Chapter 1
“Princess Zelintras, I will die for you --without request, but please, let me return you to the Sacred Place. Let me die with honor.”
Zelintras’s servant knelt on one knee before her, head bowed so that her stubby emerald hair looked like barbs poised to fire out of her scalp. Never on Zelintras, of course. Her submissive posture proved that.
Zelintras pulled the thin, iridescent hood of her servant’s robe up and over her bowed head. The gesture signaled that the servant had been heard, no more questioning was allowed. “I will not go back there, Sala. Slipping away from the guards posed challenges I did not imagine. I will not be able to slip away twice.” Zelintras had almost lost her leg scaling the bladed fence.
Her wardrobe afforded little protection from anything. Her sheer bralette and matching thong panties sported four inches of dangling, feather-soft fringe. An emerald adorned gold chain wrapped about her middle toe and heel, with no padding for her soles. Her sparkling gold circlet with diamond and emerald insets would never protect her from a fatal blow, unlike the golden armor of the guards. Yet, the one who stepped in to protect her had put his gold clad arm between Zelintras’ bare leg and the blade threateningly close to it.
She fell onto the other side, and he lost an appendage.
Zelintras grimaced at the grisly image reforming in her mind. Then shook it off. Freedom lay miles away still. And yet, the air smelled crisper, the kiss of the sun grew warmer, and the beauty of the red hills seemed endless. She had to stay focused to reach her goal. The hope of liberation on the horizon softened Zelintras tone when she spoke to her servant. “A drink, please.”
Sala stood quickly. She unfastened one canteen of nectar from her side, held it to Zelintras lips while she sipped, then put it back in its place.
Zelintras nipples hardened, but she ignored it. “Let’s us go now Sala. Before we are caught.”
The two women kept to the cool shadows of the rising red hills. The path along the base of the hills lengthened the trek, but it kept Zelintras’s pursuers from picking out their forms, two glittering specks on a red canvas.
“My princess, why should we trudge through this dreary wasteland, when the gardens provide an aesthetic view and a leisurely walk?” Sala had not spoken directly of returning to Sacred Place, but she skirted the topic.
Zelintras forgave her since she had not explicitly breached her command. She kept impatience out of her tone. “I cherish this view. The newness invigorates.”
The pace they walked afforded Zelintras a close look at the tiny fauna and rock formations. Fossil shapes embedded in the rock looked like animal bones. The plants were so tiny that few, if any animals still survived here, and those few needed incredibly little to live on. Zelintras would not be like them. She refused to adapt to an unwanted lifestyle. How much time must those few animals devote to sleep? Probably most of their life. Zelintras was very familiar with the idea of one thing taking up so much of life. It was why she had run away.
“My princess...”
Zelintras rolled her eyes and turned sharply on Sala. Her servant’s eyes quickly lowered. The movement attracted Zelintras’s attention to something else: Sala’s tracks in the sand.
“Sala! Your heavy steps have left footprints. You will lead them straight to us! Lighten your paces. I order you.”
“Yes, my princess,” Sala said, her stubborn disapproval visible in her expression.
They began to walk again, more briskly, with Zelintras checking to make sure no footprints dappled the sand. “We will switch mounds here,” Zelintras said. “If not, they will be upon us with an hour or two. I warn you. Balance your weight. Keep your steps light.”
As Zelintras slipped behind the red mound, she caught a glimpse of gold shining from the crest of a hill. Her guard had caught up with her, and it would not be long before they led her back home. Back to her duty.
She ran, then, not caring about the balance of her weight or the footprints announcing her path. The gateway to the other world awaited ahead. She sensed it like a stray thread on a dress. It felt out of place in this world, but in the right place for her escape.
“Hurry, the princess is this way!” Sala said.
Zelintras glanced back to see her traitorous servant yards behind her, waving her obnoxious arms in the air to get the guards attention. Zelintras turned to run again, but six of her mounted guard formed a blockade in front of her.
All guards were solidly built. Pure muscle formed from focused strength and agility training. It rippled underneath that armor, and Zelintras was no match. She dared not make a run for it. A fight would be comical.
“Princess. We must return you to the Sacred Place. Please cooperate,” said the guard in the middle. His sexy voice sent shivers down her spine. She forced her arousal to calm.
“I will return,” Zelintras lied. “But first I must retrieve the gift for the Queen. I have come too far to return empty handed.”
“My princess!” The guards said in unison. A swift motion brought forth armored forearms to rest against their bowed heads.
The middle guard lifted his head first and spoke. “Had we known, we would have accompanied you to retrieve the gift for the Queen.”
Zelintras hands flew to her hips. “And you also would have alerted her to the surprise.” The guard had the sense to look abashed. “May we accompany you now, Princess?” Zelintras nodded her agreement.
“Commander Fet!” The rest of Zelintras’s guard had arrived. “You have found Princess Zelintras.”
“I have,” said the middle guard. “But we will not return straight away. Give me six of the packs you carry and four of the guard. We shall return quickly.”
“Are you the newly promoted guard the Defense Overseer mentioned?” Zelintras asked.
Commander Fet’s eyes jerked toward her. His gaze roamed over her exposed breasts, down her flat torso, further to her thighs and quite possibly her pussy lines that could be seen through her sheer panties, the motion so swift none of the others guards noticed. He averted his eyes. “I am my princess. Fet, Head Commander of the Guards at your service.”
