Ways in the Guardian: A Menage Romance Book Collection

by Barbara Downey

  “I'm sorry super pretty space elves,” she said after the third question attempt, “I don't know what to tell you.”

  They lead her up, up, up into the temple. The cool breeze followed them into an entryway and then deeper into the building. It wasn't until they got to a central area with a platform that she thought to be a little afraid. What if they weren't rescuing her at all? What if they were sacrificing her to some strange mythological being?

  “Listen gentlemen, lady, it's been a really long day and I'd like to get back to my ship and...oh.”

  There her ship was, sitting in the very center of the dais. At least what was left of it. Pieces of the items, old and new were placed around the room in a way that she could only describe as reverence. The largest piece was the forward part of her ship. It was surprisingly intact, save for the missing door.

  “Oh wow.”

  The alien who was carrying her put her down. She walked towards the ship.

  “Hello ship.”

  “Captain Leah West,” the voice of Artemis called out to her from the dashboard, “I am happy that you survived the crash.”

  “As am I.” She moved towards the readings. Almost all the censors were useless, the navigation system was in pieces and the view screen was cracked. This ship would never fly again. Leah was pretty sure the only reason it was on was because of the backup battery power for the electronics. “How long have we been on the planet?”

  “Approximately 15 hours.”

  “That's fast work to get these pieces in here.”

  “The Elerians were very intent on understanding me and the technology that makes me work.”

  Leah blinked. “Elerian?” She glanced over at the same three aliens who were watching her with awed attentiveness. A few others had joined them, bringing the crowd up to ten. “I assume those are them?”

  “You are correct. The Elerians are a near-human species who are similar to the ancient Greek culture of earth, though there do seem to be some similarities to both ancient Egyptian and Chinese as well.”

  “So you can speak with them?”

  “Only in the most rudimentary way,” Artemis responded. “Their language is decidedly different from all Earth's languages, the syntax is similar to Celtic languages, but it is taking a great deal of my processing power to break down their language.”

  “Keep working on it.”

  “Captain-”

  “Do you have any way of getting a message to our world?”

  “No. My communication systems are no longer operable. Captain-”

  Leah sighed deeply. “We'll need to salvage what we can and make something.”

  “Yes, I think that is a good idea as well, but Captain.”

  “Yes, Artemis?”

  “The Elerians are bowing.”

  Leah glanced back at the aliens. There were more now, nearly half the floor space was taken up by the aliens with the pointed ears. They seemed to be chanting a series of words over and over again as they prostrated themselves on the marble floor. She could only assume that her focus on Artemis had kept her from hearing them.

  “Do you know what they are saying, Artemis?”

  “I do.”

  “What is it?”

  “They are calling you Arina, The Speaker of Worlds. She is a goddess of their mythology. It seems that they believe you are she.”

  “Oh that can't be good.”

  The woman who had found her was the first to lift herself up. She remained kneeling but lifted her arms up. She called out a few phrases.

  “Do I want to know?” Leah asked.

  “She is welcoming you back to the planet and is offering you a choice of the gathered men.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “It seems that the goddess Arina took for herself two husbands.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Captain, I was not programmed with a sense of humor.”

  Several man stepped forward sliding their robes off their shoulders as if to show off their bodies.

  “No shit,” Leah breathed.

  Chapter 3

  Two months later and the people of the planet were still sure that Leah was the reincarnation of a goddess who had visited them eons before. She had done, so far as she was able, everything to convince them otherwise. The Elerians were particularly stubborn people and it seemed the words 'I'm not what you think I am' just didn't seem to translate. Her only choice was to build a beacon and get off of this planet.

  “The Day of Choosing is fast approaching.” Artemis had projected herself as a ball of blue light hovering over Leah's shoulder.

  It wasn't just the looming of the Choosing that had Leah seeking out her crashed ship, or even her desire to get off the planet. It was the people.

  Eleria was all about doing things perfectly and precisely. There seemed to be a proper way to do everything. When someone ate, they were supposed to start with one part of the dish before moving on to the next, even if all the parts were on the plate. When you got dressed, you had to do it in the right layers, in the right way. The colors you wore corresponded with the day of the week, the day of the month and even the season. It was maddening. In the past weeks she had shocked and befuddled the people who thought of her as some kind of deity by doing things 'out of order'. When she had shocked one of the priestesses by asking to take her bath in the evening, rather than in the morning, Leah had decided to get away from it all.

  “You keep saying that,” Leah said as she hunkered over half a communications console and a great deal of exposed wiring. It felt good to be messing with something she understood.

  “You will need to choose two husbands.”

  “Why?” Leah demanded.

  “You cannot do otherwise.”

  Leah just barely managed to keep from throwing one of her tools in frustration. “That's the most ridiculous logic I've ever heard. I thought you were an intellectual construct? Isn't logic, like, your thing?”

  The ball of light swayed back and forth in the air, flecks of shimmering light sparkled over the blue surface. “It is in this capacity that I encourage you to partake in this arrangement.”

  “Why?” Leah asked for the second time.

  “The belief in Arina is central to the Elerians’ pantheon of deities. She is the wisest of them and the one who cautions against war in its many forms. For a thousand years, her followers have been the widest spread and most accepted of the Elerians’ faiths.”

  “She sounds like a fantastic lady, but I am not her. I shouldn't pretend to be.”

  “I understand your hesitation. However, if you say that you are not her it may cause a schism within their religious structure. It will undo the peace that exists because of the belief in Arina. War could break out while a new religious sect seeks superiority.”

  “So you are saying...”

  “Your presence strengthens the peace of this planet. However, your abandonment could have catastrophic repercussions.”

  “That's insane.”

  “It is logical.”

  It didn't seem logical from where Leah was standing. It seemed ridiculous. Stay on an alien planet and pick out a couple of husbands so that she could spend the rest of her life pretending to be a goddess that she didn't really know? It was ridiculous, but it seemed pretty selfish to leave a planet to suffer through a war because she accidentally crashed in the wrong place.

  “Alright, alright. Tell me what I need to know.”

  “In a time, many years ago, there was nothing but war. Elerian killed Elerian for food, land, lovers or gods. The rivers were red with the blood of the fallen and spirits wandered across battlefields, lost and angry. These were dark times. The very stars wept to see so many dead. They held a great council among themselves, their great song drifting from one to another and they sent the wisest of them to the very ground. She took for herself a pleasing shape and she took for herself a name. She was called Arina.”

  Leah plopped herself down in front of her now aband
oned project. She tucked her legs beneath her body as Artemis projected a series of images that they had seen carved into the temple walls.

  “What did she do?”

  “She took for herself two husbands to offer her council. The first was Erun, who was both priest and warrior. He swore to stand against her enemies and keep her safe. The other was Zer, who was a farmer and a healer and had not a mind for war. He promised to teach her the ways of the earth and growing things. She taught them how to spread wisdom and kindness, how to use their blade and harvest to bring people together rather than separate them.”

  Leah took a deep breath.

  “So what do I do when I start to age and die?”

  “Arina did both of those things. She loved the people and her form so much that she wished to understand all of its forms. She lived, loved, gave birth, aged and eventually died. The temple that you were brought to is the house of her bones.”

  “That's...nice.” She sighed and curled her knees towards her forehead.

  Chapter 4

  A cry followed by the rapid musical speech of a female Elerian caught Leah's attention as she crested the last hill between the crash site and the temple. The head priestess caught site of Leah, waved one hand in the air and gushed as she came running out of the temple.

  For a moment all Leah could do was think that the Elerians looked like living statues. They were all so beautifully made, with skin in every shade of ivory, opal or marble. The priestess’ robes, which started off the same creamy white of her skin and faded to a deep glorious blue towards her ankles, fluttered prettily around her body as she dashed across the grass. There was something about the way she moved that had Leah slowing down.

  “Uhhhhh, Artemis, did I miss something?”

  “It seems that Priestess Talurie had begun to worry about whether or not you were returning.”

  “Wait. She thought I had abandoned them?” Leah felt a sick feeling crawling through her belly. Was it because she had planned on doing just that? Certainly not.

  “She did not use those words, no.”

  “But?” Leah prompted.

  “I would postulate that your inference is correct.”

  Talurie came to a sudden stop a foot away from Leah and dipped into an elegant bow low. Was there anything that these people that didn't do perfectly? How on earth did they think an awkward inelegant woman like Leah was their goddess?

  “Artemis can you tell Talurie that I am happy to be here?”

  Artemis did. The sickness in Leah's stomach became a cold weight. The priestess was bowing so low that her forehead was in line with Leah's knees. The alien woman (or was Leah the alien since she was not native to the planet?) held her arms out in complete abasement.

  The pretty female started to babble. Leah did not feel any better. She reached out automatically and laid a hand on Talurie's shoulder. The woman's head jerked up, her cloud colored hair framing her elegant face. Her eyes, twin rings of carnation pink and cat yellow, were shimmering as if she was ready to cry.

  “Talurie,” Leah said softly. The woman's eyes filled with emotion as Leah said her name. “Artemis, would you translate for me?”

  “I will do my best. However, I do recommend that you learn at least one form of the Elerian language.” Leah hadn't known that the AI could sound so sassy.

  “I will, but not in the next ten seconds. Just help me, please.”

  Artemis shimmered and wafted closer. “I am ready.”

  As Leah started to speak, she heard her voice reproduced perfectly from Artemis. The words weren't the same, but it sounded good. “Talurie, please do not worry about me. I like to walk. I like to see the world that I have come to. I am not leaving you.”

  Artemis translated Talurie's words without prompting.

  “Have I done something to disappoint you?” the priestess asked.

  “Not even a little. Of all the people I have met you are the closest thing that I have to a friend. You helped me find a place to rest, you tended my injuries. You've helped me over and over again.”

  Talurie's eyes went wide. “Friend?”

  “Would it be so hard to believe?”

  “Yes,” Talurie said, “I am just-”

  “Just nothing,” Leah said, cutting her off. She removed her hand from Talurie's shoulder. “You are not 'just' anything, you are Talurie and you rescued me from the water. You have helped me...and I can never thank you enough for that.”

  Leah could see the woman's confusion and concern chase one another across Talurie's face until finally settled on understanding. “You need a friend.”

  “I do.”

  Talurie smiled a shy but honest smile. “How can I be your friend?”

  Leah stepped up and linked her arm through the other woman's getting her to stand up straight. “You could start by introducing me to potential husbands.”

  “But that is supposed to be your choice.”

  “What are friends for?”

  Chapter 5

  They were nearly to the temple when a familiar face came stumbling out of the temple. With their arms still linked together it was all too easy to feel Talurie go tense at Leah's side. He was one of the men who had been there when Leah was pulled out of the pond. She knew that he wasn't a priest, or at least not a full one. His clothing was not nearly as elegant as any of the other religious representatives.

  There was also something about his hair. Many of the Elerians had hair that came at least to the middle of their backs or longer and rarely pulled it back or put it up. His auburn locks, however, only brushed his shoulders, and he usually kept it pulled out of his face in some way. Today a strip of green fabric held it back, like a makeshift bandanna. His double green eyes went first to Leah and then to Talurie.

  He bowed lower than Talurie has earlier. It was almost painful to watch. Talurie lifted her chin and made a comment that sounded snobby even to Leah's ears.

  “Artemis?”

  “It seems that he is apologizing for his work.”

  “What's his work?”

  “He is a cook and tender of their herb garden.”

  That certainly didn't clear anything up. “So why is he apologizing? Did he burn dinner?”

  “It seems that he thinks that the flavors will not be good enough for you.”

  That confused the heck out of Leah. So far the food that had been served to her had been really good. Elerian cuisine seemed to run high on savory items, with lots of herbs and vegetables, and very light on the meat.

  “Shouldn't he wait until I try it to apologize?”

  “It would seem that he thinks that he will be cast out if he displeases you.”

  “Cast out? Why?”

  “He is not a priest.”

  That didn't really explain anything for Leah, but she didn't have time to understand right this moment. “Well it's not going to happen with us all standing out here. Why doesn't he just take me to taste it?”

  Artemis translated the words, making both of the Elerians look at her like she had grown a second head. “It seems that they think that the kitchen is not a place for a goddess.”

  Leah couldn't help but laugh. “Please, I love to cook.”

  “Elerians believe that cooking is not something that people of the upper echelons of society do.”

  “So, what? Food is for second-class citizens?”

  “That would be the thought, yes.”

  Leah remembered the story of the goddess that they had mistaken her for. “Didn't Arina take a farmer as her husband?”

  “That is correct.”

  “He handled food then.”

  “That is also correct.”

  Leah stepped forward and put her hand on the man's shoulder. “What's your name?”

  “Erun,” he answered only after Artemis had asked the question again.

  “Erun, take me to the kitchen.”

  Talurie made a little sound, completely aghast. “You cannot.”

  “Am I a goddess or not?” Lea
h asked. When Talurie dipped her head Leah continued. “I will go where I want.”

  She let Erun lead her to the large cooking area. It was impressive, with big counters made of a dark stone, and what looked like a glass stove top over a carefully tended flame. A massive wooden bowl sat in one spot, some sort of dough was rising beneath a cloth. A large pot made of some golden metal hung over a second flame. It should have been hot with all that open fire, but it was only a little warmer than it had been out doors.

  “So, what won’t I like?”

  He pointed towards a preparation table. What looked to be a silvery fish nearly as long as Leah was tall was taking up most of the room. A pile of scales speckled along the floor.

  “He thinks I won’t like fish?”

  He started to talk. Since Leah didn't understand the words all she could do was concentrate on his voice. It was a good voice, elegantly tenor and easy on the ears. It was the kind of voice meant for poetry. His eyes of double green were focused on her belly, as if he couldn't meet her gaze. When Artemis was done translating Leah began to understand.

  He had taken off the scales before he had done something else. Leah didn't know what the something else was, she had been too caught up in the fact that he wasn't a perfect person to pay too much attention to what he had messed up exactly.

  “Is this the first time you made fish?” Leah asked with Artemis' aid.

  “No.”

  “Then what happened that you made this mistake?”

  He seemed to wince at her words and dipped his head so that his auburn hair swung over his cheeks. She could see the pale tips of his ears through the locks. It surprised her a little that she wanted to touch his hair to see if it was as silken as it looked.

  “I was...thinking,” he admitted.

  “Of?”

  At first he didn't answer. His eyes darted to Talurie who was watching the exchange as if it were a mildly offensive play. He then looked at Leah.

  “You.”

  It was such a simple answer but it made Leah's belly flip around. “Me? You were thinking of...me?”

  “Yes. I have seen you make mistakes, it is...nice.”