Rowan was sitting on a park bench outside the ice cream parlor when I arrived for our arranged meeting. I had fully expected him not to show. He was wearing a shirt I'd seen advertised as a freebie recently, and one of the guidebooks I'd put in the care package lay, momentarily forgotten, in his lap.
He wasn't nearly as clueless as I had been when I first arrived. Lucky him.
He looked tired, and only glanced my way briefly when I came over, as if the effort was too much.
"Ah, good, you're getting some reading done," I said as I sat down next to him.
"There is little else to do. Leo already knows more about the shuttle than I do."
"They're still hanging around?"
"Yes, they are determined to figure out how to get into the Void. You have found a way out? I have been instructed to learn more.”
“Yes, but I had to promise not to tell your mechanics. And I’m really, really sorry, but I knew about the place before, I just didn’t know it was possible to go out that way, and I didn’t take into account that your shuttle was different, and -”
He reached out and tapped my arm. “Enough prattling. What is this way?”
I explained everything, from my first meeting with Zynthar to the latest. It was probably way too much information, but he managed to focus on the important bit.
“He thinks they are doing something illegal?”
“Technically, we did illegal things, arriving here the way we did. But we’re all registered and legal now, and they probably won’t care if you quietly leave that way when they come back for you. They just don’t want you traipsing back and forth with stuff.”
“Do you think I should stop working with them? I don’t believe they will steal it, though they do seem to be interested in making a duplicate.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what to tell you. But make sure it’s reassembled first if you decide to confront them about it.”
He considered this. “Their intentions do not seem malicious? Most of them have been very kind to me. Bryce helped me register, and Mike taught me how to teleport using landmarks.”
"Oh, good? Um, how were you getting around before?"
"The shuttle, but they have taken it apart again."
"Oh. Oh wow. No, teleporting is much easier."
He nodded in agreement, but shot me a dirty look. “The snapping is entirely unnecessary.”
I choked back a laugh. “Pretty much everything here is controlled by clicking on something in the viewer you got when you registered. I just snap for dramatic effect.”
“Mike insists it is not magic here, but technology. Is that correct?”
“Uuhh, he didn’t go all the way into the ‘it’s all zeroes and ones’ speech, did he?”
“No? What is all zeroes and ones?”
I shook my head quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Try not to think about it too much at all, really. Yes, it’s considered technology here. Did you learn about your inventory?”
“Yes, it is in the book.”
“How about environments? Judging from the way you’re squinting I figure you’re going to want to make it dark next.” I gestured for the book, which he handed to me, and flipped through it rapidly to find the instructions.
“That’s impossible!” he exclaimed, when I showed him the page. “You cannot randomly make it nighttime!”
“Just try it. Here, I like this one.”
He did, and the shock and relief on his face proved he did it right. “Who is giving us the ability to control the sun?”
“You can only change it for yourself. Most people shrug and say ‘it’s all pixels.’ Optical illusions.”
He exhaled and relaxed slightly. “Not even Elorhyn can do this.”
“He could if he were here.”
“So it is only possible in this place?”
“I . . . suppose? I’ve never been anywhere else. I’ve heard people talk about other places, but I don’t know how to get to them, and frankly, I’ve done more than enough traveling.”
“And we are permitted? No one tested me to see if I were capable.”
“You’re allowed,” I assured him.
“What if I break something?”
“We all break something once in a while, it’s not a big deal. Ask and someone can help you fix it.”
He nodded uncertainly.
"So . . . ice cream?”
“I would rather not go in there again. The machinery is very loud. But I need it.”
“Need it?” And I thought I had a sweet tooth.
"It is part of my self harmonizing regimen. The sugar increases energy."
"Huh. What about caffeine? Does that help?"
"Caffeine?"
“It helps keep you awake and alert. Like in soda. Or coffee. Java. Joba?" I couldn’t remember what we’d called it. The closest thing was a Freyan drink, hard to find, and not well liked by us in any case.
He wrinkled his nose. "I would rather not."
"Yeah, I don’t blame you. How about this? I'll go in and get something simple for both of us so you don't have to listen to their freezers. We can eat out here, or go explore or something."
He nodded his agreement, and I went into the parlor.
----
Jessie was waiting anxiously. "He's been out there for nearly half an hour! You want me to boot him? I'll boot him so fast -" She demonstrated her hip checking skills against the counter, rattling the dishes in the bin below and causing the cash register bell to ring.
I laughed at the tiny chime. "No, it's ok, we’ve come to an understanding."
"You sure he's not going to try to carry you off, then?”
"Well, he wasn’t very good at it when he tried, he’s since promised he wouldn’t, and now he can't. His crew had to abandon him, and he's stuck here."
"Ooh, sweet revenge."
"Be nice to him, ok? Just think of him as an old soldier with a limited grasp on the language or something."
He hadn't moved when I returned to the bench a few minutes later. "Glad to be back on solid ground?" I asked, handing him a chocolate blizzard. The sprinkles were probably pointless toward the sugar count he wanted, but I bet he'd like the candy bar chunks in it.
"Yes." He poked suspiciously at one of the chunks with a spoon.
"I hope you're letting everyone on that ship know just how nice the breeze is," I added, as I scooped up a few candy bits out of my own blizzard. "And how good the fresh fruit tastes, and everything else they're missing by abandoning you."
He grunted, apparently accepting that the chocolate was edible and tasty. "I could tell them I removed my earplugs. They would be most jealous."
"Of earplug removal?"
"The Voice of Lyra is all motors and fans and echoing metal. It’s painfully loud, and there is no way to escape it. It’s much worse than that shop."
"How long have you been sailing? Or flying? Or whatever spaceships do? How long since you left Lyramir?" Why was I nervous? I had no reason to be, now that he was no longer a threat.
He stared at me, either confused or annoyed by more prattling. "Two years and a half," he finally admitted.
“Oof. The longest trip I was ever on was four months. I was so glad to get off that ship! I can’t imagine how relieved you must feel.”
“You have resumed sailing here?”
“Oh, no. Before, in Lyramir. That was a trip to Frey and Berali and back.”
“You can remember your life in Lyramir?”
“Yes, more or less.” I shrugged. “It didn’t feel that long ago for me. Milo probably told you all about me, so now it’s your turn. I want to hear all about you, and how you ended up on a ship sailing through the Void.”
“I am the Void Ambassador’s Guardian. I go where he goes. Normally.”
“Yep, knew that. What else?” His shoulders hunched up, and he ignored me, concentrating hard on his blizzard. “Oh, come on, it’s just a little friendly conversation, not an interrogation! You didn’t do something bad, did you?”
“No!”
Nothing else was forthcoming, apparently, and I got annoyed. “Well, fine, then, if you won’t tell me, I’m going to make something up!”
I ate a little more ice cream and thought hard, while he did his best to wolf down the rest of his cup. "You’re named after a tree, so you’re probably from the mountain,” I mused out loud. “Which means your family likely either mined, hunted, or grew flowers. But you were just a little one when the Destruction happened, and you all had to flee - to Ilannis, yes? So family tradition probably flew out the window. There were a lot of losses according to the book, and they probably tried to keep everyone close together in an encampment or city. And you probably ended up spending a lot more time with the prince than your family, in an effort to keep his elfsong strong for everyone.”
I considered that prince again, grateful I hadn’t had one in my generation. Everyone else born in a royal year tended to spend their entire lives supporting them. “And he got interested in other types of magics, and probably dragged you along, too, and you became that oddball elf that knew too much about forbidden things and weren’t allowed to use it, so they ultimately figured you’d be a good candidate for this unusual mission because they didn’t know what else to do with you.”
He looked slightly stunned, or possibly confused. The permanent frown on his face was really throwing me off. Either I was exactly right or absurdly wrong. “Am I close?”
He lowered the spoon and cup and closed his eyes in resignation. “I don’t want to discuss my past,” he blurted out, “because I don’t remember it. My memories only go back about fifteen years.”
“What? Oh, shit,” I’d really put my foot in my mouth - instead of my spoonful of ice cream, which slid off and went down my shirt. I yelped and grabbed for the napkins. “I’m so sorry, oh gods, I didn’t mean to - gah, that’s cold! And wet! I mean, I just wanted to find out more about you so I could take you to places here that would interest you - well, I guess you’re getting a free show now . . .” I babbled as I attempted to clean myself up.
Rowan rescued my cup before I spilled it on him, too, and was now watching me with a bit more interest as I fished the napkins back out. “You can tell Milo I haven’t changed much. Usually I’m a hot mess, today I’m a cold one!”
The thought of talking to Milo reminded me of our conversation with him the other day, and suddenly, everything clicked. “Was it Torpor? You said you’d been - it was Torpor! Something went wrong for you. That’s why you’re so curious about what I can remember.”
He handed me the cup back, and reluctantly nodded. “There was an incident that brought all of us out of it prematurely. I was considered one of the fortunate ones.”
“What happened to the rest?”
He shook his head, his lips pressed together. Whatever had happened had not been good.
"But you’re ok otherwise? I mean, you seem normal, although you’re a bit chatty for a guard.”
"I had to relearn everything. How to speak, how to walk. I no longer know the things that all Lyran elves should know, like our history, and songs. I . . . I was living among strangers who don’t appreciate my unintentional offenses.”
Whoa, he was volunteering personal information now, and it was kinda dark. "And now you've got to do it all again, here."
"At least here, no one knew me before, and they expect me to be ignorant."
“But you got rated as a guard.”
“I was a guard before, they told me. My body remembered the training, and I was able to pass those tests much sooner than the others.”
“And so they shoved you on a space ship.”
“Milo is rated for combat, he doesn’t need someone to protect him. They likely thought it would force me to stop avoiding my studies.”
I grinned. “And I bet you left your books up there, too, right?”
He looked away guiltily. “All but one.”
“What. A. Shame. All right, so no questions about your past. Do you want to discuss your future?”
“I’d prefer not to think about it.”
“One day at a time, then? Ok. What have you missed most, then? You’ve had a rough time and you deserve a little fun. Want to explore a bit? I can take you on a tour.”
He shook his head. “No, I need to stay by the shuttle, in case they contact me.”
“What, you have to be on call, twenty-four seven?”
“What does that mean?”
“They expect you to be ready to work at all times, even though you’re too far away to be helpful to them?”
He scraped his spoon slowly along the bottom of the cup. “I will not abandon my duty, even if it is only to answer when they call.”
“You should set up a schedule so you only have to do it once a day or something. Otherwise you’re going to go crazy from boredom.”
“I shall add that to the list of things that may cause me madness.”
I was never going to get my foot out of my mouth at this rate. “It’ll tell you if a message came in? One hour. They can wait for one hour, right? Look at that beach,” I whispered teasingly. “Warm sand, lapping waves, fresh sea breeze.”
The furrow lessened slightly, and he turned to look. “Why do you tempt me so?”
“I’m angry, ok? It’s been four days and I am still pissed that they left you behind. You’re going to be here for a good year, and I will steal your shuttle, piece by piece, and EAT it if they also expect you to sit in it the entire time. Do you want to go walk on the beach a bit? Or I can take you shopping, and we can make your shuttle a little more comfortable for you? One hour, and you can go back.”
He considered my suggestions. “The beach, then. I would very much like a bath.”
As much as I enjoyed that mental visual, I didn’t think the tourists roaming Cherry Cove would be as pleased. “They discourage public bathing here, but you can use my bathroom.”
“I do not want to become dependent on you.”
“Fine, one time opportunity, to make up for the uncomfortable questions, take it or leave it. I have soap just like Anticette Bay makes, and hair oil even better than Plumeria’s. I’ll tell you where I bought it and then you’re on your own.”
“I am unfamiliar with Anticette Bay.”
“What? But . . . Oh no, she’s gone, too? You have to try it, then, It’s wonderful! At least compared to most human soaps, and I’ve searched.”
“It doesn’t smell?”
“Definitely not.”
“It won’t ruin my hair?” He glanced up at mine.
“As much as living on a space ship already has?” I retorted.
He glared at me. I glared back. “One hour. All the hot water you can stand. Yes or no?”
“. . . Yes.”
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