Auz Burger

Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal Chapter 7 Tisha sat down at the galley table, exhausted. The captain was in the fabrication room, monitoring the construction of the new electrical parts. She had kicked Tisha out to go eat and get some rest, before the next step of laying down the converter pathways. Tisha knew that if she went to her quarters for some rest first she would end up oversleeping and not have enough time to eat before she had to go back to the fabrication room. Because of this, she had chosen to stop at the galley first before going down to her quarters. Caspen was also in the galley, rummaging around in the cold storage bins for something to heat up. He must have been taking a break from working in the bays because he was half half-dressed in loose fitting clothes and a pair of shorts. For a moment, Tisha debated asking Caspen if he could heat up something for her something too. But that would have been lazy. She was no longer the daughter of an elite household. Tisha was more than capable of heating up her own food- — exhaustion or no exhaustion. She went to push her chair out away from the table, when she noticed something in a bowl sitting in the middle of the galley table. Candied letaya blooms. Tisha froze in shock. She hadn’t seen candied letaya blooms since before she and Caspen had had to flee Esthia during the Dakunas invasion. They were Tisha's favorite treat when she was a small child.When Tisha had been a small child, they had been her favorite treat. She reached forward and carefully took one out of the bowl on the table. Cradling the bloom in her hand, she stared at it in wonder. “Caspen, where did these come from?” 129 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal Caspen turned around, half distracted, his focus mostly on the oshgete he was reheating. “Hmm, what?” “These.” Tisha stood up from her chair and walked over to the hearth where Caspen was cooking. She held the bloom up in her hand for him to see. He didn’t look as shocked or as surprised as she was at seeing the flower. “Oh, those. I brought them up. Go ahead and have some.” He went back to stirring his oshgete as he pulled a small container of jespka meat out that Peshta had brought back on the ship from the market. She watched as he mixed it in with the oshgete. Tisha was confused though, as to why he wasn’t as in awe as she was at finding something from their world. It had taken the captain two solar turns to find a market vendor that had Esthian sand to make the glass sculptures hung from the galley ceiling. Tisha wasn’t even sure something like candied letaya blooms had ever been traded off of Esthia. “I don’t actually eat letaya blooms anymore. I used to love them when I was a child though,.” Tisha told him. Every solar turn, she would get excited turns before the harvest even happened, knowing that they would be coming soon. Her family had made sure that their household was one of the first to receive delivery of the blooms once they were ready. Caspen stopped stirring his food for a moment. “Why did you stop eating them?” 130 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal At the question Tisha blushed, her face turning a dark green. It was embarrassing to admit why she had stopped, but she didn’t want to lie either. She sat down on a stool near the prep counter looking down at the bloom in her hand. “Because I did something I’m ashamed of. You were from a lower caste, so you may never have had a chance to taste candied letaya blooms. It was something reserved for the elite households. They couldn’t be found during the whole solar turn. They only bloomed underwater for two turns. Once they bloomed, the shop family that grew them would candy them and then deliver them to the elite households that had managed to place orders. There were only ever a certain number of blooms. The family would take orders, but when the blooms ran out, no more orders could be taken. It wasn’t just that they were rare. They were also the most delicious thing you could have ever tasted.” Tisha noticed Caspen had taken the oshgete off the flames and was now dividing it onto two plates. He placed one on the prep counter beside her. She wanted to tell him no, but her stomach growled in thanks. He handed her a pair of chopsticks and stood near the fire, eating his own plate. “That doesn’t explain though why you stopped eating them though,.” He he answered. No, it didn’t. So far, Tisha had told Caspen everything about the letaya blooms, except what had happened. She had been different then, but she was worried now of what Caspen would think of her. Tisha couldn’t hide who she had been. He knew she had been from an elite caste back then. Whatever he would think of her now, she would have to accept as a consequence of her past actions. 131 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal “When I was six or seven solar turns, I snuck down into the kitchens of the lowers, because I just couldn’t wait for the letaya blooms to be delivered. I wasn’t allowed down there, but I went anyway. A boy from the shop knocked on the door of the lower entry and had the candied blooms with him. He said he was supposed to leave them with an adult, but I told him it was okay to leave them with me. He was a few solar turns older than I was, but that didn’t matter. I was elite and he was a lesser. One of the lowest castes there was. He had to do what I said. He left the blooms with me. I snuck open the box to eat just one petal and got so greedy I ended up eating the entire box. I decided to hide what I had done, so I threw the box in the cooking fire.” Tisha kept her eyes glued on the bloom in her hand. The oshgete that Caspen had made for her lay untouched on the counter. She took a deep breath before she told him the rest. “My family accused the shopkeeper of forgetting our order or selling it to another household. The delivery boy was made forced to come back again so he could be made to tell my family where he took our box to. He was honest and told my family he gave it to me. But I lied. I said I had never seen him before and that I wasn’t even allowed near the lowers’ space. So, how could I have taken the box? My word meant more than the boy’s did. No one believed him. The lowers who worked in our household took him down to the kitchen and he was given lashings on his back. I could hear his screams from my room. The shop had to not only replace the box I had eaten, but they also had to pay my family as an apology. After that though, I could never eat another bloom again. Just the thought of eating them made me think ofmakes me hear the screams from the delivery boy in my head. The lashes he got because I had lied,.” the 132 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal shame bubbled up in Tisha, regret burning through her once again, at the thought of what she had done so many solar turns ago. Caspen placed his plate on the counter, laying the chopsticks to the side of the empty dish. “Your family ordered the blooms every solar turn. No one realized that you had stopped eating them?” He looked at her with a sad note in his voice. “My family was quite big. Everyone enjoyed them. I doubt anyone paid enough attention to realize that I had stopped eating the blooms. Plus, every elite household ordered the blooms every solar turn. They were such a sought after item. To have not received them said something about the status of your household.” Caspen sighed. “Well, I brought the blooms up so they could be enjoyed by everyone. That includes you. So please, have a bite.” Tisha’s stomach revolted. The thought of eating the bloom after what she had done... She didn’t have the right. They couldn’t have been easy for Caspen to get. She held it out for Caspen, shaking her head. “No, I can’t. What I did to the delivery boy was wrong. I don’t deserve to enjoy them. Here. I doubt you’ve ever tasted one. You should have one. They really are so very delicious.” Caspen didn’t take it though. He looked down at the bloom with a sad smile on his face. He pushed Tisha’s hand back toward her and began to unbutton the loose-fitting shirt he had beenwas wearing. “Tisha, I’ve had plenty of candied letaya blooms in my life. There wasn’t a single batch that was sent out or harvested that I didn’t taste.” He turned around and lowered the back of 133 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal his shirt, showing her long angry angry-looking scars that slashed through the scales on his Commented [AB23]: Amazing twist! I seriously was not expecting that. My jaw dropped. back. Tisha gasped and dropped the bloom on the galley floor. Caspen put his shirt back on and began buttoning it up. When he was donedone, he leaned down, picking picked up the bloom she had dropped on the floor, and brushing brushed it off with his fingers. “You aren’t the same person that you were then. Our lives on the Dnanleri are very different than what our lives were on Esthia. That has given us the opportunity to be different people. I’ve had the chance to be a stronger version of myself and you’ve been given the chance to be a better version of you. Please enjoy the bloom. It took me a long time to grow them in the hydrobay.” Before Tisha had a chance to reply, Corrigan walked into the galley. “Caspen, I’ve got everything ready. We should probably head down while we still have a small window of time open. Oh, hey Tisha.” Corrigan smiled at Tisha and then he began rambling things off to Caspen that made no sense to her. She watched as the two walked out of the galley together. Tisha sat in awe of what had just happened. She cradled the bloom in her hand and sat looking at its candied petals. L'nia waltzed into Peshta's quarters without a knock or an invitation. She was cold, tired, and exhausted. They had finished their business on Oshin, after three weeks of bartering and downtime in the markets. She and Tisha had spent the last few days on Oshin fabricating electrical parts from a natural material found in the markets. It was delicate work that had 134 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal taken up all their time. She had made sure that Tisha took time to sleep and eat, but L'nia had barely left the fabrication room, except to go to the wash station. The process required to fabricate electrical parts from scratch was time-consuming and exactprecise. The entire process required constant attention. It didn’t help that Oshin was not her first choice for material in relays, but Espa or and Lungi were too far away at the moment. Finally though, they had finished and L'nia had resigned herself to get some sleep. Only when she went to her quarters, she had found an entire corridor bulkhead and wall section outside her quarters dismantled. She had taken one look at the carnage in the corridor, grumbled to herself, and had turned on her heel, straight to Peshta's quarters. "Qualorn deshnan, what did you and Ospen do to the wall outside my quarters?" Peshta was sitting cross-legged on his bed reading what looked like one of Kai's books. At first, he seemed surprised at her for storming in,. Since since it wasn't something she generally did. But as soon as he heard her reason, he smiled and started chuckling. He set the book down and leaned back into the bulkhead. "Myself, Ospen, and Caspen;. If if I’m being honest. Don't worry, we're almost done. Normally you hole up longer in engineering, so we didn't account for you coming back to your quarters so quickly. I'm guessing though you didn't look inside your quarters?" Inside? If the inside of her quarters looked anything like the outside of her quarters, she would murder the three of them she thought to herself. She could have just gone to engineering to sleep. L’nia did have a cot down there that she used on rare occasions, but the point had been to sleep in her own bed. Something Peshta was always pestering her about. 135 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal She was tired, too tired to be standing there having an argument. Everything was sore, even her hair was sore from being pulled back for so many days. She pulled her hair stick out, letting it tumble down over her shoulders. Brushing it out of her eyes, she looked at Peshta. From the amused look on his face, whatever was going on, wasn't done in malice. It wouldn't have been, coming from him. She doubted it was one of Ospen's practical jokes because Peshta wasn't the type to engage in those. Even if it was, she could hardly complain, since it had been her that had encouraged Ospen in the first place to engage in them as a downtime. She walked over to Peshta's bed, picked up his book, and used it to swat at him. "Move over. I'm tired, my quarters are most likely in ruins, and it's cold." His eyebrows raised in surprise as her actions had caught him off guard. But he said nothing, moving to the left on the bed so she could get on herself. The moment she sat down, every joint and muscle in her body sighed in relief. She knew she pushed herself too hard sometimes, but she had to make sure that the Dnanleri continued to run well to provide a safe place for the crew. He handed her a pillow to prop up behind her back, she gladly took it. Finally, she turned her head to look at him. "What did you do to the inside of my quarters?" Her voice came across in almost an exhausted whine. His eyes twinkled with mischief. A rare sight for her to see. Peshta could be caring, gentle, even sheepish when around Junkai. But, for all the time she had known him, it was very rare to see him being mischievous. It was something his military demeanor and raising didn't allow room for. "Do you remember our discussion about how if I found a chair worthy of my stature as a jailor to a captain such as yourself, I could do whatever I wanted?" 136 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal A chair? She vaguely remembered some kind of conversation, about the chairs in her quarters being too small for him during harvest the past turn. "Yes and no. I'm tired and most likely I was tired then, so remind me." She watched as the smile on his face got bigger. It Their conversation must have happened one of the times that they were verbally sparring at with each other, and he had somehow turned it into an actual thing. She thought she remembered something about how he was going to get a chair from Oshin? "Peshta... -did you do something to the chairs in my quarters?" "Well, Nia, I did tell you I was going to hock those teeny tiny chairs you had in your quarters as rare exotic furniture to the people on Oshin and use the chips to get a better chair." Now the conversation was coming back to her. But she had a tough time believing that Peshta would or had actually gone down there and bartered with the local Oshinian's with her chairs. The thought of the Catari, holding the tiny chairs, and haggling with the small Oshinian’s, seemed ludicrously funny. "You really took my chairs to the market?" She leaned over and very deliberately smelled him. But smelt nothing on his skin or clothes, except his normal smell. At that point, he scowled, which meant he must have really gone. Peshta usually avoided the markets because of all the excitement he caused. "It took me four times at the wash station, to get the spice smell off me, from the holy water the priests tossed at me. Ever since that first time when Ospen casually joked to the priests at the market temple that I resembled one of the protector giants from the temple murals. They they haven't given me a moment's peace." 137 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal "So, you didn't sell my chairs?" The smile returned to his face. "Oh, I sold your chairs. Whatever wood they are made from, the Oshinian master craftsman I took them to was thrilled. He said he wanted to copy the carved designs on them and incorporate them into his own work. I told him he could have the chairs if his shop made me a new one. He was so excited, he agreed on the spot." L'nia was still puzzled as to what a new chair had to do with the outside wall of her quarters being stripped and taken apart in a piled heap in the corridor outside her quarters. "So, a new chair is the reason for the carnage done to my quarters?" She looked at him, the confusion in her voice most likely matching the expression on her face. "L’nia this wasn't just any chair. The shop had three master craftsmen working on it day and night for almost a week. They carved it, and I didn't even ask them to, but they cushioned it. It’s got supple jespka hide on it, tanned and smoothed. The chair is bigger than I am! We had to get it in through the launch bay doors and then we had to take it through the starboard mag bay, just to get it near the crew quarters. Once we got it to your quarters, there was no way it was going to fit through your door. So, we had to take the wall apart just to get it inside." L'nia just sat there in disbelief. They had ripped apart the outer wall of her quarters to get an oversized chair into her quarters. Even though she knew Peshta had just explained the entire story to her, she was so tired, the logic was not comprehending in her brain. "Wait. Why?" "Your exact words, if I found a chair worthy of my stature, I could use it to do whatever I wanted. Even act as a jailor to a captain such as yourself, when I didn’t approve of how you 138 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal were spending your time, if I'm remembering correctly. Which means, when I tell you to get some rest, Nia, you need to rest. Even if it means me sitting in my comfy, beautifully carved, chair guarding you to make sure that you take the time to sleep. " The expression on his face told her that if this had been a military campaign, it was over. He was the victor. Peshta may have temporarily taken defeat during the battle, but in the end, he had strategically done so to win the war. Now it all made sense. Peshta's mischief was still contained within the boundaries of his military upbringing. He was right, she had said that. At the time, she had doubted he would really go to the Oshin markets and trade her chairs. She had made the mistake of turning her lack of rest into a military campaign for him. She should have expected nothing less than total defeat on her side. "Fine, you win. I raise my flag in defeat. But you do realize in winning, you made it temporarily impossible for me to temporarily sleep in my quarters. The whole point of you getting your jailor’s chair in the first place." His face held an air of apology at her admonishment. The boys no doubt had probably thought they had longer to repair everything before she made her way back to her quarters. It wasn't unusual for her to spend sometimes a week at a time inside of engineering. Taking small power naps under the coolant pipes, or inside the sky drive casing while she worked. As the solar turns had gone by, the bigger the crew had becoame meant more of the ship was being used. That had meant the Dnanleri had required more maintenance and tending to if the ship was to support the eight additional lives that lived on it besides herself. L’nia had taken to spending more time in engineering and less time resting in her quarters. Of course, 139 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal Peshta would have keyed in on that, and taken it upon himself to address and solve the problem. A shiver ran through her and she unconsciously nestled up beside Peshta. A look of concern crossed his face. "You shouldn't be freezing. After the incident on Gon, Ospen and I have made sure that the Dnanleri’s life support systems maintain a certain temperature on the ship." She laughed, "This is actually almost like Gon in fact. Me, curled right up against you for warmth. Gon wasn't that bad. Sure the shuttle crash crash-landed, but everything worked out in the end." L’nia watched his expression turn to protective anger. She had been trying to make light of the memory, but, apparently, he wasn't going to let her apparently. Peshta's practically growled. His voice, uneven with anger, "Gon ‘wasn't that bad?’ L'nia, you practically died. If the indigenous cave dwellers on Gon hadn't found us and taken us in, you would have been dead long before Ospen and Junkai had been able to find us. It was only because of the incident on Gon that you admitted to us that you can't tolerate lower temperatures the same as other humanoid species can." He was right. If her and Peshta's shuttle hadn't been damaged after harvesting ice from the rings around Gon, she most likely would never have told any of the crew her body's inability to function in lower temperatures, and its tendency to shut down. She had, in fact, almost died. Back then though, it was only a few solar turns after she had brought them aboard. She hadn't been sure still if she could trust them or if they were even staying aboard. Especially Peshta. After Gon though, the trust between the two of them had been cemented. 140 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal She shivered again and he stood up from the bed and grabbed a blanket out of a cupboard nearby. He sat back down pulling her close to him and wrapped the two of them up into the blanket. "I'm fine, you're worrying for nothing. I have Tisha working on the life support systems right now. So, that means they are only functioning at sixty percent while she goes through and does the repairs on them. The ship is going to be a slight bit colder than usual, but I'll be fine. You don't need to baby me." She looked up at him, an expression of scolding on her face. He didn't let go of her. His size made him like a giant incubator. L’nia could feel the warmth start to spread through her. The shivering stopped. This was just another defeat she was going to have to accept with him. L'nia may have been in charge, but she knew to pick and choose her battles with Peshta when it came to her own health. He would take her lead on anything to do with the ship, but he wouldn't budge on things to do with her. "Why is Tisha fixing the life support system?” Peshta asked her. His voice held a tone of caution. She could also feel that his entire body had tensed up, upon hearing Tisha had been working on it. "Because it's glitching. That's the reason we needed to fabricate new electrical parts,." sShe replied. He looked at her with an eyebrow raised in annoyance. Here it came. She had understood what he was asking, but that was not how she had chosen to answer. He knew she had understood. "L'nia, this isn't a joke. The difference between you fixing life support and Tisha fixing life support is serious. Does Tisha even know exactly where the damaged relays are? I'm sure 141 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal you could identify and make the repairs much quicker than she willwould,." His his voice and face were both riddled with disbelief. L’nia shook her head at him and sighed disapprovingly. "Peshta, you need to give Tisha some slack. If the child is ever going to learn, she has to do things alone." From his expression though, she could tell he wasn't going to budge. L'nia knew the only reason he was turning this into a battle was that he was worried about Tisha breaking the life support system and killing the crew. In her opinion, that was a little extreme. L'nia would never let it get that far,. But but Peshta wasn't thinking like that. She was going to have to convince him at least get him to see her side or they would be arguing over it for hours. Which would not be a morale boost for Tisha if she ever found out. She softly nodded her head, "You're right. I already know exactly which relays need repairing. There are seven of them in the air filtration, four in temperature control, and one on the verge of failing in the gravity support systems. Because of the size of the ship and where they are located, it would take me maybe two hours to replace them all." Peshta moved away from her so that he could look straight at her. The sudden loss of heat caused a shiver to run through her. He noticed but didn't immediately budge. She wondered for a second if he was going to use his body heat as a bargaining chip to win the argument over the life support system. He was silent, his eyes serious as if trying to understand. Finally, he spoke, "If you know where they are and it would only take you two hours, then why is Tisha doing it? Did you at least tell her where the faulty relays are? No, you 142 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal wouldn't have, would you. ? She can't do what you do Nia, yet you still insist on giving her large tasks like this all the time." They were at a temperature standstill now. L’nia still had the blanket, but Peshta wasn't offering his own body heat anymore. Even with the blanket, her skin was covered in goosebumps. She wouldn't admit it to Peshta, but since their conversation had begun the ship’s internal temperature had dropped four degrees. Tisha must have been having a problem with her repairs with the temperature control system. L'nia had felt one of the relays blow,. mMaking the number of relays needing repair, now go up from four to five. She had faith that the young Esthian could figure it out. The drop in temperature wouldn't affect the rest of the crew or even be noticed by them unless it went down another eight or twelve degrees. She tried to keep her voice at an even tone, and not chatter her teeth as she replied. "Everyone has to learn, Peshta. You and the crew think, just because I can feel what's wrong, that I was always capable of running the Dnanleri. Just like Tisha, I had to learn the different systems, know how to create the parts in the fabrication lab. I had to crawl, through every inch of the Dnanleri's belly, learning every piece. What it did, how much stress it could take, what was somewhat needed, and what was irreplaceable. Tisha needs to be given the same chance to learn those things. The same opportunity. Knowing the problem and fixing it, is a process that goes hand in hand. I have a built-in cheat, to be able to feel the problem, but just like Tisha, even I had to learn how to fix them." Peshta's expression had softened a bit, but he still hadn't moved from where he was sitting now. L'nia knew he lacked confidence in Tisha, and some of that was her fault. He was so 143 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal used to how easy it was for her to fix the problems on the Dnanleri, that he would forget it wasn't a standard he should be judging others too. She was also aware that Tisha sometimes felt at times, that lack of confidence coming off him, regarding her abilities. Tisha may have had her own personality issues, but when she put those aside and tried, she was a hard worker. "I just don't think a system, that can affect whether everyone lives or dies, is really the system to be giving solo lessons on," Peshta replied back quietly, his tone implying he was done arguing, even if he didn’t agree with her choices. "I'm not doing anything different than what Junkai does with you and Ospen." The confused look she received in return made her hesitate. She didn't want to spoil the point of Junkai's teachings, but Ospen and Peshta had been on the receiving end of them for almost ten solar turns. So, if it helped Peshta understand what she was doing with Tisha, she was willing to spoil a small bit. "Did you know, that Junkai could shave all the kaeri bark in less than thirty minutes, all by himself, every harvest, if he wanted to?” At this small gem of knowledge Peshta look shocked. They both knew that Junkai always gave the job to Ospen, and it still took Ospen the better part of five or six hours to do it. It was always the crew's goal to complete the harvest as quickly as possible. So, that goods could be traded in their freshest state, or put immediately into storage. Considering in the beginning, only Ospen and Junkai had done the harvests, taking longer back then wouldn't have made sense, with all the work they had to do. "That's not right, is it? Why give it to Ospen then? It takes Ospen forever, and not only that, he always ends up ruining an eighth of the harvest anyway. Junkai is always complaining 144 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal about it." Peshta said. He leaned back against the bulkhead, lost in the revelation that Ospen had been ruining the harvest for solar turns, unnecessarily. "Junkai does it for the same reason I give Tisha the tasks I do. You, Ospen, Caspen, and Tisha, none of you are living the life you were raised to live. Tisha might as well have been some kind of Esthian royalty for all we know. Do you think she would have really gotten grease between her webbing back home?" Peshta seemed to be listening now, he didn't answer or interrupt, so she continued. "You were raised in a military household, a military society. The Dnanleri isn't a military vessel. I made the choice to turn it into a farming vessel so the crew could survive. But even that isn't what we really are. This life is probably the furthest it could possibly be, from the way you and Ospen were raised to live your lives. Only Corrigan and Kai are really living the lives they were raised for. They were still able to retain their identities as healers. Shevan will grow up to be whatever the hatchling wants to be, because that is the freedom the Dnanleri gives it. There are lots of things that Junkai and I could do faster and easier than the rest of the crew. But, then how would any of you learn how to live this new life?. Ospen's issue is time and separation. Yours is patience and lack of action. Caspen's is self-worth and confidence. Tisha, equality and hard work. Everyone needs the chance to learn, Peshta. They deserve it." He remained silent for a few moments, absorbing everything she had just unburdened onto him. She doubted any of the crew ever realized, any of what she had just confided to Peshta. She was sure Junkai would be mildly annoyed with her if he knew she had let the purpose of his own lessons slip. When Peshta finally replied, his tone was cold. 145 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal "When you brought us aboard and saved us, you were alone. This entire vessel, the Dnanleri, as huge as it was, you were alone. You modified huge sections of the ship, to change whatever the original purpose of the Dnanleri, just to ensure the survival of those you brought on itaboard. There are even more sections that are off limits. So, apparently, we aren't the only ones, who aren't living the lives we were originally raised for. So, what glorious life did you leave behind, to be the captain of a broken crew? Even better, my question to you captainCaptain, what lessons did you have to learn, or are you still learning them?" L'nia was taken aback with the directness of Peshta's response. The past was something that she never discussed with the crew, and they’d quickly learned not to ask. Frequently, Peshta took on the role of protector, but she had caused a nick in his armor, and this was him his retaliating retaliationback. Before she caught herself, her anger rose, and she could hear herself answer him. "No, this isn't. I was raised in a temple. I was hated, feared, and shunned, for reasons outside of my control. While, at the same time, taught to protect and heal those in need. The same people who shunned me. My life was meant to be short, cut off at any moment. Another thing outside my control. I was never meant to leave my world, much less end up in space, on a vessel. My lessons are none of your business or the crews'. You would do well to remember that." As angry as she was, by the end her teeth were chattering. Peshta tried to reach out, but she pushed his hand aside. Tossing the blanket away, she stood up. They could both see now, that her skin tone had taken on a slight purplish color from the cold. She refused though to look him in his face or accept anything from him at that 146 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal moment. He tried to block her from leaving, but she grabbed one of his magboots and threw it at his head. She was still angry. She left his quarters and headed to the maglift down the hall. Peshta tried to stop her, but she was able to close the doors before he could reach it. She was upset, and not just at Peshta. She was angrier at herself, for letting slip what she had. For ten solar turns, she had been able to separate her past out fromand the crew. But one cold jab from Peshta, and she had let spill one of the most painful things of from her childhood. She didn't want his sympathy or his understanding. She didn't want him or anyone else prying further. It was no one’s business. "You can't run." L'nia snapped her head up, that voice. The maglift was empty though, except for herself. "You can't run anymore. It has brought me such joy, to see you so happy, with the family you have made on the Refuge, as you call it. But you can't run anymore." Shemi, it was shemiShemi. That voice, hearing it for the first time in such a long time, tore at L'nia's heart. "Shemi, where are you? You choose now! Now! All this time, you show small bits and pieces. All this time, you could have spoken to me? If you can speak, then show yourself!" L'nia's soul swelled with both pain and anger. Was shemiShemi somehow more intact than she had thought? Was she in fact whole; yet hiding all this time? "I showed you what I did, big sister, so you could protect the ones you loved. The ones that came after me. I watched you, for so long, hide from this place; from the people in it. Finally 147 | P a g e Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal though, you took a chance and opened yourself to what I could see would be happiness for you." "You directed me. Each time, to a member of my crew. Peshta, Ospen, and Junkai, when they had crashed, you told me where to find them. Shevan, before Ospen almost cooked its egg, you told me there was life inside. Tisha and Caspen, you warned me to save them, before their ship was destroyed. Finally, Kai and Corrigan, you led me to the smuggling crate, they were suffocating in, alone, out in space. But you only show me yourself, now? I thought all that was left of you were images you had seen floating out in the song. If you're here, then be here! Curse you!" "Big sister, I am the song. There is no more me, all I am, exists within it now. If I had shown you that before, the pain would have been too great, and you would have never opened yourself up to anyone, ever again. A child born with no family. You have in your own way, saved every person you have ever loved, even myselfme. Showing family is not blood, but the pureness of heart our actions can create. You needed this time to be strong, but this time is ending. You can't run anymore. I have to take you." L'nia’s mind spun. No, that was impossible. "Take me. You can't. What do you mean?" Shemi had just said she was the song. How could shemiShemi take her? Then, she understood, L'nia's whole body froze, not from the cold but from fear. " I can't survive like you. It will rip my soul to shreds. I'll be lost. You can whisper and slip between; see and then separate yourself out. I wasn't made that way. If I'm pulled in, I'll drown. My family—-. Why allow me to have them if you were only going to take me from them? I have 148 | P a g e Formatted: Font: Not Italic Seven Hearts: A Song in Discord Sarah duVal to protect them. I won't let them be harmed. Do you hear me, I won't leave them." Her voice filled the empty maglift, with frantic desperation. "Big sister, you won't have a choice. It is coming soon. I've seen it. It will swallow you, and when it does, I promise to stay with you. You won't be alone. You will though, be so lost you won't see me, but I'll be there. Your family will be there also. Your family will try to save you. If they are to succeed, they must help you remember. They must remember." L’nia couldn't do this, but she knew everything shemiShemi saw came true. Shemi had given her the blessing of a warning. "How much time do I have, shemiShemi?" "You'll know when." 149 | P a g e