Alien General's Chosen (Brion Brides 4)(7)

“They’re not afraid I’ll break all the glasses?”

“They’re afraid you’ll break all the hearts, actually,” Iloya shot back.

“Wait, who are they anyway?” Leiya said, realizing she wasn’t entirely sure what she was protesting against.

She simply didn’t know if she wanted to sing already. Her tutors had taught her never to perform with anything she wasn’t satisfied with. She honestly didn’t know if she had enough material not in her first concert already.

“They want you for the reception,” Iloya said, and then they both just looked at her.

Ohhhhh, went Leiya’s mind. Now you’re talking.

“You’re really not joking?” she had to ask.

“No,” both her friends said at once, still waiting for her honest reaction.

“I…” began Leiya.

They smiled.

“I have no songs,” she sputtered then. “I don’t know what I should wear. What if my gerion is there and doesn’t like my songs? Oh gods what if my gerion is there…”

“Relax,” Aya said, patting her hand. “Everything will be fine. We take it’s a yes, and we can tell them you’ll sing?”

“Of course I’ll sing!” Leiya said, grinning ear to ear. “I wanted to go anyway, but to perform there, it’s such a dream! Can you imagine if someone finds their fated just as I’m singing? Oh, I would love that. I need to write something magical.”

“Receptions are magical,” Iloya pointed out.

Yes, yes they are, Leiya thought.

For as long as she could remember, she’d dreamed of them. In the Brion world where the fated couples were everything all of the social life revolved around the bindings.

The fated – the gerion and the gesha – were meant for each other. Leiya firmly believed that had always been and always would be the most romantic theme a song could have. She lived for good binding stories, which is why she collected them with glee. She wasn’t jealous even for a moment but just excited to one day have her own story.

Her admirers and audience knew of her love and approved of it, even if the Brions considered the bindings very private. Initially, some had thought she shouldn't sing about that, but those protests had drowned in the sheer mass of positive feedback that followed the first songs. Leiya had found that without names, without much detail, and the invasion of privacy it would have brought, it was fine. They sent the stories to her and Leiya turned them into musical magic. Sometimes they wrote to her, thanking her for making their stories immortal.

Aya was snapping her fingers before her eyes and Leiya had to concentrate. Yes, the reception. The fated couples were only possible by actually meeting at some point in their life. To trigger the recognizing moment the gerions had, the receptions were a necessity. Of course all Brions knew that if fate wanted them to meet their other half, it would happen, but they were… impatient – now that was a true Brion emotion. One that Leiya had in common with them. She couldn’t wait to meet her gerion, if there wasn’t for the…

“Opposite game,” Iloya was saying, just in spite of her, Leiya knew.

Iloya was a healer, so she knew more about the matches than they did. And she often reminded them that fate sometimes brought the person their polar opposite. As far as Leiya knew, it was to keep the species from staying still in their evolution, prompting more variety. And, she added with a giggle, maybe just to mess with people.#p#分页标题#e#

It scared Leiya a bit.

“Iloya will have a scientist,” Aya said. Leiya laughed along with her at the way Iloya pulled a face at that.

“Great occupation, but not for me,” she said. They all knew she was hoping for a warrior.

“Definitely a scientist,” Leiya agreed, teasing. “You will have long, boring, insanely detailed conversations about… everything, really.”

“Hah,” Iloya said. “Aya will absolutely have a warrior then. A really, really stupid one. Only talks in grunts and never wants to discuss philosophy with her.”

“Oh gods,” Aya groaned, and they laughed again.

When they didn’t immediately continue, Leiya had to ask, “What about me then?”

“Oh, with you it’s too obvious,” Aya said, and Iloya nodded.

“Definitely a warrior, but not a dumb one necessarily. Just a really cruel one, you know, like they say Diego Grothan drinks the blood of his enemies.”

“That can’t be true,” Leiya said, not able to hide her concern.

“About Diego or about your gerion?”

“Both,” Leiya said, trying to smile, although if what Iloya was saying was even remotely true, it didn’t bode well for her.

“Probably not true about Diego,” Aya allowed.

“I don’t think they’d really let him roam around if he did that. Our generals are vicious, but that’s just… too much, I think. People will believe everything, though. The Galactic union   certainly believes it. I swear they will test his breath for blood the next time they see him.”

They all laughed, the thought of someone daring to stop Diego Grothan for a test like that just too much.

“About your gerion… it might be,” Iloya finished.

“It isn’t always the opposite. We’re not hoping for those things either, you know. But fate sometimes goes in unexpected ways, so we really don’t know until they find us.”

Nah, Leiya thought, pushing that possibility from her mind. Fate wouldn’t do that to me. I will have a nice, good Brion man who doesn’t drink blood.

“Yes,” she said out loud. “I’ll definitely have a general. Only wait, no. Diego’s already bound. What a pity.”

Iloya gave an appreciative hmm at that. Leiya laughed, before she remembered again.

“Will you stop distracting me now?” she said, playing to be mad. “I need songs. What if I go there and just blank? Everyone will be at the reception, we haven’t had one in such a long time… Stop laughing, Aya, I really think I might fall off the stage.”

“You never fall off the stage, you only ever worry you might. Why would you fall off?”

“I’m really graceful, as you know.”

“Well yes, I’ve seen you try to dance.”

“You see!”

“That’s why they make the edge of the stage extra high for you, dear.”

“You’re telling me they’re literally building the stage for me thinking I’ll trip on something.”

“I thought you never worried about anything.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Leiya said, still grinning. “It will be funny if I do. I’m just saying it’s a very real possibility.”

They said Leiya – and all the Leiya-types – never really stood still, but that wasn’t entirely true. Later, when she was alone, Leiya thought of the reception once more but from a more personal angle.

Ever since she’d realized she was going to be a singer, she’d wanted to take the stage during a reception; there was no doubt about that. Her heart yearned for the audience to make her music come to life simply by being there and listening. And she couldn’t overstate how much she wanted someone to find their fated to one of her songs. It would have been a compliment beyond all others, because the recognizing moments were always somehow special.

She was well on her way to super stardom, by Brion standards at least, and it was high time she got used to being the center of attention in earnest. That part didn’t bother her. If anything, it made her more excited.

But the reception itself… terrified her. Iloya wanted her warrior, and Aya wanted someone who could put three words in a row, and Leiya wanted a happy ending for all of them, but she… she was just afraid, for some reason. All her life she’d wanted and waited for her gerion, but now that the reception was looming ever closer, she had her doubts.#p#分页标题#e#

Gods, she thought, smiling just a bit at the idea of asking fate favors. I don’t mind waiting a bit. Take all the monsters away first.

That damn opposite game, that was what terrified her. She’d gone a surprisingly long while without seeing anything or anyone bleed. She’d even gotten over the small shock of Miren turning out to be a warrior – and he’d find her soon enough, there was no doubt about that. Leiya hoped he wouldn’t be her fated. He was one of her closest friends and a nice man. A nice warrior, but still a killer. She didn’t want that, couldn’t have that.

It was something she hadn't even shared with Aya and Iloya. She'd joked along with them before, but there was a dark truth in it. Leiya didn't believe she could bear it if fate brought her someone cruel. Aya and Iloya were proper Brion girls. They had hopes and dreams, but she knew they would accept whoever it was without complaint and make it work. She didn't know if she could.

There’s a song in there somewhere, she thought. When the words in her head started to dance to a tune, it was always a sign. They say lovers are bound by blood, yours is mine and mine is yours, but I want your hands unmarred and clean for me. Yup – definitely a song. Maybe not for the reception though.

She smiled, her fears gone as quickly as they appeared. It would be amazing. All the people and lights and happy moments – the reception was pretty much everything she was. It was as if for one whole night, every Brion was compelled to be like her.