“I wish they were more than polite,” Ellie said quietly.
“I understand,” Tamsin replied, and changed the subject back to something positive, “I’m excited to see the Yoli race. I’ve only heard about it.”
“You know they all compete naked?” Ellie asked conspiratorially.
Tamsin smiled. That fact was common knowledge across the galaxy too. In ancient times, to avoid cheating, competitors competed without clothing. Over the centuries it came to be tradition and a time for young men to show off their physical bodies. Today the Yoli race was just as much a measure of endurance and skill as it was a time to show off one’s assets which was probably why the older members of House Rega didn’t find it as interesting as younger people still looking for a spouse. “Yes, I’ve heard that. But you said we get to meet the winner after at a party? Will he be wearing clothing then?”
Ellie laughed, “Yes we get to meet him and all of the top five runner-ups. I assume they’ll be wearing clothing at the party.”
“What a pity,” Tamsin replied with fake disappointment.
“The party will be held in the Grand Assembly Hall in the center of Alba. I’ve not been there yet, but everyone says how magnificent it is.”
“Do you think you will marry an Alliance man?” Tamsin asked, she had heard rumors that Admiral Jei might marry Ellie, so she wanted to get a feeling for this particular situation as soon as possible.
“Oh yes. I know that’s what Jei wants for me. He has my tutors drilling me in the courting protocol all the time and he purposely mentions young men to me often or they just drop by the Main House. It’s kind of sweet in a creepy Alliance kind of way.”
Relief spread over Tamsin, “That’s good. I had heard…”
Ellie picked up on what Tamsin was going to say, “It’s all just rumors. When you meet Jei you’ll understand. He’s Alliance to the core, but he would rather commit a ritual suicide than marry me. It’s difficult for me to explain but let me just get this out the way by saying it, Jei killed my mother, but it didn’t happen in a bubble. There were lots of events that led up to that moment and I am just as guilty as Jei,” Ellie’s eyes teared up and she couldn’t continue. All the excitement and emotion of having another human here was making her burst at the seams.
Tamsin touched Ellie’s arm sympathetically, “I don’t know the details but I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my mother too. It was some years ago, but I’m not immune to the hardships of losing people you love, especially a mother. I want you to know that you can always talk about it with me. But if you don’t want to talk about it all, that’s fine too.”
Ellie wiped her stray tears, “I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I didn’t know.”
Tamsin shrugged, “It’s not something someone mentions on a job application.”
They both smiled then and after a little time to collect herself, Ellie suggested, “Let’s have some piña coladas in the garden and look at dresses that we can wear to the Yoli race days. Today is a day of rest and then tomorrow you will begin cultural classes with me. I imagine between that and working at the restaurant you won’t have much time to relax and spend your time doing something as frivolous as looking at dresses.”
“I’m impressed you can get a piña colada in the Empire,” Tamsin replied. They were expensive on Earth and must cost a fortune here.
“Well, they aren’t exactly the same. Frank from the Earth Store recommends it as one of the easier drinks to replicate here with the rum he makes,” Ellie explained and then asked, “You must be looking forward to work?”
“Yes, it’s a great opportunity for me to be here and to work at Human Food Two.” She didn’t mention she had spent the last weeks being schooled and verbally beaten down by Fue, Jade’s maître d', on RVMs every day, and that he had promised to come and inspect her progress in a month. And he threatened that if she was not up to Imperial standards she would be punished, and Tamsin didn’t think he meant financially. She had read extensively about working in the Alliance and knew that citizens could be punished by being stripped naked and publicly or privately whipped. Sometimes Tamsin imagined the handsome maître d' lashing her naked body and she couldn’t decide if it was a fantasy or a nightmare.
“Such a ridiculous name for a restaurant,” Ellie commented bringing Tamsin back to the present.
“Yes, even Jade thought so, Nicholas, told me that she named it that because unless she gave it a true Alliance name, which she was completely against, Jade said no matter what human name she gave the restaurant, all the Alliance people would call it ‘Human Food’ anyway,” Tamsin replied as Ellie led her out into a spectacular pink and purple garden with perfectly cut square bushes. Everyone always said that Alliance beauty always looked ‘mathematically correct’ and Tamsin couldn’t think of a better way to describe the perfectly groomed pink and purple garden before her. The precision was simultaneously comforting and frightening.
After walking for a few minutes on grey cobblestones, they reached a small stone black square pagoda with yellow and black stone seats. It was hidden in a corner of the garden for privacy.
“How will the other people in the house know we are here?” Tamsin asked wondering how anyone without using technology could find them in such a secluded spot.
“Everyone in this house always knows where I am at every second and what I’m doing and what I want. It’s as comforting as it is frustrating,” Ellie said evenly. “So be mindful of what you say and what you do. There are eyes and ears everywhere here. There are no secrets in House Rega. And when I say that I mean absolutely no secrets. We know everything and more about one another here.”
“Why do you think they do that? I mean, keep tabs on you every second? Surely, they aren’t so intense with everyone, are they?” Tamsin questioned wondering how much privacy she would have. She did still have a lover she left behind in Australia and they had RVM sex sometimes. She didn’t’ think she would enjoy an Alliance audience.
“Don’t worry, I think I am more of a special case. The more I learn about Alliance culture the more I think they do it because they are extremely worried for me. They think I’m emotionally unstable, and they want to keep me from causing harm to myself or others,” Ellie said reflectively. She left off saying, ‘And I’m the daughter of the goddess of humanity, if anything were to happen to me, they would worry about my mother’s wrath from the Afterlife.’
“Do you think you’re unstable?”
Ellie looked at Tamsin seriously and after a few seconds replied, “Some days I know I am and it’s on those days, I’m incredibly grateful that all of these good people here have their eyes on me. Other days, like today, I just wish I could be myself again, with some freedom and a fair amount of privacy.”
“I understand. Maybe with me here they’ll begin to give you more space?”
Ellie laughed, “No, they’re so curious to see what two young human women will do together, I think we’ll get even more attention. But good thing you brought the cat and the kittens, those are a distraction too. And if I’m being honest, from the little I’ve heard from other human women on the Capital Planet, this devotion to know what everyone else is doing, in the physical house you live in especially, is a core part of Alliance culture, they are very interested in others’ lives, particularly in their own Houses. So, it’s not just me being unhinged, although I do think that brings this cultural trait up a couple notches, I think they keep tabs on everyone, and we are supposed to do the same to them.”