Decisions Part 1 Is this a love story?

by Jules Cesar

At the time of the old Republic. During Sith Occupation in the Cold War. A couple, being different species, was forced to marry by the Sith. He thought she was too red, but was interesting. She thought he was too blue, and hated him. How they overcame their differences, and outwitted the Sith, for a life together. (Mature after chapter 7)

5. Chapter 4

©2015

Chitrah arranged to have the droid driver pick Andriel up at the dress shop, then to pick him up at the agro-equipment supplies store. He wanted to maximize the time that Andriel had to use his computer. He thought the best option would be for them to arrive at the apartment together, so that she could start working on his computer right away, while he started on preparing lunch. That way, neither one would have to wait for the other, as they normally walked. When he sat in the repulsor-lift vehicle, she took his computer from him right away, and wanted to start working on her designs. He asked her if she could restrain herself until they arrived at their apartment, because she knew how seeing her 3D image affected him. Andriel stuck her tongue out at him, but complied. She did not want him running to the bathroom to take a cold shower as soon as they arrived. Since she was starting to feel hungry. The sooner he started to make their lunch, the sooner they would eat. Otherwise she was tempted to start right away, just to see him squirm.

She was pretty sure that she could show him any designs she had completed, by the time they sat down to eat. She would like his opinion on what he thought of them. It was too bad the 3D image was not in colour, it would have added more depth to the designs. Everything was blue. In his computer she was just as blue as he is, maybe that's why the image of her in that tight outfit affects him. When they sat down for lunch, she had completed three designs to show him. Of course she would get him to print the 2D image of each design, with both the front view and the back view. She could colour the images before showing Mrs. Grimshaw. Because seamstresses are used to working in colour. When he saw the designs he looked at each one very closely, rotating each one to get a better view of each. For the most part he thought they looked good, he just wondered if anyone on Yitabo could carry the dress that was only supported over the one shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. He knew that it would look good on her. He wasn't sure if any of the women who lived here could wear it as well as she did, except maybe one or two of the women at the Ministry.

Andriel realised that Chitrah had raised a good point. The outfits are intended for sale, so she has to keep in mind that she is not the final client. She agreed that she needed to run all the designs by Mrs. Grimshaw. After all it is her dress shop, and she is supplying all the material. It is only right that she should have final approval, before anything is built. She asked Chitrah if he could make two copies of each design. That way she had a copy that she could use for alterations. After lunch he rode with her back to the dress shop. Andriel wanted to do this again tomorrow, because she would need a lot more designs. She needs about two per market day. Chitrah told her that tomorrow would not work, as he was planning on working out at one of the ranches all day, to setup and test his first design. It would be best if they talked about it when he came back. If he needs to make any alterations, he could see himself going back and forth between the ranch and the store for a couple of days.

If the design works as the theory says it should, then they would be able to do this again, the day after tomorrow.

She thanked him for letting her use his computer, when they stopped at the dress shop, and she got out.

Chitrah asked the driver to take him to the Ministry, then he could return back to the car pool. He would walk back to the store after he was finished at the Ministry.

At the Ministry Chitrah went to the officials that oversee his work. He asked them if they had a portable communicator that he could use. When they asked why? He told them that he was ready to install the first communicator link between one of the ranch computer systems, with the Ministry Computer, he will run a number of tests on the design before connecting it to the communicator, to uplink with the Ministry's computer. He will need to be in direct contact with the technicians operating the Ministry Computer, in case he has made an error in his calculations, and the link starts to damage the computers. Then he would need to do a manual disconnect. Since the ranch's computer would be using the ranch's communicator, he would need a separate communicator to be in touch with the technicians. Now the Ministry does not like to admit that they have a mobile communicator, and they would need permission from higher up, to use it, but he makes a valid argument, and they were confident that they could obtain the permission. They just needed to know why so soon. They told him that their computer model showed that he would not be ready for another month. Chitrah explained that their computer model, probably did not incorporate the services that could be provided at the agro-equipment supplies store. He could delegate more of the mundane work to them, while he worked on the more critical systems. The net result, was the same as three of him working at once. They started to congratulate him on finding a way to speed up the completion of his project. He suggested that they should not congratulate him until after they see the bill for the store's services. That sobered them up. They said that they will see what they can do to get a communicator out to his location by tomorrow afternoon. Chitrah thanked them and left. He figured that it would take permission from someone high up in the Ministry before he could get his hands on one.

After Chitrah left, the officials he reported to, contacted the head of the Interior Ministry on Yitabo, and explained the situation to him. Letting him know that Chitrah was one month ahead of what the computer model predicted. The head of the Ministry, made a holonet transceiver communications link, with the office of the Moff in charge of this sector of space, he would wait. Shortly he was speaking with the Moff directly. He informed him that the field computer technician that he had sent them was completing his assignments at a faster rate than projected, and was requesting a mobile communicator at his location, so that he could be in direct communication with the technicians in charge of the Ministry's computer, in case there was a malfunction in the design, and the link needed to be broken manually.

The Moff thought about it for a moment. Than he told the head of the Interior Ministry on Yitabo, that this was a reasonable request, and it showed forethought on the part of the field technician. He did not think it wise to use the Ministry's communicator, then all the civilians on Yitabo would know of its existence, instead they should dispatch a squad of solders to set up a military communicator, it would give the soldiers something different to do, and solve the problem of establishing a communications link. The head of the Ministry bowed to the Moff and told him that it would be done as he suggested. As soon as the link was broken, the head of the Ministry contacted the officials in charge of the project, to let them know that they had permission to order the military to set up a communicator for Chitrah to use.

They contacted the military Base Commander, and informed him that he was required to send a squad of solders to establish a communications link, with the Ministry, for the computer technician that will operating at the specified location, and they sent him the planet co-ordinates for the ranch. The Base Commander was smart enough to know, that they would not have contacted him, unless they were instructed to do so from someone with authority, so he informed them that it would be done.

Chitrah had trouble sleeping that night. He was on the verge of completing the first of his four assignments. If everything went the way he had planned, then he could have the others completed in just over a month. He had brought everything he needed to the apartment, plus some. He was planning on leaving first thing in the morning, before the agro-equipment supplies store would be open. He kept going over everything in his mind to see if he may have forgotten anything. He was tempted to leave right after dinner and sleep in the repulsor-lift vehicle, but the rancher, and his men, may not have appreciated him camping out on their doorstep. He would get up, walk around the main room in the apartment, without turning on any lights, or making any noise, because he did not want to disturb Andriel. After walking a bit he would lay down to try and get some sleep. Just as he would start to fall asleep, a thought would pop into his head. Did you replace the right component when the card was slightly out of spec, or did you double check the cards that they built for you? This would bring him fully awake, while he answered his own question. Then he would repeat the whole cycle all over again. Walk, then try to sleep, walk, then try to sleep. When the sun started to come he gave up trying to get some sleep, and made himself a cup of tea. (The tea shop would not be open yet.) Then he took a shower and dressed, and went down to the market, hoping the baker would already be there, so that he could buy some bread for breakfast. The baker was just setting up, and was surprised to see him that early. He told the baker that he was heading out of town right after breakfast, to test some designs he was working on. The baker could tell, that he was eager to get going, so he sold him some bread, and wished him luck with the tests. Chitrah thanked him, and went back to the apartment for breakfast. He noticed that the tea shop was still not open when he returned to the hotel, so he made himself another cup of tea. After breakfast he rewrapped the bread in the paper the baker had wrapped it in, to try and keep it fresh for Andriel.

He started moving all his stuff down to the lobby, because it would take a couple of trips to bring everything he needed. He was bringing more backup equipment then he would normally bring, because this was the first one, and he wanted to make sure it worked. If it did not work, then he wanted to know why. While in the lobby he called the droid driver to pick him up. By the time he brought the last piece of equipment down to the lobby, the droid was already there. So he loaded up and left.

When Andriel finally woke up, she found Chitrah and all his equipment from last night, already gone, and a poorly wrapped half-eaten loaf of bread, on the dining table. Chitrah had told her that he would call and leave a message, if he thought he would be back in time for dinner.

When Chitrah arrived at the ranch, he found the rancher and his hands already up and about. They were expecting him, because he had called yesterday to let them know he was coming. They came out to help him bring everything in.

As soon as he had everything organised, he started working right away. He opened the housing on their main computer system and started installing a new card assembly in the extra space in the housing. He could not plug his cards directly into the computer, because they would be operating at different frequencies. After the assembly was put together he started plugging in the cards. He put a hole in the back of the housing to install a plug, so that he could connect it to the ranch communicator. Then he connected the leads that would connect the computer to his cards. He did not want to connect it to the communicator until he had run all the tests. By mid-morning he had connected everything that needed to be connected, and ran every test that he could think of.

Chitrah just sat there with nothing more to do. The rancher saw him, and asked him if anything was wrong? He told the rancher that he had nothing more that he could do, until they sent out the portable communicator, that afternoon. The rancher told him that if he wanted to keep busy, he had stuff he could do. Chitrah said he preferred to keep busy. Time seemed to travel faster that way. So the rancher brought him a whole stack of cards and some boards, asking if he could have a look at them. While Chitrah was going through the stack, the rancher made him a cup of tea, since he was making one for himself. He asked Chitrah if he could explain to him what he had installed. Chitrah told him that basically he had installed a special buffer system connected to a transmitter. Their computer could send the data to the buffers at its leisure. Once a set of buffers were full, it would connect with the Ministry computer, and transmit it in a burst. That way both computers would be happy because they were working in their optimal operating frequency. The rancher noticed that Chitrah had started to make three stacks of cards from the ones he asked him to look at. Chitrah explained that the first stack were cards that were not worth repairing because they were cheaper to replace. The second stack were cards that could be repaired, with a little note for the guys at the agro-equipment supplies store, so that they would know what needed to be done. The third stack were cards that were working fine, or that needed a quick repair and he had already repaired them. The rancher was impressed with how fast Chitrah was working, no wonder he was being called a wizard by some of the farmers. Chitrah slowed down some when he came to the boards, because they were more complicated to test, and detect errors. By the time he finished with the last board, the rancher invited him to join them for lunch. Chitrah agreed. On their dining table they had a stack of the juiciest nerf steaks he had seen, or tasted, they had potatoes, and noodles, and a sauce with roasted and chopped Ojomian Onions. They had a salad made out of mega-leaf lettuce with both dried and fresh berries and roasted nuts with a berry vinaigrette that would have made Andriel's mouth water, and some homemade new ale to wash it all down. They asked him about his work and having to move around. He told them it was hard, because they haven't found a place that they could call home. Just when you're feeling comfortable, and starting to make friends, you finish your work and get assigned somewhere else. Fortunately his wife is a seamstress, so she can usually find another seamstress wherever they end up, who does not mind her company. The ranch hands started to appreciate the stability of their own work environment a little more. Right after lunch when they were relaxing with a cup of tea in the living room, they suddenly heard a military transport land in front of the ranch, and a whole squad of soldiers quickly scramble out. As everyone steps outside to see what's going on, the squad sets up a defensive perimeter around the transport. The squad leader spots Chitrah, the only blue guy out there, and asks him if he was the computer tech? He tells him he is, so he asks him, where they are supposed to set up the communicator? This was a little more then what Chitrah was expecting, but he knows how to roll with the punches and takes the squad leader into the ranch house, and shows him where to set up their equipment.

The ranch hands are impressed that he has a whole squad of soldiers at his command. The rancher is more amused.

After the equipment is set up, the squad leader already knows who to call, and connects up with the computer techs in the Ministry. In the meantime Chitrah has triple checked to make sure that they are ready to link the two computers. When Chitrah sees the image of one of the techs, the tech tells him that they are ready to receive, and monitor the transmission. Chitrah lets them know that he's calling now, and has the ranch computer initiate the call. The tech responds with call detected, hand shake verified, call terminated. Everything within operational parameters. Chitrah confirms that everything operated within parameters on his end. The rancher wanted to know why the call was ended without any data transmission. Chitrah told him the initial call is always to let the Ministry computer know that there is a computer that will be sending it data. The next time they connect, the Ministry computer knows it will be receiving data that can be processed. "Normally it would send about an hour's worth of data in one burst, so you would expect the next transmission one hour after the initial contact but I had your computer already start loading data earlier, so we should see the first transmission burst in less than one minute."

The Ministry tech was still on the line with Chitrah. Because he heard the conversation between Chitrah and the rancher, and the rancher asked what he would have asked. He kept quiet and continued monitoring the inputs to see if he could spot the burst. Suddenly Chitrah warns that the computer has activated the communicator, the Ministry technician responds, burst detected everything within parameters. Chitrah tells everyone, that's it! Everything is working according to specs. Thank you everyone, for your cooperation, and terminates the communication.

He tells the squad leader that they are finished here, and can go back to their base. They pack up and leave, while Chitrah disconnects all the monitoring equipment, and seals up the computer housing, and places a government seal on it. He lets the rancher know that if he has to get into the housing, to exchange a card or board, that is malfunctioning, that he is supposed to notify the computer techs in the Ministry, so that they have it on record, and do not get into trouble if someone comes out to inspect the computer, and finds the seal broken. Then he tells him what was wrong with the boards he had him look at.

The rancher knows that Chitrah has saved him a lot of credits, and time, by going over all the cards and boards. He does not have to go into town himself, but can send any of the hands in, with the instructions on the cards and boards, to the agro-equipment supplies store, and have them fix it. To show his appreciation, he has one of the hands prepare a gift basket for Chitrah. The hand comes back with two boxes. One box contains some fresh steaks, some fresh ground meat, different types of homemade nerf sausages, and a small wheel of nerf cheese. The other box is bigger, and has more of everything except the cheese, but cryovac frozen. They let Chitrah know that the meat is frozen so solid, that it would be a day before he needs to put it in a conventional freezer, to keep it frozen.

Chitrah does not know what to say, and is reluctant to take all that meat. The rancher tells him, he would personally be offended, if he refused to take it, so he took it. He wanted to get back to the hotel as fast as he can, so that he can tell Andriel all about it, and show-off his booty. He's pretty sure he will be back at the apartment before Andriel, so he decided it was best to stop at the store first, to unload all the equipment, except for his computer, and still make it back in time to start on dinner before Andriel arrives.

Chitrah decided that he wanted to replicate as much as he could, of what he had for lunch, for their dinner. He was still early, so he made an inventory of what they had in the kitchen. It wasn't much, they were almost out of everything. He made a list, made sure he had enough credits, grabbed a bag to put everything in, and headed to the market. The vegetable vender was all out of mega-leaf lettuce and pink lettuce. He suggested the revwien lettuce as a good alternative for a salad. Chitrah had never cooked potatoes before, so the vendor sold him two big ones, and told him to wash them really good, then wrap them in metal foil. Roast them in the oven for a good half hour. When they are ready to eat them, cut them open length wise, and smoother them with a nice cream sauce, or if they are making a brown gravy for their Nerf steaks, then smoother their potatoes in the brown gravy. He found a fruit vender that had fresh zoochberries and dried ossberries. When he asked where he could get some roasted nuts, he was told that the market sold out yesterday, and they won't have any more until the next transport brings some. One vendor suggested he talk to the baker's son, the one who sells the sweet dough balls, he might have some Vulderanian grain, it's what they make the breakfast flake cereal from, if he has some raw grain, see if he will sell you a hand full. You can roast them in their husks. After they cool down, remove the husks, and the roasted grain will taste like roasted nuts, in a salad. He found the baker's son and told him what he was looking for. His dad left a bag with him because he knew everyone had sold out of roasted nuts. He told him that he should put them in a shallow pan uncovered. He can roast them at the same time as the potatoes but only roast them for five minutes, then pull them out and let them cool. When they are cool enough to touch, he should rub them in his hands, and the husks will come off. "Don't leave the empty husks lying there, because a sudden gust of air, like opening or closing a door, will send them scattering, and they will be hard to clean up." Chitrah next went to find the noodle lady, they had enough noodles, but he was hoping she might have a ready-made brown gravy, or know someone who did. She happened to have a brown gravy that goes with nerf steak, as well as the potatoes, it also takes the roasted and diced onion he wanted to add to it. She also told him where he could by a nice berry vinaigrette for his salad.

Chitrah was happy with all his purchases. It wasn't going to be exactly as what he had for lunch, but it should be close enough. If it is not, than the only thing that counts is that Andriel enjoys it. Chitrah started the potatoes cooking since they would take the longest. He found a nice pan to roast the grain and still have room for the Red Nebula Onion that he wanted to roast and add to the gravy. He had a timer set for each item, so that nothing gets over cooked. He pulled the onion out first and left it to cool to where he could handle it without burning his finger while he diced it up. Next he pulled out the tray of grain, so that it would cool. By this time the onion was ready to be diced. He placed the diced onion in a sauce pan, and added the brown gravy to it and covered it. The noodle vendor told him that the gravy was ready, it just needed to be heated just before being served. Then he tested the Vulderanian grain it was still on the hot side, but he found that if he took only small amounts, he could handle it. He had a sample of the first bit of grain that he rubbed the husks off, and found that it did taste nutty and crunchy.

As soon as he finished rubbing the husks off the last bit of grain he had roasted, Andriel opened the door to the apartment. She wasn't sure if she was more surprised to see that Chitrah was back, cooking dinner, or the empty husks of grain floating through the air, settling over everything in the kitchen, on to the dining table, where there was a pile of meat, and even going as far as the couch, settling on the linen and blanket that Chitrah used to make his bed. She just stood there for a moment, taking the whole scene in. Finally, she slowly closed the door, so as not to send the grain husks on another journey.

She asks, "What, are you, doing here? I thought you were coming back, late!"

Chitrah told her that everything went great. Just as his computer models predicted. "There were no foul-ups. I did not have to change or alter anything. So I was done way before I expected. I decided that since I had the time I would start preparing dinner. I tried to replicate the meal they served me at the ranch for lunch, but they did not have everything at the market that I needed, so I had to use substitutes, I hope you like it."

"Oh, and look at all the meat they gave me. I had finished running all my tests, and the portable communicator had not yet arrived. The rancher saw I was bored and doing nothing and he brought out a whole stack of cards and some boards for me to test. I was able to go through them by lunchtime and they invited me to join them, and because I forgot to bring lunch, I did, and that's what I am trying to recreate for you."

"Then after lunch we went to the living room to have some tea and relax when suddenly a military transport flies in and lands in front of the ranch house and a whole squad of soldiers jumped out and surrounded the transport, like they thought we were going to attack it. Then their squad leader sees me, I guess they told him to look for the blue guy, and asks were they want me to setup the communicator. Not what I was expecting at all. The ranch hands were impressed that I could call the military to help me. So I went with it, and told them were to set up. When they were finished they already knew who to call, and put me through to the computer techs at the Ministry. They had been waiting to hear from me. "They were waiting for me!" So I got the computer to make contact, and it did, then it stopped just like it was supposed to. Then it made contact again and transmitted data, then stopped, just like it was supposed to. Everything worked like it was supposed to. I said bye to the technicians, then told the squad leader that they weren't needed any more. So they packed up and left. I started to pack up to leave, put before I left they brought me all this meat, and said I had to take it or they would be mad at me. The rancher is a really nice guy, and I did not want him to be mad at me, so I took it. All this stuff is fresh and we need to cook it in the next couple of days or it will go bad. It's okay to take some to Mrs. Grimshaw because she has helped us a lot. She's just like family. All this other meat is cryovac frozen. The hotel said we could store it in the teashop's freezer, because there is no freezer in our apartment. But we can only go and get stuff twice in a cycle, or we might overtax the unit. Is there anything else I can tell you?"

Andriel had brought her hands up to her mouth, because her mouth was hanging open. She had never seen Chitrah so excited, or talk so fast. He was like a kid who ate way too much candy, while the adults weren't looking, and now had too much energy. She felt that she might need to nail his feet to the floor so that he did not go bouncing around the apartment. "I take it that you had a good day?"

"Yes! Everything worked the way it was supposed to."

"Then you better finish preparing diner before the stuff you have already cooked becomes cold."

This brought Chitrah back down to normal, he quickly thought of what he had done, then knew what he still needed to do. When he turned the grill on to cook the steaks, all the grain husks that settled on it suddenly flared. While Chitrah's attention was back to preparing dinner, Andriel decided to clear all the meat off the dining table. While she was packing all the stuff to put in the cooler, she noticed the small wheel of nerf cheese, with a little piece missing. She asked Chitrah, what is it? When he saw what she was holding, he told her it was nerf cheese, you can't buy it anywhere. "I tried a little of it and it only tastes like cheese to me. You should take some to Mrs. Grimshaw, maybe she can tell you what is so special about it."

Andriel cut off a small piece, and tried it. She told Chitrah that she understood what he meant and would ask Mrs. Grimshaw about it.

After she finished putting the cooler stuff in the cooler, and the freezer stuff in its box, Andriel noticed that Chitrah had not yet started on the salad, so she asked, if he wanted her to do it? He replied with a, "yes, please". It was a good thing for Andriel that all the salad items were nearer the door then the grain husks had been, so they were blown away from them. She did not have to waste time washing everything again.

When everything was ready, Chitrah wiped the dining table with a damp cloth, to pick up any grain husks still on the table. Andriel set the table while Chitrah brought all the dishes he prepared, and set them on the table. Last, Chitrah brought a baked potato, placing one on her plate, and cutting it open as he was told, being careful not to burn himself on the hot steam coming out of the cut. Then he placed the second potato on his plate and repeated the process. He told Andriel that the potatoes did not look the same as what he had at lunch. He thought the ones at lunch did not have their skins on. Maybe there is more than one way to prepare potatoes. Next he took the brown gravy with the diced roasted onion in it, which he had warmed up. It was a good thing it was covered when the grain husks blew around, and poured it over the potatoes. Andriel brought the bowl of salad that she had prepared, and poured the berry vinaigrette over the salad. They both sat down to enjoy their meal. Chitrah kept explaining what was similar to what he had at lunch, and what was different. Andriel found the potato seemed too rich for her tastes, so she did not eat very much of it, even though she claimed it tasted good. The steaks turned out very good, but she only had half of what she was given. The salad tasted surprisingly good, with the roast grain tasting nutty and crunchy. But she found that when she came to the last of the salad, the grain was no longer crunchy. They had absorbed the salad dressing, and became soggy. Good to know for next time.

Andriel did not notice that as Chitrah stopped talking, he stopped eating. After running on adrenaline all day, not having slept well last night, he was physically and emotionally drained. She took his silence to mean that she could talk about her day. She told Chitrah that she had shown her designs to Mrs. Grimshaw, and she liked them. She expressed the same concern as Chitrah, about the dress that was supported on only one shoulder. She had a solution that would stay true to the design, yet make it wearable for a larger portion of her clients. She has a fabric that is called tease cloth. It clings to the skin when you wear it, letting the colour of your skin come through. From far away it does not look like anything is there. Which would make it true to the original design. But up close you can see that there is fabric there, that's why it's called tease cloth.

Andriel thought she would do a little teasing of her own. "Could you imagine how I would look with a whole dress made of tease cloth, why from far away I would look naked, could you imagine that?"

Chitrah suddenly slammed the palms of his hands on the table, and stood up. "Stop hurting me! Yes I can imagine you naked, and when I do, I want you. I want to grab you and force myself on you. Do you know that no-one would say anything if I forced myself on you? In fact most of them, men and women, would say that it is my right! But what sort of man would I be. I wouldn't be a man, I would be a monster. Is that what you want me to be, a monster? So that you could hate me more, then you ever have before? So that I could no longer say that I love you?"

Tears were building in Chitrah's eyes as he continued. "I made a promise to your mother that I would not intentionally hurt you. I want to keep that promise. I do! I want you to love me the way I love you. Some people told me that Devaronians are incapable of love. That's why the Devaronian women kick their husbands out of the house after the wedding, forcing them to wonder the galaxy. But I know that's not true. I saw that you loved your mother, just as much as I love my mother and father. I know you can love me with that same love. Instead you mock me with your body. Look, but don't touch."

"I am a human being. I can only take so much before I break, and both our lives are destroyed."

Chitrah stopped talking and slowly walked around the table. Andriel was paralyzed with fear. She knew that somehow she had hurt him. Hurt him real bad, and she was terrified of what he might do. But he walked past her. Into the bathroom to take another cold shower.

When Chitrah locked the door to the bathroom, Andriel's instincts from the many years of discipline under her mother, kicked in and she started to clean up. Anything that looked like it could be made into part of a meal, she put in the cooler. Everything else went on the kitchen counter, and she activated the kitchen droid. Andriel was grateful that Chitrah was taking longer than usual with his cold shower. She went into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. It had no lock, and there was nothing she could do to barricade the door. She sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. Wondering what has she done? What was he going to do? Was it true that he could rape her and no-one would do anything about it, and that the majority of men and women would approve? What was she going to do?

When she heard the shower stop, she softly told the computer to turn out the lights to the bedroom. At first she that if the lights were out, and she did not make a noise, he would leave her alone. Then she thought that was silly, he might think that she was asleep. That would be the best time to force himself on her. So she thought she would go to the side of the bed furthest from the door. That way he would walk around the bed to get to her. If she timed it right she could spring across the bed, and sprint out the door, before he could grab her. So, quiet as she could, she got off the bed, and went around the side to where she would be farthest from the door, and crouched, and waited. She heard Chitrah come out of the bathroom. Her heart started pounding. She heard him walk over towards the couch, pick something up, and go back to the bathroom. What is he up to? A short time later he came out of the bathroom and walked toward the couch, then it sounded like he flopped onto his makeshift bed.

What Chitrah had done, was that he had changed into his pyjamas after his shower. He was so tired, that he did flop onto his bed, ignoring the grain husks that were in his linen, and in his blanket, and now in his pyjamas.

When Andriel could no longer hear Chitrah move. She got up and slowly stretched, because her muscles started to cramp up, being tense and holding a crouch. She did not change. She crawled up onto the bed thinking about everything that Chitrah said, that she could remember. She lay in the fetal position, thinking and listening in case Chitrah got up.

Nothing made sense to her, it was like someone with a sick sense of humour, had transported her to an alternate universe.

Chitrah did get up in the middle of the night, and Andriel heard him. He was all itchy from the grain husks in his bed and clothes. He tried to think how he could resolve his situation because he was still very tired and wanted to go back to bed. He figured he should take another shower and change his clothes. But first he had to deal with his bed. No point in changing your clothes, if they are going to get grain husks all over them, when you crawl back into bed. He figured the linen was not salvageable. The padding he used as a mattress could just be brushed off. He might be able to take the blanket outside, and shake the grain husks out of it. He bundled up the linen to try and keep as much of the grain husks inside the bundle. He took the blanket a little ways out of the hotel, and started shaking it. When he stopped he ran his hand over the surface of the blanket. If he felt any grain husks he would shake it some more. He kept this up until he could not feel anymore grain husks. He tried to be careful and not let the blanket touch anything including his pajamas as he walked back to the apartment. Back at the apartment after placing the blanket on the mattress, he went and found some clean and comfortable work clothes. Since he had no more clean sleeping apparel. He went into the bathroom to take off his pyjamas, placing them in a laundry bag, being careful not to get any grain husks on anything else. Took a very soapy shower, to wash off any grain husks still sticking in his skin. The soap and water did the trick, he was no longer itchy. But his skin was so sensitive from the grain husks irritating it, that he couldn't use a towel to dry himself. He put on the clean clothes, while still wet, and went to bed, hoping that he wouldn't catch a chill before he was dry. It wasn't long before he fell back asleep.

When Andriel heard Chitrah get up, she woke up immediately, even though he was trying to be really quite. She quietly slipped off the bed, and went to the place where she had crouched before. In case he came into the bedroom. When she heard the door to the apartment open then close, she was puzzled? What is he up to? She just sat on the floor where she was and waited for him to come back. She was just starting to fall asleep when she heard the door to the apartment open. Chitrah was back. She heard him walk towards the couch, put something down, take a few steps, pause, he may have picked some clothes up, then he went to the bathroom. She heard the shower being turned on, and wondered if he was taking another cold shower. He must be cooking inside if he needs another cold shower. After he finished his shower, she heard him walk towards the couch to his bed, and lay down. She waited a minute or two before she risked moving. She walked slowly to the bedroom door, and opened it part way and listened. She heard Chitrah's shallow breathing and a little snoring. She was pretty sure he was asleep. She closed the door and climbed back on top of her bed and tried to sleep as well, she was very tired.

Andriel tossed and turn, then started dreaming. She was back on the freighter looking for an escape pod. She found one. She checked the panel to see if she could figure out how to operate it. Where there should have been instructions she just saw the words, "No Escape". Suddenly she heard a sound behind her, someone was there. She turned around and there was Chitrah standing there, with a silly grin on his face, blocking her way. He asked her, "Want to go back to your cabin and have some fun?" A chill went down her spine. She tried to hit him the way that her mother had taught her to, but she couldn't move her arm. She tried the other arm but it would not move either. She tried to kick her leg, but it would not budge. Neither could she move her other leg. By this time her heart was racing. She could not scream, there was no-one to hear her. She could not do anything to help herself, so she started to cry. She woke up crying. All the tossing and turning she had done had caused the top blanket on the bed to entangle her body, pinning her arms and legs. She stopped crying when she realised it had been a dream. She took a couple of slow deep breaths, to try to slow down her racing heart. Then she tried to work her way out of the blanket, and was finally able to free herself. She then started to feel that the apartment was like the blanket, trying to trap her. She needed to get out, she needed to be free. She opened the bedroom door a little, and listened, Chitrah was still asleep. She opened the bedroom door further so that she could get out. As she walked slowly, quietly to the door of the apartment, she stepped onto a wet patch, then a little further another. What did Chitrah do? Is there a trap? She opened the door to the apartment, but not all the way. Just enough so that she could squeeze through. She was free! She went down the stairs and out the front, wondering what she should do, where should she go? She ran out into the field next to the hotel. Then she remembered Mrs. Grimshaws warning, don't go walking out into the fields by yourself, there are predators out there, and they would make a meal of you. She stopped and listened, wondering if the predators came into town. The only sounds she heard, were the night noises she had heard before. She just stood there not knowing what to do next.

Standing there she noticed the sky was getting brighter. The sun was going to rise soon. She had never seen a sunrise before in her life. It was time that changed. Before she saw the sun she saw the sunlight shine on the clouds, and watch them change colour. She remembered that there was a saying that the colour of the sunrise would tell you what the weather would be like that day, but she could not remember it. She watched this big ball of fire climb up out of the ground, and into the sky, then she had to stop looking, it was too bright.

When she first saw the sun, she felt a reassurance that everything was going to work out, it would be okay, and a sense of peace came into her heart. Because of that, she felt it was safe to go back to the apartment and get some rest.

When she opened the door to the apartment, there was enough light that she could see a trail of water from the bathroom to where Chitrah was still sleeping. That was what she stepped in, when she was sneaking out of the apartment. She quietly walked to the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep.

When Chitrah got up in the morning, physically he was rested, but emotionally he still hurt inside. He knew he had scared Andriel, and wanted to apologize. But he knew that he should not disturb her. He was concerned, that he may have permanently destroyed his relationship with Andriel.

Chitrah went down to the market to grab a fresh loaf of bread for breakfast. On his way back he picked up two cups of tea. When he entered the apartment he could tell that she was not up yet. He had breakfast by himself. After breakfast he changed, and left a note for Andriel, "I'm sorry!" He dropped off the clothes that he wore last night to be washed. He asked if they could wash them twice. Before he left he programmed the hotel computer to play the same album it had played when she took her bath. But he programmed the volume to increase gradually until the computer detected that she was awake then shut the music off. He believed that she would not want to miss too much of her time with Mrs. Grimshaw.

Andriel heard music as she slowly started to awake, but as soon as she sat up to listen, it stopped. Maybe it was her imagination. She cautiously opened the bedroom door. Chitrah had already had breakfast and left. She saw the note he left her, when she read it she said, "So am I!" The tea he left her was already cold. So she took her shower and changed, and had cold tea with her breakfast. She forgot to take the fresh meat and cheese with her to Mrs. Grimshaw. Her mind was elsewhere. She arrived at the dress shop much later than usual, and seemed somewhat subdued, so Mrs. Grimshaw did not say anything, but kept an eye on her.

She noticed that Andriel was having trouble doing the simplest of things. So she sat down beside her and put her hands on Andriel's to stop her from making any more mistakes, and asked her what was wrong?

"Is it true, that if Chitrah forced himself upon me, that most of the people would say he had the right to do so?"

Oh, dear! This was not something that she was expecting. "You are married! Don't you sleep together?"

Andriel hung her head and said "No."

"Andriel, I'm going to put the closed sign in the window. You go into the kitchen and make us some tea. I believe you need to tell me what happened last night. And be careful you don't burn yourself."

So Andriel did as she was told, and brought back two hot cups of tea for them to drink, and sat down beside Mrs. Grimshaw. Wondering what she should say, where should she begin?

After having a sip of tea she started. "Chitrah had told me that he might be coming home late because he was going out to one of the ranches to install some equipment. He would have to run all sorts of tests, and if it wasn't working right, he would have to adjust it. He said he would leave me a message to let me know when to expect him back. So it was quite a surprise to see a cloud of grain husks swirling through the air, and Chitrah cooking dinner, when I opened the door to our apartment."

Mrs. Grimshaw could not help but smile when she heard about the cloud of grain husks. Their apartment must be a mess.

"Chitrah was so happy, and so full of energy, he could not stop himself from telling me about his day. He said that he was trying to recreate the meal he shared at the ranch with the rancher and his men. But he could not find all the right ingredients at the market. They suggested some substitutions he might try, to try to create a similar taste. I think that he was in way over his head, but he really wanted to impress me."

"I think that because his day went so well for him, that he wanted to share a little of it with me."

"He talked so fast when he was describing his day, that I could hardly follow him. He had so much energy that I thought I might need to fasten him down, so he didn't bounce all over the apartment. I knew that all the tests he ran went well. The Ministry even sent some soldiers out to help with the last stage of the tests, which impressed the ranch hands. He kept repeating that everything went the way it was supposed to. So he came home early. That's when he decided to cook me dinner, and I came in at the wrong time."

"The dinner wasn't that bad. I never had potatoes before. With the gravy he poured over them I found it a little too rich for me. The steaks turned out just right, he is good at grilling steaks. The salad was really nice. I was surprised how nutty and crunchy the roasted grain tasted, but then the grain soaked up the salad dressing, they became nutty and soggy."

"Then he stopped talking, and kind of just sat there. I thought maybe he had run out of things to say, so I started telling him about my day."

Mrs. Grimshaw knew from what Andriel was saying that Chitrah had crashed, that's why he became silent and just sat there. He was physically and emotionally spent. She also knew that he would be vulnerable to overreact to anything said. All she said was "Oh, dear!"

Andriel, did not understand why Mrs. Grimshaw said that, maybe she recognised something she didn't, she'll have to ask her later. So she continued with her story.

"I told him about showing you the new designs, and that you liked them, and how you made the same comment he did, about the dress that only came over one shoulder. But that you had a modification that would be true to the design. Making it more wearable by a larger group of customers. I told him about the tease clothe you have, how it is a clingy material that emits the colour of what is underneath it, which is usually skin. How from far away it looks like nothing is there, but as you get closer you start seeing the material. I thought I would tease him a little and asked if he could imagine me in a whole dress made from tease clothe? How from far away I would look naked."

"That's when he slammed the palms of both hands on the table, and stood up leaning on the table. He almost shouted, "Stop hurting me!" He told me that he could imagine me naked, and when he did, he wanted me, and was afraid that he would force himself on me. He told me that if he did, he would be a monster, and he would understand if I hated him more than I ever have before."

Mrs. Grimshaw was a good listener, and understood that Andriel had hated Chitrah at one time in their relationship.

"He also told me that if he forced himself on me no-one would help me, in fact most of the men and women on this planet would say that he had the right to do so. Since he is my husband. He said some more stuff, but I never heard him. I was afraid that he might try to force himself on me, and no-one would help me."

Andriel started crying at this point in her story. Mrs. Grimshaw put her cup of tea down and hugged Andriel to herself and started stroking her on her head to comfort her. She almost stopped stroking her when her hand first touched her head. That's when she realised that Andriel's red colour was not from her skin, but from her fur. She had a thin dense layer of fur covering her entire body from head to toe. It was not until you touched her that you detected it.

Andriel, what an exotic creature you are, both inside and out. Andriel did not notice the slight hesitation Mrs. Grimshaw had when she started stroking her. She just knew, that this woman who meant so much to her, in such a short time, was willing to comfort her, as her mother had, and she needed that right now. She sat up again when she stopped crying, and continued with her story, "Chitrah started walking around the table towards me and I was petrified with fear. But he walked right past me, into the bathroom and started taking one of his cold showers. He does that when I tease him too much."

Mrs. Grimshaw smiled knowingly, and picked up her tea to have a sip.

"I did what my mother taught me to do and cleaned up after dinner. Activating the kitchen droid before going to my room. I sat on the bed hugging my knees to my chest, feeling sorry for myself and wondering what I should next. When I heard the shower stop, I told the computer to turn out the lights, and I went and crouched by the bed farthest away from the door, thinking that if he came into my room, to force himself on me, he would walk around the bed, and I would be able to scoot across the bed and escape out the door. But he didn't come into my room. Instead he went to the bed he made for himself, and flopped down on it, and went to sleep."

Mrs. Grimshaw interrupted her, "Do I understand this correctly, that not only do you not sleep together, you don't even sleep in the same room?"

Andriel nodded her head and said "Yes!"

Mrs. Grimshaw was flabbergasted, she seriously wonder if she could help Andriel. Nothing in all her life experience could help her with this.

One thing she did know, was that this wasn't about sex. There are plenty of women on this planet who would want a romp with a blue skinned alien, but Chitrah never gave out any signals that he was interested. His signals always said he was a one woman man.

Andriel continued, "When I was sure that Chitrah had gone to sleep, I lay down on the bed to rest. I did not bother changing into my nightgown, thinking that would make it too easy for Chitrah to rape me. I slept very lightly so that I would hear if Chitrah got up. In the middle of the night I heard Chitrah moving around in the main room. I went to my ready place, by the bed. Listening and wandering what he was up to. Then I heard him leave the apartment and not return for a long time. When he did return he rustled around his bed some more and went into the bathroom to take another shower."

Mrs. Grimshaw wondered if this might have something to do with the cloud of grain husks, Andriel sent flying through the air when she entered the apartment. But she did not say anything.

"After his shower he went back to his bed, and was more careful about laying down. When I didn't hear anything for a while, I went to the bedroom door and opened it a crack and listened, Chitrah was asleep. So I closed the door and went and lay on the bed again. This time I tossed and turned, but finally fell asleep, and started to dream. I dreamt that I was back on the ship that brought us here. I was standing in front of the escape pod where the first officer tried to rape me."

"One moment Andriel, did you just say that someone tried to rape you on the trip here?"

"Yes, the first officer tried to rape me."

"What happened?"

"He blocked my way when I went to find the escape pods on the ship. He asked me, if I wanted to go back to my cabin for a good time? So I did what mother taught me, if I was ever in a situation like this. I punched him as hard as I could just below the ribs."

She showed Mrs. Grimshaw where she punched him by placing her fist just below her ribs.

"He bent over when I punched him, and I was able to get around him. Since he was still bent over, I kicked him for good measure, and he hit his head on the main hatch of the escape pod. I told him that if he ever put a hand on me again, I would get my husband to pull out all his fingernails."

"Does Chitrah know about this?"

"He was the first person I went to. He was in the common room, working on some electronics for the captain. He came with me to my cabin. When he locked the door I told him what happened, I think he was both shocked and upset, but he was more interested in how he could help me. He had me tell him, what was the best tea for me, to have help me. He asked me how long to brew it. I think he was trying to distract me with small things, so that I wouldn't think about what just happened. I think it helped. When he gave me the tea, he let me take a sip, then he placed his hands around mine, and told me that he would do anything to protect me. I felt like he just gave me a warm hug, and I stopped shaking. That's when I noticed that he was so angry, that he was shaking. He made me feel safe."

"In my dream, when I sensed that someone was behind me I turned around and it was Chitrah blocking my way. He had the same stupid grin the first officer had, and asked me if I wanted to go back to my cabin for a good time? I tried to punch him but my arm wouldn't move. I tried my other arm but it wouldn't move either. Then I tried to kick him, but my leg seemed pinned and so was the other one. There was no point in screaming, since there was no-one to hear me. So I started crying. The one who I trusted to protect me, was now trying to hurt me."

Mrs. Grimshaw put her hand on her shoulder to give her support.

"I woke up crying. In my tossing and turning the top blanket on the bed had twisted around my body pinning my hands and feet. I took a couple of deep breaths to stop crying and calm myself down. I was able to free myself from the blanket, but the whole apartment felt like the blanket, and I had to get out. I cracked the door open and listened, my crying did not wake Chitrah. So I squeezed through the bedroom door and quietly walked to the main door of the apartment and quietly let myself out. I went down the stairs and out the main door to the hotel, and started running in the field next door. Then I remembered your caution about predators, and not walking by myself in a field, so I froze."

"It was probably good that you did. I have never heard about anyone being attacked in town, but they have been spotted in town at night."

Andriel felt better that she probably did the right thing.

"While I was standing, there I noticed the sky getting lighter. I had never seen a sunrise before, so I just stood there watching the sky, watching the sunlight on the clouds change colour. It was beautiful!"

"When the sun started to rise out of the ground, I felt like someone was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be alright, that it was safe to go back to the apartment, so I did. Chitrah was still asleep when I got back. I went into my room, lay on the bed, and promptly fell asleep. What was strange was that as I started to wake up, I heard music, but as soon as I sat up to listen to the music, it stopped."

"Chitrah probably instructed the computer to wake you gently with music, but as soon as it detected that you were awake, to stop playing."

Andriel thought about it for a moment, it made sense. But why would he do it?

Mrs. Grimshaw started to ask Andriel about her marriage. She knew that a lot of alien species arrange marriages for their offspring but she never heard of them arranging marriages between species.

Andriel replied, "It wasn't our parents, it was the Sith Empire!"

To Mrs. Grimshaw's ears it sounded like she wanted to spit, when she said who was responsible.

"I believe, Andriel that it might be best if you told me the whole story from the beginning. Things are a lot more complicated than I ever imagined. While you are thinking about where you should start, I'm going to the kitchen to make us some tea and a small bite to eat because we have missed lunch."

Andriel decided that the best place to start, was with what Chitrah shared with her, because that was where it started. Mrs. Grimshaw was both surprised and pleased that she started with Chitrah's story, because it told her that Andriel believed him.

"When Chitrah told his father he was ready to marry, his father told him that he had to go to the Ministry to ask permission to marry, then he would be able to negotiate a marriage contract with the family of a young lady they had already picked for him. He was quite eager to get the process underway because he really liked his sister-in-law, and believed that his parents would do just as good a job for him. His plans for his future where dashed, when he was told that the only person he would get permission to marry was me. I did not know about his side of the story until he told me on our trip here. He said that his parents had prepared a party for when he returned, to celebrate this next step in his life. The family was devastated with the news, especially his father. They talked about what options they had available to them. Every scenario except one, ended with his father losing the headship of his clan, and Chitrah being expelled from the clan. The only option was to agree to marry me. That way his father would stay as head of the clan, but Chitrah would have to be expelled, because he was marrying outside his species. The next morning Chitrah's father contacted my mother to tell her the news, and suggested that they meet. My mother was blindsided by this news. She told Chitrah's father that she would get back to him as soon as she could confirm what he told her. He understood."

"My mother decided that the best way to confirm the news was to ask my cousin, who had a crush on me, and was on leave from his job, to go and ask permission to marry me. I walked in on my mother during this conversation, and screamed "No!" My mother told me to leave, that I should not be listening in on other people's conversations. I was distraught. Why didn't my mother talk to me first? After she gave my cousin his final instructions, she came into our workshop to talk with me. She told me the situation was not as I thought, but worse. She told me about her conversation with Chitrah's father earlier that morning. She told me he was a good man, she had worked with him on a number of projects for the business community, in which they were both active. There was a small chance that someone was playing a cruel trick on his family, but she doubted it. This is why she asked my cousin to get permission to marry me. If what Chitrah's father told her was true, my cousin would never get permission to marry me. So we waited. It turned out that my cousin showed more persistence than I would have given him credit for. When he was turned down, he went to a cousin of mine who also worked in the Ministry. She worked in a different department, but had friends in the department that issued the permission to marry. She found out that someone high up in the Ministry had issued orders that I could only get permission to marry a guy called Chitrah. My male cousin came personally to my mother, to tell her what he had found out. My female cousin, who loved to gossip, told everyone else in the clan. My mother arranged a meeting with Chitrah's father, who suggested that two fellow businessmen, who were also heads of their clans, and have children approaching marrying age, be allowed to come and observe, because this might also affect them in the future. Mother explained that it showed the good character of Chitrah's father, in that he wanted to bring a man that they both knew hated him. Since it might help that man. My mother assured me that if anyone could find a way out of this situation, it would be Chitrah's father, because he was the smartest man that she knew. That was high praise coming from my mother, since she is the smartest woman that I know. He did not find a way out, so for my mother and my clan, I agreed to marry Chitrah."

"Did you not realise that by agreeing to marry Chitrah, you were agreeing to sleep with him?"

"No, it was not something that I was thinking about at the time, and I don't think Chitrah was either. He agreed to marry me, for his father and his clan."

"You didn't think at all that Chitrah would want to sleep with you as his wife?"

"I never thought about it until mother gave all my clothes away, and made me design and make all the clothes I would take with me when I married Chitrah. She even made sure I designed and made a maternity dress. Even though I protested that I would never let him touch my body, because by this time, I hated him."

"What do you mean you hated him?"

"After everyone in the clan found out that I was being forced by the Ministry to marry Chitrah. They started calling me day and night. Some even suggested that because Chitrah worked for the Ministry himself, that he may have been involved in arranging this marriage, and I naïvely started to believe them. My mother was furious when she found out that members of her clan had poisoned my mind against Chitrah. She forbade me from using the communicator again, and diverted all the incoming calls to go to my sister's communicator. I argued with my mother about her decision, because I thought that they were comforting me not poisoning me. That's when she got rid of all my clothes, to force me to start thinking and preparing for the future."

"I was one miserable girl. I had no-one to talk to, but my mother, and I was too stubborn to let her comfort me. As far as I was concerned, I was marrying an Imperial, and the Imperials were responsible for trying to destroy my family and my clan. I think that was one of the reasons that she agreed to secretly meet with Chitrah."

"How do you know that she met with Chitrah?"

"Because he told me about some of the things my mother told him about me."

"Your mother is a good business woman, by your own admission. Do you seriously believe that she would give something away for free, especially about someone so important to her, without getting something in return?"

Andriel had to think about that for a while. Mrs. Grimshaw made a good point about her mother.

"Oh! I remember that last night Chitrah said that he made a promise to my mother. I think he promised her that he would never do anything to intentionally harm me, and that he was upset with me, because I was pushing him to break his promise."

"So what happened after you finished assembling your wardrobe?"

"It was time to go to the Ministry with Chitrah to be married. As a little girl I always thought that my wedding day would be the happiest day of my life. It wasn't! I knew that as soon as l walked out the front door, I would be dead to my family. It was like I was going to my own funeral. Everything I took with me would be the only evidence I would have, of a life before Chitrah."

"When I got into the droid limo, the first thing I did was insult Chitrah. I could not help myself. Everything he was wearing had blue in it. He tried to smile for me, but he was probably hurting as much as I did, but I did not notice. During the wedding ceremony, I noticed that he suddenly changed, and I was drawn toward what I saw in his eyes, but my hate for him stopped me. He told me later, that he started to see me for who I really was, not as an angry red women, but as someone with a lot of inner strength, who was confident in her own abilities, but was weakened by the uncertainty of the future. He saw that I had all the good qualities he wanted in a wife, so he chose to love me. He saw that if he added his strength, to where I was weak, I would be able to overcome anything."

Mrs. Grimshaw's eyes started to water as she heard how she described what he saw in Andriel. She always thought he was a good man, and now she knew she was right.

"After the ceremony we went to the shuttle terminal, to catch a shuttle up to the spaceport. When we entered the shuttle terminal I became like a little girl, I wanted to see everything. I believe that I was struck with the same wander-lust that Devaronian men are famous for. I don't know how I got to where I was supposed to go. But as we were approaching the spaceport, I found myself sitting in the widow seat holding Chitrah's hand. I saw that he was sad when I snatched my hand away. I believe that when Chitrah saw that I was mesmerised by everything I saw, that rather than try to bring me back to reality, he indulged me and took my hand and led me where I needed to go as if I was a little girl. When we entered the spaceport he made sure that our luggage was secure in safe storage, then let me go where ever I wanted to go. He came along as my personal information kiosk."

"You mentioned that Devaronian men have wander-lust. I heard that Devaronian women kick their husbands out of their home."

"You know, Chitrah said something similar last night. He said he was told that Devaronian were incapable of love, that we only mated on instinct. Then kicked our men out once we were satiated. But he knew that wasn't true, he could see that I had the same love for my mother, as he had for his parents. He knew that I could love him too."

"So which is it? How would you describe your parent's relationship?"

"There is probably a little of both. You have to understand that to keep a Devaronian male at home, would be like keeping a wild animal in a cage. If you had any compassion, you would let him go free. I believe that my parents did love one another. My mother was always so happy the days before my father came home. She always told me how happy she was that the ancestor responsible for building our home had placed extra sound proofing between the master bedroom and the rest of the house. She would shop for special items for them to eat when he was home, and I would get in trouble with mother, if I ate any of the sweet treats before father came home. But I didn't mind waiting. Father would give me one when he came home, because he knew how much I loved them, and they always tasted special when he gave it to me. I knew that mother would have him in the bedroom for the rest of the day. But come morning, he was mine. I got to choose what we would do that day together, as long as I gave him back to mother after dinner. He always had a little present for me that he gave to me in the morning, before we went away for the day. Usually we would go to my sisters the next day, after she moved out to look after her own family. We would all have dinner together. After dinner she would go for a walk with father. That was their special time together, while mother and I cleaned up, and made sure her little ones were in bed when they were supposed to be. The next few days would be considered normal by anyone's standard. If it was a regular break, he would leave before he had a chance to get into trouble. If it was a long break because his ship was in for maintenance or repairs, then mother would send him out of the house in the morning, and he was told not to come back before dinner. She found that if he stayed in the house, he was like a mischievous little kid, who always got into trouble. So it was safer to send him out, provided he took me with him. Mother always said that the only time he acted somewhat responsible, was when I was with him. We would go to cantinas where he knew spacers would like to hang out, they would have a few drinks, and swap stories. It never bother father if someone gave me alcohol to drink. Being Devaronian I have two livers so having a glass of ale even at a young age would not bother me. If they tried giving me more than one, the other spacers would start riding them, asking if they were trying to steal the guy's daughter from him. Sometimes we would go to places to watch races, but because I was with him he never placed a bet. I don't think my mother ever chased him out of the house. When it was time for him to go, it was more like she gave him permission to go. He would always give us a kiss before he went, mother on the lips and me on the cheek. He always told us he loved us, and would be back before we missed him too much. We did miss him though, that's why I believe that we did love him and he loved us."

Mrs. Grimshaw mentioned that it was already late and they should have dinner together. She sent Andriel out to her garden to pick anything she thought would be good in a salad. She would call Chitrah so he wouldn't worry about her. Then she would prepare some noodles, along with whatever else she could find in the pantry.

Chitrah was grateful for the call, he was a little worried that she had not come home yet, and was hoping that Andriel was with her. He did not call because he did not want to interrupt them. After hanging up Chitrah called the droid driver, when it came to the hotel, he told it to wait for his wife at the dress shop. If she did not need a ride, she would send it away. If she did need a ride, he was to bring her back to the hotel.

Andriel was not familiar with all the plants Mrs. Grimshaw had in her garden. She did recognise the different types of lettuce, so what she did was taste a little of each plant, if she thought it would go good with what she had already picked she would pick it. She found that Mrs. Grimshaw had some bitter herbs that would go nice with cooking meats, but were too bitter for a salad. She went back into the kitchen with what she had picked, trying to be careful not to pick too much. Mrs. Grimshaw told her where in the pantry she would find some dried berries and she had a slice of melon in the cooler that could be cut up and added to the salad. Mrs. Grimshaw had added some dried nerf meat to the noodles while cooking, to soften the meat and add flavour to the noodles. Then added some sauce. She let Andriel choose the dressing, she thought would go best with the salad. It turned out to be a nice little feast. Andriel was surprised with how hungry she was. They cleaned up together after dinner, which made it go quickly, then took their tea to the workshop to finish their conversation.

Mrs. Grimshaw wanted to know what happened after her tour of the spaceport. "Chitrah interrupted the tour to let me know that we needed to board our flight. He had booked separate cabins for each of us, but for appearance sake he thought we should get together every day in one of the cabins, just to talk. I naturally assumed it would be mine. After placing our luggage in our cabins we had to go to the common room to strap into our seats, while they manoeuvred the ship away from the spaceport. After the manoeuvring was completed we both said that we needed to retire. We were both emotionally exhausted from that day. First, Chitrah came into my cabin to show me how to block anyone from seeing me, through the ships computer console in my cabin. He told me that even if I commanded that it be turned off, my command could be overridden from the bridge. I never would have thought of that. I did not know how he could look after me, when he knew I hated him. He told me about ship's time, and how to set the computer to awaken me. Before he left he made sure that I knew how to lock the door so that it could only be forced open. The next morning he woke me up. I had been asleep for more than ten standard hours. He did not wake me because I slept too long, but because he had noticed when preparing for bed, that someone had rummaged through his stuff. He believed that he had done it while we were securely fastened for the manoeuvring. It was a good thing he told me, because I found that someone had opened all the packages of tea my mother had given me. Chitrah believed the person thought there were drugs in the packages. If Chitrah had not told me, all of the tea would have fallen out of their packages, and mixed together in the bottom of my purse, and I would have had to throw it all out. To thank him, I offered to share my tea with him. You know about the attempted rape after dinner of that day. It was when we were in my cabin that I asked him what his story was? Whether he was responsible for me being forced to marry him? When he told me his story, I knew that I had been a fool for hating him, and believing the lies that people told me about him. Mother had been right. But I was too proud and stubborn to let Chitrah know. I knew that it would be wrong to hate him anymore."

Andriel stopped with that, believing that Mrs. Grimshaw already knew everything else.

After a while Mrs. Grimshaw spoke, "I want you to understand something very important about your marriage relationship. During your wedding ceremony when you agreed to take Chitrah as your husband, when you agreed to be his wife, you gave up the right to say no to him as far as your body is concerned."

Andriel was sad to hear this, but trusted Mrs. Grimshaw to tell her the truth.

"But because Chitrah has confessed to you that he loves you, and wants you to love him. He has given the right to say no to him, back to you."

Andriel was not sure she heard what Mrs. Grimshaw said correctly.

"How is this possible?"

"Because he is your husband, he can give back to you, what you gave to him. He only wants you to give yourself to him, when you are willing, and ready to do so."

"But what about the monster that is in him?"

"Andriel, what do you know about the force?"

"I know that it is supposed to come from all living things, and that there is a light side and a dark side to the force, and that the Jedi like to use the light side, and the Sith like to use the dark side. But what does this have to do with us?"

"If the force comes from all living things and there is a light side and a dark side to the force, then that means that all life has a light side and a dark side. When Chitrah talks about the monster in him, he is talking about the dark side of his life force. When you tease Chitrah, you are allowing the dark force of your life to be revealed."

"Are you saying it's wrong for me to tease Chitrah?"

"No! I'm just saying that that is how it manifests in you. You are probably using it as an escape valve to help keep balance in yourself. It is only if you do it too much, or at a wrong time, that it will draw out the darkness in Chitrah."

"How did I do it this time?"

"Do you remember saying that Chitrah had stopped talking, and basically stopped moving?"

"I do remember you saying "Oh no!", and I thought I should ask you why you said that."

"If you would have gotten out of your chair, and gone up to Chitrah, and given him a little push. He would have fallen onto the floor, curled up into a ball, and gone to sleep."

"How do you know?"

"From the way you described how quickly he was speaking, and how jittery he was acting. You mentioned that he was working on an important project that day, and that it went well, and he was home early. He was expecting to do a lot of work that day, but suddenly did not need to. He had excess energy in his system that he was trying to get rid of, it's the same as when a child eats too many sweet treats or candy."

Now Andriel understood, "You are talking about how they become hyperactive, and then they crash."

"Exactly! Chitrah had crashed emotionally, then you started to tease him. He had to act quickly to stop you before he lost control, at the same time he was trying to get you to understand what he was going through."

"But what he did do was scare me, because I did not understand."

"Exactly!"

Andriel had to take a few minutes to process all this. The more she thought about it the more sense it made.

"But what if the monster comes out? What do I do?"

"First, I doubt it will. Since you both have a better understanding on how to deal with it. But if it ever does manifest itself, stand up for yourself and say, No! Remember he gave you that right. By using it, you give him the ability to bring the monster under control."

As Andriel took this all in she felt the fear that had haunted her since last night, leave. The peace that was promised to her at sunrise took its place. She became acutely aware of how tired she was, and wanted to go back to the apartment, and sleep. She asked Mrs. Grimshaw, if there was anything else she should do?

She told her to talk it out with Chitrah, because they have both been hurt by this, and neither one wants it to happen again.

Andriel got up and gave Mrs. Grimshaw a hug. Thanking her for patiently listening to her, and for sharing her wisdom with her. Mrs. Grimshaw hugged her back, and told her that she is special to her, how could she do anything less.

When Andriel excited the dress shop she wasn't looking forward to the long walk back to the hotel. So it was a pleasant surprise to see the droid driver waiting for her, she would have to think of a way to thank Chitrah. As soon as she was seated and the door was closed, the droid accelerated the vehicle without asking her where she wanted to go. Which was fine by her, she did not like talking to this droid. Even though she knew that it had been reprogrammed after it had given her a hard time. She opened a window a bit, to let the cool fresh night air circulate through the vehicle, and help her stay awake, until they arrived at the hotel. As soon as she was clear of the vehicle, the droid drove away. The Imperials don't program their droids with common courtesy. Chitrah had waited up for her, sitting in the dark working on his computer. As soon as she opened the door he ordered the lights to 50%, so she could see where she was going. She was glad that he didn't order them to full, because that would have been too bright for her tired eyes. He stood up and asked Andriel if she was alright? Wanting to know if she needed anything. She let him know that she was fine, and no she did not need anything but sleep.

Chitrah spoke, "You know that I'm really sorry."

"I know, and I forgive you. I am sorry that I hurt you."

"I forgive you. Talk in the morning?"

"Yes, in the morning."

"Pleasant dreams."

Andriel smiled at that comment. "Good night."

When she opened the door to her bedroom, she was expecting the bedroom lights to come on full, and had squinted her eyes to try and minimise the pain. But Chitrah had present the lights in her room to 50% as well.

He was still looking out for her.

She had pleasant dreams that night, she could not remember any of them. But she felt rested and refreshed.

Chitrah had already left for the market to grab their breakfast loaf of bread. So she took a shower, and prepared to face the day. Chitrah came into the apartment with a fresh loaf of bread, and a couple of cups of hot tea, at the same time as Andriel had finished dressing. They only engaged in small talk during breakfast, like pass the jelly, could I have another slice of bread, did you want to try it with nut butter, (they broke down and bought some, and found it went well with the different berry jellies). They both knew that the serious talking would take place after breakfast. They both helped to clean up, and Andriel activated the kitchen droid.

Chitrah took his chair and brought it around the table so he would be closer to Andriel when they talked. He did not want any barriers between them, and the table could be a barrier. When Andriel sat down he carefully took one of her hands in both of his, ready to let go if she resisted. She didn't, she was no longer afraid of him, she did not mind him holding her hand. They looked at each other for a long time, each trying to think of the right words to say, each hoping the other one would talk first.

Finally, Andriel spoke first, "Mrs. Grimshaw recognised that you had crashed, like when a child has too many sweets, first they have too much energy, than they have no energy."

"That's right. I did not realise that I had been running on adrenaline all day because of my anxiety about the project. I should have done something to try and bring myself down slowly. I was so excited that everything worked. There were no problems. I wanted to share the excitement with you, so I was not conscious of what I was doing to myself."

"I was too inexperienced, to recognise your symptoms, and turned your great joy, into sorrow for both of us."

"If I could go back in time to stop it from happening I would. But we both know that will not happen. We need to learn from it, so that it won't happen again."

They talked through most of the morning. Andriel would share some of the insights that Mrs. Grimshaw shared with her. Both of them appreciating her wisdom.

Then Chitrah decided to share a dream he had in the morning. He said that in his dream he sensed that Andriel was both frightened and confused, and in panic had fled their apartment. He felt that he needed to reassure her that everything would work out. Everything would be okay. He needed to impart a sense of peace to her. He searched all over the hotel to find her, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally he found her outside in the field next to the hotel. She was standing there in the middle of that field, watching the sunrise. As soon as the sun started to come up over the horizon, he was able to share the message with her. He did not know if she had received it, because he suddenly felt compelled to return to the apartment and the dream ended.

Andriel almost gasped out loud, she thought that only force users could do that. So she shared her dream with him. When she told him who she saw blocking her way. Chitrah had tears of sadness in his eyes, and looked away, he started to disengage his hands from her hand, but she would not let him. She took her free hand and turned his head back to her, so that he could see the smile on her face and the tears in her eyes. She promised him that he will want to hear the ending. She continued with the dream, saying how she tried to hit him to stop him from hurting her, but her arms would not move. She then tried to kick him but her feet would not move. She could not scream because there was no-one there to hear her, so she broke down crying, because she could not do anything to stop him, her protector was trying to hurt her. Chitrah's heart was being torn to shreds by the telling of the dream, but he did not turn away, because she did not want him to. He cried when she cried, that was all he could do. She told him how she woke up crying and found herself entangled in her blanket, unable to move her arms or feet. She was finally able to free herself from the blanket, but now felt that the apartment had entangled her like the blanket had, and she needed to free herself. She heard that he was still sleeping, so she snuck out the apartment's door. Then she ran out of the hotel and into the field next door, but stopped. She remembered Mrs. Grimshaw's warning about predators. She realised that she had no place to go and did not know what to do. So she watched the sunrise.

"When I saw the sun coming out of the ground, I sensed someone assure me that everything would come out alright. I felt peace being imparted to me, and I believed that peace was promised to me. So I returned to the apartment and lay down on my bed, and with the peace I felt, I was able to fall asleep right away, and only woke up when I started hearing music."

Chitrah's eyes were as wide as saucers now. He knew that Andriel was trying to tell him that his dream wasn't a dream. He had found her, and had even shared with her what she needed.

"But I can't do that."

"But you did. You have always been there for me. When I hated you, you protected me. When I was afraid of you, you found a way to give me peace."

Chitrah did not know what to say, so he just sat there holding her hand, and looking into her beautiful eyes.

Something else that Mrs. Grimshaw told me, was that when I agreed to accept you as my husband, and agreed to be your wife, at the wedding ceremony, I gave up the right to say no to you. But when you confessed that you chose to love me, and did. That you wanted me to love you as you love me, you gave me back the right to say no. If the monster ever comes out, I just need to say no to you, and you would be able to control it.

Chitrah thought about it for a moment. Then it was like a light went on in his head. He got a little excited, "That means that when I no longer have the strength to contain the monster. By saying no, you are giving me your strength to defeat it."

He wanted to hug her and dance around the room in joy with her in his arms, but he restrain himself. Someday he would do that, but not today. He just squeezed her hand with both of his. She responded by taking her free hand and squeezing bother of his with both of hers.

Finally she asked him, why he got up in the middle of the night, and left the apartment? Chitrah understood that there special time was over, so he let go of her hands, and told her about waking up itchy, from head to toe. Most of the grain husks had settled right where he slept. He could feel them in his pyjamas, they had worked their way into the linen. They were all over his blanket. It would take too much effort to try and get them out of the linen, so he balled them up, to keep them from spreading the grain husks any further. It was a good thing that the padding he was using as his mattress was made of a material that the grain husks could not get into it. All he had to do was wipe it down. The blanket he needed. So he took it outside to see if he could shake the grain husks out of it. He decided not to change into clean clothes until after he came back in, because any grain husks he got out of his blanket would probably settle on his clothing. He placed the cleaned blanket on the mattress grabbed some clean clothes and took a shower. He lathered the soap all over his body to take the itch away. When he finished his shower he found his skin was too sensitive to be towel dried, so he put on the clean clothes, over his wet body, went to his bed, and fell back asleep.

"That would explain the trail of water from the bathroom to your bed."

"Really? Because when I got up the floor was dry."

Chitrah offered to drop her off at the dress shop, and reminded her to take the meat and cheese with her. She had been thinking of walking, but had forgot about the meat and cheese. So she took him up on his offer.

Their lives settled back to normal, if you call a married couple who doesn't sleep in the same bed, let alone the same bedroom, as normal. The next market day Andriel wore the last of her nice clothes that the ladies hadn't seen yet, and Mrs. Grimshaw showed off a copy of the drawing of the outfits Andriel was planning to make for the following market day. The ladies all wanted to see the designs because they knew that these outfits would be for sale afterwards. Some of them even made copies to show their husbands, everyone wondering how they would look in one. Of course they all wanted to know how much they would cost. Mrs. Grimshaw would only give an estimate for each one. They would not settle on a final price until they knew how much material went into making each outfit and how much of their time it would take to put it together. Mrs. Grimshaw had already determined the price she would ask for each outfit, but by giving an estimate the ladies had more to talk about during the market, and no doubt someone would come up with a 'guess the price of the outfits', pool. The price would be more than the price of the average dress they could purchase out of a catalog, which is where most of them bought their dresses. But less than a custom made dress they could purchase off planet.

When it was time to go to the market. Chitrah and Andriel, met up with Mrs. Grimshaw, at what had become their normal rendezvous point. She led them in a different direction then they had gone before. She knew of a vendor who made steak on a bun. He bought the cheapest cut of nerf steak available, and in his own words 'beat the heck out of it', so he had a steak that would grill up quickly, placed it on a bun with the usual fixings, and his very own secret sauce, which was the same sauce that most locals put on their steaks. Next to him was a new ale vendor. He sold the ale in glass jugs so that they could take it home, to have with their dinner. One jug would last the average person one cycle. He had a number of farmers supplying him including the new ale vendors that Andriel and Chitrah had already met. When they both found out they could have the new ale with their own dinners, they both thought that this was the way to go. Tea was nice for breakfast, but they both wanted something else for dinner. Especially after having had the new ale, but did not know where they could get some. Since there was no new ale vendor in the market during the week. Chitrah made the arrangements with the vendor to have two jugs available to them every week. The vender threw in a manual ale dispenser so that they would not have to open the jug every time they wanted to pour a glass of ale, because it would become flat and lose its taste very quickly. It was the same type of dispenser the vendors were using. He also threw in a small jug of Ossberry new ale for the days they wanted something sweeter. Andriel paid him his credits, while Chitrah looked for the closest communicator, to arrange for two porter droids from the spaceport to come each market day to pick up the jugs from the vendor, and take them to their apartment, and place them in their cooler, and to take the two empty jugs from their cooler back to the vendor. He also let the hotel know that the two droids had authorization to enter their apartment. When he returned, he told them that everything was arranged, they just needed to remember to come back each market, to pay the vendor. Andriel knew that was her job. Chitrah was thinking of taking the small jug of Ossberry new ale with him, but Andriel convinced him that by the end of the market it would be very heavy, and Mrs. Grimshaw agreed with her. The vendor assured him that it would be no problem for one of the porter droids to take it along with the regular sized jug. They each purchased a glass of new ale for the market and bought a steak on the bun. They wandered around the market together while they ate their steak on a bun. After they were finished Chitrah let them know that he was going back for another, then he would go meet up with the farmers to see if they had any more questions for him. He would meet up with them later.

When he came to their meeting place, there were even fewer farmers than the previous market. With the questions they were asking he knew it would be easier to explain things to them if he had his computer with him and showed them on the 3D image of one of the computers he had scanned into it, so that they would know which card or board he was talking about. He told them he was going back to his apartment for his computer, to explain things to them. They agreed to wait. When he came back, the farmers who had not seen him use his computer at the agro-equipment supplies store, were amazed at how easily he manipulated the 3D image, and how quickly he could find the card or board they were taking about, and the farmers found it easier to ask their questions because they could see a copy of a computer that looked like theirs. No wonder they were calling him the blue wizard.

While Andriel and Mrs. Grimshaw were walking through the market not only were the wives of the farmers asking about the outfits she would wearing next week, but women who worked in the Ministry were also coming up to talk to them about the outfits, and if they were also eligible to purchase one. If there was a demand would they make more copies? Of course they wanted to see Andriel's current outfit as an example of her work. Mrs. Grimshaw was not expecting this much excitement about the outfits. For the women in the Ministry to be interested, spoke well of the quality of Andriel's designs. She announced right there that if there was a demand they would make copies for the same price, but free alterations would only be offered on the original. Any copies would need to be paid for upfront, before they would make one. Well the volume of conversation in the market went up as neighbour told neighbour what they just heard Mrs. Grimshaw say. The women were also saying that their chance of getting one of Andriel's outfits just improved. Andriel was a little concerned about this new announcement. She pulled Mrs. Grimshaw aside, and asked her quietly if she was concerned about being overwhelmed with all the extra work this could bring in. Mrs. Grimshaw whispering back, assuring her that the number of farmers wives who could afford to buy one of her outfits, was still rather small. Many will wait to see another few markets worth of designs, before they would commit themselves. The Ministry women would also wait to see more, and to see who was purchasing them. They don't want to show up at a function in an outfit if there was a good chance someone else might be wearing the same one. Where they could get overwhelmed is if a series of transfers suddenly came in to the Ministry, since the women who were transferring out, would feel safe, that no-one else at their new posting would have the same outfit, and might come in to order multiple designs. Andriel was impressed. Mrs. Grimshaw really knew her business and understood her market. Besides, we don't have to commit to a completion date on copies. Alterations and originals come first.

Chitrah was surprised that the questions were all dealt with, before the market ended. The farmers there suggested, that he no longer needed to come to their meeting place. If they had more questions they would come and seek him out. They had already taken him from his wife for too long a time. They wanted him to enjoy the market too.

What they did not tell him, was that they were planning on asking him questions in different parts of the market. His answers were very entertaining, even to people who knew nothing about computers, and they wanted to share his show, with as many market goers as they could. It was just another way they could help spice up the market. It was also another way that they could show everyone, that he was the real deal.

Chitrah was able to find Andriel and Mrs. Grimshaw fairly quickly, by the help of the vendors. Everyone knew that the red lady was the blue wizard's wife, and they knew which way she was going, when she passed by their booth. Chitrah told them what the farmers said. Andriel placed her had in his arm, and said that she was happy they gave him back to her.

After the market Andriel talked to Chitrah about using his computer for her designs. Together they agreed to a schedule were they would come home together for lunch. He would prepare it, while she worked on her designs. She would let Mrs. Grimshaw decide which ones would be the most practical for them to make. She did not think that with the increase in work they were getting, that she could afford to come back with him more than twice a cycle. That worked for Chitrah as well, he found that unless he was coming back to the apartment with Andriel for lunch, it was more convenient for him to make his lunch at the store, so that he could eat while he was working.

Andriel also told him, why the nerf cheese was so rare. Mrs. Grimshaw told her that Nerf cows don't produce a lot of milk. That is why they use other creatures for dairy herds. The cow will only let you milk it when the calf is finished feeding, not before. The wheel of cheese that they had would have been made from all the milk from the whole herd from one feeding. The calves feed twice a day. So they could make only two of those small wheels of cheese a day, during calving season. And Mrs. Grimshaw really likes the taste. Maybe humans like it more than they do.

Later that week a package came to the dress shop for Andriel. It was delivered by a porter droid from the spaceport. There were no markings on the package, indicating where it had come from, or who had sent it. The stamps on the outside of the package, showed that it had cleared through both customs and security. When they opened it up, they found that it contained, bright red Denebrillan Star Silk, the most expensive material you could buy in the galaxy. There was a printed but unsigned note that said, 'make something beautiful'. Andriel wondered if this was some kind of sick joke. A red lady wearing a red dress, does this man have no sense of style? Andriel told Mrs. Grimshaw that she can't accept it and must send it back. Mrs. Grimshaw told her, that she has no choice but to accept it. Andriel was confused, why does she have to accept it? She knows who sent it, so why can't they send it back? Mrs. Grimshaw pointed out, that there was no proof that the package came from him. There is nothing on the package saying where it came from, except that it came through the spaceport. No-one there will claim ownership of the package. What is also interesting, is that he cannot prove it came from him. Andriel started to understand Mrs. Grimshaws logic. She can't give it back, because there is no-one to give it to. He can't say it came from him, even though he is the only one on the planet, who could afford it. If he could prove that it came from him, than they would have the proof to give it back. They can do whatever they want with it, and he has to keep his mouth shut. So Andriel asked Mrs. Grimshaw what she was thinking. She reminded Andriel that she had told her that Chitrah needs a new shirt for his suit, and the berry harvest dance was only a few days away. Andriel thought that a bright red dress shirt might be too strong for Chitrah.

Mrs. Grimshaw suggested that they wash the silk as if it was nerf wool, and reminded her how nice her jacket turned out. If it takes all the colour out they can re-dye it. If it alters the colour in a way that they like, then they can set the colour, and decide what to do next. Andriel liked the suggestion, so they did it. Before Andriel covered it for the night, Mrs. Grimshaw threw in some bruised weeds that she knew gave a nice green stain. She knew there was not enough to stain it green, but if the washing produced the colour she expected, a hint of green would make it stand out.

Andriel talked to Mrs. Grimshaw about having her stay later, because they had a lot of work to do, to get everything ready for the dance, as well as making something with the silk. Mrs. Grimshaw suggested that when Andriel came back from her design session/lunch with Chitrah tomorrow, she should bring an overnight bag with her, and stay in her guest room. If they are going to pull some late nights, she will be too tired to go back to the apartment. After dinner that night Andriel told Chitrah that she and Mrs. Grimshaw were planning on working late in the dress shop to catch up on all the work they needed to do, to be ready for the dance, and how Mrs. Grimshaw suggested that she stay there overnight, because she would probably be too tired to come back to the apartment. She did not tell him about the silk. She did ask him to remind her to take her overnight bag with her after lunch, because she had a habit of forgetting things when she was designing. Chitrah smiled because he knew the comment was true, and promised to remind her. She let him know that it was alright for him to sleep in her bed while she was gone, he said he might give it a try.

The next morning when Andriel lifted the silk out of the tub, she found that it had become a beautiful light yellow with just a hint of green. She noticed that Mrs. Grimshaw did not seem surprised by this outcome, so she asked her if this is what she was expecting. Mrs. Grimshaw smiled and said, no. This is what she was hoping for. Andriel suspected it was both.

After Andriel washed all the soapy residue out of the silk, Mrs. Grimshaw gave her a mild acid to soak the silk in, to set the colour. After a tea brake, Andriel rinsed the silk out once again, got rid of the residual water and hung it up to dry. They knew that it would be ready for them to work with that afternoon. They both went back inside to the workshop to tackle the pile of work they still needed to do.

While they were working Mrs. Grimshaw asked Andriel if she remembered showing her the emerald green shimmer silk skirt with the large four petal floral pattern and the matching short jacket, when you were asking to work here? Andriel did, it was the only piece of her wardrobe that she felt was not complete, yet she considered it her best design. How do you think a blouse made from the Denebrillan Star Silk would go with your outfit? Andriel's eyes grew as big as saucers and she gasped, that would be awesome. It would complete her design. She already had a design for the blouse in mind. But what about a shirt for Chitrah? There is more than enough material for both. Can you imagine how handsome the two of you would look? Chitrah, in his blue/black suit with a yellow silk dress shirt. You holding his arm dressed in your emerald green skirt and short jacket wearing a light yellow silk blouse that matches his dress shirt. You may be red, and he may be blue, but your outfits would scream couple to everyone, especially Mr. Radcliff. I could only imagine how furious he would be, and he wouldn't be able to say a thing.

"Mrs. Grimshaw, is this your little monster coming out?"

Mrs. Grimshaw giggled, "Maybe."

Before they knew it, they heard the driver droid blow his horn to let Andriel know that he was here to pick her up.