It had been seven weeks since Casina had returned to TrCasinaar. Seven long weeks since she had seen the commander. This bothered her greatly, but she had no intention of sharing her feelings with anyone.
And true to his word, the commander had made certain she was no longer bored...or in danger. Each morning she rose at sunrise to begin her day"s training in the arena, no matter how much she protested the early hour, which was why Mrovia had been so startled at finding her up early that one day.
Five days a week, an old man came to her living quarters to teach her the culture and some of the languages of Jupitar. So every day and nearly all day, she was busy learning or training. As if this wasn"t bad enough, she never saw the commander anymore. She"d be kidding herself though if she didn"t admit to missing the alien more than she had ever imagined possible.
But the ache in her heart at Uri"s absence wasn"t half as bad as the punishment he had inflicted upon her for screwing up in Zaratan. But what else could he have done? Put her to work in the kitchen washing pots and pans? Perhaps he didn"t deem her current situation a punishment, but in her eyes, it was. Or perhaps the Kaanig was behind all of this. She missed her job at the aviary but understood why she could no longer work there. Regardless, she was somewhat depressed at not seeing the birds anymore. She had grown to love them so.
She wondered briefly if the Kaanig wanted her to keep her focus completely on her studies. Perhaps that was why Uri hadn"t come around lately. Maybe they didn"t want her distracted in any way. Or perhaps the Kaanig was keeping the commander too busy to see her. Or perhaps Uri had looked for her in the garden. But since her time there was now limited, she no doubt kept missing him. The thought of him deliberately avoiding her was what hurt the most. That he wanted nothing more to do with her. And considering all the trouble she had caused him since the beginning, she didn"t blame him one bit.
Her teacher, Kitar, was kind but had a continual, pervading odor about him that made his presence alone worse than the lessons she had to endure. As she peered at him sitting across the table from her, she estimated his age to be at least a gazillion years old. That"s how old he smelled. He had wrinkles upon wrinkles and made funny whistling noises when he breathed. She tried to be nice, but he was so ugly and boring, she didn"t know how much more she could stand. Granted, he was extremely knowledgeable and eager to share what he knew with her. But it just wasn"t the same as having Uri around to look at. Even Seth Vernier was extremely good looking, which made him easier to be around. Yet he, too, answered none of her questions. She wasn"t even certain who he was exactly. All Uri had told her was that he was his most trusted, his best man. Whatever that meant.
Every once in a while she caught Mrovia watching her with something akin to pity or empathy on her face. She wasn"t sure which. But that only convinced her that Mrovia was no doubt keeping the Kaanig abreast of everything she was doing and probably saying. Which might explain her growing lack of free time, other than a few hours before retiring each night when she was allowed a stroll in the garden, perhaps to help her relax. Mrovia had made it clear she didn"t especially approve of her going out there alone at night, regardless of the guards with her, but it wasn"t clear to Casina why she worried about her safety so much. Besides that, practically all of her time was accounted for. And busy. What with her language lessons, and not just Kathian, and schooling on its peoples and cultures, her mind was kept extremely filled, giving her little time to daydream or think about anything else.
So it was with great anticipation that she awaited each and every constitutional allowed her. Fortunately, she was still able to enjoy the lovely weather.
One thing she had finally learned was the climate of Konatha. It was temperate for most of the year at TrCasinaar and only rainy for about four months - mentas. Also, the calendar was quite different to that of Earth, but it made things easier for her to understand. Not that it mattered to her what day, that is, what solarity, it was anymore, or what time.
Each night, despite the guards following her everywhere she went, she enjoyed the pleasant breeze, the floral scents, and the bright moonlight in the garden. When there was a moon. As Earth had, Planet Konatha had but one sun and one moon. Although Kitar had taught her that not all planets in Jupitar did. One planet, Rhenia, in that particular solar system, had as many as three moons, she learned. Amazing. And still the planet was heavily populated.
Kitar explained that it was because of an invisible protective shield about each planet. It helped to regulate oxygen levels and atmospheric conditions so the Jupitarians could survive on any of them. It was also what made air flight dangerous. Permission had to be granted by air space controllers for incoming or outgoing vessels before anyone could penetrate the shields present throughout the galaxy.
That Kaanig Altair ruled over so many other star systems in Jupitar still boggled Casina"s mind. That the man - if he was, in fact, a man - had time to spare to even worry about her was a feat in itself.
And for the first time since being brought to Jupitar, she became more curious about this socalled galactic ruler.
* * * *
"Please, Kitar," she pleaded one afternoon. "Can"t we talk about something other than Kathian geography? I really don"t need a crash course on everything in Jupitar, do I? And what"s with all of this flight information all of a sudden? And these boring tech manuals Jeiel gave me? Is Kaanig Altair helping me so I"ll be more successful on my next escape attempt?" Kitar, taken aback, stared at her as if stung.
"But, my lady. I have been given certain instructions from the Kaanig to--"
"I know I know," she said, waving his justifications aside. "I"ve heard it all before. It"s just that I"m so bored. This stuff is so dry. And my brain is so full I fear it won"t hold anything more." She groaned and gazed with longing into the outer room, at the glass doors. "Why can"t you teach me things that are more fun. Like about this Kaanig guy I keep hearing about. Why can"t you tell me something about him?"
Kitar laid aside his notes and pushed his chair back.
"Perhaps a break would be in order," he said, deftly avoiding the question. "I"ll see if Mrovia will bring us some refreshment."
"Fine," she said, thankful to have a moment to herself. So while Kitar went looking for Mrovia, she scampered outside to lean over the balcony. She breathed in great gulps of air as if she had just been freed from a prison.
A loud knocking came at her door a few minutes later, interrupting her break.
Glancing inside, she realized that Kitar and Mrovia had not returned. So, sighing, she made to answer the door herself. She was startled to find a messenger standing there, dressed in the royal colors of TrCasinaar.
"For you, my lady," said the tall, young Jupitarian male, who bowed politely before handing her a long white box, together with a similar, smaller box atop it. They were bundled together with a wide, shiny purple ribbon.
"What on earth?" Casina said, for the umpteenth time since arriving on Konatha. "Um, th-thank you." Accepting the boxes, she took them inside and set them on the bed. She stared at them a moment, almost afraid to open them. What if they contained something she didn"t want? What if...? But she couldn"t even imagine what they contained, no matter how hard she tried. And besides, who would be sending her anything? She knew so few people in Jupitar.
But eventually she gave in, knowing that Mrovia would make her anyways.
She untied the lovely ribbon and nervously opened the larger box. She pushed aside the crinkly pink tissue paper then gasped with pleasure at sight of the contents. A slinky, sparkling gown of the deepest shade of purple. "Oh," she breathed, unused to such elegance. "It"s exquisite. Oh, my." She drew it forth as if it was breakable. She was standing, measuring it against her body, to see if it would fit, when Mrovia and Kitar returned. Mrovia with yet another tray and Kitar with yet another pile of
k"selas, as books were called there.
"Isn"t this lovely?" she said to no one in particular. "Mrovia?" She turned to the woman, seeking an opinion.
"Mmhm," the elder agreed, nodding at the dress as she set aside the tray and began pouring steaming merida into two small, crystal cups.
"Here, my lady," Kitar said with great embellishment, an excited sparkle in his eye as he eagerly took it upon himself to hand her the other box.
Casina gave him a quizzical look, then carefully laid the dress aside. Taking the smaller, she removed the decorative top, her eyes widening with delight at sight of the dainty, sparkling slippers that were a perfect match to the dress.
"I can"t believe this," she said, lifting the items to inspect the shiny silver buckles on them.
"I"ve never seen shoes so pretty."
"Here, pa"atay," Mrovia said. "What is this?" Casina watched as the woman reached into the bottom of the larger box, to push aside a flap of the crinkly paper. She removed from beneath it a large, gold-embossed envelope, which she handed to her.
"What is it?" she asked, startled, staring down at the queer alien envelope with curiosity, wondering how she had missed seeing it.
"I am not sure, my lady."
"Perhaps it"s an invitation to a ball," Casina chirped, laughing, turning to toss the shoes back into the box. She then skipped past the woman and into the study where she began searching the desk for a letter opener, if there was such a tool in Jupitar. After a moment, she espied something to that effect. "Aha!" she said, holding it up with satisfaction before sliding it under the flap of the strange envelope. Laying aside the opener, she quickly removed the white card inside, only to frown in dismay as she stared at it. She quickly handed it to Mrovia, who had followed her into the room, together with Kitar. "Can you read this, Mrovia? It"s in alien. And. I. Don"t. Read. Alien." Not yet anyways.
Mrovia grinned at her words as she took the missive. Casina strolled over to the glass doors, to peer out the curtains as she waited.
"Ah," the woman said, reading it and nodding. "It is an invitation. From Kaanig Altair."
"The Kaanig?" Casina said, breezing back across the room to peer over her shoulder at the white card. "Really? Why on earth would he be inviting me anywhere?" She moved away. "What"s it for?"
"Why, um, it says...for a celebration." Mrovia dropped her hand to peer over at her. "That means you will have to dress up a bit and learn the proper protocols."
"Well, that explains the dress, I guess. When is it?"
"In three solarities."
"Rats." Casina"s fleeting excitement dissipated as quickly as it had erupted over the invitation. "Well," she said. "You can just tell him that I"m not interested in going. Tell him I intend to have a headache or something that night."
"Pa"atay!" Mrovia was aghast. "I cannot tell him that. He is Kaanig."
"So," Casina said, her tone firm. "I don"t care if he"s the President of the United States. I have no interest in going to a party. I don"t really know alien and don"t know how to dance and don"t want to stand around watching everybody else having fun but me. And I am not interested in learning any protocols just because you or he or anybody here thinks I should. I am quite content to remain safe in my room that evening. Besides, he should have given me at least a month"s notice so I had time to learn all this stuff."
"Oh, pa"atay..." Mrovia couldn"t believe her ears. That the young woman was refusing a direct invitation from her sovereign just wasn"t done. Not ever. "It is such an honor to be personally invited by Kaanig Altair himself. No one has ever dared refuse him."
"Well," Casina said. "I guess there"s always a first time, eh? And what"s all this pa"atay stuff? You"ve never called me that before."
Mrovia exchanged looks with Kitar.
"It is Kathian for miss, or mistress," Kitar explained. "Henceforth, we shall be using such words so you can learn them."
Casina"s brow furrowed at this, but she understood. Turning, she moved to the bedchamber, to inspect whatever was on the snack tray Mrovia had brought.
* * * *
"Oh, I get it now," Casina said, biting into some sort of alien cookie before walking back to the bed. She lifted a purple shoe from the box, dangling it from her finger as she looked at the woman. "The Kaanig sent these, didn"t he? Well, if he thinks I"m going to wear them at that celebration, then he"s got another think coming. I have no intention of going. I already told you that." She glanced at the digibooks - the k"selas - Kitar had brought with him. "Besides. I have a lot of studying to do. You can just tell him that. I. Am. Just. Too. Busy." With that, she flung her head back, turned on her heel, and stomped back into the study. "Coming, Kitar?"
With an uncertain grimace, the older man slowly followed her. He glanced back at Mrovia, who stared after them with dismay.
"We"ll...We"ll take our merida in here, madam," he said, a bit nervously, watching as hopelessness replaced the frown on her face as he ambled away.