physician immediately, Delenn." Lenier stood up and moved toward the comm. unit. Delenn silently thanked him for not trying to talk about it. Lenier always seemed to know exactly what she needed.

"Call Doctor Franklin, not the Minbari physician."

"But the humans know little of Minbari physiology."

"I am no longer wholly Minbari, Lenier. I think that much is clear. I am unique and Doctor Franklin is as well equipped to deal with that as anybody else. Also, I trust his discretion and know that he is one of those rare creatures that seem to have absolutely no prejudices. He will treat me now exactly as he always did. I did this to become more human, to become a bridge between our peoples. Now is as good a time as any to begin that role." The short speech exhausted Delenn and she began coughing. Despite her positive words to Lenier, despite painting for him a picture of her role in the future, Delenn still believed that she had little time left. She trusted Doctor Franklin to tell her the unvarnished truth without judging her. He would allow her to keep her dignity. And, at the moment, death with dignity was the best she could hope for.