Glorious Companions

by Summer Lee

  He wrapped his arms about her, studying her face with delight. She was captivated by his kisses, his love. She reminded him that she was still preserving her virginity for marriage. “It will make my wedding night more exciting if I am still a virgin.”

  He reluctantly agreed.

  He leaned back on his elbow. “You are a brave young lady to just pick up your life and come to me like you did.”

  She laughed and leaned into him. “I figured it could not be more boring than my life at the palace.”

  “Boring? That’s why you came?” He shook his head as he laughed. “I hope to make your life exciting!”

  “I came because you said you loved me and because I loved you back.”

  “Yes.”

  A small squirrel jumped up on his lap and he began to play with it. Rachael reached over and petted it. “These animals know you quite well, don’t they?”

  “Yes. They are my friends.”

  He pulled her closer to him and she yielded. He let the animal loose.

  He reached over, plucked a wildflower and handed it to her. She took it from him and for the second that their hands touched, she tingled from head to toe and her heart beat wildly.

  Rachael studied his face now as shadows fell about them. She could never get enough of looking at him. His skin was smooth and soft. Even though he had the garden, it was obvious that he had never worked outside. Was she doing the right thing by marrying him? She answered her own question mentally. The answer was yes. He was a prince and she was a princess. A perfect combination.

  She remembered enduring weeks of loneliness in the palace where she grew up. Yes, she would take a chance on Sammael. He was far from perfect, but she was not perfect herself. If he would be patient with her, she would be patient with him. That did not seem so hard.

  “Let’s get under the shelter for the night.” Sammael picked her up and carried her to the hut and sat her under the eaves. While he stirred the fire, he asked, “Had you ever visited Babylon before?”

  “No, never.”

  “I want you to be happy with me, even when I am in Babylon caring for the people.”

  “Tell me, how did you become the prince so quickly?”

  “Magic.” He threw his head back and laughed heartily, and then enveloped her in his arms.

  She submitted to his embrace. “Like how you got me?”

  “Yes.” He squeezed her tightly. “Exactly.”

  Rachael did not like that answer and sat straight up. “If I am going to love you, it will be because I choose to, not because you make me do it by some bewitching magic.”

  “You will make the right choice. I am sure you will.” He reached for her chin and kissed her nose. “How do you feel about me so far?”

  “You have been fair-minded.” She paused. “I know that self-control is hard for any man. In that way, you are almost human.”

  “You think so, do you?” He pulled her down and smothered her with kisses. She liked it, and allowed it. “Are you ready to marry me yet?”

  “I just might be.” She sat up, laughing, and leaned back on the tree beside him. “I just might be.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders. “You will be sure by morning. I am positive.”

  “Just don’t put me in a trance.” But Rachael was already under his spell. Every sensation in her body wanted to be satisfied. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes were all here. She felt loved. “Being here is enough. This is so romantic.”

  She thought back to when she often sat in her bedroom as a small girl wishing for a prince to come. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Now, she was with Sammael, trying to figure out whether she should marry or go back home. Of course, since the two of them had spent the day—and night—together, without a chaperone, that choice should have already been made. Rachael had accepted his challenge.

  Her face flushed, and she reminded herself that she would not give herself to him until they married. She reminded him as well. With the flower between her teeth, she wiggled back and forth. He pulled her down.

  Resting on Sammael’s shoulder was the next thing to heaven. Rachael was enraptured. Never had she met anyone like Sammael—neither human, nor angel. Suddenly, she became aware that his eyes were fixed upon her.

  Rachael could see his lips tremble in anticipation as he leaned toward her and kissed her. A delicious sense of excitement swept through her entire body as she returned the kiss. She felt too vulnerable while crumpled in his arms. Abruptly, she sat up straight, brushing her tunic. “Are you bewitching me so you can take my virginity?”

  “Of course not. I am just falling in love with you.”

  He lay back, pulling her on top of him. An expression of great tenderness came over his face. He held her close and she felt safe. She rested her head on his chest. His body felt unrelenting under hers. She thought back to her teenage years when she had often been so lonely, wanting someone to hold her. Being with Sammael would certainly take the loneliness from her life.

  The first day at the garden closed with pleasant memories. Sleep came easily.

  *

  They were up at dawn. The two of them stood and strolled around the outer edge of the garden by the trickling water, going the long way around, heading back to his hut. Once at the hut, Rachael had time to contemplate her future with Sammael. “It is going to work,” she said.

  “What is going to work?”

  “Our marriage.”

  “Of course it will work.”

  “It’s good to hear you say that.”

  “Why would you doubt it?”

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  “Here.” He picked a fig and handed it to her. “Do you like figs?”

  “Yes.” She bit into the fruit and he bit the other side. They each took a bite at the same time, and she felt the joy.

  “I have every kind of fruit tree here,” he said, picking a green olive. He handed her one, but she refused it.

  “I am not that sheltered. I know that olives cannot be eaten directly off the tree. They must be cured for a long time to take away the terrible bitterness.”

  He nodded, chuckling. “I grow olive trees mostly for the oil. I have the olives pressed to reap the oil. It keeps my skin soft, as it will yours.”

  “I like that.”

  He picked two tomatoes and a cucumber for their snack.

  After they ate, she lay down on the grass, thinking how beautiful the future would be with Sammael. It was beginning to get chilly, so she wrapped her arms about her body. “I’m cold. Do you have a blanket in the hut?”

  “Certainly.” Sammael picked her up and took her under the shelter. He wrapped a blanket around her, showing that he was resisting temptation. The two of them could talk or sleep as they chose.

  Soon, she was tired and she curled up to him under the hut. She felt him slip his arm under her body and pulling her close. She was so safe in his arms.

  Rachael knew that she was falling more in love. With that thought, she said, “After we get married, I want to bathe in your clear creek in summer and let the current go swiftly over my body and cool it.”

  “If that’s your wish.”

  “Let’s stay here another night,” she said.

  As if lying on a soft feather bed, being held in his arms was wonderful. She lay very still next to him, listening to him snore ever so lightly. She planned to sleep all night in his arms. Rachael did not remember falling asleep. However, she heard him whisper, “If we stay here, we will never marry.”

  She was aware of Sammael waving his hand over her face. He obviously had other ideas, as he forced her into a deep sleep.

  Interlude – The Watcher

  While Rachael slept, Sammael traveled to his private star. He had hoped to bed the princess by now, but she put him off one more day. The sexual rage he felt was intense. If he could not control his desire, he might take her against her will. He knew he would if he allowed himself to get out of control. But if he did such
a heinous thing and violated her, he risked losing her love forever.

  He needed time to contemplate his next actions and wanted to be alone. “Now let me see,” he said to himself. “What do I have now?” He had the love of Rachael; he had the trust of the citizens of Babylon. He also had control of fallen angels on various celestial bodies. He kept the demons on one star at bay. He was also the angel of death, which kept him very busy for God. It was a fitting, yet evil job that perfectly suited his dual nature.

  Sammael knew that he should want no more from this existence than what he had, yet, he was developing a dangerous lust for power over humans in Babylon. So far, he had not asked much of his subjects and he had mostly left them to their own lives. But now, he wanted to give up caring for spiritual beings. They were becoming a burden. “I will consider this.”

  What was it like to live as royalty over humans on one planet, and a dictator of demons on another? Actually, wanting the love of Rachael could cause him to delay or avoid his planetary duties. He had almost withdrawn from some of the other worlds, but he had responsibilities he could not ignore to control the demonic spirits and also to do God’s bidding as the angel of death. His days and nights were full and in truth, he slept very little. He mostly did his angel of death duties while Rachael slept.

  But now, he wanted to spend all his time with Rachael. That would be considered being selfish, which was not allowed among the rule of the Angelos. Most fallen angels did not have access to human women, let alone sexual access. To enjoy a sexual experience with them was something they could only observe men on Earth do. Now he had his own woman to ravish and cherish as he pleased. A gorgeous princess.

  So far, he had held back his wild passion for her.

  At least with him, she would be safe away from her overbearing mother. He knew that he still had to make plans to deceive Rachael and the citizens of Babylon. So far, they could have no complaints about him, and he had to keep it that way. He always had to keep Aurora informed of Rachael and her spiritual needs.

  He made up his mind that he would wed the lovely princess before bedding her, but not much before. The reception would be expensive and elegant. As seemed to be the pattern for Mesopotamian weddings, this one had to have many guests and lots of food. He did not want a drunken brawl, so he would limit the intake of intoxicating drinks.

  If he was to bed Rachael, she had to be content and ready. He knew he would have to be patient and kind. He needed to be understanding and loving. He could do those things as long as he kept his dark side hidden from her.

  But tonight was different. He spoke aloud to himself. “This is a dark night in my soul. I must calm myself before returning to Rachael. I cannot cause her any pain or heartbreak.”

  He flew to the edge of the sea, and listened to the waves splashing ashore. There, he calmed his heart and asked God to give him strength to resist his dark nature. Once quieted, he was ready to once again approach the lovely princess.

  Now, he would take Rachael back to the palace before the spell wore off. She would never even know he had been gone.

  Chapter Six

  The sun rose in the east.

  It was morning, and she smelled fish cooking over the open fire on peeled sticks. She looked up and saw Sammael mixing dough in a wooden bowl. He then shaped balls of dough into flatbread. She saw him throw the plate-shaped bread up in the air, circle it and catch it again. He was making a stack of the flatbread on a small table. It lay there uncooked so he could serve it hot off the cooking stone when she awakened.

  He must have sensed her staring at him. He turned and said, “Hungry?”

  She shook her hair loose and rubbed her eyes. “I haven’t thought about it yet. But yes, I could eat.”

  “Come over here.”

  She stood, stretched and straightened her tunic. “You are up early.”

  He smiled engagingly. “I wanted to impress you.”

  “We have a baker at the palace in Alalakh, but he has not demonstrated skills like yours.” Rachael sauntered over to him and sat on a small stump. “You are a good cook.”

  “Thank you, my love.” He rotated the fish on sticks to cook the other side.

  “May I help?”

  He handed her a flatbread that was ready to be baked on the flat stone. “Do you want to cook that?”

  “I don’t know how,” she shyly admitted.

  “I didn’t think so.” Laughing, he took it back.

  “Do you have something else I can do?”

  He pointed to some clay mugs. “Will you get us some fresh water?”

  She stood and got the cups. Walking to the nearby stream, she filled them with fresh, cold, clear water. That was when she saw a fish swim by. “So, this is where you got those fish,” she called out to him.

  “Yes, fish do live in water,” he retorted with a heavy hint of sarcasm.

  “Are you serious?” Rachael inquired.

  “Of course.”

  “I did not know that,” she replied, completely incredulous.

  Now it was Sammael’s turn to say, “Are you serious?”

  “How could I know? Whenever I see them they are fried, sitting in a platter, in my mother’s dining hall.” They both laughed. She returned with the mugs of water.

  What meal were they eating? It could have been lunch or dinner. But this time it was breakfast. “Fish for breakfast is different,” she said. He patted a flatbread and cooked it for her on the heated stone. She took a bite.

  “Is it good?” he asked.

  “Delicious.”

  “That is all that matters.”

  He patted out another homemade flatbread and placed it over the fire. When the first batch of flatbreads was done, he made more. The fish were done as well. She sat down and he served her. She picked up a fish by its tail. “How do I eat this fish? Someone usually cuts my food for me. And the fish is looking at me.”

  “Let me show you how it is done.” Sammael suppressed a chuckle as he broke the fish in half and removed the spinal bones and the head in one quick movement. He broke the boned fish in bite-sized pieces and arranged the pieces on her plate.

  She grinned. “Thank you. Now it looks right.”

  Sitting across from each other at a small table, they had their morning meal out in the open air. “This is so precious,” she said.

  Sammael clasped her hands and asked, “Are you happy?”

  “Yes. With you, I am happy,” she replied. “I have really enjoyed being in the garden with you.”

  “In that case, you’ll love being married to me,” he said as he reached for the basket of fruit. “Have some fruit. Do you want me to cut it up for you?”

  “Thank you, but no.” Rachael snickered as she took it and bit into it. Juice squirted everywhere. “You are sometimes so funny. I can eat fruit by myself.”

  “I liked the comment about being romantic better than the funny one.” He looked up and pointed through an eastern valley. “How do you like that view with the sunrise coming through that vale?”

  “I love it.” She looked around the landscape, “This garden is glorious.”

  “Have you ever eaten outside before?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Here, taste this.” He dipped a piece of bread in olive oil that he had infused with herbs from the plants around them and placed it in her mouth. “Good, isn’t it?”

  “Delicious.” She licked his fingers.

  He continued to feed her, eating every other bite himself. She laughed. “I haven’t been fed since I was a baby.”

  “Will you be my baby?”

  “Certainly. I enjoyed being indulged as a little tot.”

  “I want to know about that time of your life. I want to know your earliest memories.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am most serious.”

  Finishing breakfast, she wiped her mouth on a nearby leaf. “My apologies,” he said, handing her a kerchief.

  Sitting comfortably by hi
s side, she wrapped her arms about her legs. “What can I say?”

  “Tell me about your childhood,” Sammael prompted. “I want to know what your mother did for you in those days.”

  Rachael smiled. “You really want to know?”

  “Certainly, I want to know.”

  “My time with her did not amount to anything worth telling.”

  “Silly girl.” He kissed her forehead.

  “More like overprotected girl.” She was serious.

  “Not for long.”

  “I probably had five nurses in childhood, sometimes more than one at a time.”

  “What about your father?”

  “I don’t remember him being part of my life before I was about nine or ten.” She paused as if the realization was just now setting in. “I had a lot of tutors.”

  “I can do better.” He nudged her in the ribs. “It looks like you are going to get an extraordinary education being around me.”

  Rachael squeezed his hand. “I guess this is my lucky day.”

  “That luck will begin on our wedding night.”

  “I like that.”

  He looked at her and smiled. “I just want to know more about you. Tell me what it was like growing up as a protected princess.”

  “Oh, Sammael, what can I say?” She thought back to when she was just a small girl. “For years, my only friend was my personal maid. I was such a strong-willed child that it was close to impossible to control me. They managed to do it anyhow. Sometimes, I would sneak out in search of a friend. It just was not possible—there were just too many eyes assigned to watch me and keep me safe at home.”

  “That is sad. No friends.” He rubbed her arm and her thigh.

  “There was once a servant boy that I liked when I was a young teen, but my mother ran him off by transferring his mother to another palace. That was the extent of it.” She moved his hand off her leg. “Be good, now.”

  He was not deterred, as he moved his hand along the outside of her thigh, across her hip, to her waist. “I am happy your mother sent him away. He could have taken your purity from you. Then what would I be doing now?”