Mona Lisa Awakening

Chapter Seventeen

A hot shower washed away all my fatigue. Leaving the bathroom, I found Gryphon sitting on my bed, waiting for me, reminding me of the plight I faced. Whom should I choose as my lover? Amber or Gryphon? I loved them both. They both loved me. What choice should I make?

"Forgive me," Gryphon said.

"For what?"

"For what you suffered because of what I did. For almost dying."

"Oh, Gryphon." I reached out a hand and he slowly took it, holding it as if I were oh so fragile. I pressed his dear hand to my face, rubbed my cheek tenderly against it. "Your only fault was in trusting that treacherous bitch."

"They question Mona Louisa and her men even now. Aquila leads a troop of guards back to Sandoor's camp and Mona Carlisse has moved to other quarters with her temporary guards."

"Where is Amber?"

"He is in the adjoining room. He allowed me to stay here with you."

I closed my eyes for a brief, agonizing moment. How was I to choose between them? I released Gryphon's hand and he drew it away. We looked at each other.

"If you so desire, there is yet time before the Trade Festival ends this night," Gryphon said, breaking the fragile silence.

"Trade Festival?"

"Young men mature enough to serve. Mature men released from their Queen's service. Healers, servants, men and women in trade, looking to serve in new territories. The Council will assign you your territory tomorrow. At the very least, you have need of more guards."

"Oh. I'd better dress," I said, hating the sudden awkwardness that had sprung up between us.

"I will leave you then." He slipped away into the adjoining bedroom.

I opened my armoire, noting with sadness that none of Gryphon's clothes were there, only my two donated dresses. I was so tired of wearing black. I took down the blue dress and slipped it on. Something stiff at the waist pricked me. I examined the seams and saw that something other than cloth had been slipped in there on the right side. A small folded piece of paper.

I unfolded the note.

Thaddeus

Our Lady of Lourdes Orphanage

January 5, 1989

My orphanage where I had been left in a basket on the doorstep. Suddenly, vividly, I remembered the dream where Sonia had come to me as I had drifted in unconsciousness, weakened by the aphrodisiac. When she had come to me and pulled me out of that sleepy abyss.

Your brother shall need you soon… I have given you the information, Sonia had promised.

My brother!

The note was the promised information that would guide me to my brother. He would have worn a silver cross like mine, bearing his name. I had a way of finding him now.

Soon, I promised him. I'll find you soon.

The Trade Festival was held on the front lawn. It was a lavish affair with music and dancers. All the Monère were out there is a great spirit of celebration. Queens strolled along in the accompaniment of their large entourage, a pageantry of colors and coats of arms. There were animals walking freely among us—camels, deer, stallions, and cats. Twined about branches, snakes hissed from the trees. One could not tell if they were truly animals or just warriors having fun, shifted into their other form.

Tents were erected to shelter service counselors. Under their shade were tables strewn with lists of Queens from various territories seeking people to fill open positions in their courts. There was an even longer list of Monère, mainly men, youth seeking to service Queens for the first time in their lives, and older men cast out of one Queendom, seeking a position with a new mistress. Several Queens were holding court with a group of young, eager starry-eyed lads seeking positions gathered about them. Wary-eyed older men looked enviously on.

Mona Teresa, the Fire Bitch, was there with her retinue of guards. Her maimed rapist was in conspicuous absence. Her flame-colored hair made her stand out easily, as did the free, possessive manner with which she ran her hands over a preening boy's chest, shoulders, buttocks, and thighs. And the boy wasn't protesting. Quite the contrary; he appeared to be almost ecstatic.

"God, she looks as if she were buying a horse," I muttered in embarrassed disgust.

"More like a stud for her bed," Gryphon replied matter-of-factly. "The eager pups are the ones usually chosen by Queens when they are too young, too virginal to have acquired much power. They will serve for several years in the Queen's bed until they begin to grow stronger. Then they are banished from her sheets to serve among her guards."

Two men stood slightly apart, their stronger emanations of power a silent declaration of their age, though their faces were smooth and unlined.

"Any you recommend?" I asked.

"The light-haired man on the far light," Amber said, gesturing toward the two men I had noted. "Not a bad lad."

A strong recommendation, coming from Amber.

Men's eyes landed curiously upon us. Noting Amber's and Gryphon's medallion chains, they grew more alert, then became confused as we neared enough for them to sense me. I felt like a Queen, but wore a simple blue dress a maid or a servant girl would wear.

The younger boys dismissed me, but the fair-haired man and the other man who stood apart observed me with sharp interest.

I stopped before the «lad» Amber had indicated. A man, really, but no doubt thought of as a boy to someone who numbered over a hundred years in age. He was plain-looking, of average build, with wheat-colored hair and light brown eyes, a few inches taller than I. Nothing extraordinary but for the strong power he radiated about his person, rivaling that of Aquila.

"Milady. High Lords." The man bowed respectfully.

"What is your name?" I inquired.

"Tomas, milady." He pronounced it an odd way, with a slight inflection on the last syllable.

"Why are you here, Tomas?"

"My Queen no longer wished me to serve her," Tomas said, his voice rich with the flavor of the South. The soft twang along with the color of his hair brought to mind sun-kissed wheat fields.

I liked his direct gaze. Opening my senses, I looked deeper. A simple man, I noted. An honest man at heart, with a clear trait or loyalty. I was satisfied with what I found.

"My name is Mona Lisa," I said, searching for words, unsure of the procedure. "I am a new Queen yet to be assigned my territory. I, uh, have one other guard besides Lord Amber and Lord Gryphon, and am looking for another."

Tomas knelt before me, his eyes eager. "I would be most honored to serve you if you will have me, milady."

I hesitated and some of that hopeful gleam faded from his eyes. "I won't be mating with you," I blurted out, feeling my face heat but wanting to make that particular point clear to him. "Does that cause you to change your mind?"

Tomas' eyes lighted once more. "No, milady."

"Oh, good. Um… as long as we're clear on that… then I would love to have you join us."

"Thank you, my Queen," Tomas said fervently. "You will not regret this." He kissed my hand and rose.

"Welcome, brother," Amber said gruffly.

The joy of being accepted brightened Tomas's face, chasing away his plainness, making him look almost handsome. He exchanged a courteous, acknowledging nod with Gryphon.

I felt another man's approach and turned.

"Milady." It was the other older man. He was tall and slender, Gryphon's height but with a wiry leanness and curly brown hair and blue eyes. Something about him felt different, muted somehow. My impression was confirmed when I felt Amber and Gryphon stiffen beside me.

Cautious, painful hope was in his eyes. "I could not help but overhear you, milady. I have had many years of experience as a guard."

It was the hardest thing to say no, I discovered, to someone who looked at you like that. But Amber and Gryphon had not recommended him and they seemed to know him. "I'm sorry…" I said.

"If you will just give me a chance, milady," he urged with quiet intensity.

"I'll give you a chance, Charm," interjected a sly feminine voice.

Chami frowned, dismayed, as Mona Teresa swayed up to him, her guards and new boy toy trotting obediently behind her. "Mona Rosita no longer desires you? Do not worry. I shall find sonic interesting ways to occupy you, my deadly darling," Mona Teresa purred.

Holding my eyes, casting me a quiet plea, Chami said, "I would be willing to serve as a butler, footman, or gardener if you have no need of another guard, milady. Anything."

"You cannot desire to serve her," Mona Teresa said in an angry hiss. "She is a mongrel! A Mixed Blood!"

I turned stricken eyes to Tomas, my new man, when I realized he might not have known that. "I forgot to mention that to you."

Tomas gazed calmly back at me. "I was already aware of that, milady."

Mona Teresa gave Tomas a wily smile. "I am willing to take you into my service as well, Tomas."

"Thank you for your generous offer, milady," Tomas said politely, "but I have already been accepted into Queen Mona Lisa's service."

"If you wish to change your mind…" I ventured.

"I do not wish to change my mind, my Queen," Tomas said firmly.

"You shall regret it!" Mona Teresa snapped with vicious temper. "She will not last long. And when she is gone, you shall come crawling to me." She turned to go. "Come along, Chami."

Chami didn't move. He beseeched me with quiet passion, his blue eyes pleading.

Mona Teresa's voice crackled with warning rage. "I said, come along!"

"Wait." I spoke the word quietly. "Gryphon? Amber?"

Gryphon released a deep sigh of resignation. "Show her your ability, Chami."

With no warning, Chami dropped his shields and I felt him fully for the first time. He was strong. As strong as Gryphon had been when I'd first met him. From Mona Teresa's apparent shock, she hadn't been aware of it. All the other Queens whose service he had passed through probably had had no inkling of his true power, as well.

Chami gave me only a brief moment to feel his full force before he muted it once more, turning it down, down, down. Before my eyes he disappeared. I gasped and would have doubted my own senses but for a faint presence that I could barely detect. He moved and only then could I see him. A bare outline visible only with movement, and hardly noticeable even then. Chami had not faded so much as taken on the coloration and pattern of his surroundings so that he blended perfectly among them and became invisible.

Then he stood before me, visible once again, eyes cast down.

"What is your full name?" I asked.

"Chameleo."

He was a chameleon. The perfect assassin. My deadly darling,

Mona Teresa had called him. I wondered how many Queens he had served. And how many Queens had given him up because not only was he powerful but very, very dangerous.

"Enough!" Mona Teresa screeched. "Come with me now or I shall withdraw my offer!"

Chami's fists clenched but he did not move. "Milady?"

"Look at me," I commanded softly.

Chami lifted his eyes and opened himself to me, dropping his barriers, giving me permission to look deep within him. He was a well of dark complexity, his trait of loyalty a bit blurred. Only time would tell. And I detected a touch of viciousness and cruelty. He would be a gamble.

"I will accept you if Lord Amber and Lord Gryphon are willing to have you," I finally declared.

Hope flared anew in Chami's eyes, deepening the blue almost to violet. Chami turned his face to Gryphon and submitted to Gryphon's probing gaze. Searching with his senses, his power, Gryphon studied him for an intense moment.

Gryphon turned to me. "Do you see what I see in him?"

"Blurred trait of loyalty with a slight propensity for viciousness and cruelty?"

Gryphon tilted his head. "Yes, exactly what I saw. Were you always able to see traits of character within another?"

I thought back. "No, it's something that came to me rather recently. Right after…" My words trailed away. Right after I had first slept with Gryphon. "Could I have gotten my gift from you, from your sharp falcon eyes?" I whispered.

"Does it please you that part of me is now a part of you?" Gryphon asked softly.

"Docs sunlight please the flower? I will cherish your gift always. What do you say about Chami?"

"It's not wise, but… I will accept him with reservations."

"So noted," I said with a small smile. "Amber, how about you?"

"I will abide by your judgment, milady," Amber replied.

I turned back to Chami. "We will be happy to have you join us."

Chami dropped to his knees, kissing my hand with lips that trembled. "Thank you, my Queen."

"No!" Rage spewed from Mona Teresa. "You unnatural bitch! You think you have won? I wish you joy of them. You shall soon find that you have bitten off more than you can handle."

"Well, it certainly would have been more than you could have handled," I said easily.

"You are an obscenity!" Mona Teresa shouted, practically dripping with venom. I was surprised her teeth didn't burst into fangs.

I batted my lashes at her. "Aw, you're just jealous."

Mona Teresa stalked away in a cloud of seething wrath.

"You've made an enemy," Gryphon warned quietly.

I shrugged uncaringly. "She already was my enemy. Nothing has changed."

"She fears you now," Gryphon returned. "That makes her more dangerous."

I arched a brow. "Fears me?"

"How you marked Miles," Amber explained in his deep bass rumble. "There are few injuries the Monère cannot heal."

"In addition to that, five strong warriors serving one Queen… unheard of," Gryphon said thoughtfully. "Adding in your own unusual powerful gifts, all the Queens shall fear you now."

"Nor did recognizing and elevating us to Warrior Lords endear you to the Ladies of Light," Amber noted, reminding me of an important fact.

"I am so glad you did not leave me," I whispered fiercely.

"We are not fools. Why would we choose to depart from the one good thing we have found in over a hundred years?" Amber chided gruffly.

Tomas and Chami observed our brief interplay with wide-eyed fascination.

"Come along," Gryphon said, bestowing a warm smile upon me. "Let us sign the agreements and be done with it."

A counselor was called for the task. He came running with the contracts clutched in his hand and noted down the new placements in his thick ledger. Tomas and Chami both sign their names on their contracts. I signed with bold relish, in large stroking flourish in celebration of my first official act as a Queen. With the transaction consummated, we went to collect their luggage, two small trunks.

Behind us, a voice called out to me. "Mona Lisa."

I turned and saw Jamie. He was with two women, both whom I recognized. "Jamie."

"I want you to meet…" Jamie winced as the two women elbowed him on both sides. "Oops, I'm sorry. I mean, could I have the honor, milady, of introducing my sister, Tersa, and my mother, Rosemary."

Tersa was even smaller than I had imagined, a tiny, delicate creature, half a head shorter than I. I would have felt like an Amazon standing beside her but for her mother. Now there was a true Amazon, standing nearly six feet tall and massive in girth. She had a plump, round face that would probably have been quite pleasant were it not so grim.

"I'm so glad to meet you both." I took Tersa's small hands in mine. She was all delicate bones, like a little bird. "How are you doing?"

"I am well, milady. Healer Janelle attended to me." Tersa's voice was gentle and quiet, like herself. "I wish to thank you for your help."

"All of us thank you, milady," Rosemary, the Amazon, interjected feelingly. "May the Goddess bless you for coming to my daughter's rescue."

I squeezed and released Tersa's tiny hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't have done more." Sorry I hadn't been able to stop the rape. "I regret not killing the bastard. Was he punished?"

Jamie shook his head angrily, sending his russet curls flying. "His Queen, Mona Teresa, was given a small reprimand. She, of course, did not punish him." He straightened his shoulders, a boy shouldering the responsibilities of a man. "Milady, my mother, sister, and I would like to serve you if you will have us."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You all have good positions here at High Court. I… I don't even know what territory I will be getting."

"It doesn't matter where you go," Jamie said passionately. "We'll follow you anywhere."

"I'm one of the best cooks," Rosemary declared. Not bragging, just stating a fact. "Tersa is a good maid and Jamie will make you a fine footman."

"I have five guards now. I don't know if I can support more than that." I looked to Gryphon for guidance.

"You will have income from various businesses and property that come with your territory," Gryphon said.

I absorbed that quietly, then spoke plainly to Rosemary, stating the real reason for my hesitance. "Your children will only be more of a target if they are with me."

"Being here at High Court did not protect them," Rosemary rejoined, just as bluntly. "We'll take our chances with you. At least you'll try. No one else will do even that."

Three more lives I would be responsible for. Only they were weaker, unable to protect themselves, and far more vulnerable. Could I do it? How could I not? It was because of me that their lives had been thrown into turmoil. Tersa, a Mixed Blood like me, had been raped to draw me out. But if I, a Mixed Blood, didn't protect others of my type, who would?

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes!" they answered unanimously.

I prayed to God that I was strong enough for their trust. "Then I gladly welcome you into our family. I promise I will do my best to keep you safe and happy."

They knelt and kissed my hand. I pulled them up and squeezed Jamie and Tersa's hands. "I've always wanted a brother and sister."

I told them, smiling.