Red's CD Project Story 2: Part 26 - Not her too

Note: A few statistics here. We're at 41,743 words for this little ditty, that's roughly 97 single spaced Word pages. It takes a long time to open the file now. I am too bullheaded to separate it up. As far as the contest goes, the votes have slowed a bit it seems the last few days. We're at 62 votes: 5 - 3%; 4 - 32%; 3 - 39%; 2 – 15%; 1 – 11%.

Disc 2
Track 5: You Don’t Know What Love Is – The White Stripes

“And I hate to sound cold but you don’t know what love is.”

The door clicked shut behind Eden as he punched his knuckles against his temple. Skulking away from the room, he continued to pound away hoping to beat the words, the thoughts out.

“Not her too,” he did not recognize the heavy, raging voice that seethed out. “Not her too, not her too…”

Stumbling down the hallway that housed the royal apartments, he repeated the litany over and over with the rare anger building like pressure inside a cooking kettle waiting to explode out. Beside him, colorful tapestries hung from the walls depicting ancient battles and glorious kings. He had studied every one as a boy with his mother; she had said each tapestry told a story and a lesson for him. He took no notice of them now, instead he stumbled around the corner past the apartments he shared with his wife and daughter and collided hard with a servant. The woman landed with a crash and a curse on the stone floor.

“Heavens and fires,” Meriam started before she realized who had knocked her down. “Sire, I apologize for my clumsliness.”

It was no secret that the young woman had a temper that was famous among servants and some nobles around the palace. Even those rumors found there way to his ears, but she had also been excessively humble toward him. It was not the same around Ewam, who she bullied into duties. Before he had thought such a servant was exactly what Ewam needed to push him, now he wondered if this Meriam woman was not another deception. Some sort of spy or more, perhaps an infliltrator into the servant class to bully them into Ewam’s camp for when he tried to thrust Eden out of the throne. He will take everything! His mother whispered deep inside his head.

“Meriam, I have had nearly enough of your mouth and your insolence,” the blood drained from her face.

“I apologize, sire. I was off to fetch Lord Ewam’s laundry. I was not looking properly. I beg your mercy.”

“Lord Ewam!” He shouted, punching the wall. She drew further back. “You jump to his call, do you not Mistress Meriam. You jump lively for him.”

“I serve the Lords of Satar as they direct,” Meriam’s eyes fell to the floor. “They have assigned me to duties for Lord Ewam and I uphold those the best I am able.”

“You have a new direction,” Eden enuciated each syllable of the last word. “At sun up, you serve me, my wife and daughter, and no one else. Gerde shall have your duties attending to my brother till he leaves for Noce.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

He waved his hand dismissing her and she did not waste a heartbeat to scurry away in the direction she came from. He will not have it all. His internal battle between his jealously and his faith in his brother was swaying strongly in favor of the former rather than the later. Not her too! Stumbing away, it was not until he reached the old door with scrollwork of roses intertwined with a long, slender dragon as a border that ran about six inches from the edge all the way around that he realized that this was his destination.

The knob of the door was brass and cool to the touch, the bolt inside snapped as he twisted and pushed forward across the threshold. The air inside was heavy and unused, and cobwebs hung from the corners. Crisp, white-cloth sheets covered the furniture that reflected in Old Moon’s light from the double-glass doors that led out to another balcony. Every royal apartment had its own balcony that overlook Omet.

His mother had stayed here for entirety of her marriage with Rudan Perde. Rarely had she stayed down the hall in the King’s apartment that Eden, Kendra and Evandra now shared. It was part of some unspoken, unacknowledged coldness between the two. Eden’s grandfather and the head of the House Cortobrane arranged the marriage between Rudan and his mother. Love never entered that equation. There were three rooms to this apartment, the large sitting room that the door opened to, a side room for dressing and, of course, the bed chamber.

Mother died two years into her sons’ reign and Eden had not visited the apartment since. From the looks of the place, it appeared that no one else had paid much mind to it either. It had been his intentions to move Evandra to the apartments when she became too old to stay with her parents. Eden made a note in his mind to have Meriam clean out the room in the morning. It was where he intended to spend his evenings from now on.

“Not with her!” He picked up a violet-colored vase with gold inlaid around the rim and threw it against the wall. Pulling off a sheet from a chair with oak legs and a pine green cushion, he dropped down, pressing his knuckles again to his temples. He had not been able to make out everything from the conversation between and Ewam and Kendra as they stood upon the balconies. Eden had stopped by his brother’s apartment to quell his own mind about the apparent rift between the two.

When he arrived, he was quiet in case Ewam was asleep, and continued to sneak when he heard the voices from outside on the balcony. Kendra’s voice was distant and mumbled, but Ewam’s was clear.

“He’s hiding something with her,” Ewam growled. “First the sword, now her too.”

His words echoed around the empty room with high-arched ceilings. The sound frightened him because it sounded too much like the voices that had been calling out in his head.

“How could they?” He slumped in the chair much like his brother did on a daily basis on top of his throne. There are certain paths inside a man’s soul that once he begins down them that there is no easy return. Eden Perde took not one step, but one great leap as he muttered to himself one more time. “How coud they?”

“They do not know what love is.” Eden jumped up, startled to be interrupted in the abandoned apartment. Scanning around the room, he saw nothing except that the light from Old Moon was glowing with abnormal intensity through the glass doorway leading out to the balcony.

“Who’s there?” He wished then to have carried a sword or dagger. He did not care who this was. They were going to pay the penalty of death for disturbing him. He, after all, was still King of Satar.

The balcony doors did not so much as open, but faded away in a blaring white light. A tall, slendor figure clad in a long green gown with red-brown hair flowing down past her shoulders glided in like fog over a meadow. A gold tiara with a green emerald carved in a hexagon centered in front wrapped its way around her head.

“They do not know what love is. Not like you and I know love, King Eden, light of my soul.”

“Mother.” Any other man would have rubbed his eyes in disbelief that his deceased mother was standing before them. Eden, a man following a very precarious path in his head, never doubted the image before him. Instead, he dropped to his knees believing that all before him was real. “I knew you’d return to me. I knew you would. He could not take you away, not like everything else.”

“He will take everything,” her voice was curt and cut into him like a poisoned blade.

“No.”

“He took her. That trollop, I warned you against marrying.”

“No.”

“Have you not considered how quickly she was with child after your wedding? How pleased she was?”

“Evandra is mine.”

“She resembles your brother much.”

“We’re twins, mother. We are indentical.”

“No, you are more than him, better than him. That girl is less than you.”

“It cannot be.”

“Then why no more heirs to follow? If so easy once, why not again? Why not a boy, a rightful heir to the throne?”

“She, she avoided my touch. Unitl now, that is. Now she pleads for it to quell the call.”

“Yes, the call. Seems a woman married to such a man as you, King Eden, should not feel such a call. Is your love not enough for her? I am your mother, not your wife, and my love of you is enough. I do not run to some demon, do I?”

“No, you are mine.”

“He will take everything!” The venom splattered from her lips and coated his skin.

“No! He cannot take you from me.”

“He has the sword.”

“No,” he shook his head wildly.

“He has your wife.”

“No.”

“He has your daughter.”

“No.”

“He will take everything.”

“NOT YOU! I WILL KILL HIM FIRST!”

Her lips parted in satisfaction, a wave of relief ran through him. He would do anything to see her face so again. Anything. She cupped his chin in her hand and stared deep into his eyes. He could feel her many gilded rings coolly pressing into his skin.

“Perhap, not all is lost.” She dropped to her knees. Her face glowed before his in a terrible light forcing him to close his eyes tight.

“What shall I do?” He whispered, not wanting any passing interloper to hear.

“I do not truly believe that he thinks you’ll allow him to go, at least not alone. Let him go. The demon shall handle him well enough.”

“Yes, mother. And with her.”

“Show her what love is, my son. Use her so that no other will ever go near again. Use her, King Eden, light of my life.”

“Yes, mother.”

The pulsing light eased then left. Opening his eyes, he was kneeling before the glass doors with Old Moon’s mangled face clear in the distance. He rose, straightened his jacket with his posture and left the apartment.

* * *

Kendra rolled over onto her back trying to find a position where her throbbing side did not pain her. It was too dark in the bedchamber for her to see the smear of blood her nose made across the pillow. Her entire left side burned from her waist up to her hairline.

Beside her, he muttered between snores. She did know the man. Once upon a time, she thought she knew him, if not loved him, but this was not him. Even if her heart belonged to the other, she had always respected, adored and honored him as her husband. This was not him. He would not have done this, not to her, not to anyone.

Before she could pursue the thoughts any more, the call came, starting down below where she was sure she’d be numb for a week. She was raised not to curse, but the worst she knew flowed through her mind then. The call. The blasted call craved more. The only relief came from him, the man whose very touch repulsed and now bruised her.

Forcing her right eye open, the left was not going to see for sometime, she held in a wail. Standing beside the bed in a white nightgown with tears running like a river down her eyes was Evandra.

For the first time through the entire evening, Kendra cried, the tears burned her swollen cheek. Reaching out with hand that she had to pry open, she grasped her daughter’s hand.

They stayed like that crying in the dark until daybreak.