Their home gave the impression of antiquity,
blended with modern conveniences. At the top of the stairs, she was
escorted into the sitting room of a huge suite. To Syn, the style
seemed to resonate with that of an English manor with some touches
of the fabrics that resembled silks, velvets, brocade, and what
looked like Chinese pottery and artifacts. She also noticed some
uniquely Sarran themes that she remembered from the ship. Naffie
and her Warriors lead her into the adjourning sleep area where a
bed twice the size of the normal Earthen King took pride of
place.
::Yes, the bed is overlarge. A Triad sleeps
together and as you may have noticed, Sarrans are not slightly
built.::
Naffie yawned loudly.
::Mommie isn’t the only one who is tired,
Poppie. Zadda and I left early for the spaceport. Maybe I could lay
down with Mommie for a while.::
Syn breathed a sigh of relief. At least the
bonding would not take place immediately. She had some time to
prove her worth.
Bron lifted her chin with the two fingers of
his right hand, then boldly kissed her moist lips while Zaron
stepped up behind her to caress the nape of her neck.
::There is nothing to prove, Pa Chette, you
were meant for us and we for you. No part of your past or present
is unacceptable to us. There is only you, perfectly suited to our
needs as we will be to yours.::
Syn already began to differentiate between
the voices in her mind. After kissing Bron lightly, she turned into
Zaron’s arms and asked aloud, “Are you sure?”
“As sure as dawn follows moontines.
“It is only seven tines. I am a bit weary.
Maybe if I lay down for an hour or two, then I can make some
cookies for Naffie as a homecoming present of sorts and start
preparing dinner.”
“Nafer will go to his own suite to nap, for
I’m afraid he will keep you awake with all of the questions I hear
bubbling up inside, and then he can supervise the making of the
‘cookies.’”
::Naffie, why don’t you go and get some
rest. Maybe the fair Duchess will accompany you,::
Bron said,
taking his hand.
Duchess jumped up on the bed and rubbed her
whiskers against Naffie’s hip.
Syn, yawned. “I think that was a yes.”
* * * *
“You never fall in love the same way twice.”
—Anonymous
Zaron entered the study
where Sarran technical apparatus was strategically placed behind
bookcases in hidden rooms. Bron sat in a very large overstuffed
chair covered in an exotic fabric in deep purple with tapestry seat
cushions. Before him stood two glasses of Asta brandy bottled on
their own estate and served in one of the three purple glasses
etched with the crest of Castle Air. Holographic units and various
data screens peppered the walls when the Warriors opened the
bookshelves and cupboards; even here in their home the heavy weight
of the governance of Sarran held sway.
“We don’t have much time to do what needs to
be done, Dearest.”
::I’m aware of that. The BondStir had to be
very strong to have manifested itself despite the psy-blocks. We
cut the first line while I was still on board the Brightstar. What
do we need to do to erase the rest so we can bond with our
fem?::
Bron rose from his chair and handed Zaron his
drink. “The device at the nape of your neck is just under your skin
and can be removed by the pneumatic tool we used to implant it.”
Bron moved to the multi-paned glass windowpanes that looked over
the lawn.
Zaron moved behind him and placed his arms
around the muscular chest of his lover. Bron turned into his
arms.
::…and the secondary blocks?::
Zaron’s
eyes looked into Bron’s, begging him to unleash his captive
emotions.
“We can deal with all of them as soon as you
like.”
::Yes, please. My Dearest, I am so weary
with being emotionally numb. I know it was necessary, but Goddess,
I missed our connection.::
Zaron pushed back into his lover’s
strong arms.
::We were frozen in our grief when you left,
Dragon. You would not have functioned well on the mission if you
felt the fierce emotions roiling through you from the death of our
fem and fempring. Now we must confront those emotions and hope they
do not interfere with the new bond.::
::What if we can’t deal with grief so long
suppressed? What if we are unable to bond because we deliberately
bottled up our emotions until such time we had the leisure to deal
with them? We have to give ourselves whole-heartedly to our new
bond
—
but can we?::
Zaron eyes echoed the fear
held in Bron’s. The fem upstairs would be their last chance at a
full life, love, and a renewed sense of purpose. They could not
fail.
Bron rested his forehead gently against
Zaron’s. He took his left hand and placed it on Zaron’s heart and
moved Zaron’s left hand to cover his. His right hand reached for
Zaron’s forehead. “Concentrate, if you visualize the locks opening,
with a key I provide, they will be gone.”
::What about the implant?::
::I’ll take care of it right away. Now
concentrate, my Dragon, so both of us can be free of these
emotional chains.::
* * * *
Syn sat straight up in the huge bed. She woke
with a wave of overwhelming sadness that left tears running down
her cheeks and almost silent sobs throbbing in her chest.
Instinctively she jumped from under the silver linens trimmed with
purple thread. She looked for her shoes but she was unable to find
them so she went without. Following the invisible tether that
tugged at her heart and mind, she bounded down the stairs, stood
for a moment puzzled, then headed directly for the study. The
double arched doors were made of some type of Sarran wood. They
depicted a Tierest tree in bas-relief and were at least twelve foot
tall. The stain colored the wood in a deep mahogany hue, showing
clouds of silver circling the three-branched tree. The trim was a
metal that resembled silver and the elongated handle of the same
metal pushed down to open the door.
Syn swallowed hard, knocked lightly on the
door, and stepped inside. She found the WarriorPair together on a
long low violet leather couch with dark purple piping and large
rolled arms. Tapestry pillows depicted bouquets of flowers in every
hue. Zaron’s head was in Bron’s lap. Both Warriors’ auras emanated
fresh grief.
Auras—I see auras now?
Zaron lifted his head, “Come to us Pa Chette.
We need the comfort of your arms.”
“I felt such deep sadness, almost mindless
grief—it woke me and pulled me to this room.”
“We owe you an explanation. As you are aware,
we lost a fem and fempring to the Zyptz attack. Nara was also
pregnant, something that few of our people know.” Zaron sat up to
make room in between them.
Bron continued, “The grief was overwhelming.
Yet we were the heads of state and needed to function. As you know,
Sarrans have certain psychic abilities. Zaron and I, plus an
additional select few, have ability well advanced from those of the
general population. It is called HiPsy and is but a legend in most
circles of the planetary population.”
“But if it’s real…” Syn asked.
“It’s real and we used our powers to insert a
mind lock that partitioned our grief off into a small section of
our brains. Unfortunately, while enabling us to function for our
people, it cut us off emotionally from each other. Those blocks
were locked in place and reinforced by a small implanted device of
Bron’s design. They held tight until I saw you on
Brightstar
.” Zaron stood and crossed the room to the cart
which contained the Asta.
“Do you drink brandy, Pa Chette?”
“It’s a little early, however a shot would
not go amiss at the moment.”
“This, Pa Chette, is a Triad set. The sires
of a newly bonded WarriorPair go in together and buy the best set
of glasses they can afford. The glasses are hand blown and
decorated with precious metals and elaborate etchings depicting the
symbols and colors of Clan and House. The Tierest tree is the
symbol of all of the Sarran Clans and the cloud behind it
symbolizes Castle Air. Our late fem, Nara, used this glass and to
pass it to a new fem is a very rare occurrence in Sarran
society.”
Zaron poured the brandy and handed it to
Syn.
“You broke those impenetrable barriers. After
Zaron heard the faint buzz of a song on
Brightstar
, we had a
scheduled communication. We spoke on more than a superficial level
for the first time in two years. We didn’t understand what
happened. It wasn’t until Nafer began to speak about Mommie that I
began to get an inkling of understanding.”
“I, on the other hand, was too focused on the
mission to understand what my psy was trying to register. The brief
contact we had on board made me very uncomfortable and I couldn’t
discern the reason which was why I abruptly left you and the
Princess Anya the night before the tribunal. It was a muted
BondStir.”
“Yet Naffie broke through. He slipped into
the bed, you know, he needed comfort. I left him sleeping with the
Duchess in the slumber chamber.” Syn sat beside Bron and absently
stroked Zaron’s cheek.
Bron sighed.
::Dragon, bring over the
decanter.::
He then smiled at his partner When he got up and
complied.
::I heard that…can you hear me?::
::Yes, we can.::
Zaron shook his head.
::
We have to teach you control. Before you had to
mentally shout for us to hear you and your psy adjusted to make
yourself heard. Now you only need to whisper.::
::What woke you, Pa Syn, was the pent up
grief that Zaron and I repressed for our fem and fempring. The
grief, so long denied, burst over us like a wave when the blocks
were removed. It was necessary to remove all of the blocks to
secure our bond with you.::
“You cannot bond with me while still grieving
over Nara. The bond would interfere with your grief. In fact the
grief might prevent the bond.”
Zaron sat down beside her and took her into
his arms. “Please permit me the liberty of holding you in my arms.”
Bron sat on the couch on the other side of Syn.
Bron closed the distance between them.
::
Our grief was but a brief explosion because it wasn’t
entirely suppressed. We are ready for you, Pa Syn. The Goddess made
sure of it.::
Zaron placed his finger on her chin and
turned her face to his. “I speak aloud to be sure you understand
what I am about to say, Pa Chette. You were made for us. The
BondStir with you is so much stronger than it was with Nara. It
cannot be denied. We know this in our heart and by our psy.
Although Nara possessed psy, her potential was limited. Your
potential to love us and Naffie in addition to helping both our
peoples is enormous.”
Bron kissed the nape of her neck. “Ah, Pa
Syn, the road ahead for us is fraught with obstacles. The very
existence of HiPsy Sarrans is secret. We are so few, the leading
edge of Sarran evolution. Just as on Earth, it is on Sarran. If the
people knew of our powers they would be afraid of someone different
from themselves.”
“We would be labeled frauds or taken for
testing.” Zaron moved to kneel before her.
::But that’s something they would do on
Earth! I thought Sarran to be more civilized,::
Syn said with
heat.
::Legends tell us that all the human species
originated from the roots of the First Ones. How can we be that
different from you? We, like your own race, practiced genocide. The
very land we stand on is proof of that. The AirClan along with
WaterClan disappeared at the time of the ClanWars.::
Syn could feel the irritation that seethed
through their link. Both Zaron and Bron hated the type of prejudice
that defined someone as different.
::There are those who would destroy that
which they do not understand.::
The study door which Syn carefully closed
behind her entry burst open. In ran a crying Naffie and Duchess
nipping at his heels.
::Mommie, she hurt me, she wouldn’t stop
biting and scratching until I came downstairs.::
“Zaron, Bron, Duchess never misbehaves that
way, something’s wrong…”
Syn grabbed for Nafer as the house shook.
Bron pushed them down to the floor and covered them with his body
as Zaron followed the mewling cat. He met Garlance and Stoker in
the large entry hall at the foot of the staircase. “Where?”
Duchess sprung up the stairs. Zaron followed.
She led him to the door to the suite she and Naffie just left. The
huge bed lay in ruins. It seemed that the explosive device was
placed under the bed and designed so the explosion was contained
and set in a manner that contained it to the immediate area in and
surrounding the bed. Duchess pawed at his leg.
“You are forgiven, Beauty, you saved our
offspring’s life.”
* * * *
They returned to the study. Bron rose. “We
are all in good health. Thank Ulna the White that the petite beauty
drove Naffie down the stairs. She must be special to Ulna because
of her unique coloring.” Naffie sat on the end of the sofa emitting
a string of hiccups punctuated by an occasional sob. “Do you think
Duchess is angry with me? Will she still let me be friends and sit
on my lap?”
Syn moved to a large chair across the room
and sat on the arm beside Naffie, placing her left arm around his
shoulder and pulling him in close to her breast. “Duchess is not
angry with you. She knows you didn’t understand what she was trying
to tell you.”
“But earlier today I heard her. Why didn’t I
hear her this time?”
“I can’t answer that, sweetheart, maybe
because you were sleeping—but it doesn’t matter, she knows you
didn’t understand and she did what she could to make sure you
stayed safe. I’ll bet she’s more worried that you may be angry at
her.”