THIRTY-FIVE: Power of the Rose

“Today is Siobhan’s day off.  I believe I see her sitting in the courtyard. You are welcome to talk to her.”

At that moment, Cindra stood in the open door.  Arous did not see her enter nor hear the door as it opened.

“Show Arous to the courtyard and introduce her to Siobhan.”

“This really isn’t necessary if you’ll just tell me-”

“I’m sorry but our time is up.  I have other business to attend to.  You may make an appointment with Cindra if Siobhan doesn’t answer questions to your satisfaction. But I trust that won’t be the case.”

“Oh.”

“And good luck finding your mother. May the power of the Rose guide you to her love.”

Cindra led the way from the dining room through another hall, down a flight of stairs and onto a small brick porch.  They went through a screen door and out onto the brick walkway and into the courtyard.  Stone statues and containers of roses littered the courtyard. Small non-flowering shrubs, lined the brick walkways. Various greenery and vines climbed the red brick walls and entangled themselves around the wrought iron bars that secured the tall windows on the floors above. The brick walkways went around to the back of the house and opened onto a larger area of the grounds with taller shrubs. 

Arous looked to the windows and saw Lady Rose staring onto the courtyard. She thought she saw a figure standing behind the Lady just before she turned from the window and disappeared.

“Ladoiselle Siobhan, this is Arous.  She came to talk to the Lady Rose and now would like a short interview with you,” said Cindra.

Cindra looked at Arous on the word “short”, then left.

“Please, have a seat by me, here on the bench,” said Siobhan.  She had had her hands cupped around an image hovering above a dot but then closed her hands as Arous walked up.

“I am looking for someone,” said Arous.

“Oh? Isn‘t everyone?”

The fragrance of the roses made her head swim.

“I am . . . I don’t know about anyone else.”

“Who is it?”

“My mother, a Lunese.”

 “From the look of you, that’s not hard to figure out,” Siobhan’s expression was blank. It was if she couldn’t deice to be honey or vinegar. “I’m sorry.  I don‘t believe I know a Lunese.”

“I know she worked with you”

“She may have worked with the same agency but that doesn’t mean I know her. There are a lot of people in this business,” she inhaled as if to regain the composure she had not yet lost. 

“But there couldn’t be many Lunese.”

“I wish I could be of more help to you,” said Siobhan.

“But you can tell me . . . surely you know somebody. If nothing else, give me the name of a HaleSpa they would have been sent to?”   A loud mechanical chime interrupted Arous.

“I can’t help you. Good day and may the power of the Rose be with you.” She stood before she had finished talking and was through the door. The slamming of which rang off the brick, wood, and iron.

Arous stood and turned to look at her surroundings.

“At least, I could get a look around.”

She turned again.  There stood Cindra, a woman who hoped and dreamed of being a stealth robot.

“This way, Arous.”

THIRTY-FOUR: Lunese you say

“Now, what can I do for you?” First Lady Rose smiled at Arous.

 “I’m looking for my mother.”

“Here?” She chuckled a bit but did not smile.  “So, your mother was an Idelle.  So many people come to this town thinking they have talent.  A gift for speaking. For being  - for representing.  A role model.  Most of them don’t have the business sense that the divine would give a fly.” Now smiling she added, “You mentioned your mother?”

“Yes, I am looking for her.  She came to this city more than ten years ago.  I’ve heard that there was a Lunese that worked here. I’m wondering if you knew her at all-”

“Hmm,” said the Lady. “A Lunese you say?”

 “Yes,” thought Arous. “I thought that would be obvious.”

Lady Rose laughed. “Yes, the old slave race from the moon. There has been one Lunese Idelle. But I don’t know her now nor does she work for me.  If you are representing a client or advising a client, you need to be beautiful and well spoken and talented of course.  She was beautiful, well-spoken and very talented,” she hesitated for a moment and continued.

“When you are an Idelle you are committed to a House. Rose’s is one House out of several you could belong to. Being part of a House is like belonging to a family – it’s a lifelong commitment. Only licensed and committed Idelles can work for or live in a House.  Mine carry the small mark of the red rose on their necks just under their left ear.  Everything we represent . . . is beautiful. If it doesn’t have a bent toward beauty or toward the truth of the thorn, we don’t represent them. That is our mission.  We represent the only people that need our kind of representing, like the Ephors, the MOTA, the Bishops, large corporations.  We don’t often do non-profits, except at the prompting of a political client. The Idelles in Rose House belong to me.”

“Belong?”

“Belong.  As one belongs to the member of a club or organization. Because of the nature of our business, Idelles or Idons are subject to the strictest regulations from the Center of Whole Wellness.  Idelles must be wholesome. Whole people are beautiful. It is the way that my business survives. Beautiful people are easier to believe.  If they are believed then there is no arguing, no fighting, people buy what they need, what we represent to make their lives beautiful, full of truth. If they are not beautiful, they mis-represent the truth and that is a crime punishable by-”

“Do you know where she is?” Arous asked.

“Who?”

“My mother,” Arous was annoyed. “Who else would I be talking about?”

“Well, the only Lunese Idelle that I knew was with Starin’s Agency.  They will have a small star tattoo under their right eye.”

“Where would this business be located now?  Starin‘s Agency?”

“It was shut down a few months ago.  They had some . . . management problems.  I purchased a few of the commitments of the Idelles and Idons working there, but I don’t remember her.  Less than a dozen commitments were sold. The rest were convicted of crimes. I hope your mother was not one of them,” she sighed. “Your eyes. I would have remembered those eyes. And your skin is very arresting. You should think of pledging a House.”

“Crimes?”

“Well, they had a few government contracts.  Treason was one of the crimes mentioned.”

“What happened to them?”

“Treason is punishable by death, of course.”

“Of course,” Arous echoed.  All the lavender drained from her skin till she was ashen.

“Are you feeling well?” asked the Lady.

Arous didn’t say anything. But the Lady pushed a glass of water toward her.

“Drink this,” she said. “It will make you feel much, much better.”

Arous took as sip and a surge of energy passed through her and iridescence came back to her face, eyes, skin.

“Thank you,” she said and she picked up the glass to finish it off.

“Of course, there were a couple of Idelles, I believe, that had good information or just good connections. They were sent to a HaleSpa. I’m not sure that was better than execution, if you ask me.”

The Lady nodded and looked out the window.

“That was fast,” she said as Arous drained the glass, “would you like some more?”

“Please,” said Arous. “I guess I’m just not used to this dry air.  Where I come from its much more . . . humid.”

“Curious!” she smiled. She almost looked as if she was about to start laughing. “I can’t stand humidity.  I have a de-humidifier in this room to suck out all the water out of the air. Curious!”

Arous finished her second glass.

“There is someone whom you might want to meet.  She was a Starin before she came here.”

First Lady Rose called Cindra.

            “Please show Arous into the courtyard and introduce her to Siobhan,” she leaned into Cindra’s ear. “And turn off the de-humidifier on your way out before I shrivel up like a prune.”

THIRTY-THREE: Nephilims

“Nephilims?” asked Arous.  Seeing them there made her stomach feel hot.

“What?” asked Cindra.

“Nothing,” said Arous and continuing under her breath. “Odd.”

“Excuse me?”

Arous heard a soft whinny come from her bag and cleared her throat.  Cindra gave her a sharp glance.

Arous saw the chains around their ankles.

Miguel, why don’t they break their chains.  They could, just like that Momo in the diner.

Like a pretzel.  They are much stronger than Momo’s.

Okay. Go away now.

She blocked my voice and we had to rely on Arcadia.

Arous’ eyes began to water.  She sniffed. The receptionist looked at her.

“Onions,” Arous said blinking her eyes.

“Yes?”

“I said, onions.  They’re chopping onions.”

Her guide answered her by stretching her lips across her face in the same manner as before.  Arous lowered her eyes, not willing to spend another of her own warm smiles in answer to the empty smile of the woman.

They entered a dining room with a long oak table.  The length of the table distracted Arous from noticing Lady Rose who sat at the end. Above the table floated a large chandelier. Large windows framed one wall.  Out of the windows, Arous caught a quick glance of what seemed to be the reds and greens brick courtyard.

“Miss Arous to see you Lady.”

“Thank you, Cindra.  You may go,” said Lady Rose.

The chandelier swayed, clinking a few glass pieces at the slamming of the large oak door.

“Come and have a seat down here by me, dear,” the First Lady Rose purred.  Arous began her long walk to the end of the table where the Rose sat.  It seemed to take hours to walk down the length of the table. She passed chair after chair like driving fast past the posts of a barbed wire fence on a country road.  When she neared the end of the table, she noticed a chair was already pulled out for her. Arous made mental note that she didn’t see it move and it wasn’t pulled out when she entered. Arous cocked her head.

 “Have a seat, my dear,” she smiled at her.  “Do you know who I am?”

“Lady Rose.”

“First Lady Rose. Do you know what that means?”

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”

“It means that my house, Rose House, is the best house of Idelles in the City. Idelles are sell their faces, their personalities to large companies, corporations, institutions, non-profits and politicians, like the Members of the Assembly, the MOTA. Do you know what it means to have such political ties?”

“Not quite.”

“The title First was given to me by the last Ephor. Ephors run the City and the Pantagenent. You understand that, right?”

“Yes. I don’t need a history lesson.”

First Lady Rose grinned. “Good. The last Ephor was Prime Ephor. In other words, he was the leader of the whole world. The current Ephor was pleased to allow me to continue with the title.”

“That’s nice,” Arous gave her a sarcastic smile. “Congratulations.”

The Lady leaned into Arous.

“You should understand that I am very close with the Ephor.  I’m about as powerful as it gets here and you are lucky that I was willing to see you.”

The Lady leaned back in her chair.

“Now, what can I do for you?”

           

            “Arous!” yelled Edlawit.  “Watch out! I think it’s a trap.”

            Shut up, Edwi. I won’t listen to you if you keep trying to make me afraid. I won’t!