Chariots of Heaven

  * * *

  The three of them left the throne room and made it all the way to their new accommodations before Kira said, “Why would there be spies around, Thanatos? And why would they care about the two of us?”

  Thanatos stopped just outside of their new door and turned to look at Kira; his face was filled with a grave concern and quietly he said, “I’m afraid I am sworn to secrecy on the subject. But with the utmost regard for your safety, I will tell you this… be careful who you trust. If I were the two of you, I would only trust each other and no one else.”

  “But if we can’t trust anyone… then why should we take your advice?” Kaya asked, puzzled at the contradiction.

  “You are learning quickly; there might be hope for you after all,” Thanatos replied with a smirk as he led the girls into their room. “Now, this is your new home until we reach Tython. I’m afraid you’ll have to remain here until then, so this door will be sealed. I will come twice a day to bring you food and drink and anything else you might feel you need. Should you find yourself in an emergency and need my attention right away, this green panel next to the door will summon me. Just press this symbol,” he finished, pointing at a large symbol near the bottom.

  “The door will be sealed? Does this mean we are prisoners?” Kira asked, eyeing Thanatos incredulously.

  “It is for your safety, I promise,” Thanatos replied, bowing diplomatically.

  “Promise? I thought I wasn’t supposed to trust you?” Kira asked brusquely, but Thanatos didn’t respond. He merely smiled and left the room; the door behind him sealing shut with a hiss.

  Once he was gone, Kaya turned to Kira and asked, “So do you think it’s true? Those things that Velion said about them being the spirits?”

  Kira walked over to the door and pressed up against it, trying to push it open. It wouldn’t budge. Giving up, she turned to look at Kaya. “Honestly, I don’t know. It all seems so incredible that it’s hard to believe, but then again look where we are,” she said, gesturing at their surroundings. “I don’t know what to believe, but I think Thanatos is right. We should only trust one another. I don’t know who these people are, or what they want from us, but something doesn’t seem right.”

  “What do you mean?” Kaya asked.

  “I… don’t know. I mean, what are the chances that we would find that holodisk, or whatever they call it? And, of all the days to do so, they just happen to be there, looking for it? That seems strange, doesn’t it?”

  “Like we were meant to find it?” Kaya asked, troubled.

  Kira shrugged, “I don’t know, something about all of this just feels… off. I keep feeling like I’m in a dream and that any minute, I’m going to wake up in my bed, sick with a fever.”

  Kaya looked to the ground and whispered, “I wish it was a dream… I miss Dad.”

  Kira walked over to her sister and hugged her tightly. “Me too, kiddo… me too.” Letting go and turning to look at the room, she said, “Why don’t we check out our new home.”

  Kira and Kaya spent the next few hours exploring their new surroundings. The officer’s quarters were much larger than their other rooms had been, and had significantly better furnishings. There were several comfortable-looking seats, all surrounding a large and elaborately crafted wooden table. Instead of bare stone, the floor was covered in a silky red material that felt soft under their feet. On either side of the main room were two auxiliary chambers, each with its own bed covered in finely woven coverlets.

  Each auxiliary room also had a smaller, tiled room attached that Kira found to be the most peculiar. It had two bowls protruding from the wall, one like the one she had seen before, and a different one that was lower to the ground and filled with water. In the corner of the tiled room sat an even smaller room, surrounded in glass. Kaya, who was much more adventurous than Kira, decided to step inside the glass room and was immediately drenched by water falling from the ceiling.

  Blinking and sputtering, Kaya blindly dashed out of the glass room, spraying water everywhere. Not used to the tile floor, she slipped and collided with Kira, knocking both of them to the ground. For several minutes afterwards, the girls just sat there, soaking wet and laughing at each other.

  It wasn’t until Thanatos returned with their dinner that he explained that the tiled room was a wash room and that the lower bowl, was used for relieving oneself. He showed them how to control the shower and told them about something he called “soap.” After smelling both of them, he insisted that they utilize it as soon as possible in order to, in his words, “quell the stench.”

  Along with the tray of food, he brought both girls new clothing to wear, saying that their leather and fur tunics were, “unfit for women of their ancestry.” He tried to show both of them how the clothing worked, which was quite the spectacle as he didn’t seem quite sure himself. After a few failed attempts Kira assured him that they would be able to figure it out and managed to shoo him away.

  Once she was finished gorging herself for a second time, Kira went to her room to try out the shower and soap. The experience was remarkable. The water was warm and exhilarating, and the soap cleaned her hair and skin in a way she had never known.

  After drying off and dressing in her new garments, she stood for a long time, examining herself in the mirror. She had seen her reflection in a lake a few times, but nothing as vivid as this. So this was what she looked like? She wondered to herself. It felt strange to see herself as others did, and it felt even more surreal to see herself in the new clothing Thanatos had brought.

  The garments were a white with blue trim and were made of a delicate, billowing type of cloth. They were soft and smooth to the touch and the outfit hugged the curves of her body in a relaxed way. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised at how striking she looked.

  She wondered what her father would think if he could see her new outfit. He’d probably laugh and say that it didn’t quite fit her personality, which was true as she’d never been the type to long for fine garments. The thought made her smile, even though it made her miss him.

  There was a knock at the door and Kaya’s voice called, “Are you alive in there? Did you slip and fall again?”

  Scoffing, Kira replied, “You’re the clumsy one; I only fell because you slipped!”

  “Well, I only slipped because you were in the way!” Kaya responded playfully.

  Turning and opening the door, Kira announced, “Well, if you would have listened to me and not gotten into the shower, I wouldn’t have been in the way!”

  “Wow!” Kaya interrupted, gaping at Kira.

  Confused by Kaya’s tone and the surprised look on her face, Kira asked “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Grinning, Kaya jeered, “You look pretty good when you aren’t covered in dirt!”

  Frowning, Kira reached out and pinched Kaya in the arm.

  “Hey! Can’t take a compliment?” Kaya replied, rubbing her arm and grinning wickedly.

  “You weren’t complimenting me, you were making fun!” Kira scolded.

  “Maybe a little… but you really do look pretty. I bet all the boys on Tython will want to meet you!” Kaya jeered again.

  “Oh stop it! Like I’d want them to! You’re the one who’s always wishing there were more boys around, not me!” Kira retorted, poking Kaya in the shoulder. “You are just jealous of my stunning good looks,” Kira said in a haughty tone.

  Kaya rolled her eyes, and responded, “Keep dreaming! At least you don’t smell as bad as you did before.”

  Scoffing again, Kira countered, “Look who’s talking! I could smell you from the other room! Maybe if you go wash up, you could look half as good as I do!”

  “Oh, whatever! I’ll be back and we will see who’s jealous of who!” Kaya snapped, stamping out of the room.

  Kira laughed and returned to the wash room. Next to the sink sat a comb, something she was actually quite familiar with, although the tee
th of her comb were never as straight or nice as this one. Grabbing it, she started to run it through her hair until, after a few minutes, there were no more knots. It had been a very long time since her hair shimmered, and the look felt as alien to her as the clothes she was wearing.

  Staring in the mirror again, she wondered, what if it is true? What if we really are related to these strangers… would that be such a bad thing? Everything around her indicated that the way these people lived was better than what she was used to. There was no shortage of fresh water or good food, and everything was clean and comfortable compared to the dingy hut she’d grown up in. Even the clothes she was wearing felt more natural to her than her leather tunic did.

  The reflection of her sister in the mirror interrupted her thoughts. Setting the comb back on the sink she turned to look at her.

  “Well, what do you think?” Kaya asked sheepishly, but Kira couldn’t respond. Kaya had always resembled their mother, but tonight, it was as if her ghost was standing before Kira.

  “Is it bad?” Kaya asked, clearly worried at Kira’s silence.

  “No. You look… lovely,” Kira replied quietly, examining the beautiful green and white gown Kaya was wearing.

  “Then why do you look sad?” Kaya wondered.

  Kira smiled, and said “It’s just that I wish Mom was here to see you all grown up. I think she’d be proud.”

  Kaya blushed and asked, “You really think so?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Kira nodded.

  “So does this mean I won?” Kaya asked, grinning broadly.

  “Maybe… but don’t let it go to your head!” Kira responded with a smile.

  Kaya beamed and walked over to the bed. Sitting on the edge of it, she looked back at Kira. In a cheery tone she asked, “What do you think Tython will be like?”

  Kira grabbed the comb again and walked over to her sister. Sitting behind her on the bed, she started to run the comb through Kaya’s tangled blonde hair. “It’s hard to say, but I’m guessing it might look a lot like this place does.”

  “You think so?” Kaya asked, cringing as Kira combed out a massive tangle.

  “Maybe,” Kira replied.

  “I hope so, I like it here!” Kaya exclaimed.

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” Kira responded pensively.

  “Why wouldn’t it?” Kaya asked in a puzzled tone.

  Kira frowned as she pulled at another tangle. “I just don’t think we should get too comfortable. We need to be on our guard around these strangers, at least until we know what they want.”

  “Do you think they want to hurt us?” Kaya questioned.

  Kira didn’t respond right away. She worked at Kaya’s tangles for some time before she finally replied, “I don’t think they would go to so much trouble, just to hurt us, but that doesn’t mean that they have our best interests at heart either. I think we are important to them for now, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

  “What do you mean?” Kaya asked as she started to chew on one of her fingernails.

  “I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels like there is more to this story than we are being told,” Kira replied as she finished combing Kaya’s hair.

  “Like they are lying to us?” Kaya turned to look at Kira again.

  Kira frowned and shook her head, “It’s just a feeling, don’t worry about it. It’s time for bed anyhow.”

  Kaya looked to the ground and in a quiet voice asked, “Do you think it would be okay for me to sleep in here with you? I don’t want to be alone in this strange place.”

  Kira smiled, “Well the bed is big enough, that’s for sure. That’s fine, as long as you promise not to kick me in your sleep!”

  “I promise!” Kaya exclaimed, standing to her feet and jumping head first on to the bed.

  “Now if only I knew how to turn the lights off…” Kira mused, searching for some sort of device on one of the walls. There was no need, however, because as she said the words, the lights in the room automatically started to dim. Smiling, she crawled further onto the bed and sprawled out.

  After a few minutes of thinking to herself, Kira could hear her sister’s gentle snoring. She smiled again, grateful that she was not alone in the strange room. Turning on her side, she closed her eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.