by Ava D. Dohn
The speeder eased to a stop outside the opened entrance of an ancient blue marble wall. This pearl-white auto-car sat motionless, hovering just above the pavement, a subdued humming noise coming from its motor, opaque windows keeping secret any mysteries hidden within.
From a cloudless sky, the heat of the morning sun pressed upon the day. Steam from a late-night shower rose from pavement bricks and surrounding stones, vanishing as a mist in the summer air. Shrubs and trees in surrounding gardens dripped with a welcome deluge of the night, while little harvester ants scurried about, busy at their duties, as sunlight reflected off glistening water droplets, creating an illusion of a world filled with sparkling diamonds.
A loud click! followed by the low whir of servos disturbed the silence. As if rudely awakened from a pleasant slumber, a covey of mourning doves rose from secluded perches. As they noisily flew overhead, a door opened in the side of the auto-car, slowly sliding back along an inner rail, revealing a shadowy figure hiding in the cool darkness of the idling machine.
Slowly, a hand reached out, grabbing the roof rail, followed by a foot coming to rest on the pavement. Laboriously, like someone ancient, weighed down with burdens beyond their years, a woman emerged from the shadowy depths. With a grunt, she stood. How strange it would have been for an observer, for this woman did not look ancient. She was young and stunningly beautiful.
Squinting, the woman shaded her eyes to view the surrounding landscape, the silent grandeur of these sights vividly impressive. Giant leaved gates made from exotic, shimmering metal, delicately engraved with intriguing designs and runes stretched outward like two great arms, beckoning one to come forward and receive their ever-opened embrace. Massive pivots, buried deep within the walls’ two opposing circular guard towers supported them.
These imposing gates paled next to the fortress towers and walled battlements whose marbled heights rose well over eighty cubits before reaching the open roadway traversing the wall. From there it was another sixty cubits to the roofed battlements of the towers. Black, polished onyx inset with chrysolite and other precious jewels,crowned both the towers and imposing ramparts.
The woman sighed, unmoved. She merely turned toward the machine and muttered a command, its door swiftly closing. The auto-car’s motor sprang to life and, speeding away, soon disappeared down the road, leaving the solitary figure standing there, staring into the distance.
Again, she turned her attention to the battlements. Looking up, the woman could see the massive guard towers with their flags fluttering on poles far atop peaked roofs, recalling to her mind the grandiose beauty viewed from their ramparts. From these towers, on countless occasions, the breathtaking panorama of the surrounding countryside had unfolded before her eyes.
To the east were gently rolling hills and valleys covered with orchards, vineyards and pastures. Patches of woodland dividing fields of grain grew along the streams and brooks that descended to a broad plain below. These waters gathered together in force to produce a wide, serpentine river sluggishly laboring northward, fading from sight.
Beyond rose a wall of blue-green hills, dipping and swelling as though an army of shadowy giants were on the move, marching off into the distant haze, hiding the roots of rock-hewn mountains jutting above the clouds in snow-covered peaks. In the morning blackness, the sun would fill the sky behind these mountains with a dark glow as if orange fire were ascending from the depths below. As it struggled its way up the mountains, colors brightened until a vivid red sun would suddenly erupt over the peaks, flooding the countryside with its yellow brilliance.
The fortress walls stretched north and south for better than two leagues. Long ago, tall forests had grown up around these fortifications, shading the blue river of marble with their wide evergreen boughs. Old growths of giant cedar, hemlock and redwood trees towered high above the greatest battlements, dwarfing the heights with their three hundred cubit spires.
Nor was beauty lost on the secrets hidden behind the marble walls. Ornate patchworks of courtyards, orchards and gardens nestled along the trails and broadways, a rainbow hue of bright, scented flowers scattered throughout the dark green mats of shrubs and bushes, exciting one’s emotions with its kaleidoscopic display. Flagstone roads of red, blue and green crisscrossed this expanse of luscious growth, sweeping in like a sea around the base of the walls.
“Enough of that!” The woman sputtered, shaking her head to clear it of seemingly useless memories. She started toward the gates along the jasmine-lined roadway leading into Palace City.
Glancing west, the woman took little note of the dazzling imagery and beauty of the city’s center, nearly a league away. Had she bothered to look up while passing through the gates, she would have seen the splendor of this jewel of the Universe…had she bothered.
This inspiration for poems and songs went unnoticed by the woman, her mind caught up with other pressing matters. Whether she chose to observe it or not was of little concern to the artists who created it.
The ‘Eternal City’, as the architects had named it, would always shine with breathtaking delight, for they had willed it to be that way. The gilded palace towers of jade, inset with gold and precious stones, and the palace proper, crowned in onyx and domed in diamond crystal, gold, and chrysolite made it appear as though the sun had descended from its home in the heavens and settled here. The Old Palace had sat its weathered butte long before this woman’s kind was born, and would continue to shine from it even if her kind should fail.
The woman smiled. She had chosen wisely this morning. As she expected, the streets were empty. And the guard towers? They never saw a guard… only occasional lovers seeking seclusion after a night’s merrymaking. This did not mean that her presence had gone unnoticed. Even now someone watched her, following her every move. But such knowledge was more reassuring than discomforting.
At Candletoe, a distant outpost, the woman first noticed this voice calling to her, beseeching her to journey here. She regretted abandoning the fleet at such a perilous time, but what else could be done? There was a tone of urgency in the request, a pleading on the part of the one making it. And to be called here, to the Royal Palace, could only mean the summons was of greatest importance.
Sounding of hurried footsteps descending a hidden staircase in the North Guard Tower startled the woman. Reaching for the dagger at her side, she crouched in battle preparedness. Then, eyeing the tower’s opening, she listened and waited. Footfalls echoed from the passageway and off the metal gates, confusing her ears as to the number of feet on the stairs. An instant more and she would know if the approaching feet were that of friend or foe.
Laughter erupted from the doorway. In a sudden rush, a couple holding hands, eyes fixed on each other, sprang from the blackness. Paying no heed to their surroundings, they nearly bowled the woman over. At the last instant the man saw her and, pulling hard on the girl’s arm, twirled her around and into his.
Not having noticed the stranger in their midst, the girl flirtingly cooed, “Why Zadar, has your hunger overcome you so quickly? Do you wish to revisit the tower lounge before we return to the others?”
A handsome man with thick dark hair, deep-set hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and a neatly trimmed beard pretended to clear his throat and pointed past the girl. “We…we have a visitor.”
The girl’s eyes followed Zadar’s hand, her shining black hair dancing on the air as she spun her head around. She stared, the flirting smile still on her face, and then, when she recognized the woman standing there, cried out in surprise, “Mihai! My sister! What a thrill to see you safe and well! Oh, how I’ve missed you! Come! Share the wine and good times with me again!” Releasing Zadar’s hand, the girl lunged for Mihai, locking her in an iron embrace.
Mihai wheezed, “I… I’ve missed you, too, my darling Darla. Please… allow me a breath.”
Darla released Mihai, holding her at arm’s length and the two stared into each other’s eyes. Mihai pondere
d the wonders of her sister. ‘How beautiful she is, and still with the seeming innocence of a carefree little girl. Seeing her here, who would ever guess an evil madness lurks, hiding in her mind. She covers it well, with her finery of silk and gold, makeup and twinkling eyes. But I know…I know that this child has not seen even one day of peace in her troubled life.’
A spark of hope ignited in Mihai’s own troubled heart as she watched Darla’s placid face. She lowered her head, speaking wistfully. “This place has the ability to lift the darkness from the mind. May it also do the same for me...”
Zadar stepped forward, arms spread wide. “M’lady! It is so good to see you after such a long absence!” He gently pushed Darla aside and hugged Mihai.
“Harrumph!” Darla snorted, placing her fists on her hips. “He just wants you in the tower with him, that’s all!”
Mihai stepped back in mock surprise, grasping her dagger. “If I’d known that, I’d defended myself against your advances!”
Grinning, Zadar asked suspiciously, “Just like the way you did the night before you parted company for the fleet?” Not waiting for a reply, he snapped, “If I had known M’lady was gonna come sneakin’ around the back door of this place, I would have brought some brandy to welcome her and possibly offered her an invitation to visit a spell.”
Mihai retorted, “I wasn’t sneakin’! I wanted some time to myself to clear the air in my head. Leave it to someone like you to spoil it for me. And stop calling me ‘M’lady’!”
Zadar wrinkled up his face in fake apology. “Oh, excuse me, your Lordship, but I didn’t give you that title. You did it to yourself. I’ve already heard rumors of a big change coming. I’m just getting a jump on the others, that’s all.” Sarcastically, he asked, “What name do you want me to call you by, ‘Mihai’ or ‘Michael’?”
Mihai soured. “You know few call me by that other name. ‘Mihai’ will suit me just fine.” Sadness grew on her face. “‘Mihai’ helps me forget things I wish not to remember.” She took hold of Zadar’s hands. “Please, my dear little brother, allow me, please, to leave certain memories in the clouds for now. They cover the things I don’t want to see.”
Zadar squeezed Mihai’s hands, grinning, “Mihai it is, then.”
Mihai’s dark feelings quickly faded and her eyes began to twinkle. “I would have been grateful if you had brought that brandy with you.”
Darla pretended to clear her throat. Getting their attention, she asked, “So, am I just an abandoned soul now? Tossed by the wayside like a discarded toy?”
Mihai laughed. “Oh yes, we could cast you aside as easily as one does a winter tempest.” She looked into Darla’s emerald-green eyes, pondering, ‘A person could become lost in those fathomless pools and never want to return.’
Letting go Zadar’s hands, she reached out and held the girl in another embrace. “Oh, my dear Darla, I have missed your company for so long!”
They stood, locked together as one, sharing inner thoughts, memories from some long-forgotten time. There were few people Mihai loved and trusted more than Darla. In fact, she owed her very life to her.
Mihai kissed Darla on her lips and then asked, “How is it we chance to meet at this time? I thought you were doing sentry duty on Stargaton.”
Darla blinked in surprise. “The summons, of course! You are the last one to get here. Zadar and I, along with the others, have been here for several days. We were beginning to think you might choose to ignore it, like you have done in times past.”
Mihai denied that was so. “You know I have never ignored a summons. But there have been times when I could not possibly abandon my duties to come. This time is different. I could feel the urgency.”
Zadar piped in. “Well! If you’d let us know the time of your arrival, we’d come to the depot and gotten you.”
“That I don’t believe!” Mihai poked an accusing finger toward Zadar. “You?! Miss out on a sweet interlude with our most beautiful of flowers just to keep company with me? Please, don’t make me laugh.”
“That’s not so! That’s not so!” Zadar cried.
Pretending offence, Darla grumped, “What’s not so…that I’m the most beautiful of flowers? You weren’t shy about lavishing your attention on me last night in your attempts to lure me out here! Was it out of obligation you delivered your innocent sister to the tower, saying ‘Let us watch the sunrise over the mountains’? And did you keep my glass filled with wine only fearing I might become thirsty?”
Zadar was shocked. “Lure you?! As I recall, you dragged me under the first mulberry tree we passed after leaving the others. And for the wine, you treated yourself to many more than I dispensed, including mine.”
Mihai stopped the teasing. “Enough of this! You’re both incorrigible! Should all the children be as passionate, there would be no time for strife or war.”
She spread her arms wide, drawing both her companions close, speaking in little more than a whisper, confiding, “I told no one I was coming. This council meeting is secret, at least it is to be for the moment. I believe my lieutenants are trustworthy, but…let’s just say not all secrets remain secrets. I didn’t dare trust the enemy finding out about my absence.”
Mihai changed the subject. Looking at Zadar and Darla’s attire, she commented, “It must have been some fancy gathering you two were at last night.” She was justified in the statement, as the couple was dressed in sheer, silky, ankle-length garments.
Darla’s attire was more feminine in cut, gathered at the waist, accented by a diamond-studded belt. It also had an open bodice, with golden lace sweeping down from her shoulders and around her exposed breasts, which refused to be hidden under her knee-length cape of woven silk, gold and silver. A pair of white, laced sandals finished the woman’s apparel. Her braided locks, although disheveled, were festooned with rings of diamond-studded gold. With her dangly ear-fobs, three bejeweled gold necklaces and jingling anklets, she was quite an alluring sight.
Zadar’s garment was more like a long robe, and his ornaments simple, consisting of a finely braided gold chain necklace and a black onyx ring on his right hand. He also sported a finely crafted timepiece on his waist-belt, while a jade brooch tied the two ends of his long, flowing cape together.
Zadar explained the party had been a reunion of sorts. Some close acquaintances recently returned from a long sojourn in the Outer Ranges were celebrating the successes of their expedition. Mihai then asked if the party was last evening, why were they still dressed in such garb so late the following morning?
Zadar leaned close, nuzzling against Mihai in a sensual embrace, and whispered romantically, “Because they make me feel sexy...”
Mihai pushed him away and laughed. “Feel sexy?! Zadar, you have never felt anything but sexy! From the day of your coming of age, you have chased the ewe. Your first lover surrendered you up to her sisters before your days with her were to end, worn out and in need of rest. She said of you, ‘But for necessity of food and drink, we would have grown to the bed!’”
Zadar looked abashed, then grinned. “That aside, these clothes can still make you feel...well...special.” He put his arm around Mihai. “The council isn’t going to assemble until evening. Do you want to come with us to the Winter Gardens? That’s where we are to join up with the others. I’m sure we could find some brandy there...”
Merriment disappeared from Mihai’s face. “It would be my greatest pleasure, but I must decline.” She took Zadar’s hand. “I have some business to conclude this morning, having need to change out of this stodgy uniform and freshen up first. May I walk with you to the palace? We can talk along the way.”
Darla wrapped her hands around Mihai’s arm, while Zadar did the same with her other. Darla made her ‘little girl face’, grinning in satisfaction. “How sweet a walk it will be, too.”
Mihai thanked them both for their kindness and love, then glanced over at Darla’
s dress and asked, “I know it’s such short notice, but can you manage to find me some clothes like yours for my morning’s business? It would make me feel…feel like a woman again.”
Darla giggled with pleasure. “For you, my sister, anything…anything at all.”
