Prima took Colene’s hand, and the Cyng of Pwer took Provos’ hand. Provos, freed of the attack by the mind-monster, was now remembering her coming experience in this reality, and understood. Perhaps better than Colene did. Prima and the Cyng moved the figures.
There was a wrenching, and Colene found herself standing on the larger mesa. This was Darius’ way, all right!
They walked into the Cyng’s castle/house. There pretty young women came to attend to the visitors. Colene and Provos were taken into a separate chamber, stripped, washed, touched with unguent, and magically healed of their cuts. Then, dressed in local tunics, slippers, and diapers—Colene knew better than to balk at this, apart from Provos’ acceptance of it—they emerged to join their hosts.
Or rather, to separate. The King of Power was seated in a comfortable chair, and Provos went to join him. Prima led Colene outside. Colene glanced once at Provos, saw that she was satisfied, and knew that it was all right. They would rejoin and resume their travel in due course. They were simply being offered separate accommodations.
Prima took Colene’s hand and icon, and conjured the two of them to another mesa and castle. “Cyng Hlahtar,” she explained.
The residence of the King of Laughter! This was where Darius lived—and where Colene would also, once she and Darius both got here. This was fascinating.
The current King of Laughter was a huge red-bearded man. He was actually the former king, who had returned to take Darius’ place while Darius was on the Virtual Mode. His name was Kublai.
Then Colene learned that Prima was Kublai’s wife, but not his love. His love was his former wife, Koren, who was a beautiful young woman not a lot older than Colene, and whose barely concealed bitterness immediately endeared her to Colene. Koren had had to give up her husband, whom she loved, so that he could return to being the King of Laughter and marry Prima. This was because it was necessary for the king to deplete the joy of his wife, eventually discarding her when she had no more joy to give. Prima could handle it; Koren could not. Koren thought that Colene was luckier, and she resented it.
That was one thing Colene could deal with. She understood Keren’s situation a whole lot better than the other woman thought she did.
Colene approached Kublai. “Please, Colene, Koren, put us together,” she said. “Mind to mind.” She knew it wasn’t the same as what Seqiro did, but there were aspects of similarity. “Show her my joy.”
Kublai looked at Prima. Prima said something in their language. She evidently had a notion what Colene was asking.
Kublai nodded. He came to embrace Colene. Colene focused on her internal state, making no effort to suppress the several facets of her feeling: her depressive state, her love for Darius, and her somewhat bitter compromise with her dream: she could love but not marry Darius, for he would marry Prima.
Then Kublai drew from her. It was a terrible, sinking feeling, and Colene thought she would die, literally. In an instant he restored what he had taken, almost. She felt like living again. This was what he did: he took what feeling was in a woman, multiplied it, and sent it out to everyone, including that woman, so that all shared her joy. Except that Colene had not joy but depression to give.
Kublai stepped away from her. That was all. He had done it. Koren understood exactly how Colene felt, because she had received it.
Koren stared at Colene. Now she knew: their situations were exactly similar. Only their men differed—and those men were to have the same wife, Prima, whom neither loved. The two young women were not rivals or enemies, they were victims of the situation. They were sisters in misery and love.
The tears started so suddenly that it was as if someone had dashed a tiny cup of water in Keren’s face. Colene held open her arms, and Koren stepped into them, hugging her.
After that, it was easy. They had no common language, but hardly needed it. Colene was able to pick up what she needed from their minds to get along. She made clear by signals and nods, sometimes twenty-questions type, what she was doing: going home to her reality, to get information she needed to rescue Darius from being stranded in yet another reality.
With, she added sourly, a lovely woman and Colene’s beloved horse.
Koren became positively friendly. She had not before had any acquaintance who understood her situation so perfectly, and it was a great relief to her. She hoped Colene would succeed in bringing Darius safely back, not just because that would allow Kublai to retire and marry Koren again, but because she wanted to be Colene’s friend and companion. Colene liked that notion; it would certainly make her life here easier. But she doubted that anything so nice and simple could come to pass. The Virtual Mode was a sterner taskmaster than that.
But Prima, too, was friendly. She remained most grateful to Darius for rescuing her, and she liked her role as wife to the man she had loved in her youth. That was part of Keren’s problem: she suspected that Kublai’s marriage was not quite as loveless as it was supposed to be. The whole business of Darius’ departure and Prima’s return messed up her formerly idyllic life, and she wanted only to get it put back together the way it once had been. But Prima was reconciled to her situation, and knew how much worse it would have been had Darius not ventured on the Virtual Mode. She had wanted to be the King of Laughter herself, having the special ability for it, but had been denied it because she was a woman. Now she had a portion of it, and would retain that portion if Colene came here. Colene, being depressive, represented less of a threat to her than anyone else.
Koren took Colene out to see the sights: the many mesas, with their separate domiciles of all types, and their elaborate gardens, and the colored clouds which came to nourish those plants. The myriad crystals of the lowlands, reflecting and refracting multicolored splays of light up. The forms of sympathetic magic, which enabled the folk to conjure things or themselves to familiar places. The animals and birds peculiar to this region.
“I love it!” Colene said.
But all this was in her future. First she had to return to Earth, and then to Oria. She had to enable Nona to bring the anima. Only then could they all come here to this marvelous magical land and live happily ever after. Who could say that the authorities would not suffer some change of heart, and allow Prima to assume the role for which she was qualified, freeing Darius to marry Colene just as Darius’ return would free Kublai to marry Koren? It was worth dreaming about. If she could just accomplish her present mission.
She slept in a pleasant bedchamber by herself, declining the offer of a handsome young man to be her companion for the night. Even this aspect of this society was clarifying for her: love, sex, and marriage were three different things, and not necessarily found together. Colene was Darius’ love; neither of the other two changed that. She had met Ella, Darius’ bedmate on off nights; she was pretty, pleasant, bouncy, enthusiastic, and not phenomenally smart. So if Darius married Prima and took off Ella’s diaper, Colene would still be his love. That was what counted.
In the morning, she bid farewell to Koren. “I hope we meet again,” she said. She looked around. “The same for everything and everyone here. It’s a better world than mine.”
Then Prima conjured her back to the residence of the Cyng of Pwer, where Provos was waiting. Provos was in her normal outfit, but Colene had elected to stay with the local clothing, even the diaper. It made her feel closer to Darius.
They went to the anchor and ventured cautiously through, ready to retreat if the mind-monster still lurked. It was clear. The monster must have given up and sought other prey. It might return, but with luck they would be well clear by then. They were on their way again, this time to Earth.