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Amanda closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her father was meeting with an ambassador from Vulcan. There had been a little friction between Earth and Vulcan of late, and the ambassador was visiting to try to find a link that would bring common understanding and peace between the Vulcan’s and the humans. Although she was only 19, Amanda felt sure she knew what would happen at the end of this meeting. She would be given as a bride to a Vulcan ambassador, and therefore the government of earth and the government of Vulcan would have some common ground.
She was not sad that she would not have a romance and happy, loving marriage like all her friends had, she was not afraid of being in a foreign land with strange customs, she was not even afraid of being away from everything she had known and having no one to love her – she was afraid that she would not be able to do her duty as well as she ought. She was her father’s child. She swallowed hard. Yes, she was scared – she was terrified and she was sad – she was also her mother’s child.
Amanda rubbed her eyes and looked at herself in her mirror. She would be brave, and she would do her duty. She laughed to herself as she looked on her shelf and saw her piles upon piles of fairytales and fantasy books. She had always loved stories about princesses who had to do their duty even if it wasn’t exactly what they wanted, but now that it was happening to her, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea quite as much. But everything always turned out alright in the end. Would it turn out that way for her, she wondered.
There was a gentle rap at her door, and her cousin, a young man who was training under her father, came into the room.
“Rosie?” he said softly, peaking his head around the edge of the door.
“Yes, Lenny?” Amanda tried to smile.
“Your dad wants you.”
“Oh…”
“Amanda Rose,” he said, sitting down next to his cousin and putting his arm around her. “I know what you’re thinking, and, and, well, you’re right. Your dad does want you to marry that Vulcan –”
“Don’t, Lenny,” she said quietly. “He has a name, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Sarek.” Lenny paused, and smiled. “You’re a good kid, Rosie.”
Amanda rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Thanks…”
“Anyway, you’d better come on. He wants you to meet him.”
“Ok, just let me brush my hair.”
Amanda and her cousin walked slowly together to her father’s conference room. When they reached it Lenny stopped and turned Amanda towards him.
“You’ll be brave, won’t you, Rosie?”
“I hope so. It has to be done; it is my duty.”
Lenny leaned his face down and kissed his cousin’s forehead. “Go on, girly – you’re a valiant little twerp. I’ll miss you.”
Amanda smiled, and went into the conference room. Her father stood there by a man, or rather, a Vulcan, in a long, black and maroon robe, jaded and hemmed with gold and dark red stones as per the Vulcan’s tradition. He had black, slightly curly hair and his body was small, but his height seemed to be six feet. Amanda swallowed and called out to her father. Both men turned towards her. She flinched. His face – the Vulcan’s face – it was so… stern and hard, so bare of any emotion. Could she stand to live with that her entire life? She bit her lip, trying to hide her sudden emotion.
“Father, you called for me?” she said slowly, in her most professional tone.
“I did, my dear Amanda,” her father replied, evident pain in his eyes.
“What did you want?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
“I have arranged with the Vulcan ambassador, Sarek, that you are to go back to Vulcan with him as his bride.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You do not object?”
Amanda paused. “No, Father.”
The human ambassador hesitated. He seemed sad, but slightly relieved. The Vulcan ambassador stepped forward.
“I am Sarek,” he said in a fairly low, constrained voice. “Your father and I have agreed that it would be best for us both if we were to have a period of time to become familiar before I took you back to Vulcan.”
Amanda nodded. “I agree.”
“Would a space of a month be sufficient for you?”
“A month!? Y-yes. A month would be sufficient.”
The Vulcan nodded. “Good. I have other business to attend to; I will speak with you tomorrow.”He held up his hand in the Vulcan farewell. “Live long and prosper, Amanda.”
Amanda held up her hand. “Live long and prosper, Ambassador,” she replied.
Sarek nodded, then turned and left the room.
Amanda sat abruptly down, a funny feeling overcoming her. “Dad,” she began, but he held up his hand in protest.
“Amanda – I’m so sorry – I –”
“That’s just what I was trying to say, Dad. I don’t think I really mind all that much.”
“W-what?”
“I don’t think I mind marrying Sarek and going back to Vulcan. In fact, I think it’ll be kind of fun.”
“But what about your career, your students?”
“They play piano on Vulcan, don’t they?”
“Well, yes, I think they do.”
“Then I’ll teach there.”
Amanda’s father leaned down and placed his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Speak the truth to me, Amanda Rose,” he said almost sternly. “Do you want to do this or not? If you don’t – I can call the whole thing off! I can –”
“No, Daddy, I think I do want to do this.” And as Amanda continued to sense the odd feeling in her stomach, she was even surer than she had been before. “Yes,” she nodded. “I want to do this.”
The next day Amanda was sitting in her living room, reading a book, when she heard a gentle, but somewhat insistent knock at her door. She wondered if that was the sound of a Vulcan’s knock. She stood slowly, checked to make sure she looked all right in her mirror, and went to the door. The tall, spare figure of Sarek stood before her. This time he was dressed in a long black coat that crossed over the chest and buttoned at the shoulder and a pair of shin-high black boots and black pants. Amanda had to admit, she liked him in pants better than in his robe of the day before.
“Come in, Ambassador,” she smiled, beckoning him to enter the house. “Would you like me to take your coat?”
He nodded solemnly. Amanda took his coat, which revealed a high-collared, button down gray shirt, and hung it over the back of a chair in the corner.
“Please, come sit down. Would you like something to drink?”
“I would prefer not,” he said with a shake of his head.
Amanda was silent a moment, not quite sure how to proceed.
“Your father tells me that you teach the piano to the human youths,” said Sarek, walking over to the piano in the corner and looking at it.
“Yes I do,” nodded Amanda. “Even though I’m only 19, I’ve been teaching for about 5 years, and I have almost 30 students.”
“You are 19?” asked the Vulcan slowly. “I had thought you were older.”
“No,” smiled Amanda. “Just 19.”
“That is rather young for a human, is it not?”
“Well, sort of, I mean – humans live about 70 or 80 years.”
“I meant it was young for a human marriage.”
“Most humans get married in their early 20’s, but sometimes they get married at my age.”
“I see.”
“How long does a Vulcan usually live?”
“The average lifespan of a Vulcan is 200 years.”
“How old are you?”
Sarek looked at her. “Much older than you.”
Amanda looked at the floor. “So, what do Vulcan’s do to have fun?”
“For fun. Vulcan’s do not have – fun. What humans see as “fun” is most illogical.”
“I – I mean, what do they do they do when they’re not working or eating or sleeping? What do they do in their free time?”
“We study the ways of logic and try to perfect the control of our emotions.”
“Oh…” Amanda hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want something to drink?”
“I am sure.”
“Ok.”
They spoke together of the ways and traditions of Vulcan, and a few of the traditions of Earth, and they passed the rest of the afternoon. When Sarek left, Amanda fell down limply on her sofa and let out a heavy sigh.
“Oh…” she breathed, a smile in her lips. “What a funny, adorable man!”
She stopped herself mid-giggle and sat up. What was this odd feeling she felt? It was fear, sadness, joy, and eager expectation all wrapped into one. She shook it quickly off and went to her piano to practice.
The next day, Sarek came again, this time for a meal. Every day for the next three weeks Sarek and Amanda met, they would talk together, and Amanda even offered to teach him to play the piano – he graciously refused. Towards the end of the month Amanda invited her cousin Lenny to be present at a meal she was making for the ambassador. The conversation was much more tense than it had been any of the days before – this was mostly due to Lenny. When the meal was finished, Lenny requested a brief chat with the ambassador while Amanda cleaned up the dishes.
As they walked together around the outside of the house Lenny paused and grabbed tight hold of the ambassador’s arm. Sarek turned slowly towards Lenny and raised his eyebrows.
“What is this?” he asked slowly.
“I just want to warn you, Ambassador Sarek – I love my cousin like she was my sister – and you’d better be good to her, and take care of her, and you had better love her if you’re going to take her back to that bloody planet Vulcan of yours!”
The Vulcan furrowed his brows. “Love is an illogical emotion, Mr. Grayson. It is the logical thing to marry your cousin, and it is the logical thing to “take care of her” as you say. I will not be unkind to the lady Amanda, you may be sure that she will be treated with the utmost care that the Vulcan planet can give her.”
Lenny Grayson pursed his lips. “Well you’d better.”
“I shall, you may be sure of that.”
Amanda walked up to them at the tail end of this conversation and smiled. “I hope you two are getting along,” she said, rubbing her cousin on the back playfully.
“Your cousin seems concerned that I will not take care of you when I take you back to Vulcan.”
“Oh don’t be silly, Lenny,” Amanda laughed, standing on her toes and kissing his cheek. “The ambassador will take very good care of me, won’t you, Ambassador?”
Sarek nodded. “I will do my utmost.”
Amanda smiled, but Lenny did not seem convinced.
A day or so later Sarek came to visit Amanda and found her working in her flower garden. She looked up at him and smiled, wiping her sweaty face with the back of her dirty hand.
“Well hello!” she exclaimed with a little laugh. “I wasn’t expecting you this early. Sorry I’m such a mess.”
Sarek raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “There is no reason to apologize.”
“Well that’s nice to know.” Amanda stood from the ground and brushed the dirt off of her pants. “I suppose I’ll have to wear a dress all the time on Vulcan?”
“It is usually the custom.”
Amanda shrugged. “Oh well, I don’t really mind all that much.”
Amanda saw Sarek swallow, and a faint shade of nervousness passed over his stern face. “I spoke with your father this morning. He tells me that it is earth’s custom for a man to offer a woman a ring as a sign of their union.”
“That’s right,” replied Amanda. “And the woman takes it as a sign of her consent.”
Sarek bowed his head and slipped a thick, jaded ring off of his finger. “I offer you this ring, Lady Amanda, in return for your consent of our union.”
“And I take it, Ambassador Sarek.” Amanda took the ring, trying to slip it onto her finger but finding it too large. Sarek reached out his hands and touched Amanda’s, slowly slipping the ring onto her thumb.
Suddenly, Amanda burst out in a sudden fit of uproarious laughter. Sarek looked slightly alarmed, and, with a raise of his eyebrows, asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Amanda bit her lower lip to stop her laughter. “I – I’m sorry, Ambassador,” she smiled. “It’s just, I didn’t expect it to happen this way.”
“What to happen this way?”
“To fall in love this way.”
“Falling in love is illogical.”
“It’s more logical than marrying someone you don’t love, or don’t even like, isn’t it?”
Sarek hesitated. “I suppose – it is.”
Both the ambassador and the young woman were silent a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.
Sarek reached out two fingers and pressed them gently against Amanda’s. “This is the Vulcan kiss. You will be expected to use this method whenever we are in public.”
Amanda stood on her toes and pressed her lips gently against Sarek’s. “This is the human kiss. You will be expected to use this method whenever we are in private.”
Sarek raised an eyebrow, and Amanda smiled.
She was not sad that she would not have a romance and happy, loving marriage like all her friends had, she was not afraid of being in a foreign land with strange customs, she was not even afraid of being away from everything she had known and having no one to love her – she was afraid that she would not be able to do her duty as well as she ought. She was her father’s child. She swallowed hard. Yes, she was scared – she was terrified and she was sad – she was also her mother’s child.
Amanda rubbed her eyes and looked at herself in her mirror. She would be brave, and she would do her duty. She laughed to herself as she looked on her shelf and saw her piles upon piles of fairytales and fantasy books. She had always loved stories about princesses who had to do their duty even if it wasn’t exactly what they wanted, but now that it was happening to her, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea quite as much. But everything always turned out alright in the end. Would it turn out that way for her, she wondered.
There was a gentle rap at her door, and her cousin, a young man who was training under her father, came into the room.
“Rosie?” he said softly, peaking his head around the edge of the door.
“Yes, Lenny?” Amanda tried to smile.
“Your dad wants you.”
“Oh…”
“Amanda Rose,” he said, sitting down next to his cousin and putting his arm around her. “I know what you’re thinking, and, and, well, you’re right. Your dad does want you to marry that Vulcan –”
“Don’t, Lenny,” she said quietly. “He has a name, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Sarek.” Lenny paused, and smiled. “You’re a good kid, Rosie.”
Amanda rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Thanks…”
“Anyway, you’d better come on. He wants you to meet him.”
“Ok, just let me brush my hair.”
Amanda and her cousin walked slowly together to her father’s conference room. When they reached it Lenny stopped and turned Amanda towards him.
“You’ll be brave, won’t you, Rosie?”
“I hope so. It has to be done; it is my duty.”
Lenny leaned his face down and kissed his cousin’s forehead. “Go on, girly – you’re a valiant little twerp. I’ll miss you.”
Amanda smiled, and went into the conference room. Her father stood there by a man, or rather, a Vulcan, in a long, black and maroon robe, jaded and hemmed with gold and dark red stones as per the Vulcan’s tradition. He had black, slightly curly hair and his body was small, but his height seemed to be six feet. Amanda swallowed and called out to her father. Both men turned towards her. She flinched. His face – the Vulcan’s face – it was so… stern and hard, so bare of any emotion. Could she stand to live with that her entire life? She bit her lip, trying to hide her sudden emotion.
“Father, you called for me?” she said slowly, in her most professional tone.
“I did, my dear Amanda,” her father replied, evident pain in his eyes.
“What did you want?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
“I have arranged with the Vulcan ambassador, Sarek, that you are to go back to Vulcan with him as his bride.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You do not object?”
Amanda paused. “No, Father.”
The human ambassador hesitated. He seemed sad, but slightly relieved. The Vulcan ambassador stepped forward.
“I am Sarek,” he said in a fairly low, constrained voice. “Your father and I have agreed that it would be best for us both if we were to have a period of time to become familiar before I took you back to Vulcan.”
Amanda nodded. “I agree.”
“Would a space of a month be sufficient for you?”
“A month!? Y-yes. A month would be sufficient.”
The Vulcan nodded. “Good. I have other business to attend to; I will speak with you tomorrow.”He held up his hand in the Vulcan farewell. “Live long and prosper, Amanda.”
Amanda held up her hand. “Live long and prosper, Ambassador,” she replied.
Sarek nodded, then turned and left the room.
Amanda sat abruptly down, a funny feeling overcoming her. “Dad,” she began, but he held up his hand in protest.
“Amanda – I’m so sorry – I –”
“That’s just what I was trying to say, Dad. I don’t think I really mind all that much.”
“W-what?”
“I don’t think I mind marrying Sarek and going back to Vulcan. In fact, I think it’ll be kind of fun.”
“But what about your career, your students?”
“They play piano on Vulcan, don’t they?”
“Well, yes, I think they do.”
“Then I’ll teach there.”
Amanda’s father leaned down and placed his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Speak the truth to me, Amanda Rose,” he said almost sternly. “Do you want to do this or not? If you don’t – I can call the whole thing off! I can –”
“No, Daddy, I think I do want to do this.” And as Amanda continued to sense the odd feeling in her stomach, she was even surer than she had been before. “Yes,” she nodded. “I want to do this.”
The next day Amanda was sitting in her living room, reading a book, when she heard a gentle, but somewhat insistent knock at her door. She wondered if that was the sound of a Vulcan’s knock. She stood slowly, checked to make sure she looked all right in her mirror, and went to the door. The tall, spare figure of Sarek stood before her. This time he was dressed in a long black coat that crossed over the chest and buttoned at the shoulder and a pair of shin-high black boots and black pants. Amanda had to admit, she liked him in pants better than in his robe of the day before.
“Come in, Ambassador,” she smiled, beckoning him to enter the house. “Would you like me to take your coat?”
He nodded solemnly. Amanda took his coat, which revealed a high-collared, button down gray shirt, and hung it over the back of a chair in the corner.
“Please, come sit down. Would you like something to drink?”
“I would prefer not,” he said with a shake of his head.
Amanda was silent a moment, not quite sure how to proceed.
“Your father tells me that you teach the piano to the human youths,” said Sarek, walking over to the piano in the corner and looking at it.
“Yes I do,” nodded Amanda. “Even though I’m only 19, I’ve been teaching for about 5 years, and I have almost 30 students.”
“You are 19?” asked the Vulcan slowly. “I had thought you were older.”
“No,” smiled Amanda. “Just 19.”
“That is rather young for a human, is it not?”
“Well, sort of, I mean – humans live about 70 or 80 years.”
“I meant it was young for a human marriage.”
“Most humans get married in their early 20’s, but sometimes they get married at my age.”
“I see.”
“How long does a Vulcan usually live?”
“The average lifespan of a Vulcan is 200 years.”
“How old are you?”
Sarek looked at her. “Much older than you.”
Amanda looked at the floor. “So, what do Vulcan’s do to have fun?”
“For fun. Vulcan’s do not have – fun. What humans see as “fun” is most illogical.”
“I – I mean, what do they do they do when they’re not working or eating or sleeping? What do they do in their free time?”
“We study the ways of logic and try to perfect the control of our emotions.”
“Oh…” Amanda hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want something to drink?”
“I am sure.”
“Ok.”
They spoke together of the ways and traditions of Vulcan, and a few of the traditions of Earth, and they passed the rest of the afternoon. When Sarek left, Amanda fell down limply on her sofa and let out a heavy sigh.
“Oh…” she breathed, a smile in her lips. “What a funny, adorable man!”
She stopped herself mid-giggle and sat up. What was this odd feeling she felt? It was fear, sadness, joy, and eager expectation all wrapped into one. She shook it quickly off and went to her piano to practice.
The next day, Sarek came again, this time for a meal. Every day for the next three weeks Sarek and Amanda met, they would talk together, and Amanda even offered to teach him to play the piano – he graciously refused. Towards the end of the month Amanda invited her cousin Lenny to be present at a meal she was making for the ambassador. The conversation was much more tense than it had been any of the days before – this was mostly due to Lenny. When the meal was finished, Lenny requested a brief chat with the ambassador while Amanda cleaned up the dishes.
As they walked together around the outside of the house Lenny paused and grabbed tight hold of the ambassador’s arm. Sarek turned slowly towards Lenny and raised his eyebrows.
“What is this?” he asked slowly.
“I just want to warn you, Ambassador Sarek – I love my cousin like she was my sister – and you’d better be good to her, and take care of her, and you had better love her if you’re going to take her back to that bloody planet Vulcan of yours!”
The Vulcan furrowed his brows. “Love is an illogical emotion, Mr. Grayson. It is the logical thing to marry your cousin, and it is the logical thing to “take care of her” as you say. I will not be unkind to the lady Amanda, you may be sure that she will be treated with the utmost care that the Vulcan planet can give her.”
Lenny Grayson pursed his lips. “Well you’d better.”
“I shall, you may be sure of that.”
Amanda walked up to them at the tail end of this conversation and smiled. “I hope you two are getting along,” she said, rubbing her cousin on the back playfully.
“Your cousin seems concerned that I will not take care of you when I take you back to Vulcan.”
“Oh don’t be silly, Lenny,” Amanda laughed, standing on her toes and kissing his cheek. “The ambassador will take very good care of me, won’t you, Ambassador?”
Sarek nodded. “I will do my utmost.”
Amanda smiled, but Lenny did not seem convinced.
A day or so later Sarek came to visit Amanda and found her working in her flower garden. She looked up at him and smiled, wiping her sweaty face with the back of her dirty hand.
“Well hello!” she exclaimed with a little laugh. “I wasn’t expecting you this early. Sorry I’m such a mess.”
Sarek raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “There is no reason to apologize.”
“Well that’s nice to know.” Amanda stood from the ground and brushed the dirt off of her pants. “I suppose I’ll have to wear a dress all the time on Vulcan?”
“It is usually the custom.”
Amanda shrugged. “Oh well, I don’t really mind all that much.”
Amanda saw Sarek swallow, and a faint shade of nervousness passed over his stern face. “I spoke with your father this morning. He tells me that it is earth’s custom for a man to offer a woman a ring as a sign of their union.”
“That’s right,” replied Amanda. “And the woman takes it as a sign of her consent.”
Sarek bowed his head and slipped a thick, jaded ring off of his finger. “I offer you this ring, Lady Amanda, in return for your consent of our union.”
“And I take it, Ambassador Sarek.” Amanda took the ring, trying to slip it onto her finger but finding it too large. Sarek reached out his hands and touched Amanda’s, slowly slipping the ring onto her thumb.
Suddenly, Amanda burst out in a sudden fit of uproarious laughter. Sarek looked slightly alarmed, and, with a raise of his eyebrows, asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Amanda bit her lower lip to stop her laughter. “I – I’m sorry, Ambassador,” she smiled. “It’s just, I didn’t expect it to happen this way.”
“What to happen this way?”
“To fall in love this way.”
“Falling in love is illogical.”
“It’s more logical than marrying someone you don’t love, or don’t even like, isn’t it?”
Sarek hesitated. “I suppose – it is.”
Both the ambassador and the young woman were silent a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.
Sarek reached out two fingers and pressed them gently against Amanda’s. “This is the Vulcan kiss. You will be expected to use this method whenever we are in public.”
Amanda stood on her toes and pressed her lips gently against Sarek’s. “This is the human kiss. You will be expected to use this method whenever we are in private.”
Sarek raised an eyebrow, and Amanda smiled.
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Here's my little take on Sarek and Amanda's "romance" 
Hope you like it.
Please, don't make comments about how things are inaccurate - I'm a fairly new Trekkie and I'm only working off of what I know currently. Those sorts of comments hurt my feelings. Thanks!
Hope you like it.
Please, don't make comments about how things are inaccurate - I'm a fairly new Trekkie and I'm only working off of what I know currently. Those sorts of comments hurt my feelings. Thanks!
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Omg how cute