Stars Of Memory

Chapter 23

When Jīvitaya first sees La'Vi'Ai from space, she gasps in delight and awe, and she falls even more in love with the beautiful, vibrant green planet as the ship descends through its atmosphere. It's no longer an idea now, it's this lovely, vibrant place. Kysanden pops into the kitchen for a moment, where he finds her pressed against the window of the ship, staring out at the planet. He practically jumps back a step with surprise when he sees her. He relaxes an instant later and approaches her, chuckling.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

"It's gorgeous!"

He leans over, and surprisingly, kisses her on the forehead. Her cheeks go pink, but Kysanden is already heading back out of the kitchen so that he can finish the descent to the surface of the planet. After a few agonizing minutes, the ship shudders and lands on the surface.

Jīvitaya bounds over to the door, Laira following her in Lynx form. Jīvitaya notices that the lynx is the most used form, making it likely that it is Laira's preferred form. Kysanden smiles at Jīvitaya and motions to the keypad. With a grin, she presses the button to open the door and with a hiss, they slide open, revealing La'Vi'Ai to the pair. Jīvitaya descends the ramp, beaming as her eyes greedily take in La'Vi'Ai. Kysanden steps off the ramp behind her, and they stare out at the planet. Her wide eyes drink in every inch of the planet. No one is there to greet them, and Jīvitaya turns to Kysanden, forcing her eyes to tear away from the view for just a moment.

"Have you ever been here before?"

"Once, when I was very young, and I never forgot it. I think this planet is one of my favorites, possibly even more so than Mior."

Jīvitaya gasps. "Really?!"

He nods. Before she can question why there is no one to greet them as there had been with the last two planets, she sees heads emerging from over the hill at the far edge of the field they landed in. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other impatiently until Kysanden places his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Jīa."

She nods and forces herself to stop fidgeting. Finally, the party reaches them. Most of the people seem to be surrounding the two in the center, which causes Jīvitaya to wonder who they are. Kysanden bows slightly.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, I know how busy your life must be."

The surrounding group separates, revealing the pair in the center. One member of the pair is female and the other is male. The woman is wearing a flowing pale blue and silver gown and the man is dressed in pale blue with a silver coat over the rest of his outfit.

"Welcome to La'Vi'Ai. Would you prefer to do introductions here or wait until we reach the city."

Jīvitaya shifts nervously and looks up at Kysanden. He looks down at her and notices her unease. "I think we would prefer to do the introductions now."

The man nods. "Very well. I am Alder, King of the La'Vi people, and this is my wife, Queen Nitheina. On La'Vi'Ai, she is the Liala."

Kysanden bows again. "I am Prince, or Lilar Kysanden, of the Selemats, and this is Lady, or Laia Jīvitaya, formerly of Earth."

The Laial frowns, confused. "Why did you use both terms if you knew our own, Lilar?"

Kysanden motions to Jīvitaya. "The Laia does not know the terminology of this planet, so I was trying to lessen any confusion she may have now rather than later."

The Laial nods in understanding and the Liala speaks at last. Her voice has a slight musical tone to it. "Before we continue this conversation, shall we go to the palace?"

Kysanden nods. "That would likely be better than standing around in a field for this conversation."

The Laial laughs brightly. "Very well."

He gives a quick hand motion to the group surrounding the royals and they turn in unison, surrounding the royals as they lead the way to the palace, Jīvitaya and Kysanden one step behind them. When they reach the city, Jīvitaya stares around herself in amazement. While the homes are all made of stone, just like the buildings on Gaia, there are plants surrounding them as if they are part of the forest itself, and the homes are all open to the wilds as well. They reach the heart of the city to find the largest building of them all, open to the elements like all the others.

As Jīvitaya enters the palace, she looks around her, expecting it to be like the palaces of Earth. Instead, there are many well-dressed people rushing back and forth, and many people who are not so well dressed as well. The Liala looks at Jīvitaya's face and smiles.

"Are you confused?"

Jīvitaya nods. "Yes, this isn't what I expected a palace to be like."

Liala Nitheina nods wisely, but her grinning face betrays her true character. "Our palace is not only our home, but it is our government building. Many important people in our community work here and we have spaces set aside for that. Many of our citizens work here as well. The places where they do their trade are situated in the lowest floor of the palace to allow for easy access." As she speaks, they ascend a staircase that leads to the second floor, bypassing the first floor entirely. "Normally we would go through the first floor to ascend, but between you and me, I think our guards are a bit nervous and want us to discuss your situation sooner rather than later."

Jīvitaya giggles lightly, and the group steps out onto a large deck. The royals lead them over to a set of chairs and sit down. Kysanden and Jīvitaya sit in chairs across from the royals and Laira curls up at Jīvitaya's feet.

The Laial makes a remark. "You've introduced yourselves, but who is this?" He nods at Laira.

Jīvitaya smiles. "This is Laira, and she's from the planet Gaia."

After just a few moments of sitting, Jīvitaya gets restless and feels an overwhelming urge to explore. She tries to restrain herself, but in the process tunes out the conversation. Finally, her restraint collapses.

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They've arrived at La'Vi'Ai! Why do you think Jīvitaya wants to explore so much?

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.