Chapter 2: Kings in Their Castles

Saturday arrived with alacrity. Alacrity might have described my arrival at the Stratton Student Center as well. I arrived as close to exactly 3pm as I could get Riordan to manage. Nicco was riding shotgun, because today we did not arrive in the slightly used Obsidian Oracle that was my usual on-campus ride. We arrived in a shiny black Obsidian Alliance, the height of Obsidian's luxury air car line, and one that had been stretched and fitted out as a luxury limousine as well.

My driver was wearing the traditional chauffeur's uniform – cap, sunglasses, dark suit and all, when he got out and opened my door. I was wearing a new Armani suit and sporting a fresh haircut.

"Don't forget Riordan, do not mention my last name! My date doesn't know who I am yet, and I'd like to keep it that way for the moment."

"Yes sir, Mr ... Yes sir."

I laughed and wagged my finger before heading up the steps to the front door. I stopped at the reception desk.

"Good afternoon. I'm here for Cor Caldwell, in room 233?"

"Yes sir." The woman at the desk said, picking up the phone. As she was dialing, the elevator opened, and out walked Cor's two friends Traci and Audra, along with three other girls. They were all wearing grins a mile wide. "Miss Caldwell? This is Diane at the reception desk. Your date is here." I heard from beside me. "Miss Caldwell will be down momentarily sir."

"Thank you." I said, before turning to the girls who were walking past me.

"Hello again Traci, Audra." I said with a smile. "Good afternoon ladies." I got a gaggle of giggles in return, and waves from Traci and Audra, but the entire group continued on past me and on out the door. In what seemed to be the blink of an eye, but what was really several full minutes later, the elevator opened again and out walked a creature of Magic, as sure as any I had ever seen.

Cor was wearing a long black gown, that sparkled and glistened, and fell almost to the floor in a sweeping angle. One shoulder was bare, and the other almost completely covered. Glittering bits of blue on her neck and ears caught the eyes, and drew them to the sheer perfection of her neck and throat. My breath caught in my throat, and I had to force myself to breathe.

"Wow!" Was all I said as I took her hand.

"Wow yourself!" She answered back with sparkling eyes.

"Cor! Wow, ... I..."

Cor pulled herself close and reached up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his.

"Thank you Andy. That is the nicest compliment I've ever gotten."

That broke me free from the daze I was in.

"You are absolutely welcome, and deserve all the niceness and compliments I can arrange. Shall we go?"

The walk out the door was accompanied by the sounds of the gaggle, still a-giggle, and the snapping of pictures from the ubiquitous series of digital cameras and camera phones. When we hit the bottom of the steps, Cor caught sight of the limo for the first time, and we had to stop for a second while she soaked it in.

Riordan was the image of efficiency as he opened the door for us, and I gave Cor an arm to help her slide into the seat.

"Thank you Riordan." I said as I slid in myself.

"You're welcome sir." He replied.

We were on Memorial Drive headed west, so we did a loop onto Memorial Drive East, took the Harvard Bridge across the Charles and slipped onto the Mass Pike, I-90, at the Newbury Street on-ramp. I-90 was just our fastest route to one of the new Grav-car air corridors.

With the artificial gravity features of these cars, you couldn't tell you were off the asphalt, the ride was that smooth and quiet. At least not until Riordan came over the intercom a few minutes later. "Sir, we're in the BosWash air car corridor, and ETA is 45 minutes."

"Thank you Riordan." I answered back.

"BosWash corridor? Where exactly is this recital?" Cor asked with a raised eyebrow that I found ... stimulating.

"Carnegie Hall." I answered.

"Carnegie Hall? In New York City, Carnegie Hall?" She asked with a slight squeak.

"Yes, tonight is the Julliard Senior Class Spring performance, and a friend of mine is one of the seniors performing this evening."

"Oh!" Was all she said in response, so I decided to try a little distraction.

"Tell me. How much did you have to pay those otherwise super-intelligent MIT students to stand in front of Baker hall and act all giggly and goofy?"

That got the smile I hoped for.

"They may be MIT students, but they're still girls." Cor responded. "They do respond to a handsome man in a nice suit in the sane way as their less intellectual peers." Cor's voice got a little more serious tone then. "Since they're MIT students, you know their high school dating experiences were not normal. Heck, neither were mine! The brainy boys in high school are generally socially inept, and while the brainy girls are a little better, they do not get asked out on dates by the socially competent boys unless those boys are thinking they've got an easy target in their sights. The results are usually abnormal, and sometimes sad."

"Unless you were hiding your light under a bushel young lady, any boy in high school would have had to have his hormonal responses lopped off at the roots to not consider you as dating material!"

"Well how about you?" Cor asked. "You appear to be a suitably handsome member of the male species, were you a social animal in high school, or a recluse like me?"

"I didn't go to high school. I was home schooled, along with my sister, and the friend who is performing for us tonight, as well as a handful of our other friends, all of whom will probably be on hand tonight."

There was a long period of silence then, as we just rode along, lost in our own thoughts. Cor finally broke the silence.

"Andy? Why are we doing something like this on our first date? What does this mean?"

"You really do hate to let details slip by you, don't you?"

"Yes, you don't have to answer. Its a strange question for a first date isn't it?"

"Truth?" I asked.

"Always!" She answered. Man did that make me giddy for a second.

"When I was younger, one of my friends described how it felt for her. I'll use her words. Corycia Caldwell, when I look at you, I get all squiggly."

"Squiggly." She sighed. "I can understand squiggly."

Cor slid over in the seat and slid into the crook of my arm, resting her head on my chest. I wrapped the arm around her, and we rode in silent proximity until Riordan called back that we were pulling out of the corridor and were five minuted from landing.

The landing pad on top of Carnegie Hall was an old helipad, but of course nobody used helicopters anymore. When Riordan opened our door for us, and I slid out with Cor, she was surprised to see Nicco also getting out of the front seat.

"Oh! Hello. Nicco, isn't it?"

"yes it is, you have a good memory for names Miss Caldwell."

"Not really, but I do have a good memory for attitude." Cor said with a smile. "Riordan, thank you for a very wonderful first limousine ride."

"You're welcome ma'am." he answered, almost breaking a smile.

Nicco went over and met our escort at the door leading down into the building, and after a brief conversation and a quick peek inside, motioned us forward. Cor glanced at Nicco again.

"If we had Riordan as our chauffeur tonight, why do we also have Nicco?

"Technically, Nicco is my bodyguard." I answered.

"Bodyguard!"

"Patience, Miss Meticulous, all will be revealed, and very soon now." I answered.

Carnegie Hall, by its very nature, had long ago been re-designed with security in mind. There were security suites available for VIP guests, and the McKesson family and 'entourage' definitely qualified. Our escort, who I had noticed managed to only address us as 'sir and ma'am', brought us to a door, slid a card key through the slot, and opened the door for us.

"Here you go sir and ma'am, I hope you enjoy the evening." He said, as he turned and left.

We walked into the room, or rather suite of rooms, and found a large crowd of people.

"Lets get the parental introductions out of the way first okay? That'll take care of the 'last name unknown' issue right off the bat."

I could see Cor's eyes going wide in recognition before we'd made it across the room, even before the crowd sort of parted for us as we approached Mom and Dad. Of course everyone in the room knew Cor from my thoughts already.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like to introduce my date, Corycia Caldwell." I said to the two of them. "Corycia, I'd like you to meet my parents, David and Virginia McKesson.

"Please call me Dave." Dad said.

"And call me Ginny, please." Mom added.

For her part, Cor just stood there, blinking. Finally she spun on me.

"McKesson?" She said.

"Yup. You okay?

"Bathroom?"

I raised an eyebrow, and looked for help. Dad pointed, and Cor made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Well, that went well." I said into the air.

"I'll go check on her." Mom offered.

"Give her a minute Mom, Where's Jeni. I think she should go in and check on her."

I took Jeni aside for a moment, and let her see a replay of the ride in, and the conversation that left Cor snuggled under my arm.

"Oh my!" Jeni said. Deja Vu, huh?"

"Yeah, sort of. But you see why you're the perfect one to go in and have a chat."

"Of course. What does she like to drink?"

"Tea. Green tea."

I sat in the bathroom, and stared at myself in the mirror. 'Miss Meticulous indeed', I thought to myself. Angel's Camp, California, Parents traveled a lot, young and already got a degree from MIT.

"Geez, Cor! Where was your brain?"

"The brain seldom comes into play in these situations." A voice said from my left. One of the young women who had been in the room was standing there, a cup in her hand. "Have some tea, and lets talk, okay?"

I took the tea, and we sat on the bench across from the sinks. I took a sniff. Green tea. Andy had been involved in this idea, I thought.

"Hi. I'm Jeni Anderson."

"Hi," I returned, managing not to sniffle.

"My Mom and Andy's Mom were best friends growing up," Jeni continued. "My dad and Andy's Dad have been best friends their whole lives too. Andy and I are less than a year apart in age, and most of our younger years, everyone assumed we'd be a couple once the hormones kicked in. Even we believed it, and for a few years, we spent way too much time trying to make that connection happen, and you know what? It never did."

"You're the friend who called it 'squiggly', aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes I am." Jeni said with a smile. "Let me tell you the rest of that story. We were sitting on the beach near a lake during a joint family camping trip. Andy was almost sixteen, and I was going on fifteen. Andy was sitting with his back against a log, and I was sitting facing him, using one of his legs as a backrest. It was warm and sunny and peaceful, and I'd been waiting a long time for some other distractions in our lives to go away to ask it, but I finally saw my chance, and asked him why we weren't together, after all the years of throwing ourselves at each other.

We laid the blame on lack of chemistry, not a lack of caring, or admiration, or anything else. Andy knew me too well though, and asked if that was the only reason. I looked at him, the boy I loved like a brother and asked. 'Truth?'"

Really?" I gasped. "What was his answer?"

"'Always!'", she said with a laugh, "I confessed that it was also because one of our other friends, Trevor, who you'll meet tonight, made me feel squiggly when I was around him, and Andy didn't make me feel that way. Andy is no dummy. He knew all this already, or had guessed it. He told me that Trevor felt the same way about me, and that I should get off my duff and go find the boy who did it for me. So I did."

"Andy said I make him feel squiggly," I said, with a hopeful quaver in my voice.

"Cor dear, you don't understand. You are the first girl to make him feel that way. You are the only girl in his experience who has left him feeling squiggly."

"He makes me feel squiggly too," I confessed with a nervous laugh.

"Well then I'll give you the same advice that Andy gave me back then, and tell you to get up off your duff and go find the boy who makes you squiggly!"

I stood up with my tea cup in my hand and looked at the door.

"Here, give me that cup. It'll get in the way of the hug."

I checked myself in the mirror, I hadn't exactly been in here crying, so I didn't look too bad, except perhaps for a little more color in my cheeks than normal.

I walked through the bathroom door, a little hesitantly at first, but then I spotted Andy, talking to another girl, one with a bit of a Goth vibe to her, although she was dressed in an elegant black dress not too much different than mine, and had a figure more like a comic book super-heroine. I made a beeline straight for Andy, and as I did he spotted me, and broke into a smile. I seemed to be picking up speed the closer I got, and when I got within arm's reach, I seemed to somehow launch myself into his arms.

The hug was long, and tight, and as hot as a blast furnace, and I'm not sure how I managed to stand it, but it felt so good and so right, and I felt so happy to be there and in Andy's arms. When we finally broke the hug, and I looked up into his eyes, there was a light there that I didn't understand, but I knew then that I would some day.

Looking up into those eyes, I realized suddenly that Andy was bending lower, and our lips were touching.

I was kissed then, and I kissed back, and it was like every school girl's imagined dream I'd ever had of what a kiss should be. It was music and light, thunder and fire. It was 'Whooosh!!

"Some first date, huh?" Andy asked. I put my head on his chest and started to laugh. A few seconds later I heard Andy join me.

Afterward we both stood there staring at each other and catching our breath. Finally, prompted by the sound of a quiet cough, Andy turned me towards the girl that had been standing beside him when I threw myself into his arms.

"Cor, this is my little sister Serenity. Serenity, this is Corycia Caldwell."

"Call me Ren, everyone does," she said.

She gave me a brilliant smile, quite similar to Andy's, and a large hug. She whispered into my ear as we hugged.

"Thank God you're here at last! Poor Andy has been looking for you for so long."

Jeni Anderson introduced me to her parents Arden and Alicia, and then to her fiance, Trevor Parkin, his little brother and sister Ian and Grace and their Mom and Dad, Peter and Sarah. Peter was Ginny McKesson's brother, so that made Andy and Serenity cousins to the three Parkins.

Ian and Grace in turn introduced me to Keiran Alvarado and his parents, Dwight and Shelaana. Shelaana struck me as exotic somehow, and she spoke English as if it wasn't her native language.

"These are all the kids that I grew up with" Andy said. "Except for Maia Poole, she's the one performing tonight."

I got introduced to Cyrus and Felicia Poole, and then the last of the crowd, Another pair of twins, Riah Hulin and her husband Laik, and Zaia Alvarado and her husband Chet, who was Dwight's brother, which made him Kieran's Uncle.

There were several people holding babies or small children during these introductions, but I was starting to blur at the edges, and the only one I remember is Andy and Serenity's little brother Michael, who looked to be about three, and who told me I was pretty!

Later, when things had quieted down, I got a second chance to meet Andy's parents, the very famous and amazing Mr. & Mrs. David McKesson. They were so kind and welcoming I could almost feel wrapped in the warmth of their regard. Very cool and strange at the same time.

Finally it was time for the performances. We were going to see the solo vocalists. The choral and group performances had taken place earlier in the day, and the ensemble and orchestral performances had all happened the day before.

Maia Poole, I soon found out, had a voice that was Magic with a capital M. The word had been used quite a bit today, but it seemed as true for this as for anything else I'd seen or heard. Andy whispered in my ear that she was singing her own compositions as well.

I got chills, just from the sound of her voice, and more than once.