It's been difficult to study Cambodian culture, this time in terms of the names of the people, but I gathered this from Wiki: "Surnames are usually taken from the surname or the given name of the father and are generally monosyllabic. Cambodian surnames are sometimes identical to Chinese or Vietnamese surnames. Women keep their maiden names after marriage."
That being said, I am introducing a couple characters who are also vital to Monty's past and this story.
Chapter Two
Let the Times Roll
He had not been here for years. The last time he remembered was before Edward, his father, died when he was a young man. It was a place close to heart besides the African Congo and parts of Asia. He remembered the times he would slip out of the hut while his father was in deep sleep or on a business deal for the latest antiquity just so he could watch the monkeys in the trees, or lay out and watch the stars that were unblocked and absent of irritable clouds.
Now he and his new bride were going to do those things as long as they were on these soils. They would enjoy their time rather than work - but that could be accidental, and they could have it on hold but bring it to the museum's attention when the vacation was over.
A hotel was unlikely, so the family hut was all theirs; he was quite surprised to see it cleaned and orderly, which gave away to him that the caregiver he remembered from youth had to still be here. One of his father's many good friends whom he also hadn't seen in ages, but if he would be lost like Kato back in Japan...but they were not here to worry about troubles.
He told Kimberly he was here when the Cambodian genocide occurred, and that did mean he saw the innocent people shot down, others arrested, and the unrest. He smelled it in the air and recalled feeling like he wanted to vomit everything that was there, and nothing at all. Edward scolded him and told him that while it was unpleasant, they weren't going to be here forever, but young Montgomery never forgot the horrors in his mind. Bates was there to comfort him when his father wasn't looking, as he had always been.
Everything was in place as he remembered, from the single bed covered with a tapestry of a coverlet to the ordered kitchen, not much entertainment besides each other and what Mother Nature had to offer. And a nice fire to make by hand, which was something he enjoyed personally and took upon himself to make life easier for his monkey ninjas who were all just family to him now rather than mere pets and servants.
Their sraleanh khtam - the love hut for the newlyweds.
Of course Lord Fiske knew to speak Khmer, which hardly came as a surprise to his new wife. And was it ironic enough that this method was traditional for fathers setting their daughters up?
Kim was exhausted from the flight, but sleep could come later. He had a brilliant idea that involved picking her up and taking her outside to drop into the nearby lake - after depositing their luggage and clothes behind them. Monty had done this plenty of times in his lifetime, so he was going to introduce her to daytime swimming in the nude, because they had the right to do this anytime they wanted now. No Sara present, no monkey ninjas, no Rufus the naked mole rat - and Bates was back home in England with his son's family. Just him and his Monkey Queen.
She was ahead of him, beneath the black and green-blue waters, and he could see her silhouette and short flame of hair glowing back at him like fire and ice. His own lungs could have burned had he'd been another man, but Montgomery Fiske had mastered many things in his life - including a great power that was never his to begin with. A power that his stepdaughter would have to learn one day like her birth father before her.
His wife surprised him by showing she could hold her breath as long as him, after spending her teenage years wearing an oxygen mask underwater on her missions.
They were back above the water, gasping for air in no time, after exploring territory which wasn't much, but had seaweed and mute-colored fish swimming by. "Wow, that was fun!" Kim said, laughing and shaking her head, water drops getting into his face and making him duck his head.
"If you thought this was enough, there is so much more, Kimberly," Monty told her and began to swim back in the direction they had come from. They would dry up, get dressed again and then collapse onto the bed in each other's arms, then wake up again if their stomachs were needy.
There was so much more they could do after today: go out and with a tour guide to see the lush jungle in all its natural beauty, to visit the town ripe with tourists, to ride on the elephants and watch the sun set...
And that also meant a visit up at the great dig site which was a wonder for tourists, and he, too, hadn't been there for years, but he could have come back anytime with Kim since their engagement was announced. There was still plenty under those grounds which was yet to be uncovered, but Cambodia was protective of its ancient history as any other country. But the Angkor temples...
"Before we head back, there is one thing I have been fantasizing as often as I could," Monty told her, knowing a wicked gleam was present in his eyes, and when she turned around after shaking off the water from her glorious body, the hunt began.
Now, what more could a man ask of the sight of his mate for life running ahead of him, laughing like a hysterical young girl again, never imagining she would be doing anything like this - and with him of all people? For him, he'd dreamt of this for ages which felt like he'd crossed generations and oceans of time. He kept his steely blue eyes on her ample rear end, her sumptuous honey-ivory curves, and her crisp of amber fire which reached her ears. He grinned maliciously as he was still conjuring up ways to ravish her against any of these trees and along the tall grasses they rushed through like two wild jungle cats. "Come and get me, Monty!" she called over her shoulder.
Thus came the old superstition: be careful what you wish for.
Her wish was his command as he finally caught up to her and had her up against one of the great trees, taking great care to not scratch her perfect, powerful back against the smooth but rough bark. And in midst of being sheathed into her gripping, molten special place which linked with his, he had to steady everything because the last thing he wanted to do was to aid in losing their child. It would mean depriving Sara of a new brother or sister.
"Oh, God, Monty!" she cried, throwing her head back and holding onto his broad shoulders for dear life. Her legs tightened around his waist and pulled him forward to her with each thrust. "We really - we really should be careful going crazy with this."
"Exactly on my mind," he grunted, slowing down despite the unbearable bliss in his own loins, ready to burst any second soon. "We should return to the hut after this."
She added for him, "Or tidy up and head to the town to see the sights."
Monty grinned, for that was a better idea than simply returning to the hut and collapsing in bed only for the engine to automatically jump to the wild.
~o~
Visiting the dig site could wait until tomorrow, but they did agree to dry up, dress - she was back in the soft eyelit from their wedding party - and go into the town to get some supplies as well as see some of the sights.
But to see what the town looked like now was relaxing and sweet. This community was laid back and quiet to raise families, like back in Middleton, though sadly, she learned colorful wooden houses like the biggest ones were slowly decreasing in numbers. But also because of tourist destination, Siem Reap had higher prices than anywhere else in Cambodia, but she and her new husband were going to enjoy their time here for that.
That was why, he purchased her a gift that he said made him think of her the second he looked at it, despite her seeing it first. Monty secured a bracelet around her wrist which was made of sturdy brown leather, and it was set with an elegant and captivating heart-shaped peridot in a delicate design - to reflect a piercing heart in a fragile world.
Just like around her neck, besides the tanzanite charm he gave her, there were her old wedding rings from Ron.
They were transported across the town via tuk-tuk - a three-wheeled taxi - which recognized them as tourists at almost every corner, and that meant the trip would be a couple of U.S dollars no matter how many people were on the ride. Good deal for tourists, but difficult to make for the locals getting paid. As for how many people, there would be up to four, but the bigger the weight, the slower the speed.
And it turned out, the driver was someone her husband recognized. "By Mother's love, Charya! It's been an eternity of all ages!" Monty exclaimed, laughing like a monkey. Genes long gone, that was his unique trait which she adored alone. "Tae anak sokhasabbay cheate?"
"Yeang la, kaunobrosa robsakhnhom!" the man, Charya, chortled, reaching around and slapping his nicely tanned hand with Monty's ivory one. "Khnhom kheunh anak mean arommo svaheab chea strei!"
Damn it, she didn't speak Khmer even though she was trying to learn, and there were colleagues who knew how to. "Excuse me, Monty, but what did he say exactly?" she asked sweetly. He chuckled and leaned over to husk into her ear, blowing warm breath across her skin.
"Nothing, except that he is pleased I finally found myself a 'volpe of a woman', my sweet."
And now the man was speaking in English, starting the vehicle to take them to their destination. "Aye, my lady, an honor to finally meet the famous Kim Possible. Who would have imagined you would be with my Monty boy - the spitting image of his dear mother, rest her soul?" he said proudly. At the mention of his late mother, Monty sighed and leaned back in his seat.
"Mother would have been proud to see me as I am now."
Charya sighed, too. "It's a poor shame your father wouldn't have given you his approval now. I would have given him a piece of me own mind if I hadn't feared for my employment in his services." Then his face lit up, looking back to Kim before returning to the road ahead. "However, I make me good living since his death. I seen Monty boy sometimes since then, and last time was about fifteen years prior." Which must have been before the time of the finding of the fourth jade monkey idol.
"Ah, yes," Monty answered in recollection. "And yourself these days? My wife and I are on our honeymoon, with our daughter back home." It seemed so good for him to call Sara his own, because he loved her so much. And often stepparents and their non-blood offspring didn't get along, over the belief of replacement.
"Daughter? Why, you as a family man? I never thought I would live to see the day," Charya said with a whistle. "You're a happy man, my old friend. I couldn't be more proud of you. I'm positive that dear ol' Bates must be."
"He is, indeed. And just how is Mealea? Last I saw of the child was she was hardly older than an infant."
"Kaunobrosa cheatisrleanh, she has been the one to care for the love nest for you and Lady Kim." She could feel her cheeks burning. She wasn't yet used to the new title even though it was an ordinary girl's dream. She was barely at her third decade, with a daughter from a previous marriage, so nothing should cause her to struggle to breathe anymore. "Me daughter is all I have left after her dear mother died when she was barely walking."
He had a daughter whose mother also died, but when she was a toddler. It wasn't uncommon for jungle countries to be rife with diseases and plagues in any form, if that was what happened. Kim felt she wanted to meet Kim Mealea if chance came.
She felt like laughing a little when she thought of the irony of their family name which was her first name.
So, Monty did the honors of paying his old friend and caretaker to take them to the destination they would visit until closing hours, since history was their shared forte. Charya explained that he and his only daughter managed to survive in these times, saying that life was good to them while others suffered, which wasn't rare. Even the grounds of the country were still beset with land mines, which existed from generations of warfare and social upheaval. One step on any one, and not only would you blow up to pieces, but the others would follow suit.
"Well, I shall come back as often as I can, or you can just find me!" Charya called to them after he dropped them both off at the renowned Angkor National Museum - famous for its Khmer textiles, displayed antique landmines, and many other treasures from the past. What made it in touch with the modern world was the information and slideshow images in the installed video screens.
~o~
Well, the rest of the day was eventful besides merely picking up a good supply of food, and him choosing that bracelet for his beautiful bride. The museum he hadn't been to in ages, but it was a refreshing experience to enjoy it from a tourist's perspective.
After the museum was a stop finally to the market, grasping more than enough supplies they needed to take back to the hut, but before that, they had a bite at the Kaya Café which was ripe with traditional Khmer cuisine all made in a peaceful environment and with nature's best ingredients rather than artificial. They both had to share a bowl of noodles and dumplings!
Afterwards, he and Kim stopped at the liqueur bar where there be served sombai - consisting of fruits and spices as well as the finest alcohol infusions. Monty allowed himself the pleasure of banana with cinnamon - not to add insult to his pained, horrendous past long gone on his watch - and watched as his lady indulged in green tea mixed with orange extract. Non-alcoholic because she was with child. Just watching her throat bob made his own do the same.
Kim asked for three more and that meant several trips to the outdoors or any of the private spots here in town. She was craving more than she should, but he recalled being told that it would be worse by the fifth month of pregnancy.
It was also here and then they were greeted with a welcoming face that was none other than Kim Mealea, daughter of Charya. Monty saw her as an infant, but now she'd grown into a stunning young woman, pretty as a flower. She greeted them both, blessed them on their new marriage and the new baby, before telling them that she and her father would honor them with a visit in the near future during their time here.
When she was gone, a horn was being blown to announce that the party would begin as the sun was setting, leaving behind royal blue, light blue, ruby red, orange and pink. It seemed then that dancing was taking place in the square, but the liquor hadn't kicked in for his end; he had a rather high tolerance, so he wasn't easily affected, but his body felt like saying yes to a dance to the drums and singing, taking his pregnant bride onto the soft grounds amongst the other people.
Seeing her happy, enjoying herself made him happy, too.
Later that night, they fell asleep in each other's arms, still wearing their clothes as the day's events wore them down.
Kato mentioned was a minor character in "The Monkey King Takes His Queen", if anyone remembers. But he appears in only one chapter, and it's another step at the time for Kim to see the human side of Monty Fiske as he lost someone whom he didn't know well but considered to be an important factor from his younger days.
More info on Siem Reap, Cambodia, from WikiTravel. Accurate enough, but who knows if that is everything. XD And as for the conversation in Khmer between Monty and Kim Charya in translation:
Tae anak sokhasabbay cheate? - "How have you been?"
Yeang la, kaunobrosa robsakhnhom! Khnhom kheunh anak mean arommo svaheab chea strei! - "Very well, my boy! I see you have yourself a fine volpe of a woman!"
Kaunobrosa cheatisrleanh - "dear boy"
Historical note: Cambodia is still infested with countless land mines, indiscriminately planted by all warring parties during the decades of war and upheaval.
My breath is just being taken away because of how this story is turning out so far. I feel like I haven't lost my hand on Kim/Monty after all this time. :')
