Lady the Golden Fire

I was twenty-six when I met her. I wasn't too young or naïve anymore, and I had no intention of falling in love again. I was fed up with Mara and didn't trust women. 

It was my first vacation in four years. I wanted to have fun, I really needed it. So I decided to visit Terazenа, the world of pleasure and happiness, as they said.

I called myself a prince. My best friend Nick was a representative of the Coordinating Council at the time, and he told me to do it because of the local customs. You have to be a person with a title to be respected in Terazena. So I chose the name of Richard Plantagenet, no less. Why not? No one asked a stranger from the Lace for identification.

"The Beautiful Swords-women Show" was the biggest show of the season, and I decided to see it on my first night in Terazena. Despite the full house, they found a ticket for a foreign prince. The VIP box, all inclusive, etc. I got a soft arm-chair, all kinds of drinks and fruit, and a personal servant, a teenager named Lehhar. I gave him some coins and he became my best friend for the night. Lehhar told me all about the show. 

So, there were twelve slave girls in the show. At the beginning they danced and performed demonstration fights. Then the girls took a break while singers and circus performers entertained the audience. During the show, everyone could make a bid and try to win a prize. A very special prize. Whoever defeated a swordsman in a fight won the right to spend the night with her. But it was not easy, one could be injured or even killed. 

"Tell me, Lehhar," I asked the servant. "Has anyone ever defeated one of these girls?"

"Sure," he nodded. "The prize should be difficult to obtain, but not unattainable."

"That makes sense," I said. 

Then the show began, and it was incredible. I watched the expressive dance of half-naked beautiful girls. Their swords were weaving the fantastic lace in the air. When it was over, the showman named each of the girls and told of their virtues. I was sure those were not their real names, but who cared? 

The swords-women were really great! I couldn't see their faces at such a distance, but their figures and hair were ideal. And their names fit them: something like Black Lightning, or Sunrise, Moonface, South Wind... I wondered if they were as beautiful as they were said to be. 

The last one was tiny and had long red curly hair that was like a flame. 

There was a little drumbeat, and the showman shouted, "Here she is, the invincible, indomitable wild cat from the mysterious land beyond the ocean! Everyone dreams of this woman, but no one has ever defeated her. Meet Lady the Golden Fire!"

She was greeted with applause and shouts from the audience. She moved like a cat and played with her sword like a true master of the blade. I leaned forward, trying to see her face. 

"Is she really invincible?" I asked Lehhar. 

"No one has ever been able to defeat her, I swear!" he replied. 

"It's a challenge," I muttered to myself. 

"Don't even think about it, Your Highness!" Lehhar said. "She is completely insane! She killed three of her rivals last week."

I didn't answer him and turned my eyes to the arena. The show went on, the music played faster and faster, and the swords-women danced and sang. But all I could see was Lady the Golden Fire. Her movements seemed to be in slow motion. 

"How can I make a bid?" I asked Lehhar. 

"It costs fifty royal coins. Tell them the name of the girl you want to fight."

I counted out the amount of money required and told him, "You'll get the same amount for yourself if I'm the first to the Golden Fire."

The kid seemed upset. "But, Your Highness! You're just throwing your money away." 

"That's none of your business," I snapped. "Move on!"

He disappeared. The girls left the arena, and the circus performers started their show. 

Lehhar came back. He looked really disappointed. 

"What's wrong?" I asked him. 

"You'll only be the third," he reported. 

"Not bad," I nodded. "What do I do now?"

"Nothing for the time being. The girls will take turns fighting. First one round, then the second, and so on. The order of the fights is determined by the draw. When the second round is over, you have to go up there," he waved his hand to the left and down. "I'll take you there. Your fight will begin when they call your name."

After that, I waited and watched. 

In the first round, Lady the Golden Fire gave her rival no chance to win. She wounded his hip and left him bleeding on the sand. In the second round, she made a show of playing cat and mouse with her opponent, disarming him just as he was congratulating himself on his victory. 

"A cool baby," I said respectfully. I realized that fighting this girl would not be a piece of cake even for me. 

"I've told you so!" Lehhar sighed. "Come on. It's time."

Then I and nine other lucky guys waited for the results of the draw. 

The performer reached into the drum and pulled out the first card. 

"Prince Richard Plantagenet of Terra versus Lady the Golden Fire!" he announced. 

I didn't listen to him anymore. My blood was pounding in my ears, and the joyful anticipation of the battle overwhelmed me. 

The draw was over, the drums began to roll. Someone called my name, the door opened, and I entered the arena. 

Lady the Golden Fire walked toward me. I saw her light gait, her lithe figure, her flaming hair. We came closer and closer, and I tried to see her face, but the uneven light of the torches wouldn't let me. 

We met in the middle of the arena and stopped a step away from each other. I bowed and she did the same. She raised her head and I looked into her large emerald eyes... At that moment, I was lost.

"Are you ready to dance, Your Highness?" the girl asked with a smile. 

"As you wish, my lady," I replied. 

"What is Richard the Lionheart doing in our part of the Lace?" she asked, taking a position. 

I was confused by her words and almost missed a blow aimed at my chest. I barely managed to block it. 

"Your name isn't real either, is it?" I smiled as I continued to defend myself against her attacks. She was fast, really fast! And she kept changing her tactics to catch me. And she was laughing! I was defending myself and at the same time learning her style, her characteristics. 

When she tried a very insidious but fortunately already familiar trick for the third time, I blocked it and said, "You'd better come up with something new if you really want to win this fight."

"Do it yourself!" the girl replied, laughing again. She stepped back a little, forcing me to approach her. I did what was expected, but blocked her attack. 

"Oh, that's what you're doing!" she cried out, showering me with her blows. Wow! She made me spin around to avoid being wounded. What an amazing fighter she was! 

"Hey, you're driving me crazy!" I told her with a smile. 

"Relax and have fun," she snapped. 

Sure, that was fun! We went on and I forgot about time and limits.

Then I opened my chest, and at the same moment she tried to get me. I dodged and let her get past me, seized her wrist and twisted it. She dropped her sword. 

I let go of her hand and stepped aside. 

The people in the stands froze and then burst into screams. I didn't care about them. I watched the girl. She was shifting her gaze from her sword to my face, unable to believe the truth. 

"Let’s go?" I said. 

Her emerald eyes flashed with hate and suddenly she lunged at me. I instinctively defended myself, raising my arm and blocking her blow. I felt a momentary scalding pain as she wounded me with a thin strip of sharpened metal. The handmade razor didn't make a deep cut, but I got furious. 

"Hey, beauty, you've broken the rules of your show!" I yelled, grabbing her hand and shoving her forward. "Come on! You've lost the game, so you should fulfill the terms of your contract."

She lifted her chin and looked at me defiantly. We walked away, and Lehhar handed me my coat. The showman blocked our way. 

 "Get out of my way!" I snapped. 

"Your Highness," he said with a sweet smile, "I just want to remind you that Lady the Golden Fire is yours, but only until sunrise. You must return her in the morning."

"You have the Prince's word," I replied. 

We went out and someone brought my horse. I mounted the girl in front of me and murmured in her ear, "Just don't try to escape. You have wounded me and I am very angry. Is it clear?"

She didn't answer. 

On the way to my hotel, she sat quietly, but I couldn't relax even for a moment. I knew what she was like. We arrived at the hotel in a quarter of an hour. I took her hand tightly and led her to my room, locked the door and only then let her go.

"Welcome, my lady," I said. "Be at home." 

The room was lit with candles and the bed was covered with rose petals.

She gave me a startled look but didn't move. She looked like a scared child, nothing like the furious warrior she had been before.

"Come in," I waved my hand. "Just eat, drink and relax. Don't be afraid of me. I will never hurt you, I swear."

Saying it was easier than keeping my promise. She was really driving me crazy, and not because of her beautiful face or her ideal body. There was something more than just physical attraction. I wanted to take care of this woman. I had almost forgotten this feeling. 

Yet the girl of my dream was silent, standing still against the wall. Her eyes looked through me.

"Okay, what do you want?" I asked her and sat down in the chair. In my imagination, the situation had seemed a little different. 

Her expression changed and she said, "Tonight you are my boss and your wishes are my wishes."

"Wow!" I chuckled. "When did you learn that?" 

She looked astonished, but again said what the local rules required, "Come to me, honey."

She even tried to assume a seductive pose, but I didn't believe her and didn't move. 

"Thank you, I have no desire to do so. What else have you hidden under your dress? Is it a garrote or a knife?"

I saw the fear flash in her eyes. So my guess wasn't far from the truth. At that moment I understood that she wouldn't obey me, she would fight. Yet I didn't want to take her by force. I would never do that to any girl, I was not a rapist. 

I opened the door and stepped aside.

"Go," I told her. "You are free."

She took a step toward the door and looked at me. Then she burst into tears and ran out of the room. 

"You deserve it, you idiot," I said to myself. "You've been warned about her. You've just thrown the money away." 

I walked around the room, took off my sword and unbuttoned my shirt. After a few minutes I realized that I could still hear her sobbing. 

I left the room and saw her standing against the wall, trembling. I took her by the shoulders and led her back into the room. I seated her in the chair and gave her a glass of wine. 

She drank it and wiped her eyes with a napkin.  Even with her eyes swollen with tears and her hair disheveled, she was beautiful. 

"What should I do with you?" I said thoughtfully. 

Lady the Golden Fire raised her head and looked at me. There was no fear in her eyes, only curiosity.

"You don't look like a local, Richard," she said. "No one talks to a hired courtesan like that."

"My real name is Arthur," I confessed. 

 "And the name of your sword is Excalibur?" she chuckled.

"No, I'm not that Arthur. But you know too much... for a courtesan. And I should point out that you are not a real courtesan. No more than I am a prince. What are you doing in a place like this?"

She shrugged. "Why are you asking me such a question? All I know is this show."

"I don't believe you."

She snorted in irritation and didn't answer. 

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, taking the lids off the plates. "Help yourself." 

She nodded approvingly and started to eat. She had impeccable manners, which confirmed my guess as to her origin. Then there was her accent. I was absolutely sure she was not from Terazena. 

When she finished eating, I asked her the next question, "What is your real name?"

"Which one do you want to hear?"

"The real one."

"I don't have a name," she suddenly confessed. "Maybe I've had it once, but I can't remember."

"You are a mystery," I said. 

"I have lost my memory," she explained. "I remember nothing of my past."

"It's impossible," I said doubtfully.

"But it is the truth. I remember the ship, and those horrible people. My head was wounded," she ran her hand over the back of her head. "Then we got to the harbor and Bergen, the owner of the show, bought me. I think he was going to give me another job, but then he found out I was a good swordswoman. So now I'm here. No one has ever defeated me," she added proudly. 

"Before tonight," I clarified. 

"It will never happen again," she declared.

I shook my head negatively. "You don't believe your own words. You have always won because everyone thought you were invincible. But now... Many of them will try to defeat you like I did, while you won't be as self-confident as you used to be. And the next lucky guy may be more persistent than me." 

"Then he will lose his life," she promised grimly. 

I didn't doubt her words. But I knew she wouldn't live long after that either.

It was then that I made a decision. It promised no gain, only trouble, but I couldn't act otherwise. 

"Come with me," I said, putting on my sword and starting to pack. "I'll get you away from Terazena!"

She shook her head. "That is impossible. They will come after me."

"Don't worry about them," I replied, holding her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Listen to me, baby. I will take you away. To whatever world you choose. I promise to take care of you until you regain your memory and after." 

"Are you a noble knight?" she laughed, but I saw hope in her eyes. 

Then we left the hotel through the back door and disappeared into the Lace. 

I took Lady the Golden Fire to Earth, to my hometown. I hoped that there, on my own turf, I could charm the girl enough to make her drop her defenses.  I wanted her badly, but I never thought I'd fall head over heels in love. Ah, yes! I came up with the name Gemma myself. She liked it.

***

For the next week I followed the couple with the persistence of a madman. They walked along the seashore, went into the mountains, sat for hours in cozy cafes, partied in nightclubs. I followed them like a shadow, taking a sickly, perverse pleasure in it, tormented by jealousy and delighted by something I couldn’t understand.

The Keys of the Great Master? What keys are you talking about? Honestly, I had no time for them!

I remembered that back then I had a strong belief that I was very good at detecting supervision. 

But I, the present me, did not hide too much, and he, the past me, noticed nothing, blinded by the beauty of his beloved girl.

Every night I promised myself to leave the couple alone and start looking for the Keys, but every morning I found reasons to stay for another day.

Then something happened that I had not expected.

On Sunday morning, I was awakened by a knock at my door. I didn't feel like getting up because I had returned to my room before dawn after meeting an old friend whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

But the unknown visitor kept knocking, so I had to open the door. 

There was Gemma. While I stared at her, trying to find words to say, she shoved me in the chest, entered the room and closed the door.

"G-good m-morning," I mumbled.

"Not for you," Gemma retorted, sitting down in the chair uninvited. "Who are you and why are you following us?"

"What are you talking about?" I pretended not to understand.

"I saw you!"

"So what?"

She frowned and wiggled the toe of her petite shoe. A mesmerizing sight.

"So who are you and what do you need?"

The tension of the past few days, the sleepless night, the unsettled mind, and the terrible headache, combined with her all-too-close presence, forced me to tell the most unpleasant truths.

I sat down in the chair across from her, leaned back, and said, "You really don't need to know my name, lady. As for the second part of your question, I work for one Bergen of Sagarden. I am sure you know him and understand why he is looking for you."

Even if she was worried about my words, she didn't show it.

"You've been here for a few days. Why am I still free?"

"We can fix that right now," I said, "but, Lady the Golden Fire, Viceroy Topal also demands the head of your companion. Shall we give him this gift?"

"Tell Viceroy Topal…" the profanity that followed made me blush.

"Oh, lady," I shook my head, "where are your manners?"

"You'll hear a lot more of that from Bergen’s girls," she snorted.

I smiled involuntarily. Recognition flashed in Gemma's eyes, but she shook her head as if to ward off an obsession.

If only she knew!

"Then why didn't you catch us?"

"There’s a problem, lady. A big problem," I said with a conspiratorial look.

"Really? What's the problem?" she asked.

I didn't answer right away, admiring the play of the first ray of sunlight in her fiery hair, the angry blush on her cheeks - or was that from the sun, too? - I absorbed every feature of her face so dear to me.

"I happened to know who you really are," I finally said. "I think your family will pay a lot more if I hand you over to them."

"My family?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, lady, your family. The ruling house of Oeldiv."

Her face froze for a moment.

"You are wrong, hunter," she said. "I cannot be one of them."

"Then your friend doesn't belong to the Coordinating Service," I said sharply. 

She clapped her hands several times.

"Now I know why you didn't tell Topal about us. Are you afraid of the Coordinators?"

"You may think whatever you want, just be careful. Maybe I am not the only hunter  the ruler of Terazena has sent after you."

She was silent for a while, looking at me intently.

"Why should I believe you?"

"You really have no choice."

She gave me a scornful look and walked to the door. I watched her walk away, her hips swaying.

"Wait!" I jumped to my feet.

She turned around.

"What else?"

"Just a little advice," I said.  But could I warn her? What words could I use to make her believe me?

"What kind of advice?" she asked irritably.

"In about six months he will invite you to Quadsie. Don't go."

"Okay, I get it," she nodded.

I took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"It's really important, Gemma! Your life depends on it. And his life too," I added after a pause.

"I will remember," she nodded without irony. "Is that all?"

"No! Not everything!"

I pulled her to me and kissed her. I had wanted to do this for so long!

She bit my lip and rammed her knee into my groin. While I was bent in half, gasping for air, she hit me in the neck with the side of her hand. I fell and was kicked two more times in the stomach.

She leaned over me and watched my agony with a kind of almost sadistic pleasure.

"Listen to me, hunter. If I see you again, I will tell Arthur. He will speak to you differently. Do you understand?"

"I do," I panted. There was nothing to misunderstand.

Gemma turned on her heels and walked away. Her slender legs strode to the door and disappeared from my view. The sound of her footsteps echoed down the hall.

I tried to get up and immediately collapsed again, writhing from the awful pain in my stomach.

What a witch! Okay, okay. It was comfortable enough to lie on a carpet. Just not to move.

The same day I left Earth. I wasn't afraid of the threats she promised, but I understood it was time to go.

I remembered pretty well what had happened after that. I could tell this story twenty times a day.

Back then, Gemma never told me about the hunter. And she was right, because otherwise I'd have surely tried to track down that annoying guy. 

I had a great time with her in a small town by the sea, and it was the best time of my life. Then my vacation was over and I couldn't think of anything better than to take Gemma with me.

The first person we met at the office was Supreme Coordinator Kordgan. It was then that I found out who she really was, the Golden Fire swordswoman, my Gemma.

Her name was Vivian, and she was the youngest daughter of Korrad, the Emperor of Light of Oeldiv. Kordgan was her uncle. Half the staff of the Coordination Service, all the units of the Patrol were searching for the missing princess, and only I somehow managed not to know anything about it. However, when all this happened, I was performing heroic deeds in a very remote part of the Lace and I didn't receive any operational development data.

Lady Vivian was immediately placed under the care of her loving uncle and taken to her homeland. I, as a man of distinction, was promoted in rank, rewarded with a staggeringly large bonus, and sent to perform another feat in which I nearly broke my neck, but managed to survive.

 I didn't expect to meet Gemma... sorry, Princess Vivian again. Who was she and who was I? But I was wrong.

The next day after returning from a secret mission to World X, I was sitting in my office, working on the report and cursing the bureaucracy of our office, because of which I couldn't even get a decent sleep before leaving an endless number of scribbled pages on my boss's desk.

She came in without knocking and stood at the door, dwarfing both the airy Aphrodite and the moon-faced Ratri.

"You didn't think you'd gotten rid of me for good, did you?" she asked, smiling.

Everything that happened next was too personal and I would not share those memories with anyone.