Spirited to Stay, by Charles Whitt

This story is part of a 10,000 Dawns Christmas. You can read the other stories and fine more about this author by clicking HERE.

Spirited to Stay,
​by Charles Whitt

Blanche stared at the walls of the cell she was in, on a planet called Phansa. The floor was solid dirt, and her hair had gotten dusty from when she had been thrown on the floor by the guards. She had nearly thrown the soldiers across the room in retaliation, but the quantum-teleport barriers meant that she couldn’t take a step outside, or she’d be transported instantly back to the ground. Normally, Lady Aesc was around to figure a way out...but Aesc had abandoned Blanche to a cell. This wasn’t the first time she had done that to Blanche, but it was the first time it had been done in the freezing cold.
Something about this entire adventure worried Blanche. It started when Lady Aesc even mentioned it. Usually Lady Aesc appeared in front of Blanche with a mischievous grin, and slyly suggesting that there was fun to be had. Some madcap idea that involved saving some innocents and stopping evildoers. Blanche would say no, and then Aesc would slowly seduce her with stories of how fun it’d be, and Blanche would agree, willingly in that unwilling way.
But this time, Aesc hadn’t even asked her. Blanche had awakened to find Lady Aesc staring at the wall, looking forlorn. Her blue frock coat was on the side, as the woman was pacing around, muttering to herself.
“Are you alright?” asked Blanche.
“Am I alright? Well, no. It depends. No, definitely not,” said Aesc. “I’ve been asked to do something that I don’t want to do.”
“Then don’t do it,” said Blanche plainly.
“Normally, I would just tell them to go stick themselves with a rusty spork. Have you ever tried to eat with a rusty spork? It’s terrible, just terrible,” said Aesc.
“I have never seen a spork in my life,” said Blanche. “Did you just make up that word?”
“Must show you one. I think I saw one in a Martian shop over in a galaxy,” Aesc pointed her finger off into the distance, as if trying to remember “...that way.”
“What were you asked to do?” asked Blanche.
“To retrieve someone. Not a hard task, but it’s a bit difficult for my free spirit, actually having to follow orders,” said Aesc.
“I’ve never seen you follow orders.”
“There’s a lot of me you haven’t seen,” said Aesc. Tapping her nose, she said “Well, I’m off. Got a job to do.”
“Wait,” said Blanche. She crossed her arms. “Not even going to invite me.”
The Lady smiled. “Should I? Aren’t you tired of my trips now?”
To be fair, getting chased by a rabid cyborg-dragon on her last trip had almost taken the sheen from the whole adventuring thing. But yet, it also excited Blanche, the unpredictability of it all. Without it, there was just...silence. Boredom. And that meant thinking about Dusk.
“Not yet,” said Blanche, refusing to give Aesc the satisfaction of smiling back. “And maybe I can make the trip less of a drag for you.”
Aesc’s eyes twinkled. “Yeah, you probably can. Actually, I could use your help.”
Apparently, help involved getting thrown into a jail cell on a random planet. On a utterly freezing planet. This particular place wasn’t anywhere in particular—a random colony sphere, with a society that had a somewhat advanced level of technology, but a straight up feudalistic society. There was a king and a queen of each sector of the planet, along with a higher “planet authority leader” that no one had ever met. The sector that Blanche and Aesc had landed on was currently in the throes of a royal ritual, some sort of Christmas festival. Blanche didn’t have much fun at festivals—it always felt like people were papering over their yearly screwups by getting together on 1 day of merriment. No, she wasn’t fun at parties, why did you ask?
Somehow, Lady Aesc had swiped some festival costumes, and after some resistance (“No Aesc. No. Don’t you dare bring that red frilly thing to me--!”), both Aesc and Blanche had been dancing in the royal ballroom. A whole random crowd was gathered here, all looking rather rich. Blanche kinda hated them already. It felt off, though maybe she wasn’t used to the crowd. Aesc, of course, was perfectly comfortable. The queen and king had been overlooking the party, smiling appreciatively. The king was a young blonde man, his clothes a clean white linen cloth, encrusted with purple rings. The queen had long red hair, with a circular face, and red clothes, with the same purple rings on her, as well as some on her ears. Her bright green eyes darted around the floor, and it took a second for Blanche to realize the queen was looking at her. Blanche bowed, and the queen nodded, and turned to look at something else.
Giant robots. Small avioid creatures, scurrying about. Flying goblin pets. They were all mingling freely here. It was fun. So why was Blanche upset?
That’s when Aesc changed the jukebox to belt out some odd tune about raining men, which:
A) Destroyed their element of surprise.
B) Created a fiasco that ended with her in prison.
Only now, as the king walked into her prison cell, did Blanche realized she wasn’t sure why she was here. Aesc had actually never told her the goal of this entire mission. Usually, Aesc was an over-sharer, so why had she forgotten this detail--
“Who are you?” asked the king. His browless eyes peered into hers in an attempt to be threatening.
“Who are you?” asked Blanche.
“Me? I’m the King of Ariadne. My name is Atlun. And you just appeared at my court with no warning, and attacked my guards.”
“Yeah. They were a little aggressive, so I was aggressive back,” said Blanche. She stretched herself against the chains holding her to the floor.
“You defeated men twice your size,” said Atlun. He actually looked scared.
“Your men may have size, but I’m not sure they could win a bar fight,” said Blanche. His eyes widened, and it occurred to her that perhaps scaring the man in charge of the sector was a bad plan. “I don’t have anything against your sector. It seems lovely.”
“Sure. But my queen has never seen you before. Says you’re new. So, where did you come from? Are you a Christmas spirit?”
“What?” asked Blanche.
“Our legends have records of spirits showing up before, on the solstice. And your hair...it’s so unusual,” said Atlun. He was pointing at her bright white fluff of hair.
A series of responses flew through her head. One was bafflement, the other was laughing at his stupidity, one was screaming at the universe. But, looking at his naive foolish face, another thought occurred to her.
“Yes. I am a spirit. I am Blanche. My other...fellow spirit is here, as well. We’re watching you, Atlun. To see if you’re worthy,” said Blanche, adding emphasis on the last word.
“And if I’m worthy?” he asked, frowning. “What do I get?”
She leaned over, and gave a small smile, the sort that Aesc would have given. “You already know.”
It was a pure non-answer, meant to play on his own preconceptions. It worked. He looked, quite frankly, like she was a deity reborn.
 
So many trees. Not that Lady Aesc minded trees—she’d met some very nice ones. Even the ones that didn’t talk tended to be very charming. But, these trees had gotten in her way. She had been skipping along a path, looking for the item that the Firmament had told her to look for, when the branches started to make her trip. How rude. Yet, she continued on the path, and then a branch walloped her on the face. Repeatedly. Finally, she jumped over the offending branch, and could just start to see a hint of silver in the distance, that hinted that she was close…
And then the roots sprang out of the trees, wrapped around her frock, and dragged her up into the sky. Aesc found herself hanging upside down, unable to move. She hoped Blanche was having a better time of it.
A woman came down the path. She was a redhead, with a spherical face, and pale skin. Blue eyes looked up at Aesc, with a glance of almost anger.
“Hello. My name is Lady Aesculapius. Or just Lady Aesc. I’ve gotten a bit tangled up,” said Aesc.
The woman frowned. Pursing her lips, she said “Why are you here? On my planet?”
“Just passing through. Looking for an item,” said Aesc. “It’s like a metal pod.”
“You’re not from around here,” said the woman. “Not this sector. Or this planet.”
“Right on all counts,” said Aesc, trying to twist out from the branches. If only she had brought her shears…. “Now, mind helping me down?”
“Did the Firmament send you?” asked the woman.
Aesc stopped struggling. The woman saw Aesc’s look of surprise, and shook her head.
“So, it’s you. You’re the Rainapelios--,” said Aesc.
“I prefer Raina,” said Raina curtly.” I knew you’d come eventually, or some form of agent. I thought I’d have more time, though.”
Raina started walking away.
“Um, help here?” called out Aesc. Raina didn’t stop.
Drat.


Not in all her life, had she ever been treated so nicely. Servants gathered around her, ministering to her every need. If she was thirsty, several glasses of water would be given to her. If she was hungry, a whole feast was brought to her. King Atlun was very much intending to stay in the favor of the spirits, and Blanche didn’t mind helping him. Of course, while enjoying this comfort, she continued her search for Aesc, who was nowhere to be found.
Raina, the queen, was the only one who didn’t seem convinced by Blanche’s assigned “spirithood.” She never actually said any actual disagreement, but Blanche could read a dark undercurrent in Raina’s eyes. Raina would smile and laugh whenever Atlun extolled the virtues of how the spirit of Myrddin had finally blessed him, and yet…
One day, while Blanche was brushing her white hair, she noticed Raina watching her from the distance.
“Hello, spirit,” said Raina. Her bright blue eyes peered into Blanche, and somehow it worried Blanche more than it should.
“Hello, Queen Raina. Why’d you come here?”
Raina didn’t say anything. She picked up a recorder from Blanche’s desk, and started playing it. That recorder was an ancient device—why was she so comfortable with it. “You know, the first spirit to come here was supposedly an old man. He waited, and waited, and waited, and brung the people across the stars to this planet.”
Blanche had heard the stories of the spirits many times, from Atlun. “So?”
“My husband is a fool. I love him, but he is a fool,” said Raina. Fixing her gaze onto Blanche, she slammed the recorder on the desk, and snarled “I am not. You should leave. I know what you and Aesc want, but I am not going to let it happen. The Firmament will not get what they want.”
“Wait. You know who Aesc is? Do you know where she is?”
“Where she is? I left her next to my pod. I expect she escaped my defense systems by now.”
“If you knew I wasn’t a spirit--”
“To see how much you knew. When it became apparent you knew nothing, I decided that it was time for you to go. Let’s not make a fuss—I don’t want my husband getting worried,” said Raina.
What? How much did this woman know, and why was she—wait, the Firmament?
“What do the Firmament want with you--”
“Out,” said Raina. “This is me being nice. As the queen, I can have you sent to the dungeon, forever.”
“I don’t do well with threats,” retorted Blanche, who regretted that when, a few minutes later, a group of soldiers with lances were escorting her down the hall. These soldiers were wearing heavy-duty armor, too hard for Blanche to kick through. Apparently the queen had learned from the last time Blanche
Fortunately, at that exact moment, Aesc crashed through the ceiling.
“Hello, I am Lady Aesc. I’m here for your queen,” said Aesc, her hands on her hips in a dramatic hero-pose. Her mouth formed into a cute grin upon seeing Blanche, and she giggled. “Blanche! Was starting to miss you. I see you’ve made friends.”
“These aren’t my friends. They’re my jailers.”
“Ahh. Good. Run.”
Blanche immediately ran down the hall, with Aesc following. Aesc threw her Foc up in the air, letting it hang, before it started to grow slightly. She grabbed the expanding ball, and grasped Blanche’s hand, as they both floated up into the air. The FoC hit the window with a crash, and the 2 began to soar across the field.
“We’re nearly out of here. Just need to get past the--”
An arrow whooshed past Lady Aesc, and she went off-balance, causing them to crash onto the field.
“Did you think this through?” hissed Blanche, as she could hear more arrows being cocked.
“I thought most of this through,” said Aesc. She looked up at the rows of guards lined up against them, and frowned. “Outrunning that is gonna be...difficult. Raina, I wish to talk to you.”
“Wait!” cried out Atlun. He emerged in front of the guards, and stared at Blanche in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Aesc tried to speak, but Blanche cut her off. “My great king, this is my fellow spirit, Aesc. There was some confusion once she arrived, but it has all been dealt with now.”
“It has? Why did the queen order your arrest, then?”
Blanche was lost for words. What could she explain without getting herself s
“What happens between the queen and the spirits is not for you to know,” said Aesc dramatically. Waving her hands in the air, she said “The queen and us must discuss a group known as the Firmament. There was a confusion along the way, leading to an arrest. Do not interfere further, lest we deliver great malice upon you!”
Atlun looked confused. “The Firmament?”
“Your queen would rather we talk about it in private. You can ask her if you’d like?”
“Or you can arrest us. And then you’ll have to deal with--”
“Great malice. I know,” said the king.
Aesc crossed her arms at being cut off for the second time today.
“My dear,” said Raina, who had just arrived, “why aren’t these prisoners in a cell?”
“They say they’ll deliver great malice if we do so,” said Atlun.
“So will I, if they aren’t arrested,” said Raina angrily. “They aren’t spirits.”
Atlun stared at Blanche. She shrugged back.
“Guards, arrest them,” said Atlun. “We’ll force the truth out of them.”
“Indeed. I’ll confess.,” announced Aesc. “I LOVE confessing! Especially about the birthing pod in the back, and the Firmament--”
“Be quiet, or I’ll have you--” started the queen.
“And all the Firmament soldiers who will be here if I don’t come back--”
“Stop,” said Raina to the guards. She gave Blanche and Aesc the most bloodthirsty glance Blanche had seen in a while. She whispered to the king, who frowned, and shook his head. Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek tenderly, and then beckoned her and Aesc to follow her. The king followed them with his eyes, but said nothing. The cheer she had seen the last few days from him was gone, and Blanche started to feel guilty.
As the queen led them out into who-knows-where, Blanche wondered why it had been so easy to manipulate him. It hadn’t even been a concern—manipulate for an objective, namely survival. But...surely people were supposed to at least question themselves? After having seen her future evil self (now nullified future), Blanche wondered how moral she really was. It had never been a concern before, but now that she traveled with Aesc, every moral failing she had caused her worry.
The queen led them to a ring of trees. Within them were several paintings. A faded one of an old man with white long hair, a more vibrant one of a young man, with a tone slightly lighter than Aesc’s chocolate cheeks, and one of Queen Raina, looking slightly younger, with short hair. A man was sitting in a chair, painting something else. Raina nodded to him.
“That’s my private painter,” said Raina. Sitting down on a tree stump, she said “Alright, spirits. This is going to be complicated. What do the Firmament want from me?”
 
“The Firmament want you to return to the fold. For the sake of the universe,” said Aesc. Blanche noted her normal smile was gone from her face.
“’For the sake of the universe.’ How old are you? Which generation? Hope they didn’t send a youngling to grab me,” said Raina. Her Scottish accent had gone way up suddenly.
“Hold on. Which gener--” started Blanche.
“I’m not that young. She’s human,” said Aesc.
“She a pet?” asked Raina.
“Is your king a pet?” asked Aesc.
“No. So, is she your lover?” asked Raina, smirking.
Blanche felt her cheeks burn.
“That’s not relevant. Stop changing the subject,” said Aesc.
Raina was looking at Blanche, though. Raina’s smile grew wider, as she roamed her eyes over Blanche. “You have no idea what’s going on, do you?”
Blanche remained tight-lipped.
“Let me make it clearer. I am Rainakelipsioda, Arbiter of Community. Born long before you when the great forgetting was still memory, to good marks. I have travelled on many planets, and I work to promote community wherever I go. From kingdoms, to collective hive-minds, to kids teaming up in play-spaces, it’s all rooted in me.”
“So, you’re not actually even from this planet?”
“I was the first,” said Raina pridefully. She gestured to the picture of an old man in the corner. “I looked like that, back then. This was actually an accidental stop along the way.”
“To where?” asked Blanche.
“To my festering, stagnant, place I called my homeworld,” spat Raina. “They needed me there to promote their galactic objectives. I was supposed to report back.”
“But you didn’t. The Firmament suddenly lost track of you. You’ve been AWOL for millenia,” said Aesc.
“Everywhere I go, a community follows. It’s in my blood, my essence. If I stay anywhere, soon 1 person, then 3 people, then a whole group. Whole cities have been built around me.”
“And so has this whole sector?” asked Aesc.
“The whole planet’s population. Each drawn here by my presence,” said Raina. “I’ve watched it grow, and grow, and grow.”
“So, you just don’t want to leave because you’re used to being here?” asked Blanche.
“No. Not just that,” asked Raina. “All those groups, all of those people—whenever I leave, they disperse. Spats come up, disagreements, or just boredom—any and all of those are how they slowly break apart. It’s inevitable.”
The painter continued to work, as Raina stared out into the distance.
“And so you don’t want to break up this planet’s civilization,” said Blanche.
Raina nodded.
“Absolutely absurd,” said Aesc. She shook her head. “And irresponsible.”
“Irresponsible?” asked Blanche.
“Utterly. Right now, the galactic community is on a precipice. Control over Mars is still being negotiated. People are going off to the stars, meeting new cultures, new people, mingling in all sorts of ways. And, if they are going to survive, they need community. They need to learn to see past the differences, and to bond together. You are the Arbiter  of Community. You are necessary if any of it is going to work. And you can’t do that if you’ve decided to shack up on 1 planet. A waste of your potential.”
“How dare you talk to me about potential?” asked Raina. “Do you know how old I am? I remember when humans were still barely scraping by, and when the premiere Terran race before them were crowing about how they were unbeatable!”
“What race before humans? There’s no record of--”
“They were deleted from Firmament records. There’s a lot of things that aren’t mentioned in the Firmament records. Try asking about those ridiculous jellyfish sometime, and see how your Academy professors react,” said Raina. “I’ve lived. And you know what I saw?”
“I’m sure you’re going to enlighten me.”
“Pain. Fighting. Disharmony. I tried my very best to give community. And every time a new group spread, they just oppressed another group. Romans hate the British. British hate Irish. Then they come together, and hate non-whites. Then they came together, and hated cyborgs. Then they started hating non-Terrans. Every group, just hating each other. Every community, hating another.”
“People are more than that. They come together, eventually--”
“Oh yes. But they always hate. No matter what I do. The Firmament thinks I’ll help bring them together? It never works. It’s never enough.”
“You’re just being petulant,” said Aesc.
“You’re just being naive. I suppose I couldn’t expect more from a Firmantnt stooge.”
“How dare you?” snarled Aesc. “I am--”
Blanche grabbed Aesc’s arm. “Let’s have a quick side-chat.”
Aesc let herself dragged away, but called back “Raina, get ready to leave. No matter what you think, you’re done here.” 

Lady Aesc didn’t know what to think. She had been hoping for a simple snatch-and-retrieve mission. Not some argument with a whiny Firmament. And especially not an annoying one.
Blanche was staring at Aesc now. She could tell the human was mad about something. Possibly the arrest and being left in this place. Aesc could feel Blanche still healing from some cuts and bruises from the struggle with the guards earlier, and she surreptitiously quickened Blanche’s healing, kickstarting the blood cells’ clotting and knitting. Blanche would have been annoyed at the help, with a “I’m good, no thanks”, but Aesc liked helping her companion.
“Raina has a point,” said Blanche.
“About what?” asked Aesc.
“About...why does she have to return to the Firmament?” asked Blanche.
“Without her, the space-faring community will go into chaos,” said Aesc.
“It’s already in chaos. Dawn, The Great Assimilation, they’re all quarrelling with each other,” said Blanche. “It’s the natural state of things. I doubt some alien returning to your Firmament group will fix that.
Aesc sighed. Blanche couldn’t understand. “Blanche, Firmanents aren’t just aliens. We’re sort of interfaces for universal properties. If Raina decides to leave her position, it affects all of history. In countless universes. People may never come together again. Life will become more solitary for everyone. That just won’t do.”
“So, what? She just has to sit back and take up some throne?” asked Blanche. “Life’s already shitty. Even with all that “community-building”, people are terrible to each other. Should we take away her freedom, and maybe even destroy this whole planet’s people, for the sake of some lost cause?”
“Yes!” shouted Aesc. Her forcefulness surprised both herself and Blanche.
“Why?”
These questions reminded her of the sort of thing she would have asked her teachers, in school. It annoyed Aesc to think she was turning into her teachers. Aesc sighed, and composing herself, said “Because what you humans never get is that no matter how bad things get, they could much worse.”
Blanche opened her mouth, but Aesc cut her off: “I don’t like playing as an agent for the Firmament. Trust me, I’d rather just ignore them, and normally I’d help Raina hide. But this is different. Worlds are at stake here.”
“So is this one,” said Blanche.
“If I don’t bring Raina back, then the Firmament will send others. And they won’t be so nice.”
Blanche looked to the distance, her nose crinkled in thinking. “Then we need to ensure that this place will survive her leaving.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” admitted Aesc.
“Well...maybe she should just bring them with her?” asked Blanche.
“Wha—oh. That can’t work,” said Aesc. “Wait. That can work. Oh, you’re a genius!”
 
Atlun frowned. He looked at Raina, who was nodding appreciatively. Then he turned back to Aesc, and said “We’re all emigrating to a planet?”
“Yes. The spirits say so. Giant planetary collapse. So you’re going on a thing called the Foc. It belongs to Raina. It’s a moving spaceship thingie. It’ll keep your people together.”
Blanche nodded. “It’ll let you stay close to your queen while she...communes with spirits. For the sake of the universe.”
Atlun stayed silent for a moment. Then he said “And if we say no?”
“That may not be an option,” said Raina. “Aesc...came up with a compromise to work between me and the spirits. The alternatives may be perilous.”
Shaking his head, Atlun said “If you say so.”
“Wonderful!” said Aesc.
 
Blanche wasn’t so sure. It didn’t feel right. She had never liked the idea of a set fate, even before her future evil self. For her, the future, whenever it was certain, was never good. Forcing Raina to take up her “rightful place” struck a bad note in her gut.
Only half the residents of Raina’s planet left on her Foc. The rest were too scared, too set in their ways, or just too physically weak to leave. It had hurt Raina to leave anyone behind, and it only made Blanche question herself more.
“Raina’s people will stay together now,” said Aesc. “I love a happy compromise.”
“Is it happy?” asked Blanche.
Aesc gave an enigmatic smile. It made Blanche shiver.
“We’ve just helped the future, Blanche,” said Aesc.
“Aesc, if it was you in Raina’s place--”
“I never would have left. But I’m a fool,” said Aesc. She started a song on the Lirian jukebox, which she had swiped, and started to move her body to the beat. Blanche rolled her eyes, but joined in.
 
On Phansa, there’s a legend. Every 100 years, on a random hill, if you wait till the first rain, a redheaded woman will appear. She’ll just walk into town, and observe. She won’t say a word. Some people say she matches the face of a woman who left during the migration, but that’s obviously impossible.
She usually leaves within a few days. But, the legend says, if you were to stop and ask her why she’s here, she’d say:
“To see if they stayed together, after all.”