Baird, Week 3One night, after she went to bed, Dahlia heard a light outside. Hurriedly she dressed, and it wasn't until she opened the front door that she thought how strange it was that she should "hear" a light. By that time she could see the column, and felt herself irresistibly pulled into it...
"Greetings, simling," someone said.
Dahlia was in a room of gray metal with greenish light flickering in patterns on the wall. It reminded her of something yes, that outfit worn by the odd woman on the other side of the lake. There were two other people in the room with her, one with dark blue skin and the other a deep olive in color.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"We're not here to answer your questions, simling," the dark blue one growled. "We're here to tell you to move."
"Now, now," said the olive green one. "You can't expect her to move just on your say-so. Do you know anything about the war between the Zargons and the Oirats?" The question was addressed to Dahlia.
"No," she answered.
"It's only been the talk of the galaxy for the past 500 years," the blue simnoid said snarkily.
"I won't bore you with the details of the previous battles..." the green simnoid began.
"Most of which you lost," interrupted the blue one.
"All you really need to know is that you've set your house in the middle of the current battlefield, so you'll have to move."
"Are you planning on taking over all of my world eventually?" Dahlia asked.
"Well..." the green one hedged.
"Yes," said the blue one bluntly.
"Then I think I'll stay right where I am," said Dahlia.
The two simnoids exchanged looks.
"It could get very nasty," the green simnoid warned. "You and your family could get frozen and beat up."
"Not to mention the damage we'll do to your plumbing," the blue one added with a grin.
"If that's all, I'll take my chances," said Dahlia. "I'd like to go back, now." She really wished that she could exit the room haughtily, but there was no door that she could see, and her house was rather a long way down.
The blue simnoid and the green one conferred for a moment in a strange language. Then the green one spoke: "Since it is your planet, we'll give you the same terms we have to follow." She listed the requirements for Dahlia and her heirs store worth a certain amount, heir has to max so many skills, etc., etc.
Dahlia nodded when she finished speaking and pressed her finger to the pad that the green one handed her.
"Oh, very sneaky!" the blue one exclaimed. "I see it now. With the simling involved, that means we could get five lots each and our battle to end all battles could result in a tie. I should have known we couldn't trust you Oirats."
"I didn't think of that," the green simnoid said. "You're right, with the simling involved, there is a possibility of a tie. Hmmm..."
"What's this about a Museum?" Dahlia asked, looking over the document they'd handed her.
"The usual," said the blue simnoid. "X number of items collected or made by our heirs, plus visual representations of the members of the faction."
"In our world, we tend to assign things a monetary value," said Dahlia. "You could decide that the monetary value of the Museums is a tie-breaker." She held her breath and tried not to look too eager while the two simnoids conferred again.
"Done," said the green simnoid.
The next thing Dahlia knew, she was landing in her front yard, a bit dazed by the whole experience.
She gave Zoe and J the gist of the conversation and then stumbled off to bed.
The next morning Zoe told Mitch all about the simnoids. Azalea was having breakfast and listened wide-eyed to their talk until Zoe noticed that she was there. "I'm sure your mom will explain it to you," she said.
Azalea had to go to school, but when she got home that evening, she drew a picture of an alien. Just the thought that she'd have to fight these creatures made her shiver.
"What's the problem, sprout?" J asked her.
"I'm scared of the aliens," she said. "I don't want them taking over the planet, but I don't know if I can do everything I have to."
"Well, we're all here to help you," said J. "It's our planet, too."
He and Azalea took a picture together, and Azalea felt better.
The next day Dahlia finished her finest masterpiece so far one of the trees in full flower lit by a sunset.
She went down to the basement to ask J to come upstairs and look at it. To her surprise, he dropped to one knee and began to propose.
Dahlia accepted.
"Should we have the wedding now or wait and make a big party out of it?" she asked.
"Better make it now," said J. "Before my noncommittal trait kicks in."
Dahlia changed quickly into a jacket and skirt. "It's not a bridal gown," she said, "but I'm not getting married with sunblock on my nose."
"I love you," said J, "and I think you're very brave to stand up to those aliens."
"I love you, too," said Dahlia.
The next day she set up a museum containing her portrait, done by Zoe. "I've looked over the list of acceptable items for the museum," she said. "I'm pretty sure we can beat them if it comes to a tie. Of course, I'm hoping we'll be able to win, anyway Newcrest for us simlings, eh?"
"I've been working on something you might find useful," Gavin told her later that day. "If you read this book I've written for you, you'll find that you don't feel tired or hungry or lonely. I've written one for Azalea, too, but you'll have to read it for her; she's not old enough yet."
Dahlia opened the book and read a few pages. To her surprise, all her needs were filled, just as Gavin had said. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed. "What an incredible writer you are."
Gavin shrugged. "Us simlings have to stick together."
Using the two books, Dahlia was able to spend more time at the store. One evening she spotted one of her rivals Aniara Zargon. She was tempted to pick a fight with her, but decided it would be better to make capital out of her visit. Dahlia answered questions, asked about price range, and discussed shopping preferences until Aniara decided to buy one of her posters, racking up perk points all the while.
And upstairs, Azalea was practicing on the violin.
When she reached level 5, Dahlia bought her a piano and placed it in the museum.
Even Maliya was helping, becoming good friends with Rusty Manley so that he could become a teenager when she and Azalea did.
Holiday season was approaching, and Azalea and Maliya got new dresses to wear. They were both excited and posed to show them off.
Time was passing quickly, though. All of a sudden, it was time for J's adult birthday...
...and then Gavin's.
In a few days, Dahlia would become an adult herself, and then Azalea would become a teen. Were they moving fast enough to defeat the aliens? Dahlia was still only a level 5 painter, and a long way from accumulating all the perk points she needed.
