As Autumn began to slip away, Aurea possessively took hold of her hips. She made a small sound in her throat which urged her not to go.
Autumn tenderly stroked a fevered cheek. She searched around them to the couples lost in the blend of aphrodisiacs and hallucinogenic rapture. So many danced seductively for their lovers while others passed lovers' bread from one person to the next.
Did Aurea understand the magnitude of lovers' bread? Did she know the importance of its being shared? It was made freshly for this festival to fill the body with its warmth. Each round loaf possessed the petals of the Djidjiga bloom giving it its wonderful aroma. It also contained a silent promise, a promise Autumn had willingly accepted into herself.
The petals inside the wine could only further the visions racing throughout the people's minds. This was the nature of living for another, tending to them as lovingly as you would your very reason for living because in that moment and perhaps from this moment hence, that person was your reason for living. The true nature of this night was to find the great love in your heart that Djidjiga possessed for many.
Turning back to the Queen gazing up at her with such focus, Autumn peered deeply into Aurea. She lightly took hold of the hands upon her hips before slowly backing away. Her hands squeezed gently. Silently, she urged Aurea to her feet.
As they stood together, Autumn stared down into the petite enchantress burning her being with powder-blue flames. She whispered, “Come with me.”
Whisking the Queen into the night, Autumn led the way from the bustling streets. In so doing, she led the ruler away from the others who might wish to witness their bond swelling like the night itself. She breathed deeply, suddenly aware of how alive she felt at the touch of Aurea's hand so trustingly held inside her own.
********
There was no moon to light their way. It had lost its battle with a woolly thickness of clouds. Its absence filled three souls with a rising sense of dread. Without the pyres' lights, one could scarcely see. Still, the occasional reflection of stars glistened over the surface of the lake like euphoric fairies dancing upon its plane.
The lake's bountiful body pressed itself against the shore. It offered up its softest kisses to the land which could be heard echoing lovingly in the stillness of the night.
Aurea narrowed her eyes on the near distance. She could just make out the tense silhouettes of her guardians. She smiled to herself. At any moment, she thought, a noise would send any one of them reaching for their weapon. They would be intent on destroying whatever foe that offender might be, whether it was the Lucidian army, itself, or the unfortunate grasshopper daring to make its eerie song.
She smiled all the more. She could not possibly feel safer or more content. Even in the stark darkness consuming the world, she could feel the body pressed so closely to hers.
Autumn sat upon a bed of grass. Her arms were wrapped tenderly around small shoulders which she knew carried so much. They would carry the weight of a land, of a people, but Autumn believed so much that these shoulders were strong, that they could endure carrying the hopes of the many. She pulled Aurea backward to rest against her body. As she kissed the top of a royal head, she felt her lips tickled by golden strands. She closed her eyes to memorize this moment.
The Queen slid her hands along the sides of long legs then guided them to wrap around her in yet another embrace. She lifted her head, upturning her face to the face which she felt more than she saw gazing back at her.
********
Beneath the Queen, the High Lords and Grand Femmes of the land were the most honored members of the court. They ruled over the nobles of the court and answered only to the Queen, herself. That is, in all the provinces but Angels this was true. Here, High Lord Angelos answered to another voice. He answered to the powers of the stars for in their brilliant beauty the Dragon's will could be read.
He stepped onto a stone which would be the first of many stairs chiseled out of the very mountain. The stairway wound its way upward until it reached the top of the narrow peak. He stood at its crest, gazing up to a star-filled sky. Slowly, the clouds were beginning to roll away. He watched them, allowing their absence to reveal the majesty of the night.
In the darkness, he faintly detected the beautiful woman whose naked skin all but glowed ethereally. Her smooth skin had never known the caress of any other than her lover, the bewitching night. She was pure. She was otherworldly. She was the Oracle.
Long blood red hair reached outward as if to embrace her visitor, the General. Her body exemplified time, the womanly curves only exaggerated how there was never enough of it and oh how the eyes coveted more. Soft moist lips parted to release a conscious breath which rang out loudly in the night.
Angelos III knelt respectfully. With lowered head, he spoke. “Wisest of us all, I have come to ask for guidance. What truths do you see in the stars?”
He wordlessly placed a card bearing the image of a crown on the rough surface of the holy place. Withdrawing a second card bearing the Djidjiga bloom, he placed it alongside the other.
As her cool black eyes fell upon the cards, the cards were set aflame. Their fires burned as pale and white as the very nature of the Oracle's skin. When their fires had died away to nothing, their ashes floated upward to the sky.
She gasped aloud.
She spoke in a voice of nightly breezes.
“The heavens....”
The mind had long ago lost its sight for many, but in this world of indescribable mysteries, a precious few existed with the innate ability to see what had been, what is and what would be. Among those enlightened, there was the gift or perhaps the curse of enabling others to witness the world as they, themselves, saw it.
The General frowned painfully as his mind was entered. The zealous visions blinding him were given to him by the Oracle's whims. Her sights were now his own.
********
A starry sky was beautiful and clear. Within that sky of wonders, a constellation began to shine more brightly than any other. It was the DJIDJIGA constellation. In that constellation of tragic beauty, two stars began to blaze for all the glory of the heavens.
********
“They have given birth to two most brilliant flames.”
********
A beauty beyond compare, it lingered in her every feature. She was the semblance of perfection in a world in which the perfect was all but forgotten or tainted in some cruel way. Her elegant hand outstretched into the future to claim it for her own.
The pale blue flames of her eyes were no longer contained by her pupils. They snaked outward to dance in the air just about her eyes. Her moistened lips parted to expose the heavenly light emitting from her innermost depths.
Aurea was at the pinnacle of her power. Her every word was enunciated with a resonating force which echoed throughout the land. “I am a GOD!”
********
What is it when the heavens cry? Could it be the brilliance of the rain? Yes, indeed it could, but what of the crying consciousness of the cosmos? What then? It is the splendor of a meteor shower the likes most only witness once throughout their lifetime.
That greatness ruled the world as a dark-haired woman stood against it. Her hair thrived in the gales of Dragon's breath. Her eyes were cool with the tranquility of knowing ones place within Destiny's plan. In the night, her armor glinted majestically.
With timeless nobility, her arm rose from its place at her side. Her reach was furthered by the extension of her sword. It glowed ethereally in the starlight. From her back, wings of white outstretched powerfully.
A dream-like song left her supple lips. It gave birth to stars which were mirrored in the eyes of the army rising up from the earth to serve their sovereign, Autumn Queen of Angels.
********
“Both strength and beauty, they rule across our night....”
********
A voice purred in hushed devotion. “You will be a Queen to inspire the envy of the world.”
*
*******
“---but never shall the two join.”
********
Her cries came with all the raw emotion to endow the world. “I would have given you the world!” she lamented. “The world!”
********
“For in their union, destruction comes to destroy the world of man.”
********
The land was bathed in the eternal dusk brought about by destruction's flame. The heat was such that the horizon wavered as though the world, itself, could no longer see unless through the midst of blurring tears.
Aurea towered as a giant over the land. The Goddess held a treasure close to Her body, cradling it much like one would a sleeping babe. Her eyes lowered to the face of Her sleeping angel. With Her left hand She moved Her palm near to Autumn. The enormity of its size almost completely overshadowed the motionless angel.
Autumn's body bowed upward with a lurch. From her depths a glowing key emerged to hover between their forms.
Aurea's eyes shifted sharply to the General just as Her hand tightened around the key.
One by one, men fell in every direction.
Angelos III groaned as he weakly fell to his knees. The flags of battle were slumped in defeat. He tore his eyes away from their disgrace to the pains which would not end.
A wound bled angrily from his abdomen. He clutched the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding. Then with his eyes unable to look away from the abundance of blood staining his hand, he fell. Angelos III, High Lord of Angels, fell.
********
Angelos III swallowed convulsively at the sickness rising inside him. His fist clenched tightly as his breathing grew labored. “Is there nothing I can do to change----” His voice failed him. Lost within his swirling thoughts, he and the very world around him fell beneath the darkness of returning clouds.
“The stars are destruction and rebirth,” she answered hauntingly. “They are the ash of death and the bloom of life.”
Angelos lifted his ashen face. He gazed into her sadly. “I don't understand,” he said.
The Oracle had no vocal answer. Instead she moved to stand directly before him. She placed her hands softly against his cheeks and cupped his face. She leaned forward touching her lips gently to his forehead.
Throughout the night, above the winds, above the music which reverberated through each child of the stars, a pained scream rang out.
********
Alone within the darkness of the courtyard, the Angels’ High Lord shivered. He had never felt such a consuming cold. He wondered if he could ever truly be free of it. The sound of a twig breaking underfoot sent his hands reaching for a sword which was not at his side.
“What would you do,” a voice asked softly. “Would you kill me, High Lord?”
Angelos III stared down at his trembling hands. They held nothing. He frowned in pained wondering. What had he planned to do? The muddled images of the visions ripped with avid claws at his mind. He clutched his head with an agonized groan.
“Soren, my old friend, help me. Take these visions from me.”
“I cannot.”
Soren emerged from the shadows. He gazed deeply into the swirling lights of pain, of regret, of fear. Closely, he studied his aura even as his hands moved to steady the swaying General.
Angelos III steeled himself as best he could in his weakened condition. “If you cannot honor that request then honor this one. I need to know. Tell me what you see.”
As Soren leaned close, the General tensed. He held his breath as Soren's cheek brushed his.
From the darkness, a watchful son took in the image of his father keenly. He noted the slow closing of his father's eyes as Soren's lips moved to whisper into his ear. Angelos IV gasped soundlessly as his father slipped his arms tightly around the beautiful druid and together beneath a moonless sky, they held one another close.
Chapter Five
Fall from the heights which you have known, from the stability which held you. Descend, descend into the unknown with trusting airs. Those who doubt that they can ever find their way through uncertainty will fall to their doom. Yet those who believe will be caught within the loving hands of timely destiny.
----Book of Wrath
********
An enigmatic night nurtured the women lying innocently beneath its glories. Each woman surrendered to inevitability the same way that the ancient innocents had basked beneath the wonders of the first dragons. Queen Aurea held Autumn tangled within her embrace. Together, they whispered so softly that not even the spirits of the forest could have detected their words.
As their faces existed so close that each breath was felt lovingly against the other's skin, they shared their dreams. In their whispered existence, the words were the hopeful dreams once fostered within the minds of dreamy young girls. The night blanketed them while they released whispered giggles, almost giddy with the feeling consuming their hearts.
“Tell me a secret truth,” Autumn purred. “Tell me something which no one else might know.”
Aurea frowned in thought. Her fingertips curled a thick lock of brown hair. She blushed then admitted something she would never dare to repeat. “I am terrified of being alone.”
Autumn drew Aurea closer to her. She enveloped the woman completely within her arms. “As long as I live,” she promised, “you will never be alone.”
Gently, Aurea nuzzled at the sweet skin of Autumn's neck. “A lifetime with you will not be enough,” she sighed dreamily. “We will have forever, I promise.”
A smile formed across Autumn's full lips. “Forever is such a large thing to promise.” Her smile rose to light the swirling depths of her eyes.
Aurea contentedly closed her eyes. She felt her palms applying a needy pressure to Autumn's back as she drew her closer. “Yes, it is, but Fate would not deny a Queen. My Mother will see to it. My happiness is all She craves.”
“It is a desire we share.”
Tenderly, Aurea bestowed a lingering kiss to Autumn's heart. “Tell me a secret you have,” she whispered.
Autumn looked up to the sky. She could scarcely see the stars which she knew hid behind the thick blanket of drowsy clouds. “In the caves,” she began, “I have kept the fastest transport throughout the land.” She envisioned the way to the caves, unaware that as she thought of them she described their whereabouts with unfailing clarity. After a moment's silence, she smiled happily. “There is nothing faster than my Prayer. She is both, a beauty and a beast.”
Aurea smiled against Autumn's skin. “And why is she a secret,” she asked, “this terrific creature of yours?”
“Because prayers often are.”
Aurea lifted her eyes to find Autumn peering deeply into her. It caused her breath to tremble. She blinked rapidly, forcing her voice to leave her lips. Another request came for more knowledge about the stormy-eyed beauty. “Tell me something... anything about you or your childhood, my Angel,” she uttered.
“My mother, Thalia, once led the Guardians,” Autumn confessed. She blushed awkwardly. “No one talks about her.”
Aurea raised up onto her elbow. She listened intently. It was true. No one spoke about the High Lord's wife. Until this moment, the Queen had not even known the woman's name.
“I don't remember much about her, but what I do remember, I remember very much.” Autumn smiled as she lost herself within thoughts of her mother. “She was so graceful and she had the most beautiful smile.” Her eyes lit up as the following words bubbled excitedly from her lips. “Oh and she had the most beautiful voice! I remember her singing.” She gazed adoringly into Aurea. “My brother and father used to sing the song to me when I was small and missed her. It would help me sleep at night.” She chuckled into her chest, unaware of how much in that moment she embodied an eternal child. “Neither of them can sing, but in their words... I could hear her and remember.”
Aurea smiled softly.
“I'm told that she loved fables.” As a cloud rolled lazily by, it left a patch of clear skies
in its wake. Autumn pointed to the stars. “She could tell you every myth about how each star was made. I suppose that's where I get it.”
“And why Djidjiga's story touches you so,” the Queen reasoned.
Autumn nodded with a quiet happiness. That peacefulness soon faded as she continued on. “The last time I saw my mother, I was six years old. She was dressed for battle.” Autumn's eyes grew far-away. They misted with remembrance's rains. “She looked so beautiful. Her armor was radiant.” She drew in a lengthy breath then released it as a tremor. “I want one day to be like her.”
“A Guardian?” Aurea asked. Her hand smoothed her cheek. She felt a tear roll hotly against her hand.
“No.” Autumn's voice faltered. She fumbled over her stuttered words. “I mean--- Well yes, of course that would be an honor.” She leaned into the hand so warm against her skin. “But that wasn't what I meant.” Her brows furrowed together in a thoughtful frown. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that one day I'd love to be the mother I remember, the mother she was.”
Inside Autumn, Aurea recognized a struggle to express herself. It made her listen all the more patiently.
“Perhaps one day I will able to share the things that our clan passes from mother to daughter, the things my mother was only just beginning to share with me.” Autumn sighed sadly. “The things I had to learn from other Guardian mothers,” she whispered.
Aurea took in the wistful air which consumed the brunette. She, herself, had never yearned for children. Truthfully, she had never once considered it. And yet, as she lay in Autumn's arms, she could envision herself holding a child, their child. Slowly, she began to smile.
The fantasies once harbored within the minds of dreamy young girls were plucked from their past. They were given new life within the minds of young women, who lovingly cherished them as plans for the future. As they spoke, every aspect of their lives was romantically mapped out. From the greatest wedding Pyros had ever seen to the summer palace where they would spend their golden years, it was all laid out with the clarity of their joined imaginations.
They had grown so lost in their dreams that they did not notice the approach of dawn until it was nearly upon them.
The Flame of Wrath Page 8