As E’lin stepped into the elegant room, flooded with light from a magnificent chandelier with cascades of crystals, she was announced by a Man of the Residence.  It appeared that she was the last to arrive; the family party was already assembled and had just come through a door at the other end of the dining area that opened onto a less formal and ceremonial chamber designed for drinking and chatting.  There was a lightning flash of panic, instantly suppressed, that she was somehow late, but Kehrol caught his Bride’s gaze and mouthed behind the backs of his relatives, “Guest of Honor.”  Was he reading her mind again?  Did it truly matter if he was, since, if so, there was clearly nothing she could do to forestall this telepathic contact?  Her Husband was obviously going out of his way to make E’lin feel at ease, and that was promising.  Perhaps the Maids of the Personage had been right, and she was lucky in her arranged Marriage.

The teen from the colonial planet was ushered to where she was to sit at the long, gleaming, wood table, to the right of Grand High Lady Ana’i at one end, and across from Lord Kehrol to his mother’s left.  On Elin’s right side a fair, red haired man with freckles was seated.  He was introduced to the young Bride as Rinam, Husbandman of Lady Sanika ben Da’u Chayff, the firstborn and Heir Prime.  That lady was not positioned, as expected, at the foot of the table, but rather just adjacent to it, the end chair being left strangely unoccupied.  Heir Second, the Lady Llyare ben Da’u Wiing, settled herself into the place next to her brother, with her own Husbandman, Thal, on her other hand.  His hair was so black and sleek that it shone almost dark blue, and he wore a short-cropped beard.  Ana’i’s daughters were each paler than their matriarch, yet every bit as beautiful in their unique ways.  While Lady Sanika’s matte, black hair was about the length of Kehrol’s, it was much curlier, falling in sculpted waves that brushed her chin.  Her sister Lady Llyare’s tresses were straight, and slightly longer than E’lin’s, however her braids seemed to be a random assortment of varied widths woven in several different directions at once over the fall of the rest.  Despite that, the chaotic coiffure somehow managed to be charming and harmonious nevertheless, framing her lighter skin and violet, almond-shaped eyes.

For a time, the conversation was desultory, and E’lin could inconspicuously address herself only to her plate without seeming impolite, not possessing any small talk or gossip relevant to life Out-of-Plane.  And honestly, the food was exquisitely presented and no less attractive to the taste.  Fortuitously, she was able to identify nearly everything she was given to eat and had no regrets about trying the few foreign comestibles.  Then, though, as the door hushed gently closed behind the last of the servants, all eyes focused on the Bride.  Intensely conscious of the fact that four out of six of these people could potentially scan the thoughts in her brain, the anxious girl concentrated on keeping her spine perfectly aligned, and lifted her head to an interactive, yet still respectful, angle.

Grand High Lady Ana’i was the first to question her, as was her privilege as hostess.  “Do you find your accommodations appealing and satisfactory, my dear?” she inquired.

This was an easy thing to answer.  “Yes, my Lady,” E’lin said, for grand and high were not necessary when replying to a casual request for information, “the rooms are lovely.”  The senior Lady of Out-of-Plane seemed to be about to ask something further, but then thought better of it, perhaps, or at least decided to wait until later to query her son’s Bride on that subject.

“You look beautiful in blue, E’lin,” remarked Lady Sanika.  “I understand that you are just fourteen,” and she tossed a quick moue of disapproval at her brother, masked almost before it was begun, but the young girl perceived it anyway.  Also, for the first time that evening, the Bride actually noticed that Kehrol, too, was wearing blue.

Her Husband saved her the trouble of answering the Heir Prime.  “She is, indeed,” he said agreeably, “however, if I had waited, I would have had to resign myself to some lesser first Wife, and another man would have snapped up E’lin.  It is much better this way.”

“You know, I think it is,” affirmed Lady Llyare suddenly, although she had previously appeared to be lost in contemplation of the dim gardens outside the window.  “There’s already affection here, and it will grow.”  Her smile, rarely used during the earlier banter, was radiant.

“Mother and Llyare both receive occasional visions, although not always at their beck and call,” Kehrol commented for E’lin’s benefit.  “Sanika and I have other gifts.”  The Bride, naturally, was curious about those talents and might even have ventured to pursue the matter, but right then the next course of the meal was laid before them, and the discussion became temporarily inconsequential until this was finished.

As, once more, the servitors retired to the kitchens, Rinam, Lady Sanika’s Husbandman addressed E’lin.  “I am told that you come from a farming shelter on Otralto.  That life must not be very unlike my early years in a fishing commune on my own home planet of Hallix.”  There was much kindness in his eyes, that seemed to be an attempt to extend camaraderie to the fledgling Bride.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, sir, but I have very few memories that extend before my sixth natalday, when I was taken from the family farmstead, so I cannot compare and contrast the life of the fisherfolk to that of the farmers with you,” admitted E’lin, feeling somehow that she was at fault for this.  The others at the table, however, seemed shocked, even the two Husbandmen.

Before an awkward silence had time to grow, however, Kehrol, said gently but with more steel than the teen had yet heard his voice reveal, “Is this then how Brides on your planet are chosen?”

“Of course,” replied E’lin, aware that she had said something scandalous and of which her elders, the family of her affianced Husband, disapproved.  “There is so much to learn that we must begin at quite a young age.  Is this not so on Hallix, and wherever you are from, Thal, sir?”

“No,” answered Thal.  “On Vekk we are a warrior people, and we keep our kinswomen close to us, even if she is a potential Bride.  What she must learn can be taught by remote link, visiting teachers, or rare and brief sojourns in the nearest hub city.”

“On Hallix, our Bride candidates do go into seclusion for intensive training during half of the seasons, yet not until they are twelve cycles old.  Boys such as I have an extra school to attend, but we spend some of our time, at least, engaged in normal village activities.”

E’lin could think of nothing else to say, so she apologized reflexively.  “I’m sorry to have brought up such a controversial topic,” she offered, “and truly, you must not think that I was intending to complain.  It was merely such a commonplace part of my life that I gave no thought to the impact it might have on your guests, High Lady,” she said, hanging her head.  And nothing beyond meaningless pleasantries could be won from the new Bride for the remainder of the meal.

When even dessert had been consumed, the ladies retired to the antechamber from which E’lin had noticed them entering earlier.  The men of the group were left in possession of the dining room.  “It is an old and somewhat silly custom, this division by sex after supper for an hour or so, but we follow it in my house because it gives each of us an opportunity to talk about the other, uninhibitedly,” twinkled High Lady Ana’i merrily.  “Would you care for anything to drink, E’lin dear?”

“A cup of tea, perhaps and if it is no trouble, would be most welcome,” ventured the teen.  “The wines at dinner were exquisite, but I have no wish to continue imbibing spirits just now.”  Knowing that everyone in this room was a telepath besides herself made E’lin doubly on her toes, and becoming tipsy was definitely not part of her plan for getting through the evening.

“Do you like this place?  Out-of-Plane, I mean?” asked Llyare.  “So far?”

“It is all very new,” responded E’lin.  “I know little of it, but what I have seen of it is magnificent.”

Her sister Sanika reproved Lady Llyare, “How is she supposed to be able to give any kind of intelligent answer when E’lin has been here less than a day?”

Ignoring this minor squabble between her daughters, Lady Ana’i asked now the question that had been on her mind before, but which she had held back.  “E’lin, think carefully.  Do you like my son?”

For several moments, there was silence as the three Ladies of Out-of-Plane focused intently at the young Bride.  Finally, E’lin looked up and said, “He wore blue tonight.  He did that in solidarity, for me, even though he didn’t have to.”  Her hair brushed like silk against her skin, and the Bride was reminded of its washing.  She smiled.  “Lord Kehrol has done me many such small services and kindnesses since we met, brief though that time has been.”  The teen closed her eyes for a second and relived every word and touch she could remember, which did not take long as their acquaintance was not of significant duration.  “And there is him, the man himself…”  Boldly she faced Ana’i, Kehrol’s mother, and averred, “Yes, I like him.  I think… I may like him very much.  However, I have not seen a male of near my age since I was six, so it is difficult to say for certain.”

Almost immediately, E’lin blushed at her own forthrightness and temerity, yet to have refused to answer High Lady Ana’i would have been the greater solecism.  The Bride wondered at the motivations of the diminutive lady, however.  Perhaps even an accomplished telepath had need to ask certain questions, such as the exact nature of sentiments that were either buried or had yet to be fully examined.  Or maybe her hostess was merely being polite.  To know for sure, E’lin would have to inquire of the Lady Ana’i herself, and she didn’t feel prepared to be quite that audacious.

It was gratifying to be able to honestly give the desired response, though, and E’lin could sense the smiles of the others in the room like a balm on her overheated cheeks.  Softly, Ana’i, the matriarch and High Lady of Out-of-Plane, pronounced, “It is well.”