Yul reclined in bed, her silver hair blending into the white pillows that supported her delicate head as carton to egg. Her face looked gaunt and her eyes, not clear as before but opaque and dull like watered milk, seemed to blink less than normal, looking without seeing Mairi thought, like the eyes of a blind woman.
Mairi tried to probe her mind, as the good doctor had taught her, or to be fair, had attempted to teach her. The skill seemed simple, when one was the subject of a probe, like dancing without having to lead, deceptively easy, or so it appeared. Everything, she thought, looks easier when we watch someone else do it. Nevertheless, Mairi tried, with pure intent, to help, to aid, to succor a friend in need. Still, seemed like a violation, to probe another in this way, to walk in the halls of their memories and thoughts and emotions. Yet, somewhat ashamed, but not completely, Mairi couldn’t deny the seductive power of the probe, to see another naked, stripped bare without them knowing you were there. The power, even at this elementary level of skill, was nothing less than intoxicating.
Ease in. Stimulate her nodes of pleasure. Massage the throbbing pain of thought and unknown, of fear and regret. Slip out. That was the plan and as plans go, it was a good plan, a gracious plan.
“Mairi?” asked Yul.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
Mairi looked up at Yul as if the action would hide her hesitation. “I’m sending good thoughts your way,” recovered Mairi as she stoked Yul’s hair across her forehead.
“I don’t think it’s working.” Yul spoke in a shallow and distant monotone, the way one speaks when illness has stripped one of all vanity. The tone unnerved Mairi. Yul continued. “I’m in pain and I can’t make it go away.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“Upper back, between my shoulder blades. It’s a dull ache, like someone has taken the small muscles in my back, those muscles you can’t reach and wound them up to the point of pulling my bones out of joint.”
“I’ll call the nurse. I’m sure there is something they can give you to relax those muscles, to help you sleep.” Mairi started to turn away.
“Don’t go. Won’t work.” Yul still didn’t make eye contact with Mairi.
“What do you mean won’t work?” asked Mairi, standing halfway between the bed and the door.
“No pill is gonna fix my pain and I don’t wanna sleep, I don’t want the nightmares.”
Mairi took a step toward the bed. “What nightmares?” She tried to probe but her skill wouldn’t let her past the wall of pain in Yul’s mind. Mairi’s head began to hurt, to throb, hard; and then she felt a searing heat, as if she had moved too close to the fire.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t see the point. I mean, what are you gonna to do about my dreams, my nightmares? You gonna fix them?” Mairi didn’t respond. “Saw no point in burdening you with that.”
“Well, sometimes just talking about it helps.”
“I don’t like talking about a problem only I can solve. I’m not interested in advice or sympathy or being judged.”
“I think the only one who is judging someone else, no offense, is you.”
“What are you talkin’ bout?” asked Yul, a tinge of indignation in her voice, her eyes breaking contact with the ceiling for the first time.
“You’re judging me. Making assumptions about what I may or may not do. You’ve decided what is best for me without ever giving me a chance.”
Yul frowned. “Okay. Try this on. Call Rog for me. Get him on the comm.”
“You know I can’t do that. They are operating under radio silence.”
“File that as exhibit A. Now tell me, what are my chances of surviving this operation?”
Mairi started to speak.
“Don’t lie to me. I can see it on your face. You want to help me? Just tell me the truth. Straight up.”
“Alright. Not good. But I think—“
“Let me finish,” snapped Yul. “File that as exhibit B. You starting to catch my drift?”
“Not sure I’m following you. Care to—“
Yul huffed with about the most energy she had shown in days and then raising her voice shouted, “I didn’t mean a single damn thing I said to Rog. Not a single frailing thing. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think he knows that,” said Mairi, almost regretting the words before they had left her mouth.
“Don’t frailing patronize me.”
“I’m sorry Yul. I—“
“What do you think he’s thinking right now? Tell me that? After my little outburst.”
“Well—“
“I’ll tell you what he’s thinking. He’s thinking he should have stayed. He’s thinking he frailed up. He’s thinking I’m nothing but a little shiott for having a pampus fit when he decided to go. And you know what? There’s not a frailing thing I can do about it now, right now, is there?”
Mairi moved to the side of Yul’s bed. Her voice softened. “Have I ever told you what I did, what I was, back on Hyneria?”
Yul turned and looked at Mairi, not so much for the words, but for the tone, a tone she had never heard uttered by the redhead. Mairi continued, “Do you know what a Chatelaine is?”
“Nooooo. I mean, no way. You? No. I—“ Yul’s eyes were locked on Mairi’s now as Mairi lean over, her hand slipping under the sheets.
“Way,” she whispered. “I have to tell you a secret.” Her hand gently started stroking Yul’s thigh. “You know the effect the vial has?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, you’re not going to need it. And you know what else?”
“Pray tell?”
“You’re not going to ever want to settle for it again.” With those words, Mairi’s hand slipped between Yul’s legs, and with a touch of her fingers to the repose of Rog’s delight, she saw the opening she needed and slipped into Yul’s mind. The good doctor was not such a poor teacher after all, or was it the pupil was just underestimating herself?
Categories: Story, Yul, Mairi
12 comments:
Fabulous chapter! Am once again so very aware of the following two things. The first is the flow of the story, though admittedly we are not reading it in one sitting, the strength of the threads that run through is sufficiently great for each chapter to pull those that preceeded up close, so that even when a particular event has not been touched upon in weeks or even months, it is as though no time has passed at all. In other words, the events are memorable, your chapters impact, and second, as I have said many times before, although there are so many branches to the story, different characters, different timeframes and the quick succession of change that sometimes occurs between these timeframes, somehow it not only works, but it greatly assists in arresting attention. As vast as this story is, it's simple and there is a point to everything, or in other terms, nothing ever happens by chance, there is always (seemingly) reason for it, and it appears therefore so often as if it were all planned in advance and not something you are fabricating along the way, and this is a testamont once again to the talent that you have and the great scope of your imagination.
Ever since the chapter that had Dr X towering above Mairi on the examination table, curiosity has surrounded exactly what went on. Though we were told much, some was left out and it evoked a great sense of curiosity that never left. Always hoped we somehow would become familiar with just exactly what went on within that room. Then just recently, there was the conversation between them that told us relations were not only still in existance, a surprise in itself, but were not quite as adverse as one would have imagined given the imbalance of power that dominated the scene between them. As reluctant as Mairi was to be probed, she was, and she obviously learned a thing or two about how to get past even the greatest mindblock. What a combination Mairi is, she's absolutely fascinating, and in possession of skill to say the very least, ones that overlap given her previous life having as much if not very much more to do with the mind. I like Mairi, very much, it's so nice to finally see a little more of her, and to know though naturally as you wrote she as anyone else would finds the power of what she is about to do stimulating, she is taking these liberties with Yul in the hope that she may offer relief on all levels. Gosh, I know I am basically just repeating back to you, but it's pure awe at the storylines that you weave.
Must just insert here that I've been waiting for a painting incorporating the blue ever since you first wrote about it. I once saw a picture years ago, if I can find it, I'll send it to you, I thought of it, when I thought of how a painting of Mairi might look.
The beginning was as excellent as the middle which competed well with the end of this chapter. The idea of looking without seeing, which you have touched upon a few times now, of eyes being empty, I've seen that in the living as well as the dead, but even had I not, it is just such an indescribably strong visual. Looking into someone's eyes and not seeing them there, to have them lost, is frightening. Unnerving even when someone is staring. Just the suggestion here of eyes unfocused, of that loss of connection that we are so reliant upon, that as this chapter begins though they are in the same room, there is such a distance between them, even in a few short words you created that sense of desperation and reason for Mairi to want to reach, to want to help. The conversation that follows is heartbreaking in it's directness and simplicity, Yul's pain, the reason for her retreat behind closed doors, exhibits a and b, that middle part is superbly written too.
Rushing here, because I need to leave in a few minutes, but what I really want to say and what I can never say enough is that this whole body of work, as a whole, as individual chapters, as vast and complex as it is, as intricate in detail, it is so easy too. Had I more time, I would tell you exactly what I mean, but in short, easy to read, easy to follow, easy to become addicted to and so very, very easy to be completely enthralled by. Pure pleasure.
PS as I start to run late, someone needs to show Yul that contrary to what she sometimes believes of herself, here is another example of why she is so lovable in her thoughts for what Rog must be feeling after her outburst in the face of all that is going on with her health.
Sweet dreams, x
Sweetest, this chapter has a little of everything in it. First, we learn a little more about Mairi and that she was a Chatelaine, and although we might guess what that was, it is still not clear, albeit quite interesting to speculate. Seems, and we don't know for sure, but it seems that Mairi confided this info to the good doctor before she ever told anyone on Bravo. I'll have to think about that. :-D
Second, we see Mairi's "nullness" from a slightly different angle, or at least we see her ability to work telepathically and one has to believe her "child of the shells" ability has something to do with her ability to pick up this skill as quickly as she seems to be doing (by the way, expect to see her put this skill into practice in a rather significant way in a chapter coming soon). We also see, briefly, her touch upon the moral and ethical issues around probing someone's mind without their knowledge. Interestingly, it didn't stop her from doing it, rationalization or not, and she acknowledged the seductiveness of taking such a personal liberty with another, without them even knowing that it had occurred. Where this might lead as it relates to her relationships with the rest of the crew, when they learn what she can do, will be interesting to explore as will Mairi's reaction to their behavior toward her.
As for Yul, well, we see her all over the place again. One chapter she is up and the next she is down. What I like about Yul, however, is we always, or almost always see her as forthright and to the point with how she is feeling. Nothing passive-aggressive about her, although Kyra might take some issue with that description. Rog loves the way Yul lets her emotions hang out there; he loves the free spirit and life at full throttle that is Yul and she loves the salt of the earth groundedness, among other things, about Rog.
As always, your comments thrill me to no end and I love you to pieces for all you see in this story and the time and effort you put into your comments. :-)
The words, "probe me" along with that well chosen fractal :O really set the stage for this chapter just perfectly. This chapter was very seductive in many ways. The ability to get inside someones head with basic intuition and understanding of the human psyche can be extremely seductive all on it's on. It is an incredibly powerful connection. But to be able to probe to the kind of extent that Mairi is able to do would be a very hard thing to keep under leash, so to speak. This parallels so well with the seduction taking place that is sexual. Mairi probes Yul's mind and now her body...as a further pathway to her mind. It seems understood that the mind and the body, though separate by function, are one in the same. It makes me think of some song called Sexual Healing. No idea what the lyrics are, that's all I remember, hehee. But it seems that Yul's probing is not at all unwelcomed and that it has the promise of greater relief, greater release than Yul ever got from the vial. Healing of mental anguish as well as Yul's body, perhaps? I have been hoping you would fill in the blanks about Mairi and Dr. X. And so you tell this story a bit at a time, which is a wonderful seduction, a wonderful tease for your readers. And one last seduction I will mention is this, not only do you seduce your readers with this story but I can feel it--you also seduce yourself. ;) What a brilliant writer you are. That is an art.
My Dear Beautiful Soul, every once in awhile a comment comes along that makes me smile until my cheeks hurt, that makes writing this whole story worth every word, every image, every painstaking idea. Your comment, my dear, was one of those. I bow before you, with, I might add, just a hint of a smile neither here nor there but one that invites curiosity--yours. ;-)
As we have learned Mairi was/is a Châtelaine, which if I may say, roughly translates into a position somewhere between a Geisha and the character Inara played in the Firefly series as a "Companion." In short, Mairi is a hynerian of the highest sexual order, one who circulated at the highest levels of society (we do know from the very first chapters on Mairi that she came from high society or at least from money and in that regard seemed to have more in common with Kieran than with anyone else on board). Back home, however, she learned and practiced her craft the old fashioned way--with hard work; and, she was good, very, very good at her craft, which is one of the reasons she made it onto Bravo. Let's just say she had some connections and she used them.
Anyway, when Dr X was struggling to get inside her mind, he ripped off her blouse and started to sexually manipulate her, looking for an opening, to get her to, so to speak, leave a door to her mind open. It worked. What we didn't learn, although it was hinted, is that Mairi did not feel raped (you may remember my comments that I felt on very thin ice by giving her that reaction). So now we know a few more things such as this was not Mairi's first rodeo--LOL. We also can suspect, that Mairi saw the skill of telepathy as a tool she could add to her arsenal of skills within the trade of Chatelaine. And so, it appears, the two of them formed an interesting relationship, one based on mutual admiration and need.
Fast forward to this chapter. Mairi is trying to ease Yul's suffering but she can't get into her mind--too much pain and too little skill on Mairi's part with the probe. So, she resorts to the same technique--using her own special skills of course--as the good doctor. And Yul, being the sexual being she is (there has been some speculation in past chapters that Yul swings both ways) offers no resistence, and, it appears, seems to welcome the distraction.
Truth be known, Mairi is enjoying both the physical seduction, a chance to ply her trade along with having the first chance to use her new skill of enhancing the experience with a mind probe. I guess one could say she is going to, pardon my french, fuck Yul from both ends simultaneously. LMAO Now, what we don't know yet is, besides the power trip and helping a friend, what pleasure Mairi gets from the exercise. I think it is safe to assume the pleasure goes both ways.
Now, as I have hinted in comments above, this exercise is not just for the distraction and pleasure alone. Mairi is going to need to use this ability in a way much beyond her current skill level and it is going to involve life and death, so part of her motivation is practice. One could say this little incident is business and pleasure. :-D
As for this story, you are very insightful in that it seduced me a long time ago. I'm in love with all my characters and they are never far from my mind at all times. That others find them interesting is only icing on the cake. Besides, seduction is such a good thing, a skill if you will, that when played with skill is like an elaborate dance with endless opportunity for pleasure and stimulation.
As always, my dear Oliviah, your comments are most welcome and most appreciated. Love, hugs and kisses my dear sweet wonderful woman. :-)
Trée, if I got any "curiouser" I won't get a wink of sleep! lol! Reading the comment section on a good blog is like enjoying a good desert after an excellent meal. My imagination keeps wandering from one aspect and character of the story to another, how John and Rog are going to save the day to this. Your 'french' was very funny, made me laugh out loud. Mairi is going to need to use her skill in a way that involves life or death. Hmm...curiouser and curiouser, said Alice. :P
My dear Oliviah, to give you a hint of things to come, the surgeons that operate on Yul run into a bit of trouble, in mid-operation. I'll leave it at that for now. ;-)
As for Rog and John, well, as we see in the chapter above this one, they have some decisions to make, and considering that both have need to get back home sooner rather than later, the thought that their mission might require, need, them to stay in the sector longer is not an option they either considered nor wanted. What they do, at the moment, I have no idea. :-D
Better than banoffee pie. :-)
Now, is that so? :-D
Interesting chapter; so much packed into it - that's a compliment. The ending...hmmmm.... of course you ended it there. ;-)
Well, Karen, I suppose I could pick up the story from this exact point in a future chapter. Wouldn't be hard since I've already played it out in my mind several times. :-D
I'm waiting...
OR am I late and you've already written it out? I'm here to play catch up now and I'll be good and not read the latest chapter first. ;-)
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