That Which One Begins - Chapter Six At Lillith's habitat on the planet Tetra Large Grey listened intently to the angry young woman, nodding, shrugging, and shaking his head as needed during her continuing discourse. "He is rude and mean and... And... OH!" Exasperated, Lillith ended her tirade about William with a flip of her hand just before flinging herself onto her bed in one lunge. Her chin nestled roughly atop a bright blue pillow that distorted from her squeezing arms. She sighed loudly, disgusted with the whole affair. Large Grey nodded slowly to display his complete comprehension. "I think I understand the situation, Mistress," he confirmed calmly. "Perhaps we should remove this troublesome being from the planet." Lillith relocated her head under the blue pillow. "I only wanted to say hello to him," she seemed to plead to no one in particular. "Indeed you did, Mistress, and I find it shocking that he treated you so badly for all your trouble." "Well," murmured Lillith as she reappeared from under the pillow. "It wasn't really all that hard. I think I speak Terran very well." "I am confident that you do, Mistress," Large Grey agreed diplomatically. "I am equally sure that your abilities and intelligence surpass that of this Terran creature's." "Well," she protested mildly. "Will'm is really very smart." "But, as you said, rather rude. As the Protector of this planet, you must be accorded proper respect, Mistress. This Terran should be punished. I will see to it right away." "Punished?" asked Lillith, quickly raising her disheveled blonde head from the pillow. "Indeed, Mistress. Severely." Lillith sprang to her feet. "Don't you harm him!" she demanded. "It was sort of my fault, you know. I probably frightened him when I flew upside down, I think. I just thought it would be, you know, funny." "It bears no difference upon the situation, Mistress," insisted Large Grey. "If we allow this creature to disrespect our Protector, then we will have creatures from across the Universe saying rude things to you. It simply won't do to leave him unpunished." Lillith stepped forward to the giant Tetrite and pointed her index finger between his large black eyes to make a point. "Large Grey," she demanded angrily, "you leave him alone. Do you hear me? I will not have you or anyone else harming Will'm. He's... He's..."--the word escaped her--"You know what I mean!" Lillith stormed out of the habitat and walked quickly up the trail. Behind her, the freshly chastised Large Grey trundled out of the same structure at an easy gait. "As you wish, Mistress," he said quietly with a smile.  William's Camp "What is it with that woman, Phil?" demanded William. "She is young, sir," offered Phil. "Young and inexperienced." "She scares the shit outta me and then blames me for getting upset. What's up with that?" "Difficult to understand, sir. I do not even understand why you bother with her." William stopped pacing. "What do you mean, Phil?" "Well, sir," began Phil calmly, "you are obviously used to more sophisticated women." William leaned forward to within inches of Phil's face to make his point. "More sophisticated women don't protect entire planets, Phil." Phil nodded quickly to agree and William turned away to continue. "Besides, don't let the gloss of some of those gals fool you, Phil. You'd be surprised what you find underneath." "Sir?" "I'm talking about their emotions and personalities, Phil." "Oh, yes, of course, sir. Please excuse my momentary confusion." William raised an eyebrow and murmured to himself, "You'd be surprised what you find sometimes on the physical side too." "Sir?" "Oh, nothing, Phil. Just thinking out loud." Phil spent a suspicious moment before continuing without further comment on the subject. "As I was saying, sir, perhaps the Mistress is not suitable for your attention." "Now, Phil," demanded William, "just what the hell does that mean?" William looked a little angry. Phil backed up a step. "Well, sir, I am only observing the interaction between you and the Mistress. In my judgment there are simply too many incompatibilities." "Yeah?" challenged William. "Name one." "Well, sir," said Phil before he pondered a moment. "She hides from you yet you are completely congenial with her." Phil raised the tip of a leg upward like the finger of a college professor about to make an obvious conclusion of a long and difficult proof. "Quite incompatible." "She's shy, Phil," corrected an annoyed William. "At least shyness is honest. I'd rather see that in her than some sort of bullshit fake acting job." "Would you truly, sir?" "Of course! In fact I find her shyness refreshing. Jeez, Phil, she's a damn Protector. She could be the world's biggest bitch and who could do anything about it? Instead she's worried about..." A sudden thought stopped William. As if in a trance, he slowly sat down. His hand rubbed his chin back and forth a few times. "Instead she is worried about what, sir?" asked a perplexed Phil. William smiled and spoke smoothly. "Instead, she's worried about what I'll think of her." William snapped his fingers a few times, trying to retrieve a lost thought. "Phil, what was it she yelled at me at the lagoon today?" "Hello, sir." William lowered his brow a bit. "It sure didn't sound like that, Phil. Are you sure?" "The Mistress and I rehearsed it long enough, sir. "Rehearsed?" William's latest revelation served to support his first. His broad smile made Phil's head rotate slightly with curiosity. "What are your thoughts, sir?" Phil finally asked. "That gal," said William through his grin, his finger waggling in the general direction of Lillith's habitat, "that gal likes me." "You may be correct, sir," concurred Phil. "I do hope she does not become too much of a nuisance for you." "Damn it, Phil!" shouted William, his hand slapping down on a nearby rock. "Why do you keep bad-mouthing her. Don't you like Lillith or something?" "I am only concerned with your welfare, sir." "Well, let me clue you in about the Mistress, uh, Lillith, my little, fuzzy buddy. First of all, she just happens to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and I've known a few good-looking ones. Second, she's sexy as hell, and I do mean s-e-x-y." "Forgive me, sir," interrupted Phil. "Spelling is not a..." "It's sexy, Phil." "My sincere thanks, sir." "Anyway, third, she must have a heart incredibly big and a character incredibly deep because she stays on a planet with a completely different species and PROTECTS THEIR ASSES FROM THE BAD GUYS!" "Sir, there is no tangible reason to raise your voice." Phil took another step back. "Isn't there?" demanded William, taking a step forward. "I don't think you guys know what you have there. I don't think you guys understand how amazing and wonderful that woman really is! All I've been hearing is `Lillith doesn't do this right' or `The Mistress can't cut it'. Well, I've got news for you, mister. That gal is fantastic and any guy would give his arm to have her. So knock off all that negative shit around me, do you read me, mister?" "Indeed, sir. My sincere apology." "Apology accepted!" snapped William as he turned and began to walk up the path. "Sir," called out Phil, "where are you going?" William stopped and turned back toward Phil. "Going? I'll tell you where I'm going. I'm going to the lagoon to get cleaned up and then I'm going over to Lillith's house and apologize to her and do whatever else I can do to convince her that I'm not a pain in the ass. That's where I'm going." With that, William spun back around and stormed away as Phil trundled along the path at an easy gate right behind him. "As you wish, sir," he said quietly with a smile. At the lagoon, just before sunset William opened his shaving kit and distributed the contents neatly along a nearby ledge. A quick shave and a little sprucing up would do fine, he thought. For a moment, he considered that it might not be wise to go directly to Lillith's door, but he shook that thought off. He would take that chance just to get this show on the road. Everything he said to Phil was meant, he just hadn't realized it himself until he had said it just then. "It isn't easy being a damn fool," he murmured to himself. William glanced up to view the calm water of the lagoon and noticed something floating at the center of the oval pool. At first, he thought it might be a small log or a wad of lichen. Then he noticed the legs. "Oh, shit!" Leaping into the lagoon without a thought of his clothes, William reached the Tetrite floating facedown within seconds. Cupping the small creature to lift it out of the water, William swam quickly back to shore. It was a tiny creature, about the size of a baseball with eight-inch legs. Probably, he thought, an infant. On shore, William inverted the creature to drain water from it. His little finger just made it into the Tetrite's mouth to clear away any obstructions. There were none, so he cupped the creature in his hand and opened his own mouth wide enough to cover the mouth and nose of the Tetrite. Lightly puffing air into the young lungs of the creature, William released and turned his head to hear the exhale. Again, he repeated the procedure without the unconscious creature breathing on its own. Slowly, methodically, William worked to revive the Tetrite. Puff, listen, puff, listen. He would not give up. Puff, listen, puff, listen. At first, one Tetrite watched from the other side of the lagoon. Soon, others gathered around the scene of life or death being played out before them. This form of resuscitation was unknown on Tetra and was now a source of curiosity to all. Within a few moments, hundreds of Tetrites surrounded the lagoon, all watching William stubbornly struggle to make the limp Tetrite breath. From behind the nearest group of observing Tetrites, a young blonde woman stepped quietly forward, transfixed by what she was seeing. Her eyes were filled with emotion, as if she were trying to will the tiny creature to live. William continued to try. "Come on, little guy," William gasped. "You can do it." Puff, listen, puff, listen... A single cough made everyone jump. William rubbed the Tetrite's back rapidly and it coughed again before suddenly flailing its legs wildly in every direction. "Hey! Hey! Hey, quiet down. Easy. Shhhh. It's okay." William's voice trailed off soothingly as the creature settled down. William quickly grabbed his towel and wrapped the creature in it to keep it warm. The tiny Tetrite peered out of the gray bundle at William and shivered. "What's your name, little guy?" asked William trying to calm the creature down more. "Mina," she croaked weakly. "Well, Mina, I don't allow folks to drown in my lagoon," he quipped. "Please don't do it again." "I'm sorry," she murmured, taking him seriously. "I fell in." "No more falling in either, okay?" She sneezed. William took that as a `yes'. Near the crowd, Lillith stared at William, the desperate look in her eyes now replaced by a much different emotion. Her bright, blue eyes followed every move and never left him. Two large Tetrites approached William, their smiles showed their deep pleasure at what he had done. Reaching out to take Mina from him, their retrieval was delayed by Mina's reaction: she did not want to leave the one who had saved her. It was only William's kind urging that released her hold on his belt. "You'll be all right now," he comforted the little Tetrite female. "You go on with these folks now. That's right. I'll see you later. You bet." Watching the teetering bundle of Mina atop the largest of the Tetrites meekly wave to him as she was carried from the lagoon area, William smiled within a feeling of great satisfaction. He was able to save the life of one of his hosts on this distant planet. He liked that very much. He wasn't the only one. She approached him slowly, silently, close before he noticed her. He looked up at her and said nothing, believing everything he saw in her eyes. In the instant that the infant revived, he had entered her heart. What had been but an attraction, a fascination, and an infatuation became more--so much more. When she knelt before him, she cupped his face tenderly within her slender hands. Slowly, ever so lightly, her hands caressed him until her delicate fingertips drew forward under his chin, urging him to meet the lips that now grew close. At first, the touch of her lips was tender, a gentle sensation of her for his mind to yearn for more. It was as if her kiss was a whisper of her feelings and his eyes closed within its silky spell. Her kiss deepened and William was lost in it, cast adrift within emotions of overwhelming beauty and comforting simplicity. He knew. Now, he knew. All of those anxious feelings, those niggling notions in the back of his mind, every one of those strangely unidentifiable anxieties that he had ever felt in all of the affairs with women throughout his life, had all been nothing more than his heart waiting for this moment. The moment when that one perfect, wonderful woman showed him what it really felt like to fall in love. With one brief kiss, he found an eternity to yearn for and to live for. Everything was now so clear to him. It was all so simple. He was hers. The look of adoration in Lillith's eyes was even deeper when she released her sweet kiss. Rising from him, she stood for a moment, looking down into the loving eyes of the male she now had in her heart. He stood, sliding his hands around her naked waist to draw her into an embrace and another kiss that went on long after the last, pleased Tetrite had left the lagoon. Phil's warning to Lillith had been prophetic. For her, for everyone, there was no reason to be unsure. There was no greater good than what she had seen in this Terran this day and the Velorian Protector of Tetra had chosen her mate. A choice made that was absolute, irrevocable, forever.   Atop the surrounding boulders, a gigantic Tetrite watched the entire episode in anonymity. His silhouette before the sun was joined by a second, smaller Tetritian silhouette. The two figures gazed down at the two humanoids embracing in the grotto below. "I approve of the addition of the little one, yet you were taking a very serious chance. She could have sustained serious harm." "I made no such arrangements. I believed the innovation was yours." Both silhouettes turned to silently look at each other before trundling slowly away, each a bit more amazed--and grateful--for the marvelous way that the Universe actually works. Next Chapter That Which One Begins, Copyright © 2001 by S.T.MAC