***
Pulchra slept very well that night, but when she woke she felt something was missing. Her stomach did not so much as flutter when she rose from bed. She enjoyed a pleasant morning with her parents and they were joined by her siblings in the afternoon.
Together the family walked through the marketplace to make an offering at the temple in thanks for Pulchra’s good fortune. The marketplace was busy, as it always was in the afternoon. People rushed here and there trying to find the best deal, while others conversed idly and slowly meandered between the stalls. As the magistrate passed the merchants greeted him and held up their wares promising him a discount if he would favor them with his business.
“Madam Pulchra, look here,” a cloth merchant called holding out a bolt of deep purple material. “Newly imported from the south, impossible to find anywhere else. Let me give you a special price as a wedding gift.”
Pulchra looked away and kept walking. She had never been addressed as “Madam” before and she had never been approached directly by a merchant in the marketplace. They always offered their bargains to her father or mother.
“You will have to get used to that, sister,” Cara whispered seeing Pulchra’s reaction. “Now that you are the lady of a household. Though of course your household doesn’t need anything from this market.”
“Oh, they expect me to be buying things for my new home,” Pulchra said blushing. “But I didn’t bring any money with me, I-”
“Don’t worry about it, just smile and follow Father,” Fortis said squeezing her shoulder. “They get plenty of business from him anyway.”
Pulchra was careful not to make eye contact with any of the other merchants. A priest met them outside the temple. As a girl Pulchra had been so awed by the height of the temple’s columns. Now when she looked up at them it seemed as though they had shrunk. They did not rise nearly as high as the columns in Akaru’s huge room, and there were no winged creatures playing around their capitols.
The magistrate presented the goose he had bought for the offering to the priest. Pulchra piously bowed her head as the priest recited the prayers, but her thoughts were elsewhere. If she was at home now then why did she keep thinking about the house in the forest? If she was with the people she loved then why did she want to see Akaru now more than ever? She had never even glimpsed him.
That evening in her old bedroom she stared out the window at the side of the mountain. Where exactly was the clearing where Arb stood and how could the tree be the door into the big house? Was Akaru back at home? Was he sleeping in the bed with the silver Cupids on the headboard? Pulchra shook her head and settled back on her own bed. It was over now. It was all just a misadventure, a bad dream. She was home, she was still untouched by man, she would marry a normal nobleman and live a normal life with her family.
When Pulchra woke the next morning, though, she was determined to put all thoughts of marriage and husbands from her mind. The magistrate was scheduled to address the city council that day, which included both Fortis and Telon. So after breakfast the men of the family left for the council chambers and Pulchra begged Cara to come with her to the theater.
“We haven’t seen a play together for ages,” she pleaded. “Come on, we can buy lunch from the vendors and stay for the comedy this afternoon.”
“Alright, alright Pulchra,” Cara said and followed her sister out the door. “But I have to go to the butcher shop before dinner.”
Pulchra could still remember the first time she had visited the theater. It was a small theater compared to the ones in the big cities but it had seemed huge to her. It had been Cara who had begged to go to the performance that time so their father took the entire family. The play had been a tragedy about a king who was commanded by a goddess to sacrifice his eldest daughter. Pulchra had cried so hard when the princess died that they had to leave the theater.
“Why are you so upset?” Cara had asked crossly. “It was the older daughter who died, her little sister was still fine. The father would never hurt the little daughter.”
Despite the experience, Pulchra loved the theater. She had often gone with her siblings while their father was busy with the town’s affairs. Of course as they grew older and concerned with their own affairs they were able to enjoy a performance together less and less frequently.
So Pulchra was very glad to have the chance to see a play with her sister. It would be the perfect way to spend the day. Entertainment, fantasy, no serious thoughts about husbands and futures.
“Welcome home, Pulchra,” her mother greeted her that evening. “Did you enjoy the performance?”
“Yes,” Pulchra said unenthusiastically.
“Where is Cara?” her mother asked.
“She had to do some shopping,” Pulchra said as she walked past her mother.
“Dinner will be ready soon so don’t go far,” her mother called after her.
Pulchra nodded, but she wasn’t thinking about food. The play had been a good distraction and Pulchra had forgotten her situation until the end. Near the end of the play the hero slew a female warrior. When he removed the helmet from her corpse, he was moved by the sight and mourned for her. He wailed and cried over her, wondering what might have occurred had they met in a setting other than the battlefield. Would they have become friends? Possibly lovers? Maybe even married and had children? Would they have grown old together and died decades later still loving each other? He would never know. He had lost her before he had even known her.
Pulchra wondered, could a man be so tormented by such thoughts after simply seeing a woman? If so, did Akaru feel the same way? Pulchra was not dead, but she had left before she had met him. Was he mourning his loss even now? Was he wondering what might have occurred if they had met casually before being married? But he was a daemon, he could not have presented himself as a suitor to her father could he? Could he have even presented himself to her? Had he followed what appeared to be the best course of action and found only heartache now that she was gone?
And what about her? If she had met Akaru, spoken to him and spent time with him, how would she feel about him? Would she love him? And now? Now that she was far from him, did she also feel a sense of loss? Had she missed an opportunity to find true happiness?
Pulchra continued to think for days after the play. She spent many happy hours with her family, but her thoughts continued to return to Akaru.
“You do not seem to be in a hurry to return to your husband,” Cara said to her sister one afternoon.
“I enjoy the company of my family,” Pulchra answered smiling. “Though I do miss Akaru’s singing. You should hear him, Cara, such an amazing voice. And the garden he prepared for me, and the meals he plans for me.”
Pulchra’s gaze grew distant. Cara noticed something change in her expression and was not terribly surprised the next day when Pulchra announced that she would be leaving that afternoon.
Their mother cried again saying goodbye but Pulchra was much less distressed at this parting than at her previous one. When she turned to bid farewell to her brother, Fortis put his hands on her shoulders and fixed her with a concerned gaze.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.
“No, I’m not,” Pulchra answered. “But I have made up my mind. I don’t know if I will stay, but I have to return.”
Book 2
Pulchra hurried into the forest and on to the place where she had first encountered Tobart. She turned and ran down the path toward the clearing, each step causing her heart to beat faster in anticipation. Today, she would see his face today.
“Arb!” she called as she entered the clearing. “Open the door.”
The thick tree’s boughs shifted only slightly and in a monotone voice he stated, “You’re back.”
“Yes. Open the door.”
“I didn’t think you would come back,” Arb’s boughs stopped moving. “Everyone else hoped and prayed for your return, but I didn’t think you would come.”
“Arb!” Pulchra cried, her voice growing harsh. “I am back and I am mistress of this house. Now open the door!”
The big tree finally split open and Pulchra ran up the stairs. As soon as she entered the atrium, she felt the same cold fear she had felt her first night in the house.
“Mistress,” Tobart gasped as he entered the atrium and started stroking his whiskers. “You should probably-”
“I know he’s here, Tobart,” Pulchra said and ran past him down the corridor to the huge room with the vaulted ceiling painted with flying creatures. “I want to see him.”
When she burst into the room, she stopped, heart pounding. He was standing at the far side of the huge room staring at the wall. He had the features of a man, a strong man. And he was tall, at least a head taller than Fortis, with light blond hair that fell in waves over his shoulders. Step by step Pulchra slowly made her way across the floor toward him. She spotted three tails protruding from beneath the hem of his white tunic, each curled and uncurled as Tobart’s single tail sometimes would. When she was mere steps away she noticed that the nails on his fingers were long and sharp and that his ears were also quite large and pointed. Besides these unique features, he was a man of stunning beauty.
“Perhaps you’re right, Tobart, maybe she won’t come-” Akaru stopped as he turned around and looked at his wife. His eyes were big and a striking golden color. “I’m sorry!”
“No,” Pulchra said and grabbed his arm as he moved to leave. “Don’t go, Akaru. I have to see you. I’m not frightened. The fear has turned to something else; awe maybe, maybe even love. That’s what I came back to find out.”
Akaru turned back to her. His golden eyes again met her’s. There was not one blemish on his skin, not a mark or line on his face. Each pale hair of his head lay in its proper place. His shoulders were broad and each one of his limbs was muscular. In every way he was the ideal image of masculinity. Despite Pulchra’s widely known beauty, had Akaru been seen even once in the markets of Angustia her fame would have vanished into obscurity. His beauty was beyond that of any mortal, it was the beauty reserved only for the divine.
Gingerly she inched closer to him, reaching a hand to his youthful face. His eyes closed as her fingers touched his soft cheek. For a long moment they just stood. Then he gathered her into his arms and though she breathed sharply, she did not turn away as he kissed her.
“So tell me, Pulchra,” he asked still holding her. “What is it you feel?”
“It’s love,” she whispered and smiled up at him. He smiled back then lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom with the big golden bed with the two silver Cupids on the headboard.
The next morning, Pulchra woke with Akaru’s arm around her shoulders and one of his tails wrapped around her waist. Being this close to him made her heart pound but it was not because of his powerful presence. Looking at his handsome face she knew that she was truly in love. Thinking that this morning she would arrange breakfast for both of them she decided to quietly slip out of the room and find Celisha and Carmina. She slowly sat up and reached down to unwind the tail around her waist, but as soon as she touched the fur on it Akaru stirred and opened his eyes.
“You leaving me again, gorgeous?” he asked wrapping a second tail around her waist.
“Yes,” Pulchra giggled at him. “Though this time I intended to bring back breakfast.”
“No need for that,” Akaru said rolling to his side of the bed. He wrapped a silk robe around himself, helped Pulchra into a second one, and led her out of the room. “I woke up while you were still sleeping and arranged our meal.”
“You think of everything,” Pulchra said looking down into the garden where the table had been set for two among a myriad of blooming flowers. Celisha and Carmina appeared with trays of food as the couple descended the stairs. The meal was the most amazing Pulchra had ever tasted and was made all the sweeter since she was able to look into Akaru’s golden eyes as he sang to her. She was careful though not to look at what was on his plate. They spent the rest of the day, indeed the rest of the week, in each other’s arms or walking hand-in-hand through the house or the forest.
Akaru could not recall a time when there had been more joy in his household. The cheerfulness Pulchra radiated seemed stronger than Akaru’s own presence. It permeated through each room and warmed his heart. He was indeed surprised and pleased by how quickly she had become accustomed to his presence. She claimed that it no longer caused her any discomfort and she actually missed it when he was not near. But they did not stray far from each other.
“Do you have any plays from foreign lands?” Pulchra asked one afternoon in the library.
“Yes, many,” Akaru said, smiling at his wife. “I have had few occasions to see plays performed. Few daemons are interested in theatrical arts and I must observe human performers from a distance. So whenever I can I send Tobart to purchase scripts. He has become quite skilled at moving among humans without giving himself away. Most scripts he is only able to borrow and I then make copies so I can at least read them if I cannot see them performed.”
“I would so love to see performances on the grand stages of other lands,” Pulchra said. She was glad to learn that her husband shared one of her interests. “I have seen nearly all of the ones written in this country. I wish I could read more of the scripts you have collected, but I do not understand most of the languages.”
“Then I shall teach you, and perhaps together we can stage our own performances,” Akaru said. He gathered a number of scrolls and the couple made their way to the huge room with the painted ceiling. When Celisha came to call her master and mistress to their dinner that evening she found them each holding masks before their faces, strutting about the floor shouting haughty lines at each other. When they noticed her, the recitations devolved into laughter and they fell to the floor clutching their sides.
“I’m not sure we are ready for an audience yet,” said Akaru as he helped Pulchra to her feet.
“Certainly not with me mispronouncing every other word,” Pulchra giggled. “Or you tripping over your costume.”
They chuckled through their meal and then retired to their room for the night, but they continued their play acting the next day. Akaru wished each day could continue to be so joyous and entertaining.
However, Tobart was quick to remind Akaru that the other greater daemons in his domain had had no contact with their king for some time. In the past he would have organized a feast immediately, but he was unsure how his human wife would handle the presences of a house full of greater daemons.
“Pulchra,” he asked that evening. “Do you ever sense other greater daemons nearby?”
“No,” she said and looked at him curiously. “Are there others nearby?”
“A number of them, yes,” Akaru hesitated. “And it is inevitable that you will meet many of them.”
“I would like nothing better,” Pulchra said smiling. “You are their king are you not? You have an obligation to your people and as your wife so do I.”
“I worry for you, my love,” Akaru said reaching over and putting his palm on Pulchra’s cheek, careful not to let his claws touch her delicate skin. “You have adjusted to, and even come to enjoy, my presence, but each daemon’s presence is unique. While one may be pleasant for you, another may be completely unbearable.”
“But you will be with me while we meet with the other daemons, won’t you?” said Pulchra. She looked only mildly distressed.
“Of course I will.”
“Then I will have nothing to fear.”
Pulchra smiled, but Akaru was still not convinced that she would be able to withstand being in the presence of more than four greater daemons at most and so a feast was out of the question. Thus the only alternative was to visit daemons individually at their own homes, however, doing so was also not without its own drawbacks.
Pulchra And Akaru Page 9
