Serve and Protect

by Douglas Varnell

  The receptionist made a quick call explaining the irate customer in the showroom and soon a sharp dressed man in a black silk suit entered the showroom floor. Amber didn’t wait for him to speak, she immediately told him, “The sticker on the red Porsche says $80,000 dollars, I’ll give you $75,000 right here, right now and that bozo you call a salesman gets no commission.” Amber noticed the smile on the receptionists face. She reached into her purse and removed her wallet, saying, “And while you’re at it, I’ll take that Audi A8 as well.” The manager felt he had a total nutcase on his hands, and was trying hard not to cause a scene. She handed him her credit card and he accepted it with a slight smirk, saying, “I assume you want them both on your card, Mam? Just a moment, I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the business manager’s office and closed the door. Amber could see the disgruntled salesman move across the room and begin talking about her with a couple of other salesman. Amber decided to hang-out with the receptionist and make girl talk about how cute she thought Robert was.

  After about thirty minutes, a manager with a different attitude exited the business office and asked, “Would you like the extended warrantee on both vehicles, Princess Amber? I apologize for the terrible misunderstanding.” The cute little receptionist couldn’t help but silently speak, “Princess Amber.” She looked up at her new acquaintance and asked, “Are you the Princess Amber, as in Princess Amber from Verron?” Amber extended her hand and said, “I’m very pleased to meet someone who doesn’t judge a book by its cover; you are?” The young girl replied, “My daddy calls be Princess Amber too, except I’m not a real one like you.” Amber smiled and replied, “Every girl is a Princess in her own kingdom, never forget it.”

  Robert returned from his used car evaluation about the time Amber was finalizing the deal on the Porsche. He looked around at the smiling faces of the receptionist, dealership manager and several salesmen. He turned to Amber, asking, “OK, what happened while I was gone?” The other Princess Amber replied, “She just bought a new Cayman GTS” as she pointed toward the red car on the showroom floor. Robert smiled, and informed Amber, “Well at least one of us got what we came here for. These guys don’t want to give me anything for my A6. That car is in perfect condition, only has 67,000 miles and just had new tires and brakes put on it. I’ll just keep it a bit longer.” Amber looked at Robert and held out her hand and asked for the keys to his car. She turned to Amber the receptionist and asked, “What kind of car do you drive sweetheart?” She answered hesitantly, “A 15 year-old Ford Taurus with over two hundred thousand miles on it.” She handed Amber the receptionist the keys to Robert’s Audi and said, “Not anymore.” She quickly turned to Robert and asked, “When’s your birthday?” He answered, March 26th. She walked him over to the Audi A8 Quattro and kissed him, saying “Happy Birthday!”

  They were a few minutes late for their dinner reservation by the time they finished the paperwork on the two cars. Amber was smiling as they drove out of the dealership in her new red Porsche. The Audi had to be serviced and Robert could pick it up the next day. He protested continually about her buying him a car. She simply said, “I consider it an investment in my future. That is if you think we have a future.” His heart suddenly melted and he realized just how hard he had fallen for this unpredictable woman. He once again insisted, “I have money, I can pay for my own car, I just happen to be frugal with my money, which obviously you’re not.” Amber smiled and told him, ‘Well, you can buy dinner, I’m really hungry.” After supper they rode around for a while in her new car. She told Robert that she had never had a car before and had only recently gotten a driver’s license. While they were riding, Robert made a mental note to have the full purchase price of the Audi transferred to Amber’s credit card, he really did have the money for the new car, he was in fact just cheap.

  Amber decided that she was tired of trying to be something she’s not and she really did miss her Verron mountain runs. The next morning she got up and made a gateway to a section of the Robert’s Range farthest away from populated areas. She had a wonderful freestyle run/climb and made a gateway directly to the women’s locker room back at the staff gym. She knew that no women were there at this hour. She entered the gym to be greeted by her new workout partner, Andre the Giant. Since her true abilities were no longer a secret to Andre, she decided to train with whatever he was using and avoid the time wasted loading and unloading the bar. Andre was constantly saying, “Geez, I can’t believe this!” or “What do they feed you on Verron?” and “How many more are their like you?” She finally told him about the Klelta and the fact that he would be about the size of one of their children and how the adults go 9 or 10 feet. She thought a moment and removed her com unit from her purse. She found what she was looking for and turned saying, “Here, this is a picture of the Dragon Guard we took just a few months ago.” Andre took the com unit and looked closely. His eyes grew wide as he looked at a blue/gray giant, a cat woman and a goat/monkey. Amber pointed out Tala, Katelyn, Chase, Daniel and her brother.” Andre suddenly did a double take and said, “Jenifer Anniston is in the Dragon Guard?” Amber now had to explain exactly who Camil was and what she could do.

  The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Amber noticed a marked difference in the way people were treating her. She got more than just a few stares when she drove her new Red Porsche to school for the first time. They now had a new text book for Advanced Calculus. When the professor handed them out he made a point of saying loud enough for everyone to hear as he handed Amber hers, “Would you please read over this and see if you find any mistakes?” She quickly replied, “I’m going skiing this weekend, but I’ll look it over Sunday night when I get back.” Several of the students rolled their eyes at the comment, but most knew that she would do exactly as she said, and probably memorize the entire book.

  It was Friday afternoon when Robert pulled up in front of Amber’s apartment building in his new Quattro. It was the perfect vehicle for taking a mountain drive in the middle of a Colorado winter. They headed out Hwy 24 then connected with Hwy 9 North, passing through Fair Play and Breckenridge then connected with Interstate 70 West to Vail. It was a breathtaking mountain drive. It sort of made Amber wish they had more roads on Verron, but she also knew that a lot of natural beauty was destroyed when they started cutting through mountains and forests building a highway. It also made her homesick for Verron and proud of the mountains back there. Hours later when they arrived in the heart of Vail, she was amazed at the level of commerce in this small mountain valley town. She suddenly realized she was scoping out the competition and thinking of things Verron could do to increase the appeal of its ski resort. Robert passed through town and began winding up the side of a mountain road, finally pulling into a heavily wooded drive that led to a beautiful mountain chalet. He hit the garage door opener and pulled in next to a white Mercedes Benz. He walked into the kitchen and made himself at home. Amber soon found out that he made himself at home, because it was home or at least one of several his family owned.

  Robert explained, “I’ve spent all my winters skiing here ever since I was a little boy. Though I truly appreciate your buying me my new Audi, I really did have the money to get it. You see, my father is one of the five richest men in this country. I could easily be back in New York working in one of his banks or investment firms. I just happen to love what I do, and even Daddy can’t afford all the neat toys I get to fly. Like you, my whole life is flying. I’m in the Air Force because they have the best, or at least they did until you guys came along. So this place is actually mine, a gift from Mom and Dad. The Mercedes in the garage goes with the house, and so do the two snowmobiles in the basement storage. Come on; let me show you the view. It’s mostly lights at this time of night, in the morning, its mountains as far as the eye can see.” They stood shivering on the deck overlooking the city of Vail. It really was pretty at night. When they came back in from the cold, Robert hit the gas-log fireplace switch and cranked it wide open. He smiled
as he said, “My Dad hated to get good and comfortable and then have to get up and grab another log. All the fireplaces here are gas, even the one in your room. He escorted her to her own room overlooking the city below and then turned to leave, saying, “I called ahead, the kitchen should be stocked; you hungry?” Amber simply said, “Always.” When she got downstairs there were two DiGiorno Pizzas in the oven. Amber couldn’t help but laugh, and began to tell him the story of the Mars rescue and Tala stocking the kitchen.

  The two of them sat on the big over-stuffed sofa in front of the fireplace and ate pizza while sharing their life stories with each other. Amber told Robert about how she and her brother Hunter were just typical teenagers living outside Nashville, Tennessee until one day their Grandfather, Paul Verron, reentered their life. She told him about the Regeneration and Rejuvenation that saved her mother and her step-grandfather’s life. How she and her brother Hunter were bored one day and went out with King Paul and saw him do some pretty amazing thing. After she and Hunter made their first flights in a personal Speeder, there was no way they would ever leave Verron. She told him about how they met the Tecalna, the Klelta and the wars fought to defend both Klelta and Molnar. She told him about how they were mentored by King Paul and the Xhondarians in martial arts, weapons, flying, languages and more science than he could imagine. By the time she finished telling him about the Dragon Guard and the things they had done together, it was past midnight.

  It was now his turn to tell her about his life. Robert was exactly 10 years older than Amber. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, attended the finest boarding school and learned to fly when he was fourteen. Flying was all he cared about. He ran cross-country and played tennis through high school and for the Air Force Academy. Mom and Dad thought he would grow tired of military life by the time he finished his commitment, but he reenlisted without even telling them. To them it was the end of the world. He had a younger sister who was married to a man that worked for his father’s company, but he knew Dad wasn’t prepared to pass on the company to him. Robert was an experienced man of war. He had flown in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, was shot down once in Afghanistan, but was quickly rescued by a group Marines on the ground. While being moved across the Mountains of Afghanistan, the Marines came under heavy fire. Robert ended up saving the Marines when he snuck away from the battle and circled around behind a machinegun that had them pinned down. He killed six people with his 9mm. He received decorations from both the Air Force and the Marines and was promoted to Colonel. Not long after that he was attached to General Dorsey’s staff at the Pentagon. He then told her, “Now I have the best assignment of my career, watching you. Life doesn’t get any better than this.” Amber smiled and pulled herself closer and gave him the most passionate kiss she had ever given, then whispered, “Oh yes it does.”

  The next morning they were a little late getting to the slopes. They grabbed breakfast at a McDonalds drive through and ate on their way to the slopes. Robert wasn’t certain just what level of skiing Amber was capable of since she didn’t have any gear of her own. He didn’t really care, since he felt like he was with the prettiest girl on the mountain. They hit a pro-shop and Amber bought, instead of rented, a professional grade snowboard. Robert smiled at the color coordinated clothes and board and said, “You may not be able to ski, but you’re going to look marvelous.” Amber rolled her eyes and told him, “Now you sound just like my Grandpa. He’s always telling people they look marvelous and who says I can’t ski. Just because I prefer a snowboard, does not mean I can’t use a pair of skis.” He bowed from the waste and answered, “I stand corrected.”

  They exited the pro-shop and looked around as Robert nodded toward the intermediate slope. Amber looked to her left and directed him to the lift that transported them to the most advanced. He gave her a questioning look. She smiled, saying, “These little things are like our beginner slopes. The mountain I usually ski on requires an oxygen bottle for the first 10 miles and then you’re low enough to ski without if for the next 15, and we can ski year round.” I guess I didn’t tell you last night, but I ski, free style rock climb and mountain repel all the time. My ski instructor was a former Olympian from Norway.” Robert followed her toward the lift, as he said, “Yea, well, I bet I can beat you at tennis.” Amber stopped and turned to kiss him, and replied, “Of course you can.”

  They headed for the Back Bowels and took the Orient Express Lift to the top. Amber took a quick look at the map and headed for the run named Rasputin’s Revenge. Robert struggled to keep up with her aggressive style, but was close on her heals. When they finally reach the bottom of the slope, with no delay, Amber headed for the lift, “I’ve got to ski the Inner Mongolia Bowl before it gets too late. I’m just not used to these short days. Back home, one of our Suns is always in the sky.” This time Amber was showing out, doing flips and turns as she flew over one obstacle then another. Robert managed a couple of whirly birds but nothing like she was doing. When they were about to call it a day, they passed the Snowboard Course to be used in March for the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championship. She immediately headed in that direction to watch the snowboarders practicing under the bright stadium style lighting. After about a half hour, she told Robert, “I’ve got to give this a try” and immediately headed for the lift that would take her to the top of the course. On this particular day, security was pretty slack and no one was verifying that the people using the slope were indeed qualified to be using it. Any other time, Amber would have been stopped before she even headed up the slope. Robert watched quietly, feeling certain that her desire to break her neck would soon be denied by some worker on the very difficult Championship course. Before he knew it, she was second in line for the starting shoot. Robert held his breath as she leaped free of the shoot. He was surprised to see how smoothly she rode the rail and exited the ride with a squirrel. He knew nothing of the terminology of snowboarding.

  A young man standing next to him watching his competitors make their runs gave himself a verbal play by play and Robert was close enough to hear. As Robert watched, the young man with a spiked hairdo was mumbling; The King, Ollie, Steak Tar Tar, Alley Oop, Rippey Flip, Double McTwist, Back Flip, Front Flip and another Double McTwist; Dude, this chick is awesome. Robert turned to the young man and asked, “Tell me, if you had to rate that girls skill level, what would you say it is?” The guy gave Robert a “That’s a stupid question look,” and answered, “She really ripped. I mean I’ve been doing this for years and I’ve seen people do harder stuff, but never so many stunts in one run and all of them pretty near perfect.” About that time Amber walked up carrying her board over her shoulder, and kissed Robert and said, “Thanks for indulging me. I would never have been content if I didn’t try it at least once.” The young man extended his hand and said, “Keith Stephens, that was awesome, you signed up for the Burton?” Amber looked at Robert and back at the excited boarder and answered, “I doubt it, I’d have to get certified and then qualify, and I just don’t have the time. But it might be fun.” Stephens looked at Amber and asked, “Dude, you mean you don’t have any certs?” Amber smiled and patted the young man on the shoulder as she turned to walk away, saying, “Dude, that’s the first time I’ve even been on a boarding course.” As she and Robert walked away, arm in arm, they heard Keith Stephens say, “Dude, No way! NO WAY!” Then he threw his own board to the ground and kicked it.

  Robert had reservations for dinner that evening at one of Vail’s nicest restaurants, but Amber had seen an advertisement for a night time Snowmobile ride up one of the ski trails and a cookout at the top. Robert didn’t know where she got her energy, but sucked it up and prepped the two Ski Doo MX-Z-550-X Snowmobiles for the evening activities. Amber had never ridden a Snowmobile before. She knew that Tala, Chase, Daniel and Katelyn had a couple at their house and rode all winter, but the Hacienda never had a drop of snow; four-wheelers, dirt-bikes, 4x4 Trucks and Horses were the usual form of transport at home. She loved it, but was gett
ing frustrated at the slow moving convoy working its way up the mountain; she wanted to let it rip. Robert reminded her that they were going slow for a reason. The guide knew his way up the treacherous slope, they did not. There was a bonfire at the summit and cooks preparing hotdogs and hamburgers. Most of the people were drinking beer; Amber realized that is another reason for going slow. Robert and Amber took a walk arm-in-arm away from the others to enjoy the lights in the valley below and the stars shining bright overhead. Under the full moon and bright stars of Vail, Robert kissed her with such passion her toes curled-up and whispered in her ear, “I’m falling in love with you. I know I shouldn’t, but you are so intoxicating I can’t help myself.” Amber kissed him again and told him, “I’ve never been in love before, but if this is what it feels like, WOW!” She kissed him again and headed back for the snowmobiles. Amber was wishing now that she hadn’t been such a tomboy; it would have been much more fun to ride with her arms around Robert.

  That night Amber fell asleep in his arms in front of the fireplace. She woke the next morning under a thick afghan to the smell of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. She hurried to the bathroom to freshen up; she couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing her with her hair all messed-up and with morning-breath. A quick tooth brushing and a hair brushing and she headed for the kitchen. Robert gave her a kiss good morning and she began to wish she could wake-up to the smell and the feel of him every morning for the rest of her life. She didn’t let go, until he placed the eggs on the plate. She grabbed the oven-mitten and took the cinnamon rolls from the over, then reached for the fridge and found a carton of Diet Coke, just for her; he had coffee and orange juice. While they ate breakfast they both talked about how they just wish they could stay here together forever, but both knew they had responsibilities. Robert asked if she wanted to take one last run down the slopes or go for an unrestricted Ski Doo ride before they had to head back for Colorado Springs. He knew by her smile that he was in love with a speed junkie. She told him, “I can ski bigger mountains year round at home. Last night was my first ride on a Ski Doo. Do you know a good place to ride? It was Robert turn to smile, “I’ve been coming here every winter since I was fourteen. I know every trail around here; I’ll take you on the best.”