Of course, she hit me. Even though I was unsurprised, I staggered back, reeling far more from her anger than the force of her blow. I had waited so achingly long for her to return, only to risk disaster. There was no turning back now. “Did my uncle send you to mock me?” she raged.
“I can prove what I say.” Or, at least, I hoped so, since I had never before forced the transformation through my own will. But I felt in my heart that my agonized yearning was but a reflection of the true desires within me, desires innate to the core of my being.
I raised my arms. My flesh was ripped away from me, consumed by blue flame. So stunned was Tara by the apparition that she stepped back, collapsing against the edge of the bed. “The mothman,” she gasped. “The one that followed me…”
But the vision was gone in an instant, replaced by Daniel, the flower-face, the boy who once handed her his heart encased in a blossom. “I followed you,” he said. “But your shuttle was too fast. I couldn’t catch it before it flew farther than I could travel.”
*****
Now wait a minute, says Mickey. That’s so far off topic…
Ailann said to tell my story. Patrick started to tell it in his novel, so I thought I’d finish.
But that story isn’t even…
Mickey, shush, says Evan. Let him talk.
Am I missing something? says Manasseh. No matter how many branches I search, I can’t remember any of this.
*****
Tara jumped from the edge of the bed, throwing herself around Daniel’s shoulders. In an instant, all the tears she had suppressed were loosed, and she buried her face against his neck, sobbing wildly. “I don’t understand. I saw you die.”
“I’ll explain everything later. But first, allow me to greet you properly.”
Tara looked up. Their eyes met first, followed by their lips. Moved by the heat of passion, Daniel swept her into his arms and laid her gently upon the bed.
*****
You don’t remember it, Manasseh, because it didn’t happen, says Mickey. He’s making it up.
It’s a good story, though, says Daniel. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
It’s not quite, quite…Evan stammered.
It’s a fucking bad romance novel, says Cillian. Daniel never swept Tara onto the bed in his life. And it would look fucking ridiculous if he tried because even though any of us is strong enough, Daniel weighs about 45 kilos soaking wet. And you all know he wouldn’t put the moves on her. He’d stand there with his lopsided grin, looking like a puppy dog waiting for a meattreat.
You didn’t have to be mean about it, says Evan. It is a nice story, but it would make more sense for Sloane to sweep Tara into his arms. He’s the strong, silent type.
*****
Tara jumped from the edge of the bed, throwing herself around Daniel’s shoulders. In an instant, all the tears she had suppressed were loosed, and she buried her face against his neck, sobbing wildly. “I don’t understand. I saw you die.”
“I’ll explain everything later. But first, allow me to greet you properly.”
Tara looked up. Their eyes met first, followed by their lips. As they kissed, he could feel the moisture of her tears against the skin of his neck. “I don’t understand,” she sobbed. “I don’t understand what Sloane meant when he said he was my tree, or how it is you’re still alive.”
But their impassioned greeting was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Milady?” It was Lady Magdelaine Lorma. “Are you all right? I heard a loud…”
Tara shot a frightened glance over to Daniel. In an instant he transformed back into me. Lady Lorma barged into the room, froze, gasped audibly. “What are you doing with…with a…with a servant?”
“He came…he heard a noise outside my window,” Tara said nervously. She knew if her uncle were to find the lovers here, it would mean disaster.
I could feel her racing heart, knew that her lovely hands were trembling. How I longed to comfort her.
*****
I’m gonna barf, says Cillian. If that really happened, do you know how she would answer?
It is Sloane’s story, says Dermot. If you don’t like it, you can write your own.
“Am I to understand correctly that none of this is true?” asks Phhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnv.
It’s absolutely true, says Dermot. Just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Are we getting to the sex soon? says Tommy.
All right, says Cillian, I think I will. THIS is what would really happen.
*****
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Milady?” It was Lady Magdelaine Lorma. “Are you all right? I heard a loud…”
“Shit!” said Tara, glancing quickly back at Daniel. But her eyes caught only a fading blue glow, and then Sloane was sprawled upon the bed.
Lady Madonna barged into the room, froze, gasped audibly. “What are you doing with…with a…with a servant?”
“Getting laid,” said Tara. “Is there a problem?”
“If your husband ever found out…if your uncle ever found out…they’d send you back to Volparnu faster than…”
“Well, they’d better not find out then. Besides, this is exactly the kind of therapy that Dr. Traeger ordered.”
“What?”
“He said that the cold weather on Volparnu had frozen my fertility, and that I needed some heat before I could conceive.”
“He meant the hot climate of Sideria.”
“Lady Madonna, I don’t know how much you understand about science, but we have amassed millions of years of evidence proving that this is exactly the kind of heat that gets a woman pregnant.”
Lady Lorma pursed her lips, drawing the loose skin on her face into an agitated hollow. “You don’t intend,” she rasped, “to pass off a bastard child as Tenzain Merkht’s offspring?”
Tara tilted her head slightly. “Come to think of it, that isn’t a bad idea.”
“Milady!”
“I’m joking. I expect he’d do a paternity test. Now would you please leave us before you rouse the whole household?” The lady-in-waiting shot her an angry glance before scuttling backwards like a seven-legged starburst crab.
*****
Yeah, says Tommy. That’s exactly what Tara would say. It’s still sexy, though.
All right, now that we’ve got that straightened out, Cillian says, Sloane can finish it.
“I really don’t see the point,” says the Floatfish. “If you’re going to lie, shouldn’t you be making up a story about how impressive you are? One in which you save the lives of sentient beings everywhere, instead of this maudlin reproductive melodrama?”
I stopped the Microbials, Cillian says. I did save sentient beings everywhere. I don’t have to fucking make that up.
*****
“I’m sure I haven’t heard the end of this,” Tara sighed. “But Sloane, what is going on?”
“It’s hard to explain. And also, it’s an enormous secret, so I beg you not to tell a soul. Hina Nau’gsh trees are sentient. We come out of the trees as the mothmen, and then we can take human form through the power of our alchemy.”
Her lovely eyes widened. “You mean you really are my tree?”
I nodded. “The day you met Daniel was the first time that tree bloomed.”
“I remember,” she said. “Daniel gave me a flower.”
“It bloomed because he saw you coming down the beach. It’s blooming now. I can feel it. I can feel it in my chest, the petals of my heart opening. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
*****
That’s a lovely image, says Evan, dabbing his eyes.
Maybe you could set it to music, says Cillian, in a rather sarcastic tone.
Cillian just doesn’t seem to appreciate what I’m doing for everyone.
What are you doing for everyone? he asks, confirming my suspicion.
I’m giving all of us a happy ending.
I’m not quite sure I see how that can happen, says Malachi, since if you had revealed yourself to Tara, there would be no need for any of us.
That’s not true. Circumstances would separate the star-crossed lovers. For example, I would still die while saving her from Merkht’s assassin, but both of us would know it was a ruse to protect my secret. So when she went home to Dolparessa, she and Evan would become lovers immediately. And she’d still be sent away to Earth by the command of the 5th Matriarch. But she and Evan would have a tearful farewell with the promise to be eternally faithful. And then the other emanations would follow, all to help her to achieve her destiny. There’s another great scene where she takes the job on the science station. Mickey sneaks into her room at night and reveals himself. And then, when the explosion happens, he rescues her again, but this time she knows that Tommy is waiting to hide her. Tommy keeps her safe until the Matriarch grants her a divorce, allowing her to become Empress of Sideria. Which will still happen because the Arya Archon is still dying. See? The only difference is that instead of pining away in a haze of whiskey and cigarettes, Tommy spends his nights wooing her under the stars.
Yeah, says Tommy, except for one thing. That pining away in a haze of whiskey and cigarettes is me. I wouldn’t be who I am without it.
Wait, says Evan. You mean you’d rather have all that heartbreak? That makes no sense at all.
So would I, says Ross. I wouldn’t change a thing.
We all stare at him.
The pain isn’t just a part of who I am. It’s a part of who she is.
I understand, says Dermot. But let Sloane have his dream.
Of course Sloane can have his dream, says Tommy. That’s who he is.