The Princess of Q’fahr
By Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2005
“Will the defendant please rise?”
I stood along with my lawyer and faced the bald,
bespectacled Judge Green. I could hear Mom and my sister Dawn, barely stifling
their crying behind me. A few minutes before, the jury foreman announced their
verdict of guilty on two of the five charges of assault.
I made a quick glance over at the twelve worthless
weasels on the jury. I didn’t know any of them, of course. But now their
faces were indelibly etched into my memory. If I saw them on the street, would
I be able to refrain from telling them exactly what I thought of them?
“William Monroe,” said the judge. “You have been
found guilty by a jury of your peers on two counts of assault. These are very serious
charges and since you are eighteen, this conviction will remain part of your
permanent record.” The judge looked over his glasses at the sprinkling of
people in the courtroom and continued. “While some people may find your
actions justifiable, this community simply cannot allow people to take the law
into their own hands.”
The judge paused a moment, removed his glasses long
enough to scan some papers before him. He clasped his hands and looked at me
as he said, “Due to the nature of the circumstances during which you committed
said assault, and it being your first offense, I am allowed some discretion in
sentencing.”
I thought briefly back to that afternoon four months
before, when I arrived home early after having exceeded my allotted hours on my
job at the book store. I didn’t think anything of the beat up old truck parked
in the driveway. The old pickup belonged to Jack Henderson. He had posted a
want ad for handy man work and after checking out some of his references, Dad
had hired him few weeks ago to do yard work and various maintenance jobs around
the house. The garage door was open and my sister’s Neon was parked inside.
I entered the house through the garage and didn’t see
anyone in the living room or kitchen. I guessed Dawn was back in her room. I
knew that Mom and Dad wouldn’t be home yet. I looked out into the back yard,
and besides the dog, was empty as well. Jack had spent yesterday repairing our
fence.
I heard a muffled cry coming from down the hall. I
headed down the hall towards Dawn’s room, thinking she might have stubbed her
toe or something.
My eyes went wide as I looked through the open door of
my sister’s bedroom. Dawn was lying on her bed, kicking and squirming trying to
wriggle free from the grasp of some large man bent over her, his pants down
around his ankles. Dawn was stripped down to her underwear, her clothes ripped
from her.
It was then I realized the man was Jack Henderson! I
watched in horror as Henderson’s palm came down hard across Dawn’s face. He snarled,
“Quit movin’ around, bitch!” He tried to pull her bra down, but with her now
free hand, Dawn raked her nails across his face. Henderson,
face bleeding roughly forced my sister on her stomach as he grabbed a roll of
duct tape that he had apparently left on the bed.
“That’s enough of that, bitch!” he yelled as he
started to bind her wrists together with the duct tape.
I stood there frozen. I didn’t know what I should
do. Henderson is a big guy. Even though I played football in high
school, I wasn’t sure if I could take him. I needed an equalizer. Dad’s gun
cabinet, I thought. I ran for Mom and Dad’s room and quickly, but quietly
opened the closet door. There was the gun cabinet. Damn! It was locked and
Dad had the key. The same judge that was sentencing me had given a gun owner a
tougher sentence than the criminal who used the stolen gun to commit a crime. All
because the gun hadn’t been locked up. Since then, Dad had taken to locking
the cabinet and keeping the key on him.
Seconds ticked by as my mind raced and Dawn’s muffled cries
grew more panicked. I rushed into my room looking for something – anything – I
could use as a weapon. Then I saw it. Propped against the wall was my aluminum
baseball bat. I grabbed it and hurried back to Dawn’s room.
As I entered the room, Henderson was pulling down
Dawn’s panties and was starting to press towards her. Adrenalin flushed
through me as I raised the bat. Consumed with a rage I’ve never felt before, I
swung the bat at Henderson’s head, hoping to splatter it like a melon. But my
anger caused me to misjudge the distance and just the tip of the bat struck the
side of Henderson’s head, sending him reeling across the room.
Staggering against the wall, blood oozing from one ear,
Henderson bellowed, “Fuckin’ little shit!” He started to lunge towards me. I
swung the bat low and caught him in the crotch. As he doubled over in pain, I lifted
the bat up and cracked it against the back of his skull and he dropped to the
floor.
Henderson
started to stir, so I kicked him a couple of times in the face, and then kicked
him a few times in the groin for good measure. I tossed the bat to the floor.
I noticed Henderson was still breathing. I didn’t want him taking me by
surprise, so I grabbed the duct tape and quickly bound his hands and feet.
Then I turned to Dawn, who was crying and shaking on the bed.
There was one of Henderson’s socks stuffed into her mouth. After removing the
sock, I gently and quickly removed the duct tape that bound her arms and legs.
I pulled the sheet up so she could cover herself. I hugged her close as she
cried. Dawn grabbed my arm and held on so tight her nails were digging into my
skin. She tried to say something, but was too incoherent. She cried so hard,
she started gasping for air.
And then as the adrenalin drained from my system, I
also began to shake.
I managed to disengage my arm and called the police. Two
police officers arrived along with an ambulance.
Officer Wilson tried to ask Dawn what happened, but
she wouldn’t talk to him. She just curled up into a little ball, shook and
cried. The paramedics that arrived recommended that they take Dawn to the
hospital for observation. I sat on the bed and held her as they called for a
second ambulance to pick her up. They’d already placed Henderson on a
gurney and was wheeling him down the hall.
While we were waiting, Officer Wilson said, “Mr.
Monroe, can you tell me what you saw here?”
“I…I uh came home from work early and saw Jack
Henderson’s truck in the driveway.” I went on to describe what I saw and what
actions I tried to take.
The second officer, Bentley asked, “You hit him with
this baseball bat?”
I nodded. “Yes sir”
Officer Bentley frowned as he said, “You know, the law
in this state clearly says that if you should encounter an intruder in your
home, you are to leave the house and call the police.”
My mouth fell open in shock as I said, “You’re
kidding, right? My sister was about to be raped. I had to stop Henderson
somehow!”
Officer Wilson suddenly grabbed me gruffly by the arm
and slapped a handcuff on one wrist. Officer Bentley said, “I’m sorry, son.
But the law says in cases involving an unarmed intruder, you must seek safety, then
call the authorities. Using this bat constitutes assault with a deadly
weapon.”
Stunned beyond belief, my bat was confiscated and I
was tossed into the backseat of the police car and carted down to the station
where I was formally charged and jailed. Dad came down to the station and
posted bail and almost got into trouble himself when he told the police what he
thought of them.
It turned out that Henderson had a prior arrest for rape, but no conviction. He
then filed charges against me claiming I had violated his rights and that I had
permanently damaged his hearing, and that he also suffered from double-vision
along with a laundry list of other charges. His lawyer argued that Henderson was
actually trying to help Dawn with something when I just ‘went off the deep end’
and attacked Henderson for no reason. His lawyer suggested Dawn is lying about
the rape to try to protect me.
The jury didn’t believe that Dawn lied about the rape
and sentenced Henderson to two years in prison and a five hundred dollar
fine.
“And so, Mr. Monroe,” said the judge, “I hereby
sentence you to five years probation, five thousand dollar fine, two hundred
and fifty hours of community service and a mandatory anger management course.”
* * *
We lost the appeal, with the appeals judge suggesting
that next time I let the police handle it and that he wasn’t going to allow
vigilante justice in our state. If I’d left it to the police, my sister would
likely be dead. If I had to do it again I’d just kill the son of a bitch. At
least then he couldn’t sue me.
Because of the conviction, I lost my job, so Dad
helped me out with the fine. Even though most people I talked to thought I did
the right thing, having a record made it harder to get a job which made it
harder to pay back Dad. The anger management course just made me mad.
* * *
“That’s right. You got it!” I said to the student I
was helping with his Calculus. A tutoring session is held each school day on
the third floor of the college library. It certainly was an easy way to knock
out some community service hours. I was afraid I was going to have to read
books to little old ladies at the nursing home.
“Thanks, Bill,” said the student. “You’re a genius.”
I laughed and said, “No. I just took the time to
study.” I watched as the skinny dork I was helping work his problem. The four-eyed
dweeb with the unkempt hair was probably beaten up regularly by his sister; I’d
be willing to bet money that he’d kill you in a heartbeat on-line in a deathmatch
though.
I looked around the room at the other tutors and their
students. I had to get the dweeb. Kruger got to tutor the cutest girl in the
room; a blonde bombshell and ice blue eyes. My luck, as usual, just wasn’t
very good.
I helped Geek-wad with a few more problems when Mr.
Sanderson, the instructor overseeing the tutor program, came up to me and said,
“Bill. You got a minute?”
“Sure, Mr. Sanderson. I think Cecil here is finally
getting the hang of Calculus.” I got up and followed Mr. Sanderson back to his
desk.
Mr. Sanderson pointed to a nearby chair in front of
his desk as he took his seat behind the desk. “Bill, how would you like to
burn off about ten hours of community service at once?”
I smiled and said, “That would be great, Mr.
Sanderson. But what exactly would I have to do?”
“It’s actually a good cause,” he said. “The hospital
is providing a picnic in the park for handicapped and terminally ill children
this Saturday. They need a lot of warm bodies to volunteer.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I said. “And I’d use up
ten hours?”
“At least,” nodded Mr. Sanderson.
“Sure. I’ll do it.”
“Great.” Mr. Sanderson handed me a card. “Just give
Ms. Bount a call before Friday saying you want to volunteer for the picnic. Just
make damn sure you show up.”
“You can always count on me.”
* * *
The volunteers were asked to show up around eight in
the morning to start setting up the tables and getting things ready. There was
going to be about forty kids and there were only fifteen of us. We were going
to be kept pretty busy.
At first I thought this was something I could feel
good about. After all, we were helping kids who have little to laugh about
have a good time. As it turned out, I had mixed feelings about the event. The
depression I felt seeing all these kids that were suffering from birth defects,
or maimed by fire and accidents or ravaged by cancer and disease wasn’t off-set
by seeing these same kids smiling and laughing the best they could.
In spite of all that though, the event was going well
and the kids had a big time having their picnic lunch at a couple of long
tables set out under some trees. I was helping to pick up some of the mess and
headed for a trash barrel when I heard a voice call out from behind me.
“Hey Bill!” called a female voice. I turned around
and saw Jackie Blount, one of the organizers of the event. She was pushing a
teenage boy in a wheelchair. “Would you mind doing me a big favor?”
I finished dumping a load of paper plates into a trash
barrel as I said, “Sure, Ms. Blount. What would you like me to do?”
Pointing at the boy slouched in the wheelchair Jackie
said, “Bill, I’d like you to meet Jimmy Daniels. Jimmy would really like to go
watch that baseball game going on at the other end of the park. I thought that
would be more up your alley than mine.”
“Sure thing, Ms. Blount,” I said. “That’d be cool.”
“Thanks, Bill,” she said. Jackie then motioned me to
one side. When we were out of earshot of Jimmy, she continued in a low voice,
“Just to let you know, Jimmy’s in the last stages of Muscular Dystrophy. He’ll
be seventeen in September. The max the docs are giving him is maybe three more
years, if that. I’m telling you this because it’s easy to think that his mind
is in the same shape as his body. He’s aware and he’s smart. Talk to him just
like you’d talk to one of your friends.”
“Will do, Ms. Blount. Don’t worry about me,” I said
as I walked back towards Jimmy.
As I started rolling the wheelchair across the grass
toward the path that led to the other side of the park, I said, “Okay, Jimmy.
Let’s go watch some baseball.”
* * *
Jimmy really enjoyed watching the game. I should have
known better, but I thought I was going to have to explain the game to him, but
he knew more about baseball than I did.
I had a little bit of hard time understanding him at
first, but finally I could make out what he was saying. And even though it
seemed to tire him out, he liked to chat. A lot. I started to feel pretty
sorry for the kid. I learned that he lived with his mother and that his dad
had been killed two years ago in a car accident. He admitted he doesn’t get to
go outside much and he loved being able to come to the picnic and he thanked me
for taking him to the game.
The game ended and I started pushing his wheelchair
back across the park. It was getting late afternoon, and I could see that the
picnic had wound down quite a bit.
We had been walking quietly for several minutes on our
way back to the picnic, when out of the blue, Jimmy asked, “Bill…do you think
there’s life on other planets?”
I didn’t answer at first because I wasn’t expecting
him to ask me anything. Even though he couldn’t see it, I shrugged and said,
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess so. There’re so many stars and planets out
there that there’d almost have to be.” I had talked about this quite a bit
with my parents with Mom not believing that any thing was out there and Dad
held a secret desire to flash the Vulcan greeting at the first sight of a space
alien.
“I know there is,” Jimmy said matter-of-factly.
I laughed and asked, “Oh really? How do you know for
sure?”
“My uncle Julian told me,” he said. “He’s been to
another planet.”
I stopped pushing the wheelchair and said, “Your uncle
told you what?”
“He’s been to another planet.”
“He was pulling your leg,” I suggested. “My uncle
tells me a lot of crap too.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. That’s okay. Uncle
Julian’s done it, and I’m going to do it too.”
“Does your uncle have a space ship?” I asked.
“My uncle’s dead.” Jimmy said without emotion. “He had
a heart attack. And no, he didn’t use a space ship. He used his mind.”
“Well, good luck.” I said. I don’t blame the kid for
seeking some way out of his dying body. But still, I thought it was a little
weird, so we continued on in silence.
* * *
Apparently Jimmy enjoyed my company and had asked
Jackie if it would be possible for me to take him to other games, movies, etc.
Since I still had quite a few hours to burn on the community service, I
agreed. I liked Jimmy and as time went by we grew fairly close. I kept taking
him places after I was no longer legally obliged to do so.
Jimmy wasn’t completely immobile. He used a motorized
wheelchair to get around his house. Also he had a wireless keyboard so he
could use his computer to surf the web, play simple games, use email and even
make phone calls when wearing his headset.
During visits, we’d talk about everything under the
sun. He had the same basic interests most guys in their mid-teens have. He
liked watching pretty girls, but annoyed that he’ll never have a girlfriend.
He had a varied selection of music and his movie collection was mostly comedies.
However, it was his collection of books that dropped
off into the bizarre. He seemed to be obsessed with the occult, although when
I asked him about that, Jimmy insisted that he really didn’t believe in magic
and ghosts and all the rest. What intrigued him was the power of the mind. He
really believed that if you could just reach the right state of mind and the
correct level of concentration, you could do most anything, including travel
through space and time. Hey, everybody needs a hobby.
I hadn’t heard from him in about a week when one Saturday
afternoon, the phone rang. I answer it and Jimmy’s on the other end. He was
excited about something, but he wouldn’t tell me over the phone. He insisted I
come over there.
When I arrived, his mom, as usual, decided to take
advantage of someone else being there to watch Jimmy and left to go to the
store and just get out of the house.
When I entered Jimmy’s room, he was sitting in his wheelchair,
grinning from ear to ear. “I did it, Bill! I actually did it!”
Pulling a chair up next to him and with a puzzled
expression I asked, “Did what, Jimmy?”
“I went to the planet Uncle Julian did! I really did
it!”
“Jimmy, you just dreamed it. You can’t really go
across the street with your mind, much less to another planet.”
“No, Bill. You’re wrong.” Jimmy said adamantly. “I
did go. It wasn’t a dream. It’s a real planet with real people. I had a
different body where I was strong and I could walk and run! The people there
greeted me like they somehow expected me. My uncle had done great things while
he was there. He helped them win a war. I helped them too.” Jimmy’s eyes were
glowing with a fierceness of life I’d never seen in him before.
“It was just a dream, Jimmy,” I said. “Dreams can
seem pretty real sometimes.”
“It wasn’t a dream!” He almost shouted. “I was
there! Honest to God I was there!”
“Then how?” I asked. “How did you do it?” I didn’t
believe him, but I wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of it.
He took a deep breath and said, “I finally got Uncle
Julian’s instructions to work. There’s a chant you have to repeat over and
over while you close your eyes and imagine a blue star. You concentrate on the
star. That’s all you think about while you chant. Suddenly you feel like your
floating in space, then whammo! You hit the ground.
“It’s an amazing place. Jimmy, you wouldn’t believe
the kind of world it is there. Here I can barely move, but there, I led an army
into battle! Don’t look at me that way! It’s the truth! The place is low-tech
though.” Jimmy paused for a breath, then continued, “There’s no electricity
and the most advanced weapon there is the crossbow.
“And you’ll like this! There are beautiful girls everywhere,
at your every beck and call.” Jimmy stopped to think a second. “You know,
it’s puzzling though. There’re people there, but the whole time I was there, I
didn’t see anything resembling primates. There doesn’t seem to be any large
predators either, which is good. Just a few smaller ones.”
“How did you get back? Say the chant in reverse?” I
asked.
“No, that doesn’t work,” admitted Jimmy. “I tired
everything and thought I was stuck there forever. Then I found out they had
built a monument to my uncle. There was a vault inside it and his journals
were there. Uncle Julian discovered how to return and in his journals he wrote
how to come back if you wanted to. ”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You know my uncle
died in the ER of the hospital? In his journal, he’d written that he knew he
was dying. He willed himself to that planet one last time. He lived there for
at least another sixty years. He died here, about an hour after
arriving at the ER.”
Humoring him I asked, “Well, how long were you there?”
“Almost two years…their years, which are a little bit
longer than ours.”
“Jimmy, I visited with you like almost a week ago!”
Jimmy’s eyes lit up, “That’s just it! Time has no
relationship between our world and theirs.”
He looked wistful for a moment, and then said, “Let me
show it to you!”
“What? How do you propose to show it to me? Did you
take a camera with you?
Looking frustrated, Jimmy said, “No!” He handed me a
sheet of paper. “If you say these lines over and over, close your eyes and concentrate
and if we hold hands, I think I can take you with me.”
That’s all I needed…Jimmy’s mom walking in with me
holding his hand, eyes closed and chanting. “Nothing doing, Jimmy. I’m not
holding your hand!”
“Nobody’s going to see you! Please Bill. Please?”
Jimmy pleaded.
I didn’t want to do something so obviously foolish.
But maybe failing to go to this planet would finally get him to forget this
crazy idea. I said, “Okay, okay. You win. Let me see your chant.”
Jimmy’s eyes were bright as I looked over the words on
the on the paper. They looked like complete non-sense words. I guessed it was
a phonetic spelling of some other language.
Jimmy said, “Okay. Say the words with me, close your
eyes and visualize a blue star and think of nothing else. Take my hands. It
takes a while so just keep doing it until I stop.” He then closed his eyes and
began to repeat the words.
Feeling stupid, I took his hands in mine and began to
chant with him. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a blue star.
I don’t know how long we sat there chanting away. It
seemed like a long time. The chant blurred into a monotonous monotone. It
wasn’t easy staying focused on something like a blue star. I started to feel
numb, like my whole body was “going to sleep.” And then everything went black
and silent and I felt like I was floating...
* * *
“What the hell?” I thought as I seemed to wake up,
feeling like I just fell out of bed. I couldn’t focus on anything or feel
anything, but I seemed to be lying face down in some sand. There were no piles
of sand in Jimmy’s room. I took a breath and sucked in some dust and coughed.
My voice sounded very odd.
I heard a deep, resonant voice, sounding far away
call, “Bill! Bill! Where are you?”
I tried to answer but couldn’t talk. I tried to move
and managed to roll over. Something didn’t feel right at all. I heard foot
steps near me and I could vaguely make out a shape against a pale copperish
color.
“Oh my God!” cried the voice next to me. Whoever it
was started laughing. “I certainly didn’t expect that to happen! You
should see yourself, Bill!”
I finally managed to say, “Jimmy? Is that you?” My
voice didn’t sound right at all. As my eyes began to focus, the shape in front
of me started to sharpen. It was a man, naked, tall, with rippling muscles,
longish black hair and chiseled facial features. I tried not to look there,
but I couldn’t help but notice that he was…well…very well endowed in his
privates.
The man laughed and said, “Yeah, Bill. It’s me,
Jimmy. This is how I look on the planet Q’tahra. I’m not sick here. But
you…” The person who claimed to be Jimmy laughed again. “But you…came out a
lot different.”
I squinted up at the very large man and said, “You
can’t possibly be Jimmy. Even if he was healthy, he’d be a little guy. Where’s
Jimmy and what the hell is going on here?”
The guy claiming to be Jimmy stared at me in an
unsettling way and laughed. “Oh, I’m Jimmy all right. How else would I know
you are Bill? We were in my bedroom just before arriving here.”
Still feeling slightly dizzy, I said, “Look, I don’t
know who you are or what is going on around here, but I intend to find out.”
I started to stand. I felt so weak. I felt a weight
shift on my chest that threw me off balance and I started to fall over. Jimmy
caught me and helped me regain my feet. Light brown hair fell across my eyes.
I reached up and felt my head. I had a lot of hair. I could feel it sliding
down my back.
When I brought my hand down, I touched something
else. It was a breast. I felt it and it was attached to me! A sudden bolt of
panic rushed through me as a sudden fear flashed through my mind. I reached
down between my legs and felt…nothing! My fingers investigated a bit further and
found…and found…
“Oh my God! What’s happened to me!?” I screamed as I
collapsed to my knees. My voice sounded shrill and feminine.
Kneeling there, shaking, I stared wild-eyed at the
man, who said, “There’s a pond over here a bit. Come with me and you can look
in the pond.” He extended his hand, but I refused it. I just remained as I
was and shaking.
“Chill, dude! I wasn’t expecting this kind of change
for you. I thought you’d be just like me! Come over to the pond and look at
your reflection.” He started walking away from me. After a moment, I got up
and followed.
We didn’t go far. Maybe about a five minute walk,
before we reached the pond. The swaying of the breasts (I couldn’t come to
call them ‘my breasts’) as I walked was unsettling. Fearing what I was going
to see, I slowly walked up to the edge of the large pool of water.
Watching me walk, the man (could it really be Jimmy?)
said, “It must come with the body…you move with a gracefulness you never had
before. I bet you’re fully functional. It’s amazing! I just don’t understand
how we come to exist here, as natural as if we were born here!”
“Yeah, uh huh…” was all I said as I ventured near the water’s
edge. Finally I bent over and looked.
It was a total shock! Instead of me, I saw an
absolutely beautiful young girl, around fifteen or sixteen or so, with perfect
lips, perfect nose and piercing blue eyes and a mane of golden brown hair that
cascaded about her shoulders.
“Oh my God!” I wailed again. “I’m a girl! I’m a
fucking girl! This just ain’t possible!”
I turned and pointed to Jimmy and shouted, “You! You
did this to me! How? Why? I mean, why did you do this to me?!” I sank down to
my knees in the sand at the water’s edge and began to cry. I couldn’t control
my emotions at all. “What did you do to me? Look at me! I’ve got tits!
And…and…and…”
Jimmy knelt beside me and took my hand. His hand
dwarfed mine. Soothingly he said, “I’m really sorry, Bill. Honest! How would
I know this would happen? This is how I looked before. Uncle Julian also came
here as a mighty warrior.” His voice trailed away as I just sat there and
sobbed. I tried, but I couldn’t stop crying.
After a moment, Jimmy stood. Looking around he said,
“I know this place. There’s a village a few miles down the path. We’re safely
in the kingdom of Q’fahr. We can get something to eat there and hopefully
some clothes. At least what passes for clothes on this planet.”
He extended his hand to me again, to help me stand
up. I just stared at it for a moment, and then I let him lift me up. He was
so strong; he almost lifted me off the ground.
As he started to walk, Jimmy offered his hand to me,
but I just folded my arms across my chest. It felt weird to cradle breasts
when I folded my arms. He looked a little dejected as he turned and started
walking away. I watched him walk away, and then started to follow.
I looked around as we walked. We could be somewhere in
the southwest United States from the way the terrain looked. But when I looked
close, the plants looked weird. The trees didn’t look right. It was hard to
put my finger on. And that’s when I looked up and really noticed the sky.
I hadn’t really paid attention before, but the sky was
a pale copper color. A few pinkish clouds dotted the sky. I squinted at the sun
and it seemed smaller, but somehow brighter than it should be. I looked around
and there, hanging above the horizon was a smaller and paler sun! Either we
were having a shared hallucination or we really were on an alien planet. This
definitely wasn’t Earth.
As we walked along the sandy path, I moved up closer
to Jimmy. With all the strange rustling sounds I could hear coming from the
bushes and plants that lined the path, I somehow felt safer being near him.
I finally broke our silence. “Okay, Jimmy. I believe
we’re no longer on Earth. I don’t know how or why we got here. But I can’t
deny we’re here. What is this place?”
Jimmy smiled at me and said, “Welcome to the kingdom of Q’fahr,
located on the planet Q’tahra.”
It turns out, Q’fahr is basically a city-state made up
of one walled central city and a smattering of outlying villages. There are
five other such city-states sharing a small continent about the size of Texas.
Other than some nearby islands, no one on the continent
knows what the rest of the planet looks like. Apparently the ocean that
surrounds the continent starts to get very rough in open sea. Every ship that
has tried to navigate it has disappeared. A few weeks later, wreckage washes
up on the shores. No one tries it any more.
The continent is semi-arid. A mountain range roughly
divides the continent. There’s a wide variety of plants and animals. The rain
falls mostly in the mountains and snow only falls on the highest peaks…if at
all.
We sat down under one of the strange trees to rest.
Jimmy reached up into one of the trees and pulled a furry looking ball-shaped
something out of it. He picked up a rock and knocked one end of the furry ball
off. He handed it to me.
“Here. You can get a drink from this. There’s
nothing really edible about the shell, but inside there’s a juice.” I
hesitated to drink it after smelling an odd odor coming from it. Jimmy said,
“It takes some getting used to.”
I took a drink and it had quite a tang to it. I really
didn’t want to swallow it, but I was thirsty.
After relaxing a moment, I said, “Okay, I don’t get
it. You say that you never saw anything resembling primates on this world, a
few large mammal types, a few predators, birds and the like. Why are there human
beings here and not some race of giant squids or something?”
Jimmy looked thoughtful for a moment. Looking off at
the distant hills, he said, “Well, my uncle had a theory that people arrived
here the same way we did. He thinks that maybe a whole tribe got into this and
somehow they managed to teleport or whatever you want to call it, most of them
to this planet. They either couldn’t figure out how or didn’t want to go
back. To be honest, I’ve always been too busy trying to fix things to get too
deep in their history and lore.”
“Jeez, Jimmy!” I scolded. “That would be one of the
first things I’d ask!”
Frowning, he replied, “I guess I always got too caught
up in being able to do things. Bill, I haven’t been able to walk or run since
I was five years old. Think of the escape this place means to me.”
I fondled my own breasts for a moment and then said,
“Well, it’s not much of an escape for me. These are nice and all, but I really
don’t want them on me.” I examined my slender arms and delicate hands.
“Just look at me, Jimmy. If you were expecting me to go on an adventure with
you, I think you have to give up that idea. Look at you. Even your muscles
have muscles! I don’t have anything!”
Jimmy started to rise, slapping the dust off his body.
“Actually, it’s worse than you think.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
Jimmy extended his hand again to help me stand up
before answering. As I dusted myself off, he continued. “You’re not going to
like it.”
“I already don’t like it. What’s the deal?”
Smirking, Jimmy said, “Well, here women are pretty
much property. They have no rights, they don’t do battle, they are bought and
sold and traded. A man can have as many wives as he can feed. And of course, a
woman can’t have more than one husband. The women are the care givers and they
raise the children, make clothes and cook the meals. It’s a rather harsh life
for women here.”
“Isn’t that just lovely,” I sneered. “Why didn’t you
or your uncle fix that while you were fixing other things?”
Jimmy laughed. “That’s funny. I’d be willing to bet
money that you’d be saying something like ‘Wow! Cool!’ if you had arrived here
as a male.”
“Maybe. I got another question, that’ll be important
when we reach the village,” I said as I stretched out in the shade under the
strange tree.
“Ask away,” Jimmy said.
“How do we communicate? Are you going to translate
everything for me?”
Jimmy smiled and said, “You’re speaking the local
language right now.”
“Bull Jimmy!” I said defiantly. “We’re speaking
English right now.”
Shaking his head, Jimmy said, “No, we’re not. Try to
really pay attention to what we’re saying. Yes, you understand it, but it’s
not English. Trust me. And no, I have no idea why this is so.”
I was silent for a moment, shaking my head. Finally I
said, “You know, maybe it’s because I’m suddenly a girl, or because I’m naked,
or maybe because I’m on an alien planet and a naked girl that I’m scared
Jimmy. I don’t know what to expect. No kidding, Jimmy. I’m totally freaked
out here.”
Jimmy shrugged and said, “I was too, Bill. It just
took time. You’ll get used to it. Once we hit civilization, you’ll start to
feel more comfortable.”
“Possibly. But I …” A sudden noise on the path below
us cut me off. Jimmy was instantly alert.
“Riders! There must be about three or four of them.”
With his hand he cautioned me to stay back as he looked over the sandy ridge at
the path below us.
He turned back towards me with a smile. “I know two
of them. We should be okay.”
“Jimmy,” I said nervously. “There’s three or four
guys riding up here and you say we’re okay? We’re naked!” I’m not sure why,
but the thought of being seen naked, by a bunch of men terrified me.
“Yeah, so?”
“So?!” I exclaimed. “I’m a girl! Naked! Naked girl
here!” I ran and hid in some low bushes. I regretted it immediately as the
bushes had rough bark and thorns.
At that moment, three men rode up the sandy
embankment. They weren’t riding horses, but something that looked like a cross
between a wooly mammoth a camel. It had floppy ears and a long snout, but also
a long neck with bristly hair. The body was covered with long, shaggy hair.
They smelled absolutely awful. The fourth animal seemed to be a pack animal of
some kind.
“Great K’tahr’s beard!” exclaimed one of the riders. A
big burly guy, black shaggy hair and an equally shaggy beard. In fact, the guy
was kind of shaggy all over. “Prince K’tahnah, is that you?” Did that fuzz
ball with legs just call Jimmy a ‘prince’?
“K’nahth, my old friend! It’s good to see you again!”
called Jimmy as he waved to the approaching men. I learned later these were
soldiers who had been out a few days checking the northern border.
I soon found out that virtually all the names on this
worthless speck of dust were mostly unpronounceable guttural grunts, including
female names. All male names started with a K and all female names, including
cities, countries and the planet itself started with a Q and animals with N.
K’nahth dismounted his strange beast. The other two
men did the same. They were not as hairy as the first guy, but they were all
scruffy, dirty, bearded and dressed in a tan tunic held together with a leather
harness affair. Across the chest and back was leather armor and funky looking
leather helmet. They could just as easily be dismounting Harley’s. Grinning,
they all grunted joy at seeing Jimmy and in turn slapped him on his back.
With what teeth he had left, K’nahth grinned a toothy
grin and said, “Prince K’tahnah, it’s great to have you back. I’m afraid, my
old friend, that you arrived at a bad time. But your return could a good omen.”
Jimmy shook his head, but continued to smile. He
said, “Seems like there’s always some kind of trouble brewing here. What kind
of trouble is this time?”
K’nahth said, “Let’s not discuss it here. I’m sure
you’re tired and need food and drink. Let’s return to the village.”
Suddenly, one of the other men pointed in my direction
and shouted, “Sir! What is that over there?”
Oh, God they saw me. I guess it would have been
inevitable anyway. Jimmy said to them, “That is my woman, uh, Princess ah, Q’ahrentine.
Like any girl, she turned and ran at the presence of danger.” To me he shouted
in a gruff voice, “Girl! Come here and stand next to me.”
I hesitated a moment. I still didn’t trust these
guys. And why did Jimmy say my name was ‘Princess Quarantine’? What kind of a
name was that? And how did I suddenly get to be a princess? What is he doing?
The first guy, K’nahth took a few steps toward me and
shouted savagely, “Girl! Obey your lord and master! Now!” That made me feel
oh so much more comfortable.
Jimmy took hold of the man’s arm to restrain him. He
said, “She’s new here and you guys would be a frightening sight just about
anywhere. She’ll obey me. She’s just scared. Oh, and spread the word. No
one may strike this girl except for me. Anyone who does must answer to me.”
K’nahth relaxed, but looked irritated. He said, “Your
word is law, Master. But you must put her in the Convent immediately so she may
learn our ways. If she does not, then not even you will be able to save
her.”
“Understood, old friend,” said Jimmy with a smile.
“Like all women, she will learn her proper place.” He turned to me. I was still
hiding in the bushes and with his hand gave me the universal come here
gesture. “Come little one. It’s okay.” I couldn’t believe what he just said
to me. Why I oughta…
I stood up slowly, trying to cover myself the best I
could. I’ve never felt so humiliated and scared in my life as I approached
Jimmy under the watchful stare of the three other men.
A broad smile split K’nahth’s face. “You have chosen
well, K’tahnah! She is clearly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her
hair! I’ve never seen hair that color before! Maybe you should consider selling
her? She should fetch a good price!”
Jimmy laughed heartily and said, “I might do just that
if she gives me too much grief! But let’s stop standing here! I could use a
good strong drink and a good meal.”
“We’re not far from the village,” said K’nahth. “You
take my N’eerah, and I’ll double up with K’reth.”
I looked at Jimmy while still trying to keep my arm
across my breasts and my other hand in front of my nether regions as I asked,
“Is there any one on this planet just named ‘Bob’ or ‘Sam’, or…” The stern
look on Jimmy’s face cut me short.
“No one has spoken to you, girl. You will stay silent
until spoken to,” he snarled. I started to call him an asshole, but he flashed
me a wink. I guess he has a role to play. I bit my lip instead.
Jimmy mounted his N’eerah and I started to climb up
behind him. He slapped my hands back and said, “What do you think you’re
doing? You ride on the pack animal!”
I looked at the strange beast of burden with its odd
stubby legs, beady eyes and bear-like face. It stank worse than the three men
or even the N’eerahs. I walked up to it and hesitated. I had no idea how to
get on. And to be honest, I really didn’t want to.
K’nahth grunted as he slid off his N’eerah and
approached me. He didn’t say a word as he grabbed me roughly and unceremoniously
tossed me on top of the bundles on the back of the odd pack animal. The animal
smelled even worse up close.
The four animals started moving, with K’nahth in the
lead. The animal I was on had such a swaying motion, that I had to clutch
lumps of the nasty fur to keep from being thrown off.
“I don’t like this, Jimmy!” I shouted. “After all the
nice things I’ve done for you, you bring me to Planet Hell! What’s up with
that? God, these things smell! Why can’t I ride with you? I want to go home,
Jimmy! Take me home…”
K’nahth turned in saddle to face Jimmy and even though
he didn’t have to shout in order for Jimmy to hear him, he shouted back,
“Please, Master K’tahnah. Give me permission to beat the woman.”
Jimmy shouted back, “If she doesn’t shut up, I’m going
to beat her myself!”
* * *
I kept my mouth shut the rest of the ride. It was one
of the most uncomfortable, dusty, stinky rides I’ve ever been on. Fortunately,
it was only about an hour or so before we reached the village.
I was expecting a couple of mud huts, but it was
actually a fair sized town with permanent stone buildings. There were street
vendors, kids playing in the streets and what appeared to be shops and café’s.
People busy walking here and there. And the people weren’t real big into
clothes, either.
We followed a cobblestone path to a walled in section
of town. My guess this was a fall back point should the town get invaded. Our
procession stopped in front of some massive iron gates. K’nahth signaled
someone at the top of the gates and they finally started opening. As the soon
as the gates parted, we proceeded through the entrance.
We rode up to a building that vaguely resembled
stables. Several boys about ten years old or so came running out of the
stables and held onto the reins as the men dismounted. The boys looked at me
funny as I slid from the pack animal to the ground.
Jimmy and the other three guys started walking towards
a large doorway with guards on either side of the door. I ran to catch up. I
could tell his three companions didn’t care too much for that. I didn’t care.
“Jimmy, what is this place? Where are we going?” I
asked as I caught my breath from the short sprint.
“Will you please stop talking!” he hissed. “You’re
going to get us in trouble!” He looked over at me and quickly added, “Walk a
few paces behind me.”
At first I wasn’t going to, and then thought better of
it. As we got closer to the door, Jimmy said, “This is where the Viceroy
lives. It’s also…well, for wont of a better word, the county seat. We can get
cleaned up here, get some clothes and hopefully get something to eat. I need to
visit with the Viceroy and we can’t see him like this.”
As Jimmy approached the guards, they snapped to smart attention
and raised their arms level with their chest in salute. Jimmy returned the
salute. As we passed them, they eyed me suspiciously but they didn’t say
anything.
When we entered the building, a young man in a blue
tunic, who apparently had just ran to greet us as he was breathing heavy, stood
in front of Jimmy and saluted. I guessed he was some kind of officer. After
gulping some air, he said, “Prince K’tahnah! The Viceroy extends his welcome
to Q’fahr’s most distinguished citizen!” He looked past Jimmy at the three men
escorting us and said, “K’nahth, the Viceroy thanks you for safely escorting
Prince K’tahnah here. You and your men are dismissed. The Viceroy will expect
your border report within the next kleck.” A kleck a unit of time and is
roughly the same as an hour.
“Prince K’tahnah, if you will follow me to the
officer’s quarters, you may get cleaned up and select a uniform befitting your
rank. Food and drink will be in the Officer’s Hall.”
Jimmy nodded and we started to follow the young
officer. He turned to me and asked harshly, “And where do you think you’re
going, girl?”
“To get cleaned up and something to eat?” I suggested.
The officer frowned and said, “The servants’ quarters
are down that hall.” He pointed in the opposite direction down a long hallway
with a closed door at the end. “Just tell the first servant you see that Lt. K’alagh
said to attend to you.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then asked
Jimmy, “Master, may I inquire her status?”
Jimmy looked at me and grinned. “She is to be my
first wife, but we have not yet wed.”
I glared at him, but remained silent. I didn’t know
what would happen to me if I called him a name right then. Lt. K’alagh turned
to me and said, “After you have been cleaned and given something to eat, be
sure to ask a guard for an escort to your master’s quarters so you may attend
to him after his audience with the Viceroy.” He turned on his heel as he led
Jimmy away and left me standing there alone.
Disgusted with this whole stupid planet, I walked
slowly down the hall. The floor of the hall was bare, polished stone, but the
walls were decorated with paintings and cloth hangings. Chandeliers with large
candles lit the hallway. I looked at each painting as I proceeded down the
hall. They depicted great battles and heroes performing some great deed.
One painting located midway down the hall caught my
eye. It was lit on either side by candles to throw more light on to it. It
was a large painting with a central figure, leading a charge with a sword held
high. I looked closer and saw the figure was Jimmy! I was suitably impressed
and I held new respect for the person I still mentally pictured as a withered
boy in a wheelchair.
* * *
The servants’ quarters were actually pretty nice.
Instead of gray brick, the walls were painted with white, blue and pink, with
colorful wall hangings. There was a central pool where several females were
frolicking.
An elderly woman, Q’tarah, was in charge of the
facility. She looked to be in her fifties and was best described as ‘handsome’
rather than ‘attractive’. She she commanded a great deal of respect and
authority from the other females. I’d suspect she wouldn’t have any trouble
intimidating some men either.
There were armed guards, but I discovered they were
women; priestesses to be more precise. They wore robes and a cloth to cover
their faces. And they carried swords. Apparently Jimmy was wrong when he told
me that women never did combat. Men were never allowed in the servants’ quarters,
and the priestesses enforced it.
The women here were wearing nothing or next to
nothing. It was all just us girls. The warm pool felt so good. My guess is
it’s fed by a hot spring. Lying there, I took advantage of the situation and
watched all the women in their various states of undress. A nagging at the
back of my mind told me that it probably wouldn’t be too much longer before
looking at naked women won’t be as fascinating.
The room was all abuzz with the news of Jimmy’s
return. When the women there found out that I was Jimmy’s woman, they all
started fussing over me. They scrubbed me down, washed my hair, gave me a
massage and brought me food. Jimmy can go fight his little wars; I’ll just
stay right here.
After things had settled down a bit, several of the
younger girls gathered ‘round me and asked me questions about ‘Prince K’tahnah’.
Things like, is he as good in the sack as they’ve been told? I told them I
wouldn’t know. Besides, Jimmy had better not be having sex with fifteen year
old girls. Then it dawned on me that girls a lot younger than me probably have
sex on this stupid planet.
When I said I didn’t know how good of a lover Jimmy
was, the girls’ eyes all got wide and one said in surprise, “You mean you’re
a…a…virgin?! And you’re Prince K’tahnah’s woman? You’re lying!”
The girls all looked at me as if I’d grown a second
head. I said, “I’m not lying! I can guarantee you that I have never slept with
a man!”
Q’tarah walked across the room and knelt beside me.
She said, “Well, this seems like as good as time as any to perform the
inspection. Every new girl here, even if their stay is temporary must be
checked for general health.” She then looked through my hair, checked my
teeth, checked the firmness of my breasts and then she checked between my legs.
As she got up, she said simply, “She’s not lying,” and
walked away.
The girls all turned to me with a look of sadness,
which confused me even more. The girl that had spoken before said, “Don’t let
any one know. Not even your man if he doesn’t all ready know.”
“Why?” I asked. “Isn’t being a virgin a good thing?”
“Yes and no,” said another girl. “Virgins are worth
more. You might be sold or traded, or worse, stolen.”
I smiled and said, “I don’t think I have to worry about
that with Jim…Master K’tahnah around.
* * *
“Attend to me, woman!”
“Fuck you.” I growled from my bare wooden chair in the
corner of Jimmy’s suite. Jimmy was sitting in a thickly padded chair in the
center of the room. A large bed took up one side of the room. A huge
fireplace took up one of the other walls. One wall was a huge window. There
was no glass, but there were lockable shutters.
Frowning, Jimmy said, “I could have you beaten for
that.”
“I like to see you try, Jimmy.” I said as I stood up
and walked towards him. “At least it’d be something to do.” The flowing
silken dress I was wearing showed a lot of cleavage, but at least I wasn’t
naked any more.
Pointing, he said, “There’s a whole wall full of books
over there.” He chuckled to himself.
I folded my arms which only enhanced my amble breasts
and frowned. “Yeah, right. I can’t read, remember?”
Looking sheepish, Jimmy said, “Girls aren’t sent to
schools here, either.”
“Even if I was still a guy, I think this world would
offend me.” I said as I drifted over to the large window. The night sky was
filled with stars, none of them familiar. I looked out over the little town
lit with lamps and torches.
Jimmy appeared at the window next to me. “It’s a
beautiful sky, isn’t it? You should see it when the second sun is high at
night. It doesn’t give much warmth, but it’s much brighter than the moon on
Earth. The primary sun here is a young blue star. The secondary sun is a small
white dwarf. It orbits the primary about where an eight planet would be.
We’re the fifth planet out.”
I frowned and said, “That’s really terrific Jimmy. Be
sure to put that on the travel brochures.”
He looked wistful as he said, “I know it’s far from
perfect, but you know, there’s no starvation here. Little disease. Surprisingly
little crime.”
“You just have wars.” I said sarcastically. Still
looking out the window, I said, “Tell me about that painting downstairs; the
one with you leading the charge up San
Juan Hill or whatever it was. And why
did you name yourself after a motorcycle and why did you give me the name
“Quarantine?”
Jimmy laughed. “Your name was just the first word
that came into my head. I’m sorry. I probably should have asked you to come
up with your own name. My name is from the Samurai sword, not the
motorcycle.” He then took on a modest look as he said, “And the painting,
well, yes, it’s showing me leading the final assault in the war with Q’latar,
the country north of us.”
Jimmy went on to explain how after he had first arrived,
Q’latar had attacked Q’fahr, wanting to expand their kingdom. Jimmy’s uncle had
introduced several new styles of warfare to the soldiers of Q’fahr. He also
introduced the military ranks and the responsibilities of each, to create a
chain of command.
Because of the limits of the technology, he had
brought them the military tactics of ancient Rome. Making better use of
archers, using formations, and pike men and more effective use of shields, the
military of Q’fahr easily pushed their enemies back.
Jimmy, not fully believing the situation was real,
took on a very cavalier attitude and probably took greater risks than he should
have, led his forces on a successful assault of the walled city of Q’latar.
Jimmy’s big contribution was introducing them to the siege tower that let his
men breach the walls of the unprepared defenders.
Jimmy also introduced another new concept. Compassion.
At one time, there were over a dozen such city-states on the large island.
Wars tended to end with the loser’s city being reduced to rubble and all the
citizens killed. Jimmy convinced the king of Q’fahr that it was in their
interest to leave the city intact, not kill the citizens, place a garrison
along with a governor in the fallen city and let Q’latar continue under a new
king. He then created trade agreements between the two countries that linked
the economies of both to each other.
“That’s pretty impressive, Jimmy. You’re a bona fide
hero.” I said, studying my friend with a new respect.
He shook his head. “No. I just had knowledge they
didn’t possess at the time.”
Jimmy then explained the new problem they were
facing. It seems to current king of Q’latar was ill and growing weak. His
second in command was a ruthless man by the name of K’latus who had risen quickly
through the ranks. The king of Q’fahr was concerned that K’latus would try to
destabilize the region to take back some of the land that was taken in the
war. An even greater concern was that while K’latus kept our military
distracted and engaged with a battle with Q’latar, that the kingdom to the
east, Q’tarl would then launch an invasion to topple Q’fahr. Why can’t we all
just get along?
“That’s pretty confusing, Jimmy,” I said, rubbing my
head. “And next time you take me to a planet, can you please pick one where
they use normal names?”
There were several minutes of silence. I turned
around to face the spartan room. “Still, this place is so primitive. No
lights, no phones, no motorcars. Not a single luxury.”
Jimmy laughed. “It is that!” He then looked
serious as he said, “There are some things you’re going to have to get past
though. I’m sorry you arrived here as a girl. But you’re going to have to so
some things that you will find personally offensive. If you don’t, even I
can’t save you from punishment.”
Feeling a little alarmed, I asked, “What kind of
things am I supposed to do? What kind of punishment?”
“You’re supposed to attend to me. That means bathing
me, dressing and undressing me, preparing meals for me, sex whenever I want
it. And that’s just for starters. If there’s a perception that you are
failing to do these things, you can be sentenced to the state run prostitution,
or public beatings or both.”
“You wouldn’t rat me out, would you?” I asked
worried.
“I don’t have to be the one to report your
derelictions.”