We walked in silence for about ten minutes. “My name
is Dylan. What is your name?” I asked the woman.
“Vet hyaxt yuben?” Nano asked.
“Dyeba,” the woman said. “Hyaxt hon?” she asked me.
I didn’t know if I could pronounce it, but Dyeba was
probably her name, and so I bet she was asking mine in return. “Dylan.”
“Didyan?” she asked, completely mispronouncing my
name.
Nano burst out laughing. I’d been called worst.
“Close enough, yes.”
“Yes is suko, no is swiyo,” he said when he could
stop laughing enough to speak. He said something to Dyeba and I heard him
intentionally mispronounce my name the way she had. “Now, we’re about to go into
Kor’s biggest town. The Dios people are aware of foreigners, as in people from
other worlds, but in some city’s, they’re uncomfortable. They may give you odd
looks or stare at you. Some are scared of diseases that they believe foreigners
carry. If they find out you’re human, you may be treated like you have small
pox, because we’ve heard how you use diseases in war.”
I scrutinized Dyeba, who looked perfectly human to
me. “How can they tell that I’m a foreigner?” I asked.
His eyes widened as if I asked the stupidest question
ever. We arrived at a dark stairway, which Nano started up without hesitation.
Dyeba waited patiently for me and I made a motion for her to go ahead, but she
smiled and grabbed my arm, pulling me along with her. “Kokioset.” So, once again,
a woman led me confused and unresisting into the darkness.
The stairs were steep and stone, and finally opened
to a city. A dim one, but well populated. The city reminded me of an old
kingdom, with a cobblestone ground and very tall stone walls. It almost seemed
to open into the night sky without stars. The kingdom was lit with torches
against the walls and on long poles throughout the room. There were hallways,
stairs leading to higher decks, and doors. As they opened and closed I could
see many of the doors were to shops. Of the ones I could see into, one was an
armory, another was a pub, and another had old books. The sound of people,
animals, and running water gave the city an old, medieval atmosphere.
The people all looked human. Most men wore drab,
brown robes with hoods, making them look like shady travelers, or light body
armor, like guards who were on and off duty so often they dressed for somewhere
in the middle. Most women, on the other hand, wore long dresses of silks and
colorful cotton. Little girls seemed to mimic the women’s clothes, while the
boys wore what I would call Amish play-clothes, and none of the children were
spotless.
Dyeba slid her hand down my arm and into my hand.
Nano acknowledged our clasped hands suspiciously. “I don’t think Divina would
like you hanging all over Dyeba while she’s gone.”
Dyeba had an unsure, worried expression and loosened
her grip, not quite letting go. I squeezed her hand gently. “We’re not hanging
all over each other. She feels safe with me. Besides, it’s not like Divina will
ever look twice at me. I’m like a kid to her.”
“Everyone is like a child to her. At the same time,
she’s a child herself. It’s how her mind works. You can’t compare it to ours;
she’s a woman. Don’t take offence. Divina needs a connection, and believe it or
not, the last time I met with her, she wouldn’t shut up about you. You should
give it a chance. And be careful who you kiss, because she
will
know.”
“Don’t women always?”
Dyeba said something, looking around with a worried
expression.
“Skete,” Nano said. “Let’s go, we have a long trip
ahead of us.”
Nano led us up a set of wide steps. Most of this area
was more of the same, except that at one wall was a huge doorway with a crest.
Behind the metal crest were majestic, engraved wings.
Guards flanked the door, two on each side. I expected
them to come investigate us and Nano to convince them to let us in. Instead,
the door burst open and a little boy, about eight or nine, came running out.
The guards’ shock turned to uncertainty as the boy hugged Nano like a
long-lost-father and then spoke excitedly for several minutes before Nano could
get a word in edgewise.
Nano turned to me. “This is my grandson, Ket. His
parents work a lot, so I’ve taken him traveling a few times.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ket said, in perfect English. He
held out his hand.
My eyes were wide as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet
you, too.”
“I’ve been teaching him the languages and cultures of
other worlds, including English.”
A woman walked through the doors and the guards
followed her as she approached until they surrounded us. She talked quietly
with Nano. Unlike Ket, this woman had an elegant, refined nature. Both Ket and
the woman ignored the guards, but Dyeba was clinging to my side and had my arm
in a death grip.
“It’s okay. If Nano trusts them, they have to be good
people. He’s afraid of Edward, and Edward would eat him if he gets me killed
after everything Edward went through to keep me safe.”
“I’m not afraid of your master’s wrath. I’m afraid of
Divina’s,” Nano said, as if Divina was so much more frightening. “And she
doesn’t know what you’re saying. She doesn’t speak English.”
“I know that, but she understands my calming tone.”
“You know, if you pick up a pet or friend everywhere
you go, Kiro will lock you in his cabin and never let you out. He’s going to
have a fit when he finds you with a naowen. Divina will have a fit if you try
to bring back a woman.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not collecting women or pets. And
Shinobu’s harmless, like a little kitten.”
Nano started laughing so hard the woman backed up in
alarm while Ket looked like he didn’t know what to do. “Harmless! That’s
hilarious! You should say that to Kiro!”
“Edward.”
“Whatever. Mai, Ket, this is Dylan. Dylan, this is my
daughter Mai. We don’t have caste titles like sago do.”
“Didyan?” Mai asked, just like Dyeba had.
“It takes a long time for us to learn the ‘l’ sound.
Ket?”
“Dallen.”
“That’s pretty good,” I said. Ket beamed.
“There are many sounds in the English language we
have trouble with,” Nano said.
“I get the feeling you all are better with ancient
Hebrew. But Hebrew has an ‘l’ sound.”
“We learn the languages of other worlds, but we have
sounds you don’t know, and your mind is probably trying to form it into
something you do know. It’s a trait of a Guardian, and it’ll help you learn
other languages.”
Dyeba asked him something, but it was Mai who took
her arm. Dyeba held me tighter, but Mai was insisting.
“What’s happening?” I asked Nano.
“Dyeba was asking what was happening, and Mai is
taking her in to see the king. I explained to Mai a little about the situation
and she wants me to wait until Dyeba can tell the king what she heard. Dyeba
doesn’t think he’ll believe her.”
Mai gave up and let go of Dyeba. “But he’ll believe
her if you say so, right?”
“I wasn’t the one she told. I believe both of you
fine, but you were the one she showed the memory to, and she’s not allowed to
touch the king. As the Guardian of Earth, your statement is the one he’ll
either believe or not. You’re not trying to get him to help you, only to
protect her until we can inform the High King.”
“Why not take her with us?”
“Tis not going to be an easy trip.”
“She’s not a delicate little flower.”
Nano and Mai led the way through the door into what
looked like a medieval castle. The inside was open with a high ceiling and
surprisingly extravagant glass chandeliers, but it was illuminated with
candles, not lightbulbs. While the ceiling and walls were stone, the floor was
dark wood.
We were greeted by what I suppose were servants who
led us into a larger room with a huge wooden table. The hefty table was covered
with crudely painted stone and metal dinnerware that would make a housewife
cringe. Numerous plates with silver dome lids caused my stomach to growl, for I
hadn’t eaten since the meat kabobs on Duran. Traveling must be harsh on the
stomach.
“We’re being invited to dinner,” Nano said.
“What does dinner consist of?”
“Mostly bread, vegetables, fruits, and grilled fish.”
“Sounds healthy, but I’m hungry so I’ll eat it,” I
said. I was suspicious as to how produce could be grown underground, but I
assumed it was accomplished with magic.
We sat down, Nano on one side of me and Dyeba on the
other. She finally let go of my arm, apparently assured she wasn’t about to be
arrested. There were about a dozen men and women at the table as well as a few
children, but nobody touched the bounty before them. While the plates weren’t
exactly extravagant, I was hungry enough to eat whatever extraterrestrial
concoction that was placed in front of me.
A man walked in with Mai and they both joined Ket,
who was eagerly chatting away to a bored looking woman. The woman gave Mai a
false smile, to which Mai returned an equally cold and calculating grin. When
they sat down, Mai pointed me and Dyeba out to the man, who waved her to
silence and stared at me.
“Nano. That guy looks like he wants to cut my head
off,” I whispered.
“Yes, that’s Kun, the king, and he looks like that
all the time.”
“He has a naturally fierce expression?”
“No, he wants to cut everyone’s head off.”
“And he is a good guy why? Why do you trust him to
bring Dyeba here? Or to leave him with your family?”
“He is Mai’s husband. Of course that means he’s a
good guy; my daughter would never have married an unsuitable man.”
Most fathers couldn’t say that about their daughters
with a straight face and a shot gun in their hand. Maybe in this culture, young
women are super wise and responsible and have no interest in bad boys…
Now
who can’t keep a straight face?
Everyone waited while the king loaded first his, then
his wife’s plate. That he was taking his dear sweet time seemed to be the norm,
for the adults watched with patience and the children followed his every move
as if afraid he would take it all and leave them hungry. Everyone finally
started helping themselves. Mai loaded up Ket’s plate, making sure to give him
enough veggies to make his face turn green. Most of the parents were filling
their child’s plate, so when Nano started to reach for my plate, I quickly
picked it up and helped myself.
Nano had to stop me from getting what I thought was
blueberries, saying that Divina told him I was allergic to it. Instead, he
highly recommended something I could only describe as plant jerky. I stuck with
what looked safe; noodles, bread, and fish.
The fish was really dry, so I dipped it in the red
sauce my noodles were in. The half dozen adults who saw this started laughing
while the children squealed in delight and started dipping their own fish. Nano
looked to see what all the fuss was about and groaned.
“What did I do now?” I huffed.
“What is a very fancy, proper food on your world?” he
asked.
“Caviar, sword fish, Kobe beef…”
“What would you think if you saw someone dipping one
of those in ketchup?” At this point, the parents had lost their mirth and were
trying to stop their children from dipping. “I bring you into a king’s home and
you unravel the order and obedience in the family structure.”
“At home, I make food that children scream at their
parents to have.” I wasn’t bragging about it; I felt guilty working at a
fast-food place. “Most kids will eat bugs if they were dipped in ketchup.”
“Ronez told me often of cultures on Earth that ate
bugs.”
“Well, Scottish cuisine was based on a dare, like ‘I
dare you to eat that.’ I had a friend from China who said that the only thing
Chinese people didn’t eat with legs were chairs.”
“I don’t see a problem with either statement.
Obviously, both cultures understand the value of utilizing their resources. You
wouldn’t believe what we had to survive on when we first migrated underground.”
I pushed my plate away… then I gave in and finished
my food.
Before long, we were both done and ready to leave.
Nano went to talk to the king about Dyeba staying. I could tell that Mai was
not happy about it, but her husband approached me. He spoke in his language,
his voice deep enough and his poster rigid enough that I understood he was
trying to intimidate me.
“Tell him what you saw and I will translate. My
son-in-law is not smart enough or wise enough to learn any foreign languages,”
Nano said.
I gave the king my kindest smile and spoke to Nano.
“It’s lovely to know that the people with power are idiots here. Makes me feel
homesick.
“Dyeba was wandering in the hallways until she ran
into two huge mountains. Said mountains were discussing something quietly, and
the bigger one was saying the smaller one ruined their plans. Dyeba crouched
behind the door to hide, but continued listening. They started talking about a
hidden passage to the king’s chambers and something to do with assassins. The smaller
mountain said something about a horrible beast, but the other one said the
beasts were a myth. Then Dyeba got caught.”
Nano finished translating and the king tried to stare
me down. I glared right back; I wasn’t cowering to a stranger even if he was a
king here, when I did nothing wrong.
Finally, the king snarled out an answer and walked
away. Dyeba smiled, hugged me, and kissed me on the cheek. She was pretty, but
not my type, so it was easy to say goodbye to her. Nano led us out.
We walked through town for a few minutes before
coming to two large, wooden gates. Matching guards stood on either side. With a
nod to Nano, they both pulled the gates open to reveal the mouth of a cave. One
pedestrian rushed forward to bow and hand me a torch, speaking reverently
before dashing off to help the other women transport fabric.