Goddess of the Moon (Young Ancients: Tiera) (43 page)

She
was hit, by several people at once, all talking to her, as soon as she went in.
On the good side they weren't oppressive questions, just people trying to chat.
Sheri, Ali and oddly enough Guide, who wasn't her best friend ever, all found
her happily enough.

There
was a bit of awkwardness, with Guide looking at her, which required some neck
craning, and Ali smiling at the boy, her face shining a bit.

It
looked fake, and Tiera didn't trust it, so tried to read both of them, which
caused them both to close down tightly, not letting even a hint of their
thoughts out into the open. She felt like glaring, but did the same, in case
there was danger or something.

Guide
looked away, his sharp features a bit embarrassed.

"Tiera,
I was wondering if, you'd, you know, like to, um, do something? Tonight?"

She
was skeptical, and nearly pointed out that
most
boys didn't come armed
with two cute young women when asking out a third. Instead she agreed.

"Sure.
I need to get cleaned up though. I don't suppose anyone worked out a shower
yet?"

The
boy pointed over to the right.

"Back
there. It's cool water, but not too bad really. We only have one tank, so we
have to keep it filled. The drainage works though. We have to share." He
blushed, but didn't take it back either. As if they were really going to have
to share it at the same time.

"All
right. Well, let's set that up? I need to be in bed soon. I'm actually tired,
if you can believe that. I hardly did anything all day. Just took boxes back
and forth. Speaking of which, we need a place to exercise too. Otherwise
everyone will get fat and soft." She looked down at her own flat middle,
as if expecting it to have grown already. It got a polite chuckle from Ali, who
looked at her own.

The
woman was growing too fast for that to happen though. Really, Tiera realized,
they all were. Even Guide was taller already. It was hard to see from way up
where she was, but it had happened. He was at least an inch taller now than he
had been.

The
shower was a thing she got alone, and she took care to not use up all the
water, since they had a lot of people that needed to use it. The tank worked
well enough, but like Guide had said, it was very cool still. About the
temperature of the palace they were in. She could have worked out a heating
element for it, but a little cool water was probably good for them all.

Scrubbing
and rubbing with a bit of soap that was already there, she got clean, and after
a few minutes used a towel, which also didn't exist, to dry herself. It gave
her whole life a suddenly strange feeling. Once, everything she touched had
been real, and now it was almost all magic. That probably meant something
profound, but she was too tired to think about the implications. There would be
time for that later, when it was certain that they'd all survive there, so far
from home.

Except,
and not for the first time, she felt it. This
was
her home. It was
primitive still, and not as comfortable as some places, but that was fine. This
place was hers. Not the First House, which belonged to Guide, or the tunnels of
Harmony, which belonged to everyone. It wasn't about ownership at all, but fit.
For some reason, this plain and silver space was like she was. Hard and cold on
the outside, but hiding greater things within? She smiled at that bit of
grandiose thought, and finished dressing. The leather and hemp she had around
her neck from the various amulets was all damp, but she wouldn't take her
shield off here. That was a poor plan, and not following the rules. It was
better to put up with the discomfort.

On
the third level, near the back, she had a small room. It was pretty basic
inside, though the bed was pretty nice. She made it a little bigger when
everyone followed her inside. The floor was a giant carpet covered thing, all
in black and gold thread, and the lights were just parts of the ceiling that
glowed brightly. Everyone else looked around as if she were insane, not having
more, but Sheri ducked in and kissed her anyway.

"We
really
came to talk," The girl said, shortly after the warm kiss
ended. "Ali told us that you're going back to Earth? When?"

She
looked at the girl and felt baffled, since one of the things that she'd been
almost certain of was that Alyssa Baker could keep a secret. She turned a nice
red color when Tiera looked at her, but shook her head.

"We
need a team. I know that you probably don't think you do, but the more people
we have, the more likely we live. The more likely the Earth lives, I mean. I
know that
we
may not all survive this."

A
bit of anger started to rise, but Tiera let go of it with a bit of focus and
actually bothered to think, instead. Then she sighed and nodded to the girl.

"That's
probably right, within reason. I..." She looked at the other two and shook
her head however. "Ali
needs
to go, for personal reasons, but she
isn't the best person to go at all. If Tor wasn't involved in this I'd leave
her here. For that matter, neither of you really needs to go either. We won't
have time for building on the fly, Guide." She looked at him directly as
he stared at the floor, looking tense and miserable. As if this was a personal
failure on his part? "Sheri..."

That
got a grin from the still growing girl that, she remembered, wasn't any older
than herself really. These others were all fifteen. That sounded pretty young
suddenly.

A
kiss came in again though and the sandy haired girl winked at her.

"No
doubt at all. If I tried to go with you Kolb would cry. Possibly with moaning
and lamenting too, since it would be that bad of a plan. I just have a list of
people that I think you might consider. That's all. It's part of my job, after
all."

Tiera
nodded, and didn't ask what that job was. It just made sense that the girl that
did everything would have some say, didn't it?

Guide
shook his head.

"I
should go. I don't have a wife, or kids or anything. No close family like you
have. If
I
die, then no one will miss me really. As far as my family back
home knows, I might be dead anyway." He tried to sound strong, but it was
really just a bit lonely.

Ali...
Snorted.
Derisively
too.

"What's
this now? No one loves
Guide
? I think you might want to think about that
one before you go running off. The entire Lairdgren Group thinks of you as
family
.
If you go too, you know that Sam will, to protect us both. If he does that,
well, he isn't a good fighter like you are. Not even like
me
. Mark will
feel honor bound then too, and Farlo. If they all go, then Terry will, and
truthfully, how can we say no there? Really, if he wasn't ten, I'd
ask
him to come with us. All three of us could take him on in a fight and really,
I'm not sure we would win, even armed." She didn't really mean it, and it
was clear that it wasn't exactly true.

Not
yet.

Guide
nodded though, still looking small, and like he wasn't important or something.

Sheri
held up her right hand and touched her thumb.

"Sir
Kolbrin, since he's the best fighter we have, and will know more about what's
going on than the rest of us."

Then
she kept counting, one finger for each.

"Ali,
since her husband lies in the balance. Lady Patricia, for the same reason. You
and..." on her little pinky she froze and her voice caught in her throat.
For the longest time she didn't say anything at all. Finally, when she went,
Tiera didn't really understand why she'd said the name at all. "Prince
Alphonse."

Trying
not to look clueless she froze, and let her mouth gape open like a fish,
gasping for water on dry land. Her head started to shake side to side a little,
but Ali looked at the other girl and nodded.

"I
see. That... seems right. He should be there too."

Tiera
threw her hands up a bit, feeling like she was missing something.

"He
should?
Why
? Shouldn't we protect him, and keep him safe here? That
sounds more sensible..."

Alyssa
Baker, Easy Ali the sex toy, looked at her and rolled her eyes. It really was
rude, Tiera noted again, when it wasn't you doing it. She'd have to learn to
control that if she could.

"Seriously
Tiera? He loves Tor. I'm his wife and
fond
of him, but the two real
loves of his life are Trice and Alphonse, and always have been. Just because
they can't be lovers, that doesn't mean that Alphonse wouldn't die for his
friend. Or that he'd live long after his passing, if it happened. We should at
least make the offer. Besides, I'm sure that between you and Kolb you can stop
the Others, if it comes to it. We're mainly going..."

Tiera
got that one.

Out
of love and honor. Unlike her. She was going...

Because,
as petty as it sounded, she still wanted to die. She missed Regina and nothing
she ever did was going to take that away. Her memory was too good. The pain was
fresh, but not fading much, though time and other events could bury it a
little. No one would understand that. Not really. These others weren't like her
in that way. They were normal, with minds that worked well, but weren't cursed
like hers was.

For
a moment she saw Reggie die again, her head shattering as Sandra Morris tried
for her. Little Tiera was not nearly big enough to protect her friend, even
after throwing her own shielded body in the way. A millions things that she
could have done came to mind, including having killed Sandra earlier, or making
sure that Tor gave Regina a shield. He would have, without blinking, if Tiera
had suggested it to him. She just hadn't thought about it, at all.

Blinking
she nodded.

"I
didn't really know that, I don't think. Alphonse and Tor? He always seems so
prudish that way. Plus, they're related. Isn't the Prince technically his
grandson or something? That's pretty naughty." It came out sounding wrong
when she said it, the thoughts of her dead friend making it all flat and matter
of fact, instead of bitchily playful.

Ali
made a hard face and looked away.

"They've
never had sex, but that doesn't mean it isn't real. Thank everything they
hadn't, because if that had happened, I think Tor would have killed himself
when he found out about it all. As it is I think it was a lot closer than he
let on to the rest of us. We should
ask
. It seems right, to include
Alphonse."

It
was more people than they needed, and Trice... Tiera started to think that she
wasn't her best friend ever, but she remembered that they were now, by virtue
of not wanting to cause a bickering feud that would last hundreds of years. So
was Guide, she realized. All of them were, really.

"Right
then. I'll go and ask them. The build should be done in three days."

"Three?"
Guide looked baffled by that one at least. "When did you start it?"

"A
few days ago. It's a growing field, but I figured out how to make that happen
faster. Little did you know that
I
have talents too, eh?" She
winked at the boy, but he just shook his head.

"Fine,
show me how you do that before you leave? If you die-" He cut himself off
and went wide eyed.

She
just nodded. "It's possible, Guide. Everyone looks at all the magic and
thinks that we can't lose, but Grandmother Gray and the Ancient King Cordes...
They're going to be hard to beat. Cordes
literally
came back from the
dead for this. If we fail, if the Ancients are coming, it will be up to you to
make certain that Harmony survives and that the Others don't win. That might
mean killing the Earth. If it comes to that, don't hesitate. If humanity is
going to die, then it won't be so a handful of clones can take over." Not
that she was being a spoilsport about it all.

The
boy kept looking down.

After
a bit he shrugged. "So, do you all want to have sex? I might not get
another chance."

It
was funny, the way he said it and he smiled, showing that it was a joke.
Ancient or not, the boy was still physically small and had lived as a commoner
his whole life. That he could even ask that, playing around, was a sign that
something had changed inside, wasn't it?

Tiera
shrugged.

"I'm
in. Sheri?"

"Sure..."
That got a look at Ali, who shook her head a bit.

"Not
with Tiera here. I promised Tor that I wouldn't have sex with his relatives.
Later though, Guide? Before I leave?"

Then
without waiting for an answer, probably knowing what it was, she walked out,
smiling sadly.

They
all spent the night there, making love and cuddling warmly. There was sleep
too, but she was still awake before the rest of them, not needing all that much
sleep. It was a thing with her, part of her pattern. Her genetics.

She
took a few hours to work on her new ships, but that wasn't too hard to do
really. Then she walked down the stairs and made something to eat. It was just
a bowl of oats and some fresh bread slices, with butter. Plain, but filling
enough. No one else was around for a long time, until her da came and sat down
next to her, his plate having eggs and toast.