The day after Temptic’s visit, Favel finally made his appearance.  It was his first time talking to Jenna in person since their failed honeymoon.  Vash sloshed the blue octopus into the bedroom where Jenna was convalescing with a wet slop, that got nowhere near Jenna as nothing did.

Yet even though every item she allowed entry into her bubble (by picking it up herself), seemed to survive intact, no one wanted to be the first person who she touched.  They didn’t even need to see a pillow explode to keep their distance.

Favel was no exception.

“Okay,” he said conspiratorially once Vash was gone.  “I’ve been meeting with Hipposyphis doctors and Adamis doctors about ways to squash fear and I have two possible solutions.  They both do the same thing.  It’s just a matter of which one works better for you.”

“What do they do?” Jenna asked, sitting up in bed.

Favel held up a bottle of pills.  “This is a drug that cancels out your fear response.  If you’re not afraid, worried, tense, or on edge, the pain should go away.  However, the very act of taking pills three times a day to cancel out your fear response is a little fear-inducing all by itself.  So, there’s also this,” he said, holding up a thing that looked like a plastic egg for an Easter hunt.  “Inside this egg is a tiny nanomachine that transmits signals to your brain that you shouldn’t be afraid.  It only transmits the one signal. I’ve had it tested by three Adamis physicians, including Brazel to make sure that it is safe for you and they approved it.”  He sounded out of breath.

Jenna looked at the egg.  “How do I use it?”

He set the egg and the pill bottle down on the bar cart they had been using to push things toward her—not too close.  If it got too close, the cart and the tray on top might be shattered or cut in half.  No one wanted to test if that was true.  

So if Jenna walked up to Favel, would he lose an arm or not?  

Naturally, Favel, and everybody else, was not eager to be the guinea pig in that experiment.

So Favel pushed the cart a little closer to Jenna.  When it was close enough, she approached it herself and picked up the egg.  It was made of a thin metal, but opened in exactly the same way as a child’s Easter egg.  Inside was a tiny crescent ring, thick, with zero adornment.

“The doctors say you can clip it to your ear or your nose.  It doesn’t require a piercing, but if you really like it, we can get you pierced and get you a different model of ring,” Favel offered.

Jenna clipped it to the top curve of her left ear, the same ear that already had the earpiece she spoke to Ixy through.  It felt fine, but Jenna was worried she would have a different opinion after a few hours of wear.  “How long is it supposed to take to work?” she asked wearily.

“Give it five minutes,” Favel said, just as weary as Jenna.

She leaned back on her pillows.  “I’d prefer it if this worked compared to the pills.”

He bobbed a little in the water.  “I think so too.  I heard Temptic came to see you yesterday and he was throwing pillows at you, which he found to be hilarious.  They exploded?”

“Yes.  I figured he was laughing when he turned bright yellow and wouldn’t stop convulsing.”

“You should be flattered,” Favel said in a distracted tone.  “I don’t think he’s ever been that pleased whilst he was visiting my other wives.”

“Yes, well, I’m an anomaly,” Jenna admitted.

“Are you having any luck with your candidate list?” Favel said, clearly changing the subject and trying to put her mind to anything other than the pain she was in.

“I haven’t.  It’s been really trying to get any work done when I’ve had so much pain in my head.”  It wasn’t supposed to be working yet.  Favel said it would take five minutes, but Jenna already felt so much better, it was like a huge weight had been lifted from the top of her head.  “Favel,” she sighed.  “I don’t know if this will last, but it is working, and it is working well.  I already feel so much better.  I don’t know how to thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” he said with a slosh.  His beak was mostly underwater.  “Although, I finally feel like I’ve done enough that I can offer you an apology.  Please forgive my people and me for what we’ve done to you,” he said solemnly.  

“You couldn’t apologize before?” she asked curiously.

“Of course not,” he stormed.  “An apology is nothing if it is not accompanied by action.  I’m sorry that there isn’t more I can do for you.  I tried to negotiate having the gem removed, but I was overruled in every single debate.  I lost the debate that you shouldn’t have it for your protection, then I lost the debate that it was hurting you more than it was protecting you, and then I lost the debate that you should have it removed based strictly on the fact that they didn’t ask your permission before they installed it.”

“How did you lose that one?”

“Oh, I lost quickly.  Your crown was installed on you when you could not have understood what was being asked of you.  They basically think your grandmother, Letty, gave you to the Octavians as a present and they can do whatever they want with you… Including using you as a test subject like the way humans used to conduct experiments on mice.”

“Oh, they still do that on my planet,” Jenna said dully.  “I’m not exactly a rat in a cage, but I’m also not exactly free.”

“Maybe one day you will be,” Favel said pleasantly.

Jenna shrugged.  She would like to be mad at the Octavians.  She’d like it if she had it in her to be furious at Favel, but her head was feeling so much clearer that she did not want to bite the tentacle who brought her pain relief.  

“Will I change with a complete lack of fear?” she asked Favel suddenly.

He nodded.  “Yeah.  You’re going to be different, but the thing then is that you’re going to need to trust your thought processes instead of your feelings.  If your feelings say you’re safe, you’re going to need to ask yourself other questions, like if you would have thought you were safe before the jewel in the crown, before the earring.  If you would have been comfortable in the past, that might be a good way of judging whether or not you should feel safe in the present.  Your gut reaction might not be the smartest.  If you’re really curious as to how you would feel without it, you can always take it off for a minute.”

“Interesting,” she breathed.  “Now, I’m going to have to run you along.  I haven’t had a proper shower in ages and if I’m feeling better, if only for an hour, that is absolutely what I have to do.  You don’t mind running along, do you?”

“Not at all.  I actually have important things I’ve moved to the back burner in order to help you with the jewel.  A few of my wives are raging at me that I haven’t been keeping my other promises.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Jenna said levelly, “but I can’t put a value on what you’ve given me or the attention you’ve shown me to care for me during this time.  I’ll never forget it.  Thank you so much.”

Favel nodded.  

Jenna thought he knew that she would have thrown her arms around him for a friendly hug, but given the circumstances, she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to touch another person as long as she lived.  

So they nodded to each other like lifelong friends who nodded at each other across a crowded restaurant during brunch.  He called for Vash to wheel him out and Jenna closed the door to the bathroom behind her.

It turned out a shower was impossible as all the water that fell on her just got knocked away.  The earring didn’t stop the forcefield entirely.  It cut water droplets in half to protect her.

She had to have a bath instead.  Her forcefield did not get as angry over a bubble bath as it didn’t pop a single bubble.  She rested her head on the lip of the tub and imagined Sardius pacing languidly outside the tub, stretching his limbs like he was about to box someone.

His hazel eyes were muddy, but there were still stars in them.  Then he popped a few of the larger bubbles with his pointy knuckles and made a suggestive comment about how soft her skin looked.  

For just a moment, he felt so close.