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Jack Through the Looking Glass
The ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
non_plot challenge for this week was "more than it seems."
I should give credit where credit's due and say that this is partly![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kay_willow's fault, we were talking about creation myths and mythology the other night and I got thinking ... this is not the creation myth, but it sort of spun off from that. That's okay, I love her anyway. :-D The things you should never discuss, of course, are politics and religion. A lot of things are more than they seem on Madel, especially spiritual things. They're not really evil or dark ... just very, very different.
The first time they talked about it, they were in bed.
It seemed like a peculiar subject to bring up during a sheet-tangled moment of postcoital bliss, but Allanna seemed to be very intent about discussing it and Jack was hardly interested in arguing with her at the best of times (or indeed, fifteen minutes after the best of times). So he just sighed and lay his head back on the feather pillows, watching the early morning suns filter through the filmy white curtains and throw strangely shaped dapples of light onto the dark ringlets of Allanna's hair while he tried to decipher what was wrong.
"What do you believe?" she asked.
"I'm ... not sure what you mean."
"Spiritually. What do you believe?"
"I'm Episcopalian, I guess."
"What do you mean, you guess?" Her beautiful features twisted into a confused, irritated mask.
"I never gave it much thought. My family was Episcopalian, I was raised Episcopalian, but I haven't been to church in years. Love, what's the matter?"
"This is serious. It's not a time to guess."
"It's an expression. Love, what is the matter?"
She threw aside the sheets and began pacing the floor like a caged tiger absent only a tail to lash back and forth moodily. Her bare feet fell across smooth planks to small woven mats to planks again, stepping around and over the drifts of their clothing that were shed eagerly the night before.
"We have to discuss this."
"So let's discuss it. Sit down." Jack reached out a hand, trying to rein her in in some way, and was summarily shrugged off. "What is wrong? You've been ... weird, all morning."
"What do you mean?"
"Intense. Love, you nearly tore me apart." He smiled at her, trying to get some kind of reaction and failing. "Which ... I mean, I'm not really arguing about, but it's not really like you to be so ... voracious."
"I do not ... understand ... how ..." She gave up on English then and shifted laterally to the peculiar dialect of Sardovan she spoke, something she jokingly referred to as 'country girl dialect', with a particularly flat twist to the vowels.
Jack hoped that somehow his grasp of the language was off, otherwise she was using scary words like 'incompatible' and 'uncertain', words that made him uneasy. He got out of bed at that point and caught her in his arms at the end of a lap. "Love, whatever it is, I'm sure we can deal with it. I'd be even more sure if you'd tell me what was wrong."
She sighed and buried her face into his shoulder. "I don't know how it's going to work."
"You don't date Episcopalians?"
"Don't joke, please." Allanna replied muffledly.
"I'm not joking." Jack cupped his hand under her chin, drawing her face upward and chasing away tears with his fingertips. "I'm not joking at all. What, you have some ... conversion thing, in your religion? You can't date outside your faith? Something like that?"
"It's a little more complicated. Things are becoming very serious between us, and I have ... certain ... responsibilities. I don't ... I don't want to ... it's hard to explain."
"I'd convert for you."
"You would?"
Jack smiled and held her firmly by the shoulders. "I would do anything for you. Literally, anything. If it would make you happy, consider it done."
Allanna sighed and sat down heavily on the bed for a moment. Rather than making her feel better, however, it seemed that this had just exchanged her problem for some other unrelated one.
After a moment she reached down toward the end of the bed and retrieved a large wrap, which she shrugged around her shoulders.
"You'll want to put something on." she continued. "It might be cold where we're going. Or it might not."
* * *
He had seen spells before, of course; the whispered words that whisked away messes with the wave of a hand, the subtle encouragement Allanna gave her vegetable garden that allowed them to have berries for dessert in what would have technically been offseason. They weren't exactly second nature to him, but they weren't entirely beyond the scope of his understanding either.
This was different somehow. It was a portal, but the portal wasn't the same yawning grey ripples that she used to travel through spacetime, the local version of the gateways he conjured with the magic box of circuitry he called a palmtop computer. It was more like a sunbeam from some distant, brilliant star.
Allanna took his hand, her expression still unsettled and her palms moist with nervous sweat.
"I've put this off for far too long." she sighed. "Come along, love."
"It's going to be fine." Jack shrugged. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be fine."
His reassurances seemed to have little effect; she just smiled wanly and took a step forward, into the beam of light.
And another, and another, and Jack realized with a start that she was actually climbing the sunbeam, the shadow below her a wavering thin stream like she was standing in the center of a schoolyard at noon.
And there was nothing to do but follow.
* * *
They spent an undetermined period of time climbing - it could have been minutes or hours or years; the room faded away like a distant memory and soon nothing was ahead of him except for the white-glow of the path and the warm grasp of Allanna's hand. Just when he thought he was going to go mad from the silence - his attempts at conversation having long ago fallen flat - they arrived at a simple door made of frosted glass.
Allanna turned around and gave him a wordless hug for a long moment before pushing the door open. Inside was a brilliant crystalline structure, curved walls and reflecting floor webbed with a thousand rainbows and ringing with the soft sounds of bells and pipes.
"Where are we?" Jack whispered.
"The dwelling of my Goddess." Allanna replied softly.
"So this is a temple?"
"No."
Jack was given no opportunity to puzzle that out, however, before he was led further into the diamond maze.
I've been waiting for you, Allanna, darling. a high soprano voice spoke from somewhere deeper inside the turning walls, surrounding them and echoing off each surface. And I think you're being very silly about this whole thing.
They turned a corner, finally reaching the center of the inward spiral.
The maze's goal was a small bench, fashioned with bent bows of light and colour. A tiny woman-child sat on the bench, kicking her feet gently above the ground; she seemed to be an extension of the light which surrounded all of them, white-pale skin and long hair surrounding her that seemed to fly through every known colour of the rainbow. She was nude and unconcerned about it, hopping down to hug Allanna tightly as her hair swirled around her toes.
Silly child. she laughed. What made you think I wouldn't approve?
"It's not exactly traditional." Allanna murmured, seating herself on the floor and nudging Jack to do the same. "But I do love him, great Goddess. Jack, this is my goddess ... Ta'nisha, the Goddess of Light."
"Pleased to meet you." Jack smiled awkwardly, not certain what to say. What did you say to a manifestation of the divine? Welcome? Thanks for having me into your home? What lovely things you've done with the architecture, here on an alternate plane of reality? His diplomatic skills were feeling a little stretched. Best to stay with the simple things his mother had taught.
And you, my child. Jack felt a warm flutter across his cheek. I see you treat my priestess well.
"Uh, priestess?"
Of course. The tiny woman turned back to Allanna and patted her shoulder. Did you forget to tell him, or was this a deliberate omission?
"I was going to." Allanna sighed. "I was waiting for the right moment."
You worry too much, my love. This time you've chosen well. Ta'nisha smiled a little chidingly. Unlike some of the other times. Really, that potter you were so infatuated with was really quite a dunce.
"Goddess ..." Allanna was, to Jack's surprise, blushing.
I tease because I love you, my darling, as you know. She turned her attention back to Jack. You love my daughter.
"With all my heart and soul."
Then the rest is simple.
"He cannot perform magic, great Goddess." Allanna sighed.
Can he not? What then is this talent of opening tunnels through time and space? Of creating fire in glass by turning a switch, or speaking with others over hundreds of miles? Is this not magic of a sort? A small hand touched Jack's cheek, a wisp of hair tickling his bare arm and leaving warm trails behind. Of course, there is the small matter of offerings and devotions ... simple things, really, but I do enjoy them. I'm sure you understand.
"I'll see to it, Goddess." Allanna nodded.
Of course, my darling, of course. Ta'nisha kissed her on the cheek. You should be going, darling. Enjoy your day. Relax. It's lovely today, I might indulge myself in a walk later on. Turning to Jack again, she threw her arms around the neck and kissed him enthusiastically for a moment before fading out, body first, then hair, eyes, and finally the slight crescent of a smile.
"I've often seen a Goddess without a grin, but a grin without a Goddess?" Jack quoted whimsically. "It's the most curious thing I've ever seen in my life!" He got to his feet and reached out to help Allanna up.
She laughed. "That's such a delightful story."
"I have to agree. Priestess?"
"High Priestess." Allanna replied depreceatingly. "Those responsibilities I mentioned."
"Well." He cleared his throat as they walked back through the loops and arcs of the maze.
"You're not angry, are you?"
"No, no." Jack shook his head and laughed gently, squeezing her hand. "No. It's just ... something of an experience. I mean, Episcopalians don't generally socialize with their deity."
"No?"
"No, not in the slightest. He's rather ... abstracted. Doesn't concern himself with worldly matters." Jack replied ruefully. "Some people find it hard to believe in a God like that. That's why a lot of people are fuzzy on the subject of religion."
"Why you had to guess?"
"Kind of, yes."
They had reached the door; Allanna pushed it open, revealing her bedroom on the other side. The sunbeam bridge had vanished.
"So do you believe?" she asked simply.
"Yes." Jack nodded. "Yes. I do. It's kind of hard not to believe in someone who's just given you a big wet kiss on the cheek."
"She was ogling you, you know" Allanna smiled impishly.
"She was not!" Jack spluttered.
"She was! I know my Goddess' tastes and tendencies."
He cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling his cheeks redden. "Now that is not something the Episcopalian God does to his parishoners. At least, not as far as I know."
What a morning. This was something he was definitely going to have to get used to.
non_plot challenge for this week was "more than it seems."I should give credit where credit's due and say that this is partly
kay_willow's fault, we were talking about creation myths and mythology the other night and I got thinking ... this is not the creation myth, but it sort of spun off from that. That's okay, I love her anyway. :-D The things you should never discuss, of course, are politics and religion. A lot of things are more than they seem on Madel, especially spiritual things. They're not really evil or dark ... just very, very different.The first time they talked about it, they were in bed.
It seemed like a peculiar subject to bring up during a sheet-tangled moment of postcoital bliss, but Allanna seemed to be very intent about discussing it and Jack was hardly interested in arguing with her at the best of times (or indeed, fifteen minutes after the best of times). So he just sighed and lay his head back on the feather pillows, watching the early morning suns filter through the filmy white curtains and throw strangely shaped dapples of light onto the dark ringlets of Allanna's hair while he tried to decipher what was wrong.
"What do you believe?" she asked.
"I'm ... not sure what you mean."
"Spiritually. What do you believe?"
"I'm Episcopalian, I guess."
"What do you mean, you guess?" Her beautiful features twisted into a confused, irritated mask.
"I never gave it much thought. My family was Episcopalian, I was raised Episcopalian, but I haven't been to church in years. Love, what's the matter?"
"This is serious. It's not a time to guess."
"It's an expression. Love, what is the matter?"
She threw aside the sheets and began pacing the floor like a caged tiger absent only a tail to lash back and forth moodily. Her bare feet fell across smooth planks to small woven mats to planks again, stepping around and over the drifts of their clothing that were shed eagerly the night before.
"We have to discuss this."
"So let's discuss it. Sit down." Jack reached out a hand, trying to rein her in in some way, and was summarily shrugged off. "What is wrong? You've been ... weird, all morning."
"What do you mean?"
"Intense. Love, you nearly tore me apart." He smiled at her, trying to get some kind of reaction and failing. "Which ... I mean, I'm not really arguing about, but it's not really like you to be so ... voracious."
"I do not ... understand ... how ..." She gave up on English then and shifted laterally to the peculiar dialect of Sardovan she spoke, something she jokingly referred to as 'country girl dialect', with a particularly flat twist to the vowels.
Jack hoped that somehow his grasp of the language was off, otherwise she was using scary words like 'incompatible' and 'uncertain', words that made him uneasy. He got out of bed at that point and caught her in his arms at the end of a lap. "Love, whatever it is, I'm sure we can deal with it. I'd be even more sure if you'd tell me what was wrong."
She sighed and buried her face into his shoulder. "I don't know how it's going to work."
"You don't date Episcopalians?"
"Don't joke, please." Allanna replied muffledly.
"I'm not joking." Jack cupped his hand under her chin, drawing her face upward and chasing away tears with his fingertips. "I'm not joking at all. What, you have some ... conversion thing, in your religion? You can't date outside your faith? Something like that?"
"It's a little more complicated. Things are becoming very serious between us, and I have ... certain ... responsibilities. I don't ... I don't want to ... it's hard to explain."
"I'd convert for you."
"You would?"
Jack smiled and held her firmly by the shoulders. "I would do anything for you. Literally, anything. If it would make you happy, consider it done."
Allanna sighed and sat down heavily on the bed for a moment. Rather than making her feel better, however, it seemed that this had just exchanged her problem for some other unrelated one.
After a moment she reached down toward the end of the bed and retrieved a large wrap, which she shrugged around her shoulders.
"You'll want to put something on." she continued. "It might be cold where we're going. Or it might not."
* * *
He had seen spells before, of course; the whispered words that whisked away messes with the wave of a hand, the subtle encouragement Allanna gave her vegetable garden that allowed them to have berries for dessert in what would have technically been offseason. They weren't exactly second nature to him, but they weren't entirely beyond the scope of his understanding either.
This was different somehow. It was a portal, but the portal wasn't the same yawning grey ripples that she used to travel through spacetime, the local version of the gateways he conjured with the magic box of circuitry he called a palmtop computer. It was more like a sunbeam from some distant, brilliant star.
Allanna took his hand, her expression still unsettled and her palms moist with nervous sweat.
"I've put this off for far too long." she sighed. "Come along, love."
"It's going to be fine." Jack shrugged. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be fine."
His reassurances seemed to have little effect; she just smiled wanly and took a step forward, into the beam of light.
And another, and another, and Jack realized with a start that she was actually climbing the sunbeam, the shadow below her a wavering thin stream like she was standing in the center of a schoolyard at noon.
And there was nothing to do but follow.
* * *
They spent an undetermined period of time climbing - it could have been minutes or hours or years; the room faded away like a distant memory and soon nothing was ahead of him except for the white-glow of the path and the warm grasp of Allanna's hand. Just when he thought he was going to go mad from the silence - his attempts at conversation having long ago fallen flat - they arrived at a simple door made of frosted glass.
Allanna turned around and gave him a wordless hug for a long moment before pushing the door open. Inside was a brilliant crystalline structure, curved walls and reflecting floor webbed with a thousand rainbows and ringing with the soft sounds of bells and pipes.
"Where are we?" Jack whispered.
"The dwelling of my Goddess." Allanna replied softly.
"So this is a temple?"
"No."
Jack was given no opportunity to puzzle that out, however, before he was led further into the diamond maze.
I've been waiting for you, Allanna, darling. a high soprano voice spoke from somewhere deeper inside the turning walls, surrounding them and echoing off each surface. And I think you're being very silly about this whole thing.
They turned a corner, finally reaching the center of the inward spiral.
The maze's goal was a small bench, fashioned with bent bows of light and colour. A tiny woman-child sat on the bench, kicking her feet gently above the ground; she seemed to be an extension of the light which surrounded all of them, white-pale skin and long hair surrounding her that seemed to fly through every known colour of the rainbow. She was nude and unconcerned about it, hopping down to hug Allanna tightly as her hair swirled around her toes.
Silly child. she laughed. What made you think I wouldn't approve?
"It's not exactly traditional." Allanna murmured, seating herself on the floor and nudging Jack to do the same. "But I do love him, great Goddess. Jack, this is my goddess ... Ta'nisha, the Goddess of Light."
"Pleased to meet you." Jack smiled awkwardly, not certain what to say. What did you say to a manifestation of the divine? Welcome? Thanks for having me into your home? What lovely things you've done with the architecture, here on an alternate plane of reality? His diplomatic skills were feeling a little stretched. Best to stay with the simple things his mother had taught.
And you, my child. Jack felt a warm flutter across his cheek. I see you treat my priestess well.
"Uh, priestess?"
Of course. The tiny woman turned back to Allanna and patted her shoulder. Did you forget to tell him, or was this a deliberate omission?
"I was going to." Allanna sighed. "I was waiting for the right moment."
You worry too much, my love. This time you've chosen well. Ta'nisha smiled a little chidingly. Unlike some of the other times. Really, that potter you were so infatuated with was really quite a dunce.
"Goddess ..." Allanna was, to Jack's surprise, blushing.
I tease because I love you, my darling, as you know. She turned her attention back to Jack. You love my daughter.
"With all my heart and soul."
Then the rest is simple.
"He cannot perform magic, great Goddess." Allanna sighed.
Can he not? What then is this talent of opening tunnels through time and space? Of creating fire in glass by turning a switch, or speaking with others over hundreds of miles? Is this not magic of a sort? A small hand touched Jack's cheek, a wisp of hair tickling his bare arm and leaving warm trails behind. Of course, there is the small matter of offerings and devotions ... simple things, really, but I do enjoy them. I'm sure you understand.
"I'll see to it, Goddess." Allanna nodded.
Of course, my darling, of course. Ta'nisha kissed her on the cheek. You should be going, darling. Enjoy your day. Relax. It's lovely today, I might indulge myself in a walk later on. Turning to Jack again, she threw her arms around the neck and kissed him enthusiastically for a moment before fading out, body first, then hair, eyes, and finally the slight crescent of a smile.
"I've often seen a Goddess without a grin, but a grin without a Goddess?" Jack quoted whimsically. "It's the most curious thing I've ever seen in my life!" He got to his feet and reached out to help Allanna up.
She laughed. "That's such a delightful story."
"I have to agree. Priestess?"
"High Priestess." Allanna replied depreceatingly. "Those responsibilities I mentioned."
"Well." He cleared his throat as they walked back through the loops and arcs of the maze.
"You're not angry, are you?"
"No, no." Jack shook his head and laughed gently, squeezing her hand. "No. It's just ... something of an experience. I mean, Episcopalians don't generally socialize with their deity."
"No?"
"No, not in the slightest. He's rather ... abstracted. Doesn't concern himself with worldly matters." Jack replied ruefully. "Some people find it hard to believe in a God like that. That's why a lot of people are fuzzy on the subject of religion."
"Why you had to guess?"
"Kind of, yes."
They had reached the door; Allanna pushed it open, revealing her bedroom on the other side. The sunbeam bridge had vanished.
"So do you believe?" she asked simply.
"Yes." Jack nodded. "Yes. I do. It's kind of hard not to believe in someone who's just given you a big wet kiss on the cheek."
"She was ogling you, you know" Allanna smiled impishly.
"She was not!" Jack spluttered.
"She was! I know my Goddess' tastes and tendencies."
He cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling his cheeks redden. "Now that is not something the Episcopalian God does to his parishoners. At least, not as far as I know."
What a morning. This was something he was definitely going to have to get used to.
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"And I think you're being very silly about this whole thing."
Re: "And I think you're being very silly about this whole thing."