Conception - Beadality: Book 1

3 - Cerulea's

 As Meigwen and Selinda crossed the balcony at the grand entrance to Cerulea's, Selinda broke into a smooth sashay into the cavernous lobby then reverted without hesitation, seemingly without transition, into her previous smooth glide, now a few steps ahead of her sister. Expansive murals lined the left and right walls, depicting village life in a river valley on the left, and a cluster of low single and double story haciendas populated by colorfully dressed people on the right. The height of the ceiling was illusory, while still a rather high seven meters, it appeared nearly twice that at its apparent apex, with gemlike crystals tiling a mosaic tapestry whose surface curved to a dome visibly higher above the center of the hall than was possible in the two story suite which this establishment occupied. And from this peak, hung a grand chandelier with an octopus, more accurately a hexadecapus, of curved glass arms each adorned with brightly colored distal gems. Near each of their lower tips hung another hexadecapus on each, also with glowing gemstones at all of their lowest points.

"Good evening ladies," implored the smooth yet husky voice of the proprietor, "Welcome to Cerulea's. How may I be of assistance?" He was a solidly built, caramel-skinned gentleman with hair the color of papaya seeds naturally curled as ringlets above his well-chiseled face. Although he wore a cerulean blue cotton vest, this came only down to the bottom of his ribs and was open at the front, save for the elegantly woven black clasp across his chest. Selinda's eyes cursorily glanced over his work-honed body and only briefly noticed his clear diamond-like belly bead.

Selinda turned toward Meigwen, and without hesitation, Meigwen chimed in, "We've come to build a chandelier, please," after a breath, adding "for my spice's annual."

"Certainly, ladies," the clerk acknowledged, "What size are you interested in working with for this occasion?" His eyes glanced overhead to the grandiose glowing assemblages overhead in the lobby, almost as if to hint by reference that the sky's the limit on size here, and by suggestion that they he would be fine with them spending the evening building a crystalline creation.

Meigwen let her lips part slightly as she inhaled deeply while her eyes took in the realm of possibilities herein. Then, with a sprinkle of dreaminess still in her smile as she recomposed herself and met the clerk's welcoming eyes, she clarified "Just a single-level hexadecapus for our dining room, actually." Having said it, she grinned more fully with a satisfaction which rose up from deep in her heart as she imagined how much she and Goalen would both enjoy eating by gemlight. For this was her whole reason for venturing to Cerulea's, which was not only the finest purveyor of such illuminating edification, but the innovator in such elegant delights.

"Very well, then," replied the clerk, "My name is Devin. Please come this way and you can get started." He led them straight back across the lobby and into a smaller room with a lower ceiling, more of a hallway really, with alcoves or openings on either side, and after about thirty meters, Devin led the serene sisters into a room on the right. What had been a dimly lit alcove filled only with ambient light from the hall slowly grew brighter as they entered. As if manifesting from a fog, out of the formerly mere shadows slowly appeared a table and chairs. "Please," Devin suavely suggested, "make yourselves comfortable."

The chairs were simply semi-spherical balls, each about 70 centimeters in diameter, upon which Meigwen and Selinda unhesitating took positions on opposite sides of the table, facing one another. Devin stood beside the hallway side of the table, outstretching a fist with fingers down over the table, then quickly opening his fingers wide as the surface of the table sprang to life, unfading from black to a glowing array of beads and gems. The glowing grins of the seated sisters rivaled the beauty of the gems themselves. Meigwen softly said a slow "Yes" in delight. Red rubies glistened in a tray in the corner of the table toward Selinda and Devin. Countless facets of green garnets shone brilliantly in the adjacent corner near Meigwen. Two dozen compartments of such stones adorned the tabletop, yet one square section ten centimeters square lay empty in the center of the table.