Story: Eve Sky (chapter 18)

Authors: StarCross

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Chapter 18

Title: "Am I fit to inherit the Earth?"

Eve Sky
Chapter 18 - "Am I fit to inherit the Earth?"
by StarCross


"Padma has this thing called a 'Napolean Complex'," said Evelyn. "I don't know what that means, but they say her being so short is the reason she's so aggressive. I guess that is why she's the chief of the security forces. Then again, I think her aggression stems from the twins teasing her during childhood."

From high vantage point, Evelyn saw Jerda huffing and puffing her way towards her. The waterfoxes Gertrude and Nandi weren't far behind.

"Teila's always been timid as far as I can remember," Evelyn continued. "But I don't know exactly the reason why she became the doctor of our village. I suppose it's in her nature, but then again she was the only qualified.

"That's because Suzette's almost always asleep. She's supposed to be record keeper, but not a particularly good one I might add. I do hear she is a day sleeper, and you can see her haunting the mansion halls at late nights.

"The twins Odilia and Nikhila aren't much help because they always try to grope the young women and meddle in everyone's love affairs. They're supposed to be the high priestesses, but all they rather do is play matchmaker. Ironically though, every girl comes to them for advice on love, and it is always helpful. Another interesting fact about them that they each had ten children each from their respective wives, but they have gotten so confused on who had who that they decided to be parents of all twenty. It was all well and good ever since their wives passed away long ago.

"Then there is my grandmother, Evie. She is the strongest out of the Six Daughters, but also the strictest. She usually has the final say in all our affairs. She is actually a very soft woman, especially when she takes care of great-grandmother. Great-grandmother was the one who taught me English by the way."

Evelyn looked down. Jerda was resting against the trunk of a tall tree. Evelyn leaped down and procured a water bottle for her companion.

"Just let me catch my breath," said Jerda.

"You move so slow," said Evelyn. "You're wearing too much clothes."

"You move too fast!"

"Your grandmother is not going to last long. Wait, don't move! You should rest! You wouldn't want to die before you got home."

"Okay."

Evelyn sat very close next to Jerda. She linked her arm with her and leaned on her shoulder.

"I love you by the way," said Evelyn.

"Since when?"

"Since we first met."

"It's a little too fast."

"I thought so too. I don't know what came over me though. Usually I'm quick to kill, but when I saw you up close, my heart just fluttered."

"Don't you have any sweethearts back at your village city?"

"I do have lots of admirers probably because I'm the granddaughter of Evie. I wasn't interested in any them, and I thought I should live my life as lone soldier of Padma's forces. They all think its weird that I don't want to become a mama or an amam."

"The chance of becoming pregnant or impregnating another is half and half."

"I am aware of that, but I wasn't too interested then. That is, until I met you."

"I don't know how to respond to this..."

"You respond well to my kisses."

"I don't know."

Evelyn rose to her feet and paced a bit. "The thing about the Twins boasting that they are never wrong... They actually have a very good track record. Almost all of the couples they paired together end up living happy lives with lots of children."

"Do you believe that?"

"No. I believe in love at first sight."

Jerda got up. "I'm done."

They resumed their journey north along the raging Nile River. It had been days since Evelyn started accompanying Jerda after the incident in New Khartoum. Evelyn had said to her family that she went hunting and scavenging, but to certain key elders she said confessed that she wanted see what Jerda's home was like as well as the outside world.

What the case may be, she wanted to be with her. She made sure her every movement, both intentional and unintentional, flaunted her thin body and her exposed skin, and had always insisted on Jerda taking a bath with her.

"Baths are a private matter where I come from," Jerda had said. "And flaunting of skin is frowned upon as well."

"So it is," said Evelyn. "Well, baths are a private matter back at my city."

"Then why are you coaxing me?"

"Don't know. I'm waiting for you to ravage me."

"That won't happen."

"I guess we all know who's going to be the mama in our relationship."

Jerda did have illicit thoughts of touching Evelyn inappropriately, and she even dreamed of licking every part of her brown skin. Her culture prided themselves in modesty, both behavior and in dress, so Jerda would be dressed in a matter that exposed the least skin--and also it was cold in Tehran.

Then again, Evelyn could in fact be the one destined to her. That was one of the things her culture had in common with Evelyn's, and that there were certain women fated to be together to create the perfect monogamy.



"You must tell me more about your home," said Evelyn, as she sat by Jerda at the campfire. "So I could better prepare."

"We live in or by the forest," said Jerda, "just like you guys. We're more reserved and modest, and we have very cold winters."

"Does your grandmother have any power in that society?"

"Once, but since her blindness and sickness, it has been delegated to Ten Daughters of Quyen; my half-aunts."

"Half-aunts?"

"Yes. I'm the offspring of the third and last daughter of Mistress Laleh, who my grandmother took after Quyen, the First Wife, died. My aunts and my mother have been expelled from main city and forced to live outside by the Ten Daughters. It seemed that they didn't take too kindly of grandma taking a mistress and having children with her. Thinks that goes against the doctrine of Perfect Monogamy."

"That's a lot of crap. Your grandmother was alone! She was bound to fall in love with another woman."

"The thing is, however, is that all direct descendants of my grandmother are potential heirs of the Sword of Danya, the legendary relic that symbolizes the leadership and the pride of our city."

"I get it now. It's all political. Great-grandmother disliked politics, and that's why we kept laws at a minimum. If that should be the case, who is the heir?"

"No one knows yet..."

Evelyn noticed Jerda blinking fast and moving her eyes.

"It's you isn't it?"

"That's silly," said Jerda. "I'm only twenty-one, and there are more qualified adults than me."

"You're twenty-one? I thought you were young as me."

"How old are you then?"

"Fifteen, turning sixteen."

"Oh, darn. Um, is that an age of consent where you come from?"

"If your cum is sparkling, you're ready for sex. That's what Nikhila says. Or was it Odilia? I can't tell those two apart. Anyway, it seems like you don't care about what's happening at your home."

"Not really. I don't even have any hard feelings against my aunts for banishing my family and me. But there is faction developing between the Ten Daughters, and at least half of them want to branch off to create their own Queendoms. Some of those lands are rich in soil and minerals that it might cause future conflict."

"I can see why your grandmother was wise to include you in the list of heirs."

"I don't really care. I just want to live in peace by myself and my future wife."

"Why not live in my city?"

"I'm not welcome."

"Then we'll form our own settlement free of this political-xenophobic crap. That's almost how great-grandmother began New Khartoum with her six daughters."

"Or how grandmother started Tehran with Quyen."

"Just like that. I guess great-grandmother and your grandmother have a lot in common. Still, I can't help but wonder about who great-grandmother mated with to have grandma and the others."

"Was she mama or amam?"

"She won't say. Not even her daughters know."



"Why not Cairo?" Evelyn said as she looked at the map, and then at the marshes of Egypt from a high tree.

"Cairo?" asked Jerda, who was chopping up fruit with her knife. "Where's that at?"

"It should be around here judging by this map."

"The map is old. Why are you deciding things like this?"

"If we're going to have a family, we need a good place where there is lots of resources and good historical value."

"We're not married yet."

"I know. We will be once we have sex."

"It doesn't work that way. We get married, then we have sex."

"But marriage before sex produces incompatibilities later in life. That's what great-grandmother taught me."

"You can't soil the sacredness of institution."

"I'm only saying that it's illogical. You need to fall in love first, and with love sex inevitably comes."

"We don't follow such pagan ways."

"I'd say you're pagan, girl. Did you base your society on a book written by man-devils?"

"I will not stand this insult!"

"You're pissed, and yet you're staring at my butt as if you want to rape me."

"How can't I? You're wearing close to nothing!"

"You're acting like zealot with a silver pole stuck up your butt. Fine then! You're not bathing with me tonight!"

"That's all and well you naked savage!"



Sinnai Island wasn't exactly bald if one were to wash ashore and traverse its small land to find the few plants and grass that struggled there. It was the case for, in their unfortunate circumstance, for Jerda, Evelyn, and their waterfoxes crashed and was forced to find shelter amidst a storm.

"Your raft sucks!" Evelyn said. "Why didn't you build it to accommodate one person and an additional waterfox?"

"How was I supposed to know I'm taking home a savage?"

"You're just a poor planner!"

"It's not like you can jerry-rig an additional platform."

"We people are master river navigators I might add."

They finally found a cave. The waterfoxes stood at the entrance shaking the excess water off their bodies. A fire was quickly started with the help of sticks, straw, and a lighter. Their clothes and even their underwear were neatly tossed aside after Jerda and Evelyn stripped themselves to the bare skin.

Now, they did not know who started it, how it got started, or if an argument was a leading cause. Before they knew it, their bodies were pressed against one another furiously kissing in the thrash of their lovemaking. The limited space and the hard surfaces around them was not enough to hinder them, but they did manage to scrounge some comfort when Evelyn had pushed Jerda onto her back on top of a flattened bundle of straw.

"Are you all right with this?" Evelyn breathed.

Jerda kissed her. "Fuck me now. Please!"

Evelyn grinned. The f-word was one of those words her great-grandmother and grandmother told her to use sparsely. She kissed her lover once more and mounted so that her breasts her mashed against the other pair and her clitoris was nuzzled deep into Jerda's vulva.

They kept humping each other for more than an hour, kissing each other as much as possible, and ejaculating into themselves. Their mixture they made was sparkling, none knew who made it. Like almost all the lovers in their respective homes, the scooped it up with their fingers for a sweet taste, and shared it between one another.



She was only dressed in her bra, panties, and her cloak the next morning when she scrounged the island for pieces of the raft and additional driftwood. It felt unusually relaxing for Jerda to be half-nude in the breeze.

"Grope-grope!" Evelyn cried.

"Let go," said Jerda, pushing her lover's hands off her breasts. "And why aren't you helping me?"

"You're doing most of the work. I'm horny."

"I have no time to play around."

Evelyn tackled Jerda onto the beach and groped her all over whilst kissing.

"I won't stand that," said Evelyn. "You know I love you."

Jerda sighed. "We'll have more time to make love when we arrive at Tehran."

"Okay."

Yet the two lingered in their embrace.

"Does this mean we're married?" Evelyn asked.

"It would be a great offense in my culture," replied Jerri. "But yes, we are married in my book."



It was a week's journey from the Jordan beaches to the ruins of the Baghdad Metropolis, where the city was surrounded by the gravestone-like oil refineries, and skeletons of ancient mobile weapons. Gertrude and Nandi had performed their duty in finding water sources for their masters, despite the setbacks of them mating once in a while. It was likely that one of them would had pups, and usually it was the one who showed significant slowness in movement.

Evelyn had never seen a desert, let alone a savannah. She was spared from a sweltering desert, but with the state of the world, both she and Jerda would not have to cross any in their lifetimes.

"This is a weird place," remarked Evelyn as she walked atop of a grounded trailer of a truck. "What are we looking for again?"

"A shrine," said Jerda. "Or a sign. I forget which. Ah, there it is!"

They entered a mosque, which to them was a ruined holy place of a religion long gone. Tehran had similar structures, but they no longer pointed to the fabled city of Mecca. Instead, the niche, or Mihrab, pointed southeastward to the holy land of Vietnam.

Jerda searched underneath the ruined Minbar (a pulpit equivalent) and procured a box of supplies left behind fairly recently by her people. In it contained maps and tools, but the item of most importance was a flare gun that she used on that very night.

"Pretty," said Evelyn. "What does that do?"

"It sends a signal," said Jerda. "If the scouts spot us, they'll come by to pick us up in a day."

"And if they don't?"

"We move on to another stop to fire another flare."



To their surprise, the response came at the morning. Evelyn, Jerda, and their waterfoxes emerged from sleeping inside the mosque expecting a small welcome party, but what they got instead was a heavy convoy complete with an ornate and heavily decorated long-carriage in addition to a smaller and religious carriage. There were twenty handsome, tall, and beautiful female riders on their own striped swept-eared horses, or swept horses. The riders each wore regal uniforms of thick cotton green cloth and furred capes, and they were armed with one sword, a rifle, and a pistol. There were two drivers for the carriage, and accompanying them was one priestess and her two handmaidens, each of them were dressed in demure Asiatic robes.

Everyone dismounted, surrounded Jerda, and kowtowed before her.

"Jerda," said Evelyn, who was still standing. "What's going on? Are we in trouble?"

"It's worse," replied Jerda. "I've just been made queen."

"How can that be worse?"

Jerda was now crying. "Because grandmother passed away."



She was quickly changed into her regal white garbs of jade and silver, and topped off with a felt hat and a white cloak. Her foreign companion, had to be dressed appropriate, and the cavalry's extra uniforms would not suit Evelyn since it would be offensive to their new queen. It was then decided, under Jerda's pressure, that Evelyn should wear the extra clothes reserved for the new queen. It did not quite fit Evelyn, and most of the jade and silver accents were unbuttoned off in order to make her less regal than Jerda.

The ride was unusually swift. Even the Zagros Mountains did not slow them one bit. They only made one stop in the empty city of Hamadan, populated only by a small family that the cavalry would have mistreated if not for Jerda's intervention. The family was almost forced out to vacate the home for their new queen, but Jerda convinced them all, despite everyone's insistence, that she would be staying in her carriage since it was luxurious.

The family turned out to be consisted a close cousin of one her aunts and a granddaughter of one of the Ten Daughters of Quyen. They had three children, one of them a teenager, and all of them Evelyn barely got a glimpse of when the convoy parted on the very next morning.

"Jerda," said Evelyn. "I'm really sorry."

"It's all right," said Jerda. "The trip was still worth it though."

Evelyn reached out and held her lover's hand. "At the very least, you can use the medicine and herbs for someone else who needs it."

The convoy passed by the ruins of the Old Tehran, which was once a thriving megalopolis that was now decaying underneath sands and straw. Further they journeyed, and the convoy finally arrived past the rigid-wood gates of the Tehran Queendom and capital at dusk. Evelyn could see out of the windows the people and the soldiers kowtowing in reverence as they headed through the main street crowded with log cabins made from thick trees.

The city was surrounded by a forest, but it was more open and cleared away. She could see in the distance black smoke rising from the hills and mountains, and the clanging sounds of industry. The people of all classes were dressed very warmly, and some had their faces veiled so well that only eyes could be seen. It was cold in the Tehran Queendom, and it readily made Evelyn shiver so easily.

When the carriage was stopped, the doors were open, and regal knights in leather armor helped their new queen and her companion out. Evelyn saw that they were inside a segregated section of the city barred by a thinner wood wall. Before her was a long red velvet carpet leading to one of the large buildings in the area. People in their kowtow were lined up, and by the jade, silver, and gold ornaments, they were clearly of the upper nobility, and quite possibly the Ten Daughters of Quyen and their descendants.

But the real Ten Daughters of Quyen were waiting inside the tri-level Tenaya Palace. Each had their unique air of superiority, save for one or two, particularly the Queyen Daughter who had a mechanical hook for a right hand and wild white hair. There was one Quyen Daughter, the eldest apparently, that looked remarkably like Evelyn's grandmother Evie. In fact, she would be considered her twin if not for her slightly longer hair and fair skin.

Jerda gave her greetings to her older half-aunts in Sino-Persian, and tried to hurry off to her room with Evelyn at her side. The eldest of the Ten Daughters tried to call Jerda back down. Jerda indicated through her words and gestures that she was tired.

"You're going to have to choose a wife sooner later," said the eldest Quyen Daughter in perfect English. "I really don't believe that girl you have will suffice."

Evelyn turned around to yell back, but Jerda covered her mouth and pulled her back upstairs. During which, she conversed with the other maidservants of high-ranking, and finally settled into the room right next to the stairwell to the third floor.

"Oh, that bitch," said Evelyn. "Me not sufficing? For Goddess's sake, we just fucked!"

"Don't let her get to you," said Jerda as she threw off her cloak and jacket in order to jump onto her bed. "Lien is only acting seriously since she is the oldest--and has the most power."

"Someone needs to pull the silver shaft out of her ass one of these days. There is no way I'm letting you marry one of the girls here."

"They'll try to. It's one way for them to gain power. You see, when the queen takes in a woman as a wife, they share equal power. After one or more of their children are born, their roles of mama and amam are determined. The one who is labeled as amam becomes the queen, while the mama is relegated back to simply being a wife."

"Jerda, you're bound to be mama no matter who you marry."

"If I marry you that is..."

"Hmm..."

Evelyn threw her cloak to the floor and leapt onto the bed along with Jerda. Immediately she interlocked her legs and kissed her lover.

"So what's going to happen now that you're queen?" Evelyn asked.

"Lot's of things," replied Jerda. "I'll visit my grandmother's grave tomorrow morning, then a ritual coronation will take place afterwards. At the same time, my half-aunts' granddaughters will do everything to seduce me."

"Not going to happen. They'll have to get through me."

"They're not going to like it."

"They don't have to. They'll hate me, and I'll hate them. Simple as that."

"I do wish you could get along with them. Almost everyone in the city is my cousin."

"I wish they were more like you."

"Then I'd be jealous."

They giggled and kissed one more time.

The maids called them out downstairs for dinner, which was a private for only the two of them. Before that, however, they were changed into white indoor clothes that had a medieval flair.

They table they ate in was long, for it was meant accommodate a feast of twenty. Not wanted to be alone and separate, Jerda and Evelyn sat at the head next to each other. They were not exactly alone in their eating, as the head matron of the servants and her two immediate subordinates were close by to serve their mistresses every possible need. Yet there were low whispers about the presence of their foreign visitor, and it was likely they were not positive comments.

After dessert, they took a bath together in the carved marble bath and availed themselves to be sponge-washed by four chaste and voluptuous maidservants, each of who were garbed in a tight white long-sleeve garments that became wet and stuck to their skin. Their dress was supposed to keep them modest, but it had an opposite effect. Then again, it was erotic in its own way since their skin could be seen through.

They slept together in their room, and then in the next morning, they were woken up by the head matron to be dressed and primed for the day. Jerda wore a similar outfit the likes of which she wore when she arrived at the new Tehran, and Evelyn was dressed in a less-than luxurious and fashionable outfit. They were led back down to the dining area for breakfast, where this time they were joined by the Ten Daughters of Quyen.

"Since we're alone," started Lien, "I guess it is safe for all of us to speak the dying language since our guest understands it quite well."

Evelyn felt cautious about the Ten, who looked at her and Jerda with cunning, disgruntled, or apathetic eyes. Lien introduced them down the line, by ranking and by age. The second daughter was the demure Hoa, who looked as if she resented her older sister's power and influence. The third was the shorter Tuyet, who seemed to look up to Lien. The fourth, Xuan, was the prettiest, as she was blond and adorned with the most jewels and the best clothes. The fifth, Kitty, was shifty-looking for her eyes looked as if they were closed in comparison to her sisters, who already had small slit-like eyes. For being in the middle, Kitty usually hid her sadistic and secretive smile behind a folding fan. She relied on a servant to feed her.

The sixth daughter was Arzu, the tallest and the strongest of the lot. The seventh was the bespectacled and serious-looking Gul. Gul looked to be a doctor, who could rival Teila's skills. The eighth was the jittery Yasmin, who had a constant fondness for coffee. The ninth daughter, Dorothy, was the one Evelyn saw who had the hook for her missing hand and wild hair. Evelyn could not guess her motivation, as it seemed she was too preoccupied with a rectangular block that was clearly ancient technology. The tenth daughter and last was Shirin, who looked pitifully weak in comparison to her older sisters. Shirin almost reminded Evelyn of Teila in her worse days.

"I hear you returned from the savage lands," Tuyet said to Jerda, "and brought home a interesting, albeit pretty girl."

"I wouldn't exactly call her land savage," said Jerda. "Sure they live in a more challenging environment, but they have a thriving technological civilization there."

"Might I ask on how well armed their military force are, if they have one?" asked Arzu.

"We do keep our own share of rifles and pistols," said Evelyn.

Arzu began whispering to Lien and Tuyet in their language.

"But we do not posses any massively destructive weapons," added Evelyn. "Like bombs of a biological, radiological, and atomic nature."

"And you don't posses any flying chariots?" asked Arzu. "They are also called airships if you may ask."

"Not that I know of. We are a peace-loving society."

"A society that needs guns and swords to defend itself."

"We're not dumb enough to allow ourselves be attacked by outsiders. Only one incident had happened before I was born fifty years ago."

"Dear Arzu," chuckled Kitty. "Don't tell me you're planning to start an invasion to the girl's humble queendom."

"I am merely curious," said Arzu. "If needs be, it may be possible to lend our assistance to New Khartoum in case natural disaster were to occur."

"Or perhaps you, Lien, Tuyet, and Xuan want to find a place to rule after the split."

"We would never dream of doing that," said Lien.

"Miss Evelyn Matthews, I will make sure that my sisters won't have any desire of invading your lands. This is what happens when you spend too much time with a certain book instead of your wife."

"Why must you stir up trouble like this Kitty? You think this is some game here? There are other survivors out there, and we have a duty to spread our culture to them."

"Life is a game dear Lien, which I elect not to participate in until all but one of the players have given up."

"And that's when you'll reveal your true colors."

"How do you know my true colors when you have not seen it?"

The two sisters stared each other down. For some reason, Kitty reminded Evelyn of her twin grand-aunts, except she was vicious like a snake.

With breakfast finished, the women led themselves outside to join with a an armed royal regimen. That was when Evelyn finally met Jerda's parents, the amam Afra and her mother Zaray, as well as her sisters, aunts, cousins, and nieces. The reunion was short, as the visiting of the late Queen of Tehran took precedence, and Jerda and Evelyn had to be in lead, while the descendants of Laleh were excluded from the ritual.

They arrived at a tomb, half-erected, half completed, and under construction at the side of the mountain after a half of a kilometer walk. It was pointing southwest to the Vietnam Holy Land, which would allow Jerda to pray at her grandmother's tomb. The youngest daughter of Quyen, Shirin, laid out a bouquet of flowers at the half-open stone-slab entrance, as she as always done. She was mentioned during the breakfast that she was a botanist, and had no interest in inheriting the Sword of Danya.

Most of the other daughters of Quyen seemed to be jealous of Jerda's ascension. Evelyn could feel the foreboding air ever since she stepped into this new land, and already the great-granddaughters of the late Queen were eying their primed faces at Jerda, and some had to gall to converse cordially with her during the journey to the tomb.

Lunch was served at a separate building, the Great Hall, which was located right next to the Great Temple built on the foundation of an old and ancient building. In here the conversation became livelier, but the air of foreboding jealousy could not be quelled. Jerda's immediate family was segregated towards the entrance doors, which could not afford any chance of her talking with them.

Jerda conversed with the daughters of Quyen and their descendant in their own language. Evelyn would have been isolated if not for the interest of one of the more moderate of the Ten Daughters. Unfortunately, she was also the shadiest.

"I'm rooting for you," grinned Kitty.

"Um, thanks," said Evelyn.

"I guess you know how Jerda felt like when she was at your land."

"I don't know. She was cautious, but perhaps it was our cultural xenophobia that drove them away."

"My, you know some big words."

"Still, I cannot understand how we know a common language the majority of us don't understand."

"I ask myself that too. English was our first language, for it was the language of our Amam. But she eventually learned Vietnamese, and then Persian, and in no time those two merged. We're fluent in Sino-Persian in our own right, but we would never utter a dead language of English unless we're dealing with programming, which is Dorothy's department."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about the programming part. The reason we don't utter it is because it makes Amam very sad. Lien strictly forbids everyone to speak it or else they would be punished. It did not matter if they were Englishwomen, American, or not. No one was to speak it--that is until now."

"I could understand that. But what's this split going on?"

"Oh, it's just a simple and ridiculous power struggle happening between Lien and Hoa. Amam knew that it was happening, and she wanted a young and innocent girl to inherit the Sword of Danya and not some old crone seeped into politics."

"But why Jerda? Her family is essentially banished from general affairs."

"Only when they reach adulthood. Even though we look down on the daughters of Laleh, we are compelled to educate their children in academics, the sciences, religion, and physical combat. Our Amam personally trained them even though she was blind and getting perverted... much to the parents' dismay. Ahem. She was, as I have perceived accurately, quite intimate with Jerda. I have eavesdropped on her conversation with the English matron that Jerda had always reminded her about herself. Jerda was indeed oppressed by our society and picked on by her peers, but she always retained a pure heart and never wished for anyone's destruction. Even with the powers going against her, Jerda still thinks of us as her family."

"Why would you care about me marrying Jerda?"

Kitty chuckled. "I would love to see the pissed faces of Lien and her cohorts, and it is likely there would be riots, and a split of the queendom would be inevitable!'

"I don't know if I could trust you or not."

"Ho-ho, my dreams of a chaotic yet interesting world could just be a passing fancy for now. I really don't care if you trust me or not, but in this current situation, I'm really the only one you can trust."

She was right. Evelyn had to trust her, for she obviously owed no loyalty except for herself, and enjoyed watching the spectacle with a sadistic smile.

With lunch ended, Jerda stepped out to floor to personally greet the young and willing granddaughters of the Ten Daughters, and even danced with a few until the formal coronation began. In the short trip outside, Evelyn beheld hundreds of people standing outside kowtowing or bowing to their new queen who was about to be formally crowned.

Jerda was led away to be dressed in her formal robes and cloak, leaving Evelyn with the grinning Kitty along with the other sisters inside the temple where they took their seats directly on the ornately woven carpeted floor. Evelyn looked round for Jerda's family, but gave up assuming that they were barred from sitting from the "true" heirs, such as those descending from Quyen. About ten minutes later Jerda emerged flanked by royal guards and beautiful handmaidens to meet up with the head priestess Hoa, the second daughter of Quyen.

"Hoa?" said Evelyn. "Why would she be doing this when she's against it?"

"What else?" said Kitty. "To spite Lien. Hoa can expel Jerda later once one of her granddaughters marry her and become an amam."

Then, two armored women each veiled with a black niqab headdress appeared from the side entrance to bring in a wooden case.

"The Sword of Danya," chuckled Kitty.

"What's so funny?"

Hoa opened the case and ceremoniously pulled out the sword. It was uniquely decorated, but the blade was dark and a bit tarnished. Hoa then transferred the sword to Jerda, who then lifted up for everyone to see. This signaled everyone to kowtow to the floor, and even Evelyn was compelled to do so. After a few moments, they raised their bodies up, and Jerda was now standing by an Asiatic pulpit.

"Now she's going to give the coronation speech," explained Kitty.

"But I can't understand Sino-Persian," said Evelyn.

"I can translate for you. Let's see, she's praising the Goddess, blah-blah-blah... She's decrying the social situation and our over reliance on an ancient book, blah-blah-blah..."

"You're not helping."

Then Kitty started chuckling.

"Oh, my," she smiled. "I can't believe she's going to do it!"

"Do what?"

"Watch and witness the hilarity."

At first, it looked as if Jerda was going to slice the pulpit in half. Instead, the blade broke off from its handle and was sent flying into Lien's head. The blade, as it turned out, was so dull that it whacked Lien with a bloody thud. The blade bounced off her forehead and crashed into a candle stand, sending the carpet on fire.

Quickly, everyone scrambled to her feet as the royal guards rushed over to stomp and stamp out the fire. Kitty burst out laughing, and received stares from her peers, but she wasn't alone in laughing at the ridiculousness of the religious ceremony. A smile drew across Shirin's face, and the commoners outside were also laughing.

Evelyn found it funny as well, but she was more concerned as to where the royal guards were taking Jerda. She tried to chase her, but the spears from the remaining guards blocked her path. Someone grabbed her hand and dragged her through the commotion of people, and they ended up outside of the temple.

"Wasn't that a blast?" Kitty yelled. She was the one who pulled Evelyn out.

"Where are we going?"

"You're going to seduce my distant niece."

Out of the crowd they arrived at the side of the log palace of Tenaya towards the rear. Kitty searched the walls and upon finding something no one could see, she pushed a secret button, and a hidden entrance revealed itself.

"This goes through the storehouse," she said. "Take the stairs and head into the same room you and Jerda slept in."

"I still don't understand why you're helping me."

"Neither do I, but if you marry Jerda, interesting things are bound to happen. I would like to see that."

Evelyn smiled. "Say, do you fancy yourself as a matchmaker?"

"Of course not! I'm terrible at it. At least one of my daughters hasn't forgiven me for hooking her up with a weirdo of a woman. Why do you ask anyhow?"

"No reason, but I do guarantee that this one will be a success."

"I hope you will. Now go and get yourself knocked up. Or knock her up. Doesn't matter, just do each other anyway."

"I'm way ahead of you."

Evelyn parted with a wink, and disappeared into the passageway, with Kitty closing up the entrance.

Evelyn followed the path as directed. The palace was guarded, and thus getting to the second floor where Jerda was being held at took longer than expected. But when she reached there, she found that she could not get past the four guards by the doorway.

"Psst!"

Evelyn shivered in surprise, but an old hand dragged her away into the closet.

"Put this on," said the stranger.

It turned out to be the head matron, who spoke an old accent of English. Evelyn complied and the put on a maidservant's outfit.

"Wait, you speak English as well," said Evelyn. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'm forbidden to speak it," said the English matron. "Of course, I also have to respect the rule of not speaking unless spoken to."

"I see."

"Now let's go."

The head matron led Evelyn to the entrance, and after a short exchange of words with the female guards, they were allowed in. Once inside and secure, Evelyn ran into Jerda's arms and kissed.

"Thanks a lot Agnes," said Jerda.

"No, you have Kitty to thank," said the matron.

"You support her faction?" Evelyn asked.

"What faction? I just think she's a fun woman."

After bowing, Agnes chuckled her way out of the room. Then both Evelyn and Jerda jumped onto the bed and kissed some more.

"What a day," said Evelyn. "I can't the sword broke."

"That's because it's a fake," said Jerda.

Evelyn's eyes widened.

"Kitty didn't tell you?"

"She did a bad job."

Jerda sighed heavily. "I sure made an embarrassment of myself and everyone else."

"How?"

"I totally ridiculed our society and our religion. I lambasted them for expelling a group of people whose only crime was being descended from a second wife. And after telling everyone that the legendary Sword of Danya was a fake, I demonstrated it on the pulpit, but I never expected to hit Lien's head and cause a small fire."

"What happened to the real one?"

"Grandma confessed to me that it wore out. Then she lost it."

Evelyn chuckled, and eventually Jerda joined in.



Jerda and Evelyn had an uncomfortably quiet dinner with the Ten Daughters of Quyen. Lien now had a bandage wrapped around her head, and Kitty could not stop chuckling. Lien repeatedly commanded her in their language to stop laughing, but gave up after a couple of tries. Then she faced Jerda:

"I hope you're happy about our embarrassment of today."

"I did not intend for it to happen," said Jerda. "Again, I apologize."

"Give it up," said Xuan. "We all know it is a fake."

"I didn't know," said Dorothy.

"We already told you before," said Shirin. "But you were too excited to research it that you forgot."

"Oh, I wish we had the real one. That way I can research its atomic properties and make duplicates--all in the name of science!"

"Are you intending to lose another hand again Dorothy?" asked Gul.

"If it will bring me closer to knowing the secrets of the universe, then I will gladly lose not only my hand, but also my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, legs and my liver--all in the name of science!"

"Drop it, all of you," said Lien. "Embarrassments aside, there is still the important matter of Jerda selecting a wife. I do realize that most of you right now want to nudge her towards this foreign woman, but you must realize that this might not go well with the rest of the populace."

"A lot of them think she's cute," said Kitty.

"And many have impure thoughts about her," said Hoa.

"I sure would like to have brown skin like hers," said Xuan.

"Don't you think it's too early for this?" asked Jerda.

"It's never early," said Kitty. "Or rather, you're already late. I can tell from you two that you are madly in love, and that you have already lost each other's virginity."

"Oh, dear Goddess in heaven," said Hoa.

"Let me ask you this Jerda," said Lien. "Are you intending to marry this girl, thus making her the amam and future queen of this queendom?"

Jerda finished the last bite of her steak and rose from her seat. "I am. Good night grand-aunt."

Taking Evelyn's hand, Jerda retreated to her bedroom, and called it a night. Though the place had heating vents, the couple stripped to their skin and buried themselves underneath layers of blankets in comforters for their naked sleep and embrace. Disregarding all things, they made love most comfortably and surprisingly quietly for almost an hour.

Their bodies remained intertwined, and often they kissed at every interval. They could not sleep, for the future of the Tehran Queendom was uncertain yet in their very own hands.

"I want to marry you," said Jerda.

"What's stopping you then?" Evelyn asked.

Jerda sighed. "This inheritance thing. The position of queen is something you have to take seriously. As we stand, this is the center of universe and the last remnants of human civilization, save for New Khartoum. Evelyn, do you think I make a good queen?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. As for me, I have a feeling I might screw things up if I ruled. What do you truly want Jerda?"

Jerda rubbed her cheek on Evelyn's. "I just want to have children and my own plot of land. Is that so much to ask for?"

"No. You just haven't asked."



The third floor was restricted until today. Lien and Hoa permitted access to the late Queen's rooms, but the ones who were to be visiting first was Jerda along with two select companions. Evelyn was the first, followed by the old Englishwoman and head matron Agnes.

The floor wasn't exactly restricted, as a regular staff of maids swept and cleaned every dust from every surface possible without spending too much time. Everything remained still and in place as if the Queen was still alive, but the floors were cleaned and clear for everyone to walk through.

Jerda and Evelyn toured the personal bedchamber, which was quaint as it had a four-post bed with draperies, a personal desk, and some personal weapons at the corner. Evelyn picked up the walking stick the Queen used since she was blind. The handle was ornately carved and smoothed, and the opposite end allowed for attachments like a nail-picker or a blade. There were a few rifles on the wall, and one shotgun. There wasn't an animal trophy head, but hunting in general was frowned upon as graven.

"She was still a good shooter even without her eyesight," said Agnes. "Even in older years the girls would always yearn for her. The daughters sometimes say that she got perverted when she became senile, but she was still in her right mind. Too bad about the complications."

"We're allowed to search through her things, right?" Evelyn asked.

"If the reigning queen permits, then of course."

"For some reason, it feels like great-grandmother's room."

Jerda felt the same way as well. Meeting Evelyn's great-grandmother did elicit memories of the late Queen. There were devices common to all of them, like a pair of spectacles, old books, and strange electronic devices dating back to the ancient era. There seemed to be a lack of black and white photographs on the wall. All there were a few pictures of Jerda's grandmother with her first wife, Quyen, and their children. Then there was another, displayed less prominently at the nightstand, of Jerda and Laleh with two of their three daughters. The third, Jerda's amam, was in a personal picture frame located elsewhere.

Evelyn scanned the books, and found that they were written in the old languages of English, Hindi, Chinese, Persian, Arabic, and Vietnamese. Some looked as if they weren't touched for centuries, while a few, particularly the English books, were falling apart. There were photo albums consisting of the blind Queen in dark sunglasses and various people, mainly her family. Well, the entire city was essentially her family, and almost everyone claim a certain descent to her.

She saw Jerda on the floor pulling out a long and heavy locked wooden box.

"Looks like another gun," said Jerda. "But why is this one locked?"

Agnes sighed sadly. She rummaged through her robes and procured an old tarnished key.

"The Queen had asked me to guard this until you ascended," she said. "What it contains will the histories of our people and our world."

"Do you know what's in it?" asked Jerda.

"She had not told me. It is a secret she and the First Wife had kept when the restarted the world. I think you young ones would be best to look at them, as my presence would be an intrusion. After all, I have no blood relation despite having given birth to many children since I came here."

Agnes dropped the key into Jerda's hand, and without turning her back she exited the room.

Evelyn watched as Jerda unlocked the secret. When the lid was lifted, numerous tri-folded letter-sized papers fell out, as if they were stuffed as best they could. Jerda and Evelyn collected a bunch and set them on the bed. Evelyn picked up a few to read, while Jerda dug through the papers and found a small stack of old and faded photos.

On one, she saw her youthful grandmother standing with an unknown woman along with six unknown children, as well as Quyen. She saw a familiar photo before.

It couldn't be. Those six children couldn't be the elders she had met at New Khartoum. She had heard of the lost art of photo manipulation, where humans once used computers to place people in places they weren't in before. But perhaps Evelyn could recognize the picture.

"Evelyn," said Jerda. "You might want to look at this. Evelyn?"

Evelyn, who was intently holding the letter before her eyes, sat frozen and in tears.

"What's wrong Evelyn? What's written in the letter?"

Evelyn held her hand to her face and sniffed. "That explains it. That explains everything."

"What does?"

"Here."

"I can't read this very well."

"Your grandmother... and my great-grandmother... They were lovers."



Evelyn spent the almost the entire day reading the letters to the best of her ability to Jerda. Lunch was served to them in the room as Jerda had commanded that she and Evelyn should not be disturbed. Even after lunch they continued reading well into the night, and had dinner brought up to them. The light bulbs were lit up for their convenience, and the heating system powered on for their warmth.

Jerda had laid out all the photos around her and the more she looked the more she felt convinced that her grandmother seeded the birth of the Six Daughters of Eve in New Khartoum. News of this would certainly topple the power of the Ten Daughters of Quyen who prided themselves in being born from the alleged First Wife. Yet Jerda was hesitant to cause any disruptions that would tear her queendom apart.

Evelyn had difficulty reading the letters at first, for she constantly fell into tears when reading them. After a while, she stopped, especially since she was now leaning on Jerda's shoulder for support. Yet she could not help but to feel sad about the plight of Jerda's grandmother, and the alleged reasons why Eva, the True First Wife, left her.

"I just could not believe if," said Evelyn. "Great-grandmother leaving Germaine? They were in love!"

"They must have their reasons," said Jerda.

"It's a stupid reason! They hurt themselves in the most horrible fashion just to repopulate this damn Earth!"

"If not for their separation, we wouldn't have been born. We wouldn't have met."

"Why aren't you feeling sad about this?"

"I am sad. I'm just too shocked to shed any tears."

Jerda lied down on the bed of Germaine, and Evelyn followed suit.

"I could see it in her eyes," said Jerda. "She harbored a lingering regret of something she did in the past."

"Or something that happened to her," said Evelyn.

"I guess that was it. That's why English was being outlawed in our lands."

"Also a stupid reason."

"Your great-grandmother mistook me for Germaine."

Evelyn looked at the photo again. "You sure do look like her."

"Do you think you should give all these letters addressed to her? That wouldn't be wise. The shock would kill her. But to leave her in a loop about her beloved would be worse than a resolved death."

Evelyn leapt off the bed. "Then I got to get to her before she dies. I'm sure you can arrange a carriage and a boat to rush me over there."

Jerda rose. "You're going alone?"

"I could take a few of your escorts."

Jerda took her lover's hand. "I'm coming too."

"Jerda, you have a country to rule."

"I don't want to be without you!"

"It's just your attraction saying that..."

"She said the same thing when they parted."

Evelyn trembled. Realizing that she nearly committed the same mistake committed by her great-grandmother, she pounced Jerda and passionately kissed.

"You're right," said she. "You should come. I can't journey without you as well."

"Then it's settled then. We'll journey together to your home."

"Even after that we'll keep on journeying. I never want to be without you."

They kissed once more, and began undressing themselves as they decided to make love on the former Queen's bed.

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