Untitled (2 page)

   "That was it?"

   "That was it. I spoke to my father and am now ready to accompany you. Shall we?" She opened the door and he quickly moved to take her bag from her.

   "Yes, ma'am. They are prepping my shuttle and we should be ready to fly by the time we arrive." Tynir was looking a little flustered, but he moved with her down the hall, keeping his eyes open for any of the other giants lurking around.

   "So, your father knows that you will be on Jotunheim?" There was a casual nervousness in his tone.

   "Yes, he does. He has always been in favour of his children exploring new planets and societies." It was true, Baileez was always interested in what his children experienced, he considered it a step in their personal evolution.

   "Ah. Is he planning to come and visit?"

   She chuckled. "Probably not. It depends on his retirement plan or what my mother makes him do."

   Fen was eager to get to the surface. Not only would she see a new civilization, but also she would be able to keep track of Jin and Sol again. They were currently beyond her mental reach, but on the surface, that would no longer be the case. If the giants thought that separating them by geography would work, they would be sadly mistaken.

   "Your mother rules the king?"

   "She submits when she has to, usually in public. In private, they are on very even footing." Not one of their children interrupted their private time twice. Once was enough to traumatize their offspring for life.

   "Interesting. I have not heard much about your mother."

   "That is the way she likes it. She is tired of being in the public eye and will no doubt force my father to abdicate so she can spend time with her growing selection of grandchildren."

   They were nearing the shuttle bay and she fell silent. He seemed to be mulling over her words.

   Tynir led her to a waiting shuttlecraft. "Please take the navigator's station. I will stow your bag and we can get clearance for departure."

   She nodded and took her seat, strapping in out of habit. Fen regretted her impulse a second later when he spun her chair to face him and kissed her with an intensity that made her strain against the harness.

   Her fingers scraped his shoulders while her chest tried to lift to him. He tasted of icy mint, cool and refreshing while being hot at the same time.

   The texture of his mouth was firm and unyielding, but when he completed his exploration, he leaned back with a smirk of satisfaction and a blaze of heat in his ice blue eyes. "Just confirming before we leave."

   He swivelled her chair and locked it back into position.

   Fen swallowed and tried to calm her stuttering heart. "Confirming what?"

   "That you were the one. It is all well and good to know it in your heart, but sometimes the head cries out for confirmation." He slid behind the controls and began their exit of Raven's Rest.

   As they entered the blackness of space and rotated their trajectory to Jotunheim, Fen felt a shiver of disquiet. One of the girls was in trouble. She just didn't know which one. Her impatience to reach the surface doubled and she mentally spurred Tynir onward. He didn't respond, but his hands imperceptibly shifted as he increased their speed.

   She sat back and let a small smile play across her lips. She hadn't used the full pressure of her mind on his, but he had done her bidding. This was an auspicious start to their future dealings.

"This is my home."

   He circled the crystalline towers, slowly showing off his home. A village was inside the delicate keep, the population looked to be in the low dozens.

   "It's lovely."

   "Thank you. The weather here is cold, but you don't seem to be suffering from a difference in temperature."

   She laughed. "Hickom is on the cold side. My mother used to joke that my elemental talent was in self-defence. I was born in a snowstorm."

   "Your talents manifested at birth?"

   "Before birth. My mother had all of the windows wide open during her entire pregnancy. I was her personal warmer that winter." She snickered.

   "The city is crystal, not ice, so warm any room you wish to as much as you wish to." He was smiling and there was a relaxed attitude to his shoulders that had not been there on the station. Surrounded by ice, he thawed just by looking at his home.

   The shuttle landing was not smooth, jarring Fen's teeth as they bumped to a halt.

   She waited until she was positive that the shuttle was powered down before unbuckling her harness. "That was enough to turn my hair white. You don't fly much, do you?"

   He grinned. "I fly often. I just land as infrequently as possible."

   She sighed in frustration and got out of her seat. He retrieved her bag, leading her to the door before he opened it to let in the frosty air. "You could have warned me to bring a coat."

   He laughed. "I honestly didn't think of it."

   She stretched and called her fire. A wave of heat started to come off her skin and she grinned brightly. "Not a problem. I have it covered."

   He wrapped an arm around her waist and used the grip to shepherd her into the glittering residence that he called home. Knowing grins flowed over the faces of the males and speculation ran over those of the females that they passed.

   "Why are they looking at me like that?"

   "The men are imagining what a little thing like you would look like in their bed and the women are wondering how you would manage it." He was chuckling at his attempt at humour, but Fen wasn't impressed.

   "You won't have to worry about me in your bed for a while." She snickered at his sudden change in expression.

   He did not look happy.

   "My lord, welcome home." Four women were lined up in the great hall and all bobbed a curtsy as they approached.

   "Gel, Mari, Narila and Mishka. This is Princess Fehniel of Hickom."

   The ladies bobbed acknowledgement as their names were spoken. Mari gave Fen an unfriendly glare, but the elemental ignored it. That was par for the course when a new female stepped into an existing society. The fact that she was almost a foot shorter than the giantesses didn't make them feel more secure.

   "Greetings, ladies."

   Gel was the eldest, she smiled. "Greetings, Princess. I am the housekeeper and Narila will be your personal maid while you are here. Mari and Mishka do the cleaning and make the beds."

   Fen nodded as each woman was introduced in more detail.

   "I will show her to her room, Narila, if you could join us in a few minutes to assist her in dressing for dinner?"

   "Yes, my lord. Of course." The woman had been gilded with frost, her hair was kissed with silver, her eyes were stormy grey and her long, belted tunic was also grey with silver accents. There was no particular livery to the household and that made Fen heave a sigh of relief. Uniforms were not necessary unless one was trying to prove an equality or rank. The fact that they were not used here was soothing. All were on relatively equal footing in this household.

   Fen let herself be whisked through glittering halls and she let her senses keep her oriented in the large space.

   "I have to ask you. Why is Jotunheim such a sparsely populated planet?"

   He walked her past studies, libraries and game rooms. "We have a zero population growth. Originally, these lands were ripped from the surface of other worlds and delivered here in a great storm of Alliance ships. To keep our people from gathering in separate societies, those towns, villages and enclaves were torn into small chunks and mixed on the surface of Jotunheim. Forced to find matches from other giant species proved undesirable for many and our population began to shrink."

   "Don't any of the couples have multiple children?"

   "Yes, but not enough to make up for all those who do not. We are a dying race." He stopped in front of two large doors. "These are the guest rooms. Consider them yours while you are here."

   He swung the doors open and she whistled softly as she walked in. A com centre, desk and a huge bed were arranged precisely in the crystal blue room. She enjoyed the sparse simplicity right down to the low couch in a rich burgundy that sat in a reading nook near the window. Natural light was everywhere and she quickly had the room up to her preferred temperature with a slight exertion of her talent.

   Tynir was waiting in the doorway. "It meets with your approval?"

   "It does."

   "Good. Gel will have dinner for us in an hour. The bathing room is to your left and the personal library is to your right."

   She cocked her head. "Why do you have so many libraries?"

   "It gets very cold here and we tend to stay indoors when we can." He grinned and bowed his head. "I will see you for dinner."

   He left her bag on a table next to the doors and closed them behind him.

   Narila's timid knock came as Fen was unpacking her bag and lining the gowns up in a wardrobe. "Come in."

   The young woman peeked around the corner before she took a rush of steps toward Fen, "Oh, Princess. You should not be doing that. It is my job."

   "Calm, Narila. It is my clothing and my job. Now, how do I work the shower? I have tried everything I can think of."

   The young woman showed her the trick to starting the faucets—a firm pressure to the centre of the taps. Fen wallowed in a hot shower while Narila completed the unpacking.

   She cheated and fluffed her hair with heat. It was bad for it, but it did dry her faster than any towel ever developed. She wrapped her body in the linen and padded out to the bedroom.

   Narila was waiting next to the wardrobe. "What will you wear to dinner, Princess?"

   "Please, call me Fehniel, or Lady Fehniel if you must. My world is far away as is my birth title." Fen looked through her selections and drew out a midnight blue Hickom gown with the matching sash.

   "The gown goes over my head and the cincher is wound around and around over my breasts and to the top of my hips. Are you up for the challenge?"

   Narila's eyes lit up with anticipation. "I am indeed, Lady Fehniel. The silk felt wonderfully soft when I was hanging it up."

   "Then let's get this show on the road, as my mother would say." She slid the gown over her head and settled it into place. She lifted the sleeves and held them free so that the wrapping could begin.

   It took five minutes to get the wrap settled, but eventually she was confined from breast to hip. "Wonderful. Thank you."

   The maid was sweating lightly. Tying the cincher was not for the faint of heart. "That is a fascinating piece of clothing. I noticed you don't wear undergarments under it."

   "It does not really allow for it. If you can help me into sandals, that would be appreciated. I should have put them on before I got dressed."

   "Point them out and step in. I will do the rest."

   With only a minor amount of teetering, she was ready for dinner.

   Narila was almost giddy with excitement. She showed her room after room as they made their way to the dining hall. The hall had a few banquet tables and Tynir was sitting at the head table with a pensive look on his face. As Narila cleared her throat, he looked up and his expression changed from internal concentration to something darker, hotter.

Chapter Three

Dinner was excellent, Gel was proud as a few young men brought course after course. Some foods didn't agree with Fen's Hickom sensibilities. Her senses were keen and she only took a small bite of the dishes that her enhanced senses told her that she wouldn't like. Most of the time, her senses were dead right.

   Conversation was light, Tynir kept flicking his gaze at her gown and finally he made a comment. "Is that… traditional?"

   "It is the formal wear for a high-ranking female of Hickom. I rarely get to dress up, so I took the opportunity tonight."

   "It is very striking."

   "Thank you." She grinned. "Your formal tunic and vest are very nice as well. Who does your embroidery?"

   "My mother. She does it just to annoy my father." He was smiling as he ran his long fingers over the stars and snowflakes etched into leather in silver.

   "My mother has similar habits. Stuff that drives him nuts."

   A young woman played the harp softly and the hall went silent. They listened to the music swelling and swirling through the air and when Fen looked down, her hand was holding Tynir's.

   The impromptu concert continued as the evening darkened the walls. The harp was replaced by a lute. The lute by an instrument that was struck with small wooden sticks. When the trio played together for a final piece, the room burst into applause.

   Some folks brought out board games and started to throw dice, a few sets of worn cards were flourished. Fen smiled. "Is it like this every night?"

   "Whenever I am home. Would you care to see the view from the top of the towers?"

   She smiled. "That would be lovely."

   "You can see Raven's Rest from here. It glows blue in the darkness." Still holding her hand, he pulled her to her feet and escorted her to one of the towers. They climbed upward in silence, each step bringing a light draft of cool air to her face.