about the bracelet?”
Aurora picked it up and snapped it shut around her own arm. It was clear the bracelet was made for a man’s thicker wrist, for it was almost big enough to slide down over her gloved fist. “If you touch the silver for more than a second,” she said, “you will be sent to our world. You will be safe there, and the residents will recognize you as a sojourner who does not belong and who is probably afraid. But most of them will not know where you do belong or how to return you there.”
Daiyu was alarmed. “Couldn’t one of you come after me?”
“We would, of course, try,” Ombri said. “But there is a difficulty when you attempt to use a talisman that is not designed for you. It could fling you to a different time as well as a different world. We might not know which year, or even which century, you had gone to. It would take us some searching to find you and guide you back.”
Daiyu didn’t miss the revelation implicit in that remark: He and Aurora could travel backward and forward through time. So could she, apparently, but she didn’t have any control over where she might end up.
“Well.Okay.Iwon’ttouchthebracelet,”shesaid.“Butthen how am I going to put it on Chenglei? And why would he allow me to get close enough to do that?”
“At the Presentation Ball,” Aurora said, “you will be appropriately gowned. Your costume will include gloves. We will make sure your dress includes a hidden pocket where you will place the bracelet. Every young girl is invited to dance once with the primeminister. During your dance, you will take out the bracelet and place it on Chenglei’s wrist. It should be very simple.”
None of it sounded simple to Daiyu. “A formal dance? Like a waltz? The only formal dance I know is the Electric Slide.”
Aurora did not look discomposed. “I can teach you the basic steps of the tiaowu —the dance that continues throughout the ball—but you will have to confess to Xiang that you have not had much practice. I’m sure she will hire an instructor for you. There are certain times during the dance that you should have one hand free so that you can slip the bracelet from your pocket.”
“You would do well to practice beforehand,” Ombri observed.
“Yes, I imagine I would!” Daiyu exclaimed.
Kalen started laughing. “And then she would do well to practice what she’ll say when Chenglei disappears while she’s dancing with him.”
“Yes!” Daiyu responded. “I hadn’t even thought about that!”
“I believe your best course would be to simulate shock and hysteria,”Ombrisaid.“ There should be little reason to suspect that you had any hand in his abrupt departure. I cannot imagine anyone will be observing you closely enough to see you attach the bracelet to his arm.”
“And if anyone questions you, or menaces you, merely take out the quartz and send yourself home,” Aurora said.
Daiyu took a deep breath. “Okay. I suppose I can see how this would work. Except the part about practicing with the bracelet. If just touching it means spiraling off to a foreign galaxy—well—I don’t want to take too many chances.”
Aurora nodded. “I had the same thought. I’ve made a copy from ordinary materials to be found on Jia. You can rehearse with that one without risk.” Now she opened the small box to reveal a copper bracelet about the same size as the silver one. “It’s perfectly safe to touch this one with your bare hands.”
Stripping off her gloves, Daiyu fished the copper band out of the box and practiced snapping it around her left wrist a couple of times. It made a nice satisfying click every time the clasp engaged.
“The protocol of the dance requires you to leave your right handinyourpartner’s left hand while you promenade,” Aurora said. “That means we will sew the pocket in the left side of your dress—and you must learn to handle the bracelet with your left
Aurora picked it up and snapped it shut around her own arm. It was clear the bracelet was made for a man’s thicker wrist, for it was almost big enough to slide down over her gloved fist. “If you touch the silver for more than a second,” she said, “you will be sent to our world. You will be safe there, and the residents will recognize you as a sojourner who does not belong and who is probably afraid. But most of them will not know where you do belong or how to return you there.”
Daiyu was alarmed. “Couldn’t one of you come after me?”
“We would, of course, try,” Ombri said. “But there is a difficulty when you attempt to use a talisman that is not designed for you. It could fling you to a different time as well as a different world. We might not know which year, or even which century, you had gone to. It would take us some searching to find you and guide you back.”
Daiyu didn’t miss the revelation implicit in that remark: He and Aurora could travel backward and forward through time. So could she, apparently, but she didn’t have any control over where she might end up.
“Well.Okay.Iwon’ttouchthebracelet,”shesaid.“Butthen how am I going to put it on Chenglei? And why would he allow me to get close enough to do that?”
“At the Presentation Ball,” Aurora said, “you will be appropriately gowned. Your costume will include gloves. We will make sure your dress includes a hidden pocket where you will place the bracelet. Every young girl is invited to dance once with the primeminister. During your dance, you will take out the bracelet and place it on Chenglei’s wrist. It should be very simple.”
None of it sounded simple to Daiyu. “A formal dance? Like a waltz? The only formal dance I know is the Electric Slide.”
Aurora did not look discomposed. “I can teach you the basic steps of the tiaowu —the dance that continues throughout the ball—but you will have to confess to Xiang that you have not had much practice. I’m sure she will hire an instructor for you. There are certain times during the dance that you should have one hand free so that you can slip the bracelet from your pocket.”
“You would do well to practice beforehand,” Ombri observed.
“Yes, I imagine I would!” Daiyu exclaimed.
Kalen started laughing. “And then she would do well to practice what she’ll say when Chenglei disappears while she’s dancing with him.”
“Yes!” Daiyu responded. “I hadn’t even thought about that!”
“I believe your best course would be to simulate shock and hysteria,”Ombrisaid.“ There should be little reason to suspect that you had any hand in his abrupt departure. I cannot imagine anyone will be observing you closely enough to see you attach the bracelet to his arm.”
“And if anyone questions you, or menaces you, merely take out the quartz and send yourself home,” Aurora said.
Daiyu took a deep breath. “Okay. I suppose I can see how this would work. Except the part about practicing with the bracelet. If just touching it means spiraling off to a foreign galaxy—well—I don’t want to take too many chances.”
Aurora nodded. “I had the same thought. I’ve made a copy from ordinary materials to be found on Jia. You can rehearse with that one without risk.” Now she opened the small box to reveal a copper bracelet about the same size as the silver one. “It’s perfectly safe to touch this one with your bare hands.”
Stripping off her gloves, Daiyu fished the copper band out of the box and practiced snapping it around her left wrist a couple of times. It made a nice satisfying click every time the clasp engaged.
“The protocol of the dance requires you to leave your right handinyourpartner’s left hand while you promenade,” Aurora said. “That means we will sew the pocket in the left side of your dress—and you must learn to handle the bracelet with your left
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