8/06/2014: I edited this chapter because I felt it didn't fit with the flow of chapter 5. I have meditated on this story and expanded my original plot line; therefore, I may be revising the first and second chapter as well. This is for the best, I promise. I would love feedback on the revisions!
Chapter 6 should be up soon.
-D
It had been a strange thing at first not to dream.
Camilla wasn't sure if she had dreamt as a child; but, she assumed that she had. Didn't everyone dream?
Living on this alien planet, though, had robbed her of dreaming. Camilla had nightmares, but not dreams. She would give anything to dream of her father.
Camilla remembered that her father had a mop of reddish brown hair and blue eyes, like her own, that had always been hidden by wire frame glasses. He had been tall and lanky; an intellectual and a scholar. Her mother had never been present in her life, which had been just fine with Camilla. The life the young woman had prior to her capture had been happy; just Camilla, her father, and Kingsley their German shepherd in a little red house outside of Tucson, Arizona.
It had been a trip that had brought Camilla and her father to the other side of the world. A trip funded by her father's university. Her father, along with a handful of his colleagues, would travel to southern India and visit the Neyyar Sanctuary to study the flora and fauna. Camilla's father had studied medicinal herbs as a botanist at the university, and as a surprise he had secured Camilla a ticket as well.
They had traveled in the late summer – monsoon season. What no one on the trip had planned was being caught stranded in a storm at the foot of one of the mountains. It had been a group of seven American adults, Camilla, and three Indian tour guides. The group had been trapped in the brush land, waiting out the rains when everything suddenly exploded in a fit of gun fire.
Camilla could only remember screams and the sound of guns. She had run, on her father's command, through the trees as far as her feet would take her. There had been rain and mud dousing her face but Camilla had gone far. Then there had been a flash of red light and her mind went blank.
The only thing she could remember after the red light was waking up on a ship.
Last night, Camilla had dreamed of the forest; a green canopy of trees hundreds of feet above her.
There had been lots of yelling and muffled gunfire in her dream. The sounds were so vivid, so real. Her father's face contorted into fear, his glasses strewn on his face as he ran with Camilla only to be left behind when something came upon them. The last thing she could recall was coming upon a clearing of trees and seeing a large black shadow. Her child-self had crouched down behind some bushes to hide, watching the black shadow from a distance. The dream had ended with a flash of familiar red light.
Camilla had then woken up in her current state in a cold sweat. Her pallet was a mess of furs and fabrics as the young woman had thrashed in her sleep.
Camilla thought it cruel that she could not remember her life with her father, but the horrors of her capture played out like book in her sleep.
Why she wasn't killed, presumably, like the others on that trip – like her father. The young woman did not know the answers. The only thing she could ascertain was that her life had been spared, in parts, thanks to A'chide. Her master had given her a chance.
Being able to live was worth the occasional nightmare, in Camilla's mind. Better suffer in her sleep than suffer forever in death.
Besides, Camilla had been given a chance to lead a somewhat normal life. However normal living on an alien plant could be. Thankfully, she had been given human contact in the form of Adrienne and Mitchell.
In the marketplace, Camilla had bumped into Adrienne and the two women had been inseparable ever since. Adrienne was five or six years older than Camilla with blonde hair and green eyes. On earth, Adrienne would have been a conventional beauty but on the Yautja planet she was every bit as foreign as Camilla. Adrienne did not know how she had arrived on the planet. She claimed only waking up to this new world (a story Camilla only partly believed). Unlike Camilla, Adrienne served P'oshka, an un-bred Yautja female who sold her wares in the market.
Through Adrienne, Camilla had met Mitchell. As a former doctor on Earth, Mitchell was simple, but vastly knowledgeable in healing. Camilla often went to him whenever she was feeling ill or had questions about medicine in general. Mitchell had been a surgeon before his capture, working primarily in emergency rooms. For over twenty years, he had served under healers mixing medicines and treating warriors. He was well-versed in Yautja culture, the most experienced out of the three of them.
As far as the three humans knew, they were the only servants in this particular settlement. There were many more Yautja settlements, according to Mitchell, but this settlement was one of the larger ones and was important for housing the council of Yautja.
Camilla had been thankful for Mitchell and Adrienne's company. Their friendship meant everything to Camilla.
Perhaps she would recount to them her dreams from last night.
All thoughts stopped as a headache blossomed in the back of the girls' skull. It was either from the dream or the self-induced hunger of abstaining from food for the past day and a half.
The young woman got up groggily, ignoring the pounding in her head, and stretched her sore shoulders. Her position last night, curled up into a ball, had left her body in knots; that and the stress from her confrontation with A'chide. Last night had gone quite poorly, but she was not about to be the first to apologize. Camilla was resolved to ignore the two Yautja, including A'chide, in the house for the duration of their stay. Even if it lasted as little as a week or as long as a year, she would not budge.
Slipping out of her room, Camilla trudged along the hallways silently. If the Yautja were in the house, she did not want them alerted to her presence. Looking at her utility band, Camilla brought up the holographic model of the house. There was the bright blue dot that indicated her position, but there was no red dot to indicate A'chide's presence. There wasn't even a green dot to indicate the presence of that other Yautja. She was alone in the house again. Her chest ached a bit. She had been so happy to have some companionship, and now she was alone once more.
There were no leftovers from the meal she had prepared yesterday. Camilla was surprised to see clean platters sitting neatly on the counter in the kitchen. A'chide had, apparently, done the dishes. Rifling through the storeroom and freezer, the young woman fixed herself a large tray of cold cuts and one large sliced fruit.
With one hand balancing the tray, Camilla made her way through the house. For a moment she considered going back to her room. Instead, she wandered down A'chide's wing. It did not matter if she was in this part of the manor; if her master was absent she had free-range of the rooms.
At the end of the hall were very ornate double doors that opened up to her master's gallery. The room was dimly lit with most of the lights focusing on the large skulls of various creatures her master had slain. Skulls littered the walls, all of them bigger than Camilla's own head. They were all alien, twisted and malformed. There were samples of different weaponry, both mechanical and fastened from rock. Pallets upon pallets of skin and furs draped the walls and lined the floor. The back of the room held a large shelf full of different texts, manuscripts and books. None of them were in English, not that she could even read English, but they were fascinating to pore over. Some of them had painted images; others were just scripts in foreign languages. There was also a metal cabinet that had been locked ever since her arrival. Camilla had tried to open it before, but she had given up quickly. She knew that if something was locked, it was meant to be locked for good.
Amongst the backdrop of long deceased alien remnants, Camilla settled down on an old dusty fur and pulled a giant volume of writing from the shelf. She flipped through the pages while eating pieces of cold meats. The book she read was one of her favorites. It had a scaly cover that was a muted purple. The gilded images told of a civilization of sentient beings that where tall and stark white; their city prospering before a backdrop of frozen landscape. Four magenta moons filled the blue sky and each one represented a deity. Camilla could not make out what these deities represented, just that there were images that had each moon beneath a floating figure. The figures were surrounded in gold paint and their bodies were white, as well.
Time passed and Camilla remained looking at the book attempting to decipher the meaning of the letters. Attempting to understand these books was one of her favorite hobbies. Many a day had been spent sitting in A'chide's abandoned trophy room, reading nonsensical books.
Her tray was empty except for the skin of the fruit and several meat bones she had chewed on. The meal had been devoured and the comfy warmth of a full stomach settled on Camilla. Her headache had dissipated as well.
Camilla was too enthralled with the book to notice her master standing in the doorway.
Her back was to the door. It was not until a shrill came from A'chide that Camilla even noticed his presence. Her body tensed; so much for avoiding the Yautja. She did not know whether it was better to remain sitting on the floor or immediately rise to a stand. She decided that standing was better, letting the book fall from her lap onto the fur. Hurt and anger welled up into her chest; her hands were clenched into fists. Despite her master's intimidating presence, Camilla spoke before he could say anything.
"I want to let you know that I will not apologize for my actions. I wish to know why you were angry with me yesterday. I did everything you taught me to do and yet I still was humiliated and chastised."
The words she spoke were insolent, it was overstepping a boundary. Perhaps he would strike her; Camilla's fear was not to be found. She would be heard this time.
A'chide fixed her with a look of curiosity. His upper talons clicked out several words before he approached her. There was no look of anger in his demeanor, only curiosity and a bit of amusement. Had he forgotten about yesterday? The Yautja were not a species to hold grudges, at least not over petty things such as this.
A'chide had hurt her feelings, Camilla would not be deterred.
She watched as one of his hands pulled at the fabric at her shoulder. He was examining the dress she was wearing, the one she had worn last night. The ceremonial gown was wrinkled from her fitful sleep. In her hunger, the woman had not thought to change it. He whirred in amusement before chuffing at her. Camilla looked up at her master's face to see him nod his head to her. It was the Yautja form of a bow, an apology. She had only seen it a handful of times before, mainly from Yautja to Yautja; but, she recognized the gesture. Her anger was appeased slightly; the many months alone in the house reminded her that she could not be too angry towards company that was likely to leave again soon.
The creature standing before her fixed her with a steady gaze before chuffing once more. There was a serious tone in the noise, his playfulness was gone. He gestured to her utility band. Camilla opened the translator; it was her only mode of communication between A'chide and herself. They did not often use it, but it was necessary for critical moments such as this.
A stream of clicks and complicated whistles left her master. Camilla watched as the translator flashed red for a moment before going green. A robotic voice spoke out into the room, "I received a position that is most beneficial. Accompany me on my journey to the outpost city. Pack many things, the journey is long."
There were gaps in the translation. The young woman's mind raced to understand. She was to be leaving with A'chide? But, she had never been out of this land before. She had remained within the city confines her entire life here; a dread filled the young woman. Her eyes sought A'chide's, her master was watching her. He was studying here, anticipating her weakness, her refusal. Camilla felt fear creep into her, but there was nothing she could do. She would venture with her master to this outpost city. She would need to be courageous. She would not be a pua'tono and run away; she would play this new part expected of her.