The Healer's Garden

by Nina Pierce

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  Chapter Ten

  Standing on the rock ledge overlooking the crowd, Brenimyn didn't need to count to know nearly two hundred had arrived. It was many more than he anticipated. Though he worried this gathering would attract the attention of the government, he couldn't have asked any of them to leave. They had been waiting for this day far too long.

  He looked down at Jahara lounging lazily against the stone face. The wind lifted her hair, dancing with it, sending it fluttering about her face. He caressed her cheek in his mind. Jahara put her fingers to her face, her honey eyes so warm, he could almost feel the heat. She had only been with him for three weeks, yet he saw in that look an unconditional love he had never known before, even if she was unwilling to admit it herself. He gathered strength from that knowledge. There was fear as well. She attempted to camouflage it with a tremulous smile, but the nervousness surrounded her like a fog.

  While they ate, he had told her about his son and the incredible emptiness the loss had left in him. He hadn't given up his life essence when he'd made love to her, but she had known that was the case.

  "I want to make babies with you, Jahara, truly I do. But I wasn't sure you wouldn't send them away. Another child taken from my arms would surely break me.” He'd told her. “You're the one I want to bear my children. Not one, but many. I want to love you over and over, and from that create offspring. I want to make a family with you. Not birth-siblings, but a real family unit.” He shook his head. “It's so much for you to understand. I know that. I'm sorry I haven't trusted you enough to tell you all of this. I wasn't sure you were ready. It was unfair of me to keep it from you."

  He had told her then of the prophecy. He shared with her the vision, his plans and her role in the battle that would begin this day.

  She listened attentively, not interrupting, appearing unfazed by his revelations. But he understood she couldn't possibly comprehend the enormity of all the information he'd divulged. Nor could she understand her responsibility in bringing about the new world order. He'd purposefully kept that part vague. His own stomach lurched at the immensity of the promise he'd made to the men and women who had laid their trust at his feet.

  For a moment, overwhelmed by the task, he turned away from the hopeful eyes of the crowd, adjusting the small voice amplifier that would project his voice. He never had doubts before. But then, he'd always spoken in hypothetical terms. Having her here made everything so real.

  Jahara must have sensed his anxiety because she stood. Throwing her shoulders and chin back in pride, she placed a hand on the small of his back. She didn't speak. Her touch conveyed everything; comfort, support, understanding, and more than that, a belief in him and the tremendous mission that stretched out before them.

  Brenimyn pulled a book from the heavy pack he carried with him. Opening the tattered cover, yellowed from the years, he found the page that held his favorite passage. He didn't need to read the words in front of him. He had long ago committed them to memory. He held the book high for all to see.

  "As always, I will begin by reading from the book of ancients.” A hush fell over the crowd so complete, it seemed even the birds stilled.

  "...And it is written: a man shall take a woman as his wife in a union of marriage. He will make a home for her, a castle where he shall be its king and his wife, the queen. He must not lord over her, but hold her in a most cherished place in his heart.” He paused to add emphasis to this statement. Many couples sitting together snuggled into one another, their heads nodding in understanding. What an incredible change had already taken place in the last year. The thought melted his apprehension. Brenimyn's voice grew stronger with conviction in the words he delivered.

  "His primary responsibility is to provide for her and all offspring their blessed union produces, including the basic necessities of food and shelter. The most important thing he can do for his family is love and cherish them above all things.” He looked down at Jahara, wanting to make her his wife and a mother on this day, and knowing in the same instant she wasn't ready to accept that part of the vision.

  Brenimyn looked back at the frayed tome. “Women, you must support your mate.” Looking down, his gaze caught the eye of the females in the crowd. The terms Brenimyn needed were not found on the well worn pages.

  "Men are equals. They are not meant to slave for females, to be available only as breeders or laborers. It is written,” he held the book high, “wives, you must encourage your husband to become the best person he can be. You must love and cherish him above all things. It is your role to maintain a loving, encouraging home, where all offspring, male and female, are treated with respect. Your children need to grow up in a nurturing environment where they will learn to become caring individuals who understand all people, regardless of gender, breeding capabilities, or ancestry—are equals.” Closing the book, Brenimyn shook it high over his head. “So it is written, so shall it be."

  The sound from the crowd rolled up from the grass. The noise engulfed him like a thunderous storm. He had never delivered the words with such enthusiasm and confidence. Putting his arm around Jahara, he was showered with the strength flowing from her. He kissed her passionately, barely able to control the impulse to run his hands down her body and feel her respond to his touch. She melted into him and he held her until the noise diminished, satisfied in the minimal contact.

  Knowing the next step would be the hardest, he hugged Jahara close to him. Her body tensed. She understood what was coming. “Most honorable friends.” He raised his arm, waiting for the din to subside. “The time has come. We have waited and now it will begin.” Pausing a heartbeat, Brenimyn let the suspense hang in the air. “Men, no longer will we submit to the domination of the female gender.” The breeders whooped and raised their fists. “No more will we be treated as animals good only for increasing the female population.” Some men jumped to their feet. “We will no longer accept that we are not worthy of gifts and education.” Even with the amplifier, Brenimyn had to shout to be heard over the celebrating crowd.

  "Women, you will no longer be forced to procreate for the sake of continuing humankind. Mating will be a choice, one's body freely given to another for the sake of love, not obligation for reproduction.” Everyone was on their feet. “The time has come to stop ripping your children from your womb and your hearts.” He watched the pregnant women cradle their swollen stomachs. “We have waited long enough, the time is now."

  He let the crowd have their moment before lifting his hand. The crowd settled back into the grass. The murmurs of approval still rippled over them like a pebble dropped in water.

  "The prophecy says: two great warriors, a woman and a man, shall join together to ready an army for a monumental battle. It will not be fought with weapons as our ancestors had done, but with intellect and cunning. This war will oppose all common beliefs and bring about a new world order where men and women, as equals, shall reign."Jahara went slack in his arms. She braced her hand on his chest, her gaze flicking wildly about the people below. Holding her quivering body, Brenimyn knew only his arm kept her from collapsing. This was a burden anyone would find difficult to shoulder.

  "Many visionaries have confirmed the prophecy. As you know, from a young age, I understood I was the chosen one. I accepted the responsibility many years ago and have prepared the way, waiting anxiously for the woman who would stand at my side.” The crowd stilled, holding a collective breath, already knowing the words he would speak. Unsure of her reaction, Brenimyn looked down at Jahara. He watched her transformation in rapt fascination.

  Stepping away from him, she stood with her feet planted, pulling herself up tall. She filled her lungs, her bare breasts held high. The dark triangle of her womanhood was visible through the gossamer fabric of her breeches billowing in the breeze. She looked so feminine. Yet, under the lifted chin and unpretentious set of her mouth, he could see the fierce warrior the visionaries had promised. She held her arms casually at her
side, not at her hips in defiance as many would.

  All this happened in a matter of seconds.

  "I present to you today, my mate—the honorable Jahara Hriznek. She is the one sent to save us from the tyranny of the Governmental Body of the Garden."

  Bowing before the thunderous crowd, she accepted the accolades with humility. Brenimyn was sure his heart would burst with love for the brave woman standing, not above him, like so many other females, but at his side.

  * * * *

  Holding the worn book with reverence, Jahara sat on the rock ledge, taking time to catch her breath. This had not been the day she expected when she woke in Brenimyn's arms this morning.

  Jahara believed the words Brenimyn had spoken to the crowd. The more males she met, the more she realized everything she had been taught was wrong. Men were intelligent and their emotions as real as any female's. It was the part about her involvement in the revolution that was difficult to stomach.

  When she stood next to Brenimyn, she felt the truth of the vision with every fiber of her being. But now, watching him move through the crowd below, distributing the books of the ancients he had carried in his pack, she questioned her own sanity. He set about organizing the groups for the teachings. She was no warrior, just a simple healer. How could she change the world?

  She looked down at the tattered book of the ancients in her hands. Besides wisdom, she wondered if it also held the answers to the questions burning within her. How would she fulfill the prophecy? And how could Brenimyn be so sure she was the one?

  Deciphering the faded letters of the well-read tome, she spoke the title aloud. “1950 Teen Guide to Adult Living: Home Economics for All.” Were their ancestors from so long ago truly visionary? Was the world she lived in a civilization gone wrong?

  Carefully, she thumbed through the thinning pages, the book filled with pictures of smiling men and women surrounded by children. Until she met Brenimyn, Jahara didn't know there was any love other than that shared by two women.

  Merenith had given her everything. Still, something was missing inside her. Jahara believed she'd simply live with that hole forever. But Brenimyn had filled it. With him, there were no missing pieces, only the complete love of two hearts meshing to become one. Why couldn't she tell him that? She felt betrayed by his lack of trust in her, but perhaps he'd been right to withhold his life essence. When she'd come to the Garden, she'd never intended to leave with her offspring. Her feelings for Brenimyn were changing that thought. She looked at the swollen bellies of the woman below who loved the new life forming within them. When Jahara gave birth, she was sure she would never be able to give up the infant, male or female.

  As though beckoned by his stare, she looked down at Brenimyn. His thoughts touched her intimately, bringing heat straight to her cheeks. Though he said nothing telepathically, she saw him laugh and she stuck her tongue out at him. The man didn't play fair.

  She studied him for a moment more, wondering if she could ever leave the Garden without him. How had she come to change her thinking in such a short period of time? Was it destiny? As a scientist, Jahara wasn't sure she could believe that way. Yet, everything Brenimyn told her, everything these people believed, everything her heart desired, contradicted what she had been taught.

  Climbing down the ledge, she joined Brenimyn in the field.

  "Jahara, this is Nathaniel, Jonas, Kiladryn, and Neila.” He pointed to three men and one woman as he spoke their names. Each, in turn, bowed to her. “They believe they have the gift of healing. Neila has been working with them for a couple of months to help them develop their gift."

  "I was just telling Brenimyn that it would be my honor to learn from your teaching, honorable Jahara. I am only an apprentice.” Demurely dropping her gaze, Neila rubbed her rounded belly. “It would please me to have you instruct them today."

  Having new students always thrilled Jahara. She hadn't expected to be instructing.

  His mouth quirked wryly. “She'd enjoy teaching you today. She's truly a gifted healer. I'll gather a few more groups, Jahara, and send them over. I'm sure the apprentices would be pleased to have you work with their students.” Striding away, Brenimyn's eyes glinted with humor. He left her with a smile and a group of eager young men.

  Shaking her head, Jahara cleared the cobwebs muddling her brain. She had only taught in classrooms, never in the wilds of a jungle. “Neila, may we use you and the baby?"

  "It is also Kiladryn's offspring. If he doesn't mind, I would be honored.” Her mate nodded in affirmation as eight more men and another pregnant woman joined the group.

  Ten minutes later, Neila lay naked in the center of the group. Jahara knelt on one side of her, Kiladryn on the other. Roaming just inches from Neila's skin, the feeble light of his palms pulsed with his jittery nerves.

  "Relax, Kiladryn.” Jahara took his hands in hers. “Healing comes from within. Feel it flow out from your center.” Moving their joined hands up his torso, she inhaled deeply, feeling the essence of his being flow through her. “Now exhale and move your hands over her stomach. Let the new life within her speak to you as your gift pours forth.” She kept her hands lightly over his and they explored the baby growing in Neila's womb together.

  "Do you feel it?"

  His face split with a boyish grin of triumph. “Neila, it's a girl! I have a daughter!"

  Neila shot up and hugged her mate, tears streaming down her face. “I know. I love you, Kiladryn."

  He had been right about one thing, it was a girl. Kiladryn definitely had the power of healing, but the gift was not fully developed. With great effort, Jahara kept her smile firmly in place. Neila's child had not been formed from Kiladryn's life essence. It was not her place to tell the happy couple drowning together in tears of joy that he was not the father. Perhaps they both already knew there had been another breeder.

  Working through the afternoon, Jahara moved among the groups of training healers, using the pregnant women as her teaching tool. The men were quick studies, though some had not yet discovered their true gift. Hopes of developing healing talents had kept them from looking for their genuine calling. That was not unusual.

  When she was young, Jahara had believed she was telepathic, until her birth-sister had fallen in the woods. Jahara had been so panicked by the blood and broken bone protruding through the skin that her healing powers had flowed from her hands even as she had tried to comfort her sister. Her Dame had sent her the next day to be trained by the best healers in the Lexington.

  What was unusual on this day was the high number of couples who believed their union had created a child. In nearly a third of the cases, they were mistaken. The essence of the man was not part of the genetic makeup of the female baby growing in their mate. Even more strange was the fact that little of the woman's essence was present in the developing fetuses as well. Jahara kept the information to herself, too confused to even know how to explain this odd fact. After all, what experience did she have with pregnancies?

  As the sun slid toward the tree line, the crowd thinned. Jahara was weary from the extreme peaks and valleys of emotions she had climbed and tumbled through in such a short time. The amount of healing energy she'd expended added to her fatigue.

  Unable to find Brenimyn, she walked to the beach. She stripped away the breeches, damp with her sweat, no longer caring who saw her naked. She'd seen enough bodies in one day to realize it affected no one. Besides, she spent the afternoon bare-chested, the tunic ruined by Brenimyn's impatient hands.

  Wading into the water, she dove. The cool liquid surrounded her in a peaceful bliss. Stroking with hands and legs, she moved gracefully through the lake, feeling the brush of vegetation on her belly. She surfaced only long enough to fill her lungs, before submerging herself again in the quiet solitude offered by the water. With strong kicks and sweeping arcs of her arms, she swam toward the waterfall, letting the wash of the water ease her troubled thoughts. So much had been revealed to her today. She knew, instinctively, it
would take time to process it all.

  Climbing up the rocks, she settled her back with the water cascading from above, pounding on the knots in her shoulder muscles. The sun sparkled through the mist, creating dancing rainbows at the base of the falls. The lush vegetation surrounding the lake was damp with its moisture. Jahara thought she would like to stay in that spot until everything was finished. Whatever was coming seemed too overwhelming to contemplate and she let herself drift into a serene meditative state.

  "Is there enough room for two up there?"

  Jumping to her feet, Jahara took a defensive stance.

  "Whoa. The war hasn't begun yet.” Brenimyn climbed nimbly up the rocks to her. She hadn't heard him approach. “We still have time for love before the battle begins.” She recognized the look of yearning in his eyes.

  She backed up until the rocks hindered her progress. “And what if I don't choose to mate with you, breeder?” Arching a brow, she knew he heard the humor in her statement. She couldn't hide her desire to be with this man.

  Brenimyn flung his head and the water flew from his hair. He looked like a stallion choosing his breeding mare. “Then you can choose another.” He took another step toward her. Brenimyn's body was aroused by her proximity before she touched him. He was as ready to make love as she. “But I don't think you will."

  "Brenimyn, always so cocksure of yourself."

  They were the last words she could string together in a sentence before their mouths and bodies meshed as one.

  * * * *

  She'd been coming to the field for months. She listened to the propaganda. How could anyone believe such nonsense? The world belonged to woman. Men were only here to serve. Mykilai's partner would deliver her second child soon and they would be free to live their lives as the creator of the world intended—two females together.

  Gabriella had been correct when she'd thought Brenimyn, the male representative to the Governmental Body was stirring up trouble among the breeders. Today had only solidified her suspicions. Now he had a woman at his side. His talk of battles and new world orders seemed nothing more than pipe-dreams. How could two people change the natural order of things? But more importantly, why would a woman want to?