The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) (8 page)

“What a story. We will have to get together soon.” Sarah hugged Laura and shook Ceran’s hand. “I will call and invite you guys over sometime soon.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Ceran said as they walked away from the food court.

“See you later Sarah. Goodbye Jacko,” Laura wriggled her finger to wave goodbye. She picked up her bag and walked off with her mate.

They walked in silence for a little while with Laura deep in thought. Ceran broke the silence by saying, “Is everything alright?”

“As I was listening to Sarah’s story, I realized that I don’t really know that much about you. I mean, I know what you’re doing now, but I don’t know anything about your past. I guess, I thought you would tell me more when you were ready. But, I’ve been thinking. Since our relationship becomes more intimate, maybe it’s time for you to tell me something about yourself.” He walked next to her, remaining silent. “You could start by telling me about your parents? Do you have any sisters and brothers? Where did you grow up? What experiences made you into the man you are today?”

He looked at her sincerely as if he wasn’t sure what to say. He was quiet for longer than she felt he should be. It was as if he was trying to make sure that he ordered the words correctly or something. Why was he so reluctant to talk about his past? What could this man, this perfect man for her, be afraid to tell her? She waited patiently for his answer and finally it came, “My parents and brother and sisters were all killed during one of the first attacks on our planet by the Drylon’s. It is hard to describe where I grew up. It would probably be easier if I just showed you than it would be to tell you about it.” Something about his manner was off. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to ask him. Just when he stayed silent for just a moment too long, he asked, “Do you want to see where I grew up Laura?”

She could tell how hard it was for him. That upward tilt of his eyes when he smiled, which was just about all the time, was gone now. The brightness of the blue in his eyes became darker, ominous even. In her inexperience, she was worried that asking him to share with her a piece of his past would drive a wedge between them. However, she still wanted to know something, anything about this man that she was about to give her life to. “Yes, I would. But, we will go only if it is alright with you. Look, I hope you don’t think that I am prying and I’m certainly not trying make you upset. I really just want to know more about you.”

He looked at the ground for a minute as if to collect his thoughts. “It makes perfect sense. I know all about your family. You’ve answered every question that I’ve asked you. Honestly, you have the right to ask the same of me. I just want you to know that with regard to my family, I have some very painful memories. You had such a great childhood with your family. Mine wasn’t the same. You see, I haven’t been home in ten years. The last time I went there was several weeks after the attack. I’m afraid that I don’t even know what it will look like today, but I can promise you, that it won’t be like it was when I left it.” He cupped her face in his hands, looking into her eyes with tears brimming in his. “It is time that I shared my story with you. If we are going to be a mated couple, I need to tell you my story.”

He took a large bag from her and grabbed for her hand as they made their way back to the hovercraft. After helping her put all her purchases and bags of groceries in the back, he helped her into her seat. “I hope that you won’t judge me poorly after I tell you my story. It’s not a very happy one.” He kissed her on the forehead and let his lips linger as if it were an unspoken wish for forgiveness.

Before he could walk away, she took his hand in hers and said, “Everyone’s personal story contains some degree of tragedy. I am sure that, in the end you did the best that you could in every circumstance you were given. You’re a good man Ceran. You certainly wouldn’t be the man you are today without what you have experienced in your life. I want you to know that I’m very fond of the man that you are today, so that makes me pretty sure that I will hold the same regard for the boy you once were.”

She watched as he walked around and took his seat. The glass dome lowered as he turned to the keypad. Punching in the coordinates, the hovercraft lifted off above the trees. They continued the journey in silence, traveling over acres and acres of dense forest. There was nothing in the areas they were going through that suggested that this land had ever been lived in. No smoke from the oven fires rose from under the thick canopy of the trees. Just a sea of bright green leaves stretched out under the craft with rolling hills and a large mountain in the distance. They traveled for what seemed like hours until finally up ahead there was a meadow. Scattered around the perimeter were burned out shells of buildings.

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The hovercraft started to descend and Ceran landed the craft on a small grassy hill. “This is where I grew up. The town was called Grendalia, after the flowers that grow in the meadow over there.” The lovely white and pink flowers that grew among the wild grasses were waving in the breeze as he pointed them out to her.

He watched as Laura turned her head to look at all that was around her. It was so desolate and uninhabited now, even worse than it was when he left. She said nothing and this worried him. Even now, there were no words of comfort that he felt could be given. He felt her fingers brush him as she reached for his hand to offer him the courage to continue with his story.

“My mother and father chose to live a different kind of life. They raised our family in the forest far away from technology and scientific advancement. On very rare occasions, the traders would bring in something to improve the way we worked the land, but most of the time we lived off the land, simply and by our own hand. I know that if I were stranded in the middle of nowhere, I could take care of myself and my family. I was taught to follow animal tracks, hunt, and skin animals. I know every kind of wild edible plant in the region and how to prepare them as well as the ones you should avoid eating. I know how to plant and sustain crops and where they grow best.” He indicated a small copse of land with several rotting wooden markers, “I had two sisters and one brother and after the attacks I buried them over there with my parents.”

He pulled her along as they walked about 50 yards away from the hovercraft. “Just like you, I knew that I was destined for bigger things. I would never find my destiny among this small community of farmers and craftsman.” He let go of her hand and walked over to the remains the shell of a house. He touched the lintel of the doorway that was now just a gap in the stone wall that was starting to crumble down. She followed him through the gap that once held up a sturdy wooden door. He could remember the dense and smooth polished wood and the handcrafted metal door latch and hinges. He imagined the scene in the home as it was before it was destroyed, the smell of delicious food in the kitchen, and the screams of his little brother as he waited to be fed. He looked down at his feet and reality set in. He noticed that the forest was beginning to reclaim the remnants of the house he grew up in. Small saplings were taking root in the spaces between the flagstones that made up the floors.

Ceran went into what once was his room and started to move the rocks that had fallen from the walls in the corner. The scorched wood of his bed was beside him now as he started digging just below the dust and dirt that covered the floor. He found what he was looking for and held out his hand to her, so that Laura could see what he held in it. Little dusty blue stones of varying sizes lay across his palm. “This was my room. I was in training to be a craftsman and trader. I could take these rocks and make a treasure that was beautiful. I would sit for hours stirring them in a turned wooden bowls full of varying grades of soil until they shined like little tiny blue suns.” With his other hand, he pulled out the necklace that hung around his neck showing her a pendant made of this blue stone set in a beautiful wire setting. “I made this for my mother and found it when came when I came back to bury my family. I wear it so that I will never forget. Every time I look at it, I can see my mother and remember my family.”

He put his hands on scorched wood that surrounded his window. “I sometimes wish that I could go back and change my decision to leave. When I close my eyes, sometimes I can still see the disappointment in my father’s eyes when I decided not to stay and instead abandon everything my family believed in to go to the academy.”
 

“Oh, Ceran. I am so sorry.” Laura said. But, he did not seem to hear her and quickly took her into another area of the house. He went to rest his hands a stone mantle of a fireplace set at the base of the wall.

“My grandparents lived in the city and grew tired of living life at such a fast pace. They were always seeking out the universe, looking for other civilizations. This made it impossible to enjoy the planet they were from. They started this small community, Grendalia, was a place for people to return to the simpler times. Those times that were known to us long before the Theron race traveled into the stars. My uncle Samel enamored with the idea of exploring just as his grandparents had done, escaped the boundaries of our small community at some point in his youth. He eventually returned many years later. Traveling, it turned out was not all he expected it to be. He wanted to settle down and have a family. He left the city behind but could not bear to part with his books. When he came back here, he was a very educated man and the town appointed him the schoolmaster. Early on, he could see that I could understand many concepts that took him so much longer to learn. He tutored me in even more complicated subjects until I had read and understood every tome in his library.”

“My father was angry with his brother-in-law for giving me such an advanced education. He was convinced that all of the studying with my uncle would not help me in my future in Grendalia and he forbade me to continue my studies. No matter how he would try, he could not stop me from sneaking off to learn. I was so thirsty for knowledge that my uncle and I continued to study in secret. My mother would sometimes cover for me when I would leave the house. My uncle told me about the academy and how I would thrive there.”

“Once we reached maturity in our community we would each be assigned a task or trade by the town elders. I was accomplished at many things, but because I was quick with figures and math, they assigned me to train to be a tradesman. I went with my mentor to the city a couple times a year. We would exchange the polished rocks and other goods we made in Grendalia for all the items we could not make for ourselves. We would get medicines, fabric, animals from other farms to prevent inbreeding, tools, and other things that we needed. One day my uncle asked the elders for permission to accompany us on the run into the city. I did not know that he had an ulterior motive.”

“I was given leave by my mentor to accompany my uncle on several errands. I didn’t know where we would go. My uncle surprised me and took me to the academy. I instantly fell in love with the place. Gods, the library was vast. I had never seen such a beautiful collection of books. He introduced me to a man that day. He said his name was Zirlo and he was a commander of importance and a great leader. He left me to talk to him while he went to get a few books to bring home. We walked around the campus and he asked me questions. I answered the best I could and seemed to be listening to every word I said. I had no idea that this tour was my interview.”

“Let's face it, I was 12 and I thought my education was no match for the education that a child would receive in the city. That day was one of the best days of my life. Zirlo even took me up on his ship and let me sit in his chair. As I sat in that chair and looked out the window at the stars that were so clear and bright, not distorted by the atmosphere, I knew. That was the moment I wanted to be a commander of a fleet and one day have a chair like his. One in which I could sit and look out among the stars and see different galaxies and solar systems teeming with life.”

“On the way back my uncle asked me not to tell my dad where I visited and with whom I spoke. So, I went home and continued my life there as I had when I had left. My uncle resumed teaching me at his home behind my father’s back with a few new books that he said were a gift from Zirlo. A messenger came about a month later with a letter from the commander letting my uncle know that I had gained admission to the academy. It also gave instructions about when I was to report to school, where I would stay, and so forth. It was so exciting. I could not believe that accommodations would be made for someone like me to be able to live and study in a school like that.”

“My uncle thought it would be best if he told my father the news. He wanted to try to see if he could make him understand why he thought I needed to go. He thought if maybe it came from him he could soften the blow. We met with my father that evening. He was so furious with my uncle. I could hear them yelling and screaming at one another through the door of my room. I could hear everything they said. They argued for hours until my father called me in and asked me what I wanted to do.”

“By this time, I was mad at my father. I really thought that he would have been proud of me for achieving such a great accomplishment. I told him that I wanted to go to the Academy. He argued that my place was with him and my mother and that he would not give me permission to leave Grendalia. In my anger, I said some pretty terrible things to my father and he disowned me that night. I didn’t stay long after that. My uncle and I left everything that I knew as home for the academy the next day and I never looked back. That day, I abandoned my mother and siblings here on this small farm to live with my father. I can still remember how much I despised him when I went away.” A tear trickled down his cheek as he stared off into the distance.