For One Nen Read online

  297 AE

  Aboard the EGRESS

  “Oh, don’t stop now,” Teltel moaned loudly.

  “Well we’re at the end of our row. The only thing left to do today is cut up some sugarcane,” Deni said.

  “How do we do that?” Teltel said with enthusiasm.

  “How are you with a knife?” Deni asked.

  “Very good…I think. I’ve only used one a few times and that was only for cutting string.”

  “Well as you know, around here, it is ‘no experience necessary’ kind of work. All you need is to be ready to work hard. Now, here’s a knife. I want you to cut two of the tallest stalks that are over there in those large pots close to the garden’s door.”

  Teltel took the knife and walked a few steps before he turned back.

  “What exactly is a stalk?” he asked with slight embarrassment.

  Deni demonstrated with her fingers in the air. Each one is a stalk. Just cut two of the tallest, down close to the edge of the dirt. The boy walked to the pots and the ladies stood close.

  “I like him,” Tala said softly as she watched him go. “He’s not brash like – well like so many his size.”

  “He also gets tongue-tied around you. And he’s supposed to be the brave one. The Het, strong and brave,” Deni snickered.

  “He’s sweet and I think it’s possible to be too brave, you know?” Tala said with a tone of melancholy.

  “Do you feel like reading anymore?” Deni asked.

  “I love it. It’s where I want to be,” Tala said.

  “Come as often as you like,” Deni said with a pleasing and welcoming grin.

  Tala became serious. “I don’t think I’m going to work at the library anymore.”

  “What?” Deni looked up with surprise. “But you love your books.”

  “Are these okay?” Teltel asked as he walked up and unknowingly interrupted the women’s conversation.

  Deni turned away from Tala and said, “Yes. They are perfect. Now we take them over here to the chopping blocks and cut them into pieces that the cooks can use.”

  Tala followed quietly.

  Deni pulled her long knife from her boot and began to cut one of the stalks.

  “We cut them here at each joint, plus we cut off these extended branches,” Deni instructed. She raised her eyebrow and said, “Be careful. Take it slowly.”

  Deni left Teltel to his work while she walked back to the pots of sugarcane. Tala again followed.

  “Did you hear me?” Tala asked in a whisper. “I want to stay here. I don’t want to work in the library anymore.”

  Deni turned to face Tala. “You can stay as long as you like. But I thought you loved your books. I don’t want you to – not – ever go back.” Deni ran her hand down Tala’s arm and felt the thin silky sleeve of her flowing garment. She inhaled with pleasure.

  “I have a crate of writings that I’ve never read before; probably no one on the entire Egress has ever read before,” Tala explained. “And…I have you. I have no need to go back.”

  Deni leaned an eighteen foot stalk of sugarcane down and snipped about a foot off of the top. She slipped the knife back into her tall boot and gazed toward Teltel as he worked diligently at his station across the room.

  “You know, I like him too,” Deni said, “But he’s gotta go.”

  “I-am-leaving,” Aiden snapped as he headed past the much taller ladies and quickly moved his little legs toward the shiny main door.

  “Good night, Aiden,” Deni said as they watched the door close behind the elder gardener.

  “Anyone else coming in tonight?” Tala asked as she rubbed her lips together.

  Deni didn’t answer but instead abruptly put the short piece of the sugarcane in Tala’s mouth and turned back quickly to Teltel.

  “You almost finished over there?” Deni called out.

  “Can’t we read a little more?” he asked.

  “It’s getting late and I’m pretty tired. How about you come back again tomorrow?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Teltel said with disappointment. He wasn’t ready for the stories to end.

  “Come after class,” Deni said as she cut the ends off the two stalks Teltel had first cut. She handed one end to him and put the other in her mouth.

  The giant boy chewed the end and smiled. “It’s sweet,” he said with excitement.

  “Yes the cooks slice the pieces lengthwise and spear them into the orange potatoes we gathered earlier,” Deni explained.

  “We forgot to pick them all up. I could help with that,” Teltel offered with enthusiasm.

  “It’s fine. You’ve helped enough for one day. Enjoy your sugarcane,” Deni gave him a pat on the back.

  “Thanks for the stories,” he said to Deni and then turned shyly to Tala, “and for reading, Miss.”

  “See you again soon, Teltel,” Tala said in her smooth voice.

  Teltel looked up quickly and gave a smile before he completely lost his breath. Chewing on the green stalk he went through the shiny door smiling.

  Deni’s heart felt magnetic as she yearned for her love. She looked up at Tala for a long, silent moment that almost became awkward.

  “Do you want to read a while? Or I could help clean up for the night,” Tala asked as she tried to fill the silence.

  Deni placed her hands firmly on Tala’s small hips and looked up at her piercing blue eyes. “I love the stories. I love hearing you read. I think your voice is a kind of song that I only hear in my dreams. But I am Tsila. We are a tribe of few words. I’ve talked more the past two days than I’ve talked in almost two months. I have no more words to say.” Deni reached out and latched the lock on the shiny garden door.

  Tala placed her hands on the sides of Deni’s brown face and kissed her long and deep.

  Deni pulled Tala even closer and untied the cord that held Tala’s flowing garment to her tall slender body.

  Releasing the cord, Deni watched as Tala’s garment floated to the floor. Laying Tala down on her own garment, where Deni had quickly added her own, she slid slowly next to Tala’s sleek ivory body.

  Closing her eyes and lightly touching Tala’s cheek with her own, Deni whispered, “I’m not scared anymore.”

  “I am,” Tala admitted with her hot breath close to Deni’s ear.

  Above Tala, Deni’s red tight curls caressed Tala’s bare skin as she asked, “Scared of me?”

  “Scared that we won’t have more times like this,” Tala said. She lifted her face and added. “I want to know you when you are eighty.” Her eyes moistened as she added, “I know I would have loved you even then.”

  “Hush now, love!” Deni said as she stroked Tala’s straight and long blonde hair. “Let’s not let any of that steal this moment or any of our moment.”

  “I’m still scared,” Tala admitted. She let her head rest on the floor.

  “I am too,” Deni said with her golden eyes shining.

  “But I thought you said you weren’t scared anymore,” Tala replied in a whisper.

  “Of you,” Deni said, “and of this. I’m not scared anymore.”

  Tala raised her head and rolled Deni to her back as she leaned above her. “Me?”

  Deni laid her head back into Tala’s open hands. “I’ve imagined this moment for so long; this first moment with you.” She laid her hand over her own chest and tried to steady her breath. She inhaled deeply and blew it out with a quiver before her words could escape.

  “Just scared that reality wouldn’t live up to all my fantasies. Scared I’d wake up and it would be like all the other dreams I’ve had of you when, in the end, I wake and you’re not there.”

  “How is it so far?” Tala whispered with her beautiful smile.

  “Nothing I’ve ever dreamed of or even imagined,” Deni smiled back. She bounced her red curls off her face with a shake of her head. Then, not allowing herself to grow too serious she looked into Tala’s loveliness and said with a smirk, “I always imagined we’d be in the library st
acks.”

  “You knew where I worked? How long have you known?” asked Tala.

  “I didn’t. I mean I caught a glimpse of you twice leaving the dining hall and heading to the library but I didn’t know you worked there. Had I realized, I mean, I would’ve been in there sooner. Once I waited at a table in the dining hall just to watch you come back out. I sat there for four hours.” Deni pressed her hand over her heart as if it were about to burst. “To see you; just watch you exit the library and walk back down the hall to the elevator was worth the wait. But I’ve always known you liked reading and even writing and such. It just seemed to fit when I thought of you over the years. Roaming the library; looking for that perfect story; those obscure forgotten stories, not the ones that come over the central computer that everyone can read but the ones only the Goweli are privy to. In my mind, you were always out of my league; one of the beautiful people – the Goweli.” Deni blushed a moment and added, “I didn’t know I had any more words left to say.”

  Tala put her hands on Deni’s face and pushed her head playfully from side to side. “Silly,” she said.

  Taking her hands away their smiles faded and together they pressed their bodies closer and enjoyed what they had both desired for so long.

  Leaving the dining hall the next morning Teltel saw Mathis heading to class. He took a few giant steps to catch up to him, but when he did Mathis stopped and looked up at his giant classmate. His forehead wrinkled and his tentacles began to turn red, showing his fear.

  “Hmm,” Teltel snorted with a half-smile. He ruffled Mathis’ hair like a little pet. After giving him a pat they continued on to class. Though they arrived at the same time Teltel sat across the room from Mathis.

  As the other students gathered into the open space for class Tanik addressed Teltel.

  “Have you given your heart to Mathis once again?”

  Teltel pulled his massive body to his feet and looked at Mathis.

  “Yes,” Teltel said.

  He sat down again and turned his face from his classmates. Teltel was somber as he wished for time to move quickly so he could visit the ladies in the garden.

  Raising his hand, he asked, “Tanik, I’m not feeling well. May I go to my quarters?”

  “No,” Tanik said quickly. She exhaled a little huff and added, “But you may go to sick bay.”

  He moved slowly as he left the area of the class but as soon as he was in the main deck hallway, he raced past the library, past the great dining hall and around to the main garden door.

  “Can I help again?” Teltel shouted breathlessly as he burst through the door.

  Deni laid tiny seeds across a tray and slid it into a metal rack where many other trays were already placed.

  Without waiting for an answer, Teltel gained control of his breathing and came close to the tall rack. “What’s that smell?”

  “Mint,” Deni said as she worked. “Don’t you have class at this hour?”

  “Um,” Teltel stuttered as he looked at Deni working.

  Deni turned her golden eyes directly at Teltel, “You know I only accept the truth.”

  Teltel dropped his eyes and admitted, “I told Tanik I wasn’t feeling well. She sent me to sick bay.”

  Deni crossed her arms and leaned her back against the planting station.

  “Does class make you feel unwell?” Deni asked evenly.

  Teltel slightly shrugged his massive shoulders.

  “Always did me,” Deni confessed with a laugh, “and I was only in regular school.”

  Teltel looked up to Deni who smiled back.

  “Today we’re making sprouts,” she said as she took another empty tray and instructed Teltel how to plant seeds for edible sprouts. She never said another word about the giant teenager missing school.

  “And there’s a pot of mint tea down there,” Deni motioned with her dirty wet hand to the clean section at the end of the row. “I always like my mint tea in the mornings.”

  “But I thought we were planting mint.”

  “No,” Deni said. This is mung beans,” Deni explained. “Haven’t you ever eaten your sprouts?”

  Teltel shook his head.

  “I think it’s nice to try new things,” Deni said. “And in four days you can try your first mung bean sprouts.”

  Teltel wasn’t sure if mung bean sprouts were anything to be excited about.

  Instead, he leaned in close and his voice grew soft as he asked, “Is she here?”

  “Who?” Deni said without breaking her rhythm of work.

  Teltel leaned his head and shaped his lips as if trying to speak.

  Still working, Deni said with wide-eyes, “I know, son. I get it. She’s just so damn pretty.”

  Teltel giggled and blushed but became straight and serious when he saw Tala walking down the aisle with her silky dress flowing around her.

  She held a mug of light green liquid with steam dancing over its rim.

  “Love, will you get our hard worker a cup of tea? My hands are grimy,” Deni asked.

  Tala came alongside Deni and kissed her neck and continued on to the end of the row where the pot of tea sat.

  Teltel shuffled close to Deni and asked, “Will she read again?”

  “She won’t bite,” Deni whispered back. “Go talk to her yourself.”

  Teltel shot Deni an exasperated look.

  “Alright, alright,” Deni said with a laugh and turned to face Tala coming back toward them.

  Pouring water over her muddy hands, she grabbed her mug of tea. After a sip, Deni spoke in a comical voice, “Our guest requests a story from you, love.”

  Tala gracefully handed a mug of hot tea to the giant Het and smiled. She drew out a book she had been holding under her arm.

  “Your request shall be granted, kind Sir,” Tala played along, following Deni’s lead to help Teltel feel more comfortable.

  Seeing that Teltel was staring at Tala, Deni said, “Drink up, son. We have work to do.”

  Teltel brought the mug to his lips but his eyes never left the beautiful sight of Tala until she cut her ocean blue eyes in his direction.

  He dropped his eyes quickly and drank his tea.

  “C’mon, son. She reads faster when nobody’s watching her,” Deni said as she clapped the giant on the back.

  Tala pulled a high-backed stool close and sat down comfortably. She crossed her legs and straightened her silky dress to hang elegantly around her. She really was a breathtaking sight.

  1200 BE

  Far below the surface of the planet REEN

  “You are not well,” Kent tried to push him into submission.

  “I am completely sound, My Lord,” Atenilek answered, having never been pushed.

  “How long have we had these sparsings?” Kent asked in continued total self-control.

  “Over a thousand years, My Lord.” Atenilek said without breaking gaze.

  “And over a thousand years how many Het have sparsed?” Kent said.

  “None, My Lord,” Atenilek answered.

  “You should be proud that...” Kent began but Atenilek cut in coldly.

  “I am a Het. We are strong and proud.”

  297 AE

  Aboard the EGRESS

  “Cha,” Teltel said with a loud rumble.

  “Let her read, son,” Deni said to the Het.

  Tala giggled at the boy’s enthusiasm for the stories.

  Teltel’s face reddened as he dropped his head.

  Tala saw that she had embarrassed the boy so she added, “Cha, indeed.”

  Barely raising his head he glanced in her direction and gave a quick smile.

  1200 BE

  Far below the surface of the planet REEN

  “Congratulations.” Kent spat. “You shall be the first.”

  There were screams from his parents that rocked the ground. Kent had already planted his feet firmly and hardly swayed in the tremor. Atenilek broke off his intense glare with the Emperor. He turned his full attention toward his mo
ther when she rushed to him and fell on his shoulder in a tight embrace.

  “No,” she began to scream, holding him back.

  Atenilek pulled her from him and looked at her with such honor and determination. “I would rather give my life for one Nen than to live under the rule of an emperor with only death in his heart.”

  “I should never have allowed you to work alongside that filthy Nen. He has turned your heart away from your people,” she roared.

  “It isn’t so. I love my people, but I love Tinnen as well.” Atenilek placed his one hand over his heart.

  “If he were a Het I couldn’t love him more. I will forever protect his path.”

  “If you do this, you will no longer be my son,” said his mother with a rumbling howl.

  His father, though, gave a low gruff growl. “You are my son and I am your father. That is a fact that will not change. I cannot change your mind nor the path you have chosen.” Atenilek’s father stepped toward his son. “And I don’t intend to try. Yet I fear for you. May the Giver of Life protect you.”

  He looked past several people to make eye contact with Tinnen, “And also your friend.”

  Kent's rage was easily seen on his face as he almost lost his composure. “I grant you your wish. You will sparse this day with Ehic.” He raised his staff and shouted, “On the surface!” He almost growled his demand a second time. “You will sparse on the surface.”

  Atenilek's parents screamed again.

  “No!” His mother showed her sorrow but his father showed anger.

  “This is surely death to them both,” his father shouted like thunder.

  Kent, with a screaming growl, barked his directions to several other Het guards.

  “Soshin, Penelk Hopek, Keshel take Atenilek and Ehic to the surface.” Hopek was Atenilek’s cousin and Soshin was married to Atenilek’s sister. This was not just Atenilek’s problem, or even just a Het problem Kent was making it a family problem.

  While Ehic wailed in protest, Atenilek turned to the crowd and raised his giant arm. The chaos of the crowd dwindled into murmurs. Atenilek first looked at his mother, then to the crowd, and lastly his eyes came to rest again in a locked glare with Kent. The other Het guards slowly moved to his side. In a booming voice for all to hear, Atenilek’s voice rang out, “This has to end and let it end with me. I give my life for Tinnen, my heart to Tinnen; my life For One Nen.”