Title: Strings Attached
Author: owlet
Rating: M (maybe not really, I just want to be sure)
Disclaimer: JMS wrote everything B5, Warner Brothers® gave it a place to stay (at least for a while, sigh) nothing here is mine
Babblerama: Who Are You And What Do You Want, here's the resolution of the "who's it gonna be" – dilemma.
All the other readers (I know where the stats-page is, and I know you are there) please tell me what you think.
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3
My Musketeers were waiting for me near my quarters.
"Andrea, what did he say?"
That was the first time I had heard Tavin actually sounding scared. I let us into my quarters and busied myself making tea. After I had served it I told them about my conversation with the Shai-Alyt.
"Tomorrow? But who will it be?"
I looked at Sovann, who had asked the question.
"I have no idea. He didn't let anything on, could be any of us. I'm sorry, I really don't know."
I tried not to look at Tavin. Technically he hadn't said anything definitive, but the way he'd adamantly refused to reconsider his decision after my plea not to choose her could only lead to one conclusion.
My friends quickly finished their tea and left; I cleaned the table and went to bed. Sleep? No, no sleep. A good thing maybe – who knows what I would have seen in my dreams that night.
...
Four decidedly peaky looking Musketeers made their way to the great hall of the temple in the next morning. The proverbial axe was about to fall, and one of my friends was doomed. To be forced to spend the rest of one's life with someone so cold, so intimidating, someone with so little regard for the feelings of others – it was a fate too terrible to contemplate. We ended up standing rather close, and I felt for Tavin's hand. She held onto mine, hidden by the folds of our cloaks.
Nobody seemed to notice, as all eyes turned to The Shai-Alyt who entered the hall in the full regalia of the Zha'den na of the Moon Shields and started to speak.
"Valen's Ban has been reinstated, and Minbari no longer kill Minbari. To symbolize this new peace a union will be formed between the Anla'Shok and the Warrior Caste."
He paused for a moment.
"This conflict started because some of us were not ready to accept that the humans will be a significant part of the future of our people. We have much to teach each other, and there is much that we will share in the future. I am honoured to serve my people in this way, to help making this peace a lasting one, and to prevent the repetition of past mistakes. I hope my chosen one will hold the same sentiments."
What was that supposed to mean? He had shown nothing but contempt for humans in general and me in particular so far. And now he was talking about our importance for the Minbari in the future? My friends and I exchanged a puzzled glance.
He moved over to where we were standing.
"Anla'Shok Devon," he said.
I froze, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
Me?
A panicked and slightly hysterical voice inside my head did the shitshitshitshitshit-thing again. I tried to silence it, and managed to close my mouth.
Me?
I looked around for help, or at least a clue for what I was supposed to do now, but everyone looked just as surprisedly.
Me?
I realized that he was waiting for an answer. Theoretically I could tell him "hell no" and be done with it; but realistically ... to spurn him would mean offending the whole Warrior Caste, and destroying all the hard work my fellow Rangers had done in the past months. Entil'Zha looked at me with pleading eyes. People have died, they said, and even more people will die if you don't make the right decision now.
I took a deep breath.
"I ... I'm sorry, I was just surprised, I guess. I agree, of course."
The Shai-Alyt's face was as unreadable as usual.
"Very well."
Entil'Zha Delenn joined us.
"Shai-Alyt Coplann ra Shaibar'nik, you have made your offer, and it has been accepted. As the Entil'Zha of the Anla'Shok, I give you permission to begin the courtship rituals."
The Shai-Alyt looked surprised and I released a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding. She had just granted me a reprieve. Minbari courtship rituals were very complex (over fifty, but everything depended on who's clan was more prominent and how the families stood to each other...) and since this was more or less an arranged match they were greatly abbreviated, but to go from one stage to the next needed the consent of both participants. There was no way I could let it fail, but I could delay the whole mess beautifully. And Andrea Felice Devon had procrastination down to an art form.
The first thing on the list was the Vit'waFal, the Sleepwatching Ritual. Warriors usually didn't bother with it, but the traditions of the female took precedence, and as a historian and musician I could be considered Religious Caste. It was a bit of a stretch, but I wasn't about to argue.
In the end we simply bowed to each other, and went our respective ways. As far as I was concerned the agonizing could wait until I was alone; so I decided to hide out in my quarters until I was ready to face everyone.
...
As soon as the door closed behind me I started to tremble; my legs no longer supported me, and I simply sank down to the floor. All those pranks we had played on the Shai-Alyt – and now he had a lifetime to get his revenge. Perhaps he had simply chosen me out of spite, and now I could do nothing to prevent him from taking out his frustrations on me. I was afraid, and very much so. Warrior Caste Minbari were not easy to get along with at the best of times; and I had repeatedly offended this one. My mind insisted on playing out one terrible scenario after another in an endless loop, and I started to sob uncontrollably. I got to my feet eventually and went to my console trying to get a connection to Earth.
Nothing.
I rarely had needed my parents as much as now; of course I couldn't get a connection going to talk to them. I wailed and hit the panel in frustration, only succeeding in hurting my hand.
The door-chime went off then.
"Who is it?"
"It is us. May we enter?"
My friends had come to share the misery.
"Yes, of course, come in," I said with a wobbly smile.
They filed in, closing the door behind them.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, we would. And I am going to prepare it, you are going to sit down. Now."
It was strange how bossy this little priestess could be. She usually was so gentle, so serene. It took her only a few minutes until she handed each of us a cup. I grinned.
"Of course, whatever may happen to me – I'll never forget his face when you dropped the tea into his lap."
Sovann didn't return my smile.
"This may yet dearly cost you. He knows that these things were no accidents; perhaps you will now have to suffer for our deeds."
I sighed.
"I know, Sovann. Believe me, I know. So, what is known about him," I asked to change the topic.
"Well, he is the Zha'den na of the Moon Shields. His whole life he served his clan and his people proudly and diligently," Tavin said.
"Yes, but what about him? Any known personality quirks I should know about?"
Tavin shot me a confounded look.
"That is very private, Andrea. You will have to find that out for yourself. I am sorry, but only someone close to him would be able to tell you that."
Ah well, sometimes I forgot that I was dealing with Minbari.
...
I managed to delay the first ritual for two days; then I had to face it. Literally. The Minbari believed that in sleep one's True Face emerged; so the female spent three nights holding vigil over her sleeping intended, and watched his face.
Fortunately those nights didn't need to be connected, and there was still room for a little procrastination on my part.
I was pretty nervous, understandably, I guess. It took me about an hour to get a Thermos-flask of coffee and myself over to his quarters. A stone-faced guard let me in and I went into the proverbial lion's den.
The Shai-Alyt was waiting for me in the sitting area on the couch that was fitted into one corner of the room, teapot and two cups in front of him on a low table. He didn't wear his usual attire but what I recognized as a sleeping robe. It was black too, but looked softer and didn't close as high up as his usual clothes.
He rose as I entered and bowed.
"Anla'Shok Devon. Please have a seat."
I nodded and sat on the other half of the couch. He poured a cup of tea and gave it to me, using both hands in a very formal, respectful gesture. I tried not to touch him as I accepted the cup and succeeded. It was customary not to breach any important subject until the guest hadn't at least taken one sip of tea. So I made a big deal out of blowing on the tea to cool it down, cursing my trembling hands.
After I had finally tasted it, he spoke again.
"I am sure you have questions."
I stared into my cup a little, avoiding his eyes. Of course I had questions, dozens, hundreds; but they all came down to one.
"Why me?"
"I thought, I had made myself clear."
"Yeah, I heard the reasons you gave in the temple, but you could have achieved your ends with any female, Minbari or human on any White-Star or at any Stronghold of the Anla'Shok. You could have taken your pick of them, perhaps even found somebody who'd really agree to have you."
His eyes crinkled a little.
"Yes, you are probably right."
"But you didn't. Why? Petty revenge? Love at first sight?"
He sat his cup down and laughed.
"Neither, I assure you. Before I even set foot out of my stronghold, I was handed the files of all suitable candidates. Yours was, shall we say, interesting."
I looked at him strangely.
"If you say so."
"You are a bit of an anomaly among the Anla'Shok. You have never strived to raise in rank, declined all offers of a command-position and simply stayed here to mind the archives. All in all very unremarkable. But you are very capable in an emergency, as one of my acquaintances told me who came across you and a broom of all things during an attack."
I blushed.
"Oh that. What had him more impressed, the broom or my plaid flannel pyjamas?"
"The way you told him off. You didn't really have a chance against him, but you grabbed a broom and proceeded to hit him because he..."
"...had disturbed one of the few nice dreams I'd had lately. Yes, I remember."
I had been a flannel-clad, sleep-deprived ball of fury that night. The warrior had been so surprised that I'd had the sheer gall to attack him with a broom, that I had been able to hold him off until Tavin came and rescued me.
"Anything else he said?"
He smiled at me.
"Just that your enthusiasm was commendable, even if your technique left something to be desired. And that he'd never heard such an extensive collection of Lenn'ah swearwords from a human before. Who taught you? Tavin I assume."
"You assume correctly," I mumbled into my tea, totally embarrassed.
"And that little scheme you implemented to put me off your friends, and encourage me to leave this place. You didn't have much time for preparations, but you command the loyalty of your friends to such an extent that they became inventive themselves. The fact that you planned all this, thinking that I would choose a Minbari, speaks for your own loyalty to your friends. You even defended them against me, and stood up to me. Loyalty, charisma, compassion, determination, courage and the ability to improvise; all of these are good qualities to have if you are to lead a clan."
I was floored. How typically Minbari. I had pegged him down as my enemy, and just assumed that he would think the same about me. It was now obvious that he didn't. Even though Minbari never told the whole truth, they never lied either, only perhaps to save a friend or superior; so I was fairly sure he really thought these things about me. Then his last sentence registered with me.
"To lead a clan?"
"Yes, of course. This would be one of your duties as my sala, taking an active leadership role, especially when I am away on other business."
"So, you are telling me that you've had your sights on me right from the beginning? That Tavin has been safe the whole time?"
"I never seriously considered her, because a few days before I left my clan-stronghold a very young, flustered Fire-Wing wanted to see me, and asked, no actually pleaded, that I left his love alone. Whatever you may think of me, I am not without compassion. These last few days I was on my worst behaviour to test you, but I am not your enemy, Andrea."
I did the award-winning goldfish-impression again.
"But, but you could have told her!"
He grinned at me mischievously.
"Certainly. But watching you fluffing up, hissing and spitting like a mother-gok, was simply too amusing."
I didn't know what to say, just eeped, and continued to gape at him. He in turn gave me a half-smile and emptied his cup.
"I will now retire for the night. If you please..."
He preceded me through the sliding-door that separated the sleeping area, waved me into a chair, and, as he was already in his sleeping robes, simply lay down on the tilted platform and closed his eyes.
And that was that.
I tried to get comfortable in the chair, and did what tradition required of me; I watched him, and not just his face either. I asked myself if Minbari females used the three night to check out their future husbands too, or if that was just my human pervyness coming out to play. Hm. Had to discuss that one with my friends later. Well, perhaps.
His body was deceptively slender as I had thought; I hadn't really been able to tell due to the many layers he usually wore. His elegant, long-fingered hands were folded over his stomach. I wondered if he was asleep yet, his instincts should make it difficult for him to fall asleep in the presence of a stranger. I shrugged to myself, and unscrewed my flask to take a sip of coffee.
He'd given me a lot to think about; so I did, watched, and waited.
Ah there. Maybe that was what they meant. His face gradually relaxed, and got softer, some of the lines disappearing. Minbari didn't have eyebrows, but I noticed that Coplann had eyelashes many human women would kill for to have. I grinned and took another sip of my coffee, a very silly picture of him running from an enraged crowd of alleged beauty-queens in my head.
His lips parted slightly. When he was awake, they were usually pinched in annoyance (at least as far as I had seen), but now they looked generous; almost...
Sensual.
I recoiled. I did not just think that. No way, no.
There was a certain river in Egypt – and I was in even deeper trouble than I had thought.
Drinking some of my coffee to calm my nerves, I looked over at him again. There was a faint sheen of moisture on his skin which meant that he was definitely asleep. Minbari didn't sweat (and were thus more susceptible to high temperatures than humans) but exuded a fluid in their sleep that rid them of toxins and such much as human sweat did. They removed it (and the upper layer of their epidermis) with a certain chemical compound every few days in a ritual of cleansing and rebirth.
So I sat watching, thinking ,and drinking coffee, until a faint light appeared in the sky.
...