The Last Queen of Lemuria (14 page)

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"I know, you don't want to talk about her, your conscience is tormenting you.  My noble, honest giant!" chuckled Guria.

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"I am guilty before her! I am so guilty before her! What have you done to me, Guria? You know I love her!" exclaimed Aleur. Yuma shrank behind the tree, as if from a blow.

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"You can say that again!" snorted Guria. "What are you doing here then? You're just living in the past. You loved her at some point..."

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"I love her with all my heart!" screamed Aleur. Yuma closed her eyes and wanted to die at that very instant.

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"Only with your heart?" said Guria in a languid tone. "Because, you've slept with her. You have slept with her, right Aleur? Admit it! By the way, you don't have to admit it, I already know. Well, tell me, which one of us is better. Will you say again that she is perfection?  Can your perfection do this? ... Or this?... Or what about this?...”

Aleur moaned.

     Yuma, blinded by tears, got up and walked away. But she kept hearing the conversation from the clearing over and over again in her head. Trying to rid herself of the delusion, she ran. The Queen rushed headlong over hill and dale. Breaking branches, and being painfully scratched by thorny bushes, and silently whispering "no," Yuma would stop, then run again, until she finally lost the road. When she got to the edge of the forest, she saw that the Palace was still far away, and the sun was already on the wane. Not noticing the bruises on her face, or her ripped dress, the Queen slowly trudged toward the city, clutching the lunch she had brought to her chest.

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"Your majesty! My God! What happened?!" Tina rushed out to meet the Queen. “Your face is covered in blood, your dress is ripped!”

Yuma hid herself in her bedchamber, slamming the door behind her.

Here, where no one could see her, she sat right on the floor and began to cry. He had deceived her! Betrayed her despicably. The pain was so great that it was hard to breathe. The tears ran in a river.  How happy she had been just a few hours earlier! And how fleeting was this bliss!

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"I would give everything on earth to have that Aveduk take me now!"  whispered Yuma. "Just to forget everything! Just to forget. Everything- Lemuria, Shambhala, and most importantly- him!

The Queen sat down on the floor for a long time, so much that her legs and arms fell asleep, thought not dropping the bundle with lunch. Yuma turned to stone, forgetting who she was, and where she was. Just then, a knock came at the door.

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"Leave! Everyone leave!" screamed Yuma.

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"It's me, Yuma!" came the Prince's voice. The door opened.

She raised her eyes. Doro threw himself around her neck.

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"Yuma! My dear sister! What's wrong with you? What happened? Who hurt you?"

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"Doro! Doro! My sweet boy, I'm so unhappy!" whispered the Queen.

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“Who? Who made you hurt, Yuma? Tell me!” tears welled up in Doro's eyes.

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"Aleur," let out Yuma with difficulty. "He's... seeing another woman."

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"Another woman? Impossible! There are no women better than you in all Lemuria, Yuma. I'm sure it's a mistake!"

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"I saw them I saw them myself, with my own eyes. They... were kissing... in the forest."

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"Kissing?! How could he... I wanted to call him my brother after your marriage! How could he! Let's go, we'll tell Shonith La. the Council will send him to the mines of Groix!"  Doro exclaimed, clenching his fist.

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"No, Doro. I will not go complain to the Council. I'm still the Queen, afterall," she smiled at her brother, and stood, drying her tears. "I had a different idea. Let's go, Doro."

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Yuma, you can't leave looking like that," said the Prince, looking on with pity.

The Queen walked up to the mirror. The smoky glass reflected a disheveled, teary-eyed young woman, with eyes full of despair. There was a scratch on her cheek.

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"Doro, call Tina! I need to get myself in order," explained the Queen in an even voice.

Chapter 16. The Friends

Lemuria was preparing for the Festival of the Sun. The townspeople took a break from their labor to decorate their homes with wreathes of flowers. The palace servants were cleaning the roads for the Great Procession. A pre-festival bustle reigned throughout the town- songs and laughter floated through the air. Sweets and cookies were baking, causing the whole city to smell like a mixture of flowers and baked goods.

Aleur climbed the steep slope, breaking from the road. He was depressed.  There were dark circles under his eyes.  His face grew lean- many sleepless nights of fasting and punishment lay ahead of him. But this didn't upset the  young Lemurian. Yuma! Queen Yuma, oh what a tormented heart. His dearest beloved- the greatest woman on earth! He had betrayed her. The woman who had placed all her faith in him!

Aleur walked up to a small, painted cottage. There were grapevines growing on the walls. Out of the window came the clattering of dishes and a singing woman's voice. Perhaps he had come in vain? Why spoil the festive mood? Aleur remained undecided. A sweet-looking blonde leaned out of her window.

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"Aleur! What are you doing standing in front of the door! Come in!"  she exclaimed.

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"Hey, Greta!"

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"Hey-hey! Tamil!"  she shouted into the depths of the room. – "Tamil!! Aleur's here!"

Aleur came into the house. Here it was just as it always had been. Wooden furniture, made by the owner, carved into fanciful, swirling patterns. The chairs, the cupboards and the tables were all made by the hand of the greatest living Lemurian woodworker. On the floor lay painted, wicker mats. The walls were painted with scenes from ancient legends. This was a fairy-tale house for wizards, not the home of a carpenter and a teacher. There was disorder as usual. In the center of the room was a half-finished rocking-twing, a mountain of sawdust and tools lying about- in the corner was an unfinished landscape painting. Things were lying all around. 

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"Aleur! Hey, buddy!" - rang out a familiar, almost husky voice.  A long-haired bearded man flew out of his bedroom on a vimana.  Black breeches covered his legs to the knee. Below that, there was nothing.

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"Hello, Tamil! Long time no see!"  Aleur extended his hand to his old friend. Tamil hovered on his vimana so as to be at the same height as Aleur.

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"Well, sure.  You've become such a bigwig, that you don't have time to complain about being here anymore."  Answered Tamil.  "How are you? You look unwell. Are you tiring of the ark?"

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"Yes.  And no. More or less... How are you though?"

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"We, as you see, are doing fine. Ever since you created the vimana, I feel like a full person. I can help my wife, and sometimes, I can even help building. On the carpentry parts. But I didn't see you there. Are you preparing for your marriage?"  Tamil winked, poking his friend in the side. Aleur went pale.

- "Has something happened? Let's get some fresh air."  He steered his vimana toward the overgrown veranda.

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"Boys! Do you want to drink some juice before dinner?"  Called Greta,  a proper, rosy-cheeked, plump beauty, with an obviously round belly.

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"Yes, dear, could you bring us some?"  Answered Tamil.

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"Don't tell secrets without me! I'm coming right now!" She shouted from the kitchen.

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"Are you expecting a baby?"

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"Forgive me, I should have said. We haven't told anyone yet. I hope everything will end well this time," said Tamil.

Aleur felt guilty. They had lived through so much tragedy- first Tamil's construction accident, then Greta lost a newborn baby... Why had they deserved such problems?

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"Aleur! I'm here!"  Tamil touched his friend on the shoulder.

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"Yes, Tamil! Congratulations! Let us pray that all will turn out well! Greta has simply blossomed," said Aleur.

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"Yes, she's much better than last year. We cried from happiness when we found out she was pregnant again. Shonith La says that our baby's soul has returned... So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

The young engineer fell silent for a while and proclaimed:

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"I'm a scoundrel."

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"That's quite a statement!"  Exclaimed Tamil.  "What did you do?"

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I betrayed Yuma," let out Aleur, almost silently.

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"You betrayed Yuma?! With who?!"   Tamil rolled his eyes.

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"With a princess of Groix," sighed Aleur.

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“With who?!"

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Yes, with a sorceress," groaned Aleur, lowering his head.

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"Aleur..." Tamil trailed off.  "You've been to Groix?"

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"No, we met in the forest."

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"You... She put a spell on you, right? That must be it!" Exclaimed Tamil, becoming quiet.

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"I don't know where to turn, Tamil"

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"If you admit it, the Council will send you to the mines!"

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"I already told Shonith La. He has punished me with fasting and healing by the Stone.”

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“But... Well, meeting with a sorceress is a crime against the state!"  gasped Tamil in horror.

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"I am too valuable to Lemuria right now," laughed Aleur.  "But that's not what's eating me up, Tamil. Yuma! Yuma is what's important! I've... continued to see Guria. And I can't do anything about it."

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"Guria. The daughter of Yala and Gorr? The Black Princess!"  Tamil paled.

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"Yes. Every time I promise myself to refuse her... but when I see her eyes, her skin, her hair..."

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"Are you in love with her?"

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"I love Yuma!"  shouted Aleur.

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"Shhh! Greta is listening. Of course you love Yuma. But all the same... " Tamil lowered his voice and asked, his eyes narrowing conspiratorially, "Aleur, how is it- with a sorceress?"

Aleur was getting ready to answer when Tamil suddenly fell loudly to the floor.

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"I told you not to fly so high," sighed Aleur, helping his friend back up.

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"You couldn't have invented a better fuel for the vimana than pure thoughts?" asked Tamil, rubbing his bruised arm. "I'm always getting covered with bumps and bruises. Forgive me! You came for help, and I..."

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"No need to ask forgiveness, Tamil. It is me who has sinned, and I cannot judge you," said Aleur, shaking his head.

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"Ah, here's the juice!" Greta came into the room  "I heard a noise. What, did that restless fellow," she said, looking kindly at her husband, "fall off his vimana again? In that case, I'd risk to venture that you were talking about women!"  She made a mockingly stern expression.  "Admit it!"

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"We admit it! We were talking about women's charms and I fell to the floor," let out Tamil, implicating himself.

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"Alright. For a soon-to-be-groom, it's OK," she winked at Aleur.  "How is Yuma? I haven't seen her in a hundred years. Those lessons with Doro have been taking up all my time. There's never any time to go see my friends."

Aleur drank his juice and got ready to leave. As soon as Greta  had asked him to stay for dinner, he refused, excused himself and left their generous home.