Defiant Revival

by Defiant Revival [Dreamspinner MM] (retail) (epub)

  She tried to avoid answering, wanting to join mouths with me again. I lifted up my head and stretched my neck so she had no hope of reaching. She began to suck on that instead, weakening my brain’s chances of winning. I pulled my head back down, able to lock with her eyes, keeping my mouth firmly shut. She grimaced slightly, pulling me tight, and finally answering, “Yes. I agreed to do this only because I thought I might see you. We are not close.”

  “So Knox did not send you?” I rewarded her; I rewarded myself, with a kiss. Her soft hands had found their way under my shirt, but I needed an answer. Had she really fallen for me too? Did she fall for me as superficially as I for her but with my species, not my body? These were not the questions that needed answers, but they were bursting through my chest.

  She parted. She would answer me, even if I was giving in. “No, I am a scientist. I would be a silly person to send,” she said with a small laugh, scrunching her nose like a rabbit. “Aldrious asked me directly; he informed me his grip was slipping. You know, of course, he wants Casperland for himself. Why else would you fight him? He said you took Micah. I told him Micah is dead and to shut up. He said that the Logos would be in Alafor and that both their faelocks were missing. I happened to be here anyways. I have a lab at Wings; we are doing weapons research there. He baited me to create a charade, to stop you all, work the Alafor into a frenzy. The MortiAegis, Knox, my husband, they do not know about this. Drummond would be gone, Aldrious and all, if they did. I do not think the Alafor are falling for it, not that you helped yourself any.” She told me everything I needed to hear, and I did not think she was deceiving me, not that I’d be a good judge at that point.

  “Thank Spirit, I feared it was all for nothing. Thank you, Camilla, thank you for being with me.” I felt free to enjoy myself at last. That was not all I needed to know, was it? It had to be enough though; I wanted her out of that velvet prison. I needed to see the goddess herself. I pulled it up over her legs, and I was almost to paradise, but I stopped. Was she nervous?

  “I have never been with a woman,” she whispered shyly, but she looked happy to be with me regardless.

  I smiled, my teeth touching against her soft chest, speaking into her heart, “I am not a woman; I am a faelock. I am not human; I am different. I am a love that is pure and just for you, a love you always wanted. Don’t worry about anything. Your body will respond to mine, and it will know just what to do.” With that, her worry truly vanished. She pulled onto me as desperately as I did her.

  Heaven. Nirvana. Enlightenment. These words crashed through my mind as our bodies collided. Love. Happiness. Joy. Peace. We were okay, and I had Camilla. Malcolm was wrong, and I was happy.

  Eventually we were interrupted by the sound of crashing metal, and I could feel Katrina was very scared. She had heard screaming, and they thought I was attacked. It was not my voice. I covered Camilla up, that was the first thing that needed to be done. Once no one else could see her, then I could deal with the cacophony of startled voices and shocked faces. I wanted to be greedy, to be the only one to see perfection. She was not really mine, but I needed her to be.

  Camilla, I have no idea how we dressed her so quickly, she sat so small in my lap. Her face was hidden in my shoulder, and it was clear she was now the criminal. “Arrest her,” shouted Mayleil, or was that Alark? One of them gave a command.

  Camilla looked at me and smiled. “Your love for me, it will never stop? It will never transfer to another?”

  “Never.” I kissed her before they pulled her away from me quickly but also gently. Her small bare feet floated on the dirty ground. She was being dragged away, under arrest, and still looked graceful, as if she was dancing.

  She was gone, and I could see the rest of the room. I was not worried for Camilla. The Alafor were an extremely lenient and peaceful nation, and her crime was not violent. Had they believed her, it could’ve been quite destructive, but they hadn’t. I had faith she would be freed; if I didn’t there was no way I could’ve heard a word anyone said.

  Katrina’s face was bright red, and she was avoiding me. My shirt was still unbuttoned, I realized at last. I turned so I could be modest, once again. I could not believe I was such a lewd sight in front of the royal couple, in front of Katrina. Even more unbelievable was how little I cared.

  “Katrina told us the real truth. That woman’s story was ridiculous but was sufficient in terrifying us for a spell.” Alark spoke sweetly, and her face was so kind. She was two years younger than me, and she was one of the most powerful people in all the globe. “You two really did know each other, then?” She was smirking and quite amused, while hugging Mayleil tight. I felt she might’ve been a bit inspired by us.

  Her wife looked me over and shook her head softly. “You needn’t ask. We will be as merciful as possible. Her research troubles us, though. We would like to shut down her lab, while leading Knox to believe all is still functioning properly. Will she cooperate?” Mayleil was calm, not entertained like her wife, but not angry either.

  “I do not know her well enough to make such assumptions, but the feeling in my heart leads me to believe she would. I highly doubt she would choose her lab over her own life.”

  I looked around the cell; it was its original size, not a mile wide or wonderfully close. The queens stood in the open doorway, Kat was halfway between them and me, but I did not see Malcolm. The guards had left as well, so it was just we four women. I knew Malcolm had been angry, simply because I knew him. I could not feel it before, and I could not feel it then either. Was he just disappointed? Could I not feel that emotion? Or did I truly not have a bond with him, my own partner? I felt, once again, like a terrible faelock.

  Katrina looked so embarrassed, so overcome, but she was eager to get me back to normal. “You don’t have to stay in here anymore. They have rooms for us in their guest wing,” she whispered. Both queens were smiling, nodding in agreement. Kat was fighting tears and looked like she could scream at any minute. She didn’t. Instead, she spoke quietly. “Have you felt anything else of Zan?” She tried to help me up, but my pants were falling. I buttoned them quick, trying to save her from any more trauma on my account.

  “Nothing, he has not received any more pain. Unlike humans, I cannot feel any of his emotions, so that’s all I can tell you.” Even if I could sense my brother’s emotions, I highly doubted they would make any sense whatsoever.

  We were walking out of the cell, and I grabbed Camilla’s wine. I hated alcohol for myself. I depended on my senses; weakening them seemed imbecilic. As I held it, I was grateful to the wine. It weakened Camilla’s control over me, allowed me to be with her, to not be stupid. I held it pressed against my chest as she had.

  The queens were walking ahead of us, holding hands. The shape of their arms was mimicked by the cord that hung behind their backs. Alafor was very strict on matters of love and marriage, but not in the same way as the MortiAegists. They valued an unconditional love, a love that can overcome any difficulties, thus they made it permanent. In ancient times, they would attach a rod between the couples’ wrists. The only way to get divorced would be to either cut off your own arm, or cut off your spouse’s, holding it for the rest of your life.

  In the last century, their holy people came up with a new way to cement a marriage. They scientifically created a pseudo spinal cord, a glowing blue wire wrapped in a soft, clear plastic. It attached to each person’s real spinal cord, right at the base of the brain. The artificial cords were about eight feet long, so the couple could move about freely. If the cord was severed in the middle, both would be completely paralyzed. If the cord was cut on an end, only the other member would be frozen. This was the new way they dealt with divorce. Whoever was found to be at fault by the tribunal would be the one immobilized. This also explained their unflinching acceptance of homosexuality when no other nation had. They felt if you would go so far as to bind yourself, there was no way your love was anything but true or pure, no matter your anatomy.

 
I stared in awe at the glowing cord, mystified at what strong faith it would take to attach yourself so. What was the point? Who did that please? Their goddess Spathalí wanted that? I liked the idea of unconditional love, one you cannot give up on, but I wasn’t sure this was really what their cords did. It looked to me like a leash.

  “Does Jessica know about her?” Katrina was shuffling her feet. She didn’t look at me when she spoke.

  “I think that only Malcolm, Ackerman, and Zan know about her. They were there. I’ve barely mentioned our meeting to Billiam.”

  “When you saved her? An enemy?”

  “Yes. Knox troops had revisited outside Casper, checking the long-term results of their blasts. Camilla and her team were there too, wanting to test out even more explosives in the wasteland they had created years prior. We set out to drive off the soldiers and apprehend the creators of destruction.”

  “But you saved her instead? You ruined the mission?” Her words felt like a knife, but her voice was still so small and sweet.

  “We took all of her team but her, all that were alive at least. They had messed the test up; the target was off. She blew up her mobile base instead of our decoy battalion. I found her as we were collecting the other scientists. She was out farther than the others, so I was able to take her near her ship before my comrades could stop me. She woke up as I carried her, told me when to stop so I would not be seen by her men. She thanked me with a kiss, and I ran back to the others. Ackerman greeted me with a black eye. I didn’t ruin the mission completely. I just stopped us from attaining the most vital target.” I felt ashamed, not only for my actions, but also for how warm my heart felt from talking about it.

  We were no longer in the service tunnels; now the walls were a soft purple, a bit like my eyes. The cold gray stone was replaced with a floor of lovely parquet, filled with diamond shapes. Katrina was looking only at it as she walked. “Are you going to tell her?”

  “Who? What?” I was oblivious.

  The queens stopped. “You two are staying in this room. Malcolm is in his own room across the way,” Alark informed us, while pointing over her shoulder. “There are two beds, so you needn’t worry. We have little house help lately, so I hope you don’t mind bunking together.”

  “I am just overjoyed to have a bed,” I said, exhausted and grateful.

  “Good. You are no longer our prisoners, but you are not really guests. We have much to discuss with you tomorrow, and later with Micah.” Mayleil bowed slightly, walking her wife away from us with a wave. She seemed quite perceptive, possibly shrewd. She would be the one to get insight from but also the one to keep an eye on.

  I followed Katrina into our room. It was opulent and warm; the beds looked incredibly plush and were covered in silken blankets. A large table piled with snacks tempted me from the middle of the room. I wanted to celebrate! We were alive, and things were actually going to be okay! Casperland was not in danger, we had lodging, and I had Camilla! In my heart, everything was perfect. I tried hard to remember it would not be the same for my comrades. I had put them in grave danger. I could have ruined everything. We were lucky and everything worked out, but that did not take away the risk I caused.

  Katrina sat on her bed and whispered sadly, “My sister, and about that woman. I am not as stupid is everyone thinks. I realized what was going on with you two.”

  I was glad to finally know what was wrong with her. I hoped that was all that was making her upset. It was a simple subject and took little apologizing. Had she been hurt by my failing her as a knight and jeopardizing our entire mission, our prince—that would require extensive repentance. It seemed that was a far too rational thing to upset her.

  “Kat, I gave your sister no false pretenses. I made sure she always knew I was not in love, that I wouldn’t be. I didn’t want to be cruel, and I tried to distance myself to avoid her falling for me. She accepted how I felt, so I allowed her close. That is all we had, though. I will tell her. I have no intentions of ever hiding something from her. Camilla… I met her before I knew Jessica and yourself,” I explained, hoping we could get to eating and sleeping at last.

  “Is that why you couldn’t love Jess? You already loved Camilla? I heard her say…. A faelock’s love doesn’t end, that it cannot be transferred?”

  I realized I was wrong. This was not about her sister; this was about my idiot brother. I sighed and grabbed some of the goodies off the table before sitting beside her. I spent the rest of the night listening to her cry over Zan, lying about him. I couldn’t wait for his charade to end. Eventually, she let me sleep. I have never slept better.

  Chapter 15

  May 10th, 989

  THE PRINCE’S group had been walking through icy slush for six hours, mostly in silence. Billiam and Micah whispered to each other a few times. Shemmy made a lot of strange noises and grumblings. My brother was a walking corpse. There had been no group conversations whatsoever, not since what happened the night before.

  They had only two hours until they reached a village with the inn Zan had promised, when Micah broke the silence. He said abruptly, “If you make a wish on it, a radish can transform into a carrot.”

  “What?” Billiam asked before laughing uncontrollably. Why was that so amusing to him?

  “In Alafor, they wash their hands before using the toilet. To do so after is considered rude. To scare off a bear, you should clap your hands loudly four times. Cats can sense when a person will soon be expelling gas.”

  “Um… did I muss up ’chantin’ yer brain, Micah? Yer talkin’ like a loon.” Shemmy was laughing loudly now too. They kept looking at one another, causing themselves to crack up more each time.

  “Billiam doesn’t clean behind his ears.” Micah was giggling quietly with this one, a smile breaking up his icy expression.

  “What? That is vile! I clean every inch of my body. Why in the hell would you say that, Micah?”

  “Because I am lying, Billiam,” he said sweetly, reaching down from his horse to rub Billiam’s arm. This melted his anger, and he could enjoy Micah’s peculiarity once again. “I have three more to go.”

  The prince was staring hard at my brother, but Zan just walked. He could barely breathe. He walked and he ached. He realized his backup plan was no use.

  “Shemmy wears underpants,” Micah continued, producing loud, immediate snickering from both counterparts. “In Khur, they use elephants to plow their fields. If you eat enough moondrop petals, you can defy gravity for a few moments. Now I’m done! Although Zan, the part about the elephants is actually true. An unlucky guess, I suppose. I remember my father told me of that. Those mountainous beasts fascinated him. I gather it’s still a lie, because you thought it was, but I wanted you to know the truth.”

  “These were Zan’s lies? Hmm, everyone knows Shemmy doesn’t wear underthings, so I can’t really assume anything with that. If only you kept your legs closed when you sat, I could have had fun teasing you,” Billiam mused.

  “Crossin’ ’um is so uncomfortable, though! My thighs get all chafed!” Shemmy was pouting but hysterical. She dearly loved Micah’s performance. He had delivered those lies in an impressively deadpan demeanor.

  “I can’t wait to clap at a bear!” Micah squealed and wiggled on his horse. This was too much for Billiam; it was too cute. He climbed atop the small horse with the prince. That poor beast’s life span must’ve been shortened by a few years, after all that weight. He hugged him tight, and he bit him all over. He was simply being Billiam with his Micah.

  “So that won’t work, then?” Zan asked, though he knew the answer.

  “Of course not. I really wasn’t expecting you to give in so quickly, either,” Micah explained matter-of-factly, as he was briefly able to part Billiam from his mouth. “Will you ever stop finding ways to disappoint your king?” A cruel laugh, then back to Billiam.

  “Once I die,” Zan aptly replied with a grim smile. He was thankful for once that he could borrow Billiam’s happiness. It kept him from
completely falling apart. It allowed him to distract himself, to think of Shemmy’s lack of underpants. My brother’s response was sufficient in dampening everyone’s mood a bit, aside from his own. Thusly, silence overcame the group once more as they finished their trek to the mountainside village of Param.

  I am still curious as to why Zan kept following them. He was not bound, and even if he was, he could’ve broken free. He could have easily destroyed any of them, the only wildcard being Shemmy’s enchanting. And yet he followed obediently, truly becoming Micah’s slave. Did he think he was being a good man, that submitting to his own humiliation would make them like him again? I agreed with Micah’s punishment, so I did not want him to be free, but from an objective stance it made no sense. Did he want to see the rest of us badly enough to sustain this torture? That was highly unlikely. It could have been, of course, that he really wanted to save the kingdom. That would be a decent, good-hearted reason to submit. My brother was neither of those things. All I can think of was that he foolishly could not bear to leave Billiam.

  Param hung about in Alafor’s gut. It was near the center but still more east if I had to choose a side. It was a snow-covered quaint collection of wooden buildings and tiny shacks.

  Upon entering its gates, Billiam jumped off the horse excitedly, grabbing Micah with him. He had caught sight of a tailor. Some color, some silk for Micah, he thought. A coat, a tie, a hat, another tie for me! He could hardly contain his giddiness, until he realized they were closed for the evening. He then set the prince down, defeated.

  “We will have new outfits tomorrow, worry not, my love. It’s not as if we will need clothes tonight, anyhow,” Micah encouraged him, perking him right back up.

  They were in front of the frost-covered but cozy-looking inn when Billiam grew serious. “We shall go in and see about our rooms. There is a stable behind us. Zan, please talk to the stableman about housing our horses and return promptly. On second thought…. Shemmy, go with him.” Neither of them was pleased by this, but both silently obeyed, which was a bit odd for Shemmy.