She scrutinized herself in the free standing dress mirror beside the bed. The white and gold gown felt like silk against her skin, and fitted perfectly. There was a delicate lattice pattern down both sleeves and sides of the gown, right to the ankle. The bodice was latticed to the middle of the chest, allowing for plenty of cleavage. She could not wear a normal bra with this style. It was overtly sexy and feminine. It had been a long time since she had worn anything that resembled a dress, and certainly not so ostentatious.
Unbelievably, a pair of golden shoes with a comfortable three-inch heel was beside the bed. They too fitted perfectly. Was that a coincidence?
Hmm, Cinderella is here! Where is the ball?
Inside the drawers of a dressing table was an array of makeup, perfumes, hair accessories, brush, and comb, and diamond jewelry. How the hell did they get hold of these goods? Had Talokta made someone run down to the nearest jeweler and chemist? Did they have this sort of stuff in the huge vacuum of space? Or did they have contacts on Earth? That last thought put a shiver down her spine. Nevertheless, she fixed her hair, tied it up in a bun, and glanced at the face powder. She had given up on pancake mix years ago, but just this once she applied a little. She followed with liner, mascara, and lipstick. She avoided the rouge, her skin tone did not require it. The last time she wore that she looked like a clown. “Less is more,” she recited.
She never spent much time on her looks, preferring the natural look. Maybe in the right light, she would consider herself reasonably attractive. Barely passable, her brother taunted her when they were younger.
Oh stop it, girl! You are fine. Bloody gorgeous!
She had been devouring the wine like it was going out of fashion. Giggling like a schoolgirl, she began animatedly parading and pirouetting around the bedroom’s expansive floor, feeling the gown swish against her legs.
So there was another side to the unscrupulous war hungry Trimadians that she did not expect–being civilized. It was not a side she expected.
It was quite scary. Was all this a subconscious fantasy in her head that Talokta had “read,” and this was his interpretation? Was it to please her in order to win her over? He did say the gown was a gift. She could only imagine it was from Kalvich, someone she had no true memory of, but she guessed he had made appearances in her visions; another whose face was always in shadow. But she feared that figure, and she did not know why.
Maybe Leah does…
Well, if it was the original Kalvich, he’d be an old man now, or the truth about immortality was real. Was there still time to change her religion? She giggled hysterically and attempted a few more slightly unbalanced whirls.
Whether it was the wine or her present surreal surroundings, or both, she felt relaxed and contented.
This ain’t so bad a lifestyle, if this gown was Leah’s, she has got great taste. Damn, after six thousand years, it is very well preserved!
She watched her hand shake. To calm herself she took a tentative sip, that changed into a gulp of the pleasant alien wine. Now, after three full goblets in total, she was rewarded with the hiccups.
“Whoops, that is enough!” she snapped, and took another sip.
Kate felt so happy. She did not have a care in the world. And some kind man had bestowed some wonderful gifts on her! She had not had a decent drop of wine for a very long time, and whatever she was drinking was delicious. The thought of her suffering teammates and colleagues slipped away from her hazy mind.
Shit, I am a fucking queen.
Talokta was watching her from the bedroom doorway. He had quietly entered her quarters and had been observing her over the past couple of minutes. Oh yes, there were beautiful women out there, not that Trimadians saw women that way generally, especially when Cantal women were purely for breeding purposes. But there was something else about this one. She shone; she glowed. Was it the clothing?
The gown that Kalvich had instructed him to present to her when the time was right was ingenious. She had a real state of presence. Just for a single moment, in his strict disciplined life, he envisioned her as a goddess, similar to how Pete Reynolds viewed her.
Her gourd of wine was laced with a tasteless drug as a partial result of experimentation from Cemel who had been forced to work on a formula to divide the human entity Kate away from the Chosen One. This formula was still very much in its experimental stage as there was no physical or tangible being to be removed, like a Cathexistome. However, an interesting side effect, when mixed with small amounts of alcohol brought about prolonged and exaggerated drunkenness. And the more she consumed the longer she would be in this state. The wine perpetuated the effect of the drug.
When Talokta had sent the conclusive results of the tests to confirm her identity to Kalvich, an ecstatic Supreme Ruler ordered Talokta to quickly build up a bond of trust and make her free will as influenced as possible without being seen to be coercing or breaking the Elder Gods’ rules. “Don’t give them any reason to make their presence felt.” He also ordered him to provide her with a small amount of the laced wine, and keep her under observation at all times.
It was blatantly obvious the drug worked like a charm. Combined with the wine he found her quite entertaining. He followed Kalvich’s instructions to the letter, and enjoyed the observation part.
“I hope you are pleased with the gown?”
Kate whirled around, instantly regretting it as she lost her balance, luckily landing on the bed. “Whoops, you gave me a fright! Yes, it’s beautiful. The material is so soft.”
Talokta walked over to her, and held his hand out to help her up. “It suits you. You seem to radiate.”
Kate burst out laughing. “Well, I hope I don’t explode and cause a fall out, or we are all in trouble!”
Talokta grinned. Her mood had definitely changed. “Are you hungry?”
Kate hesitated for a second. “As long as you don’t give me any of that awful bug stuff. I almost threw up last time I ate here.”
Thoughts of her stones, her friends, her mission, and her planet had all gone. Once she had donned the gown and makeup, and of course sipped the alien wine, she was lost.
Chapter 19—Spies in the Midst