Chapter 9
"What is this place?" Ariane had seen many wonders during her travel, but the cavern they had emerged into was dazzling. The low ceiling was encrusted with crystals, gleaming in a bright array of colors.
They had come in via some sort of underwater tunnel. The pool they had ended their journey in was quiet, and the roar of the sea now seemed distant, although it could not be far away. "It's beautiful," she added.
"We're under the keep," he explained. As he strode out of the water, his enormous body changed again, compressing to the size and shape of a man. He was nicely made, she noted. Compact, with firm smooth muscles. On closer inspection, she noted that one of his hips was slightly higher than the other. Yes, the lower section of his spine was askew. She had seen this before, in her own world. His was not a severe case. Quite mild, in fact.
She decided she liked it. His body was otherwise perfect—all the proportions were exact, as if the Mother Creator had crafted him as a model, but found at the last moment that his perfection was too godlike—a sure recipe for arrogance. So the Creator's fingers had nudged his spine, shifted the bones and marred in the smallest way the flawlessness of her own creature. Arrogance was an affront to the gods.
"You have the Maker's curse," she called out after him. "Your spine. That is reassuring."
He stopped and slowly turned. The color came up in his cheeks—his skin was paler than hers so she could see this clearly. Had she embarrassed him? Strange how easy it was to embarrass this man. His male appendage was not jutting. Although as she followed him out of the water, it perked up as the sea dragon's had. "Is my scoliosis that noticeable?"
"No, not really. I was looking closely because your body is quite beautiful."
He blushed even more, but he smiled at the same time. "Thank you. So is yours. But why is my twisted spine reassuring? No one has ever told me that before."
"We say in Zanovar that every person bears a curse from the Creator that mars their godlike perfection. Some bear it where all can see, but most keep their imperfection hidden inside. The more deeply it is hidden, the more powerful it grows, and it longs to show itself. But when the mark of the Goddess is plain for all to see, there is no pride, no arrogance, no darkness, no secrecy. More often than not, that will be a person you can trust."
He smiled. "I like that interpretation." The smile changed to a laugh, which was pleasant to her ears. "I'm not sure I believe it, but tis a fine notion." She felt his gaze on her body now, surveying her openly. "I can see no imperfection in you. Should I be alarmed?"
Now she was embarrassed, and embarrassment did not come easily to her. "No imperfection? You must not be looking hard enough. I am too short and small and my skin color has more than the usual amount of red tones. As for my hair, it should be brown like yours, but as you see, it is a pale and boring shade of yellow."
"We call that blonde. In this world, many women dye their hair in an attempt to capture that color."
"Really? Women color their hair in my world, too." She smiled. "I guess vanity is universal."
She knew women who spent a good deal of time primping and polishing, clipping and buffing, painting and decorating their bodies. Unless she was making a formal diplomatic appearance, she rarely worried about how she looked, how she dressed, or the state of her hair. As for cosmetics and body paint, they smeared and washed off in the sea anyway, so what was the point? She did have several tattoos from her sojourn in Sariye, where tattooing was all the rage. But they were small and discreetly located.
"There's a waterproof locker back here," he said, climbing to one of the highest spots in the cavern where she could vaguely see some type of chest. "Kate's idea. We keep towels and dry clothes here. I think there are even women's clothes in here." He opened the chest and rooted around inside it. "If you would like to change out of that remarkable wet suit you're wearing."
She would. Her Traveler's uniform—the one suitable for swimming with sea dragons—would dry on its own rapidly, but the sea here was icy and this was not a hot climate. Warm dry clothing would be welcome.
"Who is Kate?"
"My eldest brother's wife. Ross is the laird of this place. It is an ancient title, not much respected in these modern times. But we are a strange little corner of Scotland, and we hold with many of the old ways."
He gave her garments that were unfamiliar, but easy enough to figure out. Leggings and a separate top with sleeves that closed in the front with a mechanism she had never seen before—something smooth and hard with little teeth that fit into each other, although she wasn't sure how.
"I think there are some underthings here, too, although I don't know if they will fit you." He held out something that looked like a harness and restraint designed for the breasts. For an instant, she just stared at it, wondering what sort of customs they had in this world. One did not restrain one's breasts in Zanovar or Arralon or even in Sariye, unless one was playing some sort of sex game.
As for the other item, she realized where that must go, too. Had she come to a place where everyone hid their genitals, or was it only for women? And what was the point, anyhow, since the other garments he had handed her would cover her flesh completely?
"I don't think I need those undergarments. Unless I would violate your customs to leave them off? I wouldn't want to offend anyone's sensibilities."
"Sensibilities?" He grinned. "Not around here. Outside the castle...well...we'll fret about that when the time comes." His expression grew serious. He gave her a towel to dry herself and did the same to his body. Then he clothed himself in trousers and a top that were exactly like the ones he had given to her, although larger. Did men and women wear the same clothing?
"These are just sweat suits," he said. "We'll find you some better clothing when we get upstairs. And I'll go back to one of my comfy kilts."
They had stopped communicating telepathically upon leaving the water, although she hadn't noticed it until now. He had resumed speaking to her in the Common Tongue.
"What will I find upstairs?" she asked, copying him in donning the garments. She watched closely as he fastened the two sides of the top together and moved a little tab upward toward his throat, sealing the garment. When she tried it herself, though, it wouldn't slide until he showed her how to do it.
"It's called a zipper. Neat, isn't it? You can move it up or down, depending on whether you're too warm."
She experimented with this, finding the mechanism simple but delightful. Not as wondrous as that huge flying machine that had hovered over the beach, but satisfying to her curious soul nonetheless.
"As for what you'll find upstairs, my brothers, mainly. Ross is the eldest. He's married to Kate, who is soon to birth her first child. Ross has a twin, Cameron, who isn't here at the moment, but will probably arrive shortly. My sister might be around, but I doubt it. My younger brother Jack is definitely not at home. I haven't seen him for a while. Our mother lives in Edinburgh—that's the capital city of Scotland. She comes to visit, but she isn't here just now."
"And your father?"
"Our father died about ten years ago. Ross is the head of the family now."
"I am grateful for the way you've been taking care of me. I know I wasn't very coherent when we met. I just—my companion— I've never—" her voice broke off.
She wasn't accustomed to people being so friendly. Usually they wanted or expected something from her. Or else they were intimidated by her status as a Traveler. It had been a long time since anyone had treated her like an ordinary person. That she would find a man who would treat her amiably, especially in a world that was not her own, seemed remarkable. Magical, almost.
"I am happy to be of assistance. But I should warn you." He hesitated. "My brothers, Cam in particular, will not be so welcoming. In fact, he will probably be a dick. Um, an asshole." He screwed up his features. "I'm not teaching you polite language, am I? He will be suspicious of you, and probably unpleasant. But stick with me, lass, and I'll do what I can to protect you. Okay?"
She smiled her assent, not at all sure what he meant about his brother. Perhaps they didn't get along? Well, she was dependent upon Colin for help and protection, at least until she learned to speak whatever native language was used around here.
Although he hadn't explained himself, Colin must have been to her world. Not only did he speak the Common Tongue, but he had also identified her as a Traveler right from the start. She had not known that there were people from other worlds who visited hers, but there was a great deal she had yet to learn from the senior members of the Travelers Guild.