City Of The Sun

Chapter 2

She excused herself, left the shop, and followed in the direction that the parade of guards went. She had some sway because of the robes. The guards in the room bowed, and she walked to the back. Sherish and Jessup were whispering in front of the quarantine door. For as long as she remembered, the room had never been used. No one has ever willingly left the City and came back.

They looked at her as she neared. "Is it really him?"

Jessup nodded. "He must be sun cleansed in quarantined first, and then he can go."

"What will happen to him?"

"My father, I mean, Mayor, mentioned the mines."

She nodded. "I wish to see him."

Sherish shook his head. "He is in quarantine."

"Sherish, let her. This one will get her way. Might as well let her in."

"Thank you, Husband." She nodded.

He gave her a curt nod. "I will report all this back to, Mayor. Thank you, Sherish."

He bowed his head. "Yes, Sir."

He left without saying goodbye to her. She knew it disgusted him being married to her, but as the months kept going, he kept getting colder to her. Even some of the necessities were forgotten in public. She would have to corner him and speak the truth. He will hate it, but it needs to be done. She did not wait for Sherish to let her in, instead pushed through the door.

She paused as the door closed behind her. He stood half naked in the sunlight. He looked at her, and his eyes lit up with familiarity. "Gia," he whispered. His voice was hoarse and cracked.

She couldn't help herself and ran for the bars. "Johnny, it is you. Where have you been?"

He looked so sad. "Out there."

"Did you find anything?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He stepped from the sunlight and moved towards her.

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"I'm sorry, Gia," he whispered as his hand came through the bar and gently touched her cheek. "I found nothing. Not your parents, my mother, no one."

She felt the tear run down her cheek. "How did you survive?"

"It was hard. But there were ways. In the mountains there is liquid. It made me sick. But I built a tolerance for it."

She looked over her shoulder. "And the demons?"

"I found that if I wore their skin, I could be undetected in the night as I slept."

Her heart grew sadder for her friend. "Oh, Johnny, what you had to go through for nothing?"

His eyes softened as he took her in. "How has he been to you?"

"Cruel, but he has not hurt me physically."

His hands tightened on the bar. He looked away. "You deserved so much better."

"I have what I deserve."

"That is what she tells you," he whispered.

The door opened behind them. He walked back into the sunlight. "It was nice to see you, Gianna of Light." He raised his hands to his head, and gave her a salute. It was done poorly, and he had a sly smile on his lips. Only Johnny could make her roll her eyes.

Her hands reluctantly let go of the bars. "I shall say a prayer for a quick quarantine."

He gave her a nod. "I am grateful for any blessings that the Goddess will give me."

Gia pivoted, walked past the guards, and hurried home. Sherri barely had time to remove her robe before she rushed to her room. She threw herself on her bed and could not help the tears. Sadness, longing, loss, and more overwhelmed her. It was she who had driven him out past the walls when she was forced to marry his half-brother. She had preferred Johnny. But Grandmother would not allow her to marry a bastard.

Later, Sherri roused her from sleep. She hadn’t planned on it, but the dream came again. She had not had it in a while- Johnny and her running and laughing. They were so much younger. They seemed to be in a garden, but this one was not under a protective dome like the ones in the City. This was outside because she remembered the feel of the breeze, the smell of dirt, and other intoxicating aromas. She remembered his hand holding hers so softly. He was going to kiss her, but then alarms blared. They both looked up, and Sherri woke her. Falling stars.

"Dinner time, M'lady. Your husband is waiting."

She nodded. Sherri dressed her in her inside robe, which was lighter than her outside robes. She then made her way to the dining room. There her husband sat, drinking from his favorite goblet. She took her seat, and a servant added liquid to her cup.

"Wife, how did you find my half-brother?"

"Thin, husband, we will need to invite him to dinner when he is free of quarantine."

He nodded. "That we will if that is what you request. Did he tell you what he found out there?"

She shook her head, looking at the table. "It is none of my business. That is for the guards and the Mayor. Not for me, unless Priestess advises it."

He nodded contently. "There have been more attacks inside the City as of late."

She stared at him, as did the servants, as they all paused. "How is that so?"

He shrugged. "We are trying to figure it out. But I have spoken to my father, and he has allowed for your safety to have a bodyguard."

"I am safe here."

"You will be safer now."

"And who will you choose?"

"Johnny. He has made it clear he can survive. I feel it would be better to protect you than to send him to the mines."

She didn't know how to feel about this. He knew she had a history with his brother, even preferred Johnny over him. But here he is, making Johnny her bodyguard. It was another cruelness. He was taunting her with him. He secretly could have his affairs, because it was not against the law to fornicate with the same s*x. But she could not have a male lover. She would never break her vows, even if he had. s*x was s*x, no matter the gender.

"Husband, you are very kind to your brother."

"Half-brother, Wife," he said, and dug into his dish.

She could barely stomach her food, looking down at her plate. The dream came back to her. Only one other person knew about the dream, and he went off to see about it. It was not the City of her dreams, and they both knew that. But as he had mentioned, maybe it was not a memory. It was just a dream.

That night she dreamed again, but things had changed. They were not running in the sunlight; it was now dark. They were in a city, but not one she had ever seen. She could hear screams as explosions rocked the ground.

"Don't let go!" Johnny screamed.

But she stumbled. Her hand let go. "Don't leave me!" she called out to him. But the sun woke her up, and the clock had not yet chimed. She sleepily wrapped a robe around her naked body. The night's heat made her sticky and gross. She went to the window and opened the blinds. All she saw was the sunrise over the wall. She looked down at the City beyond her window. Not one of her dreams. There were buildings so tall they reached the sky.

Still wrapped in her robe, she made her way down to the kitchen. The staff busily readied for breakfast. She wanted coffee. The smell called to her. But she paused as she got closer to the brewer. Johnny leaned against the counter, eyes closed, enjoying his own cup. Her eyes traveled down his body to the towel wrapped around his hips.

Her body heated like she had a fever. What she wanted to do was pull the towel from him. Her body ached to have him touch her as he had once before and to feel him kissing her hot skin. When she looked back up at his body, she noticed he was watching her with a small smile.

'Good morning," he said. Humiliated, she turned to go. He stopped her. "Come have a cup of coffee with me."

"You need to put a robe on. If Jessup sees us together with just a towel."

He leaned in. The scent of soap invaded her senses. His breath was warm and smelled of coffee as he whispered, "What would he do? Be jealous? We both know he could care less."

She shivered under his hand as he moved it up to her elbow. "Johnny," she whispered, breathless, "Someone will see, and they will talk. Grandmother."

He let go. "I will get a robe. Have breakfast with me, and we shall talk about what I have missed." And he pulled away from her.

She nodded. How she ached for more. How she hated how he made her feel. She had control mostly, but Johnny made her feel-made her want more. With him gone, she had been satisfied with her boring life the Goddess had given her. Johnny made her question everything.

***

"I hear the bastard is back. A miracle he survived. The Goddess must like him because I surely don't," her Grandmother said. She paced behind Gia.

"Grandmother," she said, clearly thinking of her dream. "Are we sure that the City is all we know?"

The old lady hit her with the sun book. "Insolent child. It is in the book. You come from many lines of blessed by the Goddess. You and I know only the City."

"My dreams--"

The book came crashing down against her skull, this time more painful. "What have I told you, you insolent girl?"

Gianna looked down. "My dreams are farcy. Made up because I have an over-imagination like my mother."

"And what happened to your mother?"

"She was set free."

"I can tell the Mayor, and he will have you set free. Do you wish that?"

The idea brought so much fear into her being. "No."

"So what is the news?"

"Jessup says there have been demon attacks inside the wall."

"Unspeakable!"

Gia flinched, afraid to be hit by the book again. "That is what he told me. It has been increasing."

"How dare he keep that from me? I will go now and speak to him." She left the room.

Gia went to the large window, looking out over the sun-bleached land. Her hand reached out, touching the thick hot glass. She thought of her fear and thought of Johnny being out there all by himself. She wanted to know more about the demons, but should not because it was forbidden to talk about them. Tonight, with Jessup out of the house, she will ask. What she wanted now was a turn in the garden. It was the one place that made her feel a little happy.