Starcrossed

Chapter 13c: fine (part 3)

Chapter 13 (Part 3)

fine (feen): genetically related subsets of Martian population, each with certain attributes

"Well, duh!" She grinned. "Most Royals are good at influencing people—like what you did Wednesday in the courtyard. And the closer you are to the Sovereign line, the stronger that ability tends to be, which makes sense, since the Sovereigns always have the purest gene pool."

"Influence people how?" I asked. "Like, clever with words?" I'd never considered that one of my talents—certainly not in the sense of ever having a snappy comeback when I needed one.

"Partly. Also charisma and intelligence and the ability to quickly analyze a situation and make snap decisions. Oh, and a sort of psychic 'push' that makes people more likely to agree with you. It's why hardly anyone ever argued with the Sovereigns—until Faxon."

My head was starting to spin but I tried to get back to the original point of this conversation. "Okay, I get now why you—and Sean, and Allister—find it so hard to believe Rigel and I can possibly be graell bonded. But I haven't told you all the reasons I think we are."

Molly picked up another cookie, took a bite of it, then a sip of milk. "So tell me." I could see she didn't expect to be convinced—at all. So much for any special Royal power of persuasion.

I took a deep breath. "Rigel and I can sense each other's emotions, especially if we're touching." I decided not to mention the telepathy thing, since we hadn't told anybody about that yet. "And on three different occasions, we've generated electricity, like . . . bolts of lightning. Two of those times, it saved our lives."

Now Molly was staring at me, mouth slightly open, cookie forgotten. "Seriously?" It came out in a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"I didn't have time, remember? I take it those supposedly common teenage resonances don't include that?"

Slowly, she shook her head. "The lightning thing, especially . . . that's straight from the fairy tales. The kind of graell that should be completely impossible for you two."

"Hey, it's not like I ever read any of those fairy tales, so there's no way I got the idea there. Besides, there were lots of witnesses the last time we did it—it's how we disabled that Ossian Sphere." I paused, then said, "Does this mean you finally believe me?" It was surprising how much I needed her to.

She held my gaze for a long, probing moment, then nodded, still wide-eyed. "I . . . guess I have to. I'm so sorry I—"

The back door slammed. "Marsha, are you home?" Aunt Theresa's voice preceded her into the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Molly. It's nice to see you again. I hope Marsha has been helpful with your school work."

"Um, yes, she has, Mrs. Truitt, thank you." Molly looked slightly alarmed, like she was worried we might have been overheard. "I, um, guess I should get home."

"Marsha why don't you see her to the door, then get back here and rinse off these dishes." My aunt dropped a stack of papers on the end of the table.

"Oh, I'll do that," Molly exclaimed, jumping up.

"Don't be silly," Aunt Theresa said. "You're a guest."

Molly sat back down with obvious reluctance while I put our plates and glasses in the sink and turned on the water.

"I'll walk Molly home, if that's okay, Aunt Theresa," I said over my shoulder.

She pursed her lips but nodded. "Mind you come straight back. I want the beds stripped so there'll be time to wash, dry and replace the sheets before bedtime. Oh, and since the lawn won't need mowing again this year, you can take over the weekly bathroom cleaning—though that can wait till morning."

Molly was staring at her with something like outrage, so I quickly nudged her toward the front door. "Let's go. I'll be back in a few minutes," I called back to my aunt.

As soon as we reached the sidewalk, Molly turned to me, still looking upset. "Does she always order you around like that?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much. It's not like she knows, uh, who I am. To her, I'm just some orphan she got stuck with a dozen years ago."

Molly's distress turned to wonder. "Wow. You really are like some fairy tale heroine. Like . . . Cinderella or something."

I laughed, though her words startled me. I'd often pretended to be Cinderella when I was younger, while mopping the floors or weeding the garden. It kept me from getting bored or feeling sorry for myself.

"Right. But with Trina and her friends instead of wicked stepsisters," I joked, shaking off the coincidence. "They tell Earth fairy tales on Mars, too?"

"Some of them," Molly said, relaxing enough to chuckle along with me. "Along with our own. I guess Cinderella is pretty universal."

We'd reached the corner by then. "I should get back," I said. "Thanks for coming over, Molly. I, uh, learned a lot today."

She opened and closed her mouth, with such a strange expression on her face that I wished I could sense her emotions the way I could Rigel's.

"I learned a lot, too," she finally said. "We'll talk again soon. Maybe tonight?"

"Maybe." It was Friday, but I didn't have any plans since Rigel was still busy at home in the evenings. And there was obviously tons more I needed to know about Nuathan society, the Royals—and exactly what people expected me to do eventually.

Walking slowly back, I thought over everything she'd told me. Now that she finally believed me about the graell, she could help me convince Sean, too. Then the friction between him and Rigel should go away and we could all be friends after all.

Unless there was something else Molly wasn't telling me.

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