First Forest - Viola Grace Page 0,24
speak at the university where she used to teach.
“So, you remember the rules?” Kiloh walked with her to the doors.
“Remain in traditional dress, keep the sword with me. Don’t talk to strange men, don’t talk to familiar men, don’t talk to men at all if I can help it. Keep my dagger in my sleeve at all times, and scream bloody murder if I need help.” She smiled and tried to snag her travel bundle from him.
“And think of me every moment of every day until you are back, and then, think of me more frequently.” He stopped at the inner gate.
“I will. I could hardly think of anything else as I am going to be talking about you and the new developments here in the village.” She beckoned him to bend from his full height.
She kissed him thoroughly and stroked his cheek. “I will see you again in two days. Don’t add another level to the house. I can already see it from here.”
He grinned. “Then, make sure you are home on time. Ah, your skimmer has arrived.”
She sighed and stepped through the outer gate and past the guards. She walked to the skimmer and took her seat. The driver nodded formally and then whisked her off to the university in thirty minutes. It was amazing what flight clearance did for travel times.
“In conclusion, the village has a lot to offer, and we are opening opportunities for serious scholars to visit with an eye toward making a permanent move. It is time for an expansion, and all fields of study will be considered, with a few being granted a trial month, and if there is a good fit, an offer will be made. For those of you with family and children, please consider putting in an application as it is a very wholesome environment to grow up in. Thank you for your time.” She bowed and then straightened. “Any questions?”
Hands shot up around the room, and she answered questions on everything from sanitation to the amount of agriculture required per person. When a woman raised her hand and asked, “Is that garb necessary?” Abiha grinned.
“No, it isn’t necessary, but then, you don’t need to be in the village.” She raised her hand to stop the woman’s spluttering. “The first forest is private property for an entity that is far older than any of the colonists. He was here before we arrived, and he will be here after we die. He spurs on the development of a wide variety of the offerings from the village, and he decides what he wants to be worn in his territory. He prefers this aesthetic, so that is what we wear. If he was into nudity, that is what would happen as well. There is no negotiation.”
A young woman raised her hand and smiled slyly. “Is he up for negotiation?”
Abiha smiled. “Certainly. You just have to have something that he wants.”
Professor Brindle stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Professor Nahe has recently become the bride of the honourable Kiloh.”
That sparked another wave of questions, several of which came from the biology department.
Abiha finally slammed her hands down on the lectern. “And that is enough about my sex life, please.”
A few of the others were shamed into silence, but Abiha knew that she was about to be cornered at the cocktail party.
She held a cup of tea while the faculty got tipsy, and one of the women who had been asking about Kiloh swayed toward her.
“Pardon, Professor Nahe, but I don’t see what makes you so special. Why did he choose you?”
Abiha looked the buxom woman up and down, and she shrugged. “I had the right genetic pattern from the day I was born. There was no doubt for him. He waited for me, and I showed up. There was a strange element of fate about it.”
The woman blinked. “That was it?”
“Yes. Sure, there were a lot of ritual elements about it, but as you are not of the village, I can’t discuss them with you.” Abiha smiled. “However, if you do have an inclination to apply, there are six single botanists within your age range as well as a calligrapher and a musician. Half the population is males of marriageable age. I know it is an old-fashioned concept, but there is a lot of opportunities if you are devoted to your science and not fame.”
The woman blinked and stepped back. “Um, thank you.”
“You are in the architecture department, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Abiha nodded. “There are plenty