Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (16 page)

Chapter 35

A week later Ali sent the reply to the elves accepting their gracious offer and indicated she would be keen to start work as soon as her work obligations conclude with Hephaestus. The elven response was received minutes later agreeing with her wishes and the 'porting coordinates were included with the message.

Ali spent the last week in the forge office just designing customized armor and weaponry. Riv kept the pile organized and handed them to Hephaestus in order for him to craft. Hephaestus called Aliandra to his office and asked her if she was able to keep designing when she was with the elves. "I should be able to. I need specifications and measurement readouts for each order but there is nothing stopping me from sending you designs" she said. "if I send them to you and the customer checks them out prior to manufacture they can indicate any corrections required, let me know and I will do it and resend" said Ali.

"Ali, it has been such a pleasure knowing you. When you return don't be a stranger" said Hephaestus as he got a bit emotional.

"You are one of my favorite people, Hephaestus" said Ali.

"Same" said Hephaestus.

Hephaestus organized a going away party for Ali in a VIP room at one of Dionysius' clubs. He invited Donny, Gramma, Riv, Amirael and various clients to her send off. Gramma told Ali to dress up, kick up he heels and leave the veil off. Aphrodite sent Ali a gorgeous white lace dress with matching shoes for the occasion. Ali used one of the catalogue's glamorous 'looks' for her hair and makeup at Hephaestus' insistence. Ali always wore her fealty ring and earrings now.

Donny came to pick her up wearing an elegant tuxedo. When he saw her his jaw hung open and she gently closed his mouth and said "Precisely the effect I was going for."

Donny came to his senses and offered his arm to her, took her out the front door closing it behind them and then 'ported to the venue.

The beautiful young couple made their way to the VIP room where several guests were already waiting with Hephaestus. All stood looking gobsmacked as they entered. Ali smiled graciously and greeted everyone while Donny hung behind looking very smug. Aphrodite arrived and approached to tell her how becoming the dress was on her. Most of the guests, including the counsel members, arrived before Zeus and Hera made their entrance wearing the crowns Ali made for them.

Hephaestus got on the stage and made a speech. He mentioned some funny incidences that happened during the year and how important Ali had become to him as a friend and as a talented business partner. He also got Dionysius to stand up and show his duck helmet and proceeded to break the news to him what a duck really symbolized. Zeus threw his head back and gave a hearty bellowing laugh before everyone joined in, including Dionysius. Hephaestus thanked him because he and Aliandra have been laughing all year while he wore the duck helmet. Then they all toasted Aliandra and the party continued well into the next morning.

Ali had noticed when Brand finally entered the party dressed all in black and how he remained in the shadowed corner watching her through the night. She could almost hear his teeth grinding whenever Donny kissed her. When Ali and Donny slow-danced his eyes sparked furiously. Ali did her level best to ignore him and have fun. When Donny had been co-opted to dance by a goddess, Ali saw Brand approach her. Ali looked up and Brand looked deep in her eyes and said lovingly "I am yours, little Ali-cat."

"Brand, you can't just say things like that to me when I have a boyfriend. You finally got it right but your timing is terrible."

Brand furiously turned on his heel and left. Ali decided to hit the bar.

Her send off was the talk of the town for the next week. Dionysius continued to wear his duck helmet to milk the joke. A mountain of orders came in and Ali went to her window to clear the backlog before she was due to start with the elves.

Chapter 36

Ali arrived at the elven city with Rom in tow. She realized Gaia had used elven architecture to create her cottage bedroom overlooking the sea. Ali was awestruck by the beauty of the elven city. A number of elves were present to greet her and each stepped forward, said their name, identified their family group and gave a formal speech. Ali thanked her lucky stars that she now had powers of diplomacy and the will to fight the absolute boredom of all that speechmaking.
I guess it is a big deal that I am here
.

Ali listened patiently until the last elf had finished their speech and proceeded to respond with her own even longer formal speech.
Yeah, the elves really lap up this formal speech crap.
Rom was fast asleep at her feet.
Lucky little bugger
. The formalities concluded with an official dinner of welcome and more speeches. Ali decided to go on a holiday to her ancient planet the second she got some privacy before she began screaming to stop all the bloody speeches and just get to work. She took some big deep breathes and soldiered on.

The elves showed Ali to her assigned accommodation. It was a palace with about fifty staff.
Obviously they are making up for previous lapses and protocol indiscretions.
An elaborate forge had been built in one of the back buildings and Ali was advised that the most famous elven smiths would be coming to her private forge to conduct the lessons. A schedule was provided for her approval. Each smith had been ordered to download their knowledge and craft secrets onto disks for Ali's private use. There were even professional forge staff to manage the fires, set up the tools and clean up. The palace staff were constantly on alert to meet Ali's every need. Ali kept reminding herself that she could always go into her window to escape the craziness and no-one would ever know
. I bet Gramma is laughing her butt off right now.

Ali summoned the palace senior manager.

"How many bedrooms are in the palace?" asked Ali

"Eighty, mistress."

"I see in the schedule that there are twenty three smiths invited to teach. Invite all the smiths and their families, including children, to stay in the palace for as long as they wish while I am here. Ensure all the needs of the families and children are catered for, including education and entertainment. Store any fragile palace decorations for the duration of their stay. Ensure the families are shown around and properly hosted. Invite local children to the palace to play with our visitors and provide them with supervision, food, toys and entertainment. Encourage the smiths and their families to invite their friends to visit and cater to their needs. I want them to feel entirely comfortable and at home during their stay. Encourage the smiths to feel free to make requests that ensure they enjoy their stay. If any smith declines the offer then advise me of the reasons and we will try to accommodate their preferences or ensure their concerns are addressed. That is all."

He turned and left
. Ha! That should keep them too busy and distracted to hover over me all day.

Soon the palace was a hive of activity and the smiths and their families began to arrive the palace. The senior manager approached Ali.

"Two smiths have declined the offer to reside in the palace. One has cited his reason as having a very ill wife requiring his care and the other cited that her workload is too heavy to leave her forge for long" he stated.

"Offer the smith with the ill wife full free medical attention and a private nurse. I can 'port the couple and their children directly to her room so she does not suffer the journey. Advise him I will call in expert healers to cure her. All palace resources and facilities will be at their disposal. For the busy smith, advise her that we will build her a exemplary private forge at the rear of the palace for her to continue her work. I can 'port all that she requires, including her personal tools, directly to her new forge and she can continue her work as she sees fit. Please advise me if my solutions are insufficient to change their minds. That is all."

The two reluctant smiths agreed to come to the palace. The private forge was being built and medical staff were brought in. Ali 'ported in the sick woman, her worried husband and their children, ranging from adult to infant, to their room and personally welcomed them. "Please keep me advised on her medical condition and if there is anything else that is required let my manager know immediately and it shall be provided" ordered Ali to the chief medical officer. "While your parents settle in, how about we explore the palace together? There are lots of other children here to meet and play with. I think morning tea with scones are waiting for us in the main dining room too." The offspring looked to their parents, who nodded and smiled, then they all nodded their approval to Ali's plan.

When they exited the room, a tall young man stepped towards Ali and said "Aliandra, I thank you for the medical care you have provided out mother. It has been a great concern that has been lifted from our shoulders. It is hard to express our deep gratitude, I am at your disposal" he said and bowed.

"I assure you that it is entirely my pleasure" insisted Ali. "Let us all go and explore and enjoy ourselves. I have a pet mountain lion around somewhere in the palace being thoroughly spoiled and petted by the rest of the children. His name is Rom. Do not be concerned about him when you do see him, he is a big pussy cat who loves to be hugged and petted" grinned Ali as they set off. The smith's children soon blended in with the rest of the palace guests. Meals were served as buffets to keep up with the heavy demand. Rom walked through the palace with a trail of children of all ages following him from room to room.

The lessons began and Ali went to her window regularly to download the disks provided by the smiths. When the smiths got together at mealtimes, they debated and discussed their craft and Ali was fascinated. She thought that she learned just as much at mealtimes as she did in the formal classes. As time wore on the smiths and their families relaxed into the palace routines and their behaviors became less formal and stilted. When a mother was trying to discipline her two boys over getting into a fight Ali stepped in and offered to hold her baby while she fixed up their clothes and hair. Initially the mother was embarrassed but Ali assured her that when she was raised by mortals she fought and argued with her siblings a lot because she was so stubborn. Soon mothers felt comfortable enough to ask Ali to hold their babies while they raced to break up arguments between the children. The palace had become one big happy smithing family and Ali was enjoying herself thoroughly.

When the private forge was complete Ali sent word to the smith to arrange all that she required to prepare it for teleportation to her private forge at the palace. Ali 'ported in the smith and her equipment directly to her forge. The elderly smith wandered around inspecting the forge before she gave her grunt of approval. She turned to Ali and said "I am Melian. Activate your armor I wish to inspect it, Aliandra."

Ali complied and immediately wore the elven armor. The smith walked around the armor, rubbing it here and knocking it there while Ali stood still. The elf pondered a while before she announced "It is incomplete. They gave it to you prior to completion. Unacceptable! Shoddy! I will fix it. Remove your armor."

"May I ask what is to be done to it?" asked Ali as she removed the armor and carefully stacked it on the work bench."

"There is no brightness control and some powers have not been added. Two important ones. Repelling all poisons and fluidity" she responded. "I will return your armor when it is complete and not before."

"What is fluidity?" asked Ali.

"It is the elven technology that allows easier movement in the armor during battle. With fluidity the armor will be able to bend with its wearer to allow a wider range of movement and comfort during combat. I am one of the few who has mastered it" she replied.

"May I stay and watch?" asked Ali.

"If you sit quietly while I work, you may stay" Melian replied. Melian instructed Ali as she worked through the night and into the next morning. Occasionally Melian passed Ali some spring water and bread to eat whenever she took a short break. Finally Melian announced her armor was ready and Ali stored it. Melian got Ali to again activate her armor and instructed her how to adjust the brightness of the armor.

"Brightness comes in useful as a way to stun and dazzle your foes when you flash to diamond brightness. When you need to more stealthily and unobserved you go dark" Melian advised.

"May I show you to your room so you can settle in, Melian?" asked Ali.

"Yes."

They made their way through the palace to the bedrooms and every smith who saw Melian stopped and bowed to her. Ali showed Melian to her room and asked if it was satisfactory. Melian nodded. Ali then invited Melian to attend breakfast with her in the dining room and advised the palace staff would unpack for her. Melian nodded and they left for the dining room. When they arrived Melian said "This is some party you are holding, Aliandra."

"I confess the idea of having all the smiths here was because all the attention from the palace staff was so tiresome. I thought it would give them something else to do rather than hover over me all day" said Ali.

Melian let out a barking laugh and said "I approve, Aliandra."

"The unexpected bonus is that the meal table conversations are so enlightening for me. I have learned much more than just the downloaded information. It has made it so much more interesting" whispered Ali. "The other bonus is that the wife of one of the smiths is getting the medical attention she needs, so her husband and children can finally relax and enjoy themselves."

"I know of it. I will pay a visit to her after breakfast" said Melian.

Rom wandered over to Ali with his usually contingent of trailing children in tow. "May I introduce you to my pet, Rom. He is obviously enjoying himself with all our guests too" said Ali.

Melian nodded to Rom and said "How do you do?"

"Rom" growled Rom to her.

"I apologize. How do you do, Rom?" she repeated with a smile.

Rom approached Melian and pushed her hand to get her to pat him.

"He has become so spoiled" laughed Ali.

"He is sure of love and that is good. It reflects well on you, Aliandra" replied Melian as she rubbed Rom's ears and he purred loudly.

Ali finished her breakfast and advised Melian she had a lesson to attend. "I hope you enjoy your stay here. A staff member can direct you to the lady you wish to visit. Let me know if you require anything or just tell the palace manager and he will arrange it" said Ali as she stood, bowed and left for her lesson. Ali headed out the doors and headed to her forge lesson. Before she entered, Ali quickly opened the window and closed it behind her. She flopped exhausted onto her bed and slept like the dead. Her night-long lesson with Melian had completely fried her brain. When Ali woke, she quietly stepped out of the window, closed it and entered the forge room to begin her lesson.

When it was time for Melian to teach her months later, Ali was full of trepidation and excitement. Melian began conversationally "I am four thousand years old and I have made many sacrifices to be one of the finest practitioners of my craft. I have no husband or children to distract me from my work. Over the entire span of my life I have accumulated the knowledge and experience required for my craft. You, Aliandra, are only seventeen and you expect to learn all that is required in a single year?"

"Melian, I have secrets that I cannot reveal. I can assure you that I am mature beyond my years and I am committed to learn whatever you are prepared to teach me. The only hint I might give you is that time is irrelevant in my particular case" responded Ali.

"I use elven powers and you are a nymph. How do you hope to replicate the processes required?"

"Elves and nymphs are also related, so in many ways our powers will be similar. True, our powers are also different, so some outcomes are likely to be different. I can experiment with that in my own time. I will not produce exactly the same products that you are able to produce. I will focus on refining whatever I have learned with the elves and with Hephaestus to create other processes. Your time will not be wasted" assured Ali.