Chapter 5 : The Strength of Brotherhood
The Beginning of King Elieon's reign upon the moon, year 586
Pella, Mars
The Festival of Anubus, The Marian God of war
"Alexander!" the Marian king greeted his guest warmly, a deep smile lighting his tanned scared face. "It has been too long my friend."
King Alexander of Venus clasped King Tarquinius I's armored arm in friendship. Like brothers were the two kings. As boys they had been taught by the same tutor and nurtured by families whom had a great deal of respect and admiration for one another. The populations of both Venus and Mars had always behaved very friendly with each other, most Venian and Marian families having at least married member whom had come from the opposite planet.
"The days grew bitter in your absence, Tarquinius." Alexander replied a wide grin spread across his slightly tanned handsome features.
Tarquinius' jovial face brightened as he spoke, "Come. My servants have prepared a feast for you in your honor. You must be famished after your journey. I only hope that my planet's cuisine appeals to your richly conditioned palliate."
"Everything about your planet appeals to me." Alexander replied as both he and the king of Mars began walking to the large red tent which had been constructed for the feast, the Venian king studying the light blue of the sky in contrast with the dark orange of the sun. "Even the climate. I had forgotten the scolding temperatures. On Venus the sun is comfortingly warm, not scalding hot."
Ares laughed, "Even so, I do not rebuke the sun for its chosen intensity here. That simply means that the sun gods favor us more."
"Its been a great many years and yet I have returned here." Alexander said turning to Tarquinius, "Although my people are not too fond of my journeying here so close to Adonis's Festival, but for you I would sacrifice any holiday."
Tarquinius grinned broadly his dark features warming, but a bemused expression passed over his face and the Marian king raised one dark eyebrow in confusion, "But where is your queen and you lovely daughters? Surely you did not abandon them simply for the Festival of Anubus."
"They volunteered to remain home." Alexander answered, "I tried to dissuade them, but my wife insisted on staying. She said, 'A kingdom's heart resides in its women and where would that heart be need more than here.' Apparently, though, my daughters will be visiting me here in a few days, thanks to my delicate persuasion of their mother."
"Has Sana married yet?" the Marian king inquired lightheartedly of his friend's eldest daughter.
"No." Alexander sighed as they entered the tent destined for the feast, "I honestly do not know why she is so choosey. I have brought before her eligible princes from every planet and even some of the lesser nobility and yet she refuses them all. She dreams of her ideal lover while shutting all of the real potential loves out. I swear by the mother Goddess's veil, I will never understand my child's ways."
The Marian king sat down on a chair draped in red and gold silk and motioned Alexander to sit in a similar one across from him. "Perhaps she has simply not found the right prince yet."
Alexander rubbed his brow tiredly, "I do not know what precisely it is you are hinting at, but I do not see how that could be possible. I have literally thrown princes at her and yet she refuses to marry. If the fates had assigned you to my position as a father, what would you suggest?"
Tarquinius smiled like a wolf dreaming of a juicy meal, "I have just the solution you desire, my friend."
"And pray tell what would that be?" Alexander asked eyeing the newfound expression on Tarquinius' face with trusting curiosity and a short laugh.
"Marry her off to me." the Marian king interjected plainly.
"What!" Alexander asked with a sudden start as his earlier mirth left him. "But Tarquinius she-"
"I have never been married, nor has she and let us face reality, Alexander; a king needs a wife and your daughter would make a very beautiful bride. She is headstrong and the most beautiful woman on Venus. Be rest assured, my friend, it is her kind heart I love, not her appearance." the Marian kind reassured with a genuine smile this time, the hopeful light of his childhood registering in his dark eyes.
Alexander knew that the Marian king meant his daughter no harm, but the way in how he had worded his defense worried him, yet how could he deny such an offer from a man who was closer to him than any brother? Did Tarquinius not deserve to be happily married as he himself was? Did his daughter not deserve someone of great reputation and yet no one prince Alexander had ever heard of could best Tarquinius strength of character.
"I will think on the matter." Alexander answered with a comforting smile, as if jesting, "These sort of arrangements take time, Tarquinius. Of course you do not want to rush into a commitment such as this, besides it will all matter on how my daughter takes to you upon her arrival here."
"She has always treated me well enough." Tarquinius quipped as he lightly laughed "Besides, do you think that just because she would oppose me that I would stake claim to the Lunarian law and beat her for it? I am not that kind of man Alexander, you know me too well for having fear of such things."
"I must admit, that until you brought them up, I had a conception of no such fears. You certainly have changed in these past years, old friend." Alexander replied his features somewhat wearier than before.
"Well, it will not be long until Lunarian laws prevail. King Elieon of the moon is growing ever stronger. Mark my words, brother, he will be king over all the planets one day. So naturally if this is to be a Lunarian world then we must conform and become part of it." Tarquinius stated pouring himself another goblet full of wine.
Alexander appeared uneasy. The jubilant atmosphere which had earlier surrounded the two kings was now very tense and indirect. In an effort to break the awkward silence, King Tarquinius smiled and clapped for his servants whom entered the tent immediately carrying wooden trays of goblets of many wines and platters of tartly roasted meet and spicy cheese stuffed bread. The Marian palliate was such that they enjoyed unsavory sharp tastes which populations of other planets tried to avoid in their cuisine.
There was an open flap on the ceiling of the red tent through which showed the sun. The outlining sky, once baby blue, had now turned to a vehement shade of crimson, even to dark in color for the orange sun. This was not a rare occurrence. The Marian atmosphere was such that, depending on the time of day and on the sun's intensity, the sky would change color quickly due to the red gases in the atmosphere which also caused the planet its extreme heat and red color from afar. That was one of the reasons Mars did not appear so inviting to foreign visitors. The Marian sky, the color of freshly shed blood…
"My Lord Alexander?" a servant's voice brought the Venian king out of his revere.
A servant clad in long ,red satin tunic and ebony belt with a long knife hanging down from it in its sheath, dotted with gold; knelt before Alexander holding a golden pitcher in one hand while balancing a golden bowl filled to the brim with herbed liquid in the other and a white drying cloth over his arm. The Venian king rolled up his golden sleeves to his elbows and dipped his hands in the herb scented oil inside the golden bowl before him and then reached for the drying cloth.
"I had forgotten this custom." Alexander commented to Tarquinius as the same servant from before knelt before the Marian king with the pitcher and bowl of oil.
"To eat is a sacred act and so one must purify his hands before he is allowed to partake of the meal." The Marian king explained as he dipped his hands in the herb scented oil. "Food is not a commodity her as it is on Venus. For centuries my people have struggled to survive under harsh conditions, laboring with little food and less water. Only when my grandfather became king did the troubles lessen when he agreed to open our borders to trade with the other planets."
"Yes, I remember, although I was only a young boy at the time." Alexander recalled, "The first planet he opened trade negotiations with was Venus because in our borders merchandise and commodities of every planet, even from far away galaxies, course through our market system. If you cannot find what you desire on another planet, you will never cease to find it in great quantities on Venus. Rare spices, scarce fabrics, precious jewels, dark woods, maps of uncharted isles, expensive delicacies, sparse sweet meats and exquisite fruits; one could find all of these within our marketplaces. It was a wise choice for your grandfather to come to us for aid."
"Indeed." The Marian king replied quietly as his dark eyes starred down dejectedly into the burgundy depths of his wine goblet. "Your people have so much, they are so carefree…they even mate in the day light, it is a wonder they prevented themselves from becoming fattened and bored before we shared in their bounty."
The Marian king chanced a glance up at Alexander. There was envy present in the dark features of the scarred Marian features. Alexander suddenly felt ashamed of his boastfulness. True to form, the Venians were the most indulgent people out of all the planets and this stemmed from their access to everything they could ever need and more. The people of Mars had never had that luxury. Every Marian citizen had been forced to labor gruelingly just to scrape up enough food to eat every day and with the fact that Mars was made up of a number of large warring tribes, peace was almost unattainable.
Even deciding the king of Mars was a risky business. The leaders of every tribe had staked their right to rule the planet as of what happened on most planets in these situations, the majority bested the minority. Their name was the Shinti and they were the largest tribe to inhabit the westward lands of Mars. They pitched forward, the Tarquins, their ruling family as the dominate of Mars. In order to quell any resistance to their chosen leaders, the Shinti went under cover of darkness and murdered every other potential threat to their supremacy. That was how King Tarquinius's grandfather had come to rule, he was the first official king of Mars to be recognized by the other planetary leaders.
The people of Mars were one to be reckoned with. Every person had to be able to fed for themselves. Young males were expected if not crassly encouraged to fight one another as a way of toughening the boys to one day become men. Young women were trained to be entirely self sufficient, cooking, cleaning, hunting, farming, and protecting those in their care with no hope for anything better for themselves other than one day marrying and producing children. It was a hard life here, and only the strong survived. Alexander would not wish the same hardships upon the people of his planet, for he knew they would not survive them.
Tarquinius's expression eased and he smiled, "Come let us eat, it has been a long journey for you I am sure."
A servant, clad in much the same way as the wash boy had been, approached Alexander and knelt at his feet holding a platter of roasted meats. Handing the Venian king a iron plate, a long haired woman entered opposite the man holding the platter of meat and began carving up the roast.
She then balanced a large chunk of juicy meat upon the her knife edge and then placed the piece of brawn upon Alexander's plate. She then turned her dark eyes up at him and smiled shyly, she was a Marian beauty that was for certain, with black hair tied with a golden string cascading down her dark back. Alexander could not place her, but the woman seemed familiar.
Tarquinius noticed his friend's appreciative stare and interceded upon his behalf, "You do remember my sister, Eshe. She has long awaited your return."
"Oh, yes!" Alexander exclaimed in joy as the memory of the tan little girl whom used to tag after he and Tarquinius on their way to lessons, "It has been a long time, Eshe, and as always your legendary beauty shines bright."
"Thank you, my lord." the princess smiled every movement she made in slicing the meat and preparing the green vegetables around it, gracefully carried out.
"There should be no formalities between such familiar friends. Please refer to me as, Alexander." The Venian king replied.
Eshe then returned her attentions to the task at hand and as soon as the Venian king's plate was filled with roast meat and greens, she turned her attention over to her brother's plate and began to carve pieces of meat out for him. All of this she did and was observed in silence by both her grinning brother and the furiously blushing Venian king.
As soon as the princess left the tent, Tarquinius addressed Alexander, "She is a true beauty is she not?"
"Yes." Alexander answered, finding his mouth suddenly dry. "She must have a very fortunate husband."
"No, I am afraid that my sister is as stubborn as your daughter when it comes to choosing a husband." Tarquinius said, then slyly quipped, "But that does not exclude you from attracting her affections. Do you remember when we came back from a hunt one day in our tenth year and you returned injured? Oh how she fawned over you that day. She even took great care of your wound after you had drifted off to sleep, telling off many of my father's finest healers in the process. It was a wondrous day. She never spoke of it after that, but I was certain that she had lost her heart to you."
Alexander smiled at the memory, "I do remember that day. I spent the majority of it drifting in and out of consciousness while she mended my wounds." but then the sudden reality struck him, "Tarquinius I am married. What type of king suggests to another a treasure which they may never possess?"
Tarquinius shrugged his broad shoulders, "What is the phrase on Venus, 'Men are like stallions, they must charm all of the mares in the herd'?"
"Yes." Alexander resigned with a sigh recognizing the phrase associated with a native fable of his homeland.
"Besides do not most of your people live by the philosophy that their lives may end at any moment so they should put their worries aside and live for the thrill of the moment? So tonight the festivities begin, a time when my people enjoy the moment. If you truly do care for Eshe at least bask in her company. Simply because you are married does not mean that you cannot enjoy the attention my sister gives you."
Alexander thought for a moment. He had never been unfaithful to his wife and he did not plan to start here. Yet he still wished to thank Eshe for her kindness in taking care of him all of those long years ago and could not hide from her company. To his surprise, he found he enjoyed her company compared to that of many others. She was comforting to him and something inside him told the king that he needed to be comforted now.
"I will attend the festivities with you and your sister this night, Tarquinius, but expect no more of me than what I am willing to offer." Alexander answered. An uneasy feeling told Alexander that there was something more than mere friendly encouragement behind the Marian king's next words.
"Then so be it." the Marian king smiled, "My sister will be yours this night in the company you keep, but be kind to her."
"I promise you I shall." Alexander said lightheartedly, pushing back his earlier worries ,his heart lightening at the thought of the Marian beauty.
"I know." Tarquinius smiled, the wolfish grin returning to his face in anticipation of the coming night of festivities.
Author's note: I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. Please R & R!