The Ilia's Lovers - Chapter Fifteen

It was three days since Hadith left Elaine on the balcony. Elaine still stung over it, though less than before. She understood his reasons, she truly did. Hadith was worried about her. About where she was on her recovery journey, and he was worried about taking advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable place. She needed him to understand she was stronger now.

But it was more than that, and she knew it was.

Hadith made it clear to her he was the lover of Dahnus. Elaine had a feeling that the only way he would take Elaine was if Dahnus was also involved. Dahnus’s sexuality was overpowering. He oozed sensuality and it frightened her. But it lured her as well. A promise of a male who enjoyed sensual aspects of sex, not just the finish, but the things that could make that ultimate pleasure burn so much brighter. Dahnus appeared the type of male who would make her combust in a way she’d never felt before.

Elaine was attracted to them both. Hadith, because of his openness, gentleness. If she was honest with herself, she would admit she was falling in love with him.

With Dahnus, it was baser than that. Dahnus was raw, walking sexuality. He intimidated her. But the thought of it, of them, together. The three of them.

Elaine was walking around the small garden outside her suite. Her rooms overlooked it from a balcony and while she’d walked through it, she’d never spent a great deal of time in there. She woke up that morning and realised she wanted to change that. She wanted to walk on the paths, examine the plants, spend time listening to the water, both from the small stream that ran through it, and the fountain that sat in one corner, small, bubbling, quiet and peaceful.

It was here her thoughts turned to Hadith and Dahnus; here, she thought through what she wanted from them. Did she want to be their lover? Did she want to give herself to them?

Elaine’s stomach tightened at the thought of it, at the thought of being surrounded by them, claimed, even if only for a short time.

It would be breathtaking; she knew it would. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure if she was ready, but she wanted to try.

A plan resolved in Elaine’s mind. She didn’t know if Dahnus and Hadith would agree to it, but she knew she had to try.

An hour later Elaine was standing outside of Hadith’s office. She took a deep breath and knocked.  A few moments passed, then.

‘Come.’

Elaine walked inside, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Hadith smiling at her from his seat. He stood and walked around to her, opening his arms to welcome her. As always, Hadith allowed her to come to him, to decide if she was comfortable with him touching her or not. It was such a small thing, but it was one of the reasons Elaine had fallen in love with Hadith, because of the respect and care he consistently showed her.

Elaine stepped into his arms, and he kissed her cheek, holding her to him for a moment before he stepped away.

‘Your note seemed urgent, what is wrong?’ Hadith looked concerned.

‘I wanted to talk to you about… the other night,’ she finished after taking a deep breath.

Hadith’s features sobered and he nodded, then leaned towards her conspiratorially and gave her the most heart stopping smile.

‘I have a surprise for you,’ he said before walking over to his tea table. Elaine got a glimpse of something purple before he stepped in front of it, obscuring it from her view. When he turned, she gasped as she made out one essential word.

‘Chocolate. Hot chocolate.’ Elaine put her hand over her heart, feeling it speed up and fill with emotion. ‘Chocolate,’ she said again, this time her voice thick with emotion and tears in her eyes.

‘Elaine,’ Hadith dropped the chocolate on the counter and walked over to her, ‘this was supposed to make you happy.’

‘It does,’ she mouthed, trying to pull herself together. ‘This is so nice.’ Still, Elaine couldn’t speak aloud.

Finally, Hadith took Elaine in his arms and held her.

‘Thank you,’ she said, when she was finally able to speak.

‘It was Dahnus. He contacted Pyri and she told him your favourite brand. Makios and Rhona Desares picked it up and dropped it at Dahnus Ascent on their way back from Earth.’

Elaine took hold of Hadith’s tunic top and gripped tight. For a moment she couldn’t say anything. She took in a deep breath and let go, stepping out of his arms and looking up at him, smiling.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

Hadith smiled back, relieved, then it widened.

‘Will you show me how to make this? Thanesh sent this to, as he said, “replace a thing called milk”. This is the fluid the female Tessans, and humans prefer to use.’

It was white and appeared like milk. Elaine let out a shaky breath. They’d gone to so much trouble for her.

A few minutes later Elaine cradled a steaming hot cup of chocolate. The milk alternative added a nutty flavour, so it tasted a little like chocolate and hazelnut spread. It tasted like home and reminded her of so many nights of cleaning off the grease from doing car restoration with her mom, before having a shower, then getting into her PJ’s and socks and drinking chocolate cuddled up with her mom on the sofa while watching TV. Elaine closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, hearing the ghost of laughter and talking which faded when she opened her eyes.

Hadith was sniffing his own thoughtfully. He took a tentative sip, his eyebrows shooting up before he took a second drink, deeper this time.

‘This is good.’

‘You sound surprised,’ Elaine said.

Hadith looked at Elaine, then back at the contents of his cup.

‘I am. This is good compared to most Amaran drinks I’ve had. I didn’t expect to enjoy this so much. Where does this come from?’

‘It’s a bean. A bean that grows in this huge pod,’ Elaine held her hands apart, her cup safely held in one of them. ‘The beans are inside, you can eat them raw.’

‘So they cook the bean?’

Elaine nodded.

‘Pyri and I went to Brazil one time and saw a cocoa plantation. They ferment the bean, let it sit and rot a little for a few days, then they cook it and grind it. When it’s ground, it breaks it down and makes the chocolate. Then you add milk and sugar to lessen the bitterness. The more you add, the sweeter it gets.’

‘Fascinating. I wonder if we could grow this on Athia.’

Elaine mouthed the word.

‘Is that the moon, the green one?’

Hadith nodded. ‘It’s a botanical garden. We grow plants from across the known worlds.’

‘Really. I would love to see that.’

‘We must arrange that then,’ Hadith grinned back at her. ‘This is so good,’ he said, taking another sip.

‘Chocolate only grows in what they call the chocolate zone. We almost lost the ability to grow it at all thanks to climate change when the violation happened. You would need to hire cocoa farmers. It could take years and it might never take to Athia.’

Hadith looked down at his cup.

‘I think it might be worth the risk.’

Elaine laughed.

‘That’s how most women and a lot of men on Earth feel about chocolate.’

‘I can see why,’ he said, taking another drink.

Everything went quiet as they drank and Elaine readied herself for what she wanted to say. When she and Hadith finally put down their cups, she sat forward.

‘Can we talk about the other night?’

‘Of course.’ Hadith nodded. ‘May I show you something first?’

Elaine nodded in return, feeling the wind go out of her sails a little. She was so motivated to see this thing done, the longer she waited, the less likely she was to make an effective case. Still, when Hadith rose, she stood and followed him into his studio.

The large slab of stone stood in the centre of the room though closer to the windows. It stood on a platform that had wheels. Elaine wondered how it managed to stand when the stone looked so heavy. A basic shape had been carved out, but there was no detail. Elaine realised, it was the pose Hadith had sketched of her. She took in a deep breath and walked over to study it. The stone was pale cream with a rose tint.

‘It’s beautiful,’ Elaine said.

Hadith was watching her carefully as she walked around it.

‘I’ve been stuck on it for days,’ he admitted. ‘I can’t bring myself to take another piece from it.’

Elaine saw him looking at a cabinet nearby upon which stood an array of tools, including chisels of different sizes and hammers.

‘Why not?’ she asked, worried Hadith might have realised the subject unworthy.

‘I am afraid of making a mistake,’ Hadith whispered, looking up into the amorphous mass of stone where Elaine’s face would be. ‘I am afraid I do not have the talent to capture you faithfully.’ Hadith looked at her, a look of wonder on his face. ‘I am afraid I cannot do justice to your beauty, to the face of the female I am falling in love with.’

Elaine’s mouth dropped open.

‘You’re falling in love with me?’ she whispered.

‘I am,’ he admitted. ‘And Dahnus is not far behind me. It is why I left the other night, Elaine. I could not trust myself to be with you.’

‘But I’m falling in love with you. I wanted you. I… I know why, I know you’re afraid I’m not ready.’ Elaine walked towards him, stopping a foot or so short of actually touching him. ‘I am ready. I… I’m not saying I’m not scared, but I think I always will be until… until we…’ Elaine reached out to him, but stopped, allowing him to step towards her. Hadith took her hand and led it to his lips, kissing her palm.

‘Have you spoken to Harumi about this?’

Elaine smiled and nodded. ‘Last night, the night before and the night before. She is leaving it up to me to lead the way. She will talk to me as often as I need to speak to her. She says if I feel ready, then she trusts me and the Amaran policy of openness. She also said you and Dahnus can contact her to about anything you feel you need to before… anything happens.’

Hadith nodded thoughtfully.

‘Very well. Come with me.’

‘Again?’

Hadith flashed her a smile that set off a small electrical charge in her stomach and, keeping hold of her hand, he led her back into the office and towards a bookcase that sat on the shared wall with the art studio. He touched a part of the wood, and the bookcase swung inward revealing a small staircase leading down.

‘Now the circular walls make sense. It gives space for the secret passages.’

‘Precisely,’ Hadith said, leading the way.

The bookcase swung back in place once they were on the stairs which led down only five steps before they were at a door.

Hadith put his finger to his lips. Elaine nodded her understanding, and he opened the door a crack, drawing her closer, pulling her gently in front of him so that they could see through.

At first, Elaine thought she was looking into a library, but then realised the dimensions were off. It was some kind of small book nook, less than ten feet long and wide. Then she realised there was a lower floor and sitting at a desk sat the Ilan. He was talking to someone they couldn’t see.

Dahnus looked up and saw them, a delighted smile appearing, and he signalled them to join him with a wave of his hand, standing and walking around the desk to lean against the front of it.

Hadith opened the door wider, another bookcase, and led Elaine across the small library and the huge comfy seat which sat next to a fireplace, and down the steps to the office floor.

‘… they’re very relieved to be coming here,’ a man’s voice said.

‘They’re going to figure out you had something to do with it,’ Dahnus said.

‘They’ll have to prove it.’

Elaine turned to the screen where the voice was coming from and saw the familiar face of High Protector Thanesh staring out at her. When he saw her, his harsh features softened, and he smiled.

‘Ensign Elaine Franklin, I presume?’

Elaine nodded. ‘I’ve seen so many pictures of you, I never thought I would get to meet you, high protector.’

‘Please, call me Thanesh. How are you?’

‘I’m feeling a lot better. I’m sorry, I don’t want to interrupt your meeting.’

‘Not at all. Perhaps, Dahnus, you would like to tell her?’

Dahnus grinned.

‘It seems that an unknown group broke into the embassy section of the IGC last night, entered the Kepali embassy and rescued several missing human crew of Endurance, though we have no idea who did it.’ Dahnus looked at Thanesh.

‘Yes, it’s a complete mystery,’ Thanesh’s voice was monotone.

 The wave of relief that rocked through Elaine almost took her off her feet. Elaine almost crumpled in on herself, her arms wrapping around her stomach.

‘Oh, thank god. Do you know who?’

“I will send you a list of everyone as soon as I find out,” Thanesh said, leaning over and doing something off screen.

“Oh, we seem to have received a list from you,” Dahnus said with a grin on his face.

Elaine smiled, but she suddenly felt overwhelmed with gratitude.

Hadith appeared at her back, his body supporting her, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

‘Elaine?’

It took a moment for her to catch her breath, to find the ability to speak, finally she nodded.

‘I’m okay. I’m okay… just, oh thank God.’

‘Elaine, I’m so sorry. It never occurred to me the effect that news would have on you.’

Elaine managed to raise her head, seeing the concerned look, mixed with self-recrimination, on Dahnus’s face.

Elaine looked at the screen, but it was dark. She had so many questions, but she was also thankful he’d left, giving her privacy while she had yet another breakdown.

Dahnus led her over to a small seating area in front of the fireplace and the three of them sat down. The roaring fire was the only sound in the room as she took in deep breath after deep breath, Harumi’s voice in her mind repeating the reassurances that it was okay to be overwhelmed. Life under Castus had created a wound and while she was healing, there was still a little way to go.

Elaine opened her eyes and looked at the two Amaran’s who had surrounded her during her journey back, who had offered her their strength, patience and silence and thanked every god that could exist in heaven or otherwise for these two strong, beautiful, supportive males.