Hearts in Zenith (Four Husbands and a Lover)

48. In Her Majesty's Service

After our first fortnight stationed in Bhar, I concluded that a gurgling pool and Nirvana were one and the same. My heart hitched at the sight of the blue rectangle. I spent my day riding on dirt baked by the sun into pottery shards. I deserved a dip into the pool at the villa that had become my headquarters.

"It's fed by water from the hills backing our plateau," Phedoxia gushed, following the direction of my gaze. "There are secret drains cut through the valley's walls filling up a reservoir. The clever engineering is a marvel!"

"Guard it against poison," I said.

She sketched a bow. "Goes without saying, Your Grandissima."

I pointed at the scrolls filling her sleeves. "Tomorrow, unless there is a letter from the Queen's spy."

She bowed again and left. No letter then.

I ripped off my travel-stained cloak and everything else. My feet tingled the moment they touched the water. Alas, it didn't look quite so crystalline and pure after the contact with my body.

I swam from a palm tree to a palm tree surrounding the pool, enjoying the unwinding of my tired muscles. Like I said, a pool and Nirvana are one and the same...

Since precision meant beauty in Bhar, the gardeners spaced the trees evenly. The shrubs beyond the palm trees displayed purple and red flowers on perfect green shapes created by the tireless sheers. Butterflies opened and closed symmetrical wings. Birds alone showed no respect to this artificial beauty, dashing to and fro, close to the ground, chasing their prey. For such is the life of a predator, the breaker of harmony.

The villa was one of the royal summer palaces, so one could see the pyramids, the obelisks, the ribbon of Jteru from nearly everywhere on the grounds.

If I was in the Queen's shoes, I'd gnash my teeth every time I glimpsed the other shore, because the construction of her own pyramid was sluggish and one could already see that next to the monuments of her ancestors it was a pimple on an elephant's arse. Luckily, I wasn't burdened with upholding the royal prestige race, so for me the other shore was just a pretty picture in the golden rays of the setting sun. And yet, I couldn't help making a note of it.

Not all is as it appears in Bhar.

"Bhar is more glitter than gold," I commented after I had left the pool with a wistful sigh, climbed to the second floor, wiggled my way through the muslin sheets shielding the bed and stretched next to Ondrey.

He rumbled in agreement, then drew a hand down the length of my spine. "I'm afraid to touch you, you are so wonderfully cool. Like one of their obelisks. They are always cold, no matter how hot the sun is... weird, eh?"

I reached over and draped his arm around my shoulders. "Where is that wondrous agent Her Majesty had promised us? So far we unleashed the wrath of the Divines on pathetic villages and eradicated a few dozen rebels."

"And found poisoned wells, had horses stolen and scouts vanished on this miserable expedition."

"Are the years of glory behind us, sweetheart? Are we now executioners to the Queens?"

"I hope not, because when Marezhka is of an age to ride with us, I don't want her to see the dirty side of our business."

I did a subtraction in my head. Marezhka was going on six, which meant... "Six more years, Ondrey. Maybe eight. We'll find an honest war by then."

"We will," he echoed.

The sun burned red after gold and took the last dive into the sands. I dove into Ondrey's arms. Among the simmering hatred of the population, love was our only refuge. It was like the rectangular pool in the garden against the day's heat.