Your Dimension Or Mine? (18 page)

Chapter Thirteen -
Dating Was Easy

As Ari took the last step into the room, she immediately noticed the four new people. They looked nothing like Mayir and his guards. Whereas the men of Zeta were large, imposing, and radiated a strange purple aura she had come to recognize as their magical signature, the four newcomers looked much more human. If she didn’t look at their uniforms.

Three of them stood off to the side dressed in charcoal gray pants that looked metallic and yet when they moved, they flowed like material. Their shirts consisted of a light gray weave that looked remarkably like crisscrossing chains. Covering their shirts was a simple black sash that went over their right shoulder. They stood at attention, a helmet tucked under their left arm.

Leaving them, her eyes fell upon the man standing next to her trainer. Instantly she recognized his face from the picture on the IDS website, but it was so much more intriguing in person. Dark black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail at his neck which emphasized his strong square jaw. From his jaw, her eyes glided up to his lips, which were a deep natural rosy red any woman on earth would kill for. High cheekbones and a straight nose drew her gaze, and for a moment she wondered how he had received the scar that ran from underneath his left eye to his left ear until she finally looked into his silver eyes.

They were looking right back at her and a smile curved up the corners of his lips. “You are even more stunning in person, Arwen,” he said, a strange and yet alluring accent coloring each word. “The men in your dimension must be very happy indeed if all of your females look like you.”

“They seem to want us to be anorexic Barbie dolls,” she said in response, immediately wincing at the stupid line. Why had she never learned to accept a compliment? Terrian cocked his head in confusion.

Mayir snorted, though in all fairness it did look like he tried to hide his amusement. “I have spoken to Terrian about our little problem, and he assures me he is willing to help in any way he can, and considering the expression on his face, I can tell he means it.”

Straightening up, Terrian sent him a quelling look, which just made Mayir laugh aloud. “Come, tell Arwen what is being done on your side,” he said as he sat down on his chair.

Even though he had never once tried to make anyone feel comfortable in the room by getting them something to sit on, Ari wanted Terrian to be as comfortable as possible. Two minutes later a short lavender loveseat appeared as well as three folding chairs near the soldiers. She was quite pleased with her accomplishment until one of the soldiers let out a low chuckle.

“Stop!” Terrian said sharply and the soldier immediately stood straight and looked ahead.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked, looking at the three chairs. Then she saw it. One of the chairs was a kiddie chair. “Oops. I’m still learning,” she explained, glancing between Terrian and his men. To her surprise, one of the men opened the kiddie chair and sat upon it, his back straight, feet on the ground and his head held high.

He turned to her with a solemn expression. “Thank you, my lady. It is rare that one is offered a seat in the house of Mayir.”

She smiled tentatively at him before turning back. “Sorry,” she whispered. Her mind had concentrated so hard on the loveseat that she barely even thought about the chairs.

“It was a kind thing to do,” Terrian assured her. “My personal guards are not usually offered such accommodation. For now, though, I must ask them to leave so the three of us can have a private conversation.” The one who had sat down stood up and all three of them saluted him, stomped their right foot once, turned, and walked out of the room.

That was strange.

“Shall we sit?” Terrian asked, waving toward the love seat.

Once she sat down, she was very aware of the man seated next to her. But she was afraid to say something and embarrass herself in front of both men. She was a constant source of amusement to Mayir as it was.

“I was explaining to Mayir before you came down how my family’s protection works,” Terrian began. “It is not as simple as just electing to protect someone. The protection our family affords its members and guards is granted through a ceremony known as the
Ishmara
. It is very sacred to us and unfortunately, we cannot just share it with everyone. However, there are things we can do to help you, Arwen.”

As she listened to him, she took note of the way his voice would lilt on certain words, and how his mouth formed syllables. It was quite hypnotic. She had never met anyone like him before. Unfortunately, her mind was so caught up in what she was seeing she missed most of what he was actually saying.

“Arwen?” Her name brought her back to the here and now, and she realized she must have missed something.

“Yes?” Maybe if she tried to pass it off as nothing, Mayir wouldn’t comment.

“She was too busy gawking at you to listen.” And then again, maybe not. Shooting him a glare, she focused her mind on the here and now.

“I apologize. What was it you were saying?” she asked Terrian.

“I thought you and I should spend some time in each other’s company. Once we get to know one another, I might be able to help you learn to deflect magical attack by lending you some of my protection. Once you figure out how to do it, you can then practice on your own.”

“Oh. Sounds good.”
And you, Ari, sound like an idiot.
Groaning inwardly, she kept a stupid smile plastered on her face. Maybe there was a dating service for the I-become-an-idiot-around-good-looking-men crowd.

Terrian held out his hand, and she hesitantly put hers into it, relishing the feeling of his skin against hers when he closed his fingers around her palm as they stood up. Before she could ask where they would go, as she knew Mayir would not give up his stone room, the room disappeared and once again they were in the dirt.

“Oh, very funny, Mayir!” she called, a rumbling chuckle his only response. She sent Terrian an apologetic look. “Sorry. He tortured me with this vista for two weeks. He has a sick sense of humor.”

“Well, at least we are alone,” he said with a smile, looking around. “It reminds me of one of the places I take Abriethon.” Dipping down, he dug his fingers in the dirt. “Yes,” he said standing back up. “Just like it.”

“Well,” she said, wanting somewhere comfortable to sit. “Would you like me to conjure some chairs? Or make some grass?”

“Whichever you feel up to doing. Or if you don’t feel like it, we can walk.”

Nodding her head, and hoping she did not make a fool of herself, she closed her eyes and imagined grass. But as Arizona winter grass came to mind, she frowned. It was so sharp and prickly. It would not be comfortable to sit on. Instead, her mind thought of the softness of a favorite stuffed animal from her childhood as she imagined the ground covered in soft green fur-like grass. Slowly, she moved through the steps, making sure she hadn’t overlooked anything, and when she finally opened her eyes she burst out laughing.

As far as the eye could see, the ground was covered in bright green fur. Kicking off her heels, she rubbed her feet along it. “Yep, just like what I remembered,” she giggled. She glanced at her companion who was smiling.

“Is this grass on Earth?” he asked, offering his hand to help steady her as she sat down.

“Not quite. The grass where I come from is prickly and uncomfortable to sit on. So I imagined one of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a kid. His fur made me think of grass at the time.” Her fingers stroked the ground. “Just like this.”

“Before we get into what is going on, tell me how you found the Interdimensional Dating Service,” he said, sitting down next to her. It wasn’t until then that she actually noticed what he was wearing; she had been too fascinated by his face. His pants looked similar to jeans, though they seemed more expensive than any jeans she had ever seen. His shoes were dark gray leather and his shirt a dark gray button-down. He just seemed so human and yet, he wasn’t.

“Well,” she laughed softly. “Did I tell you much about my sisters?”

“Just a little.”

Smiling, she told him about her family. “Well, my sister Cory is now almost fifty years old and she and her boyfriend seem happy. It is my sister Jane who is the most different of the three of us. She likes lists and planning and making sure everything turns out just so. Ever since Mom left, she has made it her job to get me married off. You should see some of the weird guys she has set me up with.” As the words left her lips, she cast him a glance underneath her lashes. How many times had Jane told her a major rule was to never talk about past dates with a new one?

A large smile crossed his face. “Oh, I think I would like to. If they are anywhere near as strange as some of the dates I have been set up on, they are worthy of a story told well.”

“Tell you what, let’s trade off. I will tell you one and then you can tell me one.” If they shared, it couldn’t necessarily be bad. “I’ll start off with my last Jane-approved date.” She went on to describe Jay, from his beady eyes to his leers, before going on to his ability to chew and talk at the same time. By the time she got to his reference of her adult films—the ones that weren’t adult—Terrian was laughing. But when she ended with the fact she got stuck with the bill, he stopped.

“The horrid man left you with the bill? No wonder you have not found anyone worthy of you. What a cad.”

She smiled at his defense of her. “So, what date do you want to start out with? As you have been around for much longer than I have, I’m sure you have some doozies.”

He leaned back on his hands and thought. “Ah, I know. My mother set me up with the daughter of a friend of hers. Kylea is from the Vilean Dimension. They are a very different race than my own—half my size, and the women have beards and mustaches. The evening was quite disconcerting.”

The image of a female dwarf having dinner across from him came to mind, and Ari started to laugh.

“You laugh now. She insisted we go to a restaurant on her world.” He paused, a distinct look of disgust crossing his face. “They do not eat the same things I do either.” He cocked his head in her direction. “When you eat an animal, do you eat the inside or the outside?”

Jerking her head back in surprise at the question, she immediately answered, “Pieces of meat from the inside of the animal.”

“Me too. Vileans think that is disgusting. They eat the skin, fur, and tail of the animal. Feet are a delicacy and…blood is considered better than wine,” he shuddered. “Vilean bruckbeast is not palatable.”

Giggling, she smiled. “I don’t think I could have done it.”

“Our date was cut short,” he said dryly.

“What’s your world like?”

“Ahh, the Delania Dimension is made up of many planets, but as far as I know, ours is the only one that is habitable. Darinth is quite large with three continents. The one I live on is the largest and yet least populated. Our hamlet is the largest one on the planet. The library we live in is right in the middle of the city…”

“Wait. Library. I’m beginning to think that what you think a library is and what I think a library is are two different things.” Remembering his messages, she was pretty sure of it.

He raised an eyebrow. “The building you live in is a house, yes?”

“Well, I lived in an apartment, but a building for one family is a house.”

“A library is a very large house containing not just living spaces, but also a ballroom, kitchens, guest rooms for dignitaries…”

“Sounds like a palace,” Ari said, her eyes wide. “Like where royal or really rich people live.”

“Royal! Yes! My father is the crown prince, as such, we live there. Well, most of us.”

“You live in a palace and your father is the crown prince…” Her voice drifted off even as her heart went thud. There was no way she had anything in common with a prince. IDS seemed crueler by the minute. Looking straight at him, she grimaced. “I’m nobody, Terrian. A simple girl from a simple town on Earth. I’m not good enough…”

“Good enough for what?” he asked in surprise. “For me? Arwen, my father may be the crown prince, but that does not mean I am in any way set for the throne. My eldest brother will receive it when my father steps down and then his eldest son after him. I work with technology, making sure our people have the best we can provide, but I am still just a nice guy. And I like you.”

Her ankle tingled making her smile. “I like you too, but…”

He held up a hand. “No buts. We will get to know one another. If you like me, then the rest is just details. Now, what does library mean to you?”

They spent many hours talking out on the green fur until Mayir brought them back. It was a bit startling to be sitting on a comfortable blanket of fur one moment with the sun shining down on you and in the next be seated uncomfortably on a cold, hard floor staring up at him.

“Cute,” she said, letting Terrian help her to her feet.

“The day is almost over. Have dinner and try to get some sleep. I have wrapped protection around the entire building. He will not get to you tonight. You and Terrian can talk tomorrow.”

She turned to let her date know how much she enjoyed getting to know him, but with a huff, Mayir waved his arm and she was suddenly in her room. “Mayir!”

He never responded. “Old fuddy-duddy.”

For three days, she was able to spend the daytime with Terrian even though the nights Mayir sent her up to her room the moment he brought them back. Sometimes he acted like an old mother hen. If he thought he was protecting her virtue, he was a decade too late.

On the fourth day, she elected to wear a pair of shorts and a camisole, much to her trainer’s disgust. Terrian had not arrived when she went downstairs and the moment he saw her outfit, Mayir switched it to one of his naughty Snow White ensembles. “Stop that!” she snapped, switching it back.

“That outfit is not very ladylike.”

“And yours is?”

“At least it covers your legs.”

“Get over it. I have nice legs.”

Their argument would have continued, but Terrian arrived, and the next thing she knew they were out on the green fur. “At least he left it this way,” she said, sitting down with her legs crossed in front of her.