City Of The Sun

Her eyes stared out over the sun-scorched landscape. Never have seen it in person, only through windows. Clouds built up over the mountains in the distance. Soon there will be a dry thunderstorm out there, as the flashes will be bright and angry. The sun would set, and the bars would come up over the double-panned windows. The wall spikes will come out, and the night guards will take up their positions. Twelve hours of night, and twelve hours of day, that is all they knew — that and what came out in the dark. "Gianna!" Her Grandmother's sharp disapproving voice cut through her thoughts. "Sorry, Grandmother." "Sometimes, I wished your mother had another girl to be my successor. But she and your father were treasonous. I was sad only for a little when they were set free, but only because I have you. And you seem not to care that you are the last of my line. If you do not do as I task you to do, all will be lost, and we will lose our family's name." It is always the same, she thought, Grandmother always putting her down. It was not her fault they set her parents free. She did not ask to be born; she knew never to tell that to Grandmother. The first time she got a slap on the face, the last time she got locked in the darkness. Which, technically, was not that bad. But being a child of light, they are all supposed to be afraid of the dark. She had never been. "Grandmother, it will be dark soon. What did you call me for?" "How is the conception of a child going?" Gia groaned inside and tried not to roll her eyes. "We are having some issues." "Issues? I will have to speak to his father. I am tired and should have retired years ago. If you do not produce an heir, you cannot take on the mantle." "Do not tell the Mayor, Grandmother. It will get done." "See it does." And with that, she was excused. She left the room. The elevator took her to the ground floor, and when she exited, she took a deep breath of dry, heated fresh air. She looked up at the sky and saw she had no time to take a walk to the gardens as she had planned today. Instead, she walked home. People moved around her quickly, prepping for the night. They would bow to her as she passed. It was the color of the robes. She wore sun robes. A Daughter of the Sun, and just like the bloodline, she had red hair. The red showed she had been sun-kissed at birth, marked by the Goddess Sun. She didn't feel blessed. She walked to her front door when the first warning alarm went off. Her servant, Sherri, waited for her in the vestibule. "Mistress, I was worried," she rushed to her to take off her robe. "Thank you, Sherri. Grandmother, I mean, Priestess, called me to see her." "I take it to be on you again?" "Hush, you know the walls have ears, my friend. But yes." She nodded. "I figured. The meditation room is ready for tonight." The idea of it all made her stomach twist into knots. How many times have they tried? And how many times could he not finish? "Is he in?" Sherri nodded. "Yes, and he is not alone." She went to his office and knocked. "Husband?" One of his manservants opened the door. He was adjusting his robe. "Wife," her husband said at his desk. "I will be out for dinner in five minutes." She nodded and closed the door. "I wish he had been more discreet about his men-servants," she whispered to Sherri. "I hear his tastes are changing." She looked at her. "How so?" She shook her head. "All I am told is that he doesn't like them old. He wants them younger than him." "We are getting older. So maybe men get boring when they are older." The lady laughed. "My husband was boring when we were younger." "Sherri," she said, giving her a stern look. She hung her head. "Sorry, M'lady, my companion." She nodded. "I am sorry." She went to the table. The kitchen servants were laying out dinner. When Jessup came out, followed by two of his new manservants, she had only seen the one in the office. He kissed her on the cheek. There was no love there. The kiss showed respect, and that was all. "I am starving. How was your meeting with your grandmother, wife?" "The same. If we do not hold a ritual tonight, she will speak with your father." The dinner table was not the place to bring up personal information, but between his work for his father and his private time behind his office door, and his underground nightly gambling, she had no real time to speak with him. A look of disgust quickly passed over his not very handsome face. He had a broad forehead that seemed to get bigger each year as his dark hair receded. His bulbous nose looked out of place on his small face, and the only redeeming feature was his dark blue eyes. She had loved one man with those same eyes. "We shall then perform a ritual tonight." She ate in silence. When done, she got up and walked down the hall to the meditation room. She pushed open the door and went to the only table in the room on the far side. She grabbed her striking stick and went to produce a flame. Once alight, she lit the candles around the circle of the room. Only a few people were allowed in the small circular room- her, her husband, Sherri, and a manservant of his choice. She looked up at the moonlight coming in through the roof. The moon was large, like always shown through the room. Sherri came in, followed by Jessup, and then his servant. She noticed how young he looked. He had to be over eighteen to work for a lord's house. His skin was dark from the sun, his eyes brown like his hair, and his face had the baby-face look her husband liked. Jessup stood in front of her. He was shorter than her, and rounder than he had been when they were married. Sherri unzipped her day dress. Her hands removed the thin cloth comfortably from her mistress. Across from her, Jessup's manservant did the same. They stood naked before each other. She had thought herself pretty. Her breasts were a nice size, she cared for her body, and her sunspot was always kept clean and shaved, as she had been advised. He never showed it on his face, just looked at her. His body did not react to her. It caused her great distress. Sherri handed her a clean cloth. Gia grabbed the bottle off the table, carefully uncapped it, and titled it to spill just a little of the oil. She did not care how long he lasted, as long as he did his damn job. They reached out and used the cloth to anoint each other with the oils. But despite the dryness of his, she could tell he didn't want to do this. He stepped up and awkwardly kissed her, motioning for his servant to stand behind her. She lay on the ground. Jessup shook his head. She sighed and turned, so she was on her hands and knees. He did not touch her other than use her back for balance. He pushed into her, and she closed her eyes. Wishing she was anywhere but here. In this cold room, with this bitter man. She moved her hand to above her sunspot. There, above the spot he roughly pushed into, she touched herself. This could get her in trouble because the rule was one should never pleasure one's self. It was a sin. But she wanted a release. It was not fair he would get it. A moan escaped her lips, and he stopped. He smacked her back and felt the instant release as he pulled out. "You know I cannot do this when you make noise." She turned and sat on the ground. "Jessup, I am sorry. Please, I will be quiet until you finish." He shook his head. "It is too late." She would not cry even though the pressure was there. "How about your man warms you up? I just need your seed." He glowered at her. "How dare you say that in front of them." He motioned for his man to clothe him. Once done, he stormed to the door. "I will be out." When he slammed the door, she pulled her knees to her chest and let the tears out. Sherri wrapped her arms around her and rocked her. "Shh, I will lie for you like I always do." "How many times can we get away with this? She will find out. She will punish me." "The b***h will punish you, no matter what, even if you got with child. She hates you. Every time she looks at you, I see it. You are more touched by the Goddess than she ever was. And that angers her." She held Gia until she finished crying. Sherri cleaned the little bit of oil from her skin and clothed her. Gia left the room and went to her room. She wanted to sleep. Sherri had told her it was once called depression. But they used old words no longer of times gone past. *** The next day, Jessup sat in his father's office. He was said to be an exact copy of the older man. Of course, he had his mother's eyes. But he did not think that he looked like his father. Why his father had more weight on him after all. His hand covered his yawn. "I am sorry this is so boring, son, but it is part of the job." "I had a long night." The man clapped his hand. "Oh good," his voice boomed. "I like to hear that you are trying to breed the sun bitch." "Father, that is rude. She is my wife." "Please, you hate her as much as I hate Priestess. But it is good that we could combine our families. The wealth, the statue we have now. I might be Mayor, but son, you are married to the Sunline. Your child will be powerful." "Can we get back to work, please?" He felt guilty — guilt for how he treated Gia last night, and blame for lying. Maybe even guilt for his preferences. His father nodded. "Bring in the captain." Jessup went to the door. "Captain Sherish," he said. Sherish stood from his chair. When they were kids, Jessup had a crush on the man. He loved the look of his mocha-colored skin and caramel-colored eyes. His body had always been lean and muscular. Now he was a bear of a man. "What is your report?" The Mayor asked. "There was another attack again last night." Jessup swallowed. "But how?" His heart hammered in his chest. "Exactly how is this happening?" Sherish shook his head. "We do not know." "Well, figure it out. And do it quickly. If I hear word is getting out, I will demote you, Captain. You get that?" "Yes, sir." A knock on the door made them all look. "What!" One of the wall guards came in. His face was red from sunburn. "Captain and Mayor, there is a man at the gate." "On the other side of the gate?" Jessup was confused. "No. Impossible." "He is at the door. Says name is Johnny. No surname." "He has no f*****g surname!" The Mayor shouted. "Bastard. He should have been dead. A fool's quest." "What should we do?" Sherish asked. "Let him in," Jessup said, looking at his father. The older man nodded and turned to the window. "Let in the fool." "I will accompany you," Jessup said. *** Gia sat in the tearoom with the ladies. Her friends. They secretly gossiped about all the going on around the City. Each lady was a daughter or wife to someone in power. Their robes of lilac showed their position, but only she stuck out in her robes of golds. The other ladies in the room were envious of them. They wore dull colors that suited their ranks, blues, and greens. Only the workers wore the browns. "Did you hear about Wilomena?" Agnes asked the table. "No," Geraldine replied, "do tell." "Rumor is she kissed her servant, man." "Just a rumor." "But why would she want to kiss a servant?" Agnes said, her nose squished up in disgust. "Maybe her husband does not please her," Melinda whispered. The table gasped. "Ladies, we do not speak such things at tea," Geraldine said. She was married to the treasurer of the City. Gianna looked out the windows of the shop at the people on the street. They were gawking at something. And then the black robes of the guard came into view. "I wonder what is going on?" she heard Melinda ask. But it was the tan robe that caught her attention in the middle of the dark. And quickly, like a mirage, she saw him. She only heard her teacup drop and shatter. Her hand went to her mouth. Johnny.