Episode 63: Teyke Two (Tey)

Tey swayed from the net in Rykos’ room. Their room. It still felt odd to call this space hers, to accept that her freedom had just been reduced to an apartment.

It was her reality, though. Tey didn’t like the chaotic feeling she was left with when Rykos distended himself from her.

Tey didn’t want to be miserable. Rykos was right – being unhappy was a choice. This was her life and these were the cards she had been dealt.

She untangled herself from the net and swam toward the main room. Rykos was floating in the room, eyes shut and tail limp. He looked calm.

Tey knew, under normal circumstances, not to bother Rykos like that.

Their marriage didn’t count as normal circumstances.

“Rykos?”

His eyes fluttered open and his tail sunk beneath him. “Yes?”

He faced her, focused.

She didn’t trust that he was truly blind. She couldn’t accuse him of lying though; if Tey was wrong any additional missteps could be detrimental to her future.

“I realized that I may have taken some of my frustration out on you. I’m sorry. I understand we’re together and I would prefer if we both found ways to be happy.”

“I would too,” Rykos stated.

Finally, he had softened. He wasn’t soft and pliable but he was someone she could work with.

“I have been studying bonds and the chemical reactions between our kind on my own, and plants, algaes, and reproduction otherwise. What do you enjoy doing?” Tey asked.

“I like sword fighting and meditation. Reading. There are ancient stones with stories on them.”

It was the perfect opportunity to question his blindness. “How do you read?”

“They’re engraved. I can trace the letters with my fingertips.”

Tey swam a little closer, “If you would like me to read to you ever, I would be willing to.”

“Thank you. And you’re welcome to move your lab here while we get acquainted.”

Tey studied him for a moment. She liked his eyes the most. He was attractive. This situation wasn’t entirely a loss. If she did become queen, and things weren’t much better, then she could end the marriage and Thelos would have no say in things.

It was an option.

She didn’t want to rule the entire kingdom on her own; she would need to stay married to Rykos long enough for an heir to come of age. They needed an heir.

“Would you like me to take the trial?”

“Not yet. Someday.”

So it wasn’t all about killing her. Tey relaxed a bit more. She didn’t want to fail the trial. She would need to understand it before she took it.

“I didn’t mean today,” Tey stated. “I need to prepare for it. Will you help me?”

“I’ll try, yes.” Rykos replied.

They could be a team once parameter were set. she would have to learn to trust him.

“I have purple hair. Like an urchin,” Tey said. He said he was blind; she had to trust him.

“Why?” Rykos asked.

“It’s my hair color…” Tey replied.

Inbreeding. It was bad for ideas like that some people had other colors of hair.

“So what happened during your trial?” Tey asked.

“I came out of my trial changed.”

“Changed? Anything else, in addition to your vision?”

“Nothing,” Rykos replied. He was closed off. She wanted to know what he was hiding.

She guessed that would come in time.

“Okay,” Tey replied. She swam a tiny bit closer. “Can I touch your skin, near your eyes?”

It was an insane thing to request, but Tey was curious if there were any changes you could feel. There were many ways to heal wounds and if Rykos could be healed…

“Why?” Rykos asked.

“Because I’m a scientist and I’m curious.”

She could feel the way things were changing – the way the bond was reshaping her in a way that might fit with Rykos. Maybe it was just changing her and she wouldn’t be an ideal mate in the end regardless. She was still sick of the idea of bonds. It made her research even more meaningful, but she would never be able to act on it. As long as Thelos was in control…

She hated cyclical thoughts. She hated having something and wanting something else. She needed this to work. Maybe the bond would make Rykos more of a loving partner, since that’s what Tey wanted.

Maybe Tey had no clue what she needed and she should just let the bond dictate everything romantic.

It was a fake bond. They had to be less effective.

It was frustrating. She wanted Rykos more and more and Rykos seemed just distant. Closed. Like he was trapped in himself.

He closed his eyes.

“Go ahead,” Rykos said.

Tey swam the distance between them and touched the skin atop his eyes, around his eyes… she let her hands explore his face for a moment, without overdoing it. His eyes felt normal. She couldn’t even detect a hint of damage. Whatever had taken his vision (she still wasn’t 100% convinced he was blind, but still..) had to have been internal.

It sent a mix of feelings, including some hints of passion and desire, through Tey.

Part of her wanted to fight it, but most of her knew if she let it happen and let the bond encompass them she could find a place to be happy in.

She let her hands slide down his cheek, then returned them to her side. “No one will suspect at least.”

“That’s the idea,” Rykos said. He moved, flipping his tail so there would be some distance between them. “I can sense pressure changes in the water that let me fight.”

“What do you like to read?” Tey asked.

“There isn’t much down here. Stories about ancestors mostly.”

“There are a few dozen science journals,” Tey joked.

Rykos laughed.

It made her smile.

There was a part of her that realized she was tainted by being with Pish. The royal family and noble families only had one mate, except to replace a mate after death. It was, in many ways, worse for Rykos than for her. She had security in the marriage. Thelos wouldn’t want her dead if she was a good mate for Rykos.

“What do you enjoy eating?” Tey asked. Getting to know each other seemed to be working out, so far. Simple questions about preferences would be useful going forward.

“You first,” Rykos said.

He seemed a little more relaxed too.

“Taranu,” Tey replied. She could imagine the thick flakey layers of flesh and the taste of ocean. She had only eaten it a few times in her life, but she loved the taste. The fish were almost eight pounds with a thick lower lip and a glossy red belly. They had a golden line around their lateral line and above that was dark blue, like the depths of the ocean.

“I don’t have it often,” Tey added.

“It’s easy to get here in the palace. If you ever want it, let me know.”

“Thank you,” Tey replied. She smiled again. It was getting easier to imagine a life together. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t the worst thing.

“And your favorite?”

“Swordfish,” Rykos replied.

“I like swordfish a lot as well,” Tey replied. It was one of her favorites that she was able to have almost as often as she desired.

In the office with Pish, she mostly ate plants. It would be a big change to have fish available at all meals, eaten at all meals.

“We probably have a few days before we’re expected at dinner again,” Rykos stated.

It was the bond, weaving them together. Their thoughts, their beings, their identities. She wanted Rykos, but she kept her distance. She was experienced at rejecting the bond’s pull.

She couldn’t deny that it existed though. It was pulling at her.

“How would you enjoy spending that time? Meditating?”

“Please stop worrying about me,” Rykos pleaded. “I was rude before and I won’t be again.”

“I was too,” Tey insisted. “And that was a joke.”

“What was?”

“You are spending a few days inside a small space with someone you have a bond with,” Tey explained. “There is no way your body desires distance.”

Tey felt flush for a moment.

“It might,” she said, trying to retrace her words. She didn’t know how he felt. He had said despite the bond he couldn’t stand her. She was too forward. She was going to screw the progress up.

“But it shouldn’t,” She said, scientifically. “The longer we resist being close… It wasn’t a very good joke.”

“It was. I’m not ready to be close yet,” he replied.

She had thousands of years. No rush.

“You don’t need to be. I’m not either,” she lied. “I don’t usually joke about things.”

“Is the joke a good thing or a bad thing?”

He sounded tired and distant. She knew this was somehow an incredible burden for him. She didn’t understand why, but it wasn’t her opinion. She knew opinions varied wildly and he was entitled to have his own.

She wished she could figure out what she was doing, or what she wasn’t doing, or what she could be doing that would make things better.

She didn’t think now was the right time to ask.

But, she could answer the question.

She wasn’t one to use sarcasm or to joke. Especially since she had bonded to Pish. If she was using humor, it was something that she either was using as a defense because of discomfort with the situation or it was from the bond. If it was from the bond, then it was a sign that she was becoming more what Rykos needed. That, in the long run, was a good thing.

“I think it’s a good thing.”

“Good,” Rykos replied.

Tey had no clue how humor would be a thing the bond changed about her; Rykos didn’t seem interested in jokes or light hearted conversations.

“I’ll give you some space, if you’d like,” Tey offered.

“You can stay: do you meditate?”

“I haven’t tried it. I would like to,” she replied.

She liked trying new things. She liked the idea of being closer to Rykos and sharing something with him.

“All I do is close my eyes and think,” he said. “Sometimes I do my nails while I think. It gives me something to focus on.”

His nails… it seemed a little odd, but she let it go. Having kept nails wasn’t a bad thing.

“Okay,” she replied. She swam beside him and sat, letting her tail fold beneath her. She knew if she changed her body to legs she wouldn’t be able to control the desire the bond was fueling her with.

She wondered, still, if he felt anything she couldn’t see how he could be so blind to the bond.

But, it was possible.

Tey tried to mediate; her mind was filled with thoughts about Rykos and Pish and what Cander had said.

This was her life now: Rykos, royalty, meditation.

Rinse. Repeat. Die.

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