Dyllys
Chapter Seven

Parriswoke the next morning still feeling residual annoyance. He hit the com unitnear his bed before he had even opened his eyes.

“Wewill be at the rendezvous in ten hours,” he heard Esper say.

“Ihate when you do that,” Parris said in a gravelly voice.

“Noyou don’t.”

Parrisjust groaned in response and got out of bed. He dressed his best - tailoredshirt and pants - and looked as hisreflection in the mirror. How to handle this day? Everything was far moreconfusing with Dyllys and Faran added into the equation.

“Whydon’t you show them around the ship?” Esper suggested through the com unit.

“Enoughfrom you,” Parris mumbled and then switched the com unit off. He wandered downthe hallway and entered the galley. Faran was there and he looked up from whathe was doing when Parris walked in. Faran was attempting to make breakfast. Hemust have been failing miserably because when Parris walked in Faran wasarguing with Dyllys about why he should be making his own breakfast.

“I’llmake Parris’s then,” Dyllys said and wandered over to the other side of thekitchen facing away from Parris as he walked in.

“Tookind of you,” Parris said as he took a seat at the table. Dyllys was avoidinghim, he could tell. Being one of four people on his ship, she couldn’t avoidhim forever. Parris would make sure of that. He wouldn’t antagonize her infront of Faran. Their relationship was between them; Parris wouldn’t interferewith that.

Dyllysbarely made eye contact when she set the plate of food in front of Parris.Faran sat down resolutely beside Parris, testing to see if the tension wasstill there. Parris tried to erase it from his mind. After all those years ofhis own indoctrination, he was surprised he had been so volatile with someonecoming to his same realization. He grimaced at the thought. He had expected itwould be easier for him to steer someone else in the direction he was nowfacing. Instead he found that he was looking his old flaws straight in the faceand he couldn’t stand it. It made him feel weak. He ate the food that wasbefore him and then glanced at Faran’s portion.

“Ithink I choose the better cook,” Parris said as Faran pushed his plate awaywith no more than a few bites. “Don’t waste my food, Boy. We are far from anyharbor, supplies are limited.”

Faranlooked at Parris, decided he was serious, and pulled the plate back towards himtrying to swallow what remained.

Parrislaughed loudly and Dyllys looked up at the sudden noise. “Don’t kill yourself,Boy, I wasn’t serious.” Parris pushed his own plate away and leaned towardFaran. “Would you like to take a look around my ship. You’ve only seen onelevel after all.”

Faranput down his fork and looked at Parris. “How big is this ship anyway?”

“Abouta fifth of the size that Hector’s Interdire is. But she’s big enough.She is about five levels. The galley, bridge, and living quarters are all onthis deck. Deck two is what I call the survival level. I have a medical labthere as well as maintenance for Esper, and of course, Bellezza,” Parris saidgesturing to Dyllys. “Deck three and four is Esper’s garden. Took quite a longtime to modify, but it was worth every penny spent. Deck five is the hold. Ihave a load of cargo down there. I would prefer that you two didn’t go downthere until I make my drop off in ten hours’ time.”

“Bycargo do you mean what you took from the Interdire?” Dyllys asked.

“That’sright. Have to make my living somehow. Besides I would rather all those lovelysoldiers be put to better use. Saving people is much more effective thenkilling them. Now come, I want to show you Esper’s garden. A more gorgeousplace you will never see.”

* * * *

“Whyis it Esper’s garden?” Faran asked as they used the lift to go down to levelfour.

“I’vebeen with Esper for ten years now. After I figured out how to override themaster program in her she spent time as she pleased. One day she asked me whatshe could do to make me happy. I laughed. I didn’t take her seriously and toldher ‘why not make a grand space garden.’ I never thought she would actuallytake me seriously. I guess I forgot who or what I was talking to. I like tothink she does it for her own enjoyment instead of just mine. She knew what shewas doing when she created it. It gives me some hope that she can be more human.I’ve never seen such creativity in all my life.”

Thedoors to the lift opened to a crisp atmosphere. Dyllys's eyes widened at thesite, “It looks like Tossu.” She walked into the garden.

“It’sautumn here on Salvatore,” Parris mused and wandered into the gardenafter Dyllys. Faran followed, awestruck.

Dyllystried to take it in all at once. With the third floor gone, except for a catwalkwhere it used to be, which was covered in a vine that was brilliant red, thesky overhead looked far away. It was a deep blue with wispy clouds blowingacross the sky from a nonexistent breeze. Dyllys could almost believe she wasactually beneath a real sky instead of a simulated one. What she noticed mostof all were the trees that filled the space among the mossy ground. Rocky pathsweaved their way through the moss in intricate patterns, much like the onesthat covered Esper’s face and body. Dyllys could see red, yellow, and orangeleaves mixed in among the steady green. Some trees had leaves drifting lazilyto the moss covered ground below.

Shewalked among the trees off the pathway, touching them gently. A small pondstood at one end of the large room surrounded by a grove of trees that lookedto Dyllys as though they were gathered for a dance. A breeze blew through thegarden causing the leaves to shimmer.

“They’redancing,” she whispered and walked toward the trees. Parris watched her go andFaran joined his side.

“I’venever seen her so alive,” Faran said.

“Ithought this might have a desirable affect on her.” Parris turned to look atFaran. “I have a favor to ask of you. Would you go and keep Esper company for awhile? I would like to talk to Dyllys alone.”

“Doyou know something about her that I don’t?”

“Iguess you could say that. When she’s ready, she’ll tell you herself. I want togive her that much.”

“I’llgo keep Esper company, then,” Faran replied. He got on the lift and gave ahalfhearted smile to Parris before he disappeared. Parris followed afterDyllys.

Whenhe reached her she was looking into the pool of water with her hand leaningagainst a tree.

“Doyou know how Esper manages such brilliant colors on these trees?” Parris asked.

“Ido, but I want you to tell me,” Dyllys replied. Her face was still passive asshe stared into the pool, the reflection causing waves to dance in her icyeyes.

“Asthe autumn season nears she puts the temperature below freezing for a cycle andthen turns it back to a more appropriate temperature for the season. For somereason I don’t understand this makes the colors more brilliant. That’s what hadhappened that autumn, wasn’t it. There had been a frost a few days previously.Faran had been upset, he was going to lose half his crop. You just laughed itoff and said he should make ice wine.”

Dyllysturned and looked at Parris. “I do not remember this.”

Parrisgrabbed Dyllys in his arms and shook her, her face remained motionless but herhair spread like a fan behind her. “Yes you do. You have to.”

“Whyis it so important to you that I remember?”

Parrisreleased her from his grasp and leaned against a nearby tree. “Why is it soimportant to you that you forget?” Parris rejoined. “You wouldn’t understand.” Heseemed to be answering both questions.

“Tryagain.” Parris straightened his form and looked back at Dyllys.

“Idon’t know if me recalling your memories is what will work; maybe I’ll try adifferent approach.” He stood before Dyllys and stared into her eyes. Shestared back and blinked. Parris reached his hand toward her face and caressedher skin.

“Howlong has it been since someone has touched you tenderly?” Parris whispered.Dyllys closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Parris let his hand fall toher neck and he leaned closer, his face was next to hers and he spoke softlyinto her ear, “Do you remember what it felt like to kiss him?” He rubbed hislips against her cheek and then his lips found hers. He kissed herpassionately, though her hard cold lips were unmovable beneath his, and thensuddenly he felt her respond: she was kissing him back. She wrapped her armsaround him and then her icy blue eyes flashed open. She looked at Parris andthen shoved him away.

“Stop!”She yelled at him and backed away hugging herself. “I don’t want to feel.”

Parrisstood watching her. He could see it all flooding back to her, and then suddenlywith a heart wrenching cry she gazed up at the ceiling with tears falling fromher eyes and collapsed, unconscious, onto the mossy ground beneath her.

* * * *

“Sabine,wake up,” she smiled at the whisper in her ear and rolled over, her handresting lightly on his chest.

“Can’twe pretend it’s not morning,” Sabine replied. She opened her eyes. Faran wasstaring back at her, his smile infectious.

“Youknow how much trouble we will be in if anyone replaces us.”

Sabinesmiled and ran her hand along his jaw. “What happened to that sense ofadventure I fell in love with?” She rolled over then and sat on the edge of thebed. “Besides, it’s not like we did anything.”

Shefelt Faran move across the bed and come up behind her hugging her from behindand setting his head on her shoulder. “I have to take care of my vines, butwill you come and meet me beneath our tree? I want to see you there one lasttime before we are man and wife.”

Sabineleaned her head back on Faran’s shoulder and took in a deep breath of him. Hesmelled like the earth, strong and sure. “Will you take me on grand adventureswhen we are married? Or are you suddenly content to stay in one place?”

“Iwould stay in one place for you,” Faran said and then kissed her tenderly. Sheloved his kisses. The way he always took care with them made her feel specialwith every one, slow, like they had all the time in the world. When their lipsparted, she opened her eyes and stared into Faran’s rich brown ones.

“Whatif I don’t want to stay?”

“ThenI will take you far away from here and let you see the wonders of our galaxy.Let you taste the freedom of living among the stars.”

“Iwant that. That’s what I want,” Sabine said and kissed Faran again. He was theone that finally pulled away.

“First,my Vero Amore, my vines. Then we will have a wedding tomorrow. Meet me by ourtree before sunset. I have a gift for you.” Faran disentangled himself fromSabine. She watched him dress and slip from the room through the window. Ofcourse she would be there.

Itwas her favorite tree, but she had never seen it so lovely before. It lookedlike it had been dipped in paint. It was every color fall should be, the tipsof each branch a red so deep they looked purple and it ran down the branchlosing color on the way from red to orange to yellow until it reached abrilliant green. She wanted to remember this forever. A wind blew and shewatched leaves trail down lazily to the ground, spinning in tight circles asthey went. The breeze blew right through her and she hugged herself trying toget warm. She felt warm hands wrap around her and she leaned into him with asmile.

“Whattook you so long?” Sabine asked.

“Ihad to make sure that we had some time to be alone.” She heard the voice speakfrom behind her. She tensed at the voice and broke from his embrace.

“Emanuel,what are you doing here? What did you do with Faran?” She backed away fromEmanuel slowly until she had her back against her tree.

“I’vedone nothing to him, Sabine. I just wanted some time for you to reconsider.You’re making a mistake marrying Faran.” He was advancing on Sabine slowlyuntil finally he was right over top of her. With his hand resting on the treeabove her he looked down into her eyes. “Marry me Sabine. We were meant to betogether.” He leaned in to her and pressed his lips against hers. She pushedfirmly against his chest and shoved him away. She slipped under his arm andstarted walking down the hill. Filled with anger she stopped and turned back toEmanuel.

“Howdare you!” She was shaking. “I love Faran. We are getting married tomorrow, andthere is nothing you can do about it. I never want to see you again, ever. Stayaway from me.”

“Wait,Sabine. I’m sorry. I just needed to know that you were lost to me foreverbefore I could let you go. Don’t go away mad. Here, I’ve brought you a weddingpresent.” Sabine stopped and turned around to regard Emanuel. He was holdingthe loveliest mask that Sabine had ever seen in his hands.

“Iknow you collect these. It took me a long time to make, please take it.” He wasclose enough to Sabine now that she could easily take it from his hands. It wasa marvel, a Venetian style mask the color of ivory snow with blue paint thatglittered around the eyes making a delicate butterfly. Its lips were a deepmetallic blue. It was a breathtaking mask.

“Itried to match the blue to your eyes.” Emanuel gently grabbed Sabine’s chin sothat he could look at her icy blue eyes. “I’ve never seen eyes like yoursbefore. Will you try it on?”

“Sabine?”She could hear Faran shouting in the distance and turned from Emanuel.

“Thankyou for your gift Emanuel, but I really should go.” Sabine turned to leave butEmanuel grabbed her wrist.

“PleaseSabine, try it on before you go,” he pleaded.

“Emanuel,let go. You’re hurting me.” She tried to wrench her wrist from his grasp but hewas so much stronger than her. Sabine’s eyes widened with fear.

“Whathave you done to the mask?” she asked and then without waiting for any answershe tried to throw it away. She could still hear Faran calling to her in thedistance. Emanuel grabbed the mask from her hand before she could release itand then she screamed.

“I’mtrying to give you the perfect gift, Sabine, eternal life. You want to knowwhat I’ve done to this mask. This mask is my life’s work and I’ve done it allfor you. This way you’ll be beautiful for all eternity, it will never fadeaway, and the best part is that with it you will be mine, forever.” Emanuel wassmiling as he lowered the mask to her face.

Sabinescreamed and then started to cry; she turned her face away from Emanuel. “Idon’t want to live forever. Please, don’t do this.”

“It’salready done,” Emanuel barked and then Sabine heard footsteps behind Emanueland turned to look at them: Faran, her savior had arrived. But in that smallmovement the mask fell on her face and she inhaled sharply in surprise. Shefelt Emanuel’s grip loosen and then fall away; she was free to wrench the maskfrom her face but she couldn’t move. The quicker her heart beat the faster thecold immobilization spread through her veins. She wanted to scream but shecouldn’t. What was this terrifying feeling? The cold was spreading but finallyshe found her voice and let out a strained cry.

Shecould feel warm hands against her cold skin. It was Faran. He was holding herin his arms. She could hear Emanuel laughing behind him.

“It’stoo late, Faran. She’s mine. Let her go.” Faran ignored him and instead triedto pry the mask from Sabine’s face. The effects of this sent waves of paincoursing through her body, and she let out another cry.

“Ifyou take off that mask you will kill her. I didn’t make it to be removed. Whatis done is done. She is mine.”

Faranlet go of Sabine and she fell to the ground like an autumn leaf. “What have youdone to her?” Faran advanced on Emanuel, his fists clenched tightly.

“Igave her eternal life. It was more than you could offer her.” Emanuel backedaway from Faran.

Sabinewatched them as the cold spread; she wanted to reach out and touch Faran, shecould feel him slipping away, and then there was a voice cold and hard in hermind.

“Sleep.Sleep forever.” And Sabine did sleep: she closed her eyes and when she openedthem again they were a cold steel grey and they only saw Emanuel.

Shesaw a man hurting Emanuel. She rose from the ground and ran between Emanuel andthe man. The man before her stopped when he saw her and instead of attackingher he caressed his fingers against her cold skin. He looked at her cold greyeyes and then dropped his hand.

“Don’thurt my Padrone,” Sabine said.

Theman looked past her at Emanuel. “You’ve already killed her.”

Emanuelwalked up to Sabine and grabbed her. Sabine gave no resistance. “No, I’ve justmade her mine.”

Theman before her looked at her face, the blue butterfly around her eyes the onlything left of the mask. He took her head in his hands and whispered in her ear,“I will replace a way to save you, Sabine, if it takes me the rest of my life.I’ll free you. I promise.” He trailed his hands through her raven black hairand, grasping her hand momentarily in his own, he walked away. Sabine watchedhim go, feeling nothing at all. When he had vanished down the hillside shelooked at what he had pressed in her hand, a delicately carved crane danglingfrom a chain. The tiny gift she held in her hand captured a memory of herprevious life before it disappeared into the recesses of her mechanical mind.

Sheand Faran had been drifting lazily down a river on a boat and her laughter hadstartled a nearby bird. She had been breathless looking at it as it crossed thesky, wings extended and neck outstretched as it strained to leave them behind.

“I’venever seen such a beautiful bird,” Sabine had exclaimed.

“It’sa red-crowned crane; you don’t see them on many worlds…as rare and beautiful asyou are.” Faran stroked Sabine’s cheek.

“Iwould like to soar in the heavens with you like that crane.” She leaned backwatching as the crane passed overhead and then her view of it was blocked asFaran leaned over her and smiled.

* * * *

Sabineheld the carved necklace in her hand and watched it disappear as sheassimilated it. Taking the image from her mind she replaced the remains ofEmanuel’s blue mask with that of the wings of a crane at her temples.

Emanuelwatched the sudden transformation and frowned. “Why did you do that?”

“Iam sorry my Padrone, I am not a butterfly, I am a crane.” The words came fromSabine’s mouth, but even she did not understand what they meant.

“Nomatter, your face is much prettier without the tattoo.” He grabbed her face andlooked into her eyes, dissatisfied with what he saw. “Still I wish your eyeshad remained the same color, they were by far your most enchanting feature.Come along Sabine, there is much to do and very little time in which it can bedone.”

Emanuelbegan walking away in the opposite direction in which Faran had gone; Sabinedid not follow. He stopped when he realized she was not following him. “Whatare you waiting for? Why are you not obeying me?” He was starting to think thatall his efforts had been for nothing.

“Sorrymy Padrone, but I am not Sabine, she is gone. I am Dyllys now.”