Ancient Thought by Viola Grace (literature books to read txt) 📗

scrub the romantic feelings. It took a very long time, but when she finished, the woman looked at her with a softly pleasant smile. “Master Elizabeth, what am I doing here?”

“I have just been practicing some deep search techniques. I found your first pet.” She smiled. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Novice Trella nodded and glanced at Aloth. “Who is that?”

“Ancient Aloth. He is working on some deep meditation.”

The novice looked and giggled. “He’s handsome. I thought he had horns.”

“He does. He can shift. It’s how he gets through doorways.”

Elizabeth’s head was pounding. Trella had forgiven him, but she hadn’t been capable of forgiving herself for being vulnerable, so with her memories gone, she would try again, eventually.

Elizabeth staggered to Aloth’s side and sat down. “I swear if you abuse any of the trust of these young women again…”

Aloth nodded. He had retained knowledge of what she had done and that it was part of his punishment.

Mathla arrived with a folded bundle. “I know it is late, but you are being requested, and it is somewhat urgent.”

“Right. I will head to my quarters to change.”

“Change in my quarters. You won’t be able to wear your robes over this.”

She nodded and headed for Mathla’s quarters. Mathla had mirrors in her chambers, and when Libby was undressed, she squawked in surprise. She had hickies along the base of her neck, two on the inside of her breasts, and one over her hip.

She growled and then laughed. She started putting the clothing on, and it was pretty, elegant, and definitely nothing like what she would have worn back home, even when her figure was close to what she currently had. It was a little art deco, a little punk, and even the sandals were comfortable.

She attached her belt and crystals.

The cape slid onto her arms and attached in a few places, but the silver veil was what definitely cinched who had requested her.

She was veiled, gowned, and walking out into the gardens when she asked, “So, why has Yelfon asked to see me?”

Mathla-Luon looked at her, and there was a slow smile. “There are mirrors in my quarters. You tell me.”

She touched the marks on her neck that were hidden by her clothing. All of the marks he had left on her were hidden by the fabric, but now, she knew they were there.

“Um. I thought he was going to wait until I needed him.”

“He has decided that you do. Come on, we are going to get you into an open area. He’s almost here.”

She stood there in black silks with gold trim while the wind fluttered her veil. It took off as she waited, and his claw shot past her to catch it. He perched on one leg until he bit the fabric in his beak and extended his head to her with the veil fluttering wildly.

She curtsied to him and took the veil, pinning it into place with one of the wooden hair spikes she was allowed. He looked at the pin with his huge avian eye, and she murmured, “Evening, Yelfon.”

She climbed onto his neck and settled in. Libby stroked her hands into his feathers and leaned against the heat of him. He fell back from the walls, and his wings bore them away from the building and across the plain.

Libby nestled into his feathers, and he took the hint, flying past his home and across the mountains. While he was flying, she let all the panic and pain that she had experienced during the day fall away and into the mountains.

During the day, she had buckled her emotions down, but now, she let them loose. Yelfon could feel them anyway. She cried and screamed and filled the air with cursing until he slowly banked and headed home.

His wings beat heavily, and she got drowsy from her emotional storm. When he landed, she felt herself slipping from his neck, but it was his arms that caught her as she fell.

She blinked and smiled. “Hello, Yelfon.”

“Hello, Elizabeth. I notice that we are skipping the honorifics today.”

She sighed. “I am really not up to them today.”

He slid her down his body. “What can I do for you?”

“Just hold me?”

“I can do that.” He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

They walked into his luxurious cavern, and in a few minutes, he was sitting with her curled up with her head on his thigh and a small fire in front of them. He removed the veil on her head and ran his hands through her hair. The repetitive motion was very soothing.

She sighed and said, “Thank you.”

“You haven’t had someone watching over you for a very long time.”

“No, but I learned to manage most things for myself. This... this is beyond what I have prepared for.” She swallowed. “It was messed up on all ends.”

He stroked her hair. “You released the memories without attaching them to anything. Isn’t that destroying the purity of the archive?”

She sighed. “Fuck the archive. No one needs to see that much pain and fear. I can always create a watered-down version if necessary with some cutaways and edits.”

“That is not the true memory.”

“The true memory belongs to the person who experienced it. Strangers do not need to know more to experience the age. People are people, and no matter their species, they react the same to the same stimuli as their ancestors. When people look to the past, they look for how people lived, how they laughed, and how they went through all the buying, selling, and social interactions of the existing society.” She stroked his knee. “All the boring details that let them fit themselves into the life that began the memory. That is what they are after. They don’t want modern and predictable pain.”

“You were once in a similar situation.”

“I was. He tried to break my spirit and body in equal measure. I didn’t let him win, but I had help.”

“Your father.”

“Yeah. He wasn’t comfortable with the situation at first, but when he met me in