99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnY9swI2av
A week later, Eldon informed the women it was time to meet the council. "They want to give their verdict in person," he said, but his face betrayed neither relief nor chagrin. This put more than one woman slightly on edge, but to Hope, it was almost a relief to be worrying about the council and not about her own fate at the hands of crazy family members. Still, she was just as nervous as her friends, and she hoped that this turn of events would be the harbinger of good news and not bad.
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2l0mySrTYV
The council hall was enormous, lit by a million floating lights that hung without support in the cavernous space. Full length stained-glass windows depicted scenes of war, peace, famine and prosperity, and Hope gasped when she saw dragons, unicorns, pegasi, mermaids, and other mythical creatures depicted in the designs. People of unearthly beauty also figured prominently in the windows, and when the group reached the dais where the council waited, they could all see where the Pandorans had got their eyes from.
Five chairs stood arranged on the dais, all of equal height, and on those chairs sat the five members of the council. They had the cat eyes of all Pandorans, but each of them had a different colour - deep blue, forest green, sea green, sky blue, and deep voilet. Hope soon saw why this was so - behind each councillor stood a creature of unearthly beauty, similar to those in the stained glass windows, and she soon saw that each creature had the same eye colour as the man or woman they stood behind. And behind them were the fantasy creatures also depicted in the windows. A massive golden dragon rested its head on the floor, the rest of it presumably outside, and there was also a unicorn, a pegasus, a centaur, and a mermaid, who could not be mistaken for anything else with her scaled blue-green skin and the seashells that covered her bare breasts. Hope and her friends had, of course, become used to the casual attitude towards modesty, so the mermaid's state of undress bothered them not at all.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSYkAdT0Z6
"The five people behind the dais are the five heads of the elven clans who gave us leave to settle here," Eldon explained in a low murmur to the group. "You can probably tell by the colouring, but we've got the sun elves, moon elves, sea elves, sky elves and forest elves. The creatures behind them are, well, their gods, in a way, and each clan draws its power from the five creatures who created them. Each councillor is linked to his or her corresponding elven leader, and they serve for life. Heirs are very carefully chosen to ensure they follow the precepts laid down by the elves, and blood doesn't always necessarily guarantee a succession."
Hope shook her head in wonder. "I'm turned all on my head again," she confessed in a whisper. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNTf399PAw
Eldon chuckled. "They don't bite, at least not on the first date," he teased, and Hope giggled.
Presently, they reached the dais, and the sun councillor rose, bowing deeply. "We give you greeting," he said. "I am Jaiden, and I welcome you to Pandora. I understand things have been a little... tense, and I sincerely apologise for any distress you have suffered at the hands of those who wished you harm."
"That's the understatement of the century," Penny muttered, and a ripple of laughter passed over the dais. Once the mirth had settled, Jaiden then introduced his fellow councillors; Zayn, who stood for the moon elves, Arian, who stood for the sea elves, Jahan, who stood for the forest elves, and Meera, who stood for the sky elves. Then their counterparts were introduced; sun elf leader Navi, moon elf leader Jaya, sea elf leader Satya, forest elf leader Manav, and sky elf leader Nayan.
With introductions made, chairs were brought for the women, and they sat gratefully. "Eldon has explained the situation to you," Jaiden said. "I will therefore not elaborate, save to say this; you are all honoured guests here. No matter the path you choose to take, you will never be exiled back to Earth. I am given to understand some of you led lives there that were less than ideal, and I promise you here and now, you will never be made to go back there again. You are, as of this moment, free to roam Pandora as you wish, and our five elven chieftains have given you the run of the place, so to speak."
Zayn then took up the narrative. "We have agreed to Eldon's idea," he said. "We were very reluctant to do so, given that Jhansi's daughter was the only Earth child to survive. All other babies died, as did the first group of women who came here. But Eldon believes that if you all are given the same protection as native Pandorans, you will stand a better chance of survival, as will your unborn babies. I for one am not very keen on the idea, but we agreed that it is, at least, worth pursuing. Therefore, you will be accorded the same rights and priviledges as native Pandorans, and the children born to you will also be treated as citizens. We are not ready to declare you citizens, as that is a process that will take some time, and we feel you have all been through enough. But though you are not official Pandorans, the instructions have gone out; all residents of Isonor, as well as the lands beyond, have been informed of your somewhat irregular status, and any who mistreat you for any reason will feel the full force of the law, just as if the insult had occurred to a native Pandoran."
"And your children will be treated the same," Arian added. "As you may have had explained to you, any children born of you will be tested to determine if they have inherited the gene for the disease which has so sadly ravaged our ranks. No matter how they, or you, test, no one will be cast out, but will instead be given care to the fullest measure. No one will be stinted, or treated as if they are leprous. We did not treat the first group of Earth women that way, and Jhansi's daughter is treated exactly the same as if she'd been born here, regardless of her barren state. But, despite the testing that must be undertaken when your babies are born, you will not be robbed of them, and you will be able to care and raise them. No mother will be separated from her child; on this you have our personal word, and you know by now that it is impossible for a Pandoran to break their word."
"Be welcome," the councillors then said as one, and Hope let out a long sigh of relief, tears streaming freely down her cheeks as she and her friends shared a fervent group hug. The councillors and their elven counterparts then came down from the dais to properly welcome the women to Pandora, and as the celebrations truly got underway, Hope finally had the feeling she'd well and truly come home.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
