Dragon's Honor - Kij Johnson [52]
“Agreed,” Worf growled. His blood still burned with the fire of battle. He struggled to restrain his fury.
“You understand, of course,” Chih-li insisted, “honor demands that we resolve this matter at the earliest possible convenience. After the wedding, that is.”
“I look forward to it,” Worf said.
“As do I,” Chih-li replied.
The Green Pearl stood patiently among the scattered cushions of Lu Tung’s harem while Beverly ran her medical tricorder up and down the girl’s frame. This physical checkup had merely been an excuse to get Beverly into the harem, but she saw no reason not to genuinely treat the bride to a physical while she was here. Besides, it gave the Pearl something to do besides fight with Hsiao Har. So far, the readings were all in order; Yao Hu appeared in perfect health. That spoke well, Beverly thought, for Pai medicine. “Exactly how old are you?” she asked the Pearl.
“I was born in the Year of the Ascending Phoenix, seventeen summers ago.”
“Baby,” Hsiao Har taunted her. The Heir’s daughter stood on her head a few meters away, her scarlet robe falling down around her waist, revealing a pair of violet silk trousers underneath. She insisted she was exercising, but Beverly suspected she just resented all the attention being paid to the bride-to-be. Beverly wondered if it bothered Hsiao Har that the younger girl was getting married first.
Frankly, Beverly thought that, by Federation standards, they were both far too young to be even thinking of marriage. Seventeen years old … my God, she mused. They’re mere children. Beverly herself had married earlier than most of her colleagues on the Enterprise; even still, she’d been halfway through medical school, with a firm grasp of what she wanted to do with her life, when she wedded Jack Crusher. Sheltered behind harem walls, how could Yao Hu possibly know enough about herself to make any sort of lifelong commitment? Different cultures, different standards, Beverly reminded herself. Yet she knew how she’d react if Wesley suddenly announced that he wanted to get married: “Not until you’re much older, young man!”
Granted, Wesley’s first serious crush had been on a shapechanging alien princess who occasionally transformed into a furry, eight-feet-tall, bug-eyed monster. At least the Dragon-Heir belonged to the same species as the Pearl. (Says the woman, she chided herself, who fell for an intelligent slug, not to mention the family ghost!) Who said love had to make sense? She just hoped Yao Hu would be as happy in her marriage as she had been with Jack.
“Dr. Crusher?” the Pearl asked softly, interrupting Beverly’s nostalgic musings.
“Call me Beverly,” she insisted, putting away her tricorder. “You can sit down now.”
“Thank you, Doc … Beverly.” The Pearl knelt upon a plush, satin pillow embroidered with golden thread. The soles of her tiny slippers poked out from behind the back of her sea green gown. “My honorable father suggested that you were a woman of great wisdom and experience.”
“Your father is most kind.” Beverly shrugged casually. “I suppose I’ve learned a thing or two over the years.”Good Lord, she thought, I sound like my grandmother. This particular mission was making her feel older by the minute.
The Pearl lowered her gaze, unable to meet Beverly’s eyes. “Before my wedding,” she began hesitantly, “there are matters I would discuss with you.”
Uh-oh, Beverly thought. Now what? Something was obviously troubling Yao Hu, Beverly could tell that much. “What sort of matters?” she asked.
Still upside down, Hsiao Har snickered loudly.
“I would prefer to discuss them in private,” the Pearl said, casting a venomous glance in her future stepdaughter’s direction.
“She wants to know about men and women,” Hsiao