Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (14 page)

Chapter 30

Once the designs, ingots and ambrosia were loaded Ali closed the window, climbed onto her bed and slept. Once she woke Ali drank a few glasses of ambrosia and was  surprised when the jug remained full.
Clever grandma! I get to go to the ancient planet and drink ambrosia while I am there. That will help keep me going.
Ali opened the portal and unloaded all the gear and set up in the same place as before. Ali stripped off and stored her clothes then went swimming. The next four months she relaxed, drank ambrosia, swam and pushed her healing energies into the earth until she felt ready to work.

Ali took her time making the suits of armor and weaponry to ensure the standards of the contract were met to guarantee Riv's safety. When the final results satisfied her and she stored the armor and weapons into their gems another twenty months had passed. Ali then took another two weeks to wind down in her ancient paradise before she returned to the main reality plane. When she returned, Ali sent a note to make an appointment with Aphrodite's salon to arrange the purchase of a full set of grooming applications for her projects. The note response appeared minutes later confirming her appointment in two days.

Ali relaxed on her bed sipping ambrosia and enjoyed the ocean breezes as they brushed soothingly over her skin. As the sun began to set she made her way to the attic house with Rom at her side. Ali invited Gramma, Amirael and Riv to join her for an early dinner in her luxurious dining room. Her chef made a special effort for the occasion of her first dinner party and served up many delicious courses.

"Riv, I have a dimensional window that I have used to work, study and relax. I do not wish to take up your time on this reality plane for the training regime you mentioned. Since you are an angel and immortal, you will not age in the other dimension. What say you to teaching me what you can in the other dimension? What may be an infinite time in the window will be a split second in this reality plane. So, whenever we return Amirael would be waiting for you exactly as she is now. If you are reluctant to leave her then I understand."

"We have spoken and have decided to take it slowly. I am at your command." said Riv.

"The sooner, the better then. We shall put our heads together after dinner and make a list of the things we will need for the training. Gramma can you put all the extra supplies in the basement training centre and we will leave tomorrow morning once everything is stored in the main window." Gramma nodded.. After dinner Gramma, Ali and Rom wandered through the attic forest. "Gramma, may I start the list with sets of clothing appropriate for training and sparring for Riv and myself?"

"How many, Ali?" asked Gramma

"If you store two hundred sets each and we take twenty initially and quickly return to stock up as we require then the clothing will be stored on this plane and not age. We will not need medical supplies as I can heal Riv and myself sufficiently. How are you feeling about meeting Brand tonight?" asked Ali.

"Fear and trepidation down to my toes. It means so much to me that you could arrange this" said Gramma.

"I know you love him" said Ali. "He does not yet know of the previous incarnations or our prior marriages. I have told him he needs to make changes if he wants me and that I am too young to deal with him and everything else I have to do. You are welcome to discuss anything Brand asks in regards to me in any incarnation" said Ali as a note appeared in front of Gramma.

"It is from Brand asking to meet in 30 minutes. I will reply immediately and we will finish our walk" said Gramma as she waved her hand and a note appeared and quickly vanished. They walked through the forest until Gramma said it was time to go. She transformed to her elder form wearing a formal black dress, kissed Ali on the cheek and disappeared.

A short rap on the door brought Brand to his feet. He opened the door to an elderly woman with a regal bearing. "Hello, mother. Please come in and make yourself comfortable" said Brand.

"Thankyou for seeing me, Brand" said Gaia as she entered and made her way to the couch.

Three hours later the pair were still in deep discussion. Brand needed a few strong drinks to curb the shock of what his mother had told him since it had effectively transformed his entire perception of himself and his sense of reality once he got over his skepticism. The more Brand thought of his current situation the more distressed he became at the man he had become in the underworld. When Gaia eventually left Brand reassessed his options and he fixed his sights on Ali.

Ali had returned to make lists in her cottage bedroom when she heard the pounding on the door and raced to answer it. Brand was standing there; tall, powerful and incensed. "You are mine!" he snarled viciously.

"I see you spoke to your mother. Come in and sit" she said. "I need a coffee for this discussion. Do you want one?"

Brand nodded grimly. Ali waved her hand and two cups of coffee appeared before them. "They are from the office machine. Enjoy!" she said and began sipping her coffee. "Is there anything else you wanted to say?"

"You. Are. MINE!" shouted Brand.

"Yes, I got that the first time" she said irritably. "Have you put any more thought into this than that comment?"

"I will protect you" he stated.

"You have other women to protect. Other lovers, in fact. What happens to them?" she asked. "I most certainly am not going to join their ranks nor will I come near you while any other woman is sniffing around you. While you have other women, I am definitely not yours!"

"Obstacles, always obstacles for you. If I make the changes then they will take time" he said grimly.

"Take your time. Make the changes or don't make the changes, it is entirely up to you and you are not going to emotionally blackmail me or make me feel guilty over this. It is a situation entirely of your own making. You got yourself in and you can get yourself out" she said huffily. "You know what needs to be done, so why are you here instead of just doing it?"

"Get rid of the boyfriend" he ordered.

"No" she said obstinately. "I am not even sure that you will step up. You have been all talk and no action so far. I have had to push you to speak to your own mother so don't blame me if I don't share your optimism about any relationship between us. This is a different incarnation, a different reality."

"What you ask of me is more difficult than you know. One does not simply leave the underworld and remain in one piece" he said

"Make your plans, action the rest and leave that one until it can be done safely. Build yourself up and be the god you were meant to be. You are the dimensional god, start with mastering time and then work on the rest. I assure you that the time will come when you can leave safely" said Ali.

"What are we to each other now?" asked Brand.

"I don't know. We are going to have to build a foundation and that starts with friendship. It depends where it goes and what we make it this time around" she answered.

Brand stood and closed in on her and lifted her into his arms. "Do you not feel the attraction? Know that I want you? I need you in my bed. Do you love me, even a little?" he said with seduction oozing over him.

"Instead of being so possessive, demanding and cave-manish; take 'you are mine' and try turning that around to make a more meaningful statement. I will give you a hint the sentence starts with 'I'."

"I want you" he said confidently. She shook her head. "I need you."

"Nope. Try again. Start with "I am" she tried again.

"I am.... trying to get you into my bed and claim you" he stated.

"NO!" she cried out in frustration.

"I am... going to woo you until you are mine" he said hopefully.

"NO!" she stamped her foot angrily.

"I am... not liking this game that I cannot win. I am... standing here because I choose you to be mine. I am.... here for you."

"No, no and no! Three words and I gave you two of them. Work it out and get back to me" she said as she pointed to the door. "Go now, before we start fighting."

"You will be mine" said Brand as he pulled her in to kiss her thoroughly.

"Just go. Brand" said Ali with tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, just go."

Brand left and Ali returned to her cottage bedroom. She drank ambrosia as she watched the ocean waves. Ali eventually crawled into her bed and slept.

Chapter 31

By the time Ali woke, Amirael had already delivered her breakfast tray. On the tray was a note from Brand saying 'I am sorry'. Ali replied to the note and said 'Apology accepted but still not the right answer. Keep trying.'

After breakfast she dressed and made her way to the basement. Riv was busy stockpiling the weapons and equipment he wanted in the middle of the basement floor. Ali explained her plan about the clothing to him and he put the bulk of the clothing aside for later use. They worked hard moving equipment into the window over the next few hours before Ali finally closed the window.

"Time now ceases to exist for us, Riv" said Ali. "At this point, I take a huge breathe in and let it out in relief. No pressure, no time limits. We return to the main reality plane only when we are ready. I packed the endless jug of ambrosia for us too" she said.

"The next several months her training centered around intense fitness training. During that time, Riv's feathers grew back white after the last of his black feathers dropped out. The two years after that was unarmed combat techniques. Mastering the assortment of weaponry took twelve years of daily training. It took another four years of daily sparring with Riv before her reflexes, agility and techniques came together and he declared her competent. For five years they worked on different attack and defense measures to counter various styles of fighting. As Ali's god skills improved, Riv taught her many tricks he learned in his time as an angel and then as a demon. Finally, Riv announced that when she got her own armor they had to return to start practising all over again to get her used to fighting in armor. They packed up and returned to the main reality plane.

"I think we deserve a big lunch from chef. Go find Amirael and ask her to join us in the attic house dining room" said Ali as they finished unpacking the equipment and weapons, Ali then closed the window. Rom was waiting for her outside the door and they all walked to the attic house. Ali and Riv ate every scrap of food on their plates. Amirael reminded Ali of her appointment the next day at Aphrodite's salon as they ate lunch. Riv and Amirael kept looking shyly at each other so Ali said she would take Rom for a walk in the forest to let them get reacquainted.

Ali lay back on the grass in the sunlight as Rom climbed to a rocky ledge. Birds were singing and any animals wandering through the forest often had the young in tow.  Ali wondered about her mortal family and thought that if they were with her and saw just the surface things then they would assume her life was a breeze as a goddess. Ali pushed her powerful healing energy hard into the earth and then slept.

Something tickled her nose. She opened an eye to see Rom had curled up with her and his twitching whiskers were touching her nose. She smiled as she watched his eyes moving under his lids as he hunted in his dreams. The sun began to set, so Ali roused Rom and they set back to the house. In her bedroom she completed some designs and sent them to her customers for approval . Her time with Hephaestus would be up soon and Ali had agreed to continue sending in designs. As she reflected on the past year she thought about how much she had learned and was grateful for the window.

A thought suddenly struck her.
Where did Gramma get the window? Was it a gift from Brand from a previous incarnation?
If it was, then Brand was already protecting her and giving her plenty of time to learn, grow and mature. Maybe that was his aim to help their relationship in this incarnation. Ali tried to work out how old she really was if she added up all the time in the window. Technically, she was well over 25 and would be officially designated mature. In god terms, that was still very young when you considered most gods were many thousands of years old. She didn't even want to try to work out Gaia's true age after 41 previous incarnations
. I guess I cannot claim immaturity as an excuse any more. That man, Brand, was really tricky!

The next morning, a note from Brand on Ali's breakfast tray was 'I am jealous". Ali responded with her own note saying 'No, try again.' She wore tribal dress for her appointment at Aphrodite's salon. Ali had worked on her teleportation and god skills throughout her time in the window and could 'port accurately. She 'ported out of her room and arrived at the front of the salon.

Ali was ushered into the waiting room by a doorman after showing her appointment card. The exclusive salon was already a hive of activity and Ali wandered over to the desk to pick up a price list for all the services. It was expensive. Very expensive. A flustered man approached her. "Aliandra?" She nodded. "My sincere apologies for not meeting you at the door. I was dealing with an emergency color situation. I am Alphonse. Please follow me" he said and pranced forth towards a consultation room. He seated her and read her notes as he sat at the desk. "This is likely to be a one-off order or a series of orders?"

"My customers are now ordering their armor or weapons with the grooming option. It appears to be popular, so that is likely to continue and I will be making more orders on a regular basis" she answered.

"So we work out the deal then. The 'looks' come in packages of one hundred. If your clients want to change their 'look' option from a standard option then that can only be done here and we are already so busy with all day spas, we do not want the small jobs."

"How many 'looks' are your most popular products?" she asked

"Men and women?" he asked

"Yes."

"About two hundred. One hundred and fifty for the women and fifty for the men" he replied.

"If I purchase a catalogue of the most popular two hundred looks then my clients can choose their look from those options. If they demand something different I can advise them to book with you to arrange an all-day spa and then they can inter-change their 'looks' on my products. If you have a machine that can account for each time I use a  'look' when we get to ninety then there can be an automatic reorder to keep up with our usage. No need to come in again. I can manufacture such a machine if you do not already have one" she said.

"I think we can do business then" he said with a wide smile. "The basic samples are bringing in much business but we have to work smart and avoid getting bogged down in the details. We have a machine that can keep track of your usage and automatically top-up. These are the prices for what you want. If you agree I will write up the invoice."

"Yes. That is acceptable, please proceed."

"How did you get the idea of the grooming option for the weapons?" he asked.

"Many men use their daggers to shave, since they do not carry shaving equipment to the battlefield. They also spend much of their time staying clean and polished for when they are on parade. It seemed obvious that it would come in handy to save so much time. They can get up, get dressed and push a button and they look perfectly presentable" she explained.

"Very simple but so clever."

"Thankyou. I was looking at the pricelist. How long is the waiting list for an all-day spa treatment?" Ali asked.

"Our current waiting list is sixty four years for the all-day option. If you just want a single treatment the waiting time is only around twenty eight years" he replied.

"I am indeed fortunate to get this appointment so quickly. Thankyou" she said

"Some of your friends pulled some very important strings. This appointment was approved by Aphrodite herself" he replied as he passed Ali the paperwork for the deal to sign.

"I understand" she said. "I was hoping to make an appointment for an all-day spa prior to my debut. I assume that is not possible?"

"The debut is my private nightmare! That is why out waiting lists are so long. Mothers make appointments for their children when they are born or when they begin planning for a child. Most mothers do not make the appointment soon enough and their children are distraught. It has now became a normal for people to pay high prices to just get an appointment in time for their child's debut by bidding and buying other people's appointments. We have tried to stop this practise but a black market remains" he groaned. "As to your appointment I will ask Aphrodite, we may get some cancellations and you can go on her private list if she approves."

"Why would people cancel after waiting so long?" she asked.

"Major god events they must attend, work commitments, expulsion from the realm, death and bankruptcy. Many and varied reasons" he replied and shrugged.

"I would appreciate going on the list" she responded.

"You must pay up front and whatever day is allocated to you is fixed and cannot be cancelled or reassigned if it is inconvenient" he said.

"Acceptable, include it in my bill" she replied.

"Done. He said after a few seconds. Pay at the desk on the way out" he said and they bowed to each other. Ali coded in the payment to be drawn from her account and put her fingerprint on the sensor for it to process. She was handed the equipment for their deal and she 'ported it to the office front desk with instructions for Riv to set it up.

It was such a beautiful day and the meeting had been quicker than she expected so Ali decided to walk back to the office. As Ali made her way through the picturesque winding streets she saw a marketplace and decided to browse. She saw some mothers relaxing on a balcony feeding their babies and some children playing tag in the street below. Students wandered around the market chatting to their friends or were busy studying at the cafes. A shout behind her may her turn, a young man ran directly at her and leapt onto a cafe table, jumped over Ali and lightly landed on the roof of a market stall. He turned laughingly to apologise to her for the fright but then his look turned to stunned surprise as he saw Bronny flare into living color on her hand, preparing to defend her from a surprise attacker. He stood and bowed and issued a solemn apology to her then when he saw his pursuers he continued on to avoid being seen. Bronny settled down to invisibility again when Ali relaxed.

The stall owner came over to her. "Don't you worry about the students here. There are plenty of hi-jinx and games but there is no harm in them. There is an organized competition today between elves and fae-kind to hold a team stronghold and capture as many of the opposing team as possible. No doubt the young elven man was evading capture by the other team" he said.

"It sounds like fun. I would stay to watch but I am just about to return to my work" she said

"Work? For one as young as you?" he asked

"An apprenticeship with Hephaestus to be exact. I am his student and I am learning smithing, weapon and armor design" she said. I have nearly finished for this year but we are busy with a lot of projects to complete and deliver. I had better return before he misses my absence."

Ali returned to the office and Riv had set up the 'looks' machine. She sent Hades and Persephone a copy of the looks catalogue to select their preferences. The catalogue was returned an hour later with a note indicating their selections. Ali downloaded the chosen 'looks' onto their daggers and stored the completed armor in their new gems. Ali included instructions with the gems in the package and sent them directly to Hades and Persephone. The deal was completed before time and Riv was free.