When Garia next goes for training she receives an unexpected reception from the Palace Guard. Having buried the hatchet with Merizel their relationship begins to deepen as Garia introduces some more world-changing technologies.

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

28 - Girls, Guards and Gossip

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2017 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

---

As Garia, Keren, Merizel, Jenet and Bursila entered the Large Training Room after breakfast they were surprised to hear a shout.

"Quadrant... Attend!"

Usually, the hall was empty, but the men who would normally have been training outside this morning were all standing about inside. At Quadrant Officer Vern's shout they had all stopped and braced to attention facing Garia and Keren. Captain Bleskin strode forward and saluted them.

"Your Highness, Milady, Mistress." He bowed, and Garia attempted a curtsey in reply, made difficult by the fact that she could only use one hand.

"Mistress," Bleskin said in a loud voice, "The men wish to show their appreciation of your talents."

He spun on his heel. "Men!"

The assembled guardsmen all started clapping, which embarrassed Garia considerably. She felt Keren gently place his hand on her good shoulder.

"Go on," he said, "you deserve this one."

She stepped forward past the captain so that everyone could see her and attempted an extravagant bow. In response some of the men started stamping their feet, and in no time at all no-one in the room could hear a thing.

"Men!" Bleskin shouted with his hand raised. "Quiet, now!" He turned to Garia. "Mistress? Have you a few words?"

Well, why not. If I'm going to spend half my day with these men then they're going to have to get to know me sooner or later.

"Thank you, gentlemen of the guard," she said into the suddenly quiet atmosphere. "I don't really deserve your praise yet, but I'm determined to show you that I mean to do so in the future. Captain Bleskin has asked me to start teaching you how to fight the way that I did yesterday, and I intend to do just that as soon as I can. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the way that I fight can replace anything you already know, though. There will always be knives, swords, spears and bows in your professional futures. What I can teach you can and will make a difference to how you use your other weapons, though."

She held up her bandaged left hand for all to see. "I didn't come off unscathed either, yesterday. Just like it can happen to you now, there is always the possibility of picking up injuries during a fight. Having this injury means that I can't begin the way I would have wanted, but with the help of the Prince here we should be able to get things started."

She hesitated, unsure whether to continue with what she had intended to say, then decided that this might be a good time to make a particular point.

"Some of you might think it strange that a small girl can do the things you saw me do yesterday. Let me assure you that on the world I come from, it is not unusual for women to fight and to train to be soldiers like yourselves. I won't say that there are very many compared to the men but it is definitely not unusual. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I am like any other girl this age you might come across in Palarand. I'm not, I'm from somewhere else entirely and the customs of my people are very different than yours. If someone attempts to take advantage of me I can do to them what I did to Duke Jarwin - and worse."

There was a muttering, then, as everyone took in the implied threat. She didn't think that anyone would be stupid enough to try it, and she certainly wasn't going to do to them what she had done to Jarwin, but just having the possibility in the back of their minds would keep them in check.

"Once again, thank you all," she concluded. "Captain?"

"All right, you men," he said. "Let's get back to work, now. But, I'll add to what Mistress Garia said. If any of you break her trust you'll have to answer to me as well, understand? Right, outside, the lot of you."

The hall cleared rapidly and Garia was left standing with six men besides the Captain. She looked at him enquiringly.

"Mistress, these are the men Captain Merek and I have picked out to be your instructors," he explained. "There will be four more, but we can't bring them in until the Quadrants next change over. Two are on nights and two are at ease presently. I thought it might help for you to talk to these men first, give you time to arrange your organization and become familiar with their methods before you properly get started."

"Thank you, Captain, that was thoughtful of you," she told him.

"There's one more thing," he said, with a beam on his face. "After discussions with His Majesty and with Captain Merek, it occurred to us that it would not be seemly for a... mere member of the household to be giving orders to His Majesty's troops. Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that for the present purposes you will be given the honorary rank of Quadrant Officer."

Garia was embarrassed all over again. "Captain, I couldn't possibly -"

"Ah, Mistress, it is essential, I assure you," he said. "Otherwise there could be awkwardness during your instruction. I understand that the honor is fully approved by the men in any case, Mistress. You do deserve it."

Red-faced, Garia bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Captain."

"Now, Mistress, I must join my men outside. If there is anything you need, I'll not be far away."

Bleskin bowed and strode off to join the rest of his men. Garia turned to the group facing her.

"We'd better go into my room and get started, then."

The six men were of different ages and sizes. Garia suspected that their selection had been deliberate, in order to discover who would benefit the most from whatever she had to offer. She didn't mind, since working against opponents of different sizes and abilities was something she had intended to arrange if she could. They entered the side room and Garia gestured for them to sit on one of the benches as she faced them.

"Okay," she said. "Let's have some names, first."

"Tord, Mistress," the thick-set older man at the end said. He had apparently appointed himself spokesman for the six. He jabbed a thumb at the man sitting alongside. "This'un's Kerrak, the young'un is Bessel, that's D'Kenik, Feteran and the kid on the end is Sardan."

"Thank you, all. I'll get to know you all very quickly, I suspect. " She gave them a smile. "When you're handling each other's bodies, it would be difficult not to. Now, I don't expect to start teaching you straight away, but there is something I would like you to pass on to your colleagues. Every morning when we have come here to train, the very first thing we do is a special set of exercises designed to gently prepare you and your muscles for the rest of your day. I want you to just sit there and watch what we do today, and then I'll begin teaching you once we're all here. It's called Tai Chi. Anyone can do it, usually Keren, Jenet and I do it together."

"Uh, Mistress?"

Garia bit her lip. "You're Kerrak, right? Well, in this room we have a rule, and I'd like to continue it if at all possible. The rule is that we don't use any titles here. I'm Garia, he's Keren, she's Merizel, she's Jenet and she's Bursila. In this room, while we practice our craft, there is no rank or status, no age differences, no man or woman, boy or girl. There is only teacher and student. Will that cause you any problems, or am I breaking some kind of rule here?"

"Uh, no, m-, uh, I mean, uh, Garia. Uh, are you talking about that exercise you did out on the field a while back, when you first came to see us train?"

She nodded. "It is, Kerrak. As you might notice, although the movements seem quite slow, they are actually doing a lot to your body. A further development of those movements makes its own form of martial art, as well."

"Garia?"

"Merizel?"

Merizel seemed diffident. "Would it be all right if Bursila and I started doing the... Tai Chi? We talked it through and decided that it would be useful for us to learn it as well."

"Well, yes! Why not? It's perfectly suitable for men and women of all ages, as I've mentioned before." Garia frowned. "I think, though, to save everyone being at different stages, it would be better if you sit this one out until we get all of our instructors, and then I can teach you all together."

Merizel looked disappointed but she understood Garia's point. "Very well, Garia. We'll wait."

Tord spoke. "It'll only be two days, uh, Merizel."

It was a little different doing it on the floor in front of an audience and Garia felt self-conscious. She began and almost immediately winced as her shoulder caught fire with pain. She lowered her hands and the others stopped, curious.

"I'm not going to be able to continue, I'm afraid," she told them. "The range of arm movements I need is too much for this shoulder, at least today. I'm sorry, this is going to make today a bit of a wash-out."

Keren smiled at her. "I half expected it, Garia. I was surprised when you said you intended doing Tai Chi today, I wouldn't have considered you recovered enough to do all the forms." He gave her a wide grin. "However, I see no reason why Jenet and I can't carry on. If you would permit?"

"Of course."

Garia stood back and watched as the two began the exercise from the beginning. They got to the point where she thought she had taught them but to her surprise they carried on! Jenet did another two forms and then stopped, but Keren managed to continue all the way to the end.

"I'm impressed," she told him. "You must have a better memory than I thought you had."

He grinned at her. "I've been watching your every move for days, now. I managed to teach a couple extra moves to Jenet while you were... indisposed. How did we do?"

"Not too bad, actually." She brightened. "If your memory is that good, it will be a real help when we come to the main business, won't it?"

"If it saves me falling on my backside any more than necessary then I'm all for a good memory." He thought a moment. "If your shoulder is not good enough to do the Tai Chi it will mean you can't do any of the other exercises either. What do you think we should do now?"

"This is going to get real irritating," she said. "I'm not one of the world's best patients, as you can probably guess. Not all of me is injured, what else can I do? There's not much wrong with my legs or my right arm."

One of the guardsmen spoke up. Feteran was probably in his mid-thirties and therefore one of the more experienced of those present. Like most of those present his hair and complexion were dark. He was taller than Keren, not especially broad, more wiry-looking than muscular, but there was little doubt that he knew how to do his job.

"Mistress, if you use a sword, you'll need your left arm for balance," he said. "I'm not sure you'd be able to run either, if you don't mind me saying so. I watched you fight yesterday and I'm impressed with how few injuries you ended up with. The Duke is known for his physical attitude to those around him, those who didn't do exactly what he desired."

Garia grimaced. "You're probably right, uh..? Sorry, I've forgotten your name."

"Feteran, Mistress."

"I told you, in here you call me Garia, please."

"I... don't feel comfortable doing that, Mistress. It's not what we're used to in Palarand. We're just servants of the crown, we shouldn't become familiar with our betters."

"Oh? Is that so? Well, I have no doubt you're better than I am at sword-play, aren't you?" Feteran nodded. "And at archery and cross-bow." He nodded again. "Spears, riding frayen, knife-fighting. You're more than twice my age, vastly more experienced in the business of guarding the palace and your King. Should I, in that case, call you Master when I address you?" She made a horizontal cutting motion with her good hand. "No. As I said before, in this room, when I am teaching you what I know, we are only teacher and student, nothing more. Outside, you can make a good case for observing the customs of the time and place, and I'll respect that, but I won't be able to teach you properly if you think there's a difference between us. Think of it this way, Feteran. If you are fighting someone who intends to kill you, then it doesn't matter what rank he is, you going to be just as dead at the end if you don't get him first. Understand me?"

Feteran nodded reluctantly. "As you say... Garia. But I speak for all of us when I say that we'll find it difficult to begin with."

She smiled at him. "I'll make allowances for you all. All right. Perhaps we'd better just talk for the rest of the session. Why don't we swap our backgrounds, then? I'd like to know a little more about each of you."

The six perked up at that, and there was some movement on the bench.

"Mistress, ah, Garia," the young boy on the end asked, "We've heard a lot of stories about you. Will you tell us of yourself?"

"Sardan, is it?" The boy nodded. "You don't look old enough to be a guardsman, if I may say so."

"M-, Garia, a man must be a legal adult before he may join the Palace Guard. I've been a guardsman almost a year, now, but I'm still learning my trade."

Keren explained, "You become an adult at age sixteen in most countries in Alaesia. We do allow some boys of thirteen to work as guard auxiliaries, though. They help serving food, cleaning weapons and gear and such like that until they're old enough to join the guard properly. Sardan here is, what, the fourth generation of his family to join the guard?"

"Yes, Your -" Sardan stopped and reddened. "Uh, yes, Keren." He looked at the Prince with a question and got a nod of approval in return. "My family is loyal to the Royal House of Palarand, and I hope to serve the Prince when he becomes King. I have an older brother serving in the Third Quadrant, and another brother and two uncles serving in the City Guard as well."

"The military family is a great tradition in my own country as well, Sardan," Garia told him. "I have always thought that it was honorable to want to defend your country." Her brow furrowed. "How is it that Captain Bleskin chose you for this group, then? I would have thought that you would - excuse me, I intend no disrespect - be too young for what I intend for you all."

Sardan shrugged. "I'm not sure, er, Garia. I'm known to be quick on my feet and have good co-ordination, or so Quadrant Vesilan tells me. Perhaps Captain Bleskin thinks I may adapt easier to your kind of fighting, I don't know."

Keren looked thoughtful. "I notice that the captain chose a range of sizes, ages and experience, Garia. Sardan is about your size, perhaps that influenced his thinking."

"As you say, Keren. Time will tell, I suppose." She smiled at Sardan. "So, you want to hear my story, do you?"

Garia gave them all a short version of her own adventures since arriving unexpectedly on Anmar in a new body.

"What is your own world like then, Garia?" Sardan asked.

"Much different than this one, certainly. I can't really tell you a great deal since you wouldn't understand it, but physically it is similar to this one. There are different stars in the sky and we only have one moon the size of Kalikan. The plants and animals are all completely different. There are a lot more people on our world, and we have many, many machines of all different kinds to help us live our lives. You will probably come across some of those machines in the future as I tell the Guildmasters and Questors some of what we have learned over the years."

"Thank you, Garia." Sardan hesitated. "You said you had a different body on the other world."

"Yes, that's true. Before I came here, I was a boy about the same size and age as Keren here. Adjusting to my new circumstances has been quite difficult."

Without exception all six of the guardsmen gaped at her. Kerrak found his voice first.

"You were a boy, Mistress? That sounds... impossible. Although," he added thoughtfully, "it would certainly explain your warlike nature."

"Warlike? Me? No, I was just what we call a teenager." Garia explained that her world's days and years were shorter than those on Anmar, but her listeners seemed to grasp the essentials easily enough. Convincing them that Earth was not full of bloodthirsty warriors was more difficult, especially as Garia wasn't at all certain that her proposition was true. It was hard to try and provide a comparison between the two societies when she couldn't tell anyone about guns or explosive devices, not to mention explaining the insane amount of mechanization.

Tord shifted restlessly. "Mistress, Garia, I can accept that you come from another place, and that you might have had a different body before you came, but I remain skeptical about your abilities. It does not seem to me that you could have bested the Duke Jarwin except by surprise and good fortune. Your age is such that you could not possibly have gained the knowledge to be his better."

Garia was slightly surprised that someone hadn't called her expertise into question before now, but she had an answer ready for Tord.

"You don't, eh, Tord? Right, out here, on the mat, if you please."

"Uh, Garia?" Tord looked surprised. "You cannot spar with me, Mistress, you are still injured."

She gave him a smug smile. "You're perfectly correct, but I wasn't planning to fight you myself. I'll let my star student do that instead. Keren, if you please?"

"As you wish, Garia." Keren went to the mat and stood waiting for Tord, who reluctantly came forward.

"Okay," Garia said to Tord. "You've doubtless worked with the Prince before now, you know what he should be capable of, try and take him on. Let's see how far you can get."

"Oof!"

Tord shook his head before scrambling back to his feet to face a grinning Keren.

"A lucky move, Highness. Let's see you try that again!"

"Oof!"

Tord had attempted to shift his position but it had made little difference, he had still ended up flat on his back on the mat with Keren looming over him. This time, Keren had followed through and planted his foot gently on Tord's throat to make his point. He grinned hugely.

"Maker, that was good! " he said. "I've had enough of being tossed by Teacher, it's good to be handing it out for a change. What do you say now, Tord?"

"I yield, uh, Keren. It seems I was mistaken in my beliefs."

Keren released him and Tord got to his feet.

"Garia, Teacher, I see that my understanding of your abilities was wrong. I apologize."

"I was expecting someone to object," she told him. "After all, here and now I am only a fifteen-year-old girl. What else would you expect from someone who looks like this? Don't worry, within a week or two, assuming we can do this every morning, you'll come to understand what I can do and what I can't do more easily. And, more to the point, what you can or can't do when faced by an opponent. So, who else wants to have a go?"

~o~O~o~

"Well, what did you think?"

Garia, Merizel and their maids were walking back to their chambers to get ready for lunch.

"Hm? Think about what, Merizel?"

"The men, of course! I admit some of them are a little old for my tastes, but some of them might be worth investigating, don't you think? Sardan, in particular, he's about our age and not bad looking at all, for a boy."

Garia realized what Merizel was talking about and was a little reluctant to contribute. The upcoming issue of Garia-boy relationships was not one she wanted to investigate for a good long while yet.

"Merizel, you do remember that I used to be a boy myself up to about three weeks ago? I know I'll probably have to look for a husband sometime but it's going to take me a fair while to get used to the idea, you know. I don't really see them in quite the same way you do just yet."

"Oh! Yes, Garia, I had forgotten, I'm sorry. Unfortunately we're at the prime age for our parents to be looking for someone for us, but I suppose your own situation might be a little different."

"It certainly is, at the moment, anyway. Besides, why are you sizing up these men? I thought that as a baron's daughter you'd have to find someone your own rank or status."

"True, up to a point. As the youngest daughter," she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "the same standards don't quite apply to me, I'm afraid. I could get married off to a merchant or a Quadrant Officer or a sea-captain or someone like that. Most families in the position of mine probably won't be so exacting in their choice for me just so long as someone else ends up supporting me in the future." She sighed. "That's what happens when you're the youngest child of a not-particularly-rich family at the very bottom of the nobility."

Garia was appalled. "That's terrible! Do people really treat you as so much, well, livestock?"

Merizel shrugged. "If you want to put it like that, then I suppose, yes. Remember, though, I'm actually more likely to have some say in the matter of my future husband than either of my two sisters did with theirs, or indeed anyone of much greater rank. And, truth to tell, I'm not sure I really mind, just so long as the man I end up with is reasonably fit and good-looking, has enough wealth to keep us and our children comfortably and has a reasonable personality."

This blunt assessment by Merizel of her likely future brought home to Garia just how different this society was than her own, where almost without exception the two parties to any marriage selected themselves with only minor interference from friends and family. The party walked the corridors in silence as Garia digested this information.

Finally, she spoke in a low voice. "It just shows how much I still have to learn about Palarand's customs, doesn't it? We do things rather differently, on my part of Earth at any rate. Does your being in the palace help your chances, do you think?"

Merizel nodded. "Oh, yes! It means I'll get the chance to meet people of greater rank and status I wouldn't normally come across, after all. Even if I don't get to marry one of them, they may have brothers or cousins who might consider me."

Garia smiled. "Then, we'll just have to make sure you stay here in the palace, won't we? That won't be difficult, I don't think, since you are doing a good job for me."

"Why, thank you, Garia! That's very good of you to say so." Merizel hesitated. "I don't want you to get the idea that I wanted to come here just so I could hunt for a husband, though. I really wasn't sure about helping you to start with but I'm glad I've decided to. I've learned so much since I've come to the palace." Her eyes glinted with amusement. "Anyway, that wasn't what I was asking before! Girls look at boys and young men all the time, don't they? Doesn't matter whether they are eligible or not, one can always dream about the man himself, what he might be like to know. And you're not technically nobility so any of those men would be eligible for you, wouldn't they? So, what did you think?"

"Persistent, aren't you?" Garia said wryly. "It's strange, actually," she reflected. "There aren't many people my own age in the palace at the moment, apart from yourself and Keren. Both his sisters are grown up and gone and the one boy around I can only be friends with. Perhaps you're right, perhaps I should be keeping my eyes open, check out the talent."

Merizel giggled at that. "'Check out the talent', I like that. Now who's talking about livestock?"

"Well," Garia grinned, "Some of them seem to have no more brains than a farm animal, although the six we had today seemed quite smart. I suppose they would have to be otherwise Captain Bleskin wouldn't have picked them." Her face became serious. "I don't think it would be a good idea to get too interested in those guardsmen, though. I'll have to spend some months at least teaching them what I know and having any kind of closer relationship wouldn't be good for discipline, I'm afraid. With a male teacher the problem wouldn't arise but whatever I say they are going to see me differently."

Merizel eyed her speculatively. "You do know that some of the guardsmen favor their own kind, don't you? Aren't there men like that on your own world, who prefer other men instead of women?"

"Oh, yes. We have quite a large minority of such men in our country. And there are women who prefer women, as well."

Merizel's eyes widened. "How does that work, then? They don't have any..."

"I think," Garia said, "That this is a conversation we ought to have another time, don't you agree? As I don't know the customs about such things, I'd much rather find out in private than end up breaking some law I never knew existed."

"As you wish, Garia," a disappointed Merizel replied. "Although, since I don't come from the city, I will say that they may handle things differently here than they would at home. Perhaps we need some local advice."

"A good idea." Garia brightened. "Now that may be something we could tap one of those guardsmen about." She grinned. "That could be a real interesting conversation!"

~o~O~o~

Garia and Merizel entered the office, Jenet and Bursila following them. Yolda looked up from a document on the desk, saw them and stopped reading. She slowly removed her pince-nez, folded her arms and regarded the pair with a look that plainly said what now.

"Milady, Mistress, what can I do for you today?"

Garia held up her left hand. "Mistress Yolda, as you may or may not have heard, I suffered an injury yesterday morning which makes it difficult for me to wear some of the gowns I have. For a few days, until Mistress Margra agrees these bandages are no longer necessary, I'll need some other gowns with wider armholes, please, both for day and evening wear. Jenet?"

Jenet came forward and presented the gown Garia had worn the previous evening.

"I wore this one yesterday," Garia explained, "but I don't like the style, the color or the material it's made out of, so I'm bringing it back for you to return to your stock."

Yolda looked at the gown Jenet was holding. Her expression was set, but it seemed Garia's request was legitimate so she nodded and held out her hand for the garment.

"As you wish, Mistress. If you would like to follow me, we can find you something more suitable to wear."

Yolda led them into one of the huts which still filled that particular courtyard. They weaved between rows of rails filled with all kinds of clothes, the scene reminding Garia of a theatrical outfitter's store. Finally they came to rails packed with gowns on either side and stopped. Merizel's eyes were wide and she could barely restrain herself from attacking the stock to see what was there.

"What was wrong with the material, Mistress?"

"I don't really know, but I didn't like the feel of it against my skin, that's for certain. The other gowns, the ones of plain silk, I quite like those. And of course the cotton ones are cool this time of year, so I don't mind having more of those either."

"We'll see what we can find for you, Mistress."

Yolda checked the small square of parchment on the hook of each hanger for sizing and pulled out several gowns for Garia to examine. She held up the open neck of each so that Garia could try and push her bandaged hand through the arm-hole. Several were too tight or had awkwardly shaped sleeves so were returned to the rails.

She cocked her head as she considered what Yolda was holding out for her to inspect. This is getting creepy. I'm actually beginning to get interested in all this female stuff. Who would have thought, a month ago, I'd be stood in a store choosing dresses for myself? And actually concerning myself with color, material, fit and style? Heh, if the guys could see me now. Her viewpoint shifted. If the guys could see me now, they'd be fighting over me. And with good reason, I've got the body to go with these clothes.

"That one looks good," she decided. "This one here, and the green one, perhaps. Those three should be enough for day wear, I have a couple others already I can still get into. What about evening gowns? At the moment, they are more of a problem."

"If I can give these to your maid to hold, Mistress." Yolda turned. "Milady? Is there something you were interested in, perhaps?"

"Me?" The question surprised Merizel, who was checking out a gown on the other rail. "Am I allowed to wear clothes from your store, Mistress Yolda?"

"If you are a palace resident, Milady, then yes, you are. I know that you brought your own wardrobe with you, but those garments might not all be suitable for palace wear. Did you wish to select some gowns from here today?"

Merizel's eyes were round as she turned to Garia, who could barely keep a straight face.

"Do you think..?"

Garia waved her hand. "Of course, Merizel! Who am I to come between a girl and a rail of gowns?"

Yolda turned to Garia. "You do not object, Mistress? This may take some time."

Garia did smile then. "Carry on, please. Just as long as we're not late for dinner."

With Garia carrying two gowns and Jenet, Merizel and Bursila carrying four gowns each they all returned to Yolda's office so that she could update their documents.

"Do you need assistance, Milady, Mistress, to transfer your gowns to your chambers? I can find another servant to help if you do."

"Jenet, Bursila," Garia asked. "Can we manage?" The two nodded. Garia turned back to Yolda.

"We're fine, thank you. Uh, I do have another request before we go. Mistress Rosilda made me an exercise tunic recently, I believe you were elsewhere when she fitted it. I would like to request some more, please, and the matching skirts."

Yolda's face set but she merely nodded and asked, "How many sets, Mistress?"

"We decided on four, Mistress Yolda. They can only be worn once before requiring washing, at least in this weather."

"As you command, Mistress. I shall make the order for you."

Yolda seemed to have accepted that Garia was going to continue as she had been, and hadn't appeared quite so combative this afternoon. Garia hesitated, and then took the plunge. "Is Rosilda available, Mistress Yolda? There are other matters I want to ask her about."

Yolda gave Garia a sharp glance. "About what, Mistress, if I may ask?"

Garia shrugged. "The bodice I wear beneath my tunic isn't strong enough. I have knowledge of a different garment as worn by virtually all women where I come from, which may prove more suitable."

Yolda's eyebrows rose. "You think to ask Rosilda to make you one of these, is that it? What does this garment of yours consist of, then?"

"Uh, I would prefer to describe it once, Mistress Yolda. I'll need a blackboard, I think."

Yolda's mouth set again. "Very well, Mistress. Rosilda is in one of the outbuildings presently, attending to some stitching. The design area where she works has a blackboard, so we may as well join her there. To save time, I will summon servants to deliver your gowns to your chambers, if that is acceptable?"

"As you wish, Mistress Yolda."

Although she had never sewn a stitch in her life the scene in the hut Yolda took them to was familiar to Garia. A large table, obviously used for measuring and cutting, occupied one end of the hut, under a window. Shelves along both sides of the hut held bolts of cloth and boxes containing all the odd items required for constructing clothing. There were several dummies, both male and female, in various states of undress in the middle of the hut, and at the far end a group of chairs in a circle under another window held four women, each carefully stitching garments together. Rosilda put her work aside and stood as Yolda, Garia and Merizel entered the room.

"Mistress Garia has an idea for a strange garment to describe to you, Rosilda," Yolda said. "Come over and join us at the blackboard."

Garia had discovered that her drawing abilities seemed to have improved since she had left Earth. Of course, Gary hadn't been that interested in art of any sort so he hadn't really found out whether he was good at drawing or not, but it seemed that Garia was. She quickly sketched out a female torso, arms and head and then carefully drew lines on the figure's chest.

"We call this a bra," she said, "the word is a contraction of 'brassiere', but bra is the word we usually use. It's made up from a large number of small pieces of material, which means that it can be shaped to fit the wearer's body and breasts fairly closely. Now, where I come from, these days some of these panels are made of a stretchy material and I don't know if you have anything like that here, but there's probably other ways to achieve the right result. There are little buckles to adjust the straps over the shoulders, and if I draw the back view like so, you'll see that the back is closed by some little hooks and eyes. Ah. I'll draw that area large so you can see the detail. These hooks and eyes are made from thin wire, just bent into shape. What do you think?"

Yolda's eyes narrowed as she looked at the diagrams. Garia was wishing she didn't look quite so closely. What does a seventeen-year-old boy know about bras? Answer: just enough to be able to get the things off the girl, that's all. I don't really know how they are made or how they fit or anything. Fortunately for me, neither does Yolda.

"How would such a garment as this be better than what we wear here, Mistress?"

"Um. There's less material so you don't get so hot. Because you only have a small area covered on your shoulders and at either side, it doesn't restrict your movements quite so much. Because the cups shape round your breasts more closely, it holds them in position and stops them moving about. And," Garia's gaze flicked down to Yolda's bust-line, "a garment like this will offer better support to those with larger breasts."

Yolda's mouth became thinner but she continued to inspect the drawings. Finally she turned to Rosilda.

"Your opinion, Rosilda?"

"I can see what the mistress means, Mistress Yolda. It will require some experimentation, but I believe it would be worth attempting to make one. After all, it seems to require very little material."

"Very well," Yolda said, "You may make the attempt, Rosilda. But your other work takes priority, now that we are so near Festival, understand? And I want to see the finished garment, please."

"Of course, Mistress Yolda."

~o~O~o~

Garia had decided that Merizel should come back with her to her suite first, rather than separating to go to her own chamber. On a previous trip to the Mistress of the Wardrobe there had been a mix-up with the garment delivery so she wanted to check that none of Merizel's gowns had been delivered to the wrong place. Her suspicions proved correct, a gown of Merizel's had been added to Garia's growing collection by mistake. As Bursila collected it, Merizel decided to ask about something which had been bothering her most of the afternoon.

"This bar you talked about with Rosilda," she began.

"Bar? Oh, do you mean the bra? It's bra, Merizel. What about it?"

Merizel was diffident, as she usually was when discussing some of the strange things which Garia had introduced. "I looked at the drawing you made for Rosilda, and it seems an, um, odd little thing to wear. Like it's all straps and not much else." She frowned. "Now, I have realized that of course you weren't a girl before, so you're unlikely to have worn such a thing yourself, would you? Rosilda wouldn't know that, but I do. So, how do you know so much about them? Are men and women so familiar with each other's clothing on Earth?"

Garia considered. "That's a complicated question to answer, Merizel. Take a seat while I work my way through a sensible answer, won't you? We have plenty of time before we have to be ready for dinner, I think."

"You have about a bell, Mistress," Jenet supplied.

"Thank you, Jenet. You're right, Merizel," Garia said as she sat down facing her, "It's not the kind of thing any boy - or man - would normally need to wear, as it's purpose is just to support breasts, and men don't have those. In fact, a man would be extremely embarrassed if others were to find him wearing a bra. There are certain circumstances where a boy or man might do it, for example at a wild party or for entertainment purposes, but not usually otherwise. Then there are a small number of men who like to dress up as women. Sometimes they're good enough no-one can tell the difference."

Merizel nodded. "There are stories of men here who do that, but it's all kept very quiet when they do. Is it just play-acting, do you think?"

Garia shrugged. "Who knows? I guess it is, sometimes, but then again I have known of people who were convinced they had been born a boy when they should have been a girl. Some of them go so far as to have surgery to make them into women."

Merizel grimaced. "Eew! That sounds... unpleasant."

"It is, but then perhaps the thought of being in the wrong body was even more unpleasant. But, back to your question, on Earth we are surrounded by pictures, lots of pictures. Because we have so much paper, and also by other means, we have all seen what the other half wears, even if it's not directly to hand, so to speak. The only female in my immediate family is my Mom, and I've seen her underwear when it gets washed, but that's about all. I guess if I had sisters there would be more of such things around, but I didn't. Of course we tend to wear much less clothing than you do here, so what's underneath often shows through, especially in the hot weather."

Merizel looked at her. "One day, you're going to have to tell me about the kind of clothing your people wear, Garia. You nudged my curiosity the other day and it sounds fascinating. But, you were saying about bras."

"Yes. So, I know approximately what they look like and how they work, but of course I've never worn one. Whether that's sufficient to give Rosilda enough of a start I don't know. I'm not going to tell her that I'm not an expert on them, and I hope you won't tell anyone either."

"Of course not!" Merizel smiled reassuringly. "You have enough trouble convincing people that you know what you're talking about anyway. You won't want to put doubt in their minds if you can help it. My lips are sealed. But, do you think you know sufficient, then?"

Garia grimaced. "Maybe. I do have a tiny bit of experience, though. There was this one time... no, I probably shouldn't."

"What? Come on, there's only us here."

"Well, for most of the summer vacations I used to go to a farm owned by my Dad's brother. He had two daughters - my cousins - about my age. There was this one time we ended up in a barn..." Garia shook her head. "This is so not a good idea."

"Why not?" Merizel leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, eyes bright. "You have to tell me now, Garia, you can't just leave it like that! It doesn't really matter whether you were a girl or a boy then, it's just the sort of story girls like ourselves would tell each other here! So, what happened?"

Garia rolled her eyes. It seemed that human nature was the same the universe over. "Well, it was very hot, so we decided..."

~o~O~o~

Garia climbed onto the bed and said good-night to Jenet. It was still warm even though the light was fading, but it wasn't the fierce heat it had been when she had first come to the palace. Unfortunately, the heat had been replaced by humidity, which meant she was just as uncomfortable. She didn't bother with coverings but just arranged herself on the sheet in such a way that her shoulder wasn't bearing too much of her weight.

The evening meeting of the Council of the Two Worlds had been as full as she had expected. Master Parrel had turned up with a collapsible telescope that was recognizable to Garia, together with a crude prototype microscope. Part of the evening had been spent staring through the microscope at the fibers of the new paper samples Tanon had brought, part had been spent going over the new numbering system.

The main event of the evening, though, had been Garia's detailed description of a steam engine, together with some ideas of what such a power plant could be used for. This had been mainly an engineering discussion as she had already given them the idea, but none of them had appreciated just what a difference it might make to their society. Everyone had gone away very thoughtful about the possibilities it could provide for improving their future.

A power plant for lathes, she thought. For pumping water, for grinding grain, for weaving cloth. Fans to replace bellows in furnaces. Rolling mills for steel, once they get into mass production. Hoists for cranes, winding gear for mineshaft elevators, perhaps even for pulling plows across fields. They almost rioted when I suggested a steam engine could move itself if it was built on wheels, but although I mentioned railroads briefly that will need a whole other session, I think. I did draw them up a traditional flat-bottom Mississippi river boat, though. That won't take a whole day to get round Palarand! Not being tied to the wind is going to make a huge difference to river and sea travel.

She sighed. Part of her still felt guilty at the immense upheaval she had committed Anmar to, but part of her couldn't wait to see some of the results from ideas she'd given them. And then there's the military side of it. That's the part that's giving me the most qualms. I'm going to have to play it very carefully indeed or otherwise it'll be 1914 all over again. The upside is, I get to introduce some Women's Lib. If I can do what I do with the guard, then surely any woman can. I've already told them they are going to need to be more flexible how they think about jobs men and women do, I can prove it with the guard. And, truth to tell, I'm beginning to like mixing with the guys. I wonder how far I can push them to let me do more?

Merizel is funny. First she's not sure if she wants to be here or not, then she can't get enough of what's on offer! I have to admit, I felt kinda comfortable just giggling over the daft things we used to do on the farm. Is this what girls do? It's much more personal than anything I used to be able to discuss as a boy, but it seems natural. I don't think I need worry about Merizel spilling the beans. And watching her expression when I was choosing gowns was a hoot. Talk about being locked in a candy store!

Her eyelids grew heavy. I think I kinda like this place. It's beginning to grow on me.