Glorious Companions

by Summer Lee

  “I want to be honest with you. I do not need much time when I go to the other planet because I can travel very quickly, like a ray of sunlight.” He kissed away a tear. “I don’t want you to worry when I’m gone. I can be back in the blink of an eye if you call me.”

  “You will return soon, won’t you?”

  “I will always be back soon.”

  “Thank you for letting me know.”

  He leaned back on the cushion and pulled her toward him. Resting on his chest, they sat in silence.

  “I am going to have Hannah, your maid, spend time with you now. She will walk you around, so you can get acquainted with the servants and the grounds.” He sat up and looked at her. “I hope that you will enjoy your new home. The people of Babylon are a wondrous group of people, very hardworking, kind and loyal.”

  “That would be nice to make this my home, but—” Even now, she felt that demons were nearby.

  “Do not fear the future. It will be glorious.”

  She nodded hopefully.

  Sammael rang his tiny bronze bell and Hannah came. “Show my betrothed around the palace. We want her to feel comfortable.”

  Hannah bowed to the prince, and then motioned to Rachael. The princess followed her new maid out the door. Yet, as she walked away, she felt that the prince had not told her the entire truth.

  About himself, about this place, or about anything.

  Interlude – The Watcher

  Sammael had sensed demonic spirits were nearby. That was why he had sent her away with Hannah. He went outside and looked up in the tree. There they sat, two hideous-looking creatures. Their heads were reared back, and they were laughing with a haunting sound. They spoke in unison. “We just sprayed your woman with fear. She fears you now.”

  “You will retract that action!” said Sammael angrily, as he jumped into the tree and grabbed them by their throats. “DO NOT interfere with my marriage to this woman,” he said.

  His own face was contorted with the rage that entered his soul. He did not like for this to happen, but he was out of control. His job was to control the evil pint-sized imps and keep them out of trouble.

  “We do not have to obey you,” they said in unison, snarling.

  “Nevertheless, I demand you leave here! Come with me. I’ll show you a place where you can go.”

  The two evil ones followed him. Sammael flew off to a remote dry planet with them. “Stay here. I am trying to woo a human woman to become my bride. You cannot interfere. I will find someone else for you to torment. Wait here until I come for you.”

  The two demons believed him. They nodded in agreement. “We will think of a trick to pull on the next human,” they said in unison, chuckling.

  “You do just that,” said Sammael. While they chattered about it, Sammael flew away with no intention of returning and the imps would not know how to get back without him to guide them.

  Sammael returned to Earth and to the palatial garden. If he wanted Rachael, then he would have to keep demonic spirits away. It was obvious that they frightened her. He sat down on the bench by the front door, and spoke invigorating, positive words to himself. He spoke of the goodness that was in the world. He would give such a gift to his wife. He reminded himself that he did not have to think evil thoughts, nor did he have to tolerate the demons.

  He had ruined his chances of being a holy angel by giving in to lustful thoughts, but most of the time, he was capable of being good and kind. He must do all in his power to only show that side to Rachael. Morning was coming. The sky glistened in shades of red as the sun rose over the distant hills.

  He must return and show love and passion to the woman who would soon become his bride.

  Chapter Three

  Afternoon came.

  Rachael had viewed the premises and then excused Hannah to return to her regular duties. She wanted to have some time to herself, time to reflect on the passion she was beginning to feel in her heart for her new love.

  Outside, Rachael looked around. A nice breeze blew over the nearby hills. Her eyes caught the lowering sun’s illumination—the golden orange of the coming sunset. She felt an inner peace. The rhythmic motion mesmerized her as the breeze blew waves across the fields of grain beyond. Life here would be good.

  Looking inside her heart, she saw that her childhood dreams were coming true. All of those lonely years as a teenager were ending in joy. Being married to Sammael was going to be fulfilling. The angel-prince would give her a wonderful life now. Just thinking about what was about to come to pass made her excited and grateful.

  “Thank you, God,” she whispered, “for making my dreams come true.”

  The land was full of mythical beings. Not only angels and demons, but Goels were in every city. Goels were humans who served God. They were good men who God told how to escape evil. Because her father, Asher, was a Goel, Rachael knew God better than other young women did—yet, she continued to make mistakes. She could not let the approaching wedding be a mistake.

  Asher was a great father. He never stopped encouraging her. The king once told her that if she would surrender her thought life to God consistently, she could maintain peace of mind. Quiet walks alone had always helped. Even after her marriage, she would continue to walk alone. She must let Sammael know how important this was to her, her daily walks through gardens to reflect upon life.

  A fertile valley lay between the hills. There, she could see the slaves cultivating the wheat and barley. To her left was a large orchard. Fruit pickers were on makeshift ladders under the trees, reaching as high as they could for the apples on the branches above. They would pick the fruit and drop it into baskets below.

  To the right was a large vineyard. The grapevines were heavy with grapes. The vine dressers were diligently working to carefully pick the fruit, so as not to damage the vines. Beyond the vineyard, where the hills looked too rough to grow wheat or vegetables, a shepherd was herding flocks of sheep from the back of a camel. There were a few goats and donkeys among them. When she saw one black sheep, she laughed. Perhaps Sammael was the one black sheep in Heaven.

  After strolling down a worn path toward the sheepherders, she turned to go back to his palace. Her thoughts ran deep. She realized that once she learned Sammael’s routines, she would know when he attended his planet in the sky. She could use that time as freedom to wander over the hills.

  At that moment, a hare, pursued by another one, ran across her path. The one in front appeared to be female, because the larger, stronger one was in pursuit. They both disappeared into the brush. She wondered if the male was not somewhat like Sammael, one that looked to a female to satisfy his hidden urges.

  She walked back up the path toward the orchard. She paused and watched the slaves work, the sweat glistening on their muscled backs. How had they become slaves? Were such things very wrong? She wondered many things as she watched them toil in the hot sun while she kept to the shade. It did not seem right to her that they were subject to punishment if they did not work hard.

  A group of youths seemed to be ahead of the others in the fruit trees. Watching them work was fascinating. They were jovial and laughing. Could they possibly be enjoying the labor?

  Suddenly, two of the pickers grabbed the branches and shook them violently. Fruit dropped rapidly onto the ground, and they quickly picked up the fallen ones and put them in their baskets. She shook her head and laughed. She doubted the prince would approve. She knew that if her own father had seen that, he would have scolded his pickers, “Don’t bruise the fruit.”

  Approaching the group of youths, she said, “What a silly way to harvest the fruit.”

  The one who appeared to be the leader said, “Oh, Princess, please do not tell on us.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “We are not supposed to damage the apples.”

  “If you know that, then why are you casting them on the ground? The bruises will cause waste and spoiling.”

  “I don’t know.”

&nb
sp; “I know why. You are children at heart.” She picked up an apple, dusted it off on her tunic, and bit into it. “Don’t worry. I will not tell on you. And if you are going to shake a tree, hold a blanket between you underneath the tree to catch the apples. Only the ripe ones will fall and they will not bruise when they hit the blanket. Then you can tie up the blanket into a sack to carry them home.”

  As she walked away, the path led into some thickets. Sauntering along a narrow path, she heard a rustling in the bushes and jerked in fear. She gasped as the bushes presented a snake—a long, ugly snake with green and pink stripes. He curled up in front of her, flapping his tongue as if to taunt her. She screamed. When she did, the snake appeared to grin and then it raced across the path. Was this a demon?

  Fright such as she had never known filled her heart as she realized that she had encountered a demonic snake. After all, had not it been a snake that had deceived Eve? She could not allow evil to come so close to her.

  Rachael had come to Babylon to be with the angel-prince, Sammael. He showed her so much love and then disappeared. How strange that he left her alone with the maid all morning, a maid she had been forced to entertain herself. A snake was not supposed to be part of the picture. But it was. It had turned and come back toward her.

  “Help!” she called out loudly, looking back at the fruit pickers. They were too far away now to hear her.

  The snake stuck out his forked tongue at her and leaped toward her. She dodged the strike. Slaves were hoeing in a vegetable garden. She felt so scared that she ran toward them. The workers looked confused. “Help me!” she cried.

  “What is amiss, Princess?” asked a burly young man.

  Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she greeted him and pointed. “There is a snake over there and it tried to strike me. Please kill it.”

  As a princess, she had been trained to not show fear. She could not allow the servants to see her act in an unladylike manner simply because she had encountered a snake. She needed to put on a brave face. She may need those servants someday. To her surprise, the strong, young slave acknowledged the reptile. He said, “So, there is a serpent over there.” He took his shovel over, and with one plunge, he snapped the head off the snake. “And now it is gone, your majesty,” he said, laughing.

  “Thank you.” She grinned slightly. “Do you think it was evil?”

  He lowered his voice. “They are all evil.”

  When she burst out laughing, everyone else in the field laughed as well. Hopefully, these would be her friends in time of trouble. “Thank you kindly for your help.”

  Once again, she was alone on the path heading toward her new home—the palace in Babylon.

  It was strange that she had believed Sammael so quickly and obeyed him so explicitly without questioning him. As she strolled along, she realized it would take time to get to know her husband after they married. She knew that he had a lot of secrets, and may not have that much time for her. I will need to talk to him about this, she thought. We need a plan in place before the wedding.

  Once out of the brush, she felt safe. She then hurried back to the palace. With the maiden approaching, she needed to act like a lady in front of them. “I must behave with grace,” she mumbled to herself. “Who knows who may be watching me from behind a corner?”

  She went to the back of the palace where slaves were cleaning and slicing vegetables. The whole of the servants were buzzing with gossip. She stopped and listened. “Why are we preparing for a wedding?” asked one of them. “The prince has only had mistresses up until now, never a bride.” It made Rachael sad that they did not take her wedding any more seriously than that, so she turned away in shame and ran toward a wooded area. She shuddered fearfully. What was she getting herself into?

  But then she felt a crackling in the air, with a pulling power. She felt drawn, like a supernatural force was drawing her away.

  As she walked away from the palace, she saw a flickering shadow in a large tree. A branch rose and dropped. Someone was there. She trembled from head to toe. Something deepened the rustling of the leaves in the wind. Could it possibly be a demon or a snake again? She was so frightened that she felt faint. She could not help but think she had made a mistake by coming to Babylon.

  Fear made her weak. She thought she might even collapse.

  A bird flew out of the tree, almost hitting her in the head. It was a crow cawing loudly. She believed it to be a sign that she must cleave to El, the God of her father. Evil was in the air. Hair stood up on the back of her neck. Rachael could not believe when she last felt such fear. “What is this all about?” she prayed, looking up to the sky.

  There was no answer. A second crow flew away.

  After the crows had flown off, she thought she heard the leaves whispering in the breeze among the branches. She stopped and listened. The tree seemed alive. Spooked, she yelled, “Help!”

  At that second, she heard her name whispered. “Rachael.”

  “Yes.”

  She looked around and saw no one. It sounded like Sammael, but she did not see him. She listened more carefully. The phrase, “Rachael, my love,” floated on the breeze toward her. It was Sammael. He was calling to her in low tones. “Rachael. Rachael.”

  Her angel-prince had come to save her. He would keep her from evil snakes and crows.

  She sighed and relaxed, feeling his love.

  Her heart swelled with relief at just the sound of his voice. “Yes! Where are you, Sammael?” she asked in a quivering voice, tears moistening her eyes, as she twirled around. “Sammael.”

  “I am here. Don’t cry.”

  “Mostly, these are tears of joy. But the tears are not just for finding you. I was just scared almost out of my head,” she said. “I saw a snake that grinned at me. And then, a crow almost hit me coming out of the trees. I sense evil in the air all around me. I run and run and cannot escape it.”

  Sammael moved quickly. He suddenly appeared in front of her and put his arms about her. “I am sorry you are frightened. But the snakes around here are harmless. As are the crows.”

  “Good, but I am still scared.”

  “Why were you out here alone?”

  “I just wanted some fresh air.”

  “Don’t you like Hannah?” he asked. “You could have stayed with her. She is such gentle company, a fine girl and godly in her life path.”

  “I don’t know her yet.”

  “She will be a good friend in the years to come. And what about the other servants?”

  “They were gossiping about me. So, I just wanted to wait outside for you.”

  “If they said anything about you, it is because you are so lovely,” said Sammael with a smile.

  “I hope that is true.” Aware that the tears were falling off her chin and her nose was running, she sniffed and swiped her hand across her face.

  He swept her up in his arms and held her close. “I do think that whenever I am not here, you must stay close to the palace servants and not run about the hills by yourself.”

  “Where were you? Were you on your other planet?”

  “Oh, no. I just went into the city.”

  “That is not true. Please don’t lie to me. Just tell me when you must leave me.”

  “You’re right. I wasn’t gone long, and I was also in the city.” He tightened his lips. “I apologize.”

  “I forgive you, this time.”

  Holding her, he kissed her hair, neck and lips. “I am so happy to have you as part of my life. I love you so much.”

  “I am beginning to feel love for you as well.” She returned the kiss. “But we have so much to learn about each other.”

  Placing her back down on the path, he said, “Come inside and meet my favorite servants.”

  He clasped her hand. They walked back toward the palace slowly. As they did, Rachael felt an unusual, peaceful energy coming from the prince. Her fear was dissipating.

  Once inside the large room, he rang a small bell, summoning som
e servants. They came immediately.

  “I want to formally introduce you to my betrothed,” he announced. He then went down the line introducing each servant to her, one by one. There was no way that she would remember all their names.

  Things were moving fast for Rachael, almost too fast. So, she excused herself and went to her room to be alone. She remembered stories her mother had told her about having to get married immediately when she met the old prince. She was never happy with the old guy. Rachael thought that if Kenana knew what was going on now, she would be fighting mad. That was simply Kenana’s nature. How long could she keep Sammael a secret from her parents? Only time would tell.

  *

  The instinctual feeling she had was that she had made a mistake. She felt better now, but her concerns had to be discussed before she gave her life away forever.

  The sun was going down when Rachael found Sammael alone in the great throne room. “We need to talk,” she said.

  “Certainly.”

  Rachael looked at Sammael. “I want to get to know you better before marrying you. Is that acceptable?”

  “Of course, my dear.”

  “Can we get away from all of these servants so we can talk alone?” she asked.

  “Certainly.” He paused, obviously thinking. “I know the perfect place to take you. It is a quiet place, away from people.”

  She nodded. “I would like that.”

  “We can go now.”

  “Right now?” Rachael felt confused. “Do you realize that it is almost dark?”

  “Of course, but that doesn’t matter.” He squeezed her hand, leading her toward the door. “I’ll protect you,”

  “Where is this perfect place?” she asked. “Is it outside or inside?”

  “Outside.”

  Strange. Somehow, this was better than rushing into something that she knew nothing about. Marriage was beginning to feel scary. “What kind of place is it?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  Aaron, the head servant, held the door open for them. Sammael told him, “My betrothed and I want to spend time alone. We will be gone for a while. So, please take care of things around here.”