Chapter 32: Visiting the Senator
A/N: Hi, Team Tosha, aka romulanlover and christine79! Thanks for your wonderful reviews! I don't think Vreenak would be impressed if Asha refused his invitation because of menstrual discomfort :-D I'm glad that Vreenak is creating a scary impression. In canon, he comes across as sooo rude and arrogant! I'd be running the other way if he really existed and I met him in person…I felt that he deserved to be thoroughly snubbed in non-canon, so I'm making sure that Letant and Asha see to it :-)
Asha and Thorek were napping in bed. She had told him all about the Senator's surprise visit. Thorek was not in the least surprised.
"I did mention that refusing a Senator's invitation is most unusual. Your refusal must have deeply wounded his pride. You see how proud Romulans are?"
"I thought I already knew all about Romulan pride when we married," she teased him.
"I will endeavour to take your observation as a compliment," he replied, smiling.
"I hope you don't mind my asking that you accompany me. Kihika is delighted, but I know you're more into art, architecture, physics-"
"I am very pleased to accompany you and I admire your courage in dealing with the Senator, Ashaya. Eleven out of ten Romulans would have balked at the mere prospect. Now that you have conversed with him a second time, what is your impression of him, my ailhun?" he asked.
Asha drew little patterns on his bare chest and shoulders. Then she sighed. "This is going to sound very strange. I believe he possesses a conscience but has been corrupted by politics."
"Can you give me an example?"
"His aide is raising three children on his own. I have no idea how he handles his expenses, but ten weeks without income – it's horrible. I told the Senator that it might be too much for the aide and he said he would reconsider."
"Oh, Asha…Despite what you have undergone, you remain so trusting of the good in others."
"No, Thorek, it's not that. It's a punishment which is too severe. He was sufficiently humiliated when Lilou pulled off his pants and he had to run through the woods like that. Just think of how everyone must have laughed at him. That's bad enough. Besides, he was acting on the Senator's orders, and he did not attempt to hurt me."
"You feel that Vreenak's punishment and his crime, so to say, are not commensurate?"
"Exactly. It's blown out of proportion."
"It makes sense. It is exaggerated, but such are Romulan procedures among the elite politicians." He paused. "Would you like to mate with him?"
She blinked in surprise, then laughed incredulously.
"No!" She wrinkled her nose, and he smiled at her expression. "He's very arrogant and harsh. At least, that's how he comes across."
"If I remember correctly, you used to have a similar opinion about me."
"Used to. That was during the beginning of our marriage. Besides, you are you and Vreenak is Vreenak, though what exactly being Vreenak means is anyone's guess. What he's really like behind that arrogant attitude of his…" She shrugged. "It definitely makes him…un-matable."
"Un-matable? How do you come up with all these neologisms?"
"It's part of being a Xenolinguist."
"Mh, yes, you're a formidable language expert. Well, wounded pride or not, the Senator seems most taken up with you."
"That hardly means that it would lead to…mating." She scrunched up her nose again.
"I do believe that a politician, especially of his calibre and standing, would make a very difficult, maybe even dangerous, mate."
"Seeing that his former employers were the Tal Shiar, I definitely agree with you. Just because he no longer works for them, it doesn't mean that they're not keeping an eye on him. Speaking of keeping an eye on him…That's just what Lilou did during our conversation. He's lucky he walked out with his trousers and…er…more…intact."
Thorek snorted. "As if I could forget! She emasculated me for almost a month!"
Asha slipped her hand underneath the sheets. "With no lasting damage, from what I can judge," she purred. Thorek half closed his eyes and yielded to her naughty fingers.
After several minutes of deep thought, Merken tr'Vreenak picked up his PADD and dispatched a succinct message to his disgracefully dismissed aide. A little later, Rovuxo stepped into his quarters and stood at attention. Vreenak saw him swallow nervously.
"I have reflected on the matter. You can resume your tasks in three days," he announced coldly.
The aide flushed green. "Deihu, I am so grateful for your kindness!"
Vreenak nodded curtly.
"You have Ihhei t'Darak to thank for my change of mind, Rovuxo. Her Human heart, unused to our ways, was concerned about your children, and as you have three of them and are their sole provider, I had to admit that she had a point. I have no wish to contribute to starving an entire family to death within ten weeks. It would smell terrible in this humid climate. You can stop supervising Ihhei t'Darak, a task of which you seem incapable of anyways. I will transmit fresh orders to you by this evening."
Rovuxko stared and stammered out: "Thank you, Deihu."
Vreenak nodded curtly again and dismissed him.
"You are looking pleased today. In fact, I would actually call that expression in your eyes smug," Letant observed as he lunched with Vreenak after a gruelling Senator's meeting about the Reman mines – a topic which kept being postponed due to constant disagreement.
"It was satisfactory in that the only thing we could all agree on was the perpetual postponement of the issue."
"Our enslavement of the Remans is a contradiction to the modern times we live in," Letant said.
"Are you willing to mine Remus with your own hands for dilithium, Delon?" Vreenak asked mildly.
"We have robots which can do this kind of labour," Letant insisted.
"And the expense for their development?"
"Solutions would be possible if our senatorial colleagues and praetor were more interested in the people than in themselves and the Tal Shiar," Letant countered.
"You have always been the commoners' Senator," Vreenak scoffed arrogantly. "What can they do?"
"A lot when I think of a certain woman from a minority group."
Vreenak sneered. "Don't start again."
"What did you find out about her?" Letant asked, mischief spreading over his face.
"She's very opinionated."
"As in?"
Vreenak chewed his viinerine in silence.
"Well?" Letant pressed him.
"I am hosting my annual poetry reading-"
"-and you invited her, didn't you?"
Vreenak nodded curtly, biting into his meat with such force that his molars ground painfully against each other.
Letant hooted with laughter and banged his glass on the table. Vreenak shot him a disgusted glance. "Ha! And?"
"She refused."
"Oh, what a wonderful audacious little lady! And then?" Letan continued.
"I visited her home."
"With your aides, senatorial flitter...everything?" Letant asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"Ah, by the four elements! I suppose you ensured that her husband was absent?"
"Obviously."
"And what did she do?"
"She changed her mind after a little session of negotiation."
"You mean, she set up some terms to which you agreed."
"Something like that."
"Meaning?"
"She was adamant that I invite her husband and assistant along with her," he replied tersely.
"For that you wish to ignore her, you are putting a lot of effort into doing the opposite. In fact..." he cleared his throat delicately, "...You seem to be courting her very assiduously."
"I am doing nothing of the sort!" Vreenak hissed, his face turning green. "Cease your vulgar speculations at once!"
Letant chuckled. "Inviting her to your annual poetry reading? Alone? Meeting her refusal with yours? My oh my, my friend. My oh my."
"She is a Human with limited rights and she's married-"
"As if that would stop you. The more obstacles in your way, the happier you become. So. Let's see. You are trying to lure her away from her husband, seduce her and mate with her. And after a night full of lust and pleasure, will you discard her?"
Vreenak got up abruptly from his chair. Letant got up too and placed his hand on his friend's arm.
"Merken, I am not joking now. I am serious. You might cause a scandal and damage your political career if you pursue her the way you are doing now."
"You think I am not aware of it? I long only to converse with her, not for physical intimacy." His lip curled. "She looks too small and puny for that kind of thing."
"I bet her husband would disagree." He dropped his voice. "I know I do."
"Enough!" Vreenak snapped.
"Usually, it is you who chastises me and puts me in my place. Now I find myself trying to ground you," Letant said gently. "All I'm telling you is to be careful."
Vreenak nodded curtly, resumed his seat and finished his meal. The days until the poetry reading were full and kept him distracted from the thrilling fact that Asha would be attending the event. The day before, several rooms in his huge villa were prepared for the reception of his guests. Flitters arrived with choice cuisine, decorations, equipment and additional staff; and on the very day itself, Vreenak busied himself with the last preparations, delegating final tasks in his usual harsh and acerbic manner.
In the meantime, as she prepared for the afternoon and evening at Vreenak's house, Asha adjusted her lehenga and arranged the dupatta in neat pleats. She placed the shawl over one shoulder, took one end, draped it around her waist and tucked it into the front of her dress.
"Does it look appropriate?" she asked Kihika. The young Romulan woman smoothed Asha's dress and the back of the dupatta.
"Flawless, my Lady."
The two women went downstairs, where Thorek, wearing his best robes, was waiting for them.
"Ouye," he commented, using the Romulan word for "beautiful".
"Thank you. You, too," Asha said, her brown-green eyes radiant.
Merken tr'Vreenak watched his guests mill around the room, speaking to each other in low, sophisticated tones. His icy blue eyes swept subtly over the faces…and there she was with her husband and assistant, dressed in a costume often worn by people of her cultural background. His heart soared at the sight of her. He greeted his guests in his regal polished manner and when he finally reached her, he looked into her eyes and bowed his head gracefully to her. He did the same to Thorek and Kihika, though more briefly. Asha noticed and raised one eyebrow in slight disapproval, but greeted him just as gracefully.
"If you will excuse me, Ihhei, I will return to you soon," he said. He stepped away to mingle with other arrivals and spoke to a poet for a few minutes. Then, true to his word, he sought Asha's company again.
"As there is still ample time before the reading begins, please allow me to show you my selection of ornaments and poetry scrolls," he said, fully aware that this was a rather ham-handed manner of getting her to spend some time alone with him. Asha looked at Thorek, pressed his hand and moved away from him. Thorek and Vreenak stared at each other for a few moments, brown clashing with blue. Kihika, standing in the background, kept a watchful eye on the scene. It had been her suggestion that Asha wear a tiny tracking device tucked into the waistband of her dress.
"Your arrangements are admirable, Deihu. I have no doubt that you will return from this exclusive tour of your collections most punctually," Thorek said pointedly.
"Of course, Ihhai tr'Darak. My efforts would be in vain if your wife and I missed the recitals of one of the most gifted poets on Romulus," Vreenak said, his thin lips curving into a smile.
"Your generosity is most appreciated. My wife," he looked at Asha, "enjoy the privilege of the unique tour the Senator has suggested."
"I will," she answered. Vreenak placed his hand lightly on her forearm.
"If you would please accompany me this way, Ihhei?" he asked in a mellow tone.
Asha obeyed. They left the room and climbed an enormous staircase, built of a marble-like material with inlaid green stones. When they reached the top stair, he stopped and leant lightly against the bannisters.
"We are alone in this section, Ihhei Asha Sen t'Darak," he murmured, studying her face for signs of uneasiness or fear.
She looked him full in the eye, much as her husband had done. "Yes, we are, Deihu tr'Vreenak."
"It was easy for me to separate you from your watchdogs."
Her eyes flashed. "I think you are confusing my family with my set'leth Lilou."
"Pardon me. I meant no offence."
Asha raised a cool eyebrow. "Deihu, if there's one thing everyone knows about you, it is that you are a master at offending those who offend you…Even when they are unaware of having offended you."
"Indeed, Ihhei. Such is my chosen strategy as a politician. But in the meantime, please call me Merken when we are alone."
"You confer a great honour on me, Merken. Please call me Asha."
His face softened, and he took her hand in his.
"You remind me of one I used to love, Asha…My wife, who died in a Klingon raid with our unborn daughter."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, and he saw genuine compassion in her eyes and he felt her fingers squeeze his. Yet he knew her well enough that compassion would not sway her principles and values. Nor was it his wish to do so. And already she was withdrawing her hand from his.
"Come, walk with me," he said, offering her his arm. She took it. This gesture, by the way, was related to seniority, familiarity and social status and excluded gender. It was perfectly normal to see Romulan women escort men of lower rank on their arm, such as the clan matriarch her son, nephew and so on.
"Thank you, Merken."
"You are most welcome, Asha. Tell me, from whom did you inherit your eyes?"
"I have no idea - my parents, grandparents and relatives don't have heterochromia. Probably a random genetic fluke."
"Ah! So the colours were naturally acquired?"
"Completely," she said, smiling.
"It would seem such a fluke does not occur among Romulans. Humans are truly odd."
"We're all odd. It's what we have in common."
"You think me odd?"
"Yes, very."
He laughed, intrigued instead of annoyed by her direct manner. "Why?"
"Your communication strategy when it comes to contacting me is highly peculiar," she observed.
"I like to adapt my strategies to the circumstances," he said, stopping in front of a floor-length mirror in the corridor. "We make a handsome couple, do we not, Asha?"
Asha raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to seduce me?" she said directly.
He smiled widely. "It is a distinct possibility."
"You will not succeed should you even attempt to try," she said sternly.
He laughed. "I didn't and don't expect to."
"I agree with you. It would be most unworthy of a distinguished Romulan Senator like you."
"That is what my cherished colleague Delon tr'Letant would say."
"Your friendship is so renowned that it is the stuff of stories told around the family table."
Vreenak laughed again.
"Always a repartee keener than a knife at the tip of your tongue," he commented.
"A sharp tongue for a sharp tongue," she quipped.
He smiled, and they resumed their walk, Asha admiring the strange ornaments on the walls while he explained them to her. He felt that he could have enjoyed the warmth of her hand on his arm and the presence of her person next to his forever; but knowing that time and circumstances were unkind, he cherished every moment he could spend with her alone. He did what he said he would do, and showed her his poetry scrolls and some rare figurines.
Finally, they went downstairs, and he escorted her back to her family. He reluctantly moved away from her, missing that warm hand on his arm. One of his assistants gave the signal that the poetry reading was about to start, and the guests were shown to their seats, Asha sitting between Thorek and Kihika.
