THE CRYSTAL CHALICE

(Published December, 2006)

Evan wants to buy a little time, and it didn't escape his notice that he and his friends aged not a minute on their first time through the dimensional barrier. He wants children while they are still young enough to have them, and a whole year has passed since their last trip. He and Valaura are in love, but she is unwilling to marry, and he believes that another trip to the magical dimension may provide the answer. Suspecting that the Wand won't work for them a second time, he has an artisan rework the metal and the jewels into a chalice.

Lilly and Marshall were living a fairy-tale existance until he had to go on tour. She is attending a university near his chalet in Stockholm, and doesn't want to abandon her studies to accompany him. Disgruntled, he goes on the tour and, finding himself lonely and besieged by willing women, he gets into the kind of trouble that could only be worsened by Lilly walking in on him and his parvenu. The result is that Lilly leaves him, going to live with Valaura and Evan.

Evan arranges a reunion where they all drink from the chalice. They arrive in Lucifer's Land of the Chalice and discover that twenty years have passed. In that time Sterling and Ariel have twice become parents, of a girl named Silvera and a boy called Abbadon, and almost no one else has aged even a little.

Silvera is a spoiled princess and wants Marshall, the Savior. She does not see why Lilly, as a commoner, has any right to be more than his mistress. Evan, having brought Valaura to this side of the barrier, discovers that King Lucifer would like to aquire her for his own.

As if the situation were not awkward enough, Evan and Marshall are kidnapped by a group of women called Amazzones, and need to be rescued. Once that is accomplished, and a few messy details (such as an uprising by rebel Anjeles) cleared up, they all return to their own side of the barrier. Evan and Valaura are looking forward to their wedding, but they have neglected to discuss one very important issue. Lilly and Marshall both want to reconcile, but Marshall has developed a problem due to the rough handling he reveived a the hands of the Amazzone, and doesn't believe it is possible.

It took Marshall hours to find a blacksmith who could execute his requirements, and only the awe that `The Savior' evoked in the Daemona made him consent to what he obviously thought was a demented request. In an hour, the job was completed. Marshall waited for Silvera to appear at his door, as he was certain she would. He hoped Lilly trusted him enough to wait for him to come to her -- and to open the door to him when he did. Although he was grateful that the demands of Silvera had forced Lilly to reverse her position on their relationship, he knew it was predicated on a very tenuous premise ... and he could see that Lucifer and Sterling were going to do their best to pressure him into an alliance with the princess...

It was nearly midnight when the door swung open, and a female figure stood outlined in the moonlight from the window. She was clad in what appeared to be a nearly transparent robe of gossamer; it reminded Marshall of the gowns her mother, Princess Ariel, had worn when she was young. But Princess Ariel would never have displayed her charms so brazenly. She moved into the room, surveying him uncertainly.

"Close the door." Marshall's voice held no emotion.

She turned back and did so. Then, as she neared the bed, she said, "I had thought you would come to me."

Marshall closed the book and tossed it onto the carpet, which appeared to be spun from fluffy silk. His eyes met hers, coldly. "Why would you think that? Surely, if I went to anyone it would be Lilly."

Silvera's fists clenched at her sides. "Why won't you understand? You were brought here to be my consort! You will be! You will!"

Marshall thought she would throw herself onto the floor and drum her heels like a child. Quickly, before she knew he had left the bed, he was at her side. "Will I, do you think?" He grasped her wrists and dragged her towards him. "Perhaps you won't want me to, when you know me a little better."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What ... what do you mean?"

"Come ... I have something to show you." Not waiting for her response, he dragged her behind him, into the adjoining dressing room.

"Yes, all right. Lord Marshall -- you are hurting me!"

"You have displeased me, and you must suffer the consequences. I am your Master, princess ... you'll learn that tonight." Marshall pulled Silvera towards the far wall, where the mirror had been removed to leave the surface bare. In the wall had been set black-iron chains, and from the chains hung gyves of the same iron, padded with layers of leather on the inside. The princess didn't know this, but Marshall had no intention of hurting her -- he didn't even want the gyves to chafe her wrists. But he was determined to be rid of her attentions, and he had no intention of being the `Savior' of the Daemona yet again -- by mating with their princess. He hoped he could scare her into casting him off -- he'd deal with Lucifer and Sterling when that happened, no matter how angry they were.

"What ... what are those? I've never seen the like. Whatever can they be for?"

Marshall smiled grimly down at her. "Let me show you." Pulling her towards the wall, he enclosed one of her wrists in the cuff and snapped it closed. Before she knew exactly what he was doing, he had her against the wall and had imprisoned her other wrist. She was immobile.

"Lord Marshall -- release me! Is this some kind of game from your world? I don't like it." Silvera attempted to use her usual imperious tone of voice, but she was obviously frightened.

"These are one of the milder `toys' used in a game known as Bondage and Discipline in my world. As I said, you have displeased me greatly by your behavior to my friends. I will release you when I am ready -- not before. And you, my dear, will have to be patient until then."

"I shall scream! My father and grandfather will hear me, and come to my rescue. Then they will deal with you -- and my grandfather will be very angry that you have done this to me!"

Marshall seemed unmoved by her threat. "Yes, I'm certain he would be. But you're not going to tell him, and you're not going to scream." He leaned nonchalantly against one of the wardrobes. "If you do, you'll never have me. Is that what you want, Silvera?"

"I ... I ... want you to release me!" She was close to tears.

"And so I will. When I have impressed upon you the necessity of obeying me. Because if you do not, I have worse punishments I can inflict on you. Much worse than this, little Princess. And you won't scream for help, because if you do, then you know you'll never have what you want of me." He pushed himself away from the wall and came to take her in his arms, and pull her body against his. "A child to rule this world -- a child born of a Daemona princes and the Savior -- oh, yes, little Princess ... I know what you want."

He lowered his head to kiss her, and when he felt her respond, he pushed her back against the wall. Then he walked to the door and left without looking back. Once he got outside his chambers and into the corridor, he sagged against the wall, his legs nearly collapsing under him. He thought he was going to vomit, and wished he hadn't eaten dinner or drunk several tankards of ale. If he had known how difficult it would be -- how truly repulsive -- he would have done better with an empty stomach.

Now he must find Lilly, and he only had an hour. That was all he could bear to leave the princess chained to the wall. And he had no idea where they had put Lilly -- as far from his chambers as possible, if Silvera had anything to do with it. He hoped she was near Evan and Valaura. He didn't want her to be alone in this place. In Marshall's mind the Land of the Cup was proving to be ten times worse than the Land of the Wand had ever been.

He finally located a servant who could lead him to Lilly's chambers, but by the time he reached them, a half-hour had elapsed. He would only have a few minutes to talk to Lilly, and then he would have to run back to his chambers if he was to be there is time for his self-imposed deadline.

He knocked on the outer door, and was relieved when it was Lilly who opened it. Over her shoulder he could see that she had nothing more than a bedroom. The chamber didn't even appear to have a private bath. He frowned. "Lilly, I have to talk to you, but I only have a few minutes. May I come in?"

She stood aside and let him pass into the chamber. As she closed the door behind him she said, "I suppose you have to get back to the Princess." Her voice was bleak.

"Yes, I do. And if your idiot friend Evan hadn't brought us here on one of his stupid whims, there wouldn't be any Princess for me to deal with!" Marshall realized his voice was going up in volume, and attempted to keep it under control. "Sorry, Lillikins, but if you think you hate my having to be with Princess Silvera, you can't even imagine how I feel." He threw himself on her bed. "Or how she feels at this moment!" He started to giggle uncontrollably, and Lilly stood in the middle of the carpet, staring at him uncertainly.

"Uh -- how does she feel?"

"How would you feel if you were chained to the wall of my dressing room?" His laughter was out of control, and Lilly sat on the edge of the bed gingerly, watching him in horrified amazement.

"Like killing whoever put me there. Oh, Marsh! You didn't ... did you?"

"Yes, love." He stopped laughing, and sat up to meet her eyes. "I had to do something to discourage her, didn't I?"

Lilly thought about tis for a moment. "Did you hurt her?"

"Of course not!" Marshall was indignant. "And I can't stay here very long. I have to go back and let her go."

"You know, love, I don't think it's going to work."

"Why not? Would you want a lover who chained you to the wall?"

"No, but Silvera wants you; and she has more than one reason for doing so. Marshall, I have to know something. When you made love to the Princess -- were you the first?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I suspected it from the fuss that Lucifer and Sterling have been making. They seem to have a different standard for princesses than the do for ordinary folk. Or maybe it's just that Silvera has to bond with a male before she can take other lovers. But my point is that if she's never had a lover before you, how can she possibly know what to expect? For all she knows, all the men from our world chain their women to the wall."

"Surely not! Not after seeing you and Valaura."

"She has no idea what we do in our bedchambers. That's why this may not work, love. She has no standard for comparison. If she's going to realize that what you're doing constitutes unusual behavior, to say the least, then someone is going to have to tell her."

"You tell her."

"What! You don't seriously think she'd believe me, do you? You're not thinking very clearly, Savior of the Daemona."

Marshall groaned and put his head down into his hands. "Then what are we going to do?"

"I'll think of something while you're gone on this hunting trip. Trust me, sweetheart, and bring me a baby Frost Monster for a pet."

"OK. What is a Frost Monster?"

I have no idea. Marsh, did you use dialogue out of one of those bondage movies? `You Are My Slave, I Am Your Master' -- that kind of thing?"

"Exactly! How did you guess?"

"You wouldn't have known what to say, otherwise!" They both collapsed in laughter again.

* * *

By the time Marshall had arrived back at his chambers, closer to two hours had passed. He felt horrible about that, but when he was with Lilly he had forgotten the time. When he entered the dressing room Silvera seemed composed, but he could see the marks of tears on her cheeks. He wondered just how close she had come to summoning her father and grandfather to her aid.

"I see you have followed my orders, Princess. I am pleased."

"Well, I am not!" She fairly screamed at him. "I order you to release me this instant!"

Marshall shook his head, smiling slightly. "You really are a very slow learner, my dear. God forbid you're intellectually inferior ... that would be very sad in a Princess of the Daemona."

"I certainly am not! I'm simply not accustomed to being treated in this manner." Her voice lowered, and became plaintive. "You are going to release me, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. And what shall I do with you then? Why did you come to me, I wonder? For this?" He stepped toward her and leaned down to kiss her gently. He felt her body soften slightly against his. She'd spent only on night with him, but Marshall had known instinctively, when he began to make love to her, that Silvera was a virgin. He had made her first experience in physical love as pleasurable as possible, and softened the pain where he could. This heightened her confusion at his present behavior, and he knew it. "Or for this?" Stepping back slightly, he took hold of the edge of her gown and tore it away from her, letting it settle into a shimmering pool on the carpet.

Silvera gasped and drew away, pressing herself against the wall. "Marshall -- not here! Please, my Lord!"

"No, little Princess -- not here." He reached for one of the manacles and released the catch on the side. There was no key, because Marshall had wanted anyone who found the princess to release her. Well, that little ploy hadn't worked ... she sagged against him slightly, as if in relief. Putting one arm around her, he lead her to the nearest wardrobe. Flinging open the door, he snatched up a cloak and wrapped it around her with a feeling of irritation. She shouldn't have been walking the corridors of the palace in that sheer gown, even if her chambers were near to his.

Hoisting her into his arms, he turned and walked into the bedroom. He kept going, out into the corridor and down to the chased silver doors that heralded the entrance to Silvera's extensive apartments. She was shaking slightly in his arms, and he knew he wouldn't be able to leave her that night. He cursed her, himself, and particularly Evan for the entire situation. He was definitely going to get Evan for this, and that was a promise.

* * *

It was early the following morning when Lucifer appeared in Marshall's bedroom on a beam of dewy sunshine. He turned eagerly toward the bed, exclaiming, "A-ha! I've got you now, my Lord!" His face fell ludicrously when he realized the bed was empty. "Damn the girl -- she's taken him into her chambers again, where I can't beam in!"

Angrily he dashed into the dressing room, hoping that Marshall would be there alone. It too was empty. It was the shimmering heap of Silvera's gown that caught his eye, and he crossed the room to pick it up, recognizing it as belonging to his granddaughter, The rent down the front was his first clue, and his eyes slowly moved upward to rest on the iron manacles and their chains. Dropping the gown, he picked up one of the manacles and studied it with some puzzlement. Suddenly, with a flash of understanding, he snapped it around his wrist. His gaze went to the other manacle, and with a roar of rage he disappeared into his beam of light, the empty manacle clanging against the marble wall.