Chapter 10 Unknown.not for much longer
Unknown...not for much longer
The feathered monkey chittered happily as it led me out of the cave I'd woken in.
Cave seemed too poor a word for the magnificent cavern with its diamond stalactites that were reflected by the perfectly smooth surface of an underground lake.
I had regained consciousness floating in that lake, the water cool yet not uncomfortably so.
I'd drank my fill, then washed my aching body, always watched by a group of alien monkeys.
At the edge of the water, a woven basket filled with colourful fruit and berries had waited for me.
I'd forced myself to eat slowly, not knowing when I'd last had a meal.
Some time before I'd been put in that metal coffin – but when had that been?
Most of my pains and aches had magically disappeared after my soak in the lake, but my head still hurt a little.
It felt too full, bursting at the seams with new memories, images from another time, all shuffled together without order or structure.
I'd regained my memory, but not in the way I'd imagined.
It was chaos in my mind, and I knew I'd need some time to relax, sort through the memories, make some sort of sense of them.
For now, I clung to the one thing I never wanted to forget again: my name.
The alien monkey chirped again and I realised I'd stopped.
This kept happening. I'd been in the middle of getting dressed by wrapping a series of silky scarves around my body – provided by the alien monkeys – when I suddenly noticed I was sitting on the cave floor, a scarf in my hand, my other hand pressed to my forehead.
I hoped this wasn't a permanent thing. This planet was not the place to have mental blackouts.
"Sorry, I'm coming," I muttered and continued following my guide.
It was not the alien who I had met in the forest. I kind of wondered where that one had gone.
Not that I was sure I'd be able to recognise it among its peers.
The little aliens differed in the number of tails, size and shade of their feathers, but many of them still looked completely alike to me.
Hopefully they wouldn't be offended if I got them confused.
We walked through a narrow tunnel, just tall enough for me to walk without having to crouch.
It got progressively steeper, leading us up towards the surface.
Behind us, other aliens chittered to each other, but they kept a clear distance.
Now that I'd had both food and water, I was no longer as exhausted, but I still wanted this tunnel to come to an end.
I imagined my sofa back home, a purple monstrosity I'd found in a charity shop, but oh-so-soft.
You could sink into it and feel like you were floating on a cloud.
I smiled. It was nice being able to remember things. Even if it was just a silly old sofa.
The walls of the tunnel were illuminated by some kind of moss that glowed turquoise, giving off just enough light to see where I was going.
But it seemed to be getting lighter. And was that a slight breeze?
I resisted the temptation to ask the little alien if we were almost there like a child in the back of her parents' car.
Besides, I wouldn't understand their reply anyway, even if they could somehow make sense of my words.
At first, I didn't recognise the bright splotches on the walls for what they were.
Sunlight. It filtered through small gaps in the tunnel's ceiling, which had turned from stone into a twisted net of roots at some point during our ascent.
I hurried my steps, desperate to be outside again.
But when the tunnel finally spat us out, it wasn't into the outside world.
I sucked in a sharp breath and came to a stop, staring at my surroundings in sheer amazement.
It was another cave, but unlike the one I'd woken up in, this one was lit by sunlight shining through its facetted, semi-translucent walls.
Walls that were made of diamonds. They were too shiny and perfect to be glass.
I was at the edge of a diamond dome as tall as a five-storey house, and I wasn't alone.
Hundreds of feathered aliens were going about their business, stopping at little market stalls in the centre or jumping up and down rope ladders that led to wooden platforms above us.
Their feathers were gold, silver and bronze, and their sizes varied from that of a large bunny rabbit to a Rottweiler.
The aliens milling near the tunnel entrance had stopped whatever they'd been doing and were staring at me with curiosity.
At least that was how I interpreted the expression in their dark, watery eyes.
A commotion on the other side of the diamond cave caught my eye.
A cat-sized alien with gorgeous platinum feathers and four tails shaped like question marks made its way through the crowd, its eyes fixed on me.
So far, I'd only seen aliens with two and three tails, never four.
The others had stepped to the sides, forming a path for the four-tailed being.
They bowed their heads in respect as it passed, before holding a fist against their foreheads in some sort of ritualistic gesture.
A sense of awe and apprehension filled me.
Something was going to happen once it reached me, but what?
I felt like a student waiting for their teacher to speak judgement upon their accomplishments – or lack thereof.
Bronze specks glittered in the otherwise almost black eyes.
It never stopped staring at me. I was being assessed, I knew that instinctively, even though I did not know the alien's purpose.
The urge to run away niggled at the back of my mind, but I pushed it aside.
This wasn't the time to be shy or scared.
Besides, these little aliens had shown me nothing but kindness.
I didn't know how they'd brought me to the underground lake, but it wouldn't have been easy. They'd saved my life. I owed them.
The four-tailed alien didn't stop in front of me like I'd expected.
It jumped up without warning, landing on my shoulder.
Its tails wrapped around my arm and neck, tight against my bare skin but not uncomfortably so.
For a moment, I had to fight against the irrational feeling of not getting enough air, even though the tail around my throat was the loosest of the four.
Heat erupted on my skin where the feathered tails touched me.
I looked at the alien and it looked into me.
Welcome, child, lost in time, so far from home, a melodic female voice said in my head.
Uhm... Hello. Can you hear me? Can you listen to my thoughts?
I could sense her amusement. Only when you project them towards me. If you do not think with purpose, your thoughts remain hidden from me.
That was reassuring. I didn't want anyone to read my mind, alien or otherwise.
My name is Sa'quii, the temporary leader of the clear-stone clan and granddaughter of Ta'quii, the great clan mother of the east.
I'm... It felt strange for a moment to have a name again. My name is Clare. Clare Tovey from Earth. I don't suppose you know my planet? And how to get home? And how is it you can talk to me in my head?
I wanted to ask her so many questions, but I forced myself to be patient.
More amusement filtered through our mental connection. We are mind-linked. I have chosen you. You were tested while you were asleep and found worthy of the chii's friendship. But we shall talk more later. Your Chosen is about to arrive.
My Chosen?
The one to heal the broken parts of your soul and make you complete once more.
The one to be with you now and forever. The one who has watched over you for thousands of moon-rises and moon-sets.
He is your Chosen and you are his. He is a friend of the chii and as such, we have taken steps to bring you two together faster than if we let the stars guide your steps.
Only half of that made sense. And even the bits I did understand.
.. I wasn't sure I wanted that. I didn't need someone to heal me.
I didn't need a boyfriend – if that was the kind of relationship she was describing.
I was happy on my own, thank you very much.
Single by choice. I remembered that. My previous relationships had always ended in disappointment.
A stream of guys and girls who looked good on paper but were entirely different in reality.
For the past few years, I'd used Tinder to organise the occasional encounter – I had needs, after all – but kept all emotion out of it.
It is too dangerous to be outside for the two of you. I will take you to a private cave.
Sa'quii jumped off my shoulder and walked off on all fours. Once again, the other aliens made way for her.
What are you called, your species? I asked her, immediately feeling a little rude.
We are the chii.
She led me to the other end of the cave, where a doorway was flanked by two diamond columns.
He has just stepped through the portal and is waiting for you, Sa'quii informed me.
Did you build these portals? And did you create this cave?
We did not. Beings who came long before did. But you are stalling. Go and meet your Chosen. I could hear her impatience and cringed.
I really didn't know what awaited me. Another human, brought here by aliens just like me? Or... an alien? Was he a chii?
Only one way to find out. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, readjusted the scarves wrapped around my body to make sure I didn't reveal parts I didn't want him to see, and stepped through the doorway.
The small room – diamond walls again that let in natural sunlight while also obscuring whatever was around these caves – was empty except for one person. He had his back to me, which I was incredibly glad for. My face had to be a mask of shock and amazement and surprise.
He was a snake. Well, half a snake. His upper body was almost human, except that his skin was covered in tiny green scales and the back of his head had growths on either side that reminded me of a cobra's hood.
His arms were muscles upon muscles, with intricate moss green patterns swirling around his upper arms and back.
But underneath the leather belt around his waist was a tail, as wide as his hips, curled into a heap of coils, going on and on until it ended in a fist-sized tip.
If he uncoiled his tail completely, he had to be at least five metres long or more.
The tail was darker than the scales on his torso, more of an emerald green that shimmered in the light.
For some reason, he seemed familiar, as if I’d seen him, or someone like him, before.
But no. I could picture every single alien I’d seen as I’d been brought to the black-furred monster, and none of them had been half-snake.
But why did he feel so familiar? Maybe it was my fragmented memories deceiving me.
My subconscious was still trying to make sense of it all. That had to be it.
He must have been aware of my presence, but he didn't turn around. Maybe he was shy?
I looked for Sa'quii, but she had disappeared. I was alone with him. My Chosen, whatever that meant. And I really wanted to see his face. Why wasn't he turning around?