Ancient Guardians The Legacy of the Key (12 page)

He was still
extremely reserved, without any humor in his expression, while Harrison’s face
was lit with amusement. Had she been rude to look out the window? The other
women didn’t look upset, they only waited for Reece’s response.

“Yes, Miss Bryant,”
Simone added, “I’m curious as well.”

The ‘Miss Bryant’
thing was getting old and making Reece uncomfortable, she figured she should
just address the issue now. “Please,” she looked at the group around her, “call
me Reece.”

Levi grinned, “Very
well then, Reece, is there something in particular that has caught your
attention outside?”

“I’m
not really watching anything in particular. I’m just intrigued by the way the
land lights up at night. I’m sorry if I was being impolite,” she said to
Simone. “I hope it didn’t seem like I was ignoring anyone.”

Harrison laughed.
“Reece, these ladies would not know if they were being ignored or not. Am I
correct, Simone?”

“Harrison, you do
go on about nothing! You’ll never understand how ladies interact.” She looked
at Reece. “The beauties of Pemdas can fascinate any one of us at any time,
night or day.”

Levi cleared his
throat. “It’s a lovely evening to be outdoors. Would you ladies care to join us
for a walk? I believe Reece would have a much improved view of the gardens that
she seems so enchanted with.”

Simone stood. She was
very tall, only a few inches shorter than the men. “That’s a wonderful idea,
Levi. Ladies, we should take advantage of the mild evenings while we still have
them.”

Reece and the other
ladies stood in unison, and went to bid goodnight to Allestaine. “It’s a fine
night,” the lady said, “Enjoy your walk. I will see you all tomorrow.”

Simone led the
group gracefully from the room, with the exception of Levi and Harrison, who
were detained by Samuel. Reece followed slowly behind the other women. They all
walked so elegantly that they appeared to float through the hallway. By
comparison, she felt clumsy and loutish. She turned to see if the men were
close behind, but only found an empty hallway.

“Reece, dear,
please keep up. I don’t want to be held responsible for your becoming lost in
the hallways.” Simone laughed in her soprano voice.

They went through
the atrium Levi had showed Reece earlier, and out the doors and down the steps
to the Palace gardens. Simone, Catherine, and Lillian stopped by a fountain surrounded
by concrete benches, took their seats and smiled up at Reece, who was looking
longingly into the greenery.

Catherine laughed.
“Reece, you may walk the gardens if you wish. We will be here, relaxing beside
the fountain.”

Gee, thanks for
giving me permission to do something,
Reece
thought, as she was starting to become irritated with the way these women were
talking down to her. Now they were being obvious about trying to get rid of
her? Reece did need some time away, as she knew she would likely say something
to them in regard to their rude behavior soon enough. “Actually, I think I
will. Thanks.”

Simone responded
with a charming smile. “Enjoy yourself; the gardens are more enchanting when
traveled alone, and no distractions are present.”

Reece followed a
path toward plants with glowing, iridescent flowers. They seemed to change
color as she moved past them—now purple, now red, now green. As she stepped
carefully along the path, farther and farther away, the laughter of the young
women began to fade. She was still in the Palace gardens, though; and she was
pretty sure she could find her way back. Although she knew it was obvious the
women were trying to get rid of her, she appreciated this time alone. The
events of the day were starting to catch up with her, and she needed some down
time.

  Something
fluttered its glowing blue wings in front of her. She slowly reached out to it,
and it came to rest on her outstretched finger. It was as small as a butterfly
and colored like one, but it had only two broad wings, and they were brighter
than any butterfly’s. She stood still, not moving a muscle, as it explored its
place of rest on her finger. She felt the weary, stressed energy leaving her
body, and was being replaced with a calm peace, as if she’d had a sound sleep.

A soft chuckle from
behind made her jump, and the glowing insect fluttered away swiftly. She turned
and saw Levi, who was biting his lip to conceal a smile. The good humor that
had returned to his face had brightened his deep blue eyes. Pleased that he
seemed to be in a much better mood, she decided to smile in return instead of
reprimanding him for startling her.

He allowed his lips
to curve up at one corner as he spoke softly. “Those are the Tenillian. They
are interesting species in our land. They give their unique energy to objects
they touch.”

“That little thing
that was on my hand? It’s what made me feel so rested?”

He smiled down in
response to her amazed expression.

“That’s amazing!
How do they do that?”

He tilted his head,
smiling. “They have a unique way of gathering and storing energy from our
vegetation; it’s simply a transfer of that energy, from them to you.”

Her eyes followed
him as he approached her. “Nice to see you’re in a better mood. Does it take
scaring me half to death to put a smile on your face?”

He walked up to
her, eyes searching hers. “I’m sorry I startled you. I’m surprised the ladies
allowed you to wonder off alone, as unfamiliar as you are with the gardens. I
decided it would be best to find you before you became lost and were forced to
spend your first night in Pemdas outdoors.” He laughed. “Harrison is still back
with the women, enjoying the opportunity to make them feel ashamed of
themselves. Since I am here now, allow me to escort you to another section of the
gardens. I believe you will find it even more intriguing.”

Reece nodded in
acceptance. She followed him quietly, as he led her past topiary bushes,
glowing vividly green. A miniature bridge over a tiny valley led them to an
open area with stone benches. Another small pond, which was surrounded by
ferns, shone silver; when she looked, she saw that the shine came from hundreds
of small fish, or whatever fish equivalents there were in this place, swimming
beneath its surface. In the center, a stone boy played with a stone ball. The
ball seemed balanced on a column of water that rose up and spilled into the
pond.

Levi led the way to
a bench. Insect-like creatures fluttered around them, twinkling like Christmas
lights. Large groups of them flew back and forth in the canopy of tall trees
over the benches.

  “Why does
everything glow like this?”

“It
is due to the distinctive qualities of our atmosphere. It creates a unique
energy that surrounds the lands, allowing the things that feed from it, a
natural way of glowing.” He looked up into the trees. “Even though I’ve lived
here my entire life, I’m still astounded by the beauty of Pemdas at night. I
can only imagine how it seems to you.”

“I am truly amazed.
It’s good to hear you admit that you’re not used to it either, but then again,
you do go to Earth a lot. I can’t understand how you would ever want to leave
this place.”

A voice answered
from behind them. “Speaking of Earth…How am I doing with my earlier
predictions, Reece?” Harrison stepped over the bridge and took a seat on an
empty bench.

  Reece looked at
him, confused. “Predictions?”

“I believe I
mentioned something along the lines of, ‘You will never want to return to
Earth.’”

Reece laughed. “Oh.
Well, I’m not sure I’m at that point yet. Speaking of returning to Earth, how
long do you guys think it will take until I can go back?”

“It all depends on
when the Ciatron lose interest in you. Our hopes are that they’ll investigate
your stand-in, and come to the conclusion that you are not the one they seek.
Obviously, the clone does not possess the information that you possess, and
we’re hopeful that their interest will wane,” Levi said.

“What exactly is a
‘stand-in’ anyway? Obviously, it’s something that looks and acts like me, but
is it a real living being?”

“No—it’s more like
a humanoid robot. An android. The exact image of you, and programmed with all
of your memories and knowledge.”

“What? How do you
guys make something like that?”

Harrison laughed.
“We have inventors and scientists in Pemdas, too, Reece!”

Reece shook her
head. “That’s really hard for me to believe, I guess.”

Harrison chuckled,
“Oh? How’s that?”

  “Um, well, it
just feels like I’ve time traveled or something coming here. You know, like you
all wouldn’t be so advanced with your technology.” She looked over at
Harrison’s attire, “For example; a little over an hour ago, I was expected to
wear a dress with a corset, then I see you two, changed into tailcoats,
trousers, and waistcoats.” She smiled at Harrison’s amused grin, “I think it’s
pretty obvious that the last time everyone on Earth dressed like this, it was
back in the eighteenth century. And Earth’s scientists and inventor’s weren’t
creating robots and things of that nature.”

Levi chuckled,
“Reece, it is perfectly understandable for you to view Pemdas in such a way.
You will find as you are with us, that it is not only the way we dress that
will remind you of the earlier cultures of Earth, but you will also see that we
do not rely on technology as Earth does either.”

“I guess that
explains why we came here on horseback then. That’s the only way you guys get
around here?”

“I believe you will
find a ride in a horse and carriage in Pemdas is just as relaxing, if not more,
than driving in a vehicle on the paved roads of Earth; especially the luxurious
carriages of Pasidian Palace.” Harrison added with a grin.

Reece
was amazed at the fact that horseback was their preferred method of
transportation. “But, why is it like that here? I really don’t get it. It seems
that Pemdas would be more technologically advanced, given the car we left the
park in. And the object that was in your hand that you were looking at in the
car–” she directed at Levi, “that was like a cell phone or computer wasn’t it?”
She looked at the fountain, “I guess that’s what is confusing to me.”

“You are correct in
your assumptions about our technology. It is far greater than Earth’s. The
device in my hand was what we use to communicate with Pasidian’s command
center. We communicate with it telepathically.” Levi responded.

Reece remembered
the way Levi had seemed to be ignoring her in the car earlier, and how he was
staring so intently at the transparent object in his hand. “Well, I guess that
explains why you were constantly staring at it in the car. You were using it to
have a conversation through your mind?”

Harrison laughed,
“Yes. That is why you had the privilege of conversation with me in the car.
Levi wasn’t ignoring you; he was informing Samuel about the success of our
mission.”

“Then why wouldn’t
you use your cars and stuff like that here?”

“We only use things
of a technical nature when we visit other worlds. The use of vehicles helps us
to blend in with certain cultures, when necessary. And those communication
devices are essential for our communication with Pemdas while we are on any
given mission.”

Reece frowned in
confusion.

Levi leaned forward
and rested his elbows on his knees, “Reece, I believe the best way for me to
simplify the cultures and customs of Pemdas is this; you see, all cultures
change over time, they change with the leadership. Pemdas has lived for
thousands of years without civil war and unrest; therefore, our leaders have
remained in power for longer periods of time. As a result, our change came
slower. However, it was mainly due to that fact we have been able to witness
how too much change can have very negative effects on a culture, and more
importantly, its environment. For example, we witnessed this as we watched
Earth evolve into what she is today. After seeing the negative effects these
‘advances’ brought to the planet, the Pemdai chose not to embrace that sort of
change, and to remain in a time prior to the industrial revolution on Earth. It
is not only the Pemdai rulers who have chosen this way of life, but it is also
a mandate of the Pemdai people as well. No one here is eager to compromise our
environment, or our health, for a ‘convenience’ that is unnecessary.”

“The difference
between your culture and ours,” Harrison added, “–is not that we do not
understand technology, or even that we don’t use technology, it’s that we
refuse to allow a selfish compulsion for unnecessary conveniences to govern the
quality of our lives, the lives of our children, and the future of Pemdas.”

Reece
leaned back, “Well, that makes sense. Come to think of it, there are still many
cultures on Earth today that don’t drive cars, most of them have fewer
conveniences than you.”

Harrison smiled,
“Exactly.”

The sound of the
young women joining them interrupted their conversation.

“Oh, please, help
us.” Harrison muttered, resting his face on his hand. Reece could not help but
laugh. He stared speculatively past her to the sounds of giggling from the
women as they approached them.