Divine Charity

Chapter Four: Is This The Real Life?

The next day, Avem walked into her room carrying a tray loaded with her first solid meal since she'd woken up, and her mouth watered at the enticing aroma.

Avem placed the tray down next to Lena.

"It smells so good!" Lena said as she watched Avem punch a few buttons on the wall behind Lena's bed and a table formed over Lena's lap from the bed's rails.

Avem moved the food in front of Lena. "Charity's food supplies are fortified with solar vitamins and birth-control. Your children's bones will stay healthy even without sunlight and after a few days, you will be safe to have sex."

"Uh... good to know..." Lena frowned. "Wait, does that mean my girls are on birth-control? They're five!"

"The health and well-being of our bantlings is always a Ka'al's top priority. We would never put something in our foods that would harm them!"

Jeeze... Lena scowled, getting a little tired of Avem's constant bitchy attitude. "Okay, I'm sorry. On Earth, we don't typically feed our children contraceptives."

"You are no longer on Earth, yet your progeny are safe. Our contraceptive care is completely natural and will not affect their reproductivity when they are of age."

Maybe her "progeny" were safe, but Lena wasn't. She was halfway through her meal when her throat started to itch and her skin flushed. A few moments later, Lena was in full anaphylaxis.

Avem may be a bitch, but she reacted quickly to Lena's medical emergency, and when the danger passed, ordered Lena food from the human habitat.

It was a stark reminder to Lena just how different her life now was.

A few hours later, Lena slowly rose from her seat beside the bed and gingerly tested her steps. Soon, she was pacing the room slowly, her thoughts tumultuous.

What if this was all some fantasy in her head? What if, despite everything she had seen and observed, these last two days were just a figment of her imagination? How could she be sure this wasn't just some elaborate government conspiracy to test her hold on reality? Lena was beside herself, warring with what she witnessed to be true and what humans had taught her to believe.

And Khamuel didn't help. Every so often she would feel him probing ... yes, probing ... her mind, until she had no choice but to accept defeat and reassure him she was doing well.

She looked to the door of the ministry and headed towards it on shaky legs. Startled squeaks escaped Kiara and Avem when she limped by with no warning. She heard Kiara call after her. "Where are you going? You're in your pajamas!"

Lena ignored them and continued to walk. Where are you?

Do you need me? I will come to you.

Don't bother. I'm coming to you.

He said something in his own language, his tone irritable. Show me where you are.

Show him? Like a mental picture? She tried to focus on sending him the view before her.

Turn around, you are going the wrong way, he responded drily. I'm in the control room; you are headed towards the menagerie.

Oh, she retorted, you mean there's a difference?

She heard his snort of amusement as Kiara sidled up to her and gripped her arm firmly. "You're pushing yourself too far. Lean on me."

Lena allowed Kiara to guide her as they made their way through the ship's epicenter. The walk was a long one, but Lena forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. She refused to look weak, even though she was now doubting her intelligence. Her legs trembled under her. Exertion made blood rush through her veins, causing her head to ache. God, what she wouldn't do to be back in her bed right now.