Free My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann Page A

the proceeding without more tears.
    “If you saw me when I arrived here, you can probably guess what happened. The passage from my world to yours was like being birthed through a sieve and pummeled in a giant tumbler at the same time. I believe I may have come through somewhere in here.” She looked down at the floor. “And after a few moments I heard voices. One of them was yours.” She looked at Sol. “And one of them was yours.” She looked at Storm. “There were a couple of others. Storm carried me to the infirmary. I owe him my life. That was a little over three months ago.
    Since I’ve been here I’ve learned that your world is similar to mine, but not the same. That’s the end of my story except to say that, if my family had lived, I would surely be a great disappointment. The shame I carry for my lack of action, having stood in place, having done nothing while all those around me died, is something that I will carry with me every minute for the rest of my life.” She swallowed hard. “I was trained to act in defense of the king, but thought it was just another exercise in useless custom. A game of sorts. When the time came, I did not defend the king or even the people I most love. I have had many weeks to think about what happened. I have sworn to leave nothing out and want to append this vow to my statement. Should I ever again have an opportunity to act in defense of the life of another, I swear that I will not stand frozen in fear and dishonor.”
    She looked down at the floor for a few seconds while everyone in the room remained transfixed and statue still. Then she walked, with as much dignity as she could muster, back to the end of the table, sat on the designated chair and folded her hands in her lap in a dignified and ladylike posture.
    “That is all,” she said.
    After a few moments, Sol cleared his throat. “Ms. Laiken, do you need a break before we continue with questions?”
    “No.” She had not looked at Storm because she feared seeing censorship on his face. She was sure that, after hearing her confession, there would be no more visits, No walks. No smiles. No games of chess.
    One of the panel asked who may have perpetrated the attack on Elora’s family, not because the answer to that question was relevant to the proceedings at hand, but because they were personally caught up in the story and wanted to know more. She gave a brief answer regarding clan politics with the disclaimer that any answer would be pure speculation; that there were rivals and that history indicated that a pattern of power shifts occurred every two hundred years or so.
    Another asked what differences she had noticed between the worlds. She replied that any knowledge of differences had come from watching TV because she was not able to move about freely in their society. She said her initial impression is that this world is more advanced technologically, but lagging behind the pop culture of her world by about twenty years or so. By pop culture she meant such things as clothes, hair, makeup, music, and dance styles. She said she often has to ask about the use of certain phrases, but that she is making progress in understanding; that she listens carefully trying to match the cadence of the English dialect commonly spoken. She said there are many foods that are popular on TV that she has never heard of like fried chicken and burritos.
    Another asked what sort of place she thought she had been in for the past three months. Since she was facing the wall with the giant, Black Swan banner, her eyes traveled upward and rested there for a moment before she answered. “I’ve been told this is a military base and that you carry out some sort of special operations. I know it must be dangerous work because you maintain a fully functional hospital complete with surgery. I witnessed the arrival of an emergency, not long ago, one that looked quite serious. The young gentleman’s comrades were quite distraught and almost as bloody