Chapter 10
Frieda stood in the middle of the meadow and scanned the landscape in all directions. The wind tussled her hair and whipped her long white robe away from her body. The fresh breeze tingled in her nostrils.
The sky overhead shimmered a prism of every color, and the sunlight glittered over the waves in a million blinding sparks. Two enormous sea creatures, one slightly smaller than the other, crossed the sky and sent ripples through the water in their wake. The sun and wave patterns played on the stark white wall in the distance. Only a few people walked to and fro under the wall today.
Frieda brushed her hand over the tips of the grass. The longer stems poked up under her robe and tickled her legs. She turned her back on the wall and gazed toward the corner of the forest leading to the village. Just then, Deek came around the corner and strode toward her. “I thought I’d find you out here. What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
“Actually,” she replied, “I went to see my old house.”
He cocked his head to one side. “And how is it?”
“It isn’t there anymore,” she told him.
He studied her. “Does that surprise you?”
“Not really,” she replied. “I haven’t been back to it in months, and I would never want to live there again. I suppose it only makes sense it would cease to exist, now that it’s not part of my life anymore.”
He nodded and waited for her to say something else.
“But my plants are still there,” she went on. “That’s one good thing.”
His eyes flew open. “Your plants?”
“The ones I tended when I first lived there,” she explained. “The ones I had growing in my window box. When I moved to the village, I planted them out in the ground under the trees, and they’re still there.”
“Congratulations,” he explained. “You have a green thumb.”
“Not really,” she replied. “They were the same species as some others growing in that part of the forest. They would naturally do well growing on their own, and as you say, I didn’t really do anything to them. It was more the idea of doing something with them that got me interested.”
He took her hand. “I’m glad it did.” They started walking toward the village. “Are you okay?”
Her head whipped around. “Why do you ask?”
“I wondered,” he replied, “after you saw your sister again at the convocation last night.”
“Why should I not be okay about that?” she asked. “I’ve seen her dozens of times.”
“I know,” he replied, “and every time you see her, you get very quiet for a day or two afterwards. You don’t regret your decision to stay here, do you?”
“Not at all,” she exclaimed. “I guess that’s why I get quiet. I keep thinking how much more I love her now that I’m here. I couldn’t love her like this if I was on land.”
“How does that work?” he asked.
“I don’t think I ever knew what love was before I came here,” she replied. “The water makes loving others so easy and natural. Out there, on land and in the air, love is a constant battle. You have to fight every minute to love the smallest thing, like a plant or an animal. With people, it’s much more difficult to the point of impossible. I wouldn’t want to try it again. I’ll stay here.”
“You saw at the convocation,” he went on, “the factions are moving more and more toward peace. Emily and her mate Faruk are working with Donen to ratify peace agreements with the Lycaon as well as the Felsite. We’ll have to travel to the land more now.”
“An agreement between the Ursidreans and the Lycaon and the Felsite is a long way toward planetary peace,” she pointed out. “The Avitras still hate the Ursidreans with a passion. They won’t make peace any time soon, and all those factions still hate the Aqinas. We’ve got a long way to go before we’re needed on land again.”
“You know what I mean,” Deek replied. “The Aqinas won’t be able to hide in the ocean forever. Now that your sister knows you’re alive, you’ll probably have to see her again some time.”
Frieda shook her head. “I’ll leave the peace negotiations to you and Fritz. I’m happy here. I don’t want to go back to the land, not even for an instant.” She shivered. “I can’t forget that terrible air.”
He chuckled. “It is pretty nice here.”
“I don’t know how you can stand to go up there,” Frieda remarked.
“We only go if we have to,” he replied. “We’ve saved many thousands of Angondran lives by negotiating peace between the factions before. If we can do it again, we will.”
“Then you should be expert at it,” she returned. “You don’t need me tagging along.”
He shook his head. “You were right about one thing, though. A human woman like you could get a lot further with them than we ever could.”
She gasped. “What are you talking about? Why would they listen to me?”
“Didn’t you see the way those women listened to Sasha when she tried to explain about the Aqinas world?” he asked. “They were fascinated.”
“They were clueless,” she shot back. “They couldn’t understand a word she said.”
“No, but they wanted to,” he replied. “They want to know what it’s like down here, and they want to understand the Aqinas. When the day comes for us to join the rest of the factions in planetary peace, you and Sasha will have better success convincing them to accept us than any other Aqinas could. You can explain to your sisters and your friends what it’s like here, and why we are the way we are, and why we have the convocation, and everything else. The factions won’t trust us or listen to us, but you human women trust and listen to each other. You could negotiate on our behalf.”
“If the day ever comes,” she countered.
“It will,” he replied. “Be certain of that.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” she told him. “But if the day comes, I’ll do my best to help the Aqinas, and I know Sasha will, too. I never wanted anything but for the others to understand the Aqinas, and to understand why I’ve chosen to make this world my home.”
“We are part of Angondra, just like the other factions,” he explained. “No peace on this planet can be complete without us.”
“That is true,” she replied. “You are one people.”
He stopped walking and took her in his arms. He kissed her, and his hands trailed down her back.
She pulled away first. “I have to get back to the village.”
He followed her, but he dragged his feet. “You weren’t in any hurry to get back when I found you just now.”
She laughed. “I’m meeting Trin. We’re going to visit Hen and her new baby.”
“When are you going to stop visiting babies?” he grumbled.
“Never,” she replied. “I want to see as many of them as I can.”
“But kids and babies are everywhere,” he complained. “Why do you keep having to run off and visit them.”
“I’ve seen so few of them since I came,” she replied. “Now that I’m seeing them, I have to really see them.”
“So see them,” he returned. “Do you have to run off everywhere else to see them?”
She drew close to him. “Don’t worry. I’ll always have enough time for you, and now that I’m seeing children, it’s only a matter of time before we have some of our own.”
A light twinkled in his eyes. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
She took his hand, and they passed around the corner into the village. Five boys barrelled down the path and stampeded past them. They shouted and waved sticks at each other, but they took no notice of Deek and Frieda.
Deek jerked his head at them. “Is this what you want?”
She slipped her arm around his waist. “No. We should have girls.”
THE END