Neutral (3 page)

Ari leaned her head onto the support stand. “I am in your hands.”

The base coat went on in a shade paler than her normal skin. Ari kept her eyes closed unless she was asked to open them while she was painted and stroked with tiny brushes and exotic makeup.

The makeup took an hour.

“Next time I will be faster. Your skin has a slippery texture that I am not used to.” Nexica checked her chrono and nodded. “Thirty minutes to finish. We should just make it.”

The gown was wrapped around her, wide sleeves covered her from shoulder to wrist, but if she raised her hands, her arms were completely exposed. The sleeves were not closed underneath. Her hands looked very distinctive with this style of gown.

A sash held the gown closed and Ari realised something. “No underwear?”

“No. There will be some for daylight hours, but not for eveningwear. You don’t want to ruin the line of the gown.”

Ari nodded, and then, she smiled as she was ordered to back up toward the small stepladder that Nexica produced. When she stood, a jewelled headpiece confined her hair and acted as jewellery.

A few tugs and some suede slippers completed the dressing ritual.

Nexica smiled in surprise at the finished product. “The mirror is inside the wardrobe.”

Curious, Ari looked, and she stared at the woman in the mirror with the blue lips and the stylized stars over her eyes. The headpiece looked heavy, but didn’t weigh her down as she turned her head.

The gown was bands of gauzy black and deep gold. The sash was a deep orange. She was wearing the imperial colours.

“Will the makeup change for the daylight hours?”

Nexica shook her head. “No, your hair and makeup will remain the same. I will clean up and be here when you return to help you out of your clothing. You do look striking.”

Ari gave a small smile with her blue lips. “I feel startled. It is a work of art. Thank you, Nexica.”

A knock on the door proved that the timing was perfect.

Nexica went to the door and spoke with the guard.

“Scribe Longway, your escort is ready.”

“Thank you, Nexica. Please, call me Ariadne or Ari.”

“I cannot do that, but thank you for the offer, lady.” Nexica inclined her head.

With a deep breath, Ari headed out and was slightly gratified by the startled looks of her guards. “Shall we?”

The four that were still on duty surrounded her, and she was walked through the halls to the dinner.

* * * *

Usorn paused mid-conversation as the scribe entered the room. Even knowing that her face was covered with makeup, he wanted to touch the curve of her lips.

The curves of her body were another matter. There was no way that she had anything on under that gown. If he focused, he could just make out the darker curve of her nipples through the semi-sheer fabric of the gown.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Guardian Winter quirked his lips.

Usorn gave him a dark look and he walked over to Scribe Longway, taking her by the hand as her guards backed away.

“You look lovely.”

Her neck turned that delightful shade of pink. “Thank you, but isn’t this against protocol?”

He quirked his eyebrow. “It is and it isn’t. As I have never had a female scribe before, there are new rules in action. I am making this up as I go along.”

She reached up and paused before she touched her face. “It isn’t too much? Should I wear a mask?”

“It is perfect and will help you when you are working. The starbursts make your eyes hypnotic.”

She smiled, but her brows said she was unsure. “I thought I was here to write.”

He sighed. “Yes, but you can still do it with grace and style. Come on, I wish to introduce you to the Guardians of Hredu.”

He held her blue-black tinged fingers in his, and he tugged her toward his teammates. Something about her made him want to show her his entire world and she had only just arrived.

Ariadne Longway belonged on his world, and he had no idea why. Usorn grinned; he looked forward to finding out.

* * * *

Ari had heard of the Guardians. They were the Imperium version of the Sector Guard, but they tended to be posted to a single world as opposed to travelling when called.

Given the slightly more wild set of societies in the Imperium, it made sense to have a dedicated set of heroes for one particular world.

Winter had a shock of white hair in a crest design and pale minty skin. Spring’s hair was deep emerald and his skin was bright leaf green. Summer was rich tones of emerald skin and waves of burgundy hair.

“Where is Fall?” She asked Winter.

“Holding your hand. His Imperial Majesty has a talent for flight and telekinesis. He leads and protects his people instead of simply ruling them.”

Emperor Usorn was speaking with Spring and a minister for the interior. If he heard them, he didn’t show any sign.

Winter smiled. “You were expecting more formality?”

She sighed and cocked her head. “Something like that. Certainly more isolation.”

His smile turned into a grin. “Since you are the first of your particular kind, consider all previous regulations gone. I think that Fall is rather smitten by you.”

Usorn turned his head toward them and smiled politely. “Not smitten, just curious.”

Winter smiled, “Then let her hand go, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Usorn looked down at his grip on her hand as if surprised. He looked back to Winter. “No.”

Her skin and blue-black-tinted fingers were trapped in his warm and comfortable hand.

She felt a wave of relief when a gong rang for dinner. The frustration that flickered over the emperor’s face was frightening, but Winter laughed.

“I will take her in to dinner, Your Imperial Majesty.” Winter grinned.

Ari reclaimed her hand when the emperor released it. She inclined her head as he turned her over to Winter and left to enter the dining room.

“I will be your dinner companion this evening, Spring and Summer will be across from you.”

Winter took her hand and placed it against his forearm. “You seem a little nervous.”

“This is new. It is a lot of new in a very short time.”

“You will adapt. From your security file, your species thrives at adaptation. You will do just fine.”

She stifled a yawn. “I am sure that I will, eventually. Today, I am just trying to get to tonight and my own bed.”

Winter patted her hand. “Many here have that same goal.”

Her surprised laughter went with her into the dining room and the formality finally kicked in, for about five minutes.

The dinner party passed in a blur, and Ari remembered making polite conversation about how much her tattoos had hurt when they had first been administered.

The evening wrapped up abruptly when the report of a landslide sent the Guardians out the door.

Ari rose to her feet, nodded to those assembled and headed to the point where she last saw her guards.

The four of them moved into position around her and walked her back to her quarters. Nexica took charge of her and had her stripped and her face scrubbed in minutes.

“Come along, lady. You look exhausted.”

Ari raised her arms up as the maid slipped her sleeping gown over her head, and it was clear that Nexica was now as familiar with her clothing as she was.

The bed was warm, fluffy and it could have swallowed her whole for all she cared. By the time she settled her head on the pillow, sleep crept into her. In the morning, she would be able to work. That was what she was here for.

Dawn was a brutal bitch and Nexica worked for her. Ari was shaken awake, prodded out of bed and into the bath for another scouring session.

Her hair was brushed, but today, she was dressed before the arrangement of her locks or the makeup went on.

“I never thought I would be so thankful for underwear.”

Nexica winced. “I had not realised that the contrasts in your skin colouring would be so visible beneath the gown. The dressmaker has been given your specifications and the rest of your evening wardrobe will be adjusted accordingly.”

“Terrans use a fine layer of slick fabric that increases opacity without changing the line of the dress.”

She was being swathed in a long black skirt, and she pulled on the white cap-sleeved blouse. Tubes of fabric were handed to her and after a little trial and error, Ari got them into place. They covered her from just below the edge of the sleeve down to her wrist.

Nexica urged her to the dressing table, and her hair went up in five minutes. It was still a little damp, but it was out of the way. Her makeup base went on faster than the day before, but the details still needed twenty-five minutes to get in place.

Nexica leaned back and checked her work as a knock at the door sounded. She nodded in satisfaction and rose to her feet, checking the door and allowing the guard with the tray to enter.

Ari asked, “Is this how I will get all my food?”

“It will always be delivered by your guard, yes. They prepare it themselves. When you are with the emperor, you will eat from his servings. His food has all been vetted for poison or other substances.”

The guard set the tray down on the table, and Ari called out her thanks as he left the room.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement, and she settled down at the table for breakfast.

“How long do I have, Nexica?”

“Thirty minutes before you must leave, lady. Shall I bring your kit?”

“Please. I need to check it before I do anything stupid.”

It didn’t bother her that Nexica had looked into the kit and identified it as the tools of her trade. Ari knew every scrap of paper and every fleck shaved off a seal in that box.

Breakfast was over in ten minutes and the guard could definitely cook. Ari sat back and smiled before sipping her tea. The moment Nexica removed the tray, Ari put her kit in the empty space on the table, and she began to take an inventory for her day’s work.

Ink, practice parchment and the fine pens that she favoured were all accounted for. Nexica had examined her seals, but had put them back in the nearly correct position. In her months of training, Ari had learned to put her seals in so that if she reached for one, it would be in the correct rotation for immediate use. She was supposed to be using the imperial seals, but she would have to be installed in her workstation before they would bring them to her.

Nexica paused, “Are you ready?”

Ari snapped her kit together. “I am.”

“Your meals and tea will be brought to you by your guards. If you don’t see them bring it in, don’t eat or drink it.” Nexica gave her a serious look.

“Yes, Nexica. Thank you.”

Nexica knocked on the door and nodded to Ari. “Good luck, lady.”

Ari walked through the door and two of the guards were waiting to walk with her while two others remained in front of her door.

She was on her way to work.

The idea of a scribe working on a high-tech world had puzzled her until her instructor had told her about the idea of slowing things down to keep the ruler from being overwhelmed. The act of writing the positions out by hand limited the amount that could be processed in any given day. It kept folk like Usorn from being swamped by endless electronic proposals.

One day, Ari would like to sneak out and see the palace without an armoured back in front of her.

It was only her second day on Hredu and she was thinking of breaking protocol. It was not a good sign for the rest of her contract that she was already dreaming of the day she could get away.

Ari sighed. She just needed to get to work. Once she had a schedule, everything else would fall into place, just as it had during her training.

A crowd was gathering outside an audience chamber and that is where her guards took her. Her guards drew weapons and the crowd parted.

She had seen the ritual on one of the research recordings, but being in the center of it was quite a bit different.

Ari carried her kit to the scribe’s desk and she settled herself, checking the paper, the ink and the pens that she was supposed to use for the petitions. She would have preferred to use her own pens, but on day one, she didn’t want to try to pull any fast ones.

Her guards were stationed on either side of the desk with their weapons out. When she was settled at the angled podium with her ink and pen at the ready, she nodded to the guard on her right, and he nodded to the man who was apparently coordinating the crowd. The first petitioner came in and took the seat across from Ariadne.

She dipped her pen in the ink, they started speaking and she started writing. It was the beginning of a very long day.

Every three hours, Guard Number One brought her a cup of tea. She paused and drank the tea before resuming her work. This was what she had been wanting, had been missing even for the one day. She wanted to work and it consumed her day until she was brought her meal.

Guard One leaned in. “You will be brought your meal, and then, you will attend the emperor as he decides on the petitions and record his decisions.”

She flexed her hand. “I have only seen twenty people.”

“That is ten more than any other scribe before you. Take a break and have your meal. When it is done, you will move into the audience chamber and record the emperor’s decisions.”

She nodded and grimaced as she massaged and oiled her hands. Captain Kredik came in with a covered tray, and he relieved the man she thought of as Guard Three.

Ari had cleared her work area, and she settled the tray down, removing the cover and settling in to eat. Her meal disappeared quickly, and when she covered the empty plate, another guard brought in a pot of herbal tea.

“When do you guys sleep?”

Captain Kredik grinned. “When you do. There are only two of us on duty when you sleep and they are out right now. Nexica is a qualified bodyguard as well, though she probably didn’t mention it.”

“When do I move to the inner office?”

“As soon as you finish your tea. We don’t want you getting dehydrated.”