Walk On Mountains - Chapter Three

As Marienda looked out over the small valley, her gaze stopped as she spotted shapes on the ground below.  About twenty small tents dotted the landscape with people walking around among them. The sun glinted off of something silver and she looked to see one man as he sat off from the others, leaning against a large boulder. As she watched, his head came up and he looked directly at her.  He stood quickly, waved down the alarm that his movements brought to the others with him, and set off across the ground for the cliff she was on. There was no way he could have seen her from where he had been sitting, so he must have felt her there. She swallowed hard as she realized that he was the reason she had come.1

Marienda watched as he started to climb, his hands grasping onto seemingly impossible holds, his muscles moving gracefully under his beige tunic.  She forced herself to breathe slowly as she backed away to sit on a large flat rock, surprised at how calm she was at what was approaching.  She hesitated, then dug into the small pack she had brought with her and took out a skimpy dress.  She quickly changed out of her pants and top, pulled the shift over her head, smoothed it down, and then sat on the edge of the large stone.2

She should have been afraid, but she wasn’t as he made it the last few feet up the cliff to stand before her.  His head cocked from side to side as he studied her, and smiled as he walked around her.  He reached out to touch her cheek with his palm, and she lightly pushed her face against him.  He circled around behind her again, and stopped.  She could feel his presence as clearly as she could her own, and sighed as he reached out to her again.3

Although her people forbade carnal knowledge until they had been assigned to a mate, and though she had been raised to follow that belief, she had no objections as his fingers softly traced along her arms.  She had never met him or even seen him before, but everything about him seemed right.  His touch was somehow familiar, and as his lips brushed her shoulder, she recognized the feel of them.4

She lifted her head slightly, allowing him better access to her neck, and as she raised her hand to his hair, she briefly wondered why she was not stopping herself.  His hands moved from her arms and caressed her breasts as she felt him sit on the large rock behind her.  His tunic brushed against her bare arms as his chest touched her back. 5

He pulled her back onto the rock, gently lowering her body so she was looking up at him.  His deep grey eyes seemed to burn with an inner fire, going perfectly with his softly chiseled looks and tied back long silver hair.  His skin was bronzed by the sun and a shade darker than her own tone.6

His eyes traveled over her body, followed closely by his hands. Both paused just below her waist, and he looked into her eyes, waiting for some sign to either stop or continue. She met his gaze evenly, then gave a small nod of her head.7

Her back arched and fingers clutched into the stone as she momentarily felt his weight on her.8

~~~~~~~~~~~~9

She lay beside him on the flat rock, staring into his eyes as his gaze studied her face.  He smiled softly as he reached up and moved a strand of tan brown hair from her face, his fingers tracing behind her ear and down to her shoulder.  His touch lingered as warmth spread though her again, and she leaned towards him to cover his lips with hers.  His eyes widened in surprise, then closed as his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.10

They parted slightly a while later and she smiled sleepily while still in his arms.  She closed her eyes, and was soon fast asleep, the weeks traveling across the plains finally catching up to her.  He watched her as she slept, part of him still in disbelief that she was actually here.  He had never realized it before, but a part of him seemed to be missing, and as he held her, he finally felt whole.11

He believed that every person had a life-energy mate someplace and he had the need to discover his.  Unsure how to proceed, he talked with those who had found theirs, and followed their advice.  He had meditated for what seemed like forever, searching for her life-force in the cosmos above, and had nearly given up, when he found her.  Sitting on top of the mountain, he concentrated on her until he felt her fall asleep, then he sent her a simple message: Come be with me.12

For the past three years, he had been dreaming about her, and at times she consumed his every waking minute.  Every sleep cycle, he sent her the same message, at times bringing himself to the point of exhaustion while he waited for some response.  Approximately two years after he had started searching, her reply came to him in a dream.  It wasn’t so much as a worded response, but an emotional one.  He saw through her eyes as she looked at the mountains in the distance, longing to walk on their peaks.  Sometimes when he slept, he shared her dreams, and he wondered if she shared his. Then there were the dreams that made him wake in a sweat, trembling with desire for a women he had never met.13

He waited for her the last time the planet’s rotation made it possible for her people to journey outside, but she never came.  At first he had been worried that she was hurt, or that she had been taken by the others they shared the mountain with. He stood on the mountain for days, ignoring sleep, ignoring the warnings of others as the darkness crept ever closer. As the sun dipped below the horizon, and the long night hung around him like a cloak, he looked at the dim lights of the dome barely visible in the distance. Then he felt her presence back under the dome, safe and warm in her little room, sleeping in her bed. He felt as though a piece of him had been cruelly taken away.14

Anger came over him as he felt her and he yelled out his frustration, the barely comprehensible words echoing across the valley.  He stumbled back inside the security of the mountain, collapsing just inside the protective door and woke a few days later in the solitude of his own room.15

~~~~~~~~~~16

Marienda stared at the man beside her, his face relaxed in a light sleep.  He looked to be about her age, nearly thirty, but could have been a few years older or younger.  She resisted the urge to reach out and run her fingers though his hair that now hung loosely just past his shoulders.  She had never seen silver hair before, and it intrigued her.  Then again, she had not seen a lot of the different clans that made up her people since some liked to keep to themselves.17

She had heard stories about people who disappeared into the mountains, but always suspected that they had died when the rotations completed.  If the people here were not from her dome, then they had indeed found a way to survive out here.18

She smiled to herself as he stirred lightly. She had never had sex before with such a stranger.  She had never actually had sex before.  Her people’s rules forbade it until a mate was chosen, and this was the first year that her name had been selected. She doubted that the mate assigned to her could have affected her the way this man had. She had felt like her entire body was on fire, and he seemed to fuel her need with every thrust. She could tell that he had felt the same desire she did by the way his lips covered hers and the ways his hands traveled over her body.19

She closed her eyes as she felt her body grow warm again in a longing to be with him.  A few deep breaths brought the feelings under control, and she opened her eyes again to find him watching her.20

“What are you called?” he asked, his voice a pleasant tone. They were the first words she had heard him say.21

“Marienda,” she replied.  “And you?”22

“Grydin.”  He sat up and smiled slightly.  “Perhaps I should have asked that earlier.”  His smile grew as she laughed.23

“What happens now?”24

His smile disappeared as he looked at her.  “I would like for you to remain here with me.”  He watched her still face, then stood, grabbed his pants off of the ground and slipped them on.  He then sat back down on the rock, with his back to her as he pulled his tunic over his head.25

“Greedon,” she said.26

“Gry-din,” he replied absently. “Gry...like dry...din, like the noise.”27

“Grydin,” she said as she too stood and pulled her shift on. “I've dreamed of you for over a year...it lead me here, and you have made me feel like I have never felt before.”  She sighed as he remained turned away from her. “But I don’t know what I’m suppose to do.  Is this like the mating ritual that I snuck away from, or…”she stopped as he turned to face her.28

“Mating ritual?”29

“You know…the mating ritual.”  She couldn’t understand how he didn’t know about it.30

“Describe it to me.”31

“Women are assigned a mate for the time outside.  Not all women get chosen, and those that do not become with child do not get chosen again.  You meet your mate, have sexual relations, then when it is time to return to the dome, you part.  Those that give birth the next cycle, meet with the mate again and he aids in the delivery.  Then those women remain celibate until chosen again.”  She frowned at the confused look on his face.  “How could you not know about it?”32

“This is something your people do?”33

“Of course, it’s…” she stopped.  “My people?”34

He ignored her question. “Tell me about your life under the dome.”  He took her hand in his.  “Please.”35

She shrugged.  “Hot and muggy in the sun, cool and dark when it’s not.  I live in a small room, and work in Rules Enforcement.  It’s a nasty, thankless, unappreciative job where anyone who doesn’t know you hates you.  The only good times are when I get to leave the dome, then I am a nobody.”36

“Are you happy there?” He asked quietly. “Is there any reason to return?”37

She studied his face, saw the barely concealed hope there. “Honestly, no.”  She looked around her. "I never believed the stories about people living here."38

Grydin’s eyes closed briefly. “Our respective ancestors once lived in the mountains here.  Something in the mineral content protects the caves from the killing sun, and there are underground thermal areas that heat the caves during the cold.  It is actually very nice…all the amenities of a normal dwelling."39

“Allow me to show you my world, and you can decide.  If you want to return to your dome, then…” he paused and swallowed hard.  “I will bother you no longer.”40

Marienda stared and realized that she didn’t want the interaction she had shared over the past year to end.  “Tell me about your people,” she said as she turned around and leaned back against his chest.41

He put his arms around her and leaned his head against her hair.  “Before I came here, I lived in a dome probably much like your own in general.  My people had mates they picked themselves, and remained with until death.  My mate...”he stopped as his voice faltered.  “My mate died about eight years ago, and shortly after, I left everything behind and walked away.  I was planning on perishing in the mountains when the dark came, but the cosmos had another plan for me.”42

He moved slightly as he kissed the top of her head, then fell silent for a few moments.  “Before my mate died,” he continued in a quiet voice, “ she told me that she wanted me to find my real life-energy mate.  I knew that we were not meant to spend our lives together, but we still loved each other.”43

Marienda reached a hand up and caressed the side of his face.  “I’m sorry.”44

“Don’t be,” he said.  “It was a long time ago, she is gone, and although I miss her, I know she was right.”  He kissed the top of her head again.  “It took me a long time to find you.  I am sorry if I seem intent on you staying, but I know you to be right for me.  You are all I have thought of for the past three years.  I dream about you…I see your dreams at times...we share dreams at other times.  We are connected in a way that cannot be ignored or changed.” 45

“I know,” she whispered.  “I can feel it.  Sometimes when I sleep, I can feel you with me.”  She closed her eyes as tears threatened to flow.  “When I sleep, I feel accepted, wanted, and…loved.”46

“Will you stay with me?” he gently demanded.  She turned around, sat cross-legged on the stone in front of him and smiled slightly.  “What?”47

“Can I let you know?”48

He hesitated, then nodded.  “Yes.”  He leaned forward and kissed her lightly a few times, letting his lips brush hers as his hands went around her waist and he pulled her onto his lap.  Her legs unfolded and wrapped around his waist as one of her hands snaked between their bodies, lifted his tunic up, and massaged the area just above where their bodies met.49