One Year Later
The view from the window was a windy, rainy mess, but somehow it was still one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen. The sea was turbulent that day, crashing against the shore and churning with the wind, and in moments like that, Alanna could see what Luther meant about it seeming like it was alive.
She didn't know what emotion it was expressing, restlessness, maybe, but it was nice to watch as she sat at her wheel and worked.
It wasn't a wheel like the one she'd had on Earth, either. This one turned at the slightest amount of pressure and had odd screens that were supposed to be for her to program what she wanted it to do. A 'welcome home' gift from Clio, who had presented it to her with a flourish and a smile.
Alanna was beyond pleased that she had it, even if it was a bit too fancy for her liking. She just ignored the automation bits, and let her foot press the pedal softly, working the clay between her hands as she looked out the window at the growing storm.
She'd never expected to feel so comfortable here.
Certainly she didn't regret coming back. It hadn't taken much for her to realize that she'd had more fun living here than she had on Earth and that while she would miss her friends and the studio and the life she had built there terribly, this was an adventure and a chance to be someone new and different. A chance to have things she had given up on having on Earth.
So yeah, it had been a decision she was pretty sure of, but she'd expected to feel like an outsider. Luther cared about her, loved her, even, and she had a friend in Clio, and she was pretty sure that even Queen Varen liked her well enough, but she didn't think she was ever going to belong.
And then she had presented them with the 'Heart of the Sea' that she'd made, an elegantly sculpted sphere with images of waves and sea animals carved into the sides of it, done in varying shades of blue, and suddenly everyone wanted to talk to her or see her work.
Apparently Clio had been right about them liking art. They all liked it, but no one really knew how to make it. Once they knew that she could make it and would make stuff for them for a reasonable price, she had a business.
It was the same kind of thing she'd been doing on Earth, only it felt so much better. The queen had commissioned a studio for her to work in, saying it was the least they could do considering her part in helping them in the end, and so she had a working artist's studio, just a bit back from the beach, surrounded by the beauty of Lin-Vayel.
It wasn't attached to the house like she had always dreamed of when she was younger, but this was better, honestly. Because now she had other things to focus on besides just art, and it was always nice to walk home with Luther at the end of the day, hand in hand as he told her about the dives he went on and asked her about her day.
So most afternoons that was where she could be found, working clay into elaborate shapes and useful vessels, filling her ever growing list of commissions.
Right now, she was working on one for the queen herself. Alanna had learned much about how the ancestors of those who lived on this planet had once lived under the sea. Queen Varen had showed her the relics they'd found there, most of them chipped or shattered in some way, some in pieces.
When it had come out that Alanna had some skill at restoring those things that were made out of pottery, the queen had asked her to try her hand at it.
Some things she was able to clean and reglaze, to give them a new shine. The pieces that were broken, she tried to put back together, using gold or silver to mend the pieces so it was clear that they had once been broken, but that showed the history of them. Some things were beyond salvaging, though, and it was those that she tried to recreate. It wasn't as good as putting them back together, but there was at least something that they could put on a shelf and look at to know where they had come from.
It made her happy to be doing something, and even though this wasn't her heritage, that didn't mean that she couldn't be a part of it.
Luther was pleased that she was finding her way here, she could tell from the way he smiled at her whenever she came back from a meeting with the queen or when he came to her work space to pick her up at the end of the day. He loved listening to her talk about her work, and he took pains to understand it, which was something Alanna valued more than she could say.
A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts, and she called for whoever it was to come in.
Luther ducked through the door, soaking wet and grinning.
"Don't they have umbrellas on this planet?" Alanna teased, stopping the wheel and smiling at him.
"You already know that we do not," Luther replied.
"True. Well, don't shake off in my studio," she warned. "Some of these things aren't set yet."
He nodded and glanced around. "You have been busy," he said, and there was obvious approval in his tone.
Alanna smiled. "Well, at least one of us has to have a job that involves actual work," she teased, blowing a stray curl out of her face. One thing she would say against this place was that the humidity was terrible for her hair. Maybe she would cut it.
"Excuse me," Luther said. "I did actual work today."
"You played in the water," Alanna said, grinning to let him know she wasn't seriously devaluing his work. "And now you're dripping all over my space."
"I could drip all over you instead," Luther said, tipping his head to one side and raising an eyebrow at her. He took a step closer and Alanna raised her hands as if to ward him off.
"Don't you even think about it."
He laughed at that, and it was one of those loud, booming ones that filled the space in her studio and in her heart. She loved him. She really, really loved him, and she knew that she didn't say it often enough, but she couldn't help the way her heart swelled to see him so happy.
"I wouldn't," Luther was saying. "I came to see if you could get away early. I am done for the day, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up with you and eat some of that spicy seafood stew from the market."
Alanna's stomach growled at the mention of the stew that was, admittedly, very good, even though she could hardly tell what was in it because she was still unfamiliar with most of the sea creatures on this planet. It was delicious, which was really all that mattered, she supposed, and she was starving.
"I could be done for the day," she said. "This needs to be reworked, anyway. I spent most of this afternoon daydreaming, and it's for the queen, so. Can't have her pearls going to subpar product."
"I have never seen you make anything subpar," Luther said.
"Oh, you." She flapped a hand at him. "Give me ten minutes to clean everything up."
Luther smiled and nodded and tucked himself into the corner out of her way. One of the other things that she loved about this arrangement was how Luther always respected her space. He believed that the studio was her area, and he only came into it when he had permission and then made sure to be respectful of it when he was there.
She appreciated that more than she knew how to say because she had shared a space for so long with people who didn't know what it meant to put things back where they belonged or how not to bother her with their inane questions and anecdotes.
The only thing this space was missing was the terrible radio stations, and Alanna had Clio looking into that for her. Soon enough, it might be perfect.
She cleaned up her mess and herself, changing out of her paint and clay splattered smock into the rain jacket she had worn on the walk over here from their home. Luther and the rest of his kind might not have minded running around getting messy and wet in the rain, but she preferred being dry when at all possible.
Once she was done, she took Luther's hand and locked up after herself (with a fingerprint recognizing lock because Clio was a godsend, honestly), and they headed off.
"So tell me about the dive," Alanna said as they walked in the direction of the marketplace. Her stomach was growling louder now, and she was of a mind to get pastries and meat pies as well as the stew that Luther wanted.
Luther talked about his day as they walked, and Alanna enjoyed listening to it, laughing when he described the antics of the rest of his party and expressing her interest when he talked about the things they had found. She was sure that the queen would call her in to look at them eventually.
They made it to the marketplace as the rain let up, and they split up, all the better to get their food faster.
At one point she was making small talk with one of the women who sold handmade goods, discussing how she would like to have her own stall there sometime, and she looked up to see Luther watching, a proud smile on his face.
Alanna blushed and ended the conversation before walking over to Luther. "Why the staring?" she asked.
"I just...I love you," Luther said, sounding as awestruck as he always did when he said it.
Alanna couldn't help the smile that spread over her face at the words. "I know," she said. "And I love you, too."
Together, they went home. They ate their food and relaxed, watching something mindless on the screen on the wall. Alanna kept seeing Luther stealing glances at her, and when she finally asked him what he wanted, he just smiled.
“I have everything I want,” he said. “But I wonder...there is a ceremony my people have, when two people who want to be together for the rest of their lives bind themselves to each other. I wonder…”
Alanna laughed, joyful and pleased. She had just been talking to Clio about what people on Lin-Vayel did when they wanted to get married.
“I’d love to,” she said.
Luther looked surprised. “You...you would?”
“Of course I would. I came here with you, didn’t I? I left behind everything else, and I love you. I want to be with you forever.”
Love and satisfaction filled her, the emotions crashing into her and making her feel lighter than she had in a long while. When Luther scooped her up to kiss her thoroughly, she laughed.
This was how it was meant to be.