Arkai twiddled her thumbs as she sat in the dark room, the only light being a rather pathetic light bulb hanging a great height above her. Between her and the lone door into the room was a basic table and a seat for someone else. The chairs were basic plastic stools, as unloved as everything else in this dreaded place.
Finally, the door opened and a Temthai scuttled in. Four legs and two arms, the arms incredibly delicate and agile, the legs being there to keep him still. Most Temthai doctors had extra limbs, designed so they could more easily do their jobs. The Temthai sat down on the opposite side of the table and placed down a scanner, a notebook and a few other doctor-y objects.
“Sorry for being late, Xentress, My previous meeting took longer than I expected!” the Temthai explained.
“That’s fine,” Arkai muttered. “Why did you want to meet me?”
The Temthai introduced himself as The Great Doctor of the Empress. “But you can call me Timn. I’m checking up on you to make sure you are settling in properly.”
Arkai shifted in her seat. “I… guess I am? I’ve had a bit of stomach ache lately but that’s gone now. Think I was eating too much. Why do you ask?”
Timn nodded, then got up from his stool, a scanner in hand. He wafted it around Arkai’s person, across her face first, then down her arms and back. He headed back to the table and noted a few things down.
“Well…” Timn hesitated, not wanting to make the Xentress worried. He knew though that it was better out than in. “Most Xentresses we have had in the past don’t last longer than a month. You have been Xentress for a short amount of time and I’d like for you to survive a bit longer than that.”
Panic flickered in Arkai’s eyes. “You think I’m going to die?”
Timn nodded, as he picked up his scanner again. He wafted it above Arkai’s chest and down her legs, her little xeno feet not touching the ground. After writing down a few more notes, Timn finally answered the question.
“You will die if I don’t keep an eye on you. You have bruisings around your eye. What happened there?”
Arkai laughed awkwardly. “Heh… Uh… Raptess Neraida got a bit… physical…”
“She hit you.”
“She hates me…” Arkai slumped in her seat. “Most of the Raptesses hate me. I have to work around them to worship. The Empress’s attitude towards me has also changed…”
Timn nodded again, then jotted down a note and pulled out a small screen. On it played a video recording from the previous day, when a Spast ambassador had come to visit. Everything had been fine, but when the Spast met Arkai, she had frozen, unable to talk. The Empress had her punished after that.
“Could you tell me what happened here?” Timn asked.
Arkai tried to think back. “I… I don’t know. I saw the Spast and I just panicked. It was like I knew them somehow, in a bad way, and that scared me. I couldn’t say anything so I, uh, froze.”
Again, Timn wrote something down. The constant writing was beginning to annoy Arkai.
“What are you writing?”
Timn looked up. “I am writing down what you are saying, and coming up with a plan to at least keep you alive until Decem.”
“But I’m fine, aren’t I?” Arkai protested. She’d had a few issues but they’d all been dealt with.
“Every Xentress says that, then we either find them having died in their sleep, someone’s gone and killed them or they just randomly drop dead. The last Xentress we had lasted five days before they asphyxiated, due to oxygen poisoning. I am doing my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Arkai’s panic hadn’t dissipated at all. “You mean, all these centuries of having Xentresses and you’ve never worked out how to keep them alive?”
“No, that’s not true… Well… Maybe… Yes… We have a horrible track record. I’m trying to fix that. The population loves you, even if the Empress is jealous of your, ah, length. You’re a beautiful little specimen and many Temthans want to keep you around for at least your natural lifespan. Hence why I am here, scanning you, and why I’ve had people scanning you while you sleep…” The Temthai paused for a moment. “For which I apologise because I should have asked for your permission first…” Timn quickly added.
“I can forgive you for that. Does that mean I can ask you some questions?” Arkai had calmed down now. The thought that she had someone looking after her comforted her greatly.
“Of course.”
“Why do so many Raptesses hate me?”
Timn shrugged. “A beautiful little xeno with the Dual Blessing is always going to raise eyebrows. It is probably just jealousy. What else do you want to know?”
Arkai thought for a moment. “Do you have any idea why I froze when I met the Spast? Or why I froze a bit when I met Lenik?”
Timn tapped a button on his little screen. “Lenik… the beautifully attractive red and gold Raptoran? Temthans tend to do that. He is considered one of the most beautiful Raptorans in the Empress’s service. But if it was the same as when you met Kohra ton Avran, then it’s possible that you recognised him, or he reminded you of someone from your fading past. I assume you don’t remember so much any more?”
“Of my old life? No. Not really. I only remember small bits. But I guess that makes sense, there’s this being in those little bits who has the same colours as Lenik. Is there a way I could, theoretically, at least, fall back to old ways?”
Timn tapped his writing instrument on his notebad. “Hm. Theoretically, yes. But your constant exposure to Raptesses and Raptorans and psionic adaptation means you won’t fall back. The most you’ll get are those frozen moments, but you won’t get them at all often.”
Arkai sighed. “I guess that isn’t too bad… Is there anything else you need? Because I need to go do my sermon.”
Timn smiled. “Of course. But if you need anything, if you feel even the slightest bit ill, before you take a holy bath, please, speak to me or any other doctor first.”
“I will!” Arkai grinned as she got up to leave. “Thank you! May the Lady bless you!”
“Bless you, and thank you too, Xentress.”