* * *
With a snap and a whir, the two ornately engraved doors of the tramwaiter opened onto a courtyard filled with the early morning noise of a hurried spring day. The sun had recently peeked its head over the eastern garden wall, waking insects, they busily singing happy tunes to the golden rays of light. Bees of every kind made musical love to the colorful spring flowers decorating the deep, rich, jungle-like greenery in this secluded enclave of beauty.
Out from the tramwaiter and into this joyous symphony of sensual delights jumped a handsome man seeking the company of a most elusive lady friend. His feet merrily tapping a happy beat upon the cobblestone path, Zadar hurried his step toward a humble door still hidden in morning shadows. Unable to hold his excitement in check as he neared, Zadar broke into a little song while his feet skipped along keeping up the beat. Oh, how the world had changed in the past few days, he filled with emotions never before experienced.
Stepping up to the door, the young fellow patted his new smoky-gray blouse and trousers, and then tilted his officer’s kepi – its waxed bill and wide black band glistening bright, even in the shadows – until it was just right. Clearing his throat, he leaned forward and gave an ever so soft rap on the door.
(Author’s note: Trisha liked the new dress colors for the army uniforms. Hers was similar to Zadar’s except it was less ornate and she did not tuck the pants into her boots. Also, her blouse was more formfitting, thus accenting her delightful figure. At the moment, Trisha was not wearing a sash or jacket, but the blouse did have the emblem of her rank sewn on the left sleeve and front left breast.
The design of the emblem was the same as the one Trisha wore at the Council meeting, but the coloring was different. At the meeting, she had one that was blue with gold embroidery. The new one was the same color green as Zadar’s shell jacket and instead of the rune representing ‘Boaz’ being embroidered in gold, it was done in a shimmering, burning copper-green. The rune for ‘Jachin’ was done in a metallic, sky-blue thread. The green ‘Boaz’ stood for the Army, the blue, ‘Jachin’, for the Navy. The division had come about when Mihai resigned as field marshal, which was a command over all military forces. The separation of Army and Navy command created two supreme commanders: field marshal and admiral. This was part of the new military that was emerging in the First Realm.) Excerpted from Tabitha Copeland’s work, Dogs of War.
“Who is it?!” A sharp, almost annoyed voice on the other side of that door asked.
Surprised but alert, Zadar made a quick reply. “It’s Leften… er… Lieutenant Zadar, reporting as requested!” He reached for the door handle.
The same curt voice shouted through the door, “You wait there! I’ll be out in a minute.”
Scratching his head while screwing his face up in questioning wonder, Zadar pondered the moment. He did not understand this Trisha creature at all. For nine carefree days they had wandered the wilderness of Diamond, carrying only the packs on their backs. Trisha was more like a child on holiday than a new commanding officer in charge of the Empire’s army. She and Zadar spent endless hours splashing in the mineral pools, spelunking in hidden caves, and just frolicking in the high desert thickets and canyons.
He smiled to think of the time that Trisha, refusing to listen to his mentoring ways, attempted the crossing of a theoxified streambed - a mineral brook formed deep underground when its waters pass through a substance the children called ‘theoxian’, which, when diluted with water, lowers the temperature of the resulting liquid far below freezing, it taking several hours to detoxify after exiting the depths below. The woman had fallen into the chill waters, she being swept along by the torrent until becoming totally soaked. A warm fire, comfy wool blankets, and a few loving hugs – to chase away the cold, of course - and Trisha was fully recovered and ready to take on other adventures.
Like two children on a quest, two peas in a pod, that was how Zadar felt about his relationship with Trisha. Anytime there was a break in the schedule of meetings and official procedures, she and Zadar were off on a run to explore this exciting new land. Trisha was more childlike than even she could remember. Life was fresh and fun, a joy it was to be alive. For Zadar this was a most intriguing time, filled with new and unexplained emotions.
He smiled to himself. So, this was Heaven, or what it was meant to be? If so, might it never end…
Then there was the journey to Pyre Mountain. Time afforded the duo opportunity to pay a visit upon one of the Diamond’s most outstanding residents, Pyre Mountain, an ever-erupting volcano far to the north of the wilderness’ bubbling springs, nearly a day’s journey by pack animals, but well worth the effort. Beneath the glowing summit, Sulfur Lake lay nestled between two high bluffs, its many boiling springs and excitable geysers creating a wonderland of delights. It was a matter of folklore that one who spent a night resting upon the lake’s misty shores or swam in its deep iridescent pools was forever changed. Zadar contended the folktales to be more truth than fiction.
It was a long, tiring day making their way to the lake and, after setting up camp for the night, the couple did little other than stroll the shore searching the many steaming pools for sand nuggets, tiny crustaceans said to thrive in the lake’s tepid estuaries. Not only were their shells of beautiful hues, but also it was rumored they were to be savored for their excellent flavor when steamed. Having eventually returned to camp with rich rewards for diligent effort, Zadar had cooked up a feast. They ate until bursting to satisfaction and then reclined in the warm sands near the southern end of the lake.
Long after the sun set and the golden mist was gathering to shroud the shore in its foggy embraces, the two sat, staring at the glowing reflection of Pyre Mountain in the shimmering stillness of Sulfur Lake. Finally, Zadar broke the silence. “I puzzle at my feelings. It is said that this place forever changes people, and the feelings I am now experiencing are definitely strange to me, but I don’t believe them caused by my presence here.”
Trisha leaned close until her shoulder touched his. She asked him to explain.
“Well, I feel strange, like part of me is missing, yet when you’re near me the feeling subsides. My heart hurts, too. Never have I felt it so. Do you know what might be?”
Trisha only smiled, offering no hint for a solution.
The following evening, when the sun escaped behind the cliffs, Zadar and Trisha took a long, swimming soak in the frothy waters near a hot spring. Trisha dared the darkness to be seen as she truly was made, enjoying the bubbly foam in the way Lowenah intended for her children. The night was warm, the air sharp and sweet. Saying not a word, she took Zadar’s hand and then tenderly kissed him on the lips. That night they shared their first romance on a moss-laden beach, resting in each other’s arms well into the night. Then, just as silently, Trisha rose, bathed in the nearby cove and, alone, returned to camp.
The following morning Zadar found Trisha to be distant almost to the point of being rude. She spoke few words and then only of business yet to be finished and the anticipated journey back. After their return, Trisha was off on official matters, ignoring Zadar until later in the evening, even then, at dinner, speaking to him only in formal conversation. When the meal was finished and the other officers and guests were retiring for the night, a very nervous Trisha asked Zadar for council. They strolled along a grassy path that led down past a peach grove and far from the lights of the lodge.
At length they came to a parting in the path, an obelisk long fallen at the center of the fork. Taking Zadar’s hand, Trisha asked him to sit. She searched her thoughts for just the right words. “Zadar, this is such a strange world for me, for should we have loved in my old world like we did just yester-eve, my people would have condemned me a harlot. It is so troubling for my heart to relearn that what is really such a beautiful thing between a man and woman is treated with such disgust in my world of old.”
She began to nervously rub her knees. “I love and
fear your world…love it for it allows me breath and freedom…freedom to think without guilt. I fear because I am confused…confused into believing that I live but a dream and shall awake to the accusations of angry men, cursing me for enjoying life. Is this life real, or will I awake only to find I, too, dreamed here only to have any honest hope for love dashed and ever destroyed?”
“Zadar, I have watched the pleasure your people find being lost in acts of love that would be considered lurid and obscene by my people of old, even of those in these current days. And yet your kind practice for others to see the very acts my kind hide in the darkness, behind curtains thick. And to speak of such sensual acts aloud? Why a woman could get her tongue removed for merely whispering such things in secret. And yet here I sit, I, too, at a crossroads, deciding my future fate.”
She took Zadar’s hand, wrapping it up in hers. “I am very fond of you. I dare not say it any other way for now. My eyes have watched. I’ve studied your love-making with the ladies, and many there are. They stand in line as if waiting turn, caring not whose bed you have recently departed, desirous only to be next in sharing your love. Your passion is unbridled with them, yet you were so gentle with me. In my old world, few men cared for my pleasure, even the best being demanding and harsh. To them, a woman’s body was little more than a warm piece of meat to be skewered upon their manliness.”
“Still, old feelings die hard. The thought of one man and woman among my kind was absolute, at least only one man for a woman, she being his property. It is such a strange feeling to overcome, to see and feel love that is based upon what is found in the heart and not in an act of intercourse. So strange to have many lovers, but to be in love with but one, or hold just one so close while sharing the bed with many. It hurts my mind.”
Zadar nodded his understanding. “I was born into a world forlorn and dismayed. The carefree days of romantic bliss were long trampled in the sands of lies and betrayal. For me, my coming of age days were filled with explosive sensual desire for the satisfaction of my flesh, I learning not to love a woman as she needed until long into my adulthood. But the women of my early days were patient with me, pandering to my prurient desires until my flesh became filled to satisfaction. Then I began to learn how to love, sensing what my lover wanted without speaking a word to me.”
“As I grew, I learned reasons for the laws Mother made to protect your kind in the worlds below. Little more than slaves your kind became, and so badly treated, may I add. If it had not been for such taboos, what would have been the fate of womankind? Slave pens and brothels, at best, would have been your fate. Anyway, I do see what needs you have and I so much wish to make you happy. I will try to adjust to your feelings, just as my sisters did to mine. I…”
“No! No!” Trisha shook her head. “That is not what I want from you! You must understand that it is me who must rethink my life and this new and strange world that I now live in. Someday I may have many lovers, though the thought of it troubles my heart for the moment. But I do want you to care for your sisters. I see the way they look at you. I would be worse than a thief should I steal you away from them. No, better is a sip of brandy than an empty cask full of dreams. You create much joy in the hearts of many. Desert your sisters and I will be shamed into deserting you.”
Trisha spoke not another word. She took Zadar’s hand, they slowly journeying back to the lodge, saying their good nights outside her stateroom door. At parting, she kissed her young fellow on the lips, thanking him for a wonderful few days, and then quickly slipped through the door into the darkness within.
Zadar stood stunned, the ever-growing ache only increasing in strength. He departed in a tizzy, his heart floundering between explosive happiness and burning sadness. For these several days hence he had found no room for passion with his sisters, feeling the witch’s touch had already condemned him to both their loss and the loss of this new, strange creature his soul found so entrancing. What spell had this woman placed over him and, and why did Mother take so long to give a woman such wonderful powers? May he die happy if he never awoke from such dreamy thoughts…
It was in this trance-like state that Trisha found her new lieutenant before her door. “Well! Who are you?!” She scolded, he not having noticed the door opening.
Zadar jumped to attention, almost hitting Trisha in doing his salute.
Trisha dodged a flying hand, laughing a reply. “I think you’ll do!” Putting hands on hips, she scrutinized her new officer. Zadar’s uniform of smoky gray was most becoming, and the long-sleeved, double-breasted blouse and green shell jacket helped him cut quite the picture. Topped off with knee-high riding boots into which his pants were neatly tucked, an ornate kepi, neatly trimmed beard and insignia of adjutant lieutenant, Trisha felt he made quite a good-looking officer.
Zadar’s uniform was new standard issue for the field marshal’s staff and other non-field officers. After some refitting done to Trisha’s uniform at Mihai’s request - Trisha said ‘orders’ - the field marshal’s comely appearance was much more evident, something that met Zadar’s full approval. In fact, he was about to comment on its sensual comeliness when Trisha caught him up short.
“Lieutenant!” Trisha’s voice fell stern on Zadar’s ears, her eyes having turned cold, her face sober. “I want you to understand me clearly. It was not by my request that you were chosen to be one of my staff officers. Of course, I accepted the recommendation, the ones making such reassuring me of your fitness as to loyalty and duty. Let me set this straight, there are no favorites in my command. I’ll place you before the skewer as soon as may be if it is your turn to die. As a junior officer on my staff, I expect you to play the part of one.”
“You, I have been told, have built up quite a record for military prowess and heroism. I tell you, that is behind you for the moment. A ‘go-fer’ you are, ‘little errand boy’, ‘do this, get me that, another cup of tea, please’, and you will smartly reply, saluting, ‘Yes, General’, ‘Right away, Captain’, ‘Whatever you wish, my Lord’ and so forth. I will show no favoritism to anyone, especially you. I expect you to act in accordance with all the rules of protocol your position calls for, setting an example for all the other junior officers.”
She looked down, rubbing her chin as though in thought. “Of course, a good staff officer…” She stared Zadar in the face, hers betraying a new softness. “a good staff officer should feel free to offer opinion – at the proper time, of course – but still, if that officer were discerning as to when and how it were expressed, that officer would be quite valuable.” She smiled and then quickly frowned.
Quite flippantly, Trisha flatly stated, she waving her hand as though the outcome of her comment was of little concern, “You are a volunteer, as are all officers. As such, you may choose to resign your commission under my command at any time, and may do so now if you wish. Until such time, I am your supreme commander. You are to obey my orders, whatever they may be! Does this junior officer understand clearly?”
Zadar had remained motionless, unable to gather what this woman was all about. He stared down into stern eyes watching his for any visible betrayal of the man’s inner emotions. The fellow was very much upside-down in his feelings. Studying Trisha’s face revealed nothing other than sheer determination to contest anyone who questioned her authority. What was she about? This was truly a strange and dangerous creation, a woman Zadar could neither read nor understand. Not since his younger years had he experienced such opaque emotional feedback from his feminine companions. What was really going on in this person’s mind at the moment?
Zadar thought he was prepared to face whatever his new friend might deliver, despite Mother’s warning. ‘Son, you may one day well regret the assignment I’ve offered you. Trust me, it will make you grow, if you survive the ordeal.’ She had laughed and then became serious. ‘There are black secrets that you do not know. Even you will be tested to the limit, for the Age
of Darkness is much closer to you than you possibly may realize. Truth revealed - and it all will be - may well destroy a soul, untaught and un-pummeled in every emotional way. This woman may well save your mind and soul when that evil seeks even your heart.’
He swallowed hard. Well, if he were to be pummeled, at least it would be by the one he had come to be so fond of. A lash on the back by a person so cared for was better than a glass of wine given by one hating you. And he knew that Trisha did not hate him. He suddenly came to the realization that this woman was not ordinary for her gender. She had come into this world changed, made into a great weapon, forged while she slept those many years in the Field of the Minds. Her heart was still that of a tender maiden, but her mind? It was hardened into that of a destroyer with a purpose: to bring to nothing all that was become evil in this world at whatever cost to friend or foe alike.
Trisha’s eyes bored into Zadar’s as he contemplated all these things. Finally, after fully accepting the consequences, he smartly saluted, replying, “Lieutenant ZadarFahyVel reporting for duty! Your dutiful servant!”
“Good!” Trisha snapped as she frowned again, attempting to hide a smile creeping from the corner of her mouth.
Staring into Zadar’s eyes, Trisha’s face took on a reddened hue and she turned to look away, commenting, “Of course, I do not require my officers to be so in their off-duty hours. You, like the others, have freedom to choose how to occupy your time in whatever idle pursuits your heart desires when not on call.”
Suddenly, taking hold of Zadar’s arms, Trisha whirled him around, pushing him against the apartment wall. Pressing her body against his, she snuggled her head on his chest. At length, she looked up and into Zadar’s eyes, her own twinkling while half pleading, “I do so hope you will take notice of me in your spare hours. I do need to be loved and want your soul to refresh mine. I have an ache within me that you have ignited and I hope that you will satisfy it until the fire dies.”
Her face flushing red, having not believed the secrets her heart betrayed to this… this man who was still such a stranger to her, Trisha pushed herself away, patting his uniform smooth. Embarrassed, she stared at her feet. “We are expected at breakfast momentarily. Will you honor me with your company?”
Zadar nodded, smiling, “My Lady, I will honor you in whatever way you desire.”
Placing her hands on his shoulders and pulling herself up on her toes, Trisha gave Zadar an impassioned kiss, she not caring if anyone saw. No one did. Standing down, she took his hands. “We must take our leave, though I wish it not be so. Tonight I ask your company so that we may discuss what you should do in you off hours.” She winked, and sought out another flirting kiss. Finally, after lingering in each other’s arms, hand in hand, the two departed for the tramwaiter, seeking out the company of friends and officers who were patiently waiting them.