Galatzi World (Galatzi Trade Book 2) Read online

  "It's good," I said. "My favorite." I patted my stomach. "Num!"

  Martha turned to me. She gestured to her slice of fruit. "Garleen."

  "Yes."

  "Garleen good?"

  "Yes."

  She took another bite, chewing carefully, and then she popped the rest into her mouth. She smiled around it. "Garleen good."

  Father and I smiled broadly.

  They both refused to each try any other foods. Then Everett went through a lengthy pantomime. It took several minutes before Father realized, "They are afraid the food is bad for them."

  "It's garleen. How can it be bad?"

  "I don't know, but do you remember when those traders came from Masaline, and we tried the food they brought."

  "I got so sick!"

  "My eldest daughter, these people come from much, much further than Masaline. Even our best foods could make them sick."

  "What do they want, Father?" I asked.

  "I don't know," he said. "But I think it's going to be very interesting to find out."

  And so we continued to teach them more words. Words for things were easy to teach. We simply pointed or touched the thing and spoke the word several times. I was amazed at how quickly they learned. Once they knew a word, we didn't need to teach them again.

  Other words were harder. How do you pantomime more or less? Fast or slow? Here and there? Near and far? But Everett and Martha were insistent on learning words, and the four of us took turns acting out words as best we could, going in a circle to teach more words, and more.

  We taught them for hours. But then the afternoon grew late, and it was time to invite them to our home. It took ten minutes before they understood the offer. Then they spoke quickly in their own language for several minutes before turning to us.

  "Good," Martha said, standing up. "We eat. We more talk."

  * * * *

  The strangers remained for two years. And then one day they came to us. "Tomorrow we go," Martha said.

  "You're leaving?"

  "Yes," she said. "But others come. One year. Two years. Others come."

  We held one more dinner, and they stayed late. I had more wine than I might normally, enough to take away my fears, but not enough to be stupid. It became time for them to return to their ship, but I asked Martha if she would talk to me for a few minutes.

  "Few minutes," she said. "Yes."

  I took her by the hand, and I led her to my room. She hesitated at the door. "Chaladine?"

  "I wish to teach you one more word," I said. I pulled her into my room. She went hesitatingly. I had a twinge, worried she didn't like me. But we had been friends.

  "Will I see you again?"

  "No," she said. "I sorry. Good friends." And she hugged me tightly, then pushed me away by my shoulders, staring into my eyes. "One day you good Vendart be."

  I smiled. "Thank you." I paused. "Martha..."

  "What wrong, Chaladine? Tell me."

  "I-" I moved a little closer, crowding her a little, but she didn't retreat. She smiled hesitatingly. "Martha, may I touch you?"

  "Touch?"

  I reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Touch," I said. I moved closer and put a hand on her arm. "Touch."

  "Oh," she said. "Touch."

  "Do you and Everett touch?"

  She looked at me, then down at my hand, then over to my bed, "No, Chaladine. Everett and I no touch."

  "Do you touch anyone else?" That was too hard for her. "Who Martha touch?"

  "I no touch," she said. "Chaladine." She glanced at the bed. "Bad idea."

  "Not that," I said. "Small touch." I caressed her face, and she let me, but she didn't caress back. "Tomorrow you leave. Small touch."

  "Small touch," she agreed. And then she caressed my face in return.

  "Do you touch men or women?"

  She cocked her head. "Sometimes men, sometimes women. No one long time." She glanced at the bad. "Small touch only," she said. "Bed bad idea."

  I moved closer, and I pulled her arms around my waist. She smiled, but she looked nervous. "One more word," I said. "Kiss." I pulled her closer.

  She may have been from a different world, and we had learned our cultures were very different. But kissing was something we had in common. Martha knew how to kiss, and she didn't hold back, either.

  But then she separated our mouths and pulled my head until I laid it upon her shoulder. "Good kiss," she said. "Sweet Chaladine."

  She whispered to me in her own words for a while, and neither of us released the other. Then she switched to Talmonese words again. "So hard talk," she said. "Sorry."

  I only squeezed her more tightly. "Take me with," I told her.

  "No!" She pushed me away. "Sorry. Cannot. You stay."

  We stared into each others' eyes, and I wondered if she was angry. I looked down. "I stay," I sighed. When I pulled on her, she let me pull her back into my arms, and again we held each other.

  "Sweet Chaladine," she said again. "Good friend. Good kiss. Good hold."

  "Good kiss," I agreed. "Good hold."

  We held each other for several more minutes, then she separated and looked around my room. She took my hand and pulled me to my love seat. "Sit," she ordered, and together we sat. She didn't release my hand, and then she took the other. "You listen."

  I nodded.

  "You sweet. You good." She tapped my chest. "Baardorid good. Valtine good. Rordano and Margotain good."

  "Martha good," I said.

  "Yes. Martha good. All Talmon good. But..." She looked away for a moment, but she didn't release my hands. Then she turned back. "Star people good. Star people bad. Bad star people look good, talk good. Bad. Understand?"

  "No."

  She sighed. "Chaladine kiss good. Chaladine good here." She tapped my chest, then took my hand again. "All Talmon good. Star people not good all. Sound good. Act good. Not good."

  "Martha good."

  "Yes. But Martha leave. Others come. Then others more. First others come good. Second others come, good? Not good? Martha not know. Chaladine not know. Chaladine careful be!" She tapped my chest. "Careful careful careful be!"

  And then I understood.

  "No kiss bad others come," Martha said. "No hold bad others."

  "Oh Martha," I said. "I understand. I careful."

  She smiled. "Good. Hold you again."

  I moved into her arms, and we cuddled on the sofa. She kissed me again, very tenderly, and we both sighed. And then, a minute or two later, she was gone.

  I never saw her again. But I remembered what she told me, and after that, when more star people came, I was very, very careful.

  If I'd been only a little less careful, maybe Sartine wouldn't have taken Cecilia from me.

  Congress

  But Sartine did take Cecilia away. And then, late the following summer, she returned from the heavens. Erica and Mallory told us what had happened. At first, we were shocked; we thought she understood. We thought she wanted Sartine.

  She hadn't wanted me, but we had thought she wanted Sartine.

  Erica and Mallory told us they didn't think Cecilia would be back. They said she was terribly, terribly upset. She hadn't been taken willingly, and father would have let Sartine take me before letting her have Cecilia, if we'd understood how badly she didn't want to go.

  The Empire had come for her, had found her in Indartha, and had taken her back from Sartine.

  Erica and Mallory used the word "rescued".

  I had felt bad when Sartine had taken her, because I had wanted her. Well, I had wanted her to want me. And so my heart broke watching Sartine take her away, and it didn't hurt that she'd been crying. I thought it was because she was going to miss her friends, but Mallory told me it was because father and I had betrayed her so badly.

  And so I felt much worse, knowing how she felt. I'd thought she understood. I thought she welcomed it. We all thought she had welcomed it.

  But then she came back, although we didn't know i
t was she. We knew the big ship had come back, and we knew they left another ship behind, a smaller ship, but still it seemed so big to us. Then Blaine delivered a note that said, "The imperial envoy requests an audience with Baardorid, Vendart of Sudden, and his eldest daughter, Chaladine." It specified a time two days hence and was very formal.

  At the appointed time, the entire imperial delegation arrived at our doors, all dressed in the formal attire of the empire. There were no smiles waiting for us when we opened our doors.

  We knew eight of them, but there was a new woman amongst them, a tiny woman a year or two younger than I was. She had the palest skin and pure white hair. Her eyes were purple, a color we had never seen before. She said nothing, but by her response, we thought she might understand our language.

  We greeted them, and it was Mallory who spoke for the delegation. She thanked us for receiving them, but she didn't introduce the new imperial envoy.

  How could someone so young and freshly arrived to our planet be the leader of people who were older and had been here longer?

  We escorted them to the dining hall. A table waited for us complete with refreshments for our guests. We hadn't expected the entire delegation, but when Father directed the attendants to make adjustments, the new governor immediately said, "No," then spoke in English to Mallory.

  She had understood father, and he hadn't pitched his words for a member of The Empire. She shouldn't have understood; none of the other space visitors had understood.

  "The envoy requests you send everyone else away," Mallory said. "The envoy will introduce herself, and then the rest of us will be leaving as well."

  This was odd, but Father did what was requested, and then the envoy stepped forward. She hadn't offered a handclasp yet, and we hadn't heard her name.

  But as soon as I heard her voice, I knew this woman.

  "I did not expect you to recognize me." And it was Cecilia Grace's voice. My jaw dropped. "Yes, Chaladine. I am Cecilia." She turned to Madge. "Explain as little as possible."

  Then she stepped away, walking to a window to stare outside.

  Neither Father nor I knew what to make of this. It took Madge some time to explain, and even then, we didn't understand. All we really understood was that the empire knew great medicine, and we were now seeing the results.

  But I understood. Cecilia had felt so abused by Sartine that she had completely remade herself into a woman no one would recognize.

  Mallory moved to Cecilia, standing by the windows, and I didn't hear what they said to each other, but they stood with Mallory's arm around Cecilia. Finally, Cecilia said, "If they believe, you may all go. I'll be fine." She still spoke with her accent, a little different from the other star people, but it was Cecilia's voice, even if nothing else was the same.

  Erica and Mallory spoke quietly with her for a moment, and then they all filed out. She stood by the window for another minute before she turned to us.

  "Do you believe I am who I say I am?" I asked. "Or do I need to convince you? Do I need to talk about how betrayed I felt knowing you sold me like one might sell a cow?"

  "Cecilia-" Father started to say.

  "Shut up," she said, and I had never heard her sound so harsh. "I liked you!" she said. "I liked both of you. I trusted you. There are very few people I have ever trusted like I trusted the two of you. My parents, my sister, a few others. I trusted you more than the other members of my delegation. It never would have occurred to me you would sell me!"

  "We didn't sell you," I said, but Father put a hand on my arm and said, "Cecilia Grace, we are deeply sorry. We thought this was something you wanted."

  "You knew my understanding of Talmonese was flawed!" she yelled. "You knew how much I understood and how much I didn't. You should have said something clearly. Something!"

  She yelled. She yelled for a very long time. I've seen people this angry before, but I had never seen Cecilia angry, and she was so angry she was quivering. She lost her Talmonese several times, yelling in English, and her white face grew blotchy and red at one point.

  Father simply apologized, over and over, and agreed with her, nudging me to do the same.

  I felt horrible, absolutely horrible. We hadn't meant to hurt her. Didn't she understand that? We thought she understood. We thought she welcomed Sartine's advances.

  Finally, she wound down, growing still. She looked back and forth between us, panting heavily, and we watched as she drew herself under control. It took her some time, and none of us said a thing while she did so.

  She walked back to the window, and still Father and I waited. After a time, she turned back towards us.

  "You did not intend to hurt me," she said. "You thought I understood. You thought I agreed." She took a breath. "I accept your apologies, and I apologize for my own behavior today. You deserved some of it, but not as much as I unleashed."

  "As you said," Father replied, "You felt betrayed. We accept your apology, Cecilia Grace."

  "I'm sorry, Cecilia," I said. "You don't know how it broke my heart to watch you leave with her."

  She sighed. "You know the worst part?" she asked. "After you asked for a galatzi trade, I began to consider it. I was going to pursue it, after Sartine left, if you both still wanted one. Not to protect you; I would do that anyway. I will still do that." She shook her head, not saying further.

  "You... you wanted me?" I asked her.

  "I started thinking about it," she replied. She spoke quietly. "It doesn't matter. Thank you for the apologies. I'm sorry I yelled."

  She turned and headed for the door.

  "Cecilia Grace," Father said.

  She turned to face him.

  "What about your mission?"

  "When I left, I did so with no expectation of returning," she said. "But the people of Talmon should not suffer for the mistakes of four of us. No one who would replace me would protect this planet the way I will."

  "Four?" I asked. "What four?"

  "I made mistakes," she said. "So the two of you, Sartine, and I share blame for what happened last year. The mission continues. I will be visiting much of the rest of the planet. If you have recommendations, please advise my staff." She headed for the door again, then she stopped.

  "I won't be accepting any social invitations."

  And then she was gone.

  I turned to Father. "We didn't mean to hurt her."

  "She knows that," he said.

  "She thinks we sold her."

  "She knows we traded her," he replied. "And no one can deny we all knew who Sartine intended to take."

  "I feel sick."

  "So do I," he replied. "We lost a friend. And while she may have said we didn't deserve the things she said, we did. She suffered for months because we didn't speak more clearly to her."

  I hung my head. "We were doing what we thought was right."

  "This is the nature of responsibility," he said. "Sometimes you do your best, for all the right reasons, but you still make mistakes. This isn't the first time someone was hurt by my choices, and it won't be the last someone is hurt by yours."

  "I thought she understood."

  "She understood everything we told her," Father said. "And nothing we didn't. We never told her she could be taken. Perhaps she shouldn't have assumed she was safe, but she was our guest, and it was our responsibility to be clear. We weren't."

  * * * *

  I didn't see Cecilia very often after that. She accepted no further invitations from us. From time to time, she requested an audience, and she was always very polite, but she always kept the conversation on business, asking Father's opinion about this location or that person. Several times she asked, "Where else should I go?" But it didn't take long before she had traveled far more of Talmon than anyone living in Sudden, and so our ability to help became limited.

  Three years later, Cecilia Grace invited Talmon to join the empire.

  * * * *

  The resort twenty kilometers south of Sudden was such a shock to everyone.
Resort was an English word; Talmon had never had anything like it before. It had been built so quickly. One day that area was raw wilderness, and the next day was a sprawling resort, or so it had seemed.

  And it included so much of the imperial magic. Sunny, one of the members of Cecilia's delegation, tells me I shouldn't use that word, and she insists we say technology. That's another English word. If there had ever been a Talmonese word meaning the same thing, it has long been forgotten.

  The planetary congress was another shock to all of us. Everyone arrived by one of the imperial carriages, even those of us who could have traveled by horse. Blaine picked us up in Sudden, and he called the carriage a jumper, saying the word in English first before translating it for us.

  "It jumps?" I asked.

  "It is a bit of slang," he replied. "When we travel a short distance, we sometimes say it's just a hop or just a jump. It is certainly more than a hop, but we call it that to suggest it's a short trip. This craft is good for short trips like the one today."

  "But it's so big," Father said as we stood before it. "Well, it's not as big as the star ships that bring you from the heavens, but we could drive a team of horses right in."

  "We could, and if it were a small team, we could even fly afterwards," he agreed. "There are small jumpers, some so small that you can only fit two people in them. But jumpers can be big. This one is a little smaller than average, but I guess not small."

  We hadn't really understood, but Blaine gestured, leading us forward. We entered through what we understood was the rear of the jumper, then moved forward. All four of us craned our necks around, Mother clasping Father's arm firmly. Of us, only Mordain seemed to be calm, taking everything in stride.

  Inside, there were six seats, three on either side, each with a small window. Blaine turned to us. "For proper balance, we need to sit in the forward seats. Baardorid, did you wish to sit in the front seat with me?"

  Mother was clutching his arm firmly. Father took one look at her and said, "I will remain with my wife."

  Father turned to me, and I knew he was about to ask if I wanted the seat of honor, but before he could say anything, Mordain bounced up and down and said, "Could I? Please?" She offered a pleading look, and I couldn't deny her.