Chapter Thirteen- God Commands
Isaiah 1:2- "Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken.."
The ride to Maalar was a trying one for Tielle. Her emotional burdens were overwhelming her. It was just so much, the combination of Chayden's betrayal, Hidon's occupancy, Hidon's plague that had struck her father, and the pretense of being someone else. It was just so much.
But especially Chayden's infidelity. Tielle had thought that he cared for her, maybe even loved her, even if he had never actually said the words, but he obviously didn't, and that hurt Tielle more than she would have thought it would for reasons she didn't want to explore. The fact that she was so hurt showed that she did indeed care for him, and although she had never labeled it *love*, she was beginning to think it might be..
*No! I don't love Chayden,* she told herself. *I can't love Chayden- he doesn't love me. And if I loved him, I would have forgiven him about the whole Shaina thing, right? I didn't, though, so I obviously don't love him.*
*Oh no?* A sneaky little voice in the back of her countered. *But remember when you were on Fareari and had just been miraculously healed? Chayden told you then that he loved you.*
*Yeah, but who knows if it was true or not, and even if it was true at the time, he certainly hasn't bothered to tell me lately. He doesn't love me, and I don't love him.*
*Maybe you do, and it was only your pride that stopped you from forgiving him.*
*I do not love him!* Tielle told herself so forcefully that any nagging voices that had existed fled, and she was left alone with her musings. She wearily closed her eyes. Was she only nineteen? She felt as though she was an old, old woman reflecting on a life of hardships and trials.
*Like Jenai.* The thought popped, unbidden, into Tielle's mind, and the image of the shrunken old woman filled her mind. *I wonder how Jenai is doing? If she's gotten her daughter out of slavery or not?*
Tielle quickly uttered a silent prayer for the hospitable woman who had been so generous to Chayden and her. *Dear Lord, please protect Jenai and her daughter. May You deliver her daughter from slavery and bring her back to Jenai.*
Tielle realized with a start that that was the first time she'd prayed in a long while, and so continued to pray, asking for help with her mission and praying for Hidon's deliverance from both Fareari and the mysterious illness.
She didn't even know how much her one sentence for Jenai's protection was needed.
**
Gen neared her home, weary after a long day full of trials. The SLF had so far been unable to free any more slaves on Surlow, although they had hinted at a mass slave-freeing coming soon, but had refused to play favorites and try to get a particular slave out.
Of course, Gen knew they would change their minds if she had enough money. But she didn't, and that was the problem..
Heaving a deep sigh, Gen was about to head down the alley to her apartment when she noticed a man sitting on the curb, enjoying a cigarette. He had the tattered clothing of the homeless, and the same slump to his shoulders, but when he glanced at her, Gen saw that he was the same man who had been in the store where she had been shopping that same day, except then his clothing had been that of an average middle-class Surlow citizen..
*Get out of here!* Everything within Gen screamed, and she turned and quickly started walking the other way. *They're after you!*
The question was, who were "they"? Surlow officials, probably, after her because of her connections with the SLF.
Which meant that they'd be watching her as long as she stayed on Surlow. Gen sighed. But where else could she go?
*Don't leave Surlow.*
The words came through with crystalline clarity, and Gen instinctively knew to trust them. *All right then; I'm not leaving Surlow.*
She glanced over her shoulder and to her horror saw the homeless man get up and casually follow her. She quickly turned her head back and narrowed her eyes. *So the officer wants to pick on a poor old woman? Well, we'll see who knows the back alleys better.*
And so Gen started darting through alleys and over fences, past abandoned buildings and through yards, and although she knew perfectly well where she was, she knew that the man following her would be hopelessly lost.
Smiling slightly, Gen wandered the streets to a friend's house, looking for a sanctuary.
**
Harati contacted Klane that morning, trying to keep his somber disposition but not completely being able to keep a smug smile off his face.
"You have good news?" Klane asked cynically.
"Yes, sir. Through the interrogation of a black market ship dealer, we found that a man resembling Chayden P'ashara, although with darker hair, traded a shuttle in for another. We scoured all the docking records of spaceports all over the galaxy and finally got lucky and found where they went."
"Yes? Where?" Klane eagerly asked, impatience and excitement coloring his voice. He finally had them!
"Diresh, sir," Harati replied, the smirk coming full force now. "As we speak, our people are scouring Paeona, the capital city, for any sign of your niece or the ex-prince."
"Excellent!" Klane exclaimed, allowing a smile to spread across his face. "This is excellent news, Commander. Continue the search, and when you find them-" the smile shrank and became a subtle smirk full of malice, "kill them."
**
Chayden returned to the colony, yawning and eager to go to bed. It had been a long night, and he was both physically and emotionally drained.
But rest was not anywhere in his immediate future, as he found out when he entered the colony and people began to spill out into the dusty street. "Raynani!" a burly man, Entos, Chayden reminded himself, "where's your *sister?"*
Why there was the strange emphasis on "sister", Chayden didn't know, and neither did he care. "She went to Fareari. She was getting tired of this life and couldn't handle it anymore, so she's gone."
"Uh-huh," Entos replied, crossing his arms. "Do you really expect us to believe that?"
Chayden frowned as a growing unease crept upon him. "What do you mean?"
"He means that we know your little secret?" Shaina pushed her way to the front of the growing mob and sneered at Chayden. "Did you think we were that stupid? Did you think we wouldn't figure it out?"
*Do they know who I am? Who Tielle is?* Panic welled up in Chayden, and he prayed to God for help. "What are you talking about?" he insisted. "What secret?"
" 'What secret'," Shaina laughed maliciously at him. "So, who is Ella? Your wife? Girlfriend? Or are you just in the habit of kissing your sisters?"
*They know. Oh God, they know that Tielle and I were lying, and that we're- * what? In love? Tielle sure didn't seem to love him, even if he loved her.
*And I do,* Chayden realized, and it was in that moment that he knew that he would never love another the way he did Tielle. Everything about her- her mesmerizing looks, so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her when she was in the same room; her fiery spirit and indomitable will, the will that had allowed her to endure torture and death and emerge stronger; her unshakable faith and knowledge in God that could not be broken even as her world was overcome and then infected by an incurable disease; her sense of sacrifice and willingness to give everything, including her life, for her planet and for anything she truly believed in; and her laugh and smile and the way her eyes lit up when she was happy and the way Chayden felt when he made her happy -added up to something he'd never felt before, and even though he was only eighteen, a mere child in the galaxy, he knew that his love for Tielle was not a fleeting emotion, here and gone like the seasons. How could it be? They had seen so much together, and overcome so much together. He wanted to continue that; he wanted to do *everything* with her, everything for the rest of his life.
"Why are you smiling?" Shaina snapped at him, and he realized that he had completely forgotten about the matter at hand in his thoughts about Tielle. "Well?" Shaina growled again, and Chayden laughed.
"You're right, Shaina, Ella is not my sister. Her name isn't even Ella. Heck, my name isn't Chanh."
"Then who is she? And who are you?" Entos snarled.
Chayden smiled again. There was nothing these people could do to him- even if they killed him, he would just be with God that much sooner.
Although he would like to live to see Tielle again, and tell her that he loved her. *Could you manage that, Lord? I'd really like it.*
"Who are you?" Entos repeated, and Chayden replied pleasantly, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you who we are. You see, there are people who want to kill us, and I don't want them knowing who we are."
He turned and started walking home-
**
The blond fell onto the road, not being able to stand Entos's heavy hit to the back of his head. Tesian averted her gaze as the large man kicked Chanh- or whatever his name was -and the crowd roared.
"Mom!" Rashea looked to her mother. "Make them stop!"
*A family of Mine. Protect them, daughter. Do not let harm come unto them!*
They were the same words as Tesian had heard from God long before, but this time they were repeated with more urgency. *Let not harm befall them!*
"These people can't be them, Lord," Tesian whispered. "They are not a family."
*Protect them!*
"But God-"
*I have sent My answer to cries for deliverance. Do not let harm befall them!*
"*They* are your answer? But they're nothing more than teenagers!"
*Protect them!*
The young man made a groaning noise as he stirred, but Entos kicked him again to shut him up.
*PROTECT THEM!* The voice screamed at Tesian as she closed her eyes in a vain attempt to close off Chanh's groans of anguish.
The ride to Maalar was a trying one for Tielle. Her emotional burdens were overwhelming her. It was just so much, the combination of Chayden's betrayal, Hidon's occupancy, Hidon's plague that had struck her father, and the pretense of being someone else. It was just so much.
But especially Chayden's infidelity. Tielle had thought that he cared for her, maybe even loved her, even if he had never actually said the words, but he obviously didn't, and that hurt Tielle more than she would have thought it would for reasons she didn't want to explore. The fact that she was so hurt showed that she did indeed care for him, and although she had never labeled it *love*, she was beginning to think it might be..
*No! I don't love Chayden,* she told herself. *I can't love Chayden- he doesn't love me. And if I loved him, I would have forgiven him about the whole Shaina thing, right? I didn't, though, so I obviously don't love him.*
*Oh no?* A sneaky little voice in the back of her countered. *But remember when you were on Fareari and had just been miraculously healed? Chayden told you then that he loved you.*
*Yeah, but who knows if it was true or not, and even if it was true at the time, he certainly hasn't bothered to tell me lately. He doesn't love me, and I don't love him.*
*Maybe you do, and it was only your pride that stopped you from forgiving him.*
*I do not love him!* Tielle told herself so forcefully that any nagging voices that had existed fled, and she was left alone with her musings. She wearily closed her eyes. Was she only nineteen? She felt as though she was an old, old woman reflecting on a life of hardships and trials.
*Like Jenai.* The thought popped, unbidden, into Tielle's mind, and the image of the shrunken old woman filled her mind. *I wonder how Jenai is doing? If she's gotten her daughter out of slavery or not?*
Tielle quickly uttered a silent prayer for the hospitable woman who had been so generous to Chayden and her. *Dear Lord, please protect Jenai and her daughter. May You deliver her daughter from slavery and bring her back to Jenai.*
Tielle realized with a start that that was the first time she'd prayed in a long while, and so continued to pray, asking for help with her mission and praying for Hidon's deliverance from both Fareari and the mysterious illness.
She didn't even know how much her one sentence for Jenai's protection was needed.
**
Gen neared her home, weary after a long day full of trials. The SLF had so far been unable to free any more slaves on Surlow, although they had hinted at a mass slave-freeing coming soon, but had refused to play favorites and try to get a particular slave out.
Of course, Gen knew they would change their minds if she had enough money. But she didn't, and that was the problem..
Heaving a deep sigh, Gen was about to head down the alley to her apartment when she noticed a man sitting on the curb, enjoying a cigarette. He had the tattered clothing of the homeless, and the same slump to his shoulders, but when he glanced at her, Gen saw that he was the same man who had been in the store where she had been shopping that same day, except then his clothing had been that of an average middle-class Surlow citizen..
*Get out of here!* Everything within Gen screamed, and she turned and quickly started walking the other way. *They're after you!*
The question was, who were "they"? Surlow officials, probably, after her because of her connections with the SLF.
Which meant that they'd be watching her as long as she stayed on Surlow. Gen sighed. But where else could she go?
*Don't leave Surlow.*
The words came through with crystalline clarity, and Gen instinctively knew to trust them. *All right then; I'm not leaving Surlow.*
She glanced over her shoulder and to her horror saw the homeless man get up and casually follow her. She quickly turned her head back and narrowed her eyes. *So the officer wants to pick on a poor old woman? Well, we'll see who knows the back alleys better.*
And so Gen started darting through alleys and over fences, past abandoned buildings and through yards, and although she knew perfectly well where she was, she knew that the man following her would be hopelessly lost.
Smiling slightly, Gen wandered the streets to a friend's house, looking for a sanctuary.
**
Harati contacted Klane that morning, trying to keep his somber disposition but not completely being able to keep a smug smile off his face.
"You have good news?" Klane asked cynically.
"Yes, sir. Through the interrogation of a black market ship dealer, we found that a man resembling Chayden P'ashara, although with darker hair, traded a shuttle in for another. We scoured all the docking records of spaceports all over the galaxy and finally got lucky and found where they went."
"Yes? Where?" Klane eagerly asked, impatience and excitement coloring his voice. He finally had them!
"Diresh, sir," Harati replied, the smirk coming full force now. "As we speak, our people are scouring Paeona, the capital city, for any sign of your niece or the ex-prince."
"Excellent!" Klane exclaimed, allowing a smile to spread across his face. "This is excellent news, Commander. Continue the search, and when you find them-" the smile shrank and became a subtle smirk full of malice, "kill them."
**
Chayden returned to the colony, yawning and eager to go to bed. It had been a long night, and he was both physically and emotionally drained.
But rest was not anywhere in his immediate future, as he found out when he entered the colony and people began to spill out into the dusty street. "Raynani!" a burly man, Entos, Chayden reminded himself, "where's your *sister?"*
Why there was the strange emphasis on "sister", Chayden didn't know, and neither did he care. "She went to Fareari. She was getting tired of this life and couldn't handle it anymore, so she's gone."
"Uh-huh," Entos replied, crossing his arms. "Do you really expect us to believe that?"
Chayden frowned as a growing unease crept upon him. "What do you mean?"
"He means that we know your little secret?" Shaina pushed her way to the front of the growing mob and sneered at Chayden. "Did you think we were that stupid? Did you think we wouldn't figure it out?"
*Do they know who I am? Who Tielle is?* Panic welled up in Chayden, and he prayed to God for help. "What are you talking about?" he insisted. "What secret?"
" 'What secret'," Shaina laughed maliciously at him. "So, who is Ella? Your wife? Girlfriend? Or are you just in the habit of kissing your sisters?"
*They know. Oh God, they know that Tielle and I were lying, and that we're- * what? In love? Tielle sure didn't seem to love him, even if he loved her.
*And I do,* Chayden realized, and it was in that moment that he knew that he would never love another the way he did Tielle. Everything about her- her mesmerizing looks, so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her when she was in the same room; her fiery spirit and indomitable will, the will that had allowed her to endure torture and death and emerge stronger; her unshakable faith and knowledge in God that could not be broken even as her world was overcome and then infected by an incurable disease; her sense of sacrifice and willingness to give everything, including her life, for her planet and for anything she truly believed in; and her laugh and smile and the way her eyes lit up when she was happy and the way Chayden felt when he made her happy -added up to something he'd never felt before, and even though he was only eighteen, a mere child in the galaxy, he knew that his love for Tielle was not a fleeting emotion, here and gone like the seasons. How could it be? They had seen so much together, and overcome so much together. He wanted to continue that; he wanted to do *everything* with her, everything for the rest of his life.
"Why are you smiling?" Shaina snapped at him, and he realized that he had completely forgotten about the matter at hand in his thoughts about Tielle. "Well?" Shaina growled again, and Chayden laughed.
"You're right, Shaina, Ella is not my sister. Her name isn't even Ella. Heck, my name isn't Chanh."
"Then who is she? And who are you?" Entos snarled.
Chayden smiled again. There was nothing these people could do to him- even if they killed him, he would just be with God that much sooner.
Although he would like to live to see Tielle again, and tell her that he loved her. *Could you manage that, Lord? I'd really like it.*
"Who are you?" Entos repeated, and Chayden replied pleasantly, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you who we are. You see, there are people who want to kill us, and I don't want them knowing who we are."
He turned and started walking home-
**
The blond fell onto the road, not being able to stand Entos's heavy hit to the back of his head. Tesian averted her gaze as the large man kicked Chanh- or whatever his name was -and the crowd roared.
"Mom!" Rashea looked to her mother. "Make them stop!"
*A family of Mine. Protect them, daughter. Do not let harm come unto them!*
They were the same words as Tesian had heard from God long before, but this time they were repeated with more urgency. *Let not harm befall them!*
"These people can't be them, Lord," Tesian whispered. "They are not a family."
*Protect them!*
"But God-"
*I have sent My answer to cries for deliverance. Do not let harm befall them!*
"*They* are your answer? But they're nothing more than teenagers!"
*Protect them!*
The young man made a groaning noise as he stirred, but Entos kicked him again to shut him up.
*PROTECT THEM!* The voice screamed at Tesian as she closed her eyes in a vain attempt to close off Chanh's groans of anguish.
