Temple of the Lady: A Child's Cries

[kahl]

Jaw hanging slack, Tyera stared at the monk. "You did WHAT?!"

Daedalus held the infant to his chest as lovingly as any father would. "It was for the best. In Oneida's hands...well, Genesis or not she is more inclined toward the Rama. This child must be raised Iolite or we are all lost."

"That is NOT for you to decide!" Tyera roared. "Oneida was CHOSEN. Not by YOU. Not by me or the Temple, by the Rama or the U'reb Gal'Cuil. Far greater powers were at work in that choosing and you've no authority-- no RIGHT to alter their course of your own design!"

The doors to the Priestess' private chamber flew open and a seething Jjohns stormed in. The muscles of his bare chest rippled with tension. He had obviously just received word of the Iolite monk's actions. "How DARE you kidnap a child?! This is NOT our way! NEVER our way!!"

"I am not a puppet of your Lady, monk," Daedalus reminded him. The Iolite were an order of scholars. Keepers of knowledge and balance. Sometimes keeping balance meant doing normally unscrupulous acts such as murder, thievery or...kidnapping.

Jjohns jabbed a finger toward the infant. "As that may be, you are still expected to abide the laws of this land unless the Order gives you--..." His eyes widened as he stared at Daedalus.

"Why do you think they sent me at all, Jjohns?" Daed sneered. "Do you think they trust YOU any more than they trust Avarice? I come to you only because I know you will not act out of malice...not because you are special."

Tyera raked her fingers through her hair then pressed her fingertips to the tattoos dotting her brows and temples. "I can't believe this is happening. Roa will come here. He will burn the place to the ground if need be to find that child. You've no idea the people you just crossed, Daed."

Shaking his head, Daed met her gaze. "The mother will remember nothing. In fact she'll deny the others when they insist to her that a child was born. She'll never even miss him. And Roa...well as soon as he plants his own seed in Oneida's belly, he'll forget all about this bastard."

"You're insane," Jjohns scoffed. "Roa Viktros stared down Ghoran Al and watched his wife die to end the darkness. He IS NOT going to just roll over and let you take this boy from him, not when he knows the truth of his conception and birth."

"Roa is an ignorant soldier. His boy knows more of the world than he." Daed snorted. Lukwe began to wake and fuss. Scowling, Daed held the baby out as if it were a wet cat. "Tyera...feed it. I need to draft a letter to the Order."

His eyes darted to Jjohns. "No funny ideas, monk. If I must take the child back from you, I'll not hesitate to do it with force. You're better off protecting Lukwe from the Rama and worrying less about me and his mother."

[kahl]

After seeing to it that one of her trusted assistants looked to the health and care of the child, Tyera implored Jjohns to find peace in meditation, she would speak with Daedalus on her own.

"To what end?" Jjohns demanded. "You know as well as I the man sees no reason. He, like every Daedalus before him serve only one purpose--and it is the creation of chaos if nothing else."

Tyera's chin dipped and she studied him closely. "It is to form order of chaos. You know this. Not liking the man, personally, does not mean that his actions are...unnecessary. I will speak with him more rationally, without emotion, and seek to understand. He is, after all, our superior in the scheme of all things. While there are many priests of our caliber in the world, there is only ever one Daedalus, but even he answers to others."

Leaving Jjohns with a tender kiss, Tyera glided through the halls to the chamber granted to Daedalus during his stay. Entering with a gentle knock, she found him, as he'd claimed, seated at a desk penning a letter. "Daedalus, I was hoping we might speak."

"Daed. And certainly." He lifted his head and smiled, "my door is always open to you, Tyera...you know this."

"I am deeply troubled. The child--"

"Is in good hands. You will see, this is what is best." Daed rose and walked to her, brushing a hand lightly over her shoulder. In spite of the intimate gesture, Tyera did not recoil.

"And what of Roa Viktros? He will raze Melhane to the ground to find this boy." Her eyes gleamed with fear and worry.

Daed studied her a long moment, determining if she could be trusted. Then he shook his head. "It is unlikely he will even know that Lukwe is missing."

Tyera's brows knit. "You've enchanted their minds to forget?"

"No," Daed laughed warmly, heartily. "Not at all. Children are born every day, Tyera. Especially in a city this large. Which means children also die...sometimes. Fate did not deliver me a dead infant this morning, but one did pass yesterday. Fate being gracious, it was a boy. It takes little skill to alter a child's skin or hair color. A Rama youth can do so little with ease. For them, only an illusion, perhaps, but I am older, wiser, more skilled."

The woman's lips parted, "you've left a dead changeling in it's place?! Daedalus that is...horrid!"

As with most women presenting ample opportunity, Daedalus swept in, capturing the Priestess in a deep kiss. Although she pushed against his shoulders, he did not let go until she relaxed and succumbed to his mesmerizing touch. Whether enchanted into complacency or simply overwhelmed by his passion, Tyera accepted his affections until finally the man released her and stepped back enough to meet her gaze. "It was necessary..." he whispered.

"T-to kiss me?" Tyera blinked in dazed confusion.

Daedalus' smile curled upward on one side as if bemused by an adorable child. "To ensure no one comes looking, and that eventually Oneida and Roa will move on. Genesis fulfilled her role as birth mother...but no prophecy I know indicates that she raises the Two-Way One herself. So the Order has determined that it is best if we do it."

"You cannot be certain of that," Tyera gasped seemingly unaware of his arm still encircling her waist. "Just because the prophecies do not say--"

Daed pulled her closer, their eyes so intent and focused on each other, any nearer and their lashes would touch. "There is much the prophecies do not say. It is our interpretation of what they do say that matters."

"Daed, The Order can't ju--"

He was kissing her again. This time his free hand slid along her neck to her decolletage. Like many Priestesses, Tyera wore very little. The loose chiffon sari that did drape about her was little more than a flutter of fabric that was swept away as easily as an errant strand of hair. Whether aware of Daedalus' charms or not, Tyera was prey to them as so many women before her had been. As if drugged, she could only hang in his embrace, head limply draped back, as he caressed her breast and tasted her skin. Daed fed on her spiritual glow, like a psychic vampyre, engorging himself on her radiance.

Daedalus knew well that often times complacency could be bought through guilt. So as he laid the Priestess back onto his bed and stripped away her airy covering, the man knew very well that she would do whatever was necessary to bring Jjohns over to their way of thinking, or risk losing her lover forever.

Like coaxing a child to laugh, Daed hardly strained to ensnare Tyera's mind within the passion, blocking out all else but the sensual and sexual. She welcomed him, even pleaded with him to enter her and when he did, her sighs were melodious. He thought back to the previous Daed's experiences with Oneida and was amused to find the women quite comparable, although Tyera was not as fierce or bold. Neither he, nor she made any effort to stifle their cries as he drove her hard into climax, then again, and again.

When finally he pulled himself away, in site of their exertions he seemed refreshed rather than weary. Tyera lay limply in his bed, glistening with sweat and flush from pleasure. Her eyes had already drifted closed and she was asleep, and would remain so for some time. Daedalus had fed deeply. Such a meal he had not had in some time.

Cleaning up, he then collected the letter he'd written and left the room to seek out a messenger to carry it.

[kahl]

Jjohns sat staring at the basket in which lay the sleeping Lukwe. One of the servants had fed him then left him in Jjohns' care. The priest was beside himself debating what to do. His gut told him to take the child and simply return it to Roa and Oneida. He was reminded however of just how dangerous Daedalus could be if crossed. The man was neither good nor evil, which made him unpredictable.

Having no idea just how much time had passed he was surprised when one of the young acolytes pleaded entry to the chamber and ran in with concern.

"What is it, Femi?" Jjohns looked up with worry. It was unlike the young woman to be flustered. She was among their more serene students.

The girl inclined her shaved head with respect before speaking. "Master Jjohns, I cannot find Mistress Tyera anywhere. She was to lead the Solstice meditation which is beginning. The doors to the temple are ready to be locked and she is no where to be found."

Jjohns rose. "What do you mean no where? You've checked every room?"

"Yes, your Holiness."

"Have you searched the private quarters - both the men's and women's?" he demanded with a stern set to his jaw. His wariness of Daedalus crept over him like an icy wind.

Femi blinked and faltered, "uh--well...no. I could imagine no reason she would be there. Such intimate meetings are forbidden among the acolytes and monks. If she were counseling someone, she would use one of the private chambers at the front of the temple, would she not?"

Tyera had gone to speak personally with Daedalus. He remembered all to well what Daed's 'personal discussions' had been like when Oneida had sought refuge with them. With a scowl he gestured toward the door. "You take Riord and search the private chambers. All of them. If a door is locked, you use the key and open it anyway."

"What about the Solstice, Master Jjohns?" Femi's brows knit with worry.

"I'll....I'll have Danae start. She's experienced enough to lead should Tyera not be found. Now go." Jjohns sent the girl on her way, then called the servant, Hespa back to watch over Lukwe. "Don't let him leave your sight," he ordered her before leaving the chamber.

Always he had a key on his belt, but rarely was it ever needed. In such a place as this, there were rarely locked doors. The Ui'reb Gal'Cuill were a respectful people, and there was nothing that could not be shared among them, or a privacy that would not be respected. Daedalus, however, was Iolite. And at the moment, Jjohns did not feel like extending that respect of personal space to the man, especially where his wife was concerned.

Striding with angry intent through the halls, Jjohns tried to remind himself of his own beliefs, of his own teachings of peace and forgiveness, but through it all, the torment of mental imagery...Daed manipulating Tyera...it ate away at him.

[kahl]

"Master Jjohns!" Femi's voice echoed down the halls again, her bare feet slapping loudly on the marble floors. As she reached him he was standing the doorway to Daed's room staring into the chamber. She could see his anger as though it were a dark shadow filling the hallway. Femi had never seen him this way. Jjohns could be punched and he would not curse and would then gently ask the assailant's forgiveness for whatever transgression had caused the violence. To see such tension and rage frightened her.

Slowly his eyes turned away from the empty chamber and settled on Femi. "Have you found her?" he asked in a grave baritone.

Bobbing her bald head the girl replied timidly, "in the garden, Master Jjohns...bathing. But she's locked the doors and will let no one in."

The man's eyes narrowed with a twitch. Saying nothing he crossed into the room and reached down to lift one of Tyera's anklet's from the floor. The chain was snapped, the three beads scattered.

"Is Mistress Tyera not well?" Femi asked with worry.

Disregarding her question, Jjohns carefully handed her the anklet chain and murmured, "please collect the beads then see to it that Danae leads the entire Solstice. Call on Mikael to help her if she grows weary or flustered."

"Yes, your Holiness," Femi gasped as she bowed.

Jjohns said nothing, only striding away.

- - - -

Tyera sat beneath the spring, the waterfall dousing her in a constant torrent of cool water. As she sobbed, the woman let the water push her down, further into the pool, part of her wishing it would drown her altogether. How could she face Jjohns now. Although they were not married in the legal sense, as Lovers their hearts and minds were one and she knew the Goddess saw it as well. Yet Tyera had surrendered herself to Daedalus as though Jjohns did not even exist.

Was it possible that he had used some Rama trick to seduce her? The Iolite are trained with such knowledge. Although it was possible, the reality of her pleasure in it all, that she climaxed repeatedly and pleaded for more, these things were of her own doing...and too shameful to bear.

Daedalus knew that such an act would force her into submission, prevent her from arguing with his actions regarding the child. Not to would risk exposure of this shame to Jjohns, and although she was the High Priestess, and Jjohns secondary to her position, he could call for a stripping of her position or even expel her from the Temple for behavior contrary to their role as leaders and teachers...to her role at his side in all things.

Slumping lower into the water, the woman sank beneath the surface and clamped her eyes shut, feeling the weight of the water on her body and the pressure of the air in her lungs as it begged for freedom.

[kahl]

The first kick was not quite enough, only rattling the doors with it's force. The second, however, managed to damage the delicate lock and throw open the garden doors. Unable to find the keys, Jjohns was left with no alternative but a violent one. Striding into the vast enclosed paradise, his eyes scanned for signs of Tyera.

"Tyera!" he called when she was not seen. "TY!"

Spotting the veil of fabric that made up her sari draped over the side of the pond shore, he moved in that direction. As he drew nearer, his gait increased in speed until he plunged into the water with a reckless splash. The woman's long tanned body floated limply on the surface, her rich bronzed oak hair fanned out about her down turned face.

"Goddess, no!" the man wailed as he scooped her into his arms and hauled her onto the mossy shore. Holding her about the waist, her head hanging low, Jjohns lifted at her diaphragm in an attempt to force the water from her lungs. After the third attempt, her body convulsed slightly and the gagging sound of a waterlogged cough sang like the Goddess' own blessing to his ears. Keeping her on her side, Johns delicately eased her to the ground and swiped the water laden hair back from her face. It smoothed back like a thick brown eel, the heavy moisture soaking Jjohns' own robes as he held her on his lap. As awareness settled in to the now conscious Priestess, Tyera shivered and whimpered with a weak sob.

"Goddess...Tyera...what happened?" he pleaded as he held her then gestured to Femi as she and two other acolytes entered the garden. "Get blankets! And warm tea!"

Femi nodded and rushed the others out to fetch the requested items.

Not until after Jjohns covered her with the blankets and Bundled her tightly did Tyera manage to speak. "I...I c-couldn't f...f..."

"Fight him? Did Daedalus do this to you? He left you to drown?!" Jjohns' ire sparked far too quickly for one of his stature.

"N-no..." she sobbed, turning her face downward away from him. "I couldn't...f-face you..." she whimpered beneath her breath.

Bowing over her, the young man whispered against her cheek, "but why, Tyera...Nothing you could ever do would make me love you any less."

The woman shook her head, her pained throat choking as she sobbed again.

Jjohns could not fathom that she would intentionally attempt suicide. It was...inconceivable. Tyera was the leader of their faith. The first to teach that there is no shame great enough to warrant such a woeful act. The Goddess would never turn a soul away or refuse them forgiveness. He simply could not imagine what would inspire such shame or misery in the woman he loved...the woman who had taught him the Goddess' way and nurtured him down the path.

Suddenly he remembered the anklet, forgotten in his fear and shock. "Did he...did Daedalus lay hands on you?" The young man's tone was of incredulity. Although he thought little of the Iolite, he surely could not imagine the man so low, so near to the Rama Dark half to commit an act so foul as rape. So it was with great relief when he felt Tyera's head weakly wobble'no.' Her words, however, made his blood chill.

"I went to disuade him from his course...to convince him to take the child back. I did not intend to...to...seduce him in any way." The woman's body convulsed with her weeping. "It was as though I was not in control of my own actions...entranced. He made me do nothing...but I...I made no choice to do what...what happened..."

Although Jjohns could well deduce what happened, he asked softly, "and what happened?"

Tyera's shame ridden recoil into a fetal position and her sob into the moss was all the answer he needed.

Femi appeared with the hot tea, setting it beside Jjohns with an inquisitive expression. Quietly she whispered, "it seems the child and Daedalus are no where to be found..."

Without a word, Jjohns nodded and drew Tyera closer. After a moment he muttered to Femi, "inform the guard of the crimes...and send word to the Sasori home so they do not go without knowledge. Then have my Lady's bed prepared and a doctor brought to tend her."

"Master Jjohns...?" Femi's face registered fear.

Shaking his head he waved off her concern. "She nearly drowned, Femi...and Daedalus did not use care with her. I only wish to see that she is...in good health."

The remarks caused a shudder and reknewed weeping from Tyera. Waving Femi out, Jjohns bowed over her, drawing her closer and murmuring, "shh...love...I am here. You have no cause for shame."

Daedalus' scheme to secure Tyera's complacency failed when he under-estimated the emotional toll it would take on the woman. Having given herself to no one but Jjohns, Tyera-- though handled with care-- felt no less violated than had the Iolite beaten and tied her down.

Rocking her gently, Jjohns considered his options. He could leave the matter of Daedalus to the guard...or he could speak with Roa and they could seek out the bastard themselves. Jjohns had not been raised a monk...and his brothers, both Stoke and Frek had prepared him for a difficult life. He had fought in the war like everyone else, and he had felt a man's blood on his hands more than once. Never had he more reason than this to feel it again.

[kahl]

Jjohns remained with Tyera in her chamber as the healer Angel examined her delicately. Standing against the wall, slouched and thoughtful, he watched their shadows through the screen as Angel soothingly murmured to the Priestess gaining the answers she needed and confirming that Jjohns fears were unwarranted. Pregnancy, of course, would take more time to determine, but there were no signs of trauma other than her mental and emotional state.

As Angel stepped out from behind the screen, Jjohns straightened away from the wall and studied her with anxiety. "Please...tell me she will be well..."

- - - -

Thoroughly explaining everything to the guard-patrol, Femi agreed to allow them entry to the Temple to conduct a search. The sweet-faced, gentle acolyte met the Lieutenant's gaze and assured him, "you will be able to question the High Priestess...as soon as the Healer confirms she is able to receive visitors. You must understand that...this man has...he has left a terrible mark on this holy place--and on the Sasori household. He has stolen a child and now...done Goddess only knows to Mistress Tyera and left, no where to be found."


"Sir," one of the other guards interrupted. "I've sent two of our better men to the Sasori Estate to inform and question them. It seems no word has been received by any guards there. They may not even be aware of the child's absence yet."

"Surely they must be. It has been the better part of the day," Femi argued. "He arrived barely after dawn with the infant." Looking back to the Lieutenant she fretted, "you don't think he harmed the mother as well, do you?"

[Melara]

"She will be well," Angel reassured Jjons. Despite her apparent youth, she had a great deal of confidence born of experience in her voice. "She will be unsure of herself, confused for a while. She will have feelings of guilt and depression and anger...all of these are normal and with your help, she will regain her emotional footing and her confidence quickly."

[kahl]

Scowling with concern, Jjohns averted his eyes to hide the emotion in them. "I don't understand how any of this happened...I know what this man is capable of...but..."

Drawing a deep breath he levelled his eyes at her. "She understands that what he did to her was a violation--regardless of how cooperative she thinks she was, yes? That is Daedalus' game. He's a manipulator. A soul-eater...her brother had been no different, she merely refused to see it in him."

Crossing his arms just short of hugging himself he murmured, "the drowning...she isn't going to...try again, is she? Or try something else?"

[Melara]

“”I certainly hope not, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” Angel told him. “Stay with her the next few days. Talk to her, and most important of all, listen to her. Validate her feelings and help her work through them. I think her actions were the result of the initial shock over what happened but she’s going to be in a very delicate emotional state for a while.”

[kahl]

Tightening his jaw a moment, Jjohns pondered then forced himself to ask what he feared most. "Angel....how long before we can tell if...." He drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "If she is with child?"

Femi appeared at his side with a soft scurry of bare feet. "The guard are informing Ms. Sasori and Mr. Viktros...and I told them all I could but they still insist that they will need to talk to Mistress Tyera. I asked that they come back later."

She respectfully bowed her head at the healer, "Miss Angel..."

"I will come speak to them. Tyera will not be of a mind until tomorrow at the earliest to answer any questions." Gesturing to the woman in bed he murmured sorrowfully, "please stay wtih her Femi."

Looking to Angel again he pleaded, "walk with me...so we may finish our discussion?"