"I'm sorry," Tescadji said quietly.
"Think nothing of it," Jenius said, quickly recovering from his grim reverie. "I continue this work to honor her, and I think that she'd be proud."
***
Alaema smiled.
She would probably never get used to the feeling of relief. Gone were the desires that used to constantly slam against the door of her soul. Though Skori and Sedriil had misgivings about the operation, she had determined within herself to do it. And now, she was free … more free than she had been the day that Mericlou had brought her home from the brothel. She was still a Setru model, but now, she was no longer weighed down by the lusts that her former programming had entailed. Now, she was better than free; she was whole.
It was as if she had been reborn. Yet, she still retained a bit of her bad-girl streak, as she often took to sneaking off to Gheed and back with Garen. Though the rest of her family did not mind their situation, she refused to remain cooped up in this tree-house for the next fifty years, only leaving to tend that garden in Skainhart. Well, there was Noroa and Garen's adorable baby girl, and of course Meri's ferret to take care of, but Noroa did a better job with both than she did, even though she tried. And unlike the baby, whenever no one bothered to lavish attention on the ferret, she would always steal away into the forest with her other black-coated friend. Oh well; at least she wouldn't be lonely without Meri around. But rather than stay at home where it was "safe," as Skori was so fond of reminding her, she was an android who liked to mingle.
And one day, she happened to mingle with the right person: a human who swept her off her feet in a way she thought no man could ever do. And now, under the boughs of the trees in the glade beneath Aldrec's former home, he had proposed to her … and she accepted.
And today of all days, her heart swelled with more overwhelming joy. She had seen Meri!
Her face appeared in the mirror that morning … and what a different face it was, almost unrecognizable. Though her green hair was still present, as well as her amber eyes and the tiny mole below her lips, her skin was flesh-toned, and her voice human. She explained that it was because of whatever magic that elf maiden had used to revive and change her that her body had slowly been changing over that year. And to prove it, she turned her head to the side, and revealed her ears, now longer, and with a slight point to them. Still, Meri insisted that she was still an android, and that it was only her outer appearance and voice that had changed.