Neutral Space(25)

“Another discipline thing?”

“No, I just never liked it much.”

“Just one glass with dinner. Your uncle sent this for us.” She relented and finally and took a drink. “Not bad,” she commented.

I sampled it as well. The wine was heavier and had more body; it was as if I could taste the foreign soil in the wine. “Quite nice, actually. Your uncle knows what he’s doing; the people back home would love it.”

“And this started as a human drink?”

“Thousands of years ago,” I assured her. She nodded and scooped out what I thought were noodles on her plate.

“Do you know what this is, Jackson?”

“Don’t tell me, Kheda; I like it, so let's just leave it at that.” She laughed but agreed.

She had quite a few glasses of wine that night and ended up drunk. No one told me Kelsairans metabolized alcohol poorly. I carried her to bed and helped her undress. I moved to pull my t-shirt over her head, but she didn’t want to put it on. She pulled me close instead and snuggled into my arms. She lay there a long time in my arms with her skin against mine.

It was then that I began to notice the scars she carried. Small cuts from fist and knife fights mostly. But on her left shoulder, she had a scar from being shot. I kissed it, but she didn’t respond she was already asleep. It was that night that I told myself I would ask her for help in learning to fight. I had a feeling we’d be crossing paths with many more Kelsairans, and I needed to at least be able to help her. When she was fast asleep, I finally pulled my t-shirt over her head and got ready to sleep myself.





Chapter 10





K



heda woke me the next morning in a pleasant mood, and it surprised me. I expected she’d have a hangover. She looked down at me, and something was different. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and tried to make my sluggish brain work. “You hate it don’t you?” she asked. Finally, I figured it out her hair was brown with a hint of red.

“No, I just have a terrible headache. I thought you’d be the same way.” I sat up an rubbed my head.

Kheda shook her head, “Kelsairans don’t get hangovers. Do you like it then?”

“You look lovely, but I didn’t think Kelsairans dyed their hair either.”

“We don’t. This is my natural color.” She saw that I was confused. “I bleached it many of us do in the army. It breeds superstition, or at least the government says it does.”

“Maybe I should check to be sure it matches,” I said suggestively.

“Matches what?” She had no idea what I meant.

“The rest of your hair.”

“I never touched my eyebrows.” She thought a moment and smiled. “Jackson, I don’t have hair there. Only males do, is it different with humans?”

“Apparently.”

“Now I know you were behaving on Micea. Do you want to see?”

“No, I already have enough problems keeping my imagination in check.” I was frustrated, and I didn’t mean for her to see, but she did just the same.

She sat down beside me on the bed. “I will marry you soon, Jackson, I promise. Can I do anything in the meantime?” I couldn’t believe she was asking me this. Apparently, she and her aunt had more than a chat. For some reason, though, I couldn’t ask anything of her.

“No, I’m fine really.”

“Jackson, I wouldn’t mind,” she started, and I stopped her. There was something about the fact that she was still a virgin that bothered me. I wanted her to stay innocent until she was ready not change because she knew I was getting frustrated. Besides, this was the woman I decided to spend the rest of my life with; I didn’t want her doing anything she’d regret or even dislike later in life. “All right then; we should get started on your hair.”

“What are you doing to my hair?”

“I thought you’d like to be the blond for a while.” I looked at her a moment and then realized she had a point. Our descriptions, if not our pictures, would be everywhere. Finally, I relented and got out of bed.

It took nearly an hour for her to bleach my hair and give it a quick trim. When I finally thought she was through it, she pulled out two small round plastic cases. “What are you doing now?” I asked, getting worried.

“You can’t go to Vali as a human.”

“I’m good enough to marry but not be seen in public with?” I grabbed her and pulled her into my lap.

“Jackson, it’s a necessity. The shape modulator will only change your form. It can’t change coloring.” I unscrewed the lid and saw two opaque blue discs inside.

“What are those?”

“They will change your eye color. Ceron’s have unique eyes and your build and coloring is close enough.”

“They go in my eyes?” I set her back on her feet.

“Of course,” She smiled.

I held her at arm's length, “Kheda, I don’t know.”

She went to the sink and washed her hands. “Just tilt your head back and hold still.” I did as she asked and she put one of the discs in my eye.

“It stings.” I jumped.

“Baby,” She scolded, “just give it a second.” I blinked a few times, and it didn’t bother me anymore. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know it was there. “Now the other.” She put the other in and it wasn’t as bad. Then she switched on the shape modulator. My skin tingled. It didn’t really change one’s shape just altered the light field around it to give the appearance that it had. Kheda’s unit was expensive and likely government issued. She looked from this angle and that and even dragged me outside before she was satisfied. Then she handed me a mirror. “Well, what do you think?”