Free Aries Fire by Elaine Edelson

up for that by choosing others of equal beauty and style.  All total she had taken twelve new pair. That seemed too many.  She weeded through them laboriously. It was hard to choose.  Five. Yes, that would be enough, one for every occasion. Although she was sure that she would encounter more than five occasions in the near future, she didn’t want to seem ungrateful. 
    Seira stowed her new shoes into her bag, packed the discarded ones, and refastened the hook. She kicked the schooling pouch out of the way and dragged the case to the other side of her door. She kept the jeweled pair near the cot. She would have to wash her perfume-stained clothes another time, but her hair couldn’t wait.
    A tired leg kicked clothes over mathematics books. Hands moved quickly and ripped off her dress.  She stuck her head into the bucket of dirty lemon water and rubbed her fingers through her scalp until she was sure that her skin was pink.  Her head flipped back and her hair whipped against her neck; cold droplets ran down her back.  She pushed her palms through her wet hair and caused a tiny waterfall to cascade over the river of droplets.
    She was satisfied with her quick cleansing and pulled a plain, wrinkled linen tunic from the bunk and covered herself. This one was somehow protected from her earlier escapade.  She laid down on the bunk to rest and thought it was a convenient time to plan her escape from Lem. 
    It took only a second before she realized that her mind didn’t want to be a part of political intrigue. Her mother quietly crept into her thoughts, floating in a clear memory.
    She remembered how Hypatia walked through the salon once, about a year past.  It was late and most of the students had gone.  A few remained to discuss the theories of Plato and Hypatia’s viewpoint. 
    Seira sat and read the works of Petosiris, a famous Egyptian astrologer priest who lived almost twelve hundred years before her time. Not much remained of his writings, but fortunately for her, Hypatia and Theon had founded the most prominent Academy in Egypt.  It boasted an extensive library, second only to those in Greece. She spent most of her time pretending to read philosophy, but instead, read anything she could about the stars.
    The murmurs of the students stopped when her mother gathered her belongings and breezed from the room like a desert wind; dry, warm, and leaving the audience unmistakably thirsty. Seira saw how they stroked Hypatia with their eyes; admiration mixed with yearning, even the young women adored her. The men longed to touch her, as simple as that. She could hear their bodies groan with desire even though their mouths said nothing. 
    Even though she had been witness to that situation countless times, it wasn’t until now that she understood something about it. She now understood how it felt to be the recipient of want.  A deep need for understanding arose in her.  Perhaps it was the way the students looked at her mother; the way the crew looked at her that intrigued Seira.  Was it debauched or merely primitive admiration?
    She massaged her neck and stretched it, thankful for a place to lie upon.  Her fingers were gentle against her soft skin.  The touch of hands on skin made her question. 
    Why did mother shun affection? 
    It felt so good to be touched.  She lifted her arms into the air and lightly ran her fingers down the inside of her forearm.  Seira’s body suddenly came alive as if she’d been unaware of a lifetime of numbness. She tried to remember if she had felt this aroused at any time in Egypt.  She wasn’t able to think for very long while she tickled herself.
    She thought about Alexander’s fingers.  She loved the way he took her face firmly in his hands with such agility and purpose. She felt the same type of arousal, but he wasn’t perverse; the feeling wasn’t anything except…misexcept everything.  That’s what it was, a pleasing sensation in one area of the body before it flooded