Relationship Tested

Charlene

Driving up to the compound gates was mind-blowing. It was the size of a small city. The word Compound didn't do it justice. Just because it was walled and secured, hidden away so cleverly, no one could really see all there was to it. 

They stopped us at the gate, Kubra rolled down the window. He received a firm salute from the soldier recognizing him. The gates opened. "What's going on?" Kubra asked. The soldier's eyes flickered over to the guard tower. When we saw Louis standing and sorting out issues… We both kinda just took a moment to take in the scene. We had heard that Qadir was in custody again. We hadn't seen Marcus on the TV either. Louis said significant developments, but Kubra couldn't reach Marcus. 

One man with Louis came running out down the few steps. Kubra opened the door and greeted the guy with a shake. They had to be the same rank. The other guy went back to Louis, whose head came up from reading some papers. Louis had seen me and came hopping down with a big smile on his face. He pulled me into an embrace, hugging me tightly. Glad that he was there and happy. It meant that Juliet was fine. He let me go and checked into the back to see Miné. "She seems well. Is she well?"

"Yeah, she's great and healthy. I can't say that it's been easy."

"I can imagine, Charlene." He bent down and whispered into my ear. "Marcus killed Kubra's father. Marcus is back on En-gannim. Carl is in Washington." 

I didn't know what it was… But I was sad as Kubra glanced over. He had said that he was in love with me. It was going to hurt to see him in pain. We had bonded the last few weeks. He wasn't a stranger anymore. Or a watcher or a vampire. He was part of the family. He loved Marcus. 

"I'll tell him on our way." I patted Louis's shoulder. 

"Okay…?" Louis seemed doubtful. "Are you sure?" He seemed confused but read my mind. His eyebrows raised. "Did not see that one coming…." 

I shrugged. "Neither did I."

My head gestured towards the car for Kubra to get in. 

"Did Louis tell you Marcus took over the Compound?" I nodded. "What is it? You have that face only when you have something serious to say." He already knew me. 

"I do…. I think you should stop the car." He was surprised but stopped next to the road, nonetheless. 

"Kubra… Your father died." His brow furrowed. He turned back in his seat away from me, peering sightlessly out the window. Quiet.

"How?"

"This is the difficult part… It was Marcus." Kubra's head snapped around to me. His teeth gritted together. 

"Where is Marcus?" 

I did that nervous to tell you shoulder shrug. "Another big news… Back on… En-gannim… With his grandfather." 

Kubra put the car in gear and drove on as if nothing had happened. Like Marcus, Kubra was different than Qadir and probably the people that grew up on En-Gannim. They grew up on Earth. Even if Qadir tried to instill the En-gannim way in them. The influences of Earth had been too great. The mistake Qadir made was making Kubra watch all of Marcus's suffering. Watch him come back to life after centuries and smile for the first time. Laugh. 

Kubra pointed to the gate coming up. "That's the estate."

"We have been driving next to the same wall for a while." 

He nodded. "Yeah, it's that big." Kubra stopped abruptly. My hand had to stretch out to prevent me from hitting the dash. My eyes followed his gaze. There was a vampire mounted on the pillar. Fully manifested. His face was contorting. Groaning. No eyes. Arms hung by his sides. Kubra had told me some stories of how Qadir dealt with people. But that was out in the open. 

"That's why my father died," Kubra stated a matter-of-factly. "That is one of his men. Not from Earth. Looking by the hands and eyes… Juliet didn't have a fun time." 

That time, my head snapped around. "Do you think se was…" 

He took in a deep breath and blew out the air slowly. "No… Or else it would only be pieces." 

We drove up to the gate. They opened immediately. Louis must have phoned. The place was beautiful. Gardens to die for. Grass green in the desert. Fountains and statues. But it got only better as we drove down a small lane that ran the length of the wall. Trees were planted on the right of the road, making a beautiful canopy of shade. 

Two big red wooden gates with brass handled rings hanging from lions' mouths. I got out and picked up Miné. There was screaming. Kubra jumped out of the car. Then there was laughter. Boisterous, loud guttural laughter. Juliet did something stupid. He looked at me, and we both smiled. Kubra opened the gate for me to walk through. Smoke came from the kitchen, and Cindy blasted it with a fire extinguisher. I felt like taking his hand. Nothing had happened after his declaration. Typical Charlene, I had abruptly stopped laughing when he said it. Stared at him, thinking about it. I had given him a quick peck on the mouth and ran upstairs. But the following morning, Kubra went on as if nothing had happened. Left me to figure it out. 

It took them a while to look down the corridor and notice us. Juliet's head came up, and she immediately started running, grabbing Miné and me, hugging us, squeezing a little too hard. Miné complained. Juliet kissed her and nuzzled her like it was her own child. 

Kubra's eyes met with mine again, and I wondered what he would do. His words kept running through my mind. "I would not think twice." "No, that is not all." "I think I'm in love with you." Juliet hadn't greeted Kubra yet. She had yet to look at him. But she would never be angry at him. Juliet sighed and slowly moved her teary eyes up at Kubra. "I'm sorry." She whispered. Kubra turned around and walked out without saying or doing anything. I figured it was more a goodbye than us sharing a look. 

"Everything will be okay, Jules."

"Thanks, Chars. Come, let me show you to your room. It's only been two days, but there is so much I need to tell you.

***

Marcus

"Am I allowed to talk to you?" I asked. A woman was standing at the door waiting. Inwardly, I groaned. My grandfather had not come down for breakfast yet. 

"You may enter…" I said with so much irritation that I didn't feel like eating anymore. What was the point of life there? She was fully veiled. Not allowed to talk. I hit my head against the chair. 

Servants came in. All women. Clothed precisely the same. That morning, l was going to do what Chris did. I put my hands over my face and rubbed them up and down, pulling on my eyelids. Made me feel a little better. Made you forget that thought you couldn't handle. "Speak." Her eyes darted up to me from the plate in front of her. She was old. Had soulful eyes. Little wrinkles on her hands and the blue blotches told me it had to be my grandmother. Qadir's actual mother… The thought didn't compute that he had one. I stood up. "If you don't speak, I'm leaving." She tried to say something. I didn't think she knew what to say. 

"What's your name?"

"Ella." 

"That's pretty." She was absolutely shocked. The servants stared at me like I would turn into a pillar of salt. 

"I have a wife. Her name is Juliet. I think it's a pretty name."

"Yes, I have heard." I smiled, finally getting a coherent thought. 

"How old are you?"

"Nine hundred." I had a grandmother who would probably die soon. It was the first time I had met her. The servants put down small cages in front of us. They waved their hands in front of a small screen. The cage lining became translucent. I sat back. Startled at the little beast bouncing around inside. 

"What is that?"

The girls giggled, and my grandmother's eyes smiled at me. I knew a smile through a veil. She pressed a button and manifested. Her black nails grabbed into the cage and squeezed the critter's little neck until its eyes bulged. 

"Ewe." They snickered behind hands… behind veils. They wouldn't dare laugh at me… But wasn't that what they were doing. Didn't I use to hate people laughing at me? Ella lifted her veil. She picked up the eyes with the points of her nails and popped them into her mouth. Mine hung open for a moment before I chuckled. All of them paused and stared at me again. Like laughing was taboo. I had laughed. Since Juliet and I had kissed… She made me understand that all her doubt was gone. I had been allowing myself to be happy. She liked it when I was happy. She pushed the critter under her veil and sucked on its neck until it was just skin left. 

Bracing myself, I did the same, closing my one eye but only sucking on its neck, telling myself, "I'll eat its eyes later." It was over way too quickly. Fingers in my mouth, I licked my lips. 

"That was delicious. I've never tasted that before." The servants scurried, putting a new dish in front of me. The next course was a round plate of cutlets of some weird meat. When they lifted the lid, I knew exactly what it was. I couldn't control it and pushed it all into my mouth in record time. All the girls clapped their hands. Ella was happy. "It's been a very long time since we've had a baby in the house." 

I snorted. "I'm two hundred years old. A baby is one to two years old."

She nodded. "Yes, one hundred to two hundred." I laughed again, letting myself off the hook for once. 

The doors to the room opened. Instantly, the fear, dread, and persecution riddled the air. The servants stood with their backs to us against the wall. Only the man who followed Ahasuerus into the room stood facing everyone. I took a peek at Ella. She was oozing fear. 

"I told her she could come in." Ella breathed easier.

Ahasuerus looked up from the glass tablet he was carrying in his hand. He had not even noticed her. "Mmm, as you wish." 

He continued working and giving orders to men coming in and out of the room. How it must have felt, living like that for nine hundred years. Accepting it. I was tired of it. "Am I allowed to make her talk to me?" 

Ahasuerus glanced up and gestured with his hand to continue. 

"Hey, you… next course." The one woman scrambled out of the room. I turned to Ella. "Where do you come from?" The man who entered with Ahasuerus was on my right, standing in the corner. He came forward, tapping on the glass. He wanted to do something else, but I slapped his hand away. "I didn't ask you!" Allowing Ella to show me… She tapped again, and the round planet hovered over the table in a hologram. I shot him a look. "Go away. I don't like you… Someone else and much younger." His eyes fell on Ahasuerus, who shrugged. "Maybe James?" The man bowed low and disappeared. Ella twirled the ball all the way to the other side of where our light was blinking. 

"This little place on this island." 

"And all of this is water?"

"No… Not water. Uhmmm… Undrinkable substance… Pink in color, no life." 

"So the surface is limited." She nodded. 

"And you cannot build in the pink water either." She shook her head. "Touch it?" 

"Deadly to us. To anything." 

"Good to know… Do you also want something else to eat? You there bring Ella something else she likes." Another maid hurriedly left the room. 

I twirled the globe around again. "This?"

"City of Akko…" She pointed to a little button. I pressed it. Picture after picture, articles and news about the city came up. 

"I didn't see one of these in my room. Is there a place I can study?"

"When James comes, he will show you to your own private space." The servant put more dishes in front of us. It was desert for me and something Ella seemed to like. 

James came to stand behind me, and I got up. "It was nice to meet you, Ella. Will you be here for lunch?"

"If you want?" 

"Be here for lunch…" I tried to sound authoritative but with a smile on my face. I glanced over to Ahasuerus. He wasn't happy. A haunted look on his face. Gritted teeth and fuming. I met his gaze straight on. "If you want, we can settle this right now." His features softened. His eyes returned to their average size. As he breathed, the tension left his jaw. I sighed. "You should focus on what really matters. You're getting distracted by the way I treat women." Ahasuerus's eyes traveled to the end of the table. He excused me with a flick of his hand. 

I might have been happy a moment ago, but not even Juliet's kiss would last long.

***

"James, how is it going on earth?"

"Jack comes daily with reports directly from Louis. He is doing very well. We have established return groups every Friday. They will go to remote islands where the structure is… suggested but not enforced. All the children have been given a choice to come back. Ahasuerus has no problem with that. The prisoners will be unable to return, and Earth seems inclined to keep them."

"Are there any prisons here?"

"Yes, we still have some. Ahasuerus didn't want Qadir numbers to reach that high."

"Crimes? What crimes do you have?"

"Theft… of food mostly. Rebels that don't like the regime. Women that fight against the grain."

"So there is poverty?"

"No, the off-the-grid vampires are men who didn't want to go into service to care for their families. Boys are given the option of services for financial aid. But it's lifelong. They can never leave or get married. Much as your army on Earth."

"Clean the prisons and send them to Earth. All of them… Fix up the prisons and change them into housing."

James bowed… "There is something I need to show you." 

***

James and I teleport to the other side of the world. I checked the hologram he blew up into the sky. The field in front of us spanned into the horizon. 

"Where are we?" 

"This is why we are the richest planet in the galaxy. All of the galaxies."

I frowned at him. "What could possibly be more lucrative than the teleporters?" 

"Nothing… But this one can move a million entities at once."

Needless to say, I was speechless. But did he say all the galaxies?

"We have been waging war for other planets for centuries."

"How has no one stolen or recreated this tech?"

"For that, I would have to take you to Zoreah. That you will have to figure out for yourself. You have till next year, April."

***

I had been a little bored on the compound my whole life. Knew everything I needed about war but was never able to implement it during a battle. Working out strategies for other planets and playing a proper general gave me a sudden purpose for my life. There was so much to do on En-gannim that I didn't know where to start.