Chapter 5

"One of the traits of Elven society that goes completely unnoticed by the bulk of human society is the traditionally Elven low tolerance for alcohol. Light wines are considered hard liquor to elves, but since societal tradition maintains that drinking be kept at a social level, there are hardly any incidents of intoxicated Elves causing problems. In fact, the only instance of world war in the entire history of the Elven world was the end result of a summit meeting between Drow, Elves, and Dwarves. When the Dwarven Queen Iommi and her retinue insisted that the fair folk partake in their kegs, the summit meeting quickly degenerated into one of the most uncoordinated bar brawls in the history of liquor. Elves and Drow traded insults with still-sober dwarves, who laughed until their bellies shook at the featherweight fair folk. The next morning, when only the dwarves could remember what happened and the Drow couldn't figure out why the Elves were naked, the fair folk left in a huff with vows of prideful vengeance rolling from their still-thick tongues."

--Gongsun Yue, A Dissertation on Alvish Society

"You should've told me you stayed in Ireland," slurred a whining Alen'frea. "If you had, I would never have agreed to drink with you. How am I supposed to keep up?"

Li'litea chuckled a slightly inebriated chuckle, her voice meshing well with those of most of the patrons in the smallish pub. Called 'The Sloshpit', it was a house of merriment, song, and stories that reminded Li'litea fondly of Rebecca Locksley and her father's pub in Dublin.

"You can't. If there's one thing that the Irish can do better than anyone, it's drink. But we really do need to talk, miss Alen'frea." Li'litea pushed back her glass, reveling in the warm glow that saturated her body. Since Dublin, Li'litea had acquired a much better grasp upon her intoxication limitations. These days she knew when to quit, so that she would never make the same mistake that she had made with miss Rebecca in the human world.

Alen'frea, on the other hand, had no such conviction. "Okay, lesh talk. Your mother's letter shaid that you," the prefect pointed at Li'litea, her eyes unfocusing slightly, "are having trouble getting those... stuffshirt pushies in the military to let you into the job you fanshy. Is that right?"

Alessandra twittered within Li'litea's mind. She laughed so hard that Li'litea couldn't help but laugh along with her.

Alessandra, you can't be drunk... can you? I thought our bond was purely mental.

"Oh, Lilly, I think we're much closer to each other than anyone else. You know what?"

What?

"I love you, Lilly, I do."

Li'litea blinked, stifling a giggle at the discourse in her mind. She hadn't been to the 'I love you' stage of inebriation in a very long time, herself.

"Hey," Alen'frea's voice snapped her back into reality, "I'm the one whose loaded. You looked like you were spashing out there for second."

"Oh," Li'litea shrugged, "I was just talking to my Eschel. She's not as tolerant as I am, it seems."

"Ahhh... because she has a fated pair. So I have a queshtion for you, Li'litea, before you ask me anything." Alen'frea pushed her own glass back, staring into space for a good twenty seconds before speaking again. "Didjer tits get you in trouble yet? I bet they were lookin'. Mine did, I'll tell you. I stood up in front of the counshil houshe n'... every time I made a speech, half the room was looking at my chesht. 'Course you don't have very big ones, but I don't think the perverts have ta be picky."

Li'litea gave a light shrug. "Not really. A few looked, but it just gave me another chance to make fools of them. Look, Alen'frea, I don't want to change the order ot things. I don't want to pave the way for other girls to have any career they want. I just want my spot. I want to fly again."

Alen'frea rested her arms upon the bar, sinking her chin for a moment in thought. "You can't just have your spot," she unhappily murmured, "what you're gonna do ish gonna cause a lotsh of problems in the syshtem , if you go all the way with it. People aren't gonna like you, a lot of 'em. But you can be whatever you want if you jesht don't give up."

"I have no intention of giving up," Li'litea grinned as she answered, "I just need to know where and how to begin."

Alen'frea laughed. "Give me two days. I'll fix ye right up."

Chapter 6

"Traditionally, the entire layer upon which Elves, Dwarves, and Drow exist has no name. As the absolute nature of the layers themselves remains unknown, Elven scholars have refused to apply any name to it other than 'the world'. In ancient days it was called Svartalfheim, and the human world called Midgard, as per the understandings of human Norse. Nowadays the idea of 'The World Tree' has been questioned into obselescence, and so modern scholars have felt no need to retain the names associated with it. For our purposes I will refer to the world as Alfheim, in order to retain the distinction between it and the human world, which I will call Midgard. Again, note that these names are no longer in use outside of scholarly materials.

"Alfheim's geography is a fortunate one for the purposes of study, as the bulk of the world's land mass belongs to one pangaea. Much of that layer is comprised of briny sea, and the actual land mass itself is roughly the size of Midgard's 'Africa'. This continent is further trisected by three cartographic lines, dividing the land into the general holdings of the northern Dwarves, the western Drow, and the eastern Elves. In the perfect central point of these lines sits a fortified compound called the Pangaean Summit, a compound which is employed only in times of great crisis such as famine or natural disaster. The Summit is the figurehead of all Alfheim government, though it is little more than that in the modern age.

"Most importantly, for our purposes at least, is the corner of Alfheim called Emesule, the Elven lands. Emesule is comprised of, not surprisingly, three large provinces named by location, which are in turn divided into two to four large prefectures apiece, and so forth into districts and cities. The provinces themselves do not have individual leaders, but rather are governed by a council forged of the prefects operating within their borders. These are groups of less than five Elves, groups which, when unified, can have a tremendous effect upon the efficiency of government.

"On the other hand, these groups, informally called Prefecture Councils, can spend a great deal of time doing absolutely nothing when the members are divided on an issue. When this occurs, and there is sufficient importance behind the issue, a countrywide mini-summit can be called in order to break the decisionary deadlock. Issues are never left standing by the end of these summits, because Elves are swift to grow weary of debate and often one side of an argument simply concedes so that all may go home.

"Little of grand historical note ever came of these summits. Once in a while something grand would occur, but not often enough that these gatherings could be called noteworthy; with the exception of one detail. Of all the prefects in all the history of Alfheim, none could claim the responsibility for more summit meetings than one Alen'frea Sanenique, known in her prime as Alen'frea The Snubbed, and known to modern history as Sanenique The Martyr."

--Gongsun Yue, A Dissertation on Alvish Society

Such a crowd of fair folk had not been seen in a troll's age within the formidable council house of Cui Yong Palace. The converted fortress of stone and stem had been built with the ambitious intent to quarter a hundred speakers comfortably within its weather and war-wrought walls, but on this day it seemed that Elves practically streamed from the arrowloops and ran as many deep as wide. The architecture had met its greatest test in the form of no less than two hundred and twenty six Elven dignitaries, twenty scribes, a few curious onlookers, and two drunken barfighters who had accidentally tumbled through one of the open side doors and taken an interest in the proceedings. At the head of this illustrious gathering, Alen'frea the Snubbed directed foot traffic as best she could manage. It was a task made ever more difficult by the wavering attentions of the predominantly male dignitary clusters and the sparse garb of the hostess herself. The resplendent prefect of Cui Yong had made a point to attire herself in the naughtiest, most jaw-dropping ensemble that she could put together on short notice, and the results were better than she could have hoped. The taut muscaluture that she had earned so many years ago in the human naval forces remained unblemished to this day, filling out her pure black, slim-fitted outfit of velvet pants and armless turtleneck top in a manner that she hoped would cause the obstinate 'old boys club' to misread the gravity of the situation. If the summit could be distracted into deciding in Li'litea's favor, then so much the better. If not, then it would be up to the younger elf's own heartfelt pleas to sway the minds of the indignant mass... unless of course her own curvature could get their attention.

"Lilly, are you aware that there are exactly ten girls serving in our military? I mean... the weight of what you're trying to do... there's never been a woman in the Angelwings. I don't even think they have uniforms for girls."

Li'litea listened intently to Alessandra's little voice, a voice that she had come to wholeheartedly rely upon in an astoundingly short period of time. The little Eschel was her comfort, her support, and her constant companion, linked so closely to her that even their sleeping patterns were shared. On this particular day Alessandra had been funneling useful information into her host's mind whenever the elf had need of it, menial things such as the names of the important people in the crowd and how the summit meetings generally functioned.

Alessandra, I want to be the first. I want to show everybody just what we can do.

Silence for a moment, but only within her own mind.

"Your mum says that she'll help us with anything. So if there's something you don't understand, mum will tell me, and you'll know. Good luck, Lilly."

Li'litea pulled in a deep, thoughtful breath, and sent her warmest feelings to Alessandra.

"Thank you, mother," she said aloud as the crowd of dignitaries filed in, "thank you Alessandra."

At the head of the congregation, Alen'frea stood with her arms waving in the air. The time had come, and Li'litea Li'litei felt nothing more than ready.

"All of you gathered here today are no stranger to my face," Alen'frea grinned as she opened her speech with a gentle shot at the pride of the assembly. There was laughter all around, laughter that Li'litea understood as a good sign. After all her years of clawing, insullting, fighting, and protesting, Alen'frea had obviously become a respected if not loved member of this society... perhaps Li'litea herself would soon know that kind of respect. "This time we aren't here for me. We are gathered in this sacred hall to discuss the fate of one of our best and brightest daughters. I'm sure that, by now, most of you have some idea of Li'litea Li'litei's dilemma, so I will be brief in giving an explanation of this session.

"All that this girl wants is a chance to prove herself. While I am aware that not even the prefecture can directly alter military law, I am pleading on her behalf that she be given a chance to explain herself. If you all, as representatives of Emesule, cannot bend upon a matter so groundbreaking as this, then I will call you together again in a month. And again, a month later. And then the next week. The next day, and on until she can at least be heard."

Li'litea caught her breath as Alen'frea's speech came to an end. She hadn't been exposed to a great deal of actual political debate in her short life, but those sounded like awfully belligerent words to her.

"She's out of her mind," Alessandra agreed in a fretful tone, "to threaten all of those bigwigs like that. It's going to be much harder for you to come across as sympathetic now."

The murmurs that saturated the musty fortress air seemed only to confirm Alessandra's concerns.

"Now," Alen'frea lifted her hands, calling for quiet. "Li'litea will speak on her own behalf. Give her the respect that is due the daughter Xi Liang's prefect, and let us all celebrate her talents and ability." The prefect of Cui Yong held out her hand, motioning that a nervous Li'litea should take it as she stood. She felt as if she might pass out, standing in front of the people who could just as easily tell her to go back to Xi Liang as to understand her.

"Lilly, pay attention," Alessandra's voice parted that nervousness like a fork through a sliver of melon, "those men in the front row, look at them." Obediently Li'litea gazed downwards into the body of the crowd, spying five grim-looking men attired in identical uniforms not far from where she stood. "Those men are the Five Generals of Emesule. They are the only one that you're going to have to convince if you want a place in the army. Okay? No one else is even in the room."

A smile of relief made lovely the elf's painted lips. Thank you, Alessandra.

"I think that it would be better for us all if I just started by fielding your questions. Once I have an idea of just what you expect of me, it will be much easier to fill in the holes." She could feel most of the crowd softening before her voice, that smile... the two things that she had best learned from her mother. Some of the prefects even smiled back at her, though the generals in the front seemed unconvinced of anything. "Um," she laughed, "if you have a question, raise your hand."

"Be confident, Lilly. Your mum says to keep good posture and avoid direct eye contact."

Hands shot up from end of the council house to the other, rather like those of a crowd performing a choreographed cheer at a ball game. causing Li'litea's expressive eyes to widen a bit. "Wow," she laughed, "I guess we'll be here awhile. Okay," she glanced at a rotund gentleman to her left, breathing a relieved breath when Alessandra gave her his name, "Judge Helemar, would you please start?"

Helemar, a man whom Alessandra explained as one of the more effective and worthwhile legislators of his day, got to his feet with an amusing roll of the belly. That he dressed in bright red did no favors for his appearance, as Li'litea could think of nothing but a very large apple with a pudgy white head.

"Thank you, milady. I do dislike perfect candor, but in this case I must ask you. Can you expect to perform on par with our male soldiers, on a purely physical level, and if so, what sort of background experience do you have that could prove it to this assembly?" The question was met with dozens of consenting murmurs, but Li'litea was quite prepared for it.

"Yes, I can. I served in the human military for just over five years, and though I don't mean to discredit the world's armed services I hope you'll understand when I say that the human armies are so vicious and unforgiving that I could not help but become tougher than the average girl. In addition, service in the Angelwings shouldn't require me to box with men when I can much more easily fire upon them from the air." The answer seemed to satisfy the Judge, who nodded his head and sat, smiling just a bit. "Next?"

"So," the fourteenth question wafted between the lips of another prefect, this one a younger man of less than awe-inspiring properties, "what about your... womanly problems?" Li'litea blinked.

"You're kidding, right?" Her reaction was perfectly befuddled, but the fellow assured her that he made no jest. "Oh, well... I don't consider it a problem, really. I've never been one to become ill or terribly cranky on that day, and it could be much worse. Human women bleed uncontrollably for a week during the course of their menstrual cycle, and they're still allowed to serve. Besides, unlike the boys, I don't have a penis to cloud my judgment."

"What about the possibility of your being sexually assaulted out there?"

Li'litea's charming smile still remained, though weariness had made it somewhat artificial.

"It never ends. They're so worried about your vagina that they aren't even thinking of your talents, Lilly." Even little Alessandra's voice seemed worn-out, perfectly exhausted by the endless battery of inane questions.

Next they'll be asking if my breasts will get in the way of firing a bow.

"Maybe you should just strip and prove that your stuff won't be a problem?"

Yeah, and give half of these old men heart attacks. Good plan, Alessandra.

"Ma'am?" Li'litea glanced up, the voice of the questioner breaking her from her weary stupor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she laughed, "I was just thinking of what might happen if someone tried to touch me without permission. The human air force did teach me to fight, you know, that is after I got away from beating the stuffing out of drunks for a living while I lived at a tavern. I'm not afraid that I'll be assaulted, so you shouldn't be, either."

"Aren't you concerned that others might treat you differently because of your gender?" asked a stately-looking man of graying hair and drooping mustache.

"How do you mean?" Li'litea replied with a question of her own.

"I mean, that they might hold contempt for you, or perhaps even go out of their way to help you on the battlefield, possibly compromising strategy?"

Li'litea blinked. Alessandra?

"That's Gongsun Yue. I think he's a scholar or something... your mum says he travels around a lot. He's writing a book it seems.

"Master Yue, I think that I'll be able to piss enough soldiers off that they won't like me, and hopefully once I've beaten the stupid out of a few tough guys they'll respect me," came the giggling answer from the hopeful Elf. The crowd roared its laughter, and Li'litea felt just a little better about herself.

"What if you were to become pregnant while you were on duty?"

Li'litea's false smile finally broke at that, the one hundred and tenth question. She could hear Alessandra twittering, but it did little to stay her feelings on this subject.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" Alessandra's twittering ceased abruptly at that, confusion setting into her mind at Li'litea's snappish question. The dignitary, a young man who looked to be a public official, went perfectly white.

"Um... is that a rhetorical question?" The response brought a chuckle from most of the men around him. Several of them shouted catcalls in Li'litea's direction, but her expression only went sour. "I ask because all of you people seemed more interested in my girl parts than you do my ability to fight. It's like you're assuming that I'm going to go out on duty and start fucking people like some cheap slut," came her outraged cry, a cry that startled even Alen'frea into staring, "because its how you think I ought to act. Every other question you all have asked me has been about my crotch, and honestly, I don't think the fact that I have a vagina should even come into play when we're talking about my ability to fight to defend my homeland. How is that for an answer?"

"I've seen enough."

The barking miltary voice that parted the irritated grumbling of the crowd brought a chill to Li'litea's spine. Her eyes slowly slid shut, her teeth pressing gently into her lower lip in anxiety.

"Oh hell... I think you've messed up."

One by one the Five Generals stood at the forefront of the crowd, each face sour and irritated, each set of eyes boring a hole right through Li'litea's forehead. She had done it, she had snapped and made a fool of herself in front of all these dignitaries. How could she hope to fly now? How could she expect to have her wings?

"Li'litea Li'litei," said the man in the center, a familiar, hard-faced manling who couldn't have been much older than Li'litea herself, "you are a brave girl. Confident, a bit too willful, but brave nonetheless. My father assured me that coming here would not be a waste of the military's time."

Li'litea blinked, tossing her near-white hair if for no other reason than to buy herself a moment to think. "I... pardon me?"

"Lilly... that's Halaka's oldest son, Menelum. Your mum says that he's a 'promising young general with a good sense of obversation and a lot of his father's cunning'."

"Does that mean you'll let me into the 'wings?" asksed a suddenly hopeful Li'litea, eyes aglow with hope and restrained joy. Menelum turned and glanced at his fellows in turn, who each gave a slow nod. The Elven girl's heart raced, mouth went dry with anticipation. Alessandra's little voice was caught up in prayer. Alen'frea's thumbs whirled about one another. All was silent.

"Pending the necessary training..." Menelum grinned sidelong at her, "... when can you begin?"