Chapter 10: Connecting
A/N: A very big thank you to all my readers and another big thank you for your review, LORIOVER50!
After his workday, Thorek watched his wife as she did her homework, engrossed in the Romulan language. She enjoyed sitting in the spacious hall, and now she felt comfortable enough around him that she would join him on the sofa when he was around. She was due for language tuitions with Rhian soon and studying hard.
He had to confess that he was mystified by her. She could be quiet, and, like now, focus intensely for a long time on one thing. She was not easily distracted. And then there was that daredevil in her that had had him on tenterhooks during their excursion with the flitter. She possessed a streak of exuberance, and he had not forgotten her bravery at the prison. As she sat on the sofa with her braid drooping over one shoulder, he recalled a short conversation with Kihika in the morning.
"I must ask Ihhei if she would like assistance with her hair. There are so many things I could do with it!"
Thorek had leapt at the idea. And, annoyed that Kihika had ended up ten steps ahead of him again, he said smoothly: "An excellent thought. In fact, I would like to offer her my own assistance with dressing her hair, unless she prefers your skilled hands. I will ask her."
"Certainly, Ihhai." She looked puzzled, wondering how he would know the art of dressing a lady's hair.
As it was, Thorek had been in a relationship with a woman who had worn her hair long. This had offered him ample opportunity to practise. That, and stealing glances at Asha's abundance of locks and imagining which Romulan hairstyle would suit her particularly well. As with most things, he approached unfamiliar situations with an analytical touch.
On Romulus, everyone had black or dark-brown hair. The older population had grey-white hair, like Humans. But unlike Romulans, Human hair came in red, blond, brown, black and all colours in between these shades. And Asha's hair, though black, was a different black because of its texture and natural auburn sheen in the sunlight. He wanted to touch it.
"My wife," he said as she put down her PADD, "May I assist you with dressing your hair after breakfast tomorrow?"
She looked quite taken aback and blinked. "Oh! Certainly. That is very kind of you."
He inclined his head in acknowledgement of her accepting his offer. "How are you managing with your tutor?"
"She is an expert in her field. We just need to get used to each other."
"In what manner?"
"Well...She has never had a Human student before, so it's very new for her. And for me, too."
"How does this manifest itself?"
Asha hated gossiping about other people. She also remembered that Rhian and Thorek had been friends for a very long time.
"She wants to see proof that I am as industrious as a Romulan student. It's understandable," she said cautiously. What she really meant was that Rhian kept making unfavourable comparisons between her learning prowess and that of other students and even her own children.
"My own daughter was three by the time she could flawlessly recite Romulan poetry!" she stated once. "And you, who are thirty years older…" She shook her head despairingly.
Thorek noticed that Asha was being deliberately vague about Rhian. He decided against pushing her into telling him what she really meant. He was sure she could handle the situation on her own. He instead practiced some basic Rihan grammar with her, to warm her up, as she called it, for her lesson. Though she liked studying the language, she did not look forward to seeing Rhian again.
She was growing tired of her tutor's behaviour. She refused to complain to her husband, but she also refused to be trampled upon. She decided to stand up for herself without her husband's intervention. Rhian was right: she was thirty years older than her daughter. She could handle it.
This evening, as Asha sat down in her usual place diagonally from Rhian, the Romulan woman stared at her hair.
"You have had it cut," she remarked.
"Yes, it was becoming too long. I did think of a hairstyle like yours, but maybe some other time."
"My hairstyle would never suit you. You look far too delicate, and you're a Human. You're not one of us Romulans, my dear," she said crushingly.
Asha had had enough. Obviously, her politeness was being mistaken for submissiveness. It would never do.
"I don't care whether you are Romulan, Vulcan, Klingon, Ferengi or – heaven forbid – Human. You, however, are ready to judge and condemn me without even trying to get beyond my missing brow ridges and iron blood. You are a poor role model for a teacher. Now, please address me properly. 'My dear' is not to my taste."
She rose and leant on the table towards her, staring her right in the eyes. Rhian remained seated. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears had become very green indeed. Asha continued.
"Now, you will kindly or unkindly listen to me a little longer, Ihhei t'Merek. I dislike you as much as you dislike me. You have put a lot of effort into bringing out the worst of my feelings. But I do respect you, your knowledge, your expertise and your time. If you are able to show me the same respect despite your hatred of me, I am certain we can work together efficiently. If you are doubtful, I will speak with my husband about relieving you of your duties and engaging another tutor. I do not give a whit about your childhood friendship with him."
Rhian blinked. It was rare that someone stood up to her so directly. Asha's voice was calm, but the look in her eyes was dangerous.
Rhian was forced to respect this Human for the fact that despite her efforts to integrate, she still had her pride. And pride was very important to Romulans.
She nodded quite humbly. "Very well. If you would please care to join me at the table again, Ihhei t'Darak."
Asha nodded coolly and sat down gracefully. The rest of the hour passed without sneering or abrasive comments from her teacher, and when the lesson ended, Rhian left with a lot to think about. She felt deeply ashamed of herself.
The next morning, Thorek, true to his word, went upstairs to dress Asha's hair. He almost felt smug. Now he was ten steps ahead of Kihika. It was quite absurd, actually, viewing her assistant as competition when he himself had hand-picked her.
Asha sat down, away from the mirror and facing the window. Thorek sat down behind her and took her hair in one hand. There was a comfortable silence between them while he brushed it slowly. Because many Romulans retained a slight touch sensitivity due to their Vulcan roots and he himself had a Vulcan ancestor, his hands tingled a little as he touched the smooth locks. He enjoyed the softness and texture of her hair doubly, and she his ministrations. He put down the brush and divided her hair into neat sections. He braided a plaited band across the top of her head and left loose strands in front. When he had finished and she turned to the mirror, her face became radiant.
"You'll have to take over Rareek's establishment. It's beautiful, my deyhhan!"
Thorek's ears turned green. "I am glad you like it. If you wish, I can do your hair on the days I am free."
"I would love that, but only if it's not too much trouble."
"I consider it a very relaxing occupation." He hesitated, then added: "It is in fact a pleasure."
"Thank you." She would have enjoyed giving him a spontaneous hug, but she opted for patting his forearm instead. When she withdrew her hand, she brushed his fingers accidentally. She felt her hand tingle for a few moments, and she became aware that he was watching her closely. It was the first time they had touched, however fleetingly.
"I believe you have not yet visited our library as yet, and I have seen that you love the printed page. The library of Romulus is the biggest one on the whole planet. Would you like to accompany me and spend a day over there?"
She actually jumped up and down and clapped her hands like a child. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Please!" She almost really did give him a hug, but restrained herself again.
Thorek smiled. "Let us take a carriage, then."
Asha grinned. "I'll drive the flitter very carefully, if that is what you are concerned about."
"A carriage ride is worth it because of the sights on the way. We can take the flitter with you at the wheel the next time, which I intend to be soon. I have other things in mind to complement Kihika's program for you."
"All right," she agreed.
Thorek and Asha looked like a fairytale couple as they sat in the carriage, the yall'ianen's bells jingling merrily through the street. Thorek pointed out various buildings and sights to her.
"I should have taken my holo-camera along. Your people are very skilled architects. No wonder you have an affinity for architecture," Asha remarked.
"We tend to be very disciplined and orderly people," Thorek explained.
"And passionate verging onto irascible underneath all the discipline?"
"Yes. Hence the need for discipline."
"But not to a Vulcan extent."
"No. That would be quite unimaginable for me, however close I was to my Vulcan great-grandmother."
"Kihika tells me you had a set'leth as a child. Have you got childhood pictures?"
"I do. You wish to see them?"
"If you don't mind?"
"Then I will show them to you." The carriage slowed down, and he announced: "We have arrived."
Asha blinked at the enormous circular building. A huge green raptor, the emblem of the Romulan Empire, was mounted on top of the domed roof. Its eyes, also green, were made of some crystal or glass material, and flashed in the daylight. Thorek was about to help her down from the carriage, but Asha had already descended and was patting one of the yall'ianen. She also paid for their transport with the "cash card", as she dubbed the money-paying device, and ignored the carriage-owner's lingering stare at her missing brow ridges. Thorek smiled inwardly. She had a mind of her own, all right.
Once Asha was at the library, she seemed to have made up her mind to live there. It was an enormous building subdivided into different media, including books, PADDs, a wealth of databases, audio files, transcriptions and other data carriers. A large part of the library contained a section for children. The Romulan isolationism made itself felt over here, too, for the main bulk of the material was in Romulan, and Vulcan was almost non-existent. Fortunately, a fairly adequate amount of English material was available, including Romulan-English dictionaries (of which she had a set at home for her tuitions). She also discovered some Romulan poetry for beginners. She picked that up at once. While Thorek busied himself on another floor of the library, she wandered alone through the various sections. She was looking at a shelf of what seemed to be algebraic geometry when she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around.
A tall woman was standing before her. She had light-brown bobbed hair, grey eyes, no brow ridges…Asha blinked.
She smiled and said: "You must be Asha t'Darak. I'm Christine t'Jo'rek."
"Human?" she half whispered, half stated.
"Yes. Word travels quietly but fast in this city. I came here to look for you."
"How did you know I was here?"
Christine looked around carefully. "Let's walk together a bit and not talk."
Once they had reached a corner, Christine spoke again. "We go to the same hairdresser."
"Ah! But he said he used to have a Human client who left for another province."
"He in particular has to be very careful with what he says. You don't know which customers are connected to whom, you see, so he didn't mention me. When he saw me, he asked me very casually if I knew a Thorek t'Darak. When I said I didn't, he told me I might want to keep the name in mind. I researched, found out about you, and sent one of my assistants to your home under a pretext."
"Ah, and they were told that Thorek and I had gone to the library, and they passed the word on to you…"
"Yes. Our assistant Galan is faithful, but our pretext had to fool even him." She sighed. "We have to be as sneaky as those who might be watching us."
Asha smiled. "Indeed. And you are married to a Romulan, too?"
Christine's face softened. "Yes, for ten years. I am very fortunate. We have a happy marriage. Come and visit us. My husband Vekal knows."
She pressed a slip of paper into Asha's hand, pretending as if she had accidentally bumped into her slightly. "I dare not transmit anything digitally over here," she whispered. "You just don't know."
"Is it all right with you if my husband accompanies me?"
"Do you trust him?" Christine asked.
"I have trusted him with my life, and he has honoured my trust. We respect each other, and he is good to me."
Christine nodded. "Only read that paper when you reach your home."
Vreenak was wearing a deep frown. He had gone through the data, and for him it was crystal clear that Asha Sen t'Darak was innocent of any wrongdoing. A bit too overenthusiastic about that ridiculous holonovel she was planning with that André friend of hers, but otherwise…?
And what she was doing was what he had seen: she was trying to make a new life on Romulus. Still…Keeping an eye on her wouldn't hurt. He wanted to know how she was adapting.
