"That's the spirit."
"You could at least attempt some control." Moto said. "And keep quiet. We don't want to draw attention where none is desired."
Shimani remained silent as he followed Moto up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs, Moto opened the door a crack and listened. Silence. It unnerved him to be in an oppressive building with no sounds. He preferred the wooden structure of his peoples' huts where sounds of the villagers drifted in from time to time, albeit muffled. The huts were not so thin a person could hear everything that went on inside, but not complete silence. The sounds comforted him. The silence did not. He poked his head in and found a larger room. His eyes immediately gravitated to the bed with dried blood red curtains tied to the four posts and matching bedding. The disturbing curtains and bedding didn't draw his attention. The girl in the bed did. The one he longed to find. How the curses had she gotten there? Moto thought to himself.
Shimani pushed his way through the door and around Moto.
Moto caught himself from sprawling forward and glared at him.
Shimani crept closer to the bed. He turned back to Moto. "I see why you're obsessed with her." He said.
Moto would have knocked him on his butt if he thought he could without waking the girl. Instead, he gave him a low warning hiss.
Shimani turned to face him and held his up hands.
Moto stepped up to the side of the bed and stared down at her sleeping form. He felt such an overwhelming relief at finding her that it disturbed him.
"Moto!" Shimani called in a louder whisper.
Moto turned to face Shimani ready to lecture him on what quiet meant.
Shimani gestured for Moto to come to him.
Moto joined Shimani at a window in the room. "If you wake her, I swear," he stopped mid-sentence. Shimani opened the wooden shutters that blocked their view. Moto stared outside. He did not stare at the ground below or the other stone buildings. He stared at the sky and the world which loomed over them. That world, not yet in full view, one he knew and hated as all Kahoali did. It just began its cycle and remained a faint shimmer of what it would become. Over its cycle it would gain substance and loom larger and larger over Ki, and then would fade again from view. It happened twice an annual cycle. A painful reminder to the Kahoali people. He would not utter the name of the cursed world. No contact existed between their worlds and didn't for nearly 140 years. The last contact all but destroyed Center Village and cost the previous Queen her life as well as most of the others in the village when the attacked occurred. Moto looked at Shimani and back at the girl.
"That confirms that. She's on Ki." Shimani said in a hushed tone. "If you don't mind, I think it's time I get back. It's getting late, and Someone should cover for us."
"Agreed," Moto opened a portal. How the cursed hell had she gotten there? His earlier thought echoed in his mind. The how most likely the closed door in the room they arrived in, as it too closely resembled the Gateways. The same runes existed on the stone arched frame just like the one on her world, and the Ancestral Gateway. He knew without testing his theory it was a Gateway. That still didn't answer the exact how of it. She couldn't open it; of that he would stake his life. Yet, she lay in a bed on his world. She came through the Gateway. No other explanation for it. He would get to the bottom of how, if he could.
Shimani bowed his head to Moto and stepped through the portal.
Moto closed the portal and walked back to the bed where the girl lay. He sat on the edge of the bed; careful he didn't disturb her. If he had any sense, he would take her back to her world, and forget he ever saw her. He knew he didn't possess any sense where she was concerned. A cruel twist of the Universe's sense of humor that he should be drawn to her in the first place. No stories existed of a Kahoali bonding with Inhabitants of other worlds, none. Only true bonding produced a proper mating and offspring. Maybe why the Kahoali stayed secluded and avoided outsiders. One way to prevent parings which couldn't produce children.
He brushed a stray stand of her dark auburn hair from her pale face. He loved the way her hair shone like dark bronze in the light of day. "Ah, little one, I don't even know your name. What am I to do with you?" He spoke the words so softly they came out a whisper. She tormented his soul by her very existence.
He stood and paced back to the window. He glanced up and scowled. He couldn't believe it was that time again. One of the advantages to living in Center Village, that world could not be seen from it. He eased the wooden shutters closed. He took in every corner of the room while he contemplated what he should do about the girl. Should was to take her back to her world. Forget she ever existed. Wanted? He couldn't bring himself to voice what he wanted to do, not even in his own mind. Wanted didn't matter. He couldn't do what he wanted. It was not possible. The cost would be more than he wanted to pay. He could not compromise his duty to his people and Queen. Still, he needed to understand why he felt so drawn to her in the first place. He needed time to make sense of what she
