During Ma'el's time on Earth...
The village was beautifully decorated, white flowers all around and a sweet music filled the air. Everything was ready for the wedding and everyone had been invited. Inside the bride's house, the last details were being taking care of.
"You look beautiful, little one," she said to her younger sister.
The young woman, almost a child, turned with a wide smile on her face. "Do you really think so, Amalthea?" she asked, tilting her blond head and staring at her older sister with innocent looking eyes.
Amalthea smiled back and placed a flower on her sister's hair. "Of course, Sheri," she said kindly. "Would I lie to you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Sheri shook her head and then seemed troubled. She lowered her gaze and smoothed her white dress with her slender hands.
"What is it, little one," Amalthea asked, concerned.
Sheri raised her eyes again. "I... I believe you should be... in my place. I... mean... you are the oldest daughter," Sheri managed to explain.
"My dear Sheri," Amalthea began to say reassuringly. "I am twenty six years old. In spite of mother's opinion, I have my life. You know that I am not the... wife type. Besides, I thought you were in love with Erik," she teased the bride.
"Of course I am!" Sheri exclaimed between giggles and then smiled mischievously. "But what about Jason or Earl or Eladan or--"
"Enough," Amalthea interrupted her, rolling her eyes. "They were... are... too... boring," she added shrugging and blushing slightly.
"Indeed," Sheri agreed. "Or perhaps it's that you are too... spirited."
"Maybe," Amalthea said with a wink, laughing. Then, she took her little sister's hand and they were about to go out, when the music suddenly stopped. Startled, they heard menacing yells; horses whinnies and frightened screams.
"Amalthea, what..." Sheri began to say, scared.
"Hush, little one," the redhead encouraged her and silently peeked out through a small opening of the door. She stiffened and went white at the sight. Savage and ruthless masked riders were attacking the village... killing everyone! An incredible fear raised within her. She would not allow those beasts to touch her sister or herself. Quickly, she turned to Sheri, gave her a desperate look and began to block the door.
"Help me to move the table," she said, fighting the panic.
Trembling, the younger woman did as she was told. "Will... this stop... them?" she asked in a whisper.
"I hope so," Amalthea answered softly, embracing her. "Please, stay calm, Sheri," she said, guiding her to the other side of the room and sitting on a corner. Perhaps if they stayed quiet and still, those monsters would not find them. Perhaps if they-- Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a brutal blow on the door.
The sisters exchanged terrified glances.
"Are... they... demons?" Sheri asked, shaking in Amalthea's arms.
Amalthea shook her head and gently stroked Sheri's blond hair. "No, little one, they are just men, horrible men. They--"
She could not finish, as the door was rudely opened and two big and masked men entered. They hurried toward the women and, with a harsh laughter, the men brutally grabbed them.
"Don't touch her!" Amalthea shouted, kicking the man who held her sister and fighting with her own captor.
"Quiet!" her captor spat, cruelly hitting her face, throwing her to the floor, her lips bleeding.
"Amalthea!" Sheri yelled, panicked.
"I am... fine," she said, painfully rising from the floor.
The riders dragged them outside and took them with the remaining living people of the village, scared women and children. Shocked, the sisters saw the slaughtered bodies of their friends and relatives.
"Oh, no! Erik!" Sheri suddenly exclaimed, collapsing in her sister's arms.
"Monsters," Amalthea muttered between tears.
The riders mercilessly laughed at them, enjoying themselves in threatening the already frightened people with their swords. Suddenly, the guards kept quiet and stiffened. They raised their weapons in sign of respect. A tall man -clearly the leader- dressed in a black tunic and with the most hideous mask of all approached.
He looked with obvious disdain at his helpless victims and, for a second, he locked eyes with the red-haired woman. Then, he raised his arm and, with evil eyes shining through his demon-like golden mask, he lowered his arm.
Without a word, following their leader's order, the masked men slaughtered the women and children.
Desperate beyond belief and oblivious to her own pain and the other's screams and cries; Amalthea felt Sheri's body going limp in her arms. Soon, she was not able to hold her. Sheri fell. Seconds later, Amalthea fell over her... and cried for her sister and for her village. "Soon...we... will be... together... little one," she whispered and closed her eyes to wait for the peace of death...
Suddenly, someone rudely pulled her head up. "Look at me!" a cold voice ordered.
Amalthea weakly opened her eyes... to see the horrible leader bent over her. "Coward," she managed to say.
He chuckled and took off his mask. Through her blurred vision, she could only see his steel eyes. "What is your name?" he asked coldly.
"A... Amalthea," she whispered.
"Look at me, Amalthea," he repeated, his cruel eyes fixed upon her. "I am Bethan. I slaughtered your village just because it pleased me. Remember my name, for we will meet again. I could easily take your head now... but that would bring no fun to me," he said enigmatically. Then, he released her. His mad laughter was the last thing she heard... before dying.
After a while, the lifeless body of Amalthea began to shake and, in a sudden burst of energy... she opened her eyes. Startled, she blinked and trembling, she rose from the ground. Still dizzy and confused, she looked around. She froze. It had not been a nightmare. Her home village had been completely destroyed and everyone was dead... including her beloved sister. Blinded by the tears, she knelt and held her tightly. Beyond grief, Amalthea screamed...
"NO!" Amalthea echoed her nightmare's scream. She abruptly woke up, sitting bolt upright, her breathing agitated and her body bathed in a cold sweat. She nervously looked at her surroundings and then relaxed. She was still in her small camp and the fire had long been extinguished. She took a trembling hand to her forehead and sighed. Again she had had that nightmare; again she had relieved that dreadful moment, again she had witnessed Sheri's dead and heard Bethan's mad laughter.
Even though that had happened twenty years ago, she could remember every single detail: the flowers, the white dress of her sister, her innocent looking eyes... but then--
Amalthea shook her head and swept her tears away. *Enough!* She thought, annoyed. There was no point in torturing herself with those passed events that she could not change. Besides, she had already done so for several years...
She sighed deeply and felt suddenly very tired and dirty. Then, seeing the rising sun, she rose from the ground and gathered her few possessions, including a sword and a dagger. Once finished, she ate a little dry meat and fruit and decided that it would be a good idea to go to the nearby lake, as the water had always soothed her.
The image of the lake brought an unexpected smile to her face and, as she thought more and more of the sparkling waters and beautiful trees that surrounded it, she began to forget the nightmare. The lake was located near a small village called Shareb. Its inhabitants were kind and decent people and, since Amalthea had rescued the grand child of the Elder one from the water, they had somehow adopted her. They had invited her unnumbered times to live with them, but she simply had not been able to accept. However, she did enjoy their company, especially Nell's, the little girl she had rescued.
Without losing time and feeling unusually light-hearted, Amalthea went her way to the lake.
******
Feeling the beginning of a new day, the sparkling being walked toward the virtual glass window of his ship and mentally smiled. The light filtering through the green leaves of the trees made a pleasant sight. A moment later, he shook his delicate head and decided to return to his duties. He approached a terminal and waved his hand. A data stream was activated. He checked the information displayed in it and nodded approvingly, the cloaking device of his vessel was working in perfect order. If in any unfortunate event, his ship were to be discovered by strangers, they would only see a huge rock surrounded by vegetation.
He continued reading the floating characters and, once finished, he deactivated the stream and sparkled brighter in anticipation. According to his own notes, he was supposed to study the local inhabitants, the humans. After a year -according to the planet's rotations- of analyzing minerals, vegetation and lower life forms, finally the long awaited moment to interact with more interesting beings had arrived. True, thanks to his previous observations, he had learned the humans were primitive beings, only in the beginning of their civilization, but still, he was excited by the prospect of meeting some of them. This had been one of the reasons he had left his homeworld: to meet, study and learn from other species-- He suddenly sparkled brighter and balled his hands into fists-- before his own kind enslaved them all. How many times had he advice them to change their path? How many times had he warned them that their chosen path would lead them to extinction? He simply could not remember. They just did not listen... How a stubborn and proud beings were his fellow Taelons... And even his beloved child believed that was the only way...
Shaking his head, he forced himself to calm down and focused his mind on the present day.
He went to one of the reflecting walls and looked at his glowing, blue reflection. He concentrated and, slowly, his sparkling exterior changed into a white skin. He smiled. Even though the size of his head and ears was a little bit exaggerated and he had no hair, he was pleased -and somehow surprised- by his 'new opaque' appearance. Only his eyes remained unchanged, glowing blue. He had been practicing the transformation -including common gestures, such us closing and opening his eyes every three seconds or curling his lips up- since the first time he saw the natives, and this had been his best result. He smiled once again, showing his teeth, and decided that he was ready to meet the humans. As a final detail, he opened a big compartment and took off a brown robe he had previously... borrowed from one of the locals -together with other useful items- and put it on. Once completely satisfied with his disguise, he turned to another terminal and activated a three dimensional map he had made of the region. It took him a few minutes to choose the place; he thought it would be more appropriate to meet pacific humans -as he knew there were violent beings as well. It was a placid lake surrounded by vegetation.
He walked to the door and was about to go out, when a good idea occurred to him. He approached another compartment, a small one, took out a little purple bag and some sparkling stones. Tilting his head, he put the stones inside the bag and placed it inside a pocket. They were of no value to him, but maybe the humans would like them and he could offer the stones as a symbol of peace. Then, smoothing his robe one more time, he left the ship. A gentle wind greeted him and with barely contained excitement and joy, he went his way to the lake...
******
After a short and pleasant walk, Amalthea arrived to the lake. She took a deep breath and smiled. Indeed this was exactly what she needed to calm herself; the beautiful trees and the sparkling water really comforted her. She looked around and, once sure she was alone, she unfastened her sword and carefully lay it over a rock. Then she took off her clothes -pants, a loose shirt and a gray robe- and finally unbraided her long red hair.
Still with the grin on her face, she approached the shore and allowed the water to touch her feet. She shivered. It was cold! It did not matter though, as she liked it anyway. She bit her lower lip, and taking a deep breath again, she dove into the cold water. She swam and played, just like a child. Unable to stop herself, she laughed. She blinked in surprise, she had not done so in so much time and it felt so good...
Suddenly, a bird flew away out of a bush, like if someone had scared it. Startled and worried, Amalthea turned to that direction. She did not feel the presence of another Immortal, but still she definitely was in disadvantage... not to mention that she was naked. Abruptly, another bird flew and it was then when she saw a pair of deep blue eyes staring back...
******
Ma'el enjoyed his walk under the trees. Even though the vegetation of the Earth was so different from the one of his homeworld, it had its own, rare beauty...
A few minutes later, he arrived to his destination and his eyes sparkled in anticipation. He had been right in his assumption: one of the locals was there!
He went a little bit closer and hid behind a bush. He realized it was a female and was about to approach her, when suddenly he changed his mind. Her attitude and surveillance of the place suggested that she wanted to be alone. Maybe she would perform some kind of ritual. He remained quiet in his hideout, watching with interest. To his surprise, she took off her clothes and loosened her hair. Ma'el lost his disguise for a second. He had never seen a human without its-- her clothes before... Her body was so different from his, she was so... solid, but still... he found himself strangely pleased by the sight...
Then, as he saw her so content floating in the water, completely unaware of his presence, guilt began to rise within him. As interested as he was, he felt he should not be there, spying on her.
He tilted his head and decided to leave. He moved and turned, but in doing so, he accidentally scared a pair of birds that had been resting on a branch; they flew away. Slightly panicked, the Taelon turned to see if she had noticed him. Startled, he locked his eyes with hers.
Realizing that he had been discovered, Ma'el slowly left the bushes and walked a couple of steps toward her.
Amalthea opened her eyes wide when she saw the pale stranger approaching and, in spite of the cold water, she felt her cheeks -and the rest of her body- burning in embarrassment and in annoyance. She gave a quick glance to her clothes -and sword- and then shot him with a deadly look.
Ma'el blinked and, even though she did not say a word, her look spoke volumes to him. Clearly he was not welcome there. A few minutes passed and Ma'el began to wonder why she did not make any attempt to leave the water. Due to his previous analysis, he knew the liquid had a low temperature and her now purple lips and chattering teeth indicated him that she was cold. Then why--
Suddenly it hit him. It was because of him! That is why she had looked around before taking off her clothes, she had not wanted to be seen without them! She would not leave the water until he stopped... watching. Having nothing else to do and hoping not to be making a mistake, he turned... and waited.
He did not have to wait long. After a short moment, he heard a splashing and, minutes later he heard light footsteps behind him. He turned and saw her standing there. She had dressed herself... and was threatening with some kind of weapon -a sword, he believed it was its name.
He tilted his head. As strange as it was, he felt she would not harm him. He smiled and raised both hands in a peaceful manner.
"I am not going to hurt you," he said softly.
To his dismay, she did not answer, nor did she lower her blade. He blinked and tried again. "Do not be afraid," he added and he was beginning to think he had used the wrong dialect, when unexpectedly she seemed to relax and lowered her sword.
"I am not afraid," she stated seriously, meeting his eyes.
Ma'el suddenly found himself trapped in her deep green stare. He realized she was saying the truth, she was not afraid, she was annoyed. He knew it would be useful -and wise- to apologize, but he simply was not able to take his eyes away from hers. Then, to his surprise -and relief- she abruptly lowered her gaze and blushed in a deep red.
Ma'el shook himself and took the opportunity. Very slowly, for not to upset her, he took a hand to his pocket and took out the bag. Carefully, he opened it and spread the sparkling stones on his delicate hand. Sensing her curiosity, he went a step forward and extended his arm.
"Please," he began to say in his soothing voice, "accept one of these together with my apologies."
Amalthea looked at him with suspicion and, after a moment of hesitation, she approached. In spite of herself, she was curious and, as annoying as it was, she had felt something strange when she had met his blue eyes.
Once close enough, she eyed with surprise the jewels he was offering her. They were beautiful, with vivid colors, sparkling in the morning sunlight.
"Please take one," Ma'el encouraged her, pleased by her acceptance.
She gave him a quick annoyed glance and slowly raised her hand. Unable to stop herself, she held a green jewel and looked at it with delight.
The Taelon smiled, but to his disappointment, she turned serious and returned the stone. She withdrew her hand and went a step back. "I accept your apology, but I cannot accept your jewel," she said seriously.
Ma'el's grin faded. "Did I offend you?" he asked, concerned. This first contact was proving to be more difficult than he had thought.
"You didn't offend me," she said, denying with a shake of her wet head. "It's just that I can't accept such a valuable gift from a stranger," she explained.
Ma'el tilted his head, considering her words, then he smiled again. "Then I shall introduce myself," he said, returning the stones to his bag and then to his pocket. He took a hand to his chest and extended his other arm with his palm up. "I am Ma'el."
She tried that strange name a few times and, once satisfied, she nodded. "Ma'el," she said solemnly, "I am Amalthea."
"Ah'maalthea," he said in his soft voice and at the odd look she gave him, he repeated her name, this time correctly. "Amalthea."
She smiled approvingly. Ma'el smiled back and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by human voices and laughter. Curious, he turned and saw a group of females and young ones approaching. Suddenly, the smallest child, a girl, broke free from her mother's hand and ran to Amalthea.
"Amalthy!" she exclaimed happily, jumping to the redheaded woman's open arms.
Amalthea's grin widened and embraced the child. "Nell! How are you doing, little one?" She asked, rubbing the girl's nose.
"You are wet!" Nell noted between giggles and only then she noticed the pale man standing there. "Who is your friend?" Nell asked with interest.
Amalthea blinked and realized the women had surrounded them and were staring at Ma'el in awe.
"I am Ma'el," he said, greeting the women in the same strange way he had greeted her.
"I am Leila. It is an unusual honor to see one of the great Lords in these faraway lands," the oldest woman respectfully greeted him, with a bow of her head.
Ma'el blinked in surprise at the woman's words. Clearly they believed him to be some important human... male. Yes. It was obvious to him that he appeared to be a male to them... Well, after seeing Amalthea he could understand why. That thought brought an unbidden smile to his face, however, at the sudden annoyed look Amalthea gave him, he turned serious. For a second, he wondered if she knew what was going in his mind, but shaking his head, he quickly dismissed the idea and returned his attention to the women.
"The honor is mine," he said in the same formal tone Leila had used. "Rumors of the beauty... of this region have reached... my own... village, so I decided I wanted to see it with my eyes," he added.
"What do you think now, my lord?" Leila asked, beaming with pride.
Ma'el smiled. "The truth exceeds the rumors," he answered kindly.
The women nodded enthusiastically and one of them, Kala, Nell's mother, turned to Amalthea.
"Amalthea, we didn't know you had such an important friend," she said in a slightly offended tone and, before the redhead could say that she had just met him, Kala smiled and continued. "What a nice surprise!"
Amalthea blushed. "Kala, I..."
"Will you and your friend come to the Crop Festival?" the girl abruptly asked with shining eyes and then cocked her head and took her hands to her waist. "Or did you forget it was today?"
"Nell!" her mother exclaimed and looked embarrassed at Ma'el. "Please, my Lord, forgive my child's enthusiasm," she apologized.
The 'Lord' shook his head. "There is nothing to forgive," he said softly.
Kala sighed in relief and gave a quick glance to Leila. The old woman nodded and smiled at Ma'el. "Kala's daughter spoke our minds, my Lord. We would be honored if you could join our celebration and, as Amalthea's friend, the honor would be double."
He gave a quick glance to Amalthea and seeing that she would not tell the others the truth, he smiled. "It will be my pleasure," he said sincerely and mentally blessed his luck. This day was proving to be really interesting.
******
Once in the village, after introducing himself to the whole community and telling... some stories from his faraway home, Ma'el was quickly and gladly accepted.
Soon the celebrations began.
From his place in the main table, he watched everything with fascination: the decoration, the food set over the table, the colorful clothes, the intriguing interaction between males and females, the games performed by the little ones, the dancing and even the primitive, wooden houses sparked his interest. Suddenly his attention was drawn to Amalthea. She was seated alone, far away from the party. In fact, she seemed to be oblivious to it. She was lost in her thoughts.
"It's a pity," Leila abruptly said, interrupting Ma'el's observations.
He turned his head and gave her a puzzled look. "Please, explain yourself, Leila," he asked.
She sighed. "It's Amalthea. We have known her for two years -since she rescued little Nell from the lake- and I still feel we are not able to reach her. In spite of her youth, I believe something terrible happened to her, but every time we ask her about it, she just smiles and tell us not to worry. We have invited several times to live here with us, but she always denies -And I know of one or two young men who would be more than happy to have her here--" Leila stopped for a moment and shook her white head. "It seems our village brings painful memories to her. I have told her life in the forest is not good for a young woman, but she assures me she can take care of herself... but the sad truth is that Amalthea is alone, only Nell is able to reach her heart," she finished in a whisper.
Taken aback by Leila's story, Ma'el returned his attention to Amalthea and felt the unexplainable need to comfort her.
"Perhaps as her friend, you could be able to help her," the old woman added, as if reading the scientist's mind.
The Taelon blinked and nodded, even though he knew he was not really Amalthea's friend.
Then, they saw Nell approaching her redheaded friend with a dish of food in her hands. A smile lit up Amalthea's face and she rubbed Nell's head, causing the child to giggle.
Ma'el and Leila exchanged amused glances and smiled too.
The day passed quickly and right after the sunset, Ma'el announced his departure. Immediately, the people protested and urged him to stay in Shareb, they even offered him the main house. The Taelon gently declined their offer and, before leaving, he took out the small purple bag and offered the astonished community members the beautiful, sparkling stones. "I would be honored if you accept them," he said, extending his arm.
At Leila's nod, a group of young women approached him. "Can I... take one?" one of them shyly asked.
"Of course," Ma'el answered with a smile. "Take anyone you like... except the green one."
They nodded and, after a while, everyone in Shareb had a stone... everyone, except Amalthea. Oblivious to the talking, she was kneeling by a group of white flowers, contently watching and smelling them. Ma'el looked at her, then at the green stone remaining on his hand and went to her. "May I assume we are not strangers anymore?" he asked, offering her the green stone.
Startled, Amalthea looked up at him and rose.
"Please," he insisted gently, noticing her hesitation. "I mean no harm," he added, tilting his head.
"I know that," she said seriously, "That's why I didn't tell them..." She stopped and slightly blushed.
"That we were not friends," he finished for her. "But that can change... If you want," he said with a grin.
She blinked and, completely defeated by his kindness, she smiled back and accepted the precious gift. "Thank you," she said simply.
Satisfied, Ma'el nodded and, after saying good bye in his unique way, he turned and walked away. She followed him with her gaze and her smiled widened. "Perhaps... we could be... friends... after all," she whispered softly, but abruptly her smile faded as she saw two cloaked figures stepping out from the shadows and following Ma'el. She frowned and her eyes shone dangerously...
******