|
|
|
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
then take the herb sprig and leave it precisely in the middle of the plate. Then recite yet another verse.
For every action of the day, there was a verse. For putting on clothing, for taking it off. For eating and
for drinking. For greeting and departing. For seeing sunny weather or clouds. Food must be eaten in a
certain order, clothing donned in a certain order, the body bathed in a certain order. Floors must always
be swept from right to left. And so on, until the verses of retirement and sleep.
The customs of the court were even worse.
"I could never live there," she declared. He nodded in complete agreement.
"We are more slaves to our customs than you women have ever made your men," he replied, and she
had to agree with him.
Finally, she made him a pledge: one that she had never expected to make to any man. That there would
be neither mistress nor slave within the walls of their home. They would have to play the game for the
sake of peace outside those walls, but it would be a game. And never, outside those walls, would she use
the game to hurt or humiliate any man, much less the men that she knew and cared for.
She had changed; she knew that now. Men had never been faceless automata to her, but now she could
see them as human and as equal as she herself was. She would never be able to go back to thinking of
them as something less.
But then, something unexpected happened. From understanding why Thesius was desirable to Wara, she
progressed until she became attracted to him.
Then she found him more than merely attractive. Of course she concealed her feeling, knowing it to be
illicit. But it tormented her at night, in much the way her longing for Ware had, before she had finally
capitulated.
The week passed, and still Ware and Faro did not return.
A week and a day. The attraction was stronger than ever. She found herself watching him covertly,
thinking about that dancer's body. Wondering if he was as skilled in using that body as Ware was. She
caught herself getting careless when it was her turn to wash, taking longer than she should, so that he
might return on schedule and catch an accidental glimpse of her torso. Would she impress him as much
as Wara had? She condemned herself, for she had never been a tease, but in the boredom her fancy ran
rampant.
She found herself facing another question: what if Ware and Faro had been captured or killed? What if
she and Thesius were on their own?
As the days stretched on, coming nearer to two weeks than one, she finally voiced that fear.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
And Thesius was forced to admit that he, too, had been thinking of just that, and suffering shameful
feelings. And she caught him watching her, covertly, with speculation in his eyes.
What had been a long, anxiety filled day became worse. Just about sunset, the weather turned. A high,
cold wind came up, bringing with it clouds and rain. By the time the last light had left the sky, the rain
had turned to sleet-and their clothing and few blankets were totally inadequate.
They layered on item after item, and still the cold penetrated to make them shiver. The wind kept
stealing the heat from the fire, blowing straight into the cave and carrying the heat away through the
vent that had been taking the smoke. They sat across from one another, shivering miserably, as the bitter
cold penetrated into their bones.
She wanted to conjure warm blankets, but Thesius was clearly terrified that this would pinpoint their
location to the enemy. "They always watch near the border," he said. "Always." So she shivered until
she began to feel sick.
Finally Thesius looked across the fire into her eyes, and gestured. "There is no point in this," he said. "If
we are together, we may as well share these blankets and the heat of our bodies, such as it is."
That made perfect sense, and at that moment, all she could think of was the prospect of getting warm.
The very memory of warmth felt years away. She made her way around the fire, and joined him, adding
her coverings to his, and clasping her body against his.
The difference was immediate. Warmth pooled between them; she relaxed and closed her eyes, feeling it
ease the aches and tension from the cold.
For a long, long time, all she was aware of was the warmth, the blessed, blessed warmth. But then
Thesius's arms tightened involuntarily around her, and she was aware of a different kind of warmth
entirely. They were clothed, but that could so readily change. They were already so close, and there was
such heat between them.
Her eyes flew open, and met his. There was no mistaking the need, and the passion, in his face.
It would be so easy... so very easy. They shared so much, had so much in common-
"Maybe-just one kiss," she whispered. "That couldn't do any harm," he agreed huskily. Their faces
slowly came together. They were so similar, in their backgrounds and their passion.
And they were both human. Ware would not even be able to protest, for Ware would be no more...
It was that which brought her to her senses, and she saw that he must have remembered the same thing
at the same moment. Their lips, almost touching, halted. She shook her head, gently, and he nodded.
They both knew that if the kiss did not destroy the demon, what would surely follow it would.
They remained chastely cradled in each others arms for the rest of the night, sharing no more than
physical warmth. Finally, after a long, long, time, the wind died, and they slept.
Xylina dreamed she was Wara, clasping Thesius and exciting him to such a pitch of excitement that all
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkwiatpolny.htw.pl
|
|
| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
|
|
