42. EPILOGUE 2
The first khadahrshi meeting
"All right, can I have everyone's attention, please?" I clinked my spoon against my glass. Yes, we had glass now, thanks to Jenna's unstoppable desire to bring back as many earthly comforts as possible.
"First off, a big thank you to Jenna for this"." I clinked my glass again. "And this"." I held up a plate that could be considered porcelain.
"I didn't make those," Jenna objected.
"No, you only discovered the right clay to create them"." I laughed, followed by the others.
"May I say that I'm especially thankful for these"." Gwyn held up a lamp that looked like an old-fashioned petroleum lamp, filled with glanzor and a glass lid that amplified the small flame inside.
Many inventions had been made during our first year here. As airheaded as the first batch of women had been, many of them had hidden talents.
One knew how to dye clothes, and with Jenna's help, she figured out the perfect way to enhance the Vandruk's' wardrobes. Another made candles and to Ghan-Zahr's pleasure, soap.
We counted not one but four excellent cooks within our ranks, who made the best bread—better than on Earth—and even an equivalent of chocolate.
This was our first annual khadahrshi meeting, and it didn't look as if any of the magic of this alien world had lost its glamour for any of us. Everyone seemed just as in love as the day we parted ways a year ago.
So much had happened since then. Amber was a mother. She gave birth to a beautiful girl, and her stepdaughter Majiil, who was a real handful, wasn't letting the little girl out of her sight. Earlier, she broke Khan-Ghor's—Dzar-Ghan's brother—toe for waking the baby.
I looked around the table. Tonight, it was us girls only: Jenna, Amber, Gwyn, and me, but tomorrow, the other khadahrshies would arrive as well. It wouldn't have looked good if we only held a party for the four of us, so we decided to meet up a day earlier, and nobody would be the wiser. At least, we hoped so. Two of the other khadahrshies were also human, which made it a bit awkward excluding them from this, but this meeting… the four of us… what we went through… will forever make us sisters.
Speaking of, I caught Nat making googly eyes at Khan-Ghor and fussing over his broken toe. Pattie settled down with one of Ghan-Zahr's brothers; she was happy as a lark in her new house, which was within walking distance of our palace and our parent's' house.
"Any word from Matt and Mynarra?" Gwyn asked a little while later when we started digging into our food.
"Nothing yet," I responded, but that was to be expected. Matt and Mynarra got married after a whirlwind romance and took off two months ago to explore the sea, hoping to find more land and possibly other Vandruks.
Who would have thought that my brother Brian could build boats? But he did and was making a small fortune with it, too.
Dad took over the farming and ranching aspect of Ghan-Zahr's demesne. He looked ten years younger. And so did Mom, who was teaching the Vandruk women how to can and preserve goods.
Of all the people, Tzar-Than was against exploring the seas. Him, the pioneer who went out to bring human women to Vandruk. He didn't like the idea of finding other Vandruks. What if they're hostile? he demanded.
What if they're not , Ghan-Zahr responded. We might need all the allies we can get .
A sentiment I fully supported. Not only because he was my husband and I loved him more with every passing day but because of the land IC bought in Port Louis. The idea that they might open another portal hung over us like the proverbial Damocles sword. But we were prepared in part due to Jenna's unstoppable urge to invent and discover. She made weapons out of the acid from Pits of Daggahr and a few other sources she discovered.
Gwyn sighed. "I miss them."
I nodded; so did I. Matt and I grew close when he helped me get the Vandruk News going. His input, especially when it came to historical events, was invaluable. The moment Gwyn told him his implant had stopped transmitting and was likely disintegrating, he became a different person—happy, relaxed, like a man who suddenly saw a future. It was probably the reason he wanted to spread his wings, so to speak, and explore. He and Mynarra were perfectly suited for each other. She, too, wanted nothing but to travel after years of having been held prisoner.
With him gone, I was now working with a priest who claimed he had no knowledge of Bzun-Lhan's atrocities. Most of the priests did. Some the khadahrs filtered out, but some slipped through the cracks. I hated the way I always looked at my new helper and wondered. Unfortunately, only time will be able to heal what has been done.
Not all the women have been found. Gisette was still missing, but Tzar-Than found Illug, who lived happily married in a not-so-populated part of Vandruk. She wasn't a prisoner but for reasons she wouldn't divulge, she, like the other women who had been married out, refused to go public. It still blew my mind that a lot of these women could have come forward and blown the whistle on what the priests were doing years ago, but none did.
Maybe they were afraid they would be taken from their husbands? Gwyn voiced.
Her argument only made sense for the happily married women, though. The others, who gladly left their husbands' sides when they were discovered, didn't quite fit that narrative.
It was actually the priest I was working with who argued the one point that made the most sense. They were probably intimidated into believing they would forfeit Koronae if they came forward .
For people like the other girls and me, that threat didn't make much sense, but when we put ourselves in the shoes of the Vandruks, who were true believers, it kind of did.
"Another point against religious brainwashing," Amber predictably snarled.
Amber and Dzur-Khan founded a training ground for warriors—men and women. All the khadahrs sent their soldiers there once a year for a month-long training.
"How are you doing?" Jenna rested a hand on my belly. "Not long now?"
"Only a couple more weeks, I assume"." It was kind of nerve-wracking not having ultrasounds or regular OBGYN checkups, but amazingly, the longer the pregnancy progressed, the less it bothered me. Especially since the other three women had already given birth. Gwyn and Amber had girls, and Jenna a little boy who looked exactly like Dzar-Ghan, except he had her eyes.
Looking around our little group, peace and love flooded through me. Four women , I mused, four strangers who would have never met had it not been for the portal. Each of us bringing a unique skill set to the table to topple an empire on Earth .
I loved my sisters, but the love I held for each of these three women was different. Our journey shaped and carved us into a better version of ourselves.
Some nights, when I went outside with Ghan-Zahr and stared at the sky, looking past Koronae, I wondered where Earth was, how far it was, not with longing, just curiosity.
Vandruk meant so much more to me than Earth ever did. I felt rooted here, grounded. This was where I belonged. The more time passed, the more I was sure that one day I would be inside Koronae, looking down at this place, safely held by Ghan-Zahr, and that made me happier than any shower, pizza, car ride, or fame could have ever done.
THE END (for now)