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Devran frowned. “She must be hungry by now.” He checked her quarters, and they indicated a shower and the door opening. The last record of her had occurred four hours earlier in the commissary.

“Maythuan, I want you to put out a call in the ship to locate Mistress Aya. Speak in Yakanel so she doesn’t understand it. I don’t want her to feel embarrassed. I don’t want her accosted, just located.”

Maythuan nodded, and he made the announcement that Devran was wondering as to the location of his lady. “Please contact the captain with the information, and do not interrupt the lady herself.”

Devran felt nervous. The ship could be dangerous, and she didn’t have a com to call for help. He should have woken her in the morning and escorted her to breakfast himself.

There were a few reports of her walking through the ship looking confused, but one gardener finally called in to say she was in the oxygen farm, and she was weeping.

Devran mentally cursed. “I am on my way.”

He nodded to Maythuan and left the captain’s office.

He didn’t run; it wasn’t urgent, but he felt the urgency. She was upset, and she was alone. That was not a good combination.

* * * *

Aya listened to the ship-wide notification and wasn’t sure it was about her until one of the gardeners stood up, looked at her, and then he walked to a com unit. He spoke calmly and then left the unit and returned to work. The slow looks he flicked at her confirmed her suspicion.

She continued meditating with her eyes still seeping tears. She couldn’t stop and knew it was upsetting the crew.

She kept herself in the zone with the scent of grasses, flowers, and trees around her, but her mind kept building walls. She needed someone to anchor herself, but it wasn’t something she could inflict on a stranger.

Aya felt someone standing in front of her, and she opened her eyes. “Oh, hello, Devran. Should I not be here?”

He held a hand out to her. “You can go anywhere you like on this ship. The captain was supposed to assign you a guide, but he forgot. I try to leave him autonomy, but in this case, he got busy with staff changes and forgot.”

She looked at his hand and reached for him. When his fingers closed around hers, he waited for a moment and then helped her to her feet when she leaned forward. She wiped her cheeks and said, “Sorry. I can’t stop crying.”

He offered her an arm, and she put her hand on the back of his wrist. He walked the halls with her, taking a far more direct route than she had.

She said, “I found the green space on my own.”

He nodded. “That is well done of you. Why were you crying?”

“Because I woke up and covered up in a bunch of layers. Because I don’t want to be alone in a room anymore. The moment I woke, I had an anxiety attack. It took a force of will to put on this dress and even more to get myself into the hallway. Once I could see people, things were better, but an ensign stopped and helped me find my way to the commissary. I got my food and took a normal seat at a normal table but was told I had to sit at your table.”

“And you don’t like being told where to be.”

“It is just more confinement. So now I need to wait until tomorrow to find out what the food tastes like.”

He frowned. “You didn’t eat?”

“I ate. I just couldn’t taste it. I was agitated, so I ate and left. You should have seen the stares I got when I put my tray at the cleaning station.” She grimaced.

“Disapproving?”

“I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do. Everyone is treating me as your companion, but you don’t have companions.”

He smiled. “That is true, but I have one now. Would you like a contract? It will offer you considerable protection.”

“Um, may I think about it for one more day?”

“Of course. You have had several hours between meals, so let’s go and get you a snack.”

She grimaced. “Okay. Can I pick my food?”

“Of course.”