Chapter 8

Once Amnon’s hand came in contact with Lillian’s, his mind was transported far away from the prison and far back in his memory.  His vision was taken to a time just before he entered the prison service.  Amnon was home, and his father had just returned from work.  He couldn’t make out what anyone said, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.  Amnon saw his father console his mother as he led her out to the garden.  Amnon remembered how much he missed the garden.  His thoughts took time to notice how much green and rose and yellow there was all around.  He noticed the look at feel of the quiet neighborhood in which he grew up.  Every home was a different shape, some more ornate than others, some more colorful, but each one with crafted to the dweller’s liking and personality.  He’d forgotten how much variety there used to be in Merlain.

Amnon’s vision once again found his mother.  Where had his father gone?  Amnon remembered that his father’s shop had burned down suspiciously.  His father had died in the flames.  Amnon’s mother was convinced that Dol’s forces were behind it, but she could never prove it.  As for Amnon, he felt that she was probably right and entered government service to keep his mother safe.  She died of a broken heart the next year.

Then Amnon heard a woman’s voice call his name.  He turned, and there, in the middle of the garden, stood Princess Lillian, glowing and dressed in white.  “Do you remember how it used to be?” she said, though in his vision, her mouth didn’t move.  “Do you remember the joy and freedom that used to be commonplace among your people?  Amnon Saxe, your father died a hero.  He stood up to the evil power of Zungher Dol.  He paid with his life, and his life had meaning.  What my father and I want for Merlain, for you, for all of the realms is to return to this.”  She held out her hand toward the grandeur of the greenery.  “The only thing for which I’m guilty is standing up to Zungher Dol and his insistence on ruining the splendor of the Seven Realms.  Every building is a box.  Every citizen is part of his machine.  Where is the creativity?  Where is the glory?  Where is the life?  Help me, Amnon Saxe.  You have the power to free me.  You have the power to remove Zungher Dol from his illegal seat of power and to allow life to once again flourish in Merlain.”

“I’m just a cog in the machine,” Amnon found himself saying.  Her beauty had removed any animosity he’d held toward her.  In her eyes, he could see that everything he’d ever been told about the Coellum was a lie and that Dol had actually ended his parents.

“When I was captured the first time, I had a code.  It is the code to dismantle the communications at the Central Processing Unit.  I was able to keep in on me, but I knew once Saw found me again, I couldn’t keep it hidden much longer.  I hid it on one of the Earth-folk I trusted on my journey.  I gave him a Merlain’s slave fetterseal, and in that, I embedded the code.  Once the code is exported to the Processing Unit, all defenses will shut down, and my father will have the signal to come in with his army and overthrow Dol.  My father with rescue your people, get you back on your feet, and let the Merlain live in peace among the other realms.”

“Why should I trust a word you say?” Amnon said to her.  Even as he said it, he knew the statement betrayed his feelings.  Every word she spoke built trust within him.

“Your mind didn’t bring you to this memory on its own.  I brought you here.  I, too, remember an earlier Merlain.  It was filled with the kind of laughter that comes from a day of good work and good community.  Your homes were a delight to the eyes and a place of refreshment to strangers.  Your citizens were free to explore and trade throughout the Seven Realms without fear.  My father and I want that for you.  Zungher Dol was misguided when we served the Coellum and it is out of spite that he’s dominated the other realms.  This is not the way it should be.  With your help, we can once again make your realm flourish.”

Tears ran down Amon’s face as she spoke.  His heart was filled with a longing for the land of his youth, the land his father fought for in his own way, and it was the land his father eventually died for.  If Lillian was to be trusted, and if Amnon had any love left for his family, he had to take the risk and turn on Dol though it may cost him dearly.

“Who is this Earth-folk?” Amnon asked, the words feeling strange in his mouth. “And how would I make contact?”

Lillian smiled.  “Thank you Amnon Saxe,” she said.  “The Earth-dweller’s name is Evan Gold.  He is a simple and honest man, like yourself.  And, like yourself, he has a heart of great courage.  All you need to do is use a fetterseal link using these coordinates.”  Amnon saw the coordinates materialize in front of him.  He couldn’t believe such a location was possible.  He’d never seen numbers like those together.

“Will you do this, Amnon Saxe?  Will you save the Seven Realms?”

Amnon looked into the glorious eyes of the Princess.  How could he say no now that he’d seen the real her?”

“You have my word,” Amnon said and bowed to her.

In a rush, the vision left his mind, and he found himself once again in the prison cell holding Lillian. He saw Yatha asking her question after question, and Lillian was defiantly throwing the questions back at him.  Amnon was bewildered.  Had the vision been real or a trick of his mind?  Had Lillian been talking to his mind at the same dueling with Saw?

Amnon looked at Saw, beads of sweat forming at his temples.  Just below, the scratches on Saw’s cheek had dried.  How long had Amnon’s mind been away?  Did Saw have any idea what had happened?  Amnon tried to keep his face impassive.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Amnon said finally.  He held up a hand to Saw.  “We will be back.  If you are not more cooperative at that time, we will be forced to use other methods.”  Amnon tried to sound as threatening as he could, though he was still taken with the regal beauty of the Pincesses’ countenance.”  A moment later, both Amnon and Saw Yatha were in the corridor.

“This is pointless,” Saw grumbled.  “I should just go back in there and kill her myself.”

“Saw, you know — ” Amnon began before Saw cut him off.

“And what happened to you?  With all of your training, you couldn’t ask a single question or cause her to stumble?  I swear, if you’re the best Merlain has to replace me in this position, I fear for the future of Merlain.”

“Saw,” Amnon continued, “you’ll get your execution, but Chieftain Dol asked me to —”

Saw Yatha barred his teeth at Amnon before storming off.  Amnon looked back at Lillian’s cell door and wanted to go back in, chat with her further, make certain the vision had been real.  But he knew that every cell and corridor was recorded and all of his actions would be scrutinized no matter what he did.  He knew he would likely never get another time Lillian like that again.  Amnon needed to choose to honor the commitment he made to her and betray his leader or betray her.

Left alone in the corridor, Amnon tugged on the hem of his coat and brushed his sleeves with his hands before stepping back the way he had come.