SWNOVELS Chapter 12 once upon a time
“What?!” Annie exclaimed, leaning away from Tal when he declared they had known each other since they were children. They had grown up on different planets but Tal seemed sure.
“I remember we were playing in the meadow outside that is now covered in snow. A giant black and white cat was following you around. Your father had red hair, cut very short and wore a blue uniform, and your mother had a laugh that sounded like music. She baked cookies every day. All the memories that I thought were my grandmother were her. Truh brought me here, we swam in the hot springs. He pointed out the seven pointed star on the ceiling. When I saw it yesterday, I remembered. I remembered what I was not supposed to and went into a chalom. My own brother clouded my memories on purpose,” he sounded hurt and confused.
“Why would he do that?” She asked just as confused. She had dreamed almost the exact thing when they were on the bus to Vegas. It couldn’t be true, but somehow she knew it was.
“I think he meant for me to have a mother figure. Anneliese, think hard, what do you remember?” He demanded. His arms held her captive but it was more like he was the prisoner and not her.
“Tal, my parents were children’s sponsors. We had orphaned boys from Israel every summer at the beach house, or mom and I came here, or we took them to the cabin. I only remember that I wasn’t supposed to talk about them at school because mom was helping them get past their trauma. It was the whole Dr-patient confidentiality thing. Eventually, they all kind of ran together. Twice we went to Israel. The second time was awful, the next fall I started at the university, I was 14 and I didn’t see them much after that, but she still did it until she was murdered,” she answered, struggling to process it all. “Are you saying all those boys were all from your people?”
“I think yes.” He responded, releasing her reluctantly. “I am sure I was not the only one. There were my brothers, my cousins, the sons of my father’s allies possibly. ”
“Did you figure this out while you were... ummm... whatever that was?” she whispered
He could tell from her tone that she had been truly frightened and worried. “Yes and No, I think... I think I started to realize it the night I saw your Nativity, but my mind could not accept it. Truh had a Christmas card with the image of a nativity in his possession when he died, but it was not the first time he had been here. Rabbi Jakob confirmed this. ” He answered.
“But Why? Why bring them here?” she wondered tremulously. “How can you be sure?”
“Because we do not treat those of lower tiers as property to be used and discarded the way many of our tiers do. We treat them as having value. The way they were treated in the past. ’Masters are to treat those below them well, because there is one above all who will someday judge each of us.′ “He quoted. “That teaching has been forgotten. Truh was trying to change things back to the way they were. To know how to show affection, one must have been shown affection. Your mother and maybe others showed love to at least a few of the sons of my people. A great kindness which ended with my brother’s death... With your mother’s death.” He sounded grieved as he said it, “Love is the lost light. I believe Truh meant for you to bring it back to my people.”
Annie was trembling as she stood up quickly, backing away from the bed. She panted in near panic as she stammered, “No... You... you have to be wrong. I can’t... I... I... I need a cup of coffee,” and she fled from the room like she was afraid he would hurt her or drag her off to his world.
^..^
Annie was shaking uncontrollably as she went down to the kitchen, almost sloshing coffee as she tried to pour a mug. Tal had to be crazy.
Brain damage from being under the water too long or something. Justifying her thoughts, she decided she couldn’t possibly go to another world and speak to how many thousands of females about love... What would she say? ‘Time to stop being mean girls and start loving each other and your males and children.’ She could hardly talk to a room of three dozen writing students. She usually focused on a single student at a time to keep from having a panic attack. There is no way, Tal has to be wrong. She took her cup of coffee to a small alcove beyond a spiral staircase and hid.
The Only Rule for being a ghost: Be as invisible as possible.
She needed to think, she needed to go home and lock herself in her house so he couldn’t take her back to Eloh. She was a coward. It isn’t safe here, it isn’t safe with him no matter how it feels. Ohgawd, why do I care so much?
In a few days, he will be forever gone and she will never see or speak to him again. From falling for Evil Prince Most Available to Noble Admiral Least Available, she decided she was so pathetic. Outside she watched snow swirled against the glass while she talked herself down from her lunacy.
^..^
Tal reached out with his mind as he dried and dressed, his fingers lingering over the scar on his chest where he was almost killed during the last Lottery. He shook the thought away and reached out again. Bries was in the kitchen feeling distressed. Annie was sitting in a hidden window seat, staring out at the blizzard. The storm inside her as tumultuous as the one beyond the glass. In the downstairs office, Tal’s mind found Boaz and Vorn in the office. Vorn was working with Boaz on the communication up-link, he was talking to Isaac and Jakob’s people about the satellite they needed to talk to the incoming ships. This afternoon they would be able to send and receive a signal from his incoming ships. Stalking silently downstairs, Tal summoned him.
Vorn entered the great room with Boaz behind him, “Master, we should have the ability to speak with our people in 4 to 6 hours. But there is unusually high solar activity which may delay their arrival by several days.”
Boaz nodded, “It might work to your advantage, New Years Eve is always a big party, lots of pyrotechnics. It will make getting your ship in and out unnoticed a lot easier.”
Tal revealed, “We still have a problem, we were lured here and shot down by three fighters of our own tech before we were captured. Tech your people do not possess. So we have enemies allied with some of your people.”
Boaz frowned, “I was not made aware of that.”
“The solar activity will be to our advantage. It will disguise our ships as they approach and leave as long as the moon is our shield while in orbit, we should be able to remain adequately hidden. Vorn make the calculations. Will the weather allow for us to be picked up on the peak near the original coordinates?” Tal asked.
“The weather will be clear those days, there may be wind, but no storms. Visibility for approach will be clear but heavy solar activity will have the electro-magnetic fields active around the planet.” Vorn answered.
“Very well, we will plan to be picked up at the original coordinates unless we are forced to flee from here. Then I will have to summon them to us once they breach the atmosphere.” Tal said.
“Or we can give them the beach house.” Annie added from behind them. They had not heard her enter. “We won’t have to worry about winds or visibility or setting off Space Command’s warning system because it will be an approach off the Gulf of Mexico from international waters.”
“Won’t they be watching it?” Boaz worried.
“Only the one on Galveston. The one in Matagorda has been under a holding company since mom and dad died. There is no traceable connection to me. I actually have 4 others there now too. They get rented every week during the summer or to snowbirds during the winter, but no one is there this winter. The economy,” she explained and shrugged. Boaz nodded but the Eloh just looked as if they do not understand. She smiled tightly, “We can leave in a few days, and take advantage of the heavy holiday traffic. Many people travel at this time of year and we will be just another family going home,” she explained.
Tal thought about her plan. Their enemies may have the coordinates for the rendezvous since they have their tech. Perhaps even further deception was called for. “How far is Galveston from Matagorda?”
“Less than 100 miles.” She answered.
He frowned, not far enough, an Eloh skimmer could travel that distance in a fraction of a minute. His mind started running the tactical. He or Vorn could summon his crew to them without tipping the enemy that they were changing the coordinates, but it put his pilots at risk because they must fly through the atmosphere longer.
“You don’t want to send the new coordinates yet because you think Bents or someone else may be listening,” Annie observed. Tal nodded.
“Who’s Bents?” Boaz asked.
“The human who is hunting us and Anneliese,” Tal answered.
“Bents was a government contractor and private researcher financier. He bought Pandora when it was declassified. He wants me to make it work, and he wants Tal for the Eloh’s tech. He has the government, law enforcement, and his private army looking for us,” Annie explained. Boaz just nodded thoughtfully.
They stood quietly for a moment as Boaz lit a cigarette, “We’ll need to get there at the last possible day, just to be safe. But plan for the day before, in case we get delayed.”
“We can take the scenic route, blend in with the holiday tourist,” Annie responded. They begin to talk about places the Eloh knew nothing of. Vorn glanced to Tal, who simply nodded before he left the room.
^..^
“Are you healing, Pet Bries?” Tal asked as he entered the kitchen.
“Yes, Master, Bries heals,” he answered sullenly, not looking up.
Tal heated the plate of breakfast foods Vorn had prepared for him. As he ate in silence, he could sense that his sword pet wished to speak, but he does not. Tal rose and washed his plate and cutlery.
“You may speak,” Tal said at last.
Bries shifted nervously for a moment, then asked in a oddly childlike voice, “Bries wonders why Master and Lady Annie are upset with each other when they should have affection? Are they not meant for each other?”
A cup shattered behind him. Annie was standing there in the doorway with her mouth open.
Tal also had no response, it was not a pair of questions he had ever expected, and certainly not from this source.
For a moment, no one moved then Annie bent to pick up the pieces of the cup. She was muttering words his translator did not know. The broken ceramic went in the trash, and she wiped the floor with a towel. Finally, Annie walked over and pushed Bries onto a stool, she put her hands on either side of his wide face and pulled his head down, rubbing her sleeve on the top of it.
“There nice and shiny,” she tipped it backup and looked in his dark eyes, “Listen carefully, Bries. Sometimes friendship becomes difficult, things come up, and it takes time for it to become easy again. The Master and I have a lot to think about. We have learned many strange things since coming here. Do not worry your shiny head about it, okay?”
Bries nodded. “Bries does not understand, but will not to worry if Lady Annie says not to.” She patted his cheek affectionately, he really was child-like and she wondered how old he really was. She would have to ask Vorn. Annie grabbed another cup of coffee and left the kitchen, not speaking to Tal. She needed time process it all.
He realized he needed time too, time they did not have. His sword pet was still watching him. “Do not worry, Bries. It is a difficult thing I discovered, but we do not withhold the truth from each other, no matter how difficult,” Tal said to his guard.
“To deceive is to dishonor,” Bries repeated one of Tal’s father’s most frequent sayings. Tal thought of how much of his father’s teachings he passed on to his servants, subordinates, and pets since he did not have sons. It was the first time the thought saddened him.
^..^
They had received a signal confirming arrival in eight and a half days away, instead of the six they were hoping for. They sent a repeat of the first message, including using the moon as a shield for orbital station. Tal and Vorn had joined their minds to send a message to Tal’s new second Cypher Vanif, so Tal would know the signal had been received. The three ships were to travel silently and alertly because the Admant believed the communications were being monitored and to be prepared for any challenge. The new arrival was the day after the New Year and in a different location, retrieval coordinates to be sent directly from the Admant.
^..^
The wind was still howling hours later. Annie was stirring a large pot of Hot Cocoa on the stove and making popcorn under Bries’ watchful eye. She had an elk roast and vegetables in the oven, slow cooking for dinner. Boaz and Vorn were playing chess. Tal was reading a book Rabbi Jakob had given him. All they could do was wait out the blizzard. Annie and Bries settled in front of the big screen to watch the Nativity pageants being broadcast from all over the world with their cocoa and kettle corn. Bries clapped every time the baby was born and the angels sang and they escaped the evil king. Annie rubbed his head, laughing. He was completely amazed at all the children. Annie fondly told him, he was the biggest child of them all and that wasn’t a bad thing.
It had only been eight years since Bries had woken, but his intelligence and protective instincts were unusually high and so Vorn had selected him to be Tal’s personal guard instead of an older more experienced sword pet. Bries had never had a childhood, no clone did, they woke at the biological equivalent of 12 and immediately went into training. It made Annie more than determined to give him happy memories, she was going to be the big sister he never had. David and Solomon were securely settled into Bries’ lap, while Goliath stretched out in front of the fireplace. Annie had never met anyone else who drew felines like she did. She patted Bries on the head and took his mug to the kitchen for a refill, extra mini marshmallows just like he liked.
Soon Tal and Vorn had joined them. The Eloh found themselves drawn in by the pageantry, music, and how different it was from anything their own culture offered. There were simple versions and elaborate versions of the same story. More styles of music than they ever imagined existed. It was celebrated in every language. Each time zone it seemed had it’s own version, some had more than one. It was fascinating. So many cultures on a single world, so different from the singular population identity of Eloh and its colonies.
After midnight, Bries was asleep on the rug in front of the big screen, snoring. Goliath, David, and Solomon were next to him, their rumbling purrs almost as loud. Vorn had gone to meditate before bed. Annie sniffed. Tal looked over at her. She was curled on the corner of the sofa, looking up at moon through the snow covered skylight. She looked so beautiful and so lost. He spoke her name, she didn’t answer, her consciousness wasn’t there. He knew where and when she was. He rose and went over where she sat, lifted her into his arms and reclined holding her against his chest. She had closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. He gave her a small lick on her forehead, and nuzzled her hair. His thumb gently wiping her tears, as he was whispering to her that it was safe, he was there. She made whimpering, sobbing sounds for a long time. It hurt his soul that she was so bereft.
Tal knew what he felt for her was what her people called love, but soon he would be leaving and she could not come with him, not yet, so they must remain friends. And right now, his friend was broken under the weight of the horror of her memories. He could only hope she would let him carry part of the weight for a while. Slowly, she relaxed and uncurled, slowly the tears stopped, her breathing became less like sobs and more steady. He waited, holding her as they reclined together on the overstuffed sofa. The music from the pageants, the crackle of the fireplace, and Bries’ snores were the only sounds. The storm had passed outside and inside.
“Tal?” She whispered finally.
“Yes, Anneliese.”
“You know that no matter how careful we are, no matter how hard we plan, everything is going to go sideways as soon as your ships break the atmosphere,” she said.
“Yes, I do,” he responded.
“I think I have an idea,” she volunteered.
“I think we have the same idea,” he replied.
She shifted to look up at him. He admired her eyes, they are the richest color he had ever seen, so different from a solid, very dark brown of his. In her eyes, the brown and gold and green blended perfectly. He remembered the afternoon when they walked out of the shop and she had pressed her lips against his under the mistletoe. She had apologized before and afterward told him the story. It was for good luck and long life, but he had also learned it was for love. He remembered how still she had stood as he had wielded the sword around them, she had barely known him and yet she had trusted he would not harm her. He wished he could kiss her just once more, but he couldn’t, so he closed his eyes, pulling her head against his chest, and rested his cheek on top of her hair. He ran the tip of his tongue over the back of his gums, he can feel they are slightly swollen and his teeth feel more pointed, his predator wanted to keep her. It could not be, and his heart hurt more than a little.
“Tal?”
“Just lay with me for a while, Anneliese.”
His mind dwelt on what Rabbi Jakob had told him. Once upon a time, the sons of his people had looked upon the daughters of her people, found them to be beautiful and had taken them as wives, then it was decided that their peoples should not dwell together anymore. He could see why the decision was made, the aggressive nature of his people would have destroyed the beauty of this world and its cultures, but he could also see why his brother had made the choice to violate the ancient mandate. It felt wonderful to be with her, yet he was aware that in eight days leaving her was going to hurt worse than anything he had ever known. They could only be friends, he resolved. He inhaled slowly and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Hours later, he woke alone, even the cats were gone.