SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Love your Enemies 24-25

The Wedding Eve feast is in full swing as I arrive. The whole house is packed with elves wearing fancy clothes and jewels. I can't believe Cirion's family has so many friends and acquaintances, or so many relatives.

As soon as Cirion and Melnar arrive, Cirion sweeps me off (as far away as possible from Melnar) and starts introducing me to each and every one of his cousins. It is a tiring business, especially because I just long to leave and run off to my room. My mind is heavy with painful thoughts, my heart feels as though it has just been pierced with a hundred arrows, but no one seems to notice and no one will let me go.

"This is my cousin, Lady Melda," Cirion says, introducing me to yet another tall, pretty elf lady. "She lives on Mars with her husband."

I smile shyly, trying not to stare too enviously at her graceful features and the expensive diamonds in her dark blonde hair.

Melda smiles back and says, "Cirion has told me so much about you, Lady Kaaiwen!" Her forest-green eyes twinkle happily. "It is so unusual, finding another elf from my mother's tribe here."

I swallow and turn quickly to Cirion, shocked. What has he been saying to his cousin? I have no idea what to say about the tribe thing…

"I am half Erau and half Aremcie tribe myself. I'm sure we shall be good friends!" Melda goes on. I just give another timid smile before hurrying after Cirion, who has wandered off again.

As Cirion continues leading me all over the house to meet more people, I notice Saaiwen sitting in a corner, a new wine glass in her hand, half asleep. Sir Salmeor isn't showing much interest in her; he is talking to Marna, seemingly discussing wedding plans. I swallow, realising that it is tomorrow already that Saaiwen is going to get married. I hope her escape will go well… I hope that Cirion really knows what he's doing…

I excuse myself from Cirion (after first making sure that Melnar is no where near), and go to the drinks table to get myself something. I glance towards the stairs, but they are blocked by a large number of fat grandfathers contemplating a large map of the universe and discussing - as I found out most older elves do - battle tactics.

I sigh with frustration and grab the nearest wine bottle. Since my arrival here I've become much more accustomed to the strange, strong taste. Nearby, Lord Edalzar is having a loud discussion with Sir Shennor over "the human problem", as they all like to call it. I decide to ignore them, instead concentrating on trying to pull the cork out. But try as I might, it is firmly lodged into the bottle. Annoyed, I stalk off to the kitchen to find a knife or corkscrew.

The servant girl washing the dishes looks up shortly from her work as I enter, the older girl chopping onions gives me a dark look and the fat cook grunts disgustedly, but otherwise the servants all ignore me. I pick a knife from the kitchen counter and start battling the cork, which seems to have become even more determined now that I've changed tactics.

Suddenly, just as I start chopping away at the cork with a potato peeler, I hear the sound of voices. Two people are talking in the corridor just outside the kitchen. The servant girls look up from their work, the cook leaves the stove, wiping her hands on her apron, and I abandon the potato peeler. All of us stand silently and listen.

"Cirion, you must be mad!" It's Marna's voice. She sounds close to hysterics.

"Lady Mother, I have decided. There is nothing changing my decision," Cirion says calmly.

"How can you do such a thing? Your father is already in a bad position after you abandoned your work as guard; Sir Shennor is most unhappy and you know that it is only because of him that we get our furniture for free from his third cousin!" I can hear her breathing hard, fuming, and would not be surprised if there were smoke curling out of her ears right now.

"I can make my own decisions, Lady Mother. I do not need your constant interference!" Cirion is losing his calm pretty quickly.

"Do not speak to me in that tone!" Marna snaps. "As long as you are my son, I shall decide who you marry and who you do not! I have given you the freedom of leaving your work and deciding by yourself in that area, but marriage… it is tradition that the parents decide the weddings of their children!"

"Mother, I am not asking your opinion," Cirion says. "I am stating a fact. Tomorrow at this time, I shall propose to her, whether you agree with it or not."

"She is not of our tribe, my son! She is Aremcie, you are one of the proud and noble Erau! The blood of our family shall not be tainted with the dark blood of the Lower Elves!"

The breath catches in my throat and I feel as if my heart has stopped for a second. I release my grip from the wine bottle and sink down onto a stool. I feel dizzy.

"And we do not even know her family! You found her alone by the river; how do we know her family was respectable? How do we know what purpose her family had on this planet? The Aremcie rarely leave our planet far away, so why is her family an exception?"

"Melda's mother is Aremcie, Lady Mother."

"So? That marriage was a scandal! The whole Empire knew about it, and because of it, my brother brought disgrace to the whole family! Have I never told you that because of that marriage, my brother was forever banished from our family? He was disinherited, sent away to the lowly planet Pluto, and he would have been forgotten had his daughter not married herself back into our ranks!"

I hear Marna sigh. "Cirion, I do not want you to suffer." Her voice has completely changed. No longer is she the bossy, high-and-mighty matron. Now her tone is soft, kind, motherly. "I want only the best for you… you are your Lord Father's only son and heir, and you should be worthy to accept your Lord Father's title once he and I leave you behind. Please, Cirion… my child… choose someone better. The Princess Aldenna, for example… she is beautiful, she is wealthy, and she will bear you many sons. Or the Lady Prennewen; she is from a fine family, or, or Princess Aryne…"

"You cannot change my mind," Cirion interrupts. "I cannot marry someone I do not love, it would be cruel to both me and the girl. I do not want money or renown, Lady Mother."

"Marry for love?" Marna sounds horrified.

"I love only Kaaiwen, Lady Mother, and she is the only girl I have ever had the wish to marry. Neither you nor my Lord Father can persuade me to marry someone else."

I hear him turn away, hear his steps tread down the corridor and away from the kitchen. Then, I hear a stifled sob and Marna's hurried shuffling as she follows him. "But, but Cirion… wait…" she cries, before her words are drowned away.

The kitchen is deathly still, except for the bubbling of water boiling in a pot. I can feel the stares of the servants on me. But I don't care. I feel suddenly very strange. It's as if I'm neither dead nor alive, as if time has suddenly just stood still and I'm just stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I stare ahead without seeing.

I notice that I'm shaking. I'm shaking all over even though it's not cold. I'm full of a strange feeling, neither happy nor sad; my heart is beating harder than it ever has before. I feel so nervous I want to scream or drop to the ground or throw something or tear something or just jump high into the air and sing… Instead, I determinedly grab the wine bottle, pull out the cork in one go, and pour some wine into a few glasses standing beside the sink.

"Shall we drink on that?" I say, and smile at the servants for the first time since my arrival.

***

The palace hall is packed full. I gaze up at the high, vaulted ceiling, waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin.

The hall is great and semicircular, like what used to be called an amphitheatre, with rows of seats around a platform with a table at its top. Salmeor's relatives occupy the seats of one half of the room, Cirion's family those of the other half. Saaiwen is sitting in the front row, between her parents, Salmeor on the other side of the space between the two groups, alone, the red eye-flap looking especially scary in combination with his best red uniform.

I glance sideways at Cirion. He hasn't said anything. But I'm already counting down the hours to the end of the ceremony, waiting, waiting… Somehow I'm feeling terribly excited, more than I ever have in all my life. I can think of nothing, not even my previous life; I can only think of Cirion, of our moments together, of everything he has done for me, and I can't help starting to plan ahead for the future.

I even forget, for a while, that I am human.

Around us, the seats are filling with the friends and relatives who attended the Wedding Eve party last night. Most of them look like they're suffering severe headaches; they must have overdone their wine consumption again. But I don't really care, for my mind is somewhere else.

At last, the great double doors into the hall are closed by a guard, and all lights are dimmed until only a few single candles along the walls are alight. I'm glad that I am sitting with the close relatives, further in front, only one row behind Saaiwen.

A tall, thin elf dressed in the long, pale robes of the government officials stands up and walks towards the platform at the centre of the room. He steps slowly up the marble stairs to the top of the platform, where he places his hands on the table.

The room goes completely silent. Everyone is watching the government official intently. The only sound is a soft sniffling coming from Saaiwen just in front of us. Erenwen keeps shooting her furious glances. Apparently she has forgotten that she, too, cried at her wedding…

Suddenly, the elf at the front starts to slowly raise up his hands. Marna and Edalzar each take a hand of their daughter and stand up. It takes some strength from them to force Saaiwen off her seat. I see now that she is shaking with sobs that she is trying not to let people hear.

Salmeor has stood up too. Slowly, he walks towards the platform, stopping before the first step upward. Marna and Edalzar do the same. I sit completely still, watching intently. I notice that beside me, Cirion is strangely tense, his hands clenched as if he is trying to subdue some strong feelings. He must be very upset. But so far, the wedding doesn't seem all too different from Mama's tales of human weddings in the past. Except for the crying.

The government official walks around the table and turns to Saaiwen and her parents. He speaks in a loud voice that echoes around the hall. "Lady Marna Alyenwen and Lord Edalzar Orran! You have come today to give this, your daughter, Saaiwen Marna, to Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars. Is this your decision?"

I hear Marna and Edalzar speak their consent. The official nods, and Saaiwen takes one step up the stairs, or rather, is pushed up one step by her mother. Her parents still stay at the bottom of the stairs, though they don't let go of her hands. Salmeor also takes one step.

The government official returns to the other side of the table and places his hands on it. He does that for two full minutes. In the silence I can hear Saaiwen's pitiful crying. At last, the official raises his hands from the table once more.

"Lady Marna Alyenwen and Lord Edalzar Orran! You have consented to give this, your daughter, Saaiwen Marna, to Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars," the official says.

He takes two red bands from the table and goes down to Saaiwen and her parents. As he binds their hands to hers, they chant,

"This our daughter, to us born

This our daughter's precious heart."

The official slowly goes back up to the table, and takes another object from it. I see the glint of a knife in his hand as he descends the steps once more. He stops again two steps above Saaiwen. "Lady Marna Alyenwen and Lord Edalzar Orran! Are you willing to pass this, your daughter, Saaiwen Marna, to Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars, and no longer keep her under your care?"

Instead of just saying "yes" like the other time, this time the two of them chant,

"This our child now we give,

Now she is yours."

And the knife rushes through the air and in two swipes cuts the bands tying Saaiwen to her parents. Once again, the official nods. Saaiwen takes another trembling step upwards, as does Salmeor. But this time, Lady Marna and Lord Edalzar turn around and return to their seats. Saaiwen is all alone now.

I count the remaining steps. Six more to the top…

"Lady Saaiwen Marna, are you prepared to obey your parents' will, or will you die for disobedience?" the official asks in his loud voice.

The silent hall waits. Saaiwen is struggling for an answer. In the end she brings out the words, accompanied by a sob, "I… I must obey. And so I shall."

One more nod. One more step. Once more, silence as the government official waits his two minutes before the next question.

"Lady Saaiwen Marna, will you do your husband's will, or die the punishment of most painful death?" His voice rings across the hall. He's not exactly giving her much choice, I notice. I shudder.

Again, Saaiwen takes her time to answer. "I must obey my husband's will, and so I shall." Her voice is full of tears and I wish I could go up there and stand beside her, hold her hand and tell her everything is all right…

Another nod, and another step closer to the top. This time, the official's silence is longer than before. Four more steps… half-way already. But we have been here less than an hour, and I know that the ceremony lasts well into the afternoon…

"Lady Saaiwen Marna, will you remain loyal to your husband, or die tenfold the punishment of most painful death?"

"I must remain l-loyal… to my husband," she whispers, "and so I shall."

I can't believe how they can do this… Saaiwen has absolutely no choice. Everything she says she already knows. I'm sure no one has ever chosen the "punishment of most painful death" - it seems rehearsed that Saaiwen always replies, "I must", "I must"…

The official looks up for his next question. "Lady Saaiwen Marna, will you bear your husband sons, or die in shame with daughters?"

Saaiwen is openly crying now; everyone can hear her, she is no longer trying to hide her tears. I feel terribly angry at the government official all of a sudden, terribly angry at the whole tradition, at the entire system, at men in total. The whole ceremony, I realise, is just barbarous.

"I… I must… b-bear… sons," Saaiwen sobs, "a-and so I shall." She only stumbles up the next step as the official nods again. Tears spring into my own eyes and I can only think, How can they do this to her? I look at Marna, at Erenwen… can't they remember what this was like? How can they allow this brutal system to go on?

Only two more steps, I think, then it'll be over for her… But I am wrong.

After two more questions ("Will you view your husband as your Lord and Master" and "Will you accept everything your husband says as being correct and right, be it even criticisms against you and your family"), both Salmeor and Saaiwen are standing on the platform. The official returns to the other side of the table. I wonder what will come now.

Bride and groom are made to stand opposite each other, looking face to face. The government official takes a whip from his black table and steps towards them. I stare at the whip, and decide that maybe so far this hasn't been quite as bad as it could get…

"Lady Saaiwen Marna," the official says loudly, "will you marry Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars?"

"I must," Saaiwen brings out.

"Then may this remind you of your promise," speaks the official, and with one hard lash the whip cuts across her back. She cries out in pain and almost falls to her knees, but stops herself halfway through and stands straight again, holding back the tears of pain. I bite my lip and try to hold back my own tears. This is just terrible…

"Lady Saaiwen Marna," the official asks again, "will you marry Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars?"

"I must!" Saaiwen cries out, even as the whip flies once more over her already bleeding back.

I decide not to watch and close my eyes.

Eight times he asks the same question, eight times she gives the same answer, eight times the whip cuts over her back. But every time, she controls her outcries more, until, at the last time, she makes no sound as the whip hits her.

I open my eyes after that last time. Saaiwen is standing straight and silent, her tears swallowed back. The official replaces the whip on the table and picks up another dark red band. He steps forward and ties Salmeor's hands to Saaiwen's.

Once the intricate knot is done, he steps back, proclaiming, "Sir Salmeor Nefasion, Knight of Jupiter and Mars, and Lady Saaiwen Marna, you are now bonded in marriage, husband and wife."

A gong resounds somewhere, and all the people in the hall stand up. Then the official slowly leads Salmeor and Saaiwen down the eight steps of the platform, and along the rows of seats do the great double doors.

I am completely shaken as I leave the hall with everyone else soon after. I don't even notice that I haven't eaten yet, even though it's already afternoon. I don't think I want to eat after watching something so cruel.

I hardly notice where I'm walking, and so am shocked to suddenly find a smartly dressed servant standing right in front of me. "A message from His Highness the Prince," he says. "His Highness would like to remind you of his invitation after the wedding. Would you follow me, please?"

I stare at him for a while, startled. I completely forgot! I look around for Cirion, but can't see him anywhere, and suppose that he is with the rest of his family further ahead. The servant is already making his way past the crowd, so I quickly follow him, wondering what the prince might want to discuss with me now.

"Enter!" comes the prince's voice from beyond the tall white door. I look around nervously as I hear the door creak open. The servant has led me up to the second floor, which is even fancier and shinier than the other parts of the palace I have visited.

"Lady Kaaiwen is here, your Highness," I hear the servant say.

"Ah. Bring her in," the prince replies. The servant turns to me and bows. I walk slowly past him and into the room, and hear him shut the door behind me as soon as I am inside.

For a few seconds, I am struck utterly speechless. The whole room is more than double the size of Cirion's family's great living room, which is already four times as large as the average human shack. What isn't made of marble is made of pure, real gold, the walls lined with portraits of strict-looking royals glaring down at me. I look up at a great high ceiling with two great glittering chandeliers and after a while I notice that I am gaping with my mouth wide open.

Quickly shutting my mouth, I look around for the prince. He is sitting at an old-fashioned white piano, watching me with the same intense stare he gave me at the ball last week. I wish I hadn't worn such a low-cut dress today…

"The ceremony ended sooner than planned," he says. "I did not expect you to come before the end of my music lesson." He smiles. I try to smile back but after what I have seen this morning I don't exactly succeed.

"Come," he says all of a sudden, "sing for me as I play."

I blush. I don't want to sing to an elf. Elves in fairy tales and stories always sing like angels, and even though everyone in the human village praises my voice, I don't think it would compare to any elf lady's. Again I am struck with the icy fear that the prince knows…

"I… I don't know many songs," I stammer.

"That should be no problem…" He is still staring straight at me. I wonder why… I can't read his gaze, can't find out his purpose in looking at me so much.

He turns to the piano and starts to play a simple little tune, one that I have sung so often, so often that many a time it has caused Grandmama to shout at me to shut up. It is a song Mama used to sing to Adelio, and to me and Ophelia too…

Swallowing away the tears that have suddenly started to well up with the thought of my lost family, I start to sing: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are… up above the world so high, like a fire in the sky…"

I stop all of a sudden, and notice that the sound of the piano has ceased. And I feel the prince standing just behind me, staring at me with those unfathomable dark eyes. He starts to slowly circle around me, never taking his eyes off me. "You sing well, Lady Kaaiwen…" he says softly. "Where did you train your voice so well? Who taught you?"

Suddenly, I hear a soft 'flop!' on the marble floor. The prince makes a satisfied sound and smiles. I look down, and immediately all turns icy cold. My head goes giddy and I can hardly breathe. There it lies, one of my fake elf ears. I am caught…

But the prince only quietly wanders around me and, with a light flick, brushes my second false ear away. I think my heart has stopped. But still he does nothing. Why doesn't he call a guard? Why doesn't he grab the sword I see lying on an armchair not too far away, and kill me here and now? Why doesn't he beat me to the ground? Why doesn't he move away from me, as all elves do when they are too near a human? But he is so close that I can feel his breath on my skin.

"Elves don't sing, Lady Kaaiwen. They have no musical talents whatsoever," he says.

I wish I could fall down dead right now. It would make everything so much easier… so much faster…

"In any case," the prince goes on, "no elf would know that song you just sang."

I turn and stare up at him. He says nothing, turning away and striding over to the door. I feel faint. He's going to open it, tell the servant to call a guard, to call the Raiders, to call someone who will take me away… Am I going to be fed off to a dragon like those women I saw that dreadful Sunday that seems so long ago? Am I going to be sent to Melnar's work camp, to carry rocks and work all day, like my mother, like the men who were taken away from us? Or are they going to kill me here and now, so no other elves will ever know that a human has slipped through the tight security knots?

But the prince does not open the door. He takes a key and locks it. Then he sweeps over to each window in turn, closing all of them and drawing all the curtains. What is he going to do? Is he going to kill me here, by himself, without a whole band of Raiders and guards?

We are all alone now. All sounds from outside are dead, hidden by the thick, dark green curtains. No one will hear anything that happens within this great big room. No one will hear me scream… I don't move. I don't know what to do. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I stand still, watching him, waiting for I don't even know what.

He turns towards me, his dark eyes glittering in the little light that still penetrates the heavy curtains. It takes him only few steps to reach me. He is so close…

Suddenly, he does what I least expected him, the prince of elves, to do to a girl he has just discovered to be human.

Before I know what is happening, he is holding me in such a tight embrace that I can hardly breathe. I feel his lips upon mine, kissing me more madly than Cirion has ever done. I don't know what is happening, I don't know and I don't understand… everything is upside down and wrong way round and it just no longer makes sense.

Maybe I'm having a nightmare. But it feels to real…

He releases me and I stumble backwards, staring at him, trying to suppress the guilty wish that he might kiss me again… because despite it being scary, I can find nothing else wrong with it. And I think I should stop thinking right away or I'm going to have to hurt myself.

I turn away and quickly head for the door. I can't think straight. I notice only once I have tried to open it that I have forgotten that the prince has locked the door. Immediately I am filled with icy dread. Why has he locked this door? I shake it, try to force it open, knowing that I can't. I'm afraid. I must get out of here!

I flinch as he takes my hand and gently pries away my fingers from the door handle. "I told you," he says softly, "that I wish to tell you certain things. I have only begun telling you, Lady Kaaiwen - or what ever your real name is."

Silently I let him lead me towards a chair, and sit down. I wish I could somehow get out of here… I remember Saaiwen, and Cirion's plan for her… I remember what I heard last night between Marna and her son… suddenly all that seems ages away. I wish I could just leave this terrible room, leave this unpredictable prince, get out and go back to what I used to be…

But this is what I used to be. A human. I touch my rounded ears. I look up. The prince is standing silently beside me.

Finally, he breaks the heavy silence. "It… it is not easy to tell you this," he says. "I have told no one, and my family made me swear to keep this secret from everyone." He stops. Then he says, "The Earth is a planet of low esteem. Only few planets are deemed worthy to be ruled by a member of the Elvish royal family, and the Earth is the very lowest of those.

"My father, the Emperor, has twelve sons and seven daughters, from his various wives. Usually, the youngest would be given rule over the planet of least worth… I have three younger brothers and all of them rule higher planets than I do. The reason… is complicated."

I have no idea where this is supposed to lead. I hunt in my mind for an excuse to leave, but somehow I don't dare to interrupt him, not even when he stops or pauses.

"My seventh brother is two hundred years old. I am but fifty. Yet already I appear older than he is; I have always grown faster than any of my siblings. I could talk when I was but a year old - all elves take at least half a decade before they say their first word. Everyone believed I was ill, that something was wrong - but when the court doctor looked at me, he found nothing wrong. Except for one disastrous thing…"

He pauses and I look up at him. Suddenly I feel that maybe I know… but it seems so impossible, so inconceivable, that for a moment I think I'm wrong.

"Only one thing was wrong with me," the prince says. "I was found to be half human."

The only sound in the room is the tick-tocking of a clock. My mind is blank. Totally, completely blank. How? is all it is capable of asking. How could a human get into the royal family like that, fifty years ago? I know that there used to be humans travelling in space, to planets far away and even beyond our own solar system. But all the way to the planet of the elves? Where is it anyway?

"My family would have banished me or somehow removed me, had it not been for the unbreakable rule that any son of the Emperor cannot be killed or disinherited by anyone, not even the royal family itself. The fact is that my father met a human space traveller once… I do not know the details of that story. He tired of her before I war born; I do not know how in the end I came back to his house. All I know is that he never expected me to be her child when I was still young; he had left many illegitimate sons and daughters in our various colonies, never caring about them. Some were sent to his palace and, as it is always good to have many heirs, he kept them. I was among them."

Suddenly it seems so clear to me. His dark eyes, his almost light-brown hair… and suddenly it comes to me that clearly, even an elven ruler would never show enough interest in humans to know 'Twinkle, twinkle little Star'.

But I still don't understand everything. Why would he kiss me?

Again, I have the feeling that he can read my mind. Because he immediately answers my question. "From the moment I saw you, Kaaiwen, that day at the ball, I knew you could impossibly be an elf. You moved differently, you looked different… Elves from the Aremcie tribe which Lord Cirion claimed you were from rarely travel, and their skin is slightly darker than yours. I knew at once that you must be someone like me, a half-elf… or otherwise a human.

"I saw, Kaaiwen, and I knew that in all the world, you are the only girl I could ever love. Like me, you know both sides of this world. Like me, you fit in neither. I know that you can understand me, Kaaiwen… you can understand what it feels like, to be torn between what one was born in, and what one has to live as… My entire life is a masquerade, hiding the truth from the whole empire, hiding the truth from both my people: the humans, and the elves. I know that you can understand me…"

Before I have time to think or react, he is on his knees before me. "Kaaiwen, I ask you for your hand in marriage."

My mind is a whirlpool. I can't pick out any individual thought except that I want to get out and run away somewhere quiet and secret and safe where I can think properly about all these things bombarding me lately. Something in me wants to clamp my hands over my ears and scream.

A voice that I take a while to notice is my own says, "I… I guess I'll… I'll have to think about it." Then I catch one firm thought: it's time for me to go; Cirion and his family will be wondering where I've disappeared to and I'll never find my way back on my own - and I don't think I want to be alone with the prince inside a carriage again. "I have to go," I say quickly. "They'll be worrying about me."

The prince stands up again and nods. I don't know what he's thinking. Is he disappointed that I didn't just jump out at him and squeal with joy and say yes? I follow him silently as he walks over to the door and finally unlocks it again. Before he opens it, he reminds me of my fake ears. I'm glad he does; my mind is so confused that I would have forgotten otherwise.

I'm glad that the servant is there outside. At least now the prince won't try to kiss me again. But I feel his dark, human eyes staring after me as I walk down the hall.