Highness
an excerpt

The next day, I returned to the Pearl Hall to meet once again with Ki Lishan, as well as meet the spidlet and my new cohort, Sen Rali. The spidlet species is one that is quite fascinating, when you think about it. They lack the physical prowess of the peau, as well as many other species that inhabit Liandou, yet they make up for it with their mental abilities. They have incredible intelligence, and are wonderful at thinking up strategies and tactics I could never dream of. Because of this, as well as their small size and knack for shrinking their bodies to an even smaller size, they are often picked to aid generals and warriors on the battlefield.

They appear as a small bug, about the size of a human head at their largest size. They are predominantly black with mossy green markings along their head and back, with six spindly legs and two extra legs behind them. These two extra legs are quite a bit bigger than the other six, and are used mainly to jump on air, giving them something akin to the power of flight. They have three eyes, one of which remains closed as long as the other two are open (and sometimes even when the other two are closed). The normal two have mossy green irises surrounding the pupils, and are quite normal, much like the eyes of humans or peau. The third eye, which rests in the top of the eye triangle, has no pupil, and has a swirling iris of purple and red. It sees things that the other two eyes do not see, such as the thoughts and emotions of others. The true extent of the spidlet third eye is a well--kept secret to all but fellow members of the spidlet species, and any spidlet found to have given more information than absolutely necessary to a non-spidlet third party is sentenced to death (and, of course, the non-spidlet must be killed as well).

Sometimes the spidlets scare me, if it weren’t for the fact that if I stepped on one, I could squish it flat. I suppose the third eye might have some secret weapon with which to kill me, yet…

They are simply too small, and I am simply too big.

In the immortal words of Miss Jamie Kissinger, “they hella fail.”

So when I met Sen Rali, I was not as intimidated as I thought I might be. He already knew everything I knew from Ki Lishan, and was busy preparing himself for the trip. Apparently, he was to appear as an Earth spider, since he looked enough like one anyway when he shrunk down to his smallest size (about half the size of my paw – apparently, this is large for an Earth spider, but still normal). Ki Lishan decided to leave his coloring alone, since the moss green was barely noticeable when he was that small, and his back legs looked only just a little too big to fit in with the other six.

I, on the other hand, would have to have a more drastic change to my appearance if I was to ever appear in front of other Earth humans, but that was a different story for a later day.

Ki Lishan introduced us almost immediately, as Sen Rali had to depart shortly. “Lampur, this is Sen Rali. You two will be working with Kiu Jamie Kissinger, the confirmed capsule for Polly, until further notice. Sen Rali, you will be primarily in charge of the mental aspect of Kiu Kissinger’s training, while Lampur will handle the physical. You two are expected to work well together, and to help guide Kiu Kissinger into a harmonious relationship with Liandou and House Lishan. You are to also observe the Earth plane as best you can, and not draw any unwanted attention to yourselves. You are not to divulge any information on Liandou to anyone on the Earth plane except Kiu Kissinger. Is this clear?”

“Of course, Ki Lishan,” Sen Rali replied with a bow. I did the same.

“Now then,” she began, looking at Sen Rali. “Please feel free to discuss your plans for living on the Earth plane with Kiu Kissinger while I and the conversion team prepare for your departure, Sen Rali.” With that, she glided over to a small group of technician humans, who were busying themselves with some strange machinery over by the far wall.

I looked at Sen Rali. “Are you ready for the trip, wan?” I asked, trying to make small talk. Polite small talk, of course, but small talk nonetheless.

He glanced up at me, blinking his two normal eyes. “Why yes, I think I am. As well as I can be, of course,” he replied in a raspy voice, typical of most male spidlet. “I am quite excited to meet Kiu Kissinger, even though I’ve heard some rather ghastly things about her.”

“Ghastly, wan? How so, wan?” This new bit of information seemed a bit out of place. How could the word “ghastly” be used to describe anything relating to Polly?

The spidlet paused for a second, putting the right words together in his head. I saw his normal eyes close, and his third eye snap open for a brief second. Then the normal pair opened once again, just in time for his reply to my question. “There are certain substances on Earth that Kiu Kissinger likes to indulge in. They are detrimental to her health, yet they give her brief periods of happiness. False, of course, but convincingly so. She lives alone, having given up with her parents, and is doing rather poorly in her schooling. Overall, her character is rather…difficult to get along with, to say the least. I am quite sure she is nice enough underneath her hard exterior, yet her resolve is extremely weak. A few bad experiences have ruled her life.” He gazed up at me. “I’ve been looking at her through my third eye,” he explained, though I already sort of guessed so.

I furrowed my furry brow. “So she…wan. She’s not exactly Polly, is she, wan?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“I see…wan.” I stared at the tile. Sen Rali seemed nice enough, and I had no doubt we would be able to have a good working relationship when on Earth, but this news he brought about Kiu Kissinger saddened me greatly. I suppose it was futile and quite pointless, but when I heard that Polly’s soul had been put in the body of another human, I felt hopeful. I felt hopeful that I would be able to see my darling little Polly once again.

Now that I gave it some serious thought, I realized how stupid that hope was. When the weapon ripped Polly’s soul from her dying body, the soul was damaged – that much was certain. How much influence could a damaged soul, maybe not even a whole soul, do to the capsule it found itself in? How much Polly would I realistically be able to find in Kiu Kissinger?