The Phoenix

by J R Stone

  She decided to follow her heart. She went into Tzeel’s bedroom. He was lying on his bed, his eyes closed. She was not sure he was sleeping. She lay down beside him, her head on his chest.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “Forbid Uno and the others to ever set foot in Totkan again,” she demanded.

  “Consider it done.” Tzeel hugged her. There was nothing he would not do to gain her trust, to be worthy of her love.

  Sarah was tired of everything: the secrets, the insecurity, the fear, the hate, her incapacity to fight her feelings for him. She had no more strength to keep trying to push him away. And she believed that neither did he. “I believe you,” said Sarah giving him a kiss.

  Tzeel never thought he would be able to love someone as much as he loved Sarah. The fact that she trusted him meant the world to him. She caressed the scars on his chest.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  Tzeel stared at her for a few seconds. He never talked about his scars. They reminded him of things he would like to forget. She saw pain in his eyes. She did not want to see him suffer. She caressed his face and kissed him again.

  “You don’t need to tell me,” she said apologetically.

  Tzeel held her hand and kissed it closing his eyes. He did not want them to have any secrets between them.

  “When Seth and I were younger, our father used to take us to every single battle he fought. He wished to raise us to be great warriors, and there’s no better way to learn than being in the battlefield. What he didn’t see was that taking his sons with him gave his enemies an opportunity to defeat him outside the battlefield. All they had to do was kidnap one of us,” said Tzeel swallowing hard. “I was kidnapped by one of my father’s enemies, Efrain. I spent a year being tortured, having to fight with other warriors just to entertain him, having to kill other prisoners just so he would spare me. It was a year in hell. My father didn’t rescue me, though. He didn’t want to give in to Efrain’s demands,” said Tzeel sorrowfully.

  “Did you escape?” asked Sarah caressing his hair and moving her body closer to his.

  “Seth saved me. He risked his life moving to Efrain’s city. If anyone had recognized him, he would be dead. Luckily for both of us, that didn’t happen. Seth spent weeks trying to join Efrain’s army. When he finally did, he found out that he wouldn’t have access to me. Efrain had eight of his best soldiers watching me and he was not willing to put anyone else in that position. If Seth wanted to rescue me, he would have to come up with a better plan. That was when he found out that Efrain had a daughter, Esther, who was about Seth’s age. Well, Seth has his charms,” said Tzeel smiling. “It didn’t take him long to win Esther’s trust. One day, he convinced her to leave the city with him to visit the city where he was born. She had no idea he would take her to an enemy city. He brought her to Totkan and that gave our father a bargaining chip. Efrain didn’t hesitate to exchange me for his only child. Seth brought me back home,” said Tzeel gratefully.

  “I’m glad he did,” said Sarah hugging Tzeel. She wished to comfort him. She imagined Tzeel’s disappointment at being abandoned by his own father and being left to fend for himself among enemies. She admired Seth even more for never turning his back on his brother.

  Tzeel closed his eyes. The smell of her hair was inebriating. Tzeel felt connected to her in an inexplicable way. He would give everything up for her. He nibbled her ear, then slowly kissed her neck.

  Sarah closed her eyes. She loved him even more now that he had opened up for her. She wanted him even more.

  His hand lifted her dress slowly taking it off. He could feel Sarah’s desire for him. Tzeel admired her for a minute. He could see that she was eagerly waiting to feel him on top of her, his body pressed against hers. Tzeel smiled. He would delay that moment a bit. He wanted to drive her crazy.

  Tzeel kissed her toes. Sarah moaned. He kissed her ankle, his hands slowly opening her legs. He went all the way up to her inner thighs and slowly kissed them. Sarah caressed his hair, pulling it a bit. She could not wait any longer. She pulled his hair harder. Tzeel didn’t go up. He gently touched her between her legs while kissing her stomach. Sarah couldn’t help reaching climax. “Kiss me!” she whispered. She wanted to feel him inside her.

  Tzeel passionately kissed her. Sarah wrapped her legs around him and pushed him in. The fact that she had taken action almost took Tzeel to climax. He had to go slowly. He wanted that moment to last as much as possible.

  “I love you,” said Sarah looking into his eyes. Tzeel kissed her as he reached his climax.

  “Say that again,” said Tzeel, still on top of her.

  “I love you,” said Sarah.

  “I love you too.” Tzeel kissed her once more and lay beside her. He hugged her. He was thankful for being blessed with her love.

  IX

  Sarah and Tzeel spent the following two weeks completely entranced by each other. They spent most of their time either in their bedroom or in the garden talking to each other, or to Seth and Enoch. Tzeel had the happiest two weeks of his life. He had no worries whatsoever. His world revolved around Sarah.

  Uno and the others had not attempted to come back. With any luck, they had died or found someone better to serve. Tzeel could not help wishing they would never try to go back. He looked at Sarah sleeping by his side. He caressed her hair and kissed the tip of her nose. She was perfection. He wanted to have her by his side for eternity. Sarah smiled and opened her eyes. The last two weeks had been heavenly.

  “Come with me,” he said holding Sarah’s hand.

  “Now?” she giggled.

  “Yes.” He smiled and took her to the palace garden. He was determined to make that the best day of her life.

  When she arrived in the garden, Adara was waiting for them. Sarah ran to her, giving her a hug. She had become Sarah’s friend and confidant.

  “I’m glad you finally came visit me in the palace,” said Sarah to Adara.

  “Haven’t you told her?” asked Adara to Tzeel.

  Sarah was clearly confused.

  “Told me what?”

  “Adara is moving in!” said Tzeel beaming.

  Sarah was radiant, jumping up and down with joy. “I can’t believe it!” She hugged Adara once more. “I’m so happy!”

  “Me too.” Adara looked deep in Sarah’s eyes. Thanks to her, she would finally be able to be close to Tzeel and Seth again. “Thank you so much, Sarah, for everything.”

  “Oh, please, don’t thank me. I am the one being blessed here.”

  “I’ll let you two have breakfast and talk for a while. I need to see Seth.” said Tzeel leaving the garden.

  He went straight to Seth’s room.

  “I can’t believe you’re still sleeping,” said Tzeel jokingly.

  “Not anymore,” said Seth grumpily.

  “Come on, get up. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” He was anxious to share his plans with his brother.

  “Can’t it be later?”

  “Brother...”

  “Okay, okay. What?” Seth sat up on his bed. The last weeks had been a bit hard on him. He was glad that Sarah and Tzeel were happy, and it was great to know that Uno was gone. On the other hand, Seth was struggling not to feel jealous all the time. He did not want to feel that way, but he could not help it.

  Tzeel took out a piece of cloth and unrolled it. Seth saw their mother’s wedding ring. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. He knew Sarah would accept it.

  “What do you think?” asked Tzeel smiling.

  “Don’t you think it’s too soon?” asked Seth, feeling a profound repulse for himself even before the question ended.

  Tzeel noticed the alteration in his brother’s tone. “Are you jealous, brother?” asked Tzeel worriedly.

  Seth kept his head up, his eyes fixed on Tzeel’s. He would not answer that question. He could not stay there anymore. “I’m leaving Totkan.”

  Tzeel was taken by surprise. “What?” he asked incredu
lously.

  “I’m leaving at the end of this week. I just need to get a couple of things ready and I’ll be gone,” he said firmly. He could not keep living like that. It was not fair to him or to his brother.

  Tzeel, who a few moments before had been all joy, now felt worried and unhappy.

  “Where are you going, Seth?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Please, don’t. I don’t want to lose my brother, my General, my friend. Totkan needs you, I need you. Please, reconsider.”

  Seth looked down. Just the thought of leaving behind everything and everyone he loved brought him sadness.

  Afraid of never seeing his brother again, but realizing he needed some time for himself, Tzeel came up with a solution.

  “I owe my life to you, brother. I owe everything to you. Listen, I want things to be perfect for Sarah, so I am bringing Ahuva to Totkan. I don’t know where she is, but I’ll ask Sarah. Why don’t you go get her and use that time and distance to collect your thoughts?”

  Seth stared at Tzeel. He knew Tzeel would do and say anything for him to stay. “I’ll do that,” said Seth. He did not want to disappoint his brother.

  “I don’t want my happiness to be your misery. I would never be able to be fully happy knowing that you are miserable.” Tzeel touched Seth’s shoulder. They had always been so close. They had never disputed anything or anyone.

  Seth could see that all excitement that Tzeel had in his eyes when he entered his room was gone. It had given place to sadness, frustration, and disappointment. “She’ll say yes,” said Seth giving a faint smile. He wanted to make things right between them.

  Tzeel nodded and left Seth’s room. He was devastated. He went to his bedroom and looked at the ring for a while. He had been so anxious to see the look on Sarah’s face when he proposed that he ignored the suspicion that Seth felt something for her. In any case, he would not pass on the opportunity of being with the woman he loved. Seth would find a way to deal with his feelings.

  Tzeel walked to the garden. Adara and Sarah were sitting on the grass laughing at something. He knew it was the right moment.

  “Hey, you two,” said Tzeel smiling. Sarah and Adara looked at him. “Adara, could you give me some time with Sarah?”

  “Sure, dear.” Adara stood up and touched his face. She was at peace. Things were better than ever for Tzeel and that filled her heart with joy.

  Tzeel watched Adara leave the garden. After she was gone, he kneeled before Sarah.

  Sarah’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Would you marry me?” he asked with a smile. Sarah gave him the most loving look he had ever seen.

  “Yes!” she exclaimed. “I love you more than anything. There’s nothing I want more than being with you until the day I die.” She got on her knees, held his face, and kissed him.

  “I love you too,” he whispered.

  “I can tell.” She smiled. “Why don’t we go to our room?” asked Sarah lustfully biting her lips.

  “I wouldn’t say no to that,” he replied, grabbing her hand and walking with her to their room.

  Sarah quickly closed the door, pushed him against the wall and kissed him. She took his shirt off and kissed his chest.

  He took her in his arms and laid her down in bed. If he could, he would do nothing else in his life but kiss her.

  After an hour of intense pleasure, Sarah gazed at Tzeel. There was so much love in his eyes, she could not believe how lucky she was for having him. She loved him so much that it hurt.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you too,” she murmured.

  He smiled and kissed her neck. “I know,” he whispered as he nibbled her ear lobe.

  Sarah looked at the ring on her hand. It was the most beautiful she had ever seen.

  “It belonged to my mother.”

  “I want to show it to Adara,” she said.

  “Sure. Now?” he asked caressing her back. His body asked for hers.

  “Yes, now,” said Sarah getting up. “I’ll be back in a few. Save it for later,” she said smiling.

  “Oh, I don’t want to.” He got up and touched her thighs.

  “Later,” she said biting her lips and pushing him away. “If I don’t go now, I won’t go anymore today.” She opened the door, looked at him and left. He would need a bath to calm himself down, she knew it.

  She went into the kitchen and asked the servants to leave some buckets of cold water by the door. She was not sure in what room Adara was in, but she took a guess and went to her old room. There were no soldiers guarding the door. She knocked.

  “Come in,” said Adara.

  Sarah opened the door and walked into her old room. She was walking on air. She stretched her hand to show Adara the ring, but the look on Adara’s face took away all the joy that had filled her heart.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Sarah confused.

  “It’s that ring. There have been many years since I last saw it.”

  “Tzeel proposed,” she revealed, trying to relive her excitement at the proposal.

  “I’m happy for you two, dear,” said Adara holding Sarah’s hand. “But that ring brings bad luck. Don’t wear it.”

  “How am I not going to wear it?”

  “It belonged to Hila, Tzeel’s mother.”

  “I know.”

  “She was very unhappy, Sarah. I believe that our energy and fortune remain with our personal objects after we are gone. That ring cannot bring any good.”

  Sarah felt like taking the ring off her hand. Adara’s tone of voice was deep and pleading, and it scared her. She touched the ring. Taking it off would hurt Tzeel, she knew it. She kept it. “Why was she unhappy?” she asked.

  “She didn’t have the heart of the man she loved, Ezra. He was Seth and Tzeel’s father.”

  “I don’t get it.” Sarah was confused.

  “Ezra loved someone else. He was forced to marry Hila to please his father. She loved him so much that not having his love made her miserable and bitter.”

  Sarah noticed that Adara was too emotional talking about Hila and Ezra.

  “He loved you, didn’t he?” Sarah asked.

  Sarah saw tears in Adara’s eyes. She could not hide it anymore.

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Why did he send you away when she died?”

  “Even though he did not love her, he respected and admired her a lot. When she died, he blamed me for her death and turned his back on me.”

  Sarah was afraid to ask the only question that came to her mind, but it was too late to ignore what seemed to be the obvious. “Was it your fault?”

  “Yes, in a way,” Adara looked down.

  “Adara, what did you do?” asked Sarah, anguished.

  “He can never know, Sarah, please,” she begged.

  “Know what?”

  “Hila was poisoned.” Sarah stepped back in shock. “I didn’t poison her!” she added, seeing the look on Sarah’s face. “But I may have helped without knowing what was about to happen.”

  Sarah considered leaving the bedroom and not talking about any of that ever again. She did not want to have secrets from Tzeel, but she needed to know if Adara had to go or not. “How?”

  “I gave Lavia the poison that killed her. I thought it was for Uno.”

  “I still don’t get it. Why would Ezra ask you to leave and let Lavia continue living here?”

  Adara knew she had already revealed more than she should, but she could not leave part of the story untold and lead Sarah to reach the wrong conclusion. “I couldn’t tell him that I had given Lavia the poison, so he thought I had poisoned Hila.”

  “You couldn’t tell the man you loved that one of his witches had killed his wife? What did she have on you?”

  “I would like you to leave,” said Adara sharply.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Adara. What did she have on you?” Sarah insisted.

  “Tzeel is my son,” she revealed.

  Sarah
was silent for a few seconds. That explained Adara’s affection to Tzeel, but it did not fill in the blanks of Adara’s story. “Didn’t Ezra know?”

  “No,” murmured Adara.

  “No?! How’s that even possible?”

  “We were both pregnant, but my son would be raised like a bastard. He would be an outcast,” she admitted bitterly.

  “Please, don’t continue,” said Sarah urgently.

  “I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t kill their baby. It was born dead. The slave who helped Hila was a friend of mine and she switched the babies.”

  Sarah was speechless.

  “He cannot know!” Adara begged.

  Sarah covered her face with her hands. She regretted having gone to Adara’ room. “I won’t tell. What good can come from knowing that?”

  Sarah sat down on a chair. She touched the ring again. She felt bad for Hila. She put herself in Hila’s shoes. If Tzeel loved another woman, she would be devastated. “How could you do that to her? How could you live here while she was alive?” Sarah stood up. She was disgusted.

  “She didn’t know I was the one he loved.” Adara could not face her, she felt guilty. “Please, Sarah, take off that ring.”

  Sarah ignored Adara and left the room. She walked to the garden. She needed some time to think, to process everything, so Tzeel would not be able to tell something had happened. She would have to keep that secret from him forever. She would have to betray his trust. Again. She thought of the day she kissed Seth, and she took her hands to her eyes. She had demanded Tzeel to tell her the truth yet she kept hiding things from him. She felt horrible.

  Sarah stared at the ring. She would give it a different energy, a different fortune. She felt as if she owed Hila that.

  Sarah lay down on the grass, trying not to think about anything. The breeze was chilly. A sudden urge to leave the garden made her get up and open the door to the atrium. She was surprised to see Seth lying down on a bench, his eyes closed. He looked unhappy.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey.”

  Seth kept his eyes closed.

  “Are you okay?”

  Seth opened his eyes and looked at her. “Yes. Are you?”

  Sarah lied too, “Yes.”