by Ines Johnson
Alyss stepped in front of the door, blocking Eryka from their sight. "LadyMilysa, I'm so shocked to see you at work today. Most newlyweds don't emerge from bed sport for days after the bonding ceremony."
LadyMilysa turned beet red. The pop of color on her face was an improvement to her ensemble. "Well, you would know. The women of your family are all sex-crazed harlots."
The girls behind LadyMilysa began to whisper and murmur. It was widely known that Alyss' cousin, Lady Chanyn, who had been born outside of society, had bonded with a Pleasure Hound, a male who was a glorified sex worker. Her second bondmate, although a prince, had a history of mental illness running through his family tree. And then there was Alyss' own sister, Merlyn, who had run off with a bona fide sex worker and her lab partner. Suffice it to say that her family reputation had taken a few hits over the last year.
"Besides," sneered Lady Milysa, "you're just jealous because now that your family's reputation is tarnished, no male will have you."
Alyss raised an eyebrow at that. She turned her focus down the hall until she found a victim coming her way. "Good morning, Lord Jaimes."
Lord Jaimes tripped over his feet at the sound of his name on Alyss' lips. "Greetings, my lady."
"You know, Lord Jaimes, it's such a lovely morning. I had a hankering for cherry juice."
"But cherries aren't in season, my lady."
"Oh, isn't that a pity," Alyss pouted. Then she batted her eyelashes as she'd seen ladies do in old movie reels. It still floundered her when the ridiculous ploy worked.
"They may have some on the outskirts of town."
The outskirts of town were over an hour away if he drove above the speeding limit.
"I'll go and get some for you straight away, my lady." Lord Jaimes took off down the hall, crashing into a door in his attempt to get outside.
Alyss knew her looks were above the ordinary. She had golden-brown skin adorned with luscious curls that tinted a deep red in some spaces. She had ample breasts, a narrow waist, and wide hips. She'd been told that her hips were good for breeding. They were wasted on her since she had no intention of filling them with any children. She had no interest in males carnally, socially, or intellectually. But she was not above using what the Goddess, and her family genes, gave her to get what she wanted. She was her Mother's daughter after all.
The girls behind LadyMilysa watched the spectacle of Lord Jaimes speeding down the hallway in awe. Then they turned their owl eyes back to Alyss. Lady Milysa flounced off by herself. The other girls hesitated. Alyss saw two of them wearing a similar style dress to what she'd worn only last week. The third girl, whose hair had been straight yesterday, now had her tresses styled in springy curls and pulled back by barrettes that matched her shoes. When the girls received no welcoming smile from Alyss, they hurried after their leader.
"You didn't have to do that," Eryka whispered from behind her.
Alyss shrugged. Lady Milysa was wrong on many accounts. Most of the lords, self-respecting or not, were at her heels. It was Alyss who had no interest in them. And her family's reputation wasn't tarnished. At least not yet. Alyss' harlot of a sister had discovered the key to gender selection. With this scientific find, bonded triads could now choose the gender of their child while in utero. All they needed was for the Insemination Bill, which would allow the procedure to progress to human trials, to pass.
"Don't let snot noses like Milysa get to you," Alyss said. "Girls like her are so small they need to push others down to get ahead."
"It's easy for you to say things like that. You're beautiful."
"I've learned that if you smile at people, they generally do what you want."
"My smile is nothing like yours."
"Your smile is unique. No one else has it," insisted Alyss. Eryka was attractive. She had a shapely figure that called to the ancient Grecian style. Aside from her cleft, the rest of her skin was flawless porcelain, which was topped off with honey blonde hair and blue eyes. "You'd be beautiful too if you'd simply stop wearing that garish red. It's murder on your skin tone. Honestly, Eryka, for someone who understands art the way you do, its a crime."
Eryka cracked a small smile. "Your talents are wasted in the Chamber of Health and Sciences. You belong in here with us in the Chamber of Arts and Culture."
"Don't be silly. Art is a waste of time."
Alyss stole a glance over Eryka's shoulder once more. They'd masked the painting with the sheet once more and were carting the masterpiece off deeper into the chamber. Alyss' shoulders slumped, and she sagged against the door. She hadn't gotten a chance to see beneath the sheet.
She turned to her friend, preparing to take her leave when she realized her folly. Like her, Eryka had no intention of bonding. But not by choice. Eryka's whole life was dedicated to art.
"It's not a waste of time for you of course,” Alyss backpedaled. “You make dirt beautiful."
A tentative smile began at the corners of Eryka's mouth, but then dropped like a stone.
"Alyss."
Alyss held in her groan at the sound of her Mother's voice. She turned into the oncoming storm.
"What are you doing wasting your time out here." Lady Angyla wrinkled her nose at the Chamber of Arts and Culture. "You need to get back to your Chamber. The Male Voice is trying to push down our bill at this very moment."
With barely a goodbye wave to Lady Eryka, Alyss allowed her Mother to usher her down the hall.
They entered the Chamber of Health and Sciences to its beige walls, beige desks, and brown chairs. Alyss' shoulders stiffened as the door closed behind her. Then she brightened when she saw Sister Valyrie. She was dressed in the deep purple robes of her station as a Sister. Alyss sighed every time she saw the color. The purple was going to look perfect with her brown skin tone.
"We implore you, do not take up this bill. A bill of this nature will take away the rights of men."
Alyss focused on the deep voiced man standing before Sister Valyrie. It was the Male Voice. He was a first son who'd eschewed his rights to marriage to speak for all of his gender.
In their society, bills could be brought forth by ordinary citizens -including men. But each bill needed the backing of one of the Chambers to be brought before the full Sisterhood council. Alyss' Mother and Grand Mother had crafted the Insemination Bill and were now looking to have the Chamber of Health and Sciences back the bill and bring it before the council. In addition to bringing this, and various other bills on health and reproductive sciences, to the Chamber of Health and Sciences, Lady Angyla had also bought her daughter a spot in the chambers as a novice. Alyss had been a novice within the chamber since her eighteenth birthday. Now, three years later, she was vying for an apprenticeship under Sister Valyrie. With her family's backing, it was nearly a done deal. She just needed to walk alongside her Mother and sister as they pushed the Insemination Bill into law. With its passage, she’d be made an apprentice.
Alyss' Mother gave her a shove forward. The shove told Alyss that it was time for her to take action.
"With respect, Sister Valyrie," Alyss bowed and waited to be recognized. When Sister Valyrie motioned her forward, Alyss stepped in front of the Male Voice. "Men forfeited their rights when they pushed the button that began nuclear war, genocide, chemical warfare and-"
"That was a dark spot in our human history. We're talking about the present."
All in the room gasped.
The Male Voice was given the gift of a voice before the Sisterhood, but he always had to wait his turn to speak. His turn always came last. And he was never to interrupt a lady.
Alyss turned her head to see the Male Voice's eyes were pinched shut.; as was his mouth. It wasn't him who'd spoken. It was the larger male standing beside him.
This male's skin was the color of chocolate mixed with a touch of milk. His eyes were the hazel of an acorn shell. His hair was an uneven mess of dark, tight curls cropped to his head, like a hillside on the horizon. Alyss wondered if he allowed it to grow long
would it be as riotous as her own curly mop.
"My apologies, my lady." The Male Voice bowed. "My associate is still in training. He doesn't know all the ways and means of political order within the chambers.”
The man beside the Voice, grimaced and bowed. The grimace did not appear apologetic or cowed, Alyss noticed.
"See that you train him to behave," admonished Sister Valyrie.
Alyss saw the younger male bristle at the directive.
"I have decided," continued Sister Valyrie," that this bill does meet with the directives of this chamber. In two days time, all sides will present their cases and then a final decision will be put before all the council."
Thusly dismissed, Alyss watched the men bow once more and head towards the exit. The larger male caught her gaze as he passed. Recognizing him as part of her competition, Alyss offered him a small smile. But his eyes rolled away from her, his face appeared unaffected. Alyss frowned after him. He must not have seen her.
"You need to get prepared." Her Mother pulled her attention away. "This bill must pass."
"Me? But this is Merlyn's study."
"Your sister will not be helping."
She'd assumed the passage of this bill and her ascendancy to apprenticeship would be an easy walk. "Mother I can't present it. I don't understand the science. Surely you can-"
"I will present the findings, but you will lead the lobbying. I have no gift for social nattering. That's what you're for. You wanted to be apart of the Sisterhood. You will get this bill passed. Otherwise our family will be ruined."
Lady Angyla stormed out of the chamber. Her Mother was not one for the dramatic, so Alyss took the words as the Goddess' gospel. Alyss turned towards the window. There on the horizon, she saw the dark purple now bruised the sky, eclipsing the happy orange from mere moments ago.
Chapter Two
"The way you capture Her divinity in this painting is superb." The gallery manager, Geoffri, held Adom's painting in his hands.
Adom took in his work. Deep reds dominated the portrait depicting the blood of man seeping into the earth; a sacrifice to the sleeping Goddess below the surface. He'd clothed the slumbering Goddess in a garment of deep purple; her skin the brown of the earth, her hair a tangle of black curls. Her arms lay taut over her head as though she stretched towards consciousness -or, perhaps, a binding force held her willing arms tight to the core of the earth. Her lips parted, her back arched in waking -or, perhaps, in the throes of orgasmic bliss.
"This is the type of work that women are looking for."
Adom turned away from Geoffri and glanced around the gallery. The Jayne Austere Gallery was one of the most prestigious galleries of art in their society. On the walls were images of the Goddess walking the earth, greeting animals, embracing little girls. Adom stifled a yawn as he gazed at Her hands stretched out to flora and fauna. He itched to get back to his studio and work on the depictions he preferred. Even now the details of her angular brown face, liquid gold eyes, and dark crown of spirals with a hint of red were fading from his memory like drying water colors.
It had been three months since she'd stormed into Lady Chanyn's drawing room. Her eyes had arrowed straight to his painting. She'd praised his work and ripped it apart in the same breath. Her critique had taken Adom in a new direction with his work. In this new direction, her face appeared in each of his creations. She was the goddess of his desires. But Adom made sure to disguise the lady's features. Ladies did not pose for paintings such as these. It was blasphemous to compare oneself to the Goddess.
"So, you'll show it?" Adom said to the manager. The older man eyed his painting as though he could fondle Adom's muse.
"It? I can't show just it. There needs to be a series. At least two more."
Adom's stomach clenched. He only had the one. Well, that wasn't true. He'd drawn, painted, and sculpted the lady in numerous renditions since he'd first encountered her months ago. None of those renditions would fit the style for a gallery frequented by women, and Adom wasn't willing to share his muse with the male collectors who would eagerly clamor for his sensual depictions.
"I only have the one right now."
Geoffri peered down his nose at Adom. Adom was used to it. He was discard and a former Pleasure Hound. Typically only ladies, first son lords, and second sons had their work shown in respectable galleries. And by respectable, he meant galleries in which women frequented without masks and hoods to hide their identities while gazing at banned erotic works of art.
"The new exhibit opens in one week. You're lucky there was a cancellation. We won't have another such opening for months. You must have at least two more paintings to have a wall."
A wall? Adom had to bend his knees to keep his feet from bouncing like a little boy's. A wall in a respectable gallery. A place to show his paintings and get the recognition he deserved. He knew it was a chance of a lifetime, especially for a discard with no patroness. He also knew creativity of this kind, the Goddess in pastoral or sacral settings, eluded him. Even now his fingers itched to change the purple gown to reflect the tone of the lady's skin color. To erase the lace covering her chest and expose two breasts he imagined to have dark, brown nipples. To take the red blood seeping into the earth and attach it to her untamed hair.
It was difficult for his mind to render respectable pictures. His mind always veered toward the lascivious. He had no thoughts of his Muse in respectable positions. When he saw her in his mind's eye, she was carnally displayed. Lips parted, breasts erect, thighs open.
"Either you have two more paintings to make a series, or you cannot show. Be sure they are respectable." Geoffri had seen some of Adom's earlier work popularized in those underground galleries only frequented by men.
Adom couldn't refuse. He'd have to find a way through. He nodded and took his leave of the gallery.
The moment he stepped outside, the brisk air assaulted him. That painting had taken him weeks to refine. He'd had to take out so many carnal indications. There was no way he could come up with other sacral depictions of the Goddess in a week's time. At least not without the model herself posing in a respectable fashion. Which would never happen. His muse was a lady and a friend of his Brother's wife. He couldn't bring any shame onto Jian and his family. Even if the lady miraculously agreed, there was another, more secret reason he could never allow her to pose for him.
Adom's fingers twitched. He knotted them into a fist until the feeling abated. He stood on the front stoop of the gallery. His gaze fell into the gallery window and saw the Goddess in a field of pastel flowers. The Goddess shining her light on baby girls. The most risqué painting depicted the Goddess on her throne with men bowed down in prostration. The pedestrian pictures had never interested him before, but if he wanted to move forward and be a legitimate artist he'd have to play the game.
Adom left the gallery and walked back home. Up in the sky, traces of the deep purple from the night hung in the horizon. The vibrant yellow-orange ray overshadowed the purple. The green of tree tops rose up to greet the rays. Blue birds flew by to complete the palette. Adom stood still for a moment and stared at nature's symphony of technicolor.
Arriving home, Adom grabbed for the door to his shop, Adom's Leaf. It was a modest establishment in a descent part of town. Before he could turn the knob, the door opened. Inside the frame stood a dark god of justice.
Emet was breathtaking in his crisp linens and tie. A legal brief slung over his shoulder, a tablet in his hand. His square jaw set firm as he stared down at the device.
Emet's face lit up when he saw Adom. "Where have you been?"
"Out for a walk." Adom wasn't ready to share his big news with his bondmate until it was cemented. "You're headed to the Voice's offices?"
"Yes," Emet said. "I'm helping to prepare for a debate on the new Insemination Bill."
"Insemination?"
"Yes, the Male Voice just might let me take lead on this. It's a great show of his trust in me. We talked about this the other nigh
t, Adom.”
"Did I have a paint brush in my hand?"
Emet sighed. They both knew well that Adom went into a zone when he painted. The entire shop could burn down and Adom wouldn't notice.
Emet reached up and brushed one of Adom's thick locks from his brow. "Speaking of your little distraction, do you need any supplies; paints, brushes, or canvases. I can pick up some before I return home tonight.”
Adom jerked back from Emet's caress. "It's not a little distraction. And I can buy my own supplies."
Emet's hand fell to his side. "I'm sorry, Adom. That was thoughtless of me. I know painting is your passion, and I support you in it."
Adom turned towards the shop’s entry. The dress shop was Adom's play at making money with his creations. But in the two years the storefront had been open for business, he'd sold exactly six dresses. All of them to former clients from their days as Pleasure Hounds. And they were former clients of Emet's, not his.
Emet, who stood half a foot taller than Adom and twice as broad, bent down to kiss Adom between his pinched brows. "Will you forgive me?"
Adom tilted his head to the side. The movement put his nose into the crook of Emet's neck. He inhaled the earthy scent of basil, an herb Emet always added to his eggs in the morning and his cutlets at night. Adom had fallen into the habit of adding the herb to his water jug, as though he could drink in the taste of his lover throughout the day. The truth was, without Emet's love and support, Adom would not be able to hold a brush in his hand, or stand on the stoop of his own storefront, or kiss the man he loved.
In answer to Emet's plea for forgiveness for an offhand remark, Adom reached his hand up and he kissed the man he loved. The kiss started light, an exoneration for a minor offense. But the scales quickly tipped into a major assault.
Emet pulled away first, breathing heavy. "I have to go or I'll be late. And I will be home late."
Adom leaned in and licked Emet's plump lower lip, then let his tongue caress the brown skin of Emet's chin. "You sure about that?"