Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to Caren Rose, dinopoodle, T'Mihn, but especially to Fameanon, who is awesome (I counted 4 character reviews there, honey. That's a record. ;D).
Kuvak strode down the hallways of the Consulate, his purple, silk robes billowing in the wake of his lengthy and confident stride. Tawny would be arriving at any moment, and he wanted to look his best, as he was finally in an environment where his more formal attire would not be off-putting. His robes felt like a shield against the outside world in a way, a facade he could put on every day to insulate himself against criticism, pompous idealists, and the slow, creeping corruption he saw consuming his colleagues day by day. And it kept his insecurities and doubts hidden away inside, beneath the robes.
He strode out into the lobby, and the guards on either side of the entrance snapped to attention. He heard a familiar voice mumbling something unintelligible, and as he came around the grandiose and raised front desk, he saw Tawny arguing with the secretary.
"You cannot enter the Consulate without a permit or an escort," the secretary said sternly, looking down her nose at his Tawny. No, he reminded himself, courting is not a guarantee of marriage in her culture. She is fond of you, but she is not yours.
"Ms. Townsend," he called softly, and she turned quickly to him, her eyes flooding with relief.
She smiled wanly at him. "S-she s-says I c-can't-"
He held up a hand and turned to the secretary. "I will escort her," he said in Vulcan, his tone cold and commanding. "I would think you would have more respect for our human allies."
He led Tawny away, and the guards bowed their heads as he passed, and Tawny looked at him with wide eyes.
"Th-thank you..." she whispered once they were a ways down the hall. "S-she...s-she w-wouldn't..."
Kuvak knew they were alone, so he stopped her in the hallway and turned to her. "Shh," he murmured, stroking her face with two fingers. "She is of no consequence. Ms. Sadir is waiting for us."
Tawny's eyes brightened, and he watched in fascination as they darkened. His fingers were seemingly glued to her skin, and he stroked in soft circles on her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut and she made a mewling sound, and he suddenly realized what he was doing.
He ripped his fingers away and took a step back. "Forgive me, that was..."
"Wonderful," she whispered, staring at his chest with hooded eyes. Her bright green eyes found his again and she smiled, and he gently cupped her cheek.
"You did not stutter that time," he observed, a bubble of pride rising in his chest. She raised her eyebrows, then she frowned.
"I-I g-guess you get to a c-certain s-softness...and it d-doesn't m-matter an..a-anymore," she said, and he tilted his head in agreement.
"Come," he said softly, stroking her cheek once more. He really did enjoy touching her... "Ms. Sadir is expecting us."
Emmie Sadir was propped up in bed, reading over a PADD, and she looked up when they entered the infirmary. Her gray eyes brightened at the sight of her friend, and she held out her arms, a silent request for an embrace. Tawny nearly ran to her and hugged her friend tightly, and Emmie whispered something in her hair.
Kuvak felt a presence by his side and turned to see L'Vek standing beside him, his eyes on Emmie.
"I thought you were meditating," Kuvak murmured in Vulcan. L'Vek nodded curtly.
"I have completed my meditation. I felt the need to check on she who will be my wife."
Kuvak raised an eyebrow at him, but watched in silence as he walked up to Emmie and stroked her face.
"Your Earth authorities discovered who was responsible for the bombing," L'Vek murmured to her, his voice growing hard and cold. Kuvak approached him slowly. "It was Carter."
Emmie stared at him in disbelief for several seconds, then turned around to face Tawny. Kuvak followed her gaze and discovered that Tawny had backed away from Emmie's bed and was clinging to the neighboring bed, her complexion pale, almost tinged with green. He rushed to her side and lightly touched her shoulder, and she turned to him with fearful eyes.
"Kuvak," Emmie murmured, and he turned to the dark-haired woman. She gestured with her head to the door and looked pointedly at Tawny, and Kuvak got the hint.
He gently pressed his hand to the small of her back and took her out into the hall, but then veered left into a small service corridor. Her green eyes were shimmering with tears, and he gently wrapped his arms around her. According to L'Vek, doing this for a human woman when she is on the verge of tears was the best thing to do. No words needed to be said, only the gesture. He bolstered her with his control and calm and stroked her hair, waiting for her to calm down. She did not shed any tears and managed to control her breathing within a few minutes, and her complexion looked better.
"I do not know what to say to you, or how to ask why that name causes you such distress, or even if I should ask," he whispered into her hair. "But know that I am here for you, that I will not allow anything to befall you. If courting is a prelude to possible marriage, and I am a possible candidate for you, then I assure you, nothing will befall she who is...my Tawny," he ended finally, and she pressed her head harder into his chest, as if she were trying to crawl inside him. He wished she could, that he could carry her around wherever he went and keep her safe from harm.
She let out a deep breath and looked up at him, her tears gone, her face set. "I-I'm s-sorry f-for..."
He cupped her cheek with a gentle hand, and she fell silent. "There is no need to apologize. Do you feel well enough to join the others?"
She smiled wanly and nodded, and he led her back to the infirmary.
…
L'Vek watched the two leave and turned to Emmie, who sighed. He could feel waves of frustration pouring off of her, and he put a hand on her shoulder. She trapped his hand with hers, squeezing tightly, and he closed his eyes as he felt a jolt of electricity shoot down his core.
"Meskhenet," he growled, holding her hand tightly. "You try my control..."
She gently removed her hand from his and cupped his cheek instead, and that did not help matters. His rival was still alive, had tried to take Emmie from him, and he would not have it! He could feel real, white-hot anger boiling in his stomach, but the concern she had for her friend and for him cooled it slightly.
"Do you realize what you do to me, ashaya?" he whispered, cupping her cheek in return. "Do you realize what you can do for me?"
She pressed her forehead to his. "Ever since that other woman came into your office, you've been...more emotive...you work at a fast pace, habibi, and I wonder where we'll be in a month's time."
You will be in my arms as I please you in every way, his inner beast growled, and he did not have the will or the desire to shove the thought away. He wanted that thought to become reality, and he stroked his fingers down her face, causing her to mewl in pleasure.
"You calm the storm within me," he whispered, tracing her jawline with a gentle hand. "There are times...oh, Meskhenet, how can I begin to tell you all you must know about Vulcans?"
She stroked his silver hair and tickled the back of his neck with a soft caress. "You talk, and I listen."
He smirked ruefully. "There is a logic to what you say. Ever wise, my Meskhenet..."
She opened her mouth to reply, but Kuvak and Tawny returned, and he stepped away from her, enough distance to satisfy propriety, but enough closeness to stand by her. She seemed to sense his ire and smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder with a playful hand.
"Do you remember, habibi, how a few months ago, you asked about that bedtime story my mother loved to hear?"
He nodded. "The one about Meskhenet?"
She smiled. "Would you like to hear it?"
Tawny seemed to brighten at the thought of hearing the story, and the blonde woman sat next to Meskhenet, who turned to her friend and brushed a lock of her golden hair away from her face.
"Once upon a time," she began, leaning back into the pillows, "in a desert land far away, there was a beautiful palace. It was situated around one of the few oases in the desert, and in the palace lived the sultan – the king of the land – and his court. The sultan had many sons who commanded his armies and learned the ways of kingship, but he also had one daughter, his youngest child. Her name," she glanced over at him, "was Meskhenet."
L'Vek raised an eyebrow, but did not comment.
"Meskhenet loved her freedom and often sneaked out of the palace when her tutors and governesses were looking the other way," she continued with a wry smile. "In exchange for one of her pretty combs, she borrowed some old clothes from a servant girl to disguise herself, and exited the palace through a hole in the garden wall.
She would wander through the bazaar and talk to all the merchants, and she went out one day to the bazaar. There were a number of shepherds coming in to sell their wool, and one shepherd in particular caught her eye. He was dark and mysterious, and he looked very different from the other shepherds, as if he were foreign. And it hurt her heart to see the lonely look on his face. So she followed him after the auctions to the well in the middle of the city. He watered his newly-sheared sheep, and she watched him, and when he turned to leave, she approached him.
'Shepherd, whence came you?' she asked politely, offering him a curtsy. He smiled.
'Across the desert and over many rivers is my home. I will return there soon, but in the meantime I will be here in this city and the surrounding countryside. Why do you ask, dear lady?'
She shrugged. 'You could use a friend, since you say you do not come from my country.'
So every day for the next month, they met at the well, and they told each other stories and talked of their dreams. One day, he said he was leaving in the morning, and she realized she had fallen in love with the shepherd. But she was a princess and he was common, and it would never come to pass.
Her heart was rent further when she saw her father that evening. He told her that since she was now of age, she would be married to a far-off prince, from across the desert, many miles from her home. She ran to her room and cried the whole night through, pining for her shepherd boy. Although she begged and pleaded for her father to leave her be, he would not be swayed. She would be given to the prince the following morning, and he would take her to his home and marry her there.
The morning came and the prince arrived with his entourage – his face was covered by cloth, which made her moan to herself; she thought he might be hiding an ugly face – and after the customary greetings and farewells, she left with him. He set her behind him on his great white horse, and they rode across the desert. When nightfall came, they stopped and made camp, and he put her in the finest tent. She was determined to escape, to run into the desert and go back home to her shepherd boy, but just as she was about to get up and leave, someone entered her tent.
He came into the lamp light and she cried out with joy – it was her shepherd. She ran to him and embraced him and told him of her love for him, and when she looked up at him, into his dark, mysterious eyes, she realized – he was the prince!
He smiled down at her and kissed her, and when she asked for an explanation, they sat down.
'I have traveled far and wide looking for a wife, and although many kings have claimed to have beautiful daughters, they are nowhere near as beautiful as you. I have dressed as a shepherd and stayed in many cities, and when I sought an audience with the princesses, they scoffed at me and wondered why I was wasting their time. But you, my Meskhenet, showed me the beauty of your soul, and that is why I will make you my wife. You approached a lonely shepherd boy and offered him your friendship, and that, in my eyes, is the most beautiful thing about she who is my beautiful wife.'
But she was confused. 'How did you know it was me? For I too was in disguise.'
He laughed and held her close. 'No common clothing could disguise your physical beauty, Meskhenet. I recognized you from the painting your father sent to me.'
And they were married in his land, and ruled the kingdom together, and their days were long and joyful until they passed into the land beyond this world."
L'Vek reached out, not caring that Kuvak and Tawny were in the room, and he stroked her face. He wished they were bonded so he could speak to her in her mind, but Tawny broke his reverie when she sighed.
"I love that story," she whispered, her voice no louder than a quiet breath, but he heard it, and he was sure Kuvak heard as well. His cousin smirked and stepped forward, placing his hand gently on her shoulder.
"Would you like to hear a story from our planet?"
She turned to him and nodded enthusiastically, but Kuvak turned to L'Vek. His cousin was not as fluent in English as he, though Kuvak was more familiar with the story.
"If you wish me to tell it, I will," he conceded, "though you may need to help me."
Kuvak nodded, and L'Vek turned to Meskhenet, feeling calmer already. He had a distinct feeling that the disguised prince and Princess Meskhenet were a metaphor for their relationship, and it made a wonderful contented feeling bubble in his stomach. His Meskhenet was in love with him, she would be his soon...there was no need for worry.
"In the days of the Awakening," L'Vek began, his voice steady and even, "when we were turning to logic and peace, there lived a great warrior princess, T'Hya, the daughter of a clan that desired peace as Surak desired peace."
Meskhenet held up a hand. "Who is Surak?"
L'Vek raised his eyebrows. "He is the father of logic as we know it. He turned our people to peace and enlightenment."
Her eyes brightened. "Like Muhammad."
"Or J-Jesus," chimed Tawny. Meskhenet nodded her head at the suggestion and smiled at him.
"I understand. Continue," she murmured.
"She heard of a man who was converting the Vulcan people to a way of peace and non-violence, and logic and control. She journeyed on foot for a fortnight over the burning sands to the plains of fire, where this man was teaching, where, as rumor told it, he had stopped a battle simply by walking in between the warring factions. She found him and found the stories to be true, so she pledged her heart and her clan to his way."
Tawny's eyes were misty, and Kuvak's eyebrows were raised, his expression encouraging. His Meskhenet was staring at him with a gentle expression, and he stroked her face gently at his next words.
"There was another man traveling with Surak and his wife, a priest. His name was T'Klaas, and she loved him. The fires of her blood had not cooled completely, and she found her heart pining for this man, this master of control."
Meskhenet's eyes softened further, and she closed them, listening to his words with rapture.
"He would not have her. He wanted to devote his life to complete control, the complete shunning of emotion and personal bonds, what we call kolinahr.
Though she tried to convince him first with logic, then with passion, to make her his mate, he would not listen. Finally, she came to him with hagash fruit." The tips of Kuvak's ears turned slightly green, and L'Vek smirked wryly. Hagash was nothing to be ashamed of, and if anything, the thought of the fertility fruit made him want to try it on Meskhenet, and make her full with his child.
"It is a fruit from our homeworld that makes the person who consumes it...quite fertile or potent. She used it as a last resort, and seduced him. One night of passion, and she bore him twins, a boy and a girl."
Meskhenet was practically glowing, and he turned his touch to her jawline, no longer telling the story to Tawny and Kuvak, but to her...
"But T'Hya was not satisfied with only bearing him children. He would not become her mate, and so she followed him in the path of kolinahr, to be close to the one she loved in the only way she could. She gave her children to Surak and his wife for them to raise, and they were raised as Surak's own. T'Hya returned to her clan years later, and became a beacon of logic for her family, and for all of Vulcan."
Meskhenet smiled and cupped his cheek. "That's...sad, yet romantic as well...I like it. She must have been a great woman."
"She is the progenitor of our clan," L'Vek replied. "She is our ancestor, Kuvak and I."
She smiled. "I doubt Meskhenet's story is as true as yours, but it may hold truth. It holds truth today," she murmured, then whispered something in Arabic. He quirked an eyebrow and reminded himself to look her words up later.
He heard the door open and turned, and saw the commodore standing there. He looked contrite, and weary, and L'Vek stepped forward, removing himself from Emmie's touch.
"Am I interrupting anything?" the commodore asked.
"Not at all, sir," Emmie answered from behind him. "What can we do for you?"
The human sighed and stepped forward, and L'Vek stiffened. "I came to tell you that Earth authorities have found Carter." He paused. "He's dead. They found him in the Bay."
The edges of L'Vek's vision turned green, and he turned away from the commodore before he exposed his true feelings on the matter. He was Meskhenet's mate, and therefore, he should have been the one to vanquish his rival! It was his duty, it was his right!
The fever in his blood roared at him, demanding for vengeance, but the logical side of him was chiding him vehemently at the dark part of him that was rejoicing in Carter's death, that he thought the only good thing about this was that Meskhenet need not fear this man anymore.
But the thing that cooled his blood, surprisingly, was the stricken look on Tawny's face. It was a frightening visage, her eyes shining with a horror that was beyond fear, as she slowly comprehended the finality of the commodore's words. Kuvak put a hand on Tawny's shoulder, and L'Vek turned back to the human officer.
"Thank you for keeping us updated, commodore," he said quietly, and Forrest nodded. "You may go."
The commodore looked to Emmie, who shrugged, and L'Vek spied a sadness in her eyes that made his blood flare again.
"Such a waste," she whispered, and he straightened, immediately ashamed of himself. "I certainly didn't like the man, but I would have liked to see him behind bars, not dead."
"They found his DNA on the fragments of the explosive," the commodore continued, and L'Vek stiffened again. "He planted that bomb."
L'Vek could no longer be among these people (save Meskhenet), and when she gave him a sympathetic look, he stormed out of the room, muttering to Kuvak about where he was going and for what purpose, and he returned to his quarters and sat down for meditation.
…
They were back in the service hallway, and Tawny, it seemed, could not hold back her tears this time. He did not understand why, but Meskhenet, once L'Vek left, had given Tawny a warm hug, and the look of sympathy on Emmie's face told Kuvak that there was more to this situation than met the eye. He would have to ask Meskhenet about it some other time. He was occupied now with calming his Tawny down.
Despite the sadness of the situation and the horror and anger that was seeping through her skin to him, he found great delight in calling her that. My Tawny.
"Hush, ashal-veh, and hear my words. There is nothing to fear. I am with you. I will care for you, Tawny...I will care for you..."
She buried her face into his tunic and breathed him in, and it seemed to calm her. She continued this, inhaling his scent, and he could feel the primal strings within him pulled taut at her actions. My scent is comfort, he thought to himself. My scent is safety...
Yes, breathe me in, Tawny, breathe me in...make me yours...because soon, I will make you mine...
He shut off his thoughts and held her tighter.
…
T'Via strode down the hallways of the Consulate, her head held high, her thoughts focused on her mission. The last woman to approach L'Vek, T'Keva, was scorned and insulted, for a human woman, no less. Her clan mother was most displeased with this and threatened to sever all ties with T'Mil, but her clan mother sent T'Via to do what T'Keva could not. She had been arranged to see to Minister Kuvak's needs, but L'Vek's situation was more pressing, and therefore it was logical for her to become his mate instead. It did not really matter to her. To marry into the house of T'Hya was a great honor, and one she would see bestowed on her and her family. An alliance that had been planned for generations would not be usurped by some common human.
She pressed on the buzzer of L'Vek's quarters and waited patiently. T'Keva was not persistant; she had abandoned her mission as soon as trouble arose. But T'Via would not be so daunted by competition. L'Vek was hers, and his prestige and power would become hers as well.
The door opened, revealing a minimally dressed L'Vek. He had donned only his meditation robe and some lightweight pants, and she knew his fever must be getting worse if he was so ill-prepared for this visit. She held aloft the water in her hands and spoke the ritual words, but L'Vek tapped the console near the doorjamb, and the door closed in her face.
She fumed silently for a few minutes, then rang the doorbell again. He did not answer, and she turned when she heard footsteps coming down the hall.
Minister Kuvak and a frail-looking blonde human were walking together down the hall. Her eyes were rimmed red, as if she had been crying, and to T'Via's confusion, Kuvak did not look like he was appalled or disgusted with this human. He seemed rather content, and it irked her.
"Osu," she greeted when he came closer. She ignored the human.
Kuvak raised an eyebrow and his eyes darkened. "I would not linger outside my cousin's doorway, since I know he has rejected you. There is no logic in trying again," he said to her in Vulcan. The human frowned at her. "He has made his choice, and she has accepted him. Your services are not required."
She narrowed her eyes slightly before bowing her head in acceptance. "Then, Osu, may I serve you in your time of need?"
"No," he said firmly, his posture stiffening. He turned slightly to the human beside him, then looked back at her. "I too have made my choice."
"Her?" T'Via scoffed, eying the scrawny blonde woman. "She is frail, and she is human. Can she truly give you what you will need, Osu?"
She looked back at Kuvak with self-assurance, but the look in his eyes made her instantly regret her words. His expression was not angry, but rather it was cold, like a biting wind from the icelands of Andoria. He stepped closer to her, towering over her, and he flared his nostrils. She held her ground, but inside she was withering. This was not going as she anticipated.
"You will leave this planet, T'Sai." He spat the word as if it were an insult, and it felt like one, like a slap across the face. "If you are attempting to endear yourself to me, insulting she who has my respect is not a good place to start." He glared at her and stepped away. "Now go, and do not return."
He walked on, the woman hurrying after him, and she watched him go, fear and disappointment growing in her gut. She had insulted a minister of the High Command...this was not how things were supposed to go! What powers did these fragile, erratically emotional humans have over L'Vek and Kuvak? Had they lost their minds?
She let out a short breath and headed for the front desk to arrange lodging here. She would wait. L'Vek would realize his folly, and Kuvak too, when they were in the throes of the fever, and their human companions fled from fear. Then they would see, and she would be waiting.
This wasn't over.