Amazingly, Aloria got through dinner, and dinner finally got though. The whole time Alantha cast glances at her daughter, Clen used his special smile and somehow got Linear talking about how he and Alantha had met, Alantha often interrupting him to add in something he’d left out. Aloria sat quietly, twisting her napkin around her fingers.
“I was on the space station Babylon 5 working as chief advisor and friend to Dlenn, she was the head of the Religion group. She’d fallen in love with the captain of the station so I was usually left alone. I happen to be in the cafeteria‑“
“A bar...” Alantha put in.
“When she just walked up and sat beside me‑“
“More like staggered up, but that’s beside the point...”
“I said hello and she‑“
“You actually said ‘Greetings’, then hiccuped.”
Linear was blushing by the time he finished telling the story. Aloria was stunned, her father had met her mother in a bar... Clen just grinned and Alantha smiled sweetly at her husband.
“What about you two?” Alantha asked Clen and Aloria. “How did you meet?”
“Well, I had gotten trapped by some weird dude in one of those rooms with no time. I guess the others found this dunce and told him he’d be my replacement, I think he was at it for about three thousand years then I came back,” Aloria said.
“We met in a tavern...” Clen said and started telling the story.
When Clen finished speaking, Linear glanced at Aloria and she managed to smiled at him. Alantha started laughing. “What did you do with him after that, Aloria?” Alantha asked.
“I made him clean up my temple,” Aloria remembered what her temple had looked like when she’d come back to it, “It was ruined, I can’t believe people could be so‑ so‑“
“Disruptive? Fiendish? Idiotic?” Clen suggested, well used to her bouts of vocabulary failure.
“Something like that. I don’t know how they did it, but they knocked a hole in the wall that Rose in dragon form could walk though!”
Alantha blinked, “Oh my! Did you punish them?”
“I don’t know when it was done, the wine stains looked pretty old and the dust was pretty much undisturbed. Except where the wind had blown sticks and dirt in...” Aloria said sourly.
“She didn’t treat you too badly did she?” Linear asked Clen.
Clen grinned, “No, she didn’t. In fact I was more of a guest that did housework then a slave. ‘Bout the same thing I do now that I’m her husband, ‘cept for a time I had to help raise children.”
“Children!?” Alantha gasped. “Oh, got any pictures?”
“Yeah,” Clen held out his hand and a stack of pictures appeared in it.
Alantha took them and looked though them, often asking Aloria who, what, and where.
“That’s Cicora when she was eight, for some reason she liked to lock Avlora in the closet...” Alantha snickered.
“About the same thing Waylith did to Lilanna... I haven’t seen the whole family together in one place in who knows how long...” Alantha sighed and looked at another picture. “We need to make a photo album!” she said suddenly.
Clen blinked, “Hey, that sounds good.”
Alantha stood and started clearing the table of dishes, “How about we start on it tomorrow... It is rather late now...” At the mention of the lateness of the night Aloria sniffled a yawn. Clen smiled at her, then turned to Alantha.
“Here, let me help you.” He stood and took some of the dishes and followed Alantha into the kitchen.
Aloria sat uncomfortably and Linear looked over at her, he took a breath to say something but let it out in a soft sigh. He tried to speak again, “He’s very- nice...” Linear suppressed a frown, that didn’t come out well.
Aloria licked her lips, “Yeah, I keep him out of trouble and he- does me...”
That was a rather blunt way to put it. Apparently she was having just as much trouble talking to him as he was to her.
He tried a different track for the conversation, “Your children-”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’ll bet it’s not working,” Aloria interrupted him, stood, and went to the living room.
**
When Clen and Alantha had went into the kitchen they put the dishes up and quietly pretended to wash them while they listened to Linear’s lousy attempt at conversation.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’ll bet it’s not working,” Aloria said and the two eavesdroppers heard her go to another room.
Clen looked at Alantha worriedly, “She’s never done that before...”
“She only does it when she’s around her father. I just don’t get it, I can understand Linear has a hard time trying to figure out some of the things she does. I had that problem with her twin Dlennda but it didn’t get this bad... At least I don’t think it did, I tried my best to understand her, but she always seemed to go to Linear, and Aloria always went to me.”
Clen shook his head, “How much alike are Aloria and Dlennda? Aloria never showed me any pictures of her family...”
Alantha sighed and created a picture of Dlennda. “Oh! Exactly the same... Except that she has a Romidi bone...” Clen said as he looked at it.
“She has one too but prefers to hide it, her not having one also helps us tell the two apart. Unfortunately it also seems like she’s denying her Romidi heritage... Maybe that’s another part of the problem...” Alantha frowned.
“What’s the rest of it?”
“While we were making dinner I got Aloria to tell me why she can’t get along with her father. She said it was his fault because he wanted her to be like Dlennda. She talked me into letting her take care of it but it doesn’t look like she’s going to do that anytime soon. Good thing we have eternity...”
Clen frowned, “I think I want to meet this girl...”
Alantha smiled, “I’m sure she’d be happy to know her sister finally settled down. If you come over tomorrow I’ll take you over there.”
“Okay,” Clen smiled back then tossed a spell at the sink, instantly washing and drying the dishes.
“Thank you,” Alantha said and hugged him.
“Humm, I actually like you. That’s pretty weird because you’re my mother-in-law...” They laughed and stepped back into the dining room, Linear quickly wiped the desolate expression off his face and stood.
“I think we’d better get going. See you tomorrow,” Clen said shook Linear’s hand and kissed Alantha’s cheek. Aloria was staring gloomily at the wall when Clen stepped into the living room.
“We can go now,” he whispered to her.
She turned and walked out the front door and into the street. Clen followed her and when he caught up to her, he put his arms around her. “I’m sorry about your father, I just thought you had a mild dislike for him but-”
“But I do-” she swallowed, “love him, it’s just that...”
“Just that he can’t accept you as you are,” Clen finished for her.
“Mom told you didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did. Even if she hadn’t I would have figured it out anyway.” She tried to get away from him but he tightened his hold.
“Would you let me go?” she asked with an edge in her voice. Clen sighed, kissed her, then let her go. She almost ran back to their house, leaving Clen standing in the street alone. He started walking slowly, leaving Aloria to herself, he knew when she needed time alone.
A man walked up to Clen, “Hello. Where did Aloria go?”
“Home, she wasn’t in a very good mood,” Clen responded, knowing instantly that this was the man that had been bugging Aloria before.
“Aw, that’s too bad. Are you really her husband?” the man asked.
“Yes, we were married about fifty years ago, counting the years I was alive and she wasn’t...”
“Why did she marry you?” there was a slight sneer in the man’s voice.
“Because she was ready to. You see, that’s the whole thing, timing. If you ask an Emelet to marry you when they just started their job then they’ll say no. If you ask them after they’ve been around a couple million years they’ll say yes and throw themselves in your arms.”
“I never had a chance!” said the man horrified.
“Perhaps that was for the best, it’s very hard being married to an Emelet. I can’t just hide her when I don’t want people to know I’m married... She also doesn’t like sitting on a pedestal, she may be Emelet of air but she gets afraid of heights...” Clen smiled at the man though he couldn’t see it.
“I didn’t tell you my name... I am King Albert, or was. When I died I chose to look twenty. Aloria kept a witch from putting me in a can when I was a prince so I-”
Clen cut the king off with laughter, “A witch tried to put you in a can?”
“Yes, she was the Wicked Witch Refrige in the forest Rator...” Albert said, his voice packed with hatred, probably for the witch Refrige of Rator.
Clen glanced up the street toward his house, “Aloria probably wants my company now... I’d better go before she does something she shouldn’t...”
“Okay,” King Albert said and walked away. Clen went at a slightly faster pace and when he got into the house Aloria was standing at the door, she looked as if she was about to go out looking for him.
He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped her face then held her close, she put her head on his shoulder. “I’m going to go back tomorrow, Alantha said she’d take me to Dlennda’s place...”
Aloria sighed, “I’d better not go with you, you may end up getting us confused.”
“No, I want you to be there so I can compare you two. How about we talk about this in the morning?” Clen said then lifted Aloria into his arms and carried her up the stairs. He laid her in the bed and removed her clothing then removed his.
He crawled into bed beside her, pulled the covers around them and turned out the light, she rolled into his arms and put her head on his shoulder again. After a moment her breathing slowed and Clen knew she was asleep. He took a moment to savor the pleasure of having her in his arms again then fell asleep.
**
Clen reached out in his sleep to find Aloria and when he didn’t find her he woke up. Opening his eyes he saw it was still dark out. Where was Aloria? She was supposed to be there!
His mind started imagining all sorts of things, the most common thing was that his death had been a dream, he couldn’t see because it was so dark so he couldn’t tell if he was in his forest cottage or what.
He sat up in bed and tried his voice, “Aloria?” there was no answer. “Aloria?” he called a little louder. Still no answer, it was a dream, he hadn’t died, his being with Aloria was all a dream...
The bathroom door opened, “What Clen?”
He jumped out of bed and pulled Aloria into his arms, “Aloria!”
“What’s wrong, Clen?” she asked surprised by his tone of voice, he had been relieved when she’d answered his call.
“I-oh Aloria...” tears ran down his cheeks as he thought of when she’d died.
Aloria could feel the tears fall on her shoulder and knew she should reassure him that everything was alright and get what was wrong out of him later.
She hugged him tightly, “It’s alright,” she whispered and wished she knew what was wrong.
“I reached out for you and I couldn’t find you... I thought it had all been a dream, you weren’t there...”
Aloria suddenly realized he hadn’t told her everything that had happened while he was still alive, she caressed his hair, “Clen, I’m here, don’t worry...” in her mind she promised him she would never leave the bed unless he was awake. She pulled him back into the bed and continued to reassure him that she was there. Eventually he fell asleep again and she made sure she laid within his reach.
**
When he woke he looked over and saw Aloria was also awake, he remembered how she used to get up early and make breakfast. He looked at her puzzled and she smiled and got up. There was a slightly pitying look in her eyes.
“What- why-” he couldn’t think of the question he wanted to ask but he tried.
“Last night... I don’t want to scare you like that again, so I won’t...” she said and started getting dressed.
He sat up and stared at her, “You don’t have to do that...”
“Yes I do, because I love you. And because my death scared you, I don’t want to hurt you by reminding you of it... Wish I could remember...”
Clen blinked, “Remember what?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t remember how you died!” he said astonished and tried to hold back the pain of thinking about it.
Aloria didn’t look at him, just sighed and brushed her hair. Clen took a deep breath and started to tell her what happened.
**
It was around midday, a beautiful day, slightly cold with a strong wind. The kind of day Aloria liked, she had changed into a dragon and was doing amazing tricks in the air. Clen was sitting on one of the many porches that poked out of the back side of the temple to air on Severt. There was a door that connected to any other temple in all the universes, that was why they had chosen to live the rest of their lives there.
There did happen to be a giant Cyclops that lived somewhere in the hills and mountains that surrounded the temple but he didn’t usually bother the people in the cities and towns.
Clen smiled as Aloria did a complex twist-flip-dive. It was amazing she had so much energy at her age but then she had been an Emelet. When she was in human form she looked no less beautiful than she had when they first met, even if her skin was sagging...
Clen didn’t feel as old as he really was either, or as old as he looked. As he watched Aloria do another series of flips, dives and twirls something lifted it’s head out of the mountains. It roared, showing large pointed teeth and it followed Aloria’s movements with it’s one eye.
Aloria stopped her tricks and looked over at the Cyclops, then tweeted an insult at it, then went on with her air show. Instead of going away, the Cyclops thundered forward and tried to catch Aloria. She darted away and screeched more insults.
It grew enraged and finally caught her. She should have turned to air as soon as it touched her but she wasn’t as fast as she had once been and it got it’s large fingers around her and squeezed.
She lost control of her shape and changed back into human and screamed. The Cyclops peered at her then threw her against the temple wall. Clen sent a few death spells at the Cyclops then changed into as large a dragon he could manage and attacked the weakened the Cyclops.
It eventually fell over dead, Clen said the sacrifice spell, landed, changed back to human and ran over to Aloria. She had hit the wall rather hard and had stuck there for a moment before gravity caught her again and pulled her down to the ground.
She was a bloody mess, there was no hope of her recovering. She stared at him then moved her lips as if to speak but her lungs were crushed, she didn’t have the breath to speak with. She went limp, her eyes still open.
Tears fell onto her bloody face and made small clean streaks. Clen reached out and closed her eyes then picked her up. He carried her into the temple and laid her on the altar. Behind him the Wandering Monks stepped into the temple. They knew instantly that the body Clen was crying over was that of Aloria.
He took a breath and started speaking the sacrifice spell but he was too choked up in grief for it to work. The Monks spoke the spell softly, lending Clen their power.
Clen didn’t turn to see who had helped him, he just staggered though the door that led to the maze of halls. The Monks arranged themselves on the floor then started chanting prayers to help Clen though his grief and to give him strength to live a little while longer.
**
Aloria sighed and shook her head. She went over and sat next to the trembling Clen. She put her arms around him and he pressed his face to her chest, allowing her to reassure him. “I’m sorta glad I wasn’t able to remember it...” she remarked as she rocked him gently.
He soon calmed down and Aloria finished getting dressed. She then went down to the kitchen and started making breakfast while he got a shower and got dressed.
After breakfast, Aloria cast a spell to braid her hair, “Now Clen, remember, I’m the one with the braided hair and no Romidi bone. When Dlennda and I were little the only way to tell us apart was by our grades in school and my having my hair braided.” He smiled and kissed her, trying to get the memory of her death out of his head.
Aloria saw his telling her about her death was going to probably affect his mood for the rest of the day so she considered her options, she could let him have some fun with her for an hour or two then go or just send a message to her mother that he didn’t feel well. Aloria pushed the second option away, her mother would think it was her cooking or something and get upset and have to come over and see how ‘not well’ he was.
Clen was looking at the floor so she unbuttoned the front of her dress, took his hand and let him realize what she was up to. He looked over at her and sighed, “I don’t feel like it right now...”
Aloria gave him the ‘oh yeah right’ look and kissed him passionately. He eventually got into the kiss and enjoyed himself for a time. When he finished he smiled at her, “You sure have me figured out...” he picked up his clothes and put them back on, she did the same.
“Thank you for the compliment,” she said and kissed him. She then led him back to her parent’s house and before she could knock Alantha opened the door.
“What took you so long?” Alantha asked then stepped out of her house and shut the door, “Linear is already over there,” she explained the absence of her husband.
“Clen wasn’t in a good mood when he woke up, I had to help him a bit,” Aloria said then winked at her mother.
Alantha looked from Aloria to Clen. He coughed slightly and looked down at the ground. “Alright... I don’t think I wanted to know that, but let’s get going.” Alantha started walking and the other two followed her.
