16. Kara
16
KARA
Kara slept in and had a luxurious morning, lazing around in bed until a loud knocking sounded at the door of her suite. Hastily, she put on her bathrobe and tied it firmly around herself. Stuffing her feet into slippers, she made her way to the front door of the suite.
“Coming, coming!” she called. “Who is it?”
“Your attendant,” was the answer.
Frowning, Kara opened the door and found herself face-to-face with Brother Feex.
Her personal attendant had a sullen scowl on his face and his shoulders were slumped forward. His hair—which had been braided the day before—was loose and hanging in his eyes today. He reminded Kara of an angry teenager who didn’t want to do what he was told.
“I was ordered to come up here and offer to show you the resort since you didn’t get to see it yesterday,” he muttered. “So come on.”
“No thank you,” Kara said. She had no wish to be alone with the sullen attendant. “If you could just tell me where the pool is, that will be enough for me. Oh, and maybe show me how the fireplace works?” she added.
“Sure, I guess I can do that,” he muttered grudgingly. “It’s not hard—you just have to push the button. Look.”
He pushed his way into her suite and stomped over to the fireplace. Reaching under the mantle, he found a hidden button that Kara had missed. When he pressed it, a crackling flame sprang to life in the empty fireplace.
“Oh, thank you!” Kara exclaimed. She really was happy to know how to turn on the fire—the suite was just a little bit chilly and besides, a fire was so nice, especially in the evening.
“You turn it off the same way. Need anything else?” Brother Feex demanded. “Want me to scrub you in the tub?” he added, giving her a look that was somewhat more interested.
Kara realized that her robe had come open, showing her body under the thin white nightgown she was wearing. Hastily, she snatched it closed again and shook her head.
“No, nothing else—just tell me where the pool is and you can go.”
“Yeah, okay. But are you sure?” Feex took a step towards her and Kara suddenly realized how much taller and bigger than her the attendant was. He was nowhere near J’orn’s size, but he was still considerably larger and no doubt much stronger than she was. “’Cause I don’t mind washing you if you want to get naked,” he added, his red eyes gleaming.
“No thank you!” Kara said more forcefully. “I’m absolutely not interested. Now please leave my suite!”
She pointed at the open door and glared at him, giving him the full force of her stare.
At first she didn’t think Feex would back down. He took another step towards her, his creepy red eyes narrowing with anger. Then, abruptly, he turned away.
“Fine, be that way,” she heard him mutter. Then he stomped out of the suite, slamming the door behind him.
Kara hurried to lock the door and then gave a whew! of relief. For a moment she’d been absolutely sure he was going to attack her! Maybe she should ask for a different attendant. But hadn’t Father Gobash said he was going on vacation? Who would she talk to?
With a sigh, she decided if she saw anyone in charge she would mention that she’d like to change attendants, but for now she was going to enjoy her vacation.
After a hot shower and a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict courtesy of the Thought-cooker, she decided to put on her swimsuit and find the pool herself, since Feex had never told her where it was. Wrapping a towel around herself, she headed out of the suite.
She ran into a few other women with their attendants but no one seemed to be in charge so she said nothing about Feex. Eventually she found the pool—it was outside the main building, though still within the tall pink walls of the resort.
Kara felt a happy thrill of excitement tingle through her as she surveyed the pool. It was a beautiful rectangle of pale, clear purple water surrounded by tall white pillars and ringed by cushioned reclining beach chairs. The perfect place to spend the afternoon—if she could find some sunblock.
She chose a recliner and put her towel down. Then she walked around to the self-service area which consisted of five different Thought-cookers all lined up on a marble bar. There was a single monk attendant in a green robe but he was staring idly into the distance.
“Excuse me?” Kara said to him. “Uh, do you have any sunblock here?” She knew she couldn’t stay out under the sun as she wanted to without some protection.
“Sun block?” The attendant frowned stupidly. It occurred to Kara that so far all the attendants she’d seen were either extremely inexperienced and naive like Brother Nono, or sullen like Feex, or not too bright like this one. What in the world were the hiring practices like here?
Of course, maybe she was being too hard on this particular attendant. The Paradisians had shiny golden skin—probably they just reflected the sunlight back and didn’t absorb any of it to cause sunburns.
“It’s a kind of lotion that has chemicals in it to protect your skin from sunlight,” she explained. The Paradise Prime sun was beaming down even as she spoke.
“Anything like that from your home world that we don’t have here, just use the Thought-maker,” the attendant told her. He nodded at the last machine on the marble bar and Kara saw that it was, in fact, slightly different from the other four, which were presumably Thought-cookers. This one was black instead of white and quite a bit larger than the others.
“Does it work like a Thought-cooker?” she asked the attendant.
He nodded.
“Yeah, but it makes non-food items. Anything you want—just picture it.”
Kara wasn’t sure if she could get a decent sunblock lotion that way or not. After all, she didn’t know the chemical composition of sunscreen—she could only picture what it felt and smelled and looked like. Still, it was better than swimming with no sun protection at all.
She pressed the suction cup to her temple and concentrated on the silky feel and the tropical scent as well as the creamy white consistency of the sunblock lotion she usually used back home when she went swimming or visited the beach. When the machine dinged she opened it up and was amazed to see a bottle that looked exactly like something she would buy back on Earth. It even had the right label on it!
“Thanks,” she said to the attendant.
He shrugged and nodded.
“You want something to drink while you’re up here? I can make you any kind of Paradisian delicacy or you can make your own from the Thought-cooker,” he said.
“Actually, that sounds nice. Make me something frosty and sweet, if you have anything like that,” she said.
“Sure.” Shrugging, he pressed the suction cup of one of the Thought-cookers to his temple. After a moment, it dinged and he opened the door to reveal a long-stemmed crystal glass filled with what looked like a frozen daiquiri. Kara saw bright green, neon pink, and vivid blue swirled together. There were also several slices of exotic alien fruits on the sugared rim of the glass.
“Oh, that looks nice! Thank you,” Kara said. She decided that she had definitely been too hard on him. He was certainly nicer than Feex and he seemed to know what he was doing.
Taking her bottle of sunblock and her mixed drink with her, Kara went back to her seat. She tried a sip of the drink first and found it was tart and sweet and refreshing with a flavor like some kind of berry mixed with kiwi and pineapple and some other flavor she couldn’t quite name. It had a slightly spicy aftertaste that wasn’t unpleasant, though it was unexpected. Kara took another sip before setting it carefully on the small round table beside her beach chair.
She smeared the lotion all over her skin, being careful to get the back of her neck and her back, though it was hard to reach. Still, she was glad not to have Feex around—she definitely didn’t want his hands all over her!
She swam and sipped her drink by the pool for several hours, feeling more and more relaxed all the time. The sunblock she’d made for herself seemed to be working—she didn’t have any redness or tightness in her skin. She did think maybe she was feeling a little more sensitive—the soft breeze that was blowing brushed against her bare skin in a way that felt almost sensuous—but that wasn’t a bad thing. It made her feel alive and sexy—all in all, she was having the perfect day.
A little after noon, she left the pool and went back to her suite for lunch. This time she decided to try something more ambitious with the Thought-cooker. She imagined a delicious mixed salad she’d had at a restaurant once with all kinds of fresh fruits and a special shallot and balsamic dressing. It was topped with crumbled blue cheese and candied walnuts.
There were so many ingredients it was something Kara probably never would have tried making just for herself back home. But the Thought-cooker whipped it up in no time and it tasted just the same as it had in the restaurant.
“Perfect!” she exclaimed, after taking a taste. No wonder Gaela wished she could buy one of these machines—it would make cooking so easy .
She finished every last bite and watched a show on the Love Channel about a woman who was being forced to marry a man who was the enemy of her family. She was determined to reject him and run away as soon as she could. However, he turned out to be extremely handsome and protective—he beat up some men who were trying to attack her—and she fell in love with him.
Since Kara loved the “enemies to lovers” trope, this show was exactly the kind of thing she liked. She snuggled on the couch with an ultra-soft fur blanket she’d found in the closet and watched it from beginning to end, relishing every predictable plot twist. She even cried a little at the happy ending and then sighed regretfully. Why couldn’t she find a man like the one in the drama she’d just watched?
What about J’orn? He’d be happy to protect you and love you, whispered a little voice in her head. Kara pushed it away, once again reminding herself that older woman/younger man romances only worked in romance books—not in real life.
She was about to take another long bath, just because she wanted one, when there was a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” Kara asked cautiously, going to stand in front of the door but not opening it. She had been really careless, letting Feex in earlier today. She was determined not to make the same mistake again.
But it wasn’t her attendant who answered her.
“Excuse me, Lady Kara,” Brother Nono called from the other side of the door. “I’m sorry to bother you but My Lady Gaela asked me to come over and remind you that it’s time for the massage you planned to go to together.”
“Oh, thank you—I forgot all about that!” Kara exclaimed. “Give me a minute to change and I’ll be right out.”
She’d been wearing a robe but she hurried to change into a light sundress—she figured she would probably be taking it off for the massage anyway—and let herself out into the hallway.
Gaela and Nono were waiting for her and Gaela’s face broke into a wide smile when Kara joined them.
“There you are! I was afraid I might have scared you off last night with all my naughty antics.”
“Oh, well…we both had a lot of wine to drink,” Kara offered.
“Yes indeed, we did!” Gaela agreed, smiling. “You can’t pay any attention to me,” she added as she linked her arm through Kara’s and led her down the hallway. “I just love teasing my attendants. But don’t worry—Nono is all locked up in his little cage again and he’s going to behave like a saint. Isn’t that right, Nono?”
Brother Nono’s golden cheeks went dark with a blush and his third eye closed tightly.
“Yes, My Lady,” he said, nodding.
“He was really so good though—he only came twice more last night after you left,” Gaela confided to Kara as they walked down a winding spiral staircase. “Once inside me and once when I was giving him the Kiss of Pleasure. I don’t normally do that for my attendants, you know,” she added. “But Nono was being so very good and trying so hard to keep his vows intact, I felt like he deserved a reward.”
“Um, okay.” Kara nodded. Now she was beginning to feel uncomfortable, but it seemed to be too late to back out of the massage. She wondered uneasily if Gaela had more exhibitionist activities planned for them. Was she going to try and turn the massage into some kind of sex show? There was no way to know and just at that moment, they came to a set of broad double doors that were framed in dark gray stone.
“Ah—here we are! The Relaxation Grotto!” Gaela exclaimed.
Brother Nono opened the doors for them and they stepped through into a kind of spa.
Kara looked around with appreciation—it seemed like they were underground. The walls were rough gray stone and the lighting was dim and golden. There was a small pond with a quiet fountain burbling to itself. Pink and white blossoms were floating on the surface of the water. They released a sweet, floral scent into the air and soft music with low drumbeats and a single, ethereal flute was playing. A dark hallway led into the back of the spa, where Kara assumed the massage rooms must be.
Gaela took a deep breath.
“Ahhh—this is my favorite place in the whole resort,” she told Kara. “And you’re in for a treat today. I booked us in a double room for a mirror massage.”
“Um, what’s a mirror massage?” Kara asked, frowning.
“Oh, it’s where we get the exact same treatment at the exact same time,” Gaela explained. “So your attendant can do to you exactly what my sweet Nono does to me. He’s really quite good, you know,” she added, nodding at Brother Nono. “He’s been trained by the finest massage master in the galaxy.”
“Um…but I don’t have an attendant,” Kara reminded her. At least, not one she wanted to touch her all over. Once again she was glad Feex was MIA.
“Oh, that’s right—that dreadful Feex!” Gaela shook her head. “But never mind—like I told you, they always have a few extra attendants around to help with the massages. Nono—go see who’s available,” she added, looking at her own attendant. “I’m sure there’s someone at the back of the Grotto.”
“No need to look—I’m here.” A tall hooded figure with broad shoulders stepped out from the dark hallway at the end of the lobby area and nodded at them. “Come,” he said. “I’m ready for you.”