Viola Grace - - Return of the Nine 03 - Hiding (2 page)

Daphne blushed. “I simply needed to know what was needed for the job. Nothing more.”

Arvina smiled, “I know. It was the first in the more noticeable traits around you. The other was your disappearing. How do you do that?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. I simply look at a person and disappear from their perceptions, by whatever method they use.”

“Are you free to work with Apolan as his assistant?” Arvina raised her cup to her lips and arched her eyebrows.

Daphne had no jobs lined up after this one, so she nodded. “I am free. Does it pay?”

Apolan was indignant. “Of course it does.”

Arvina raised a hand. “Twice the rate per hour that you were paid this evening, plus a clothing bonus as I am sure that you do not have the correct items for the position. We may have to have something that works sent down from the ship for you. I will make a note to have a seamstress visit.”

Daphne wanted to be indignant about the offer of a clothing allowance, but she really didn’t have anything appropriate. “When does the position start?”

Apolan smiled grimly. “Tomorrow? We have been given offices at city hall until our building is ready. It should be finished within the month.”

“What time?” She could probably scrounge some proper clothing out of her mother’s things if she had to.

“It is late, so noon? Ask for the temporary Embassy of the Nine, and they will direct you.”

She nodded. “Fine. Yes. I agree. We will discuss duties and such in the morning. For now, I am far too tired.”

Apolan asked, “Do you have a conveyance?”

It took her a moment to figure it out. “Oh. No. I walk home. It is just over that ridge there. Not too far at all.” The skimmer had been the first thing sold after her parents’ death and the bill collectors had come to call.

Her father’s penchant for inventing had never born fruit, but debts seemed to bloom in his wake. His death just made the men more insistent on getting what was theirs.

She had sold everything worth selling, pared down her antique books and taken on any job someone would pay her for.

She shook her head. “Come to think of it, I should get home. There are things to do before I start my new job.”

Apolan rose and helped her pull out her chair. “I will escort you home. This is no place for a lady alone.”

She blinked up at him. “No one has called me a lady in a very long time.”

“Then, it is overdue.” He offered her his arm, and she took it. “Please direct me to your home. The trees were not very forthcoming.”

She grinned and pointed. “That way. Straight line more or less.”

They walked in the direction she pointed for a few minutes before she asked, “Why were you chosen for the position here on Gaia?”

He grinned, the white of his teeth flashing in the moonlight. “The Forest clan are the least susceptible to pheromones. It was thought that one of our kind would more easily deal with yours. I have been prepared to answer questions, to smooth the paths between our races. It has taken a bit of research, but that is why it was decided that I was to obtain an assistant of Gaian extraction.”

“Extraction is a good word. Was there a reason that Arvina selected me aside from my lack of scent?”

He cocked his head as if deliberating his next words. “I believe it was also your lack of interest in the men of the Nine. Many of the others selected for the event were intrigued by the thought of meeting and mating with a man of the Nine. We do not give our affections lightly, nor do we engage in casual encounters with alien races. It seems your women were not ready to accept that.”

She snickered, “Something different and new is always more attractive than the toy one already plays with. It goes for men as well, and the men of the Nine are very attractive as far as such judgements go.”

“You find us attractive?”

To her amusement, he seemed to grow a little taller at that. “I do, but it is not my opinion that matters but that of your lady wife.”

“I am not married, bonded or attached… yet.” There was meaning in his tone, but she ignored it.

She nodded. “Fair enough. So, what will I be doing?”

“Your position will entail taking appointments from a variety of sources, running my calendar and accompanying me to public functions.” His tone was matter of fact.

“Public functions?”

“You will have a clothing allowance and be dressed in the fashions of the Nine. The clothing of the Forest clan will suit you very well, I think. Arvina is sending for the seamstress soon, so you will be kitted out before the grand opening of our embassy.”

They reached the rise that overlooked her tiny house in the centre of a ring of trees. The wildness of the area was the reason that the colonists didn’t bother trying to plough through the ground. Removing the woods was far too much labour and the ground only suited to growing trees.

Apolan’s voice was amused, “You live with trees.”

“I do. My parents owned the house before me, and when they died, it came to me.”

“I am sorry. How did they die?”

She took a deep breath and said one word. “Tokkel.”

He stiffened and nodded. “I see.”

She glanced up at him and really doubted that he did.

Daphne had never had a more restless night. Her parents’ screams of shock and pain as the landing party came down and took samples of the settlers rang in her mind. With only a blind panic, she had hidden in the woods, watching the ship sweep her loved ones away from her, unable to even cry out.

Two hours after dawn, dark circles under her eyes, she poured herself a cup of tea and looked out at the protective ring of forest that enclosed her.

“This isn’t doing me any good.” Her cupboard was bare as it normally was these days. She had not yet been paid for her service at the reception. That event was to have set her up for a few days.

Daphne slipped into her trousers and tunic, moving into the forest to look for some berries or other edibles.

A shadow moved, and her heart pounded in her chest.

“Good morning, Ms. Hallow. I wish you a good day.” Apolan moved into the brighter light and inclined his head.

“Good morning, Ambassador Leoraki. Why are you skulking in the shadows?”

He held out a basket that contained a loaf of bread, a selection of meats and cheeses and some fruit.

“When you invited me in for tea last night, I snooped. I noted that your cupboard was bare and could not have you starting your new duties on an empty stomach.” He gestured with his head, and when she stood still, he passed her and went on to her small house in the green shadows.

Bemused and not a little enticed by the food he carried, she followed him back to her house.

Apolan looked her up and down. “Is that a common clothing choice here on Gaia?”

She blushed, “No. I wear this for foraging.”

“And no shoes?”

“The forest doesn’t demand them. There are no noxious plants here, and so, I can run around without shoes.”

She watched as he removed plates, cups and cutlery as if he lived in the home with her. “You really were paying attention.”

“As my assistant, your well being is now my concern. Arvina has obtained a seamstress from the ship. They will be here this afternoon, so we will have to start a little earlier than I intended.”

He swiftly portioned the food with the ease of long practice. There was more on her plate than she would eat in three meals, but she sat across the kitchen table and ate what he offered her.

“Why don’t you live closer to the settlement?” Apolan’s question hit on her problem.

“Um. I can’t afford to. My parents were legal archivists who wanted me to live a life of the mind. I studied for years, absorbing every bit of history and learning every skill I could. Then, the Tokkel attacked. My parents were killed in the first strike. I was left with only this house to call my own. I sold what I could while I grieved, and from there, I sought out the jobs that would take me. With no job history and everything in chaos, there were plenty of small jobs to do, but with no family left, I had no one to help me ease into a steady position. Family is everything here on Gaia, and I now have no one, so I get along as best I can.”

He seemed shocked by her statement, but he kept quiet. They ate together, and when she stopped, he stopped. His plate was nearly empty, so she lifted a piece of fruit to her lips and nibbled slowly.

Apolan quickly finished his meal. She stopped and put the remains in the storage unit. She could get two days of meals out of what was left on that plate.

“Excuse me a moment while I get dressed.” Biting her lip, she went to her closet and selected sober wear with an elegant finish. They were leftover from her days as a reasonably well-to-do student. The shoes pinched but suited the clothing. They were going to be hell to walk in, but they matched the loose silken trousers and the buttoned tunic.

When she reappeared, Apolan got to his feet and frowned. “It will suit for today, but it is not appropriate for much more than this week.”

Daphne was embarrassed. “I apologize. I have not needed clothing with any formality for years.”

He immediately came to her and gripped her arms. His skin was deep brown with a green tinge, and his touch was tight but not confining. “I do not take you to task for your clothing, but I think that the fashions of the Nine will suit you well. The sooner we can get you looking the part of my assistant, the better.”

She sighed in relief. “I didn’t want to be inappropriate on my first day of a job that no one has seen before.”

He chuckled. “You cannot be inappropriate. You were the only candidate considered for the position. You are the only appropriate selection.”

A smile crept over her face, her grin taking over. “Then, let’s get walking. It will take close to an hour to walk to the settlement.”

“I have a better idea.” He took a small item off his belt and pressed it.

She heard a whirring sound, and the feeling in the air changed.

“I have a transport.”

He took her hand, and together, they watched a small platform ringed with a guardrail land in her front yard.

“Is that safe?” Daphne eyed it with nervousness.

“It is. I would not risk you.” His voice was deep and sincere.

The weird intensity she had noted tinged his tone again. Again, she pushed it back, and instead, got a grip on the railing of the platform.

Apolan used his remote and directed the platform to take them up and away. They skimmed across fields at a height of ten feet or less. When they moved over the forested areas, they caressed the treetops.

In ten minutes, they were landing on the roof of city hall. Daphne breathed deeply and exhaled quietly in an effort to control her racing heart. The settlement’s mayor greeted them, and he was definitely surprised to see her standing next to the new ambassador for the Nine.

“Ms. Hallow, what are you doing here?” Mayor Tetra smiled brightly, but his mouth was tight.

“Ms. Hallow has been retained as my assistant.” Apolan was polite but firm.

“As Ambassador Leoraki has said, I have been retained as his assistant to be his liaison to the settlers.” Daphne tried to behave in a reserved fashion, but the look of disdain on Mayor Tetra’s face was unmistakable.

“We will find you a more suitable assistant, Ambassador.” Mayor Tetra extended his hand to Ambassador Leoraki.

Daphne raised her hand to forestall him, but Apolan walked past the hand to the stairwell. She told the mayor, “The Nine do not shake hands. They can have biochemical reactions that are not predictable.”

She followed Apolan, and he waited until she caught up with him before starting down to the next level. Her hard-soled shoes skittered on the stone steps, causing her to clutch at the railing.

“Are you all right?” Apolan gripped her arm.

“I am fine. There is a lift on the next floor. I forgot how slippery these steps were.” She smiled and moved more carefully.

They exited the stairs at the next door, and he continued to hold her arm all the way to the lift.

“We are on the third floor.”

She struck the third-floor button, and this time, he clung to her for support. When the doors opened, they passed a security team of personnel of the Nine. They snapped to attention as Apolan passed, and one tried to bar her from entering the offices.

“She is my assistant, Drakil. She has full authorization to come and go as she pleases. You can call her Ms. Hallow.”

The Wilding that had his gloved and fully covered arm extended retracted it with a smile. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Hallow.”

“Pleased to meet you, Drakil.” She shut down her scent, or at least his perception of it, as quickly as she could.

His smile went from beyond friendly to confused in an instant. The other three guards did the same.

Apolan smiled and held out his hand. She took it, and he tugged her into the offices that he had been allocated.

“Oh, my.” The offices were decorated in what seemed to be Nine fashion. Rich colours, white marble floors and lovely vases full of alien flora made the room a definite representation of a foreign world.

“My office is back here, your desk and com unit are there.” He took her on a tour of the floor. There was a kitchen with rations suitable to the differing species of the Nine, three sets of lavs, an entertainment area, a dining room, boardroom and sitting room.

After the tour and meeting the rest of the guards who prevented them from being inundated with folks who were not invited, she was seated at her desk.

Daphne’s duties would be to take calls, arrange meetings for those who had a genuine concern and prepare lunches for the persons of the Nine who were on duty or visiting.

She settled at her desk and practiced with the com a second before it chirped at her. “Embassy of the Nine, how may I direct your call?”

A stream of words came through the line. Unfortunately, Daphne couldn’t translate any of them. Fortunately for her, her com system translated and displayed the information on the screen. “Madam, I am calling for Ambassador Leoraki. He has requested a seamstress at the Embassy, and I wished to know if I was welcome to come now?”