E’lin knew that her soon-to-be husband was distressed. He didn’t fumble his words, normally, in the time she’d known him, nor did he let slip half-said detractors like ‘brainwashing’ and ‘indoctrination’. What she hadn’t realized, until he put a steadying hand on her shoulder, was that she was quivering. The young Bride wasn’t even sure what emotion was expressing itself through her physical tremors. It was all too much, confounding, dizzying. The only thing she’d had to worry about ten minutes ago was integrating into her new family without making any severe social gaffes. Now… now she was one of them, sort-of. Untrained and unprotected by the charter of Out-of-Plane. It felt like a joke, these Elite informing her that she was also a telepath. Surprise!

“Don’t fear, my dear E’lin,” High Lady Ana’i counseled. “Your Bridal Contract is still in effect; hence, you are not defenseless. I can’t conceive of how difficult this is for you to assimilate, and on your first day in Out-of-Plane, as well. You have my word that I, having essentially put you into this situation, will stand by you regardless of what decisions you ultimately reach.”

Kehrol’s hand on her tightened and then released slightly; E’lin supposed the extra pressure was meant as comfort, solidarity. “I promise that you don’t need to hide in the back of the barn as you did when you were six and strangers came to take you away from your family. We may not officially be married yet, but I am, and will always be, your family.”

As often happened when E’lin was overwhelmed, her mind focused on the smallest, easiest to solve problem, first. “How did you know that I took refuge in the cow byres? I thought you couldn’t reach that memory,” she declared, as though Kehrol had betrayed her. Belatedly she added, “my Lord.” What she truly wanted to ask was if he still wanted her, as he’d said on Otralto, but she didn’t dare.

Lord Kehrol lifted his fingers fractionally off the flesh of her shoulder, turned his hand over, staring at it as if it were something new and amazing. “It was just there, my E’lin, right beneath your skin; I wasn’t even trying.” He brushed the backs of his knuckles over her cheek. “And, yes, of course I still want you. If anything, you’re more special and precious than I conceived of initially. I believe we will do very well together. Don’t you?”

Minutes ticked by in silence. E’lin slowly spun to meet each of their gazes, like she’d never seen them before, as if they were strange and alien beings. Finally, in front of Kehrol, she stopped. She sighed. “I have tried, but I have never been an ideal Bride. I maintained my own identity while on the surface I acted brilliantly the part of the perfect, subservient ornament. If you want that, send me back. I’d rather run and hide than live that way. I thought I could, but then I met your family… and you. I don’t know if we are compatible; I don’t know you, my Lord, much as you seem nice. But I’m willing to find out. If, in return, you’re willing to teach me what I need to know so that I can’t be taken advantage of.”

“I will take care of your… tutelage… myself, so that no gossip will arise. Besides, I am my mother’s son,” Kehrol said, both sincerely and also tweaking his own words a bit to make E’lin smile.

“So, the Marriage is to proceed as planned, yes?” Lady Sanika asked, disturbing the intense tableau. “Once you are Kehrol’s official Wife Prime, E’lin, you will be untouchable under the Charter of Out-of-Plane.”

The teen nodded. “Since I do not want it known that I am in any way different from other Brides, everything should be as ordinary as it is possible to be in this… realm of non-place.” Immediately rueing a perceived faux pas, E'lin added, “This is your home, however, so I will trust your judgment on what I ought to do next.

“Well, then,” Rinam told her, “prepare for the most impressive, creative, and ostentatious display your imagination can envision. That should be a comfortable starting place for your brain to cling to over the next few days. But maybe the Wedding of the youngest, rather than that of the Heir Prime, will be less grandiose.” The redheaded man from the fishing colony grinned reassuringly at E'lin, as if to communicate to the Bride that she was not alone; she had the moral support of someone who had struggled through this pageant and survived the process, to emerge reasonably happy with his new life.

Lady Llyare subtly took the hand of her Husbandman, brought it to her lips and murmured, “Aren’t you relieved that our Nuptials were more subdued, in comparison to Sanika‘s?”

Obviously, this was an inside joke, of sorts, for Thal bent to kiss the top of his Lady-Wife's head and whispered back, although still audibly, “Any lesser woman, I would have treated according to the customs of Vekk, kidnapping you and dragg… er… delivering you safely and triumphantly back to my clan for days of revelry and feasting.”

“Not so different from what we had here,” Llyare smiled softly, “except probably with far more pleasant company, there… and horses. I truly regret the lack of horses.” She winked. “If you don’t feel that we're sufficiently married, we could always do it your way for our upcoming anniversary. You’ll have to teach me how to ride better, and I’ve never been to a colonial planet before, but by your side, I’m confident that I can manage it.”

It abruptly occurred to E'lin that a Colony or regular Spacers' Union Station would likely be as foreign to the Elite of Out-of-Plane as this fantasy world constructed of psionic talent and advanced technology was to her. Not that the Bride had ever visited a Station, either, but the principle was the same. Lady Llyare was shy and retiring, apparently; despite her awesome wealth and phenomenal powers, she was not goddess-like, but rather just a young woman maybe ten whole cycles older than E’lin without much experience of the galaxy. That, she could relate to. Maybe they could even one day be friends as well as sisters by legal decree.

And that was it: the precise moment that E'lin knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in slightly less than a span, now, she would commit herself, mind, body, and soul, to Kehrol ben Da'u Shaam in Marriage. Yes, she still had a few caveats, but she would have no regrets. And not because he was a great and mighty Lord of Out-of-Plane, nor yet because she’d been trained all her life to go for a Bride. It went deeper even than Lady Ana’i’s vision, her unexpected latent gifts, any fear of exposure, or of being cast adrift in the vast galaxy if she rejected him.

It was because they clicked. Despite being unable to read her, at least no more than a few surface thoughts that she’d carelessly allowed to fly through her… un/sub/conscious restraint… E’lin felt that the beginnings of true understanding existed between them. Kehrol genuinely wanted to know her and he’d already made a good start. He was interested in his Bride, and that was something more than novel or attractive, it was magical. E'lin of Otralto did not believe in magic. However E'lin …what was it?...Prrtan?... that girl still hummed songs of the glory of Her Ladyship, of Nature's majesty, once in a while when she was alone, and surprisingly enough, that was enough to hope for a miracle. She might not be able to entertain fantasies of love in her practical heart, not yet, but joy and companionship? The young Bride permitted herself to dream of just that much magic, only a small miracle, to share with her Lord of Out-of-Plane.

“So,” E’lin asked boldly, having now had time to reflect and ponder, “what will my training consist of, and can we please start immediately? I am curious to know how I shall be made safe and secure from nefarious people who would wish to use an undocumented telepath.”

Kehrol exchanged a long look with his mother and sisters, perhaps speaking mind to mind, or maybe just establishing an understanding with his family. He sighed and apologized, “First, although I had planned to show you the sights of Out-of-Plane, I’m afraid it’s safest to keep you sequestered on this estate, at least for the moment, to restrict access to you. Fortunately, that’s not too unusual for new Brides.”

“Yes, I’d more or less expected that,” E’lin replied. “And second?”

“Second, we teach you how to seem like an ordinary person with no psionic gifts to someone with such talent; in other words, you’ll have to learn to ‘leak’ surface thoughts and emotions a lot more than you do now. I won’t say that I know how precious your privacy is to you because I can’t know, not really,” and Kehrol had the good grace to look sheepish, “but given the circumstances you grew up under, perhaps I can guess. So, this is asking a great deal, and I’m aware of that, but I can’t think of another way to make you appear powerless. You simply must retract your shielding down a layer or two, my E’lin.”

An involuntary shudder ran down the girl’s spine at that, more than just a shiver, but less than outright shaking. Still, the Bride was mortified to have shown even that much reaction to the plan, since it was clearly a necessity now. Again, she would have no choice but to comply if she wanted to live an even semi-free life. It felt cruel to E’lin, however, to show her the briefest potential of that future, and then suddenly start adding stipulations and prerequisites to her lovely new existence. If she had believed in fate, she probably would have cursed it. “Will there be anything else?” E’lin Prrtan of Otralto inquired warily.

“Indeed, yes,” Ana’i answered this time, “yet I hope it won’t be as difficult to bear. And I wouldn’t ask either sacrifice of you, except that the Bridal Scouts would have started to come soon, quite a while before you became of age to attend the Debutante Gala Ball at 16 cycles, you know, to see if a visit to the event would be worth it for their young Lords. And even a Scout hails from Out-of-Plane, therefore rendering him or her sufficiently capable of perceiving another psionic individual. That is the third thing that my son will show you: how to passively detect other telepaths without tipping your hand as one, yourself. It will demand active and outward projection of your mental field, in a very subtle manner, something that I believe you have not done, so far. But this span, before the Wedding, you will begin, and if my suspicions are correct, you will master the skill, my dear.”

E'lin glanced up at her Husband briefly. It was enough. She couldn’t read his thoughts, at least not yet, but his body language practically screamed ‘I believe in you!’ He shouldn’t. It was his mother and sister who had precognitive visions. Kehrol had no reason to have faith in her… except that they clicked. And maybe… probably, from some of the things he’d said… he felt it, too. Indeed, she had the utmost confidence in his also feeling that ineffable rightness, that the two of them had just… clicked. She would endure much for that connection between them, tenuous though it was. Lord Kehrol would do and dare much to make it stronger. E’lin simply… knew. She took a moment to mentally laugh at her certainty as of yesterday, that fairy tales and romance were empty platitudes for the weak-willed or weak-minded. Apparently, she’d been deceiving herself about a number of things. Well, no more! “If we’re to commence instruction fresh in the morning, then,” E’lin declared, “I should get to bed early.”