Counterweave

5. STUNNING

As she promised, Chala stunned him in her lacy gold and white gown that revealed the shadow of her bronze body beneath it. All eyes would turn toward to her. His heart pounded in desire as he escorted her into his sleek silver aircar. Ten days, he needed to remind himself. In ten more days she will be mine physically.

He slid the aircar into a rooftop parking slot where their host's guards met them, and led them into the penthouse apartment.

The host announced them as they entered, and everyone bowed. After a luscious dinner, their hostess rang a bell and led them into the ballroom. By now Salettin knew most of the leading families in this Sector, but he wanted to test his knowledge.

"Isn't that Tri'ndel Enmis?" he asked her in Xantis Tey. She knew all the leading families.

"Yes. How wonderful! Soon you will know everyone in this Sector, those worth knowing anyway."

"It's you, my Chala, who makes it possible. Your ability to increase my popularity will be especially helpful when we move to Sector One."

"We're moving?" She glanced at him in surprise.

"Not until after the wedding ceremony, of course, but yes. I have holdings there." He had to get her accustomed to buying and selling slaves, which was most accepted in Sector One. "Actually, I have holdings in all five Sectors. I doubt we will stay in any one place for long." He wanted to give her no time to develop close friendships with Outsiders. Ever.

As the woman came closer he noticed she no longer wore the

Enmis colors. "She's no longer an Enmis, Chala."

"She looks so sad. Could we go to her?"

"Then let's go." With one hand around her waist, he stepped toward Tri'ndel.

"I really think I should go alone."

Where had that come from? He slipped inside her mind to find out. She was unable to notice when he did. He had begun the very first day of their engagement dinner. Now his presence in her mind was as comfortable as the air she breathed.

He fought a nudge of guilt. The Talented should never be so accessible. What if his father had such an easy way into his mind? Someday soon he would need to return access to her shield to her. After the wedding, he promised himself.

He laughed. "We go together, Chala. We always go together.

You know that."

She looked confused. "I know. How silly of me to forget."

Tri'ndel didn't see Salettin. As soon as she saw Chala, she hugged the Princess close as if they had once been friends. Chala handled herself well, however. He watched as his Princess allowed the Nevian to sob in her arms. She patted the woman's back as if she comforted a slave. Indeed, no one in three galaxies equaled his people. This Outsider woman, even though Talented, was still not the equal of his Chala, and his wife knew it to be true.

"I was the top of my class," Tri'ndel said. "I thought I showed promise. I thought..." She straightened, composing herself. "I wanted to go into politics like your mother, and had applied to be her page, but my husband refused. He is not sterile, as most of them are." Then she pointed to the small mound of her belly. "And he wants a horrendously large family. He says we owe it to our species to propagate. Isn't there more to life than making babies?"

Salettin felt Chala hesitate as she struggled with Tri'ndel's reference to Mother. Her conditioning associated all maternal references toward his stepmother. Chala believed the story of her rescue from streets by General A'nden and the Lady D'ey Sol. Alrenn reinforced her belief that the Lady Commissioner was cold, and her adoptive father a severe disciplinarian, making Alrenn the only one who really cared for the poor thing.

Salettin hated what his stepmother had done. Chala had loving parents. After his conversation with General A"nden about the miner's cabin, he was beginning to feel a grudging respect for the Nevian. Someday, once he felt confident Chala was thoroughly Xantis Tey in her mind as well as in her actions, he intended to allow his wife to know them again.

"Isn't it?" Tri'ndel asked, worried when Chala seemed to be ignoring her question.

"Yes," Chala said. "There is more to life than making babies."

Her next question gave him a start. "How many children do you want to have?"

"Maybe two. I want this one. I am not so self-centered that I would destroy a life to further my own. Maybe in a few years I might want one more, but he wants four! Have you ever heard of so many children in one family?"

"My mother had seven," Salettin said. "Although we have not discussed it, I'm fairly certain we also want a large family. Isn't that right, Chala?" He needed to take control at once. She was coming too close to independent thought.

You know how few Xantis Tey there are on this planet, he said.

Tri'ndel's husband has a point, since the Nevians, also, have a limited population. Shouldn't she comply with her husband's wishes?

Chala smiled and opened her mouth to say Salettin's words, when Tri'ndel spoke again. "We aren't given many choices, are we?"

"Oh, I guess..." ...we don't need any, she had intended to add.

"People criticize you behind your back for your scandalous clothing, but you don't have any more of a choice than I do."

Chala gave a light laugh. "I know everyone talks, and I ignore them. Besides, I love my dresses. At least I'm not swaddled in so many layers of cloth I can't move or breathe."

Tri'ndel chuckled. "I remember at school how we used to pretend we were Irelli and could wear common attire, sometimes even trousers like they do. All the antics we did! I thought I'd never laugh again. Do you know what I really want? I can give up my career plans, since I would love to have a family, but right now all I want is for this to be my only child."

Salettin felt Chala's emotions as she hugged Tri'ndel. The hug, however, turned into a trickle of energy. He watched in surprise as his Princess prevented any further eggs from forming in Tri'ndel's body.

Should you hope for another child, he heard his wife say to her in mind speech, find Zilla. You always have more choices than you know.

But as soon as she finished, he saw that she found herself confused again, as if she had no idea what she had done, or why.

"Come and see me after your son is born," she said aloud. "I would like to see your baby boy." Suddenly she turned away. "My lord Salettin, I've got to go."

"Yes. The dance floor awaits."

"I... I wanted to..."

She wanted to leave the party and go somewhere else, he noted. Home? Maybe, but she wanted to be alone to think, that much he discovered in her mind. Alone? That should be impossible. He had placed a tremendous fear of being alone inside her mind.

"You insatiable woman!" he said, pretending to misunderstand. "Now you'll want to dance until noon."

She giggled, and Salettin gave an internal sigh of relief. He had distracted her. That thought, urge, whatever it had been, no longer existed.

He kept his full probe inside her mind all night, searching for the thing that had set her mind off track. He did not find it.