Part 3- Kurun
AFTER SAVING HIM from a vicious animal, his foreign weapon makes him collapse.
I already introduced myself, so I might as well protect him.
It’s the right thing to do—it’s certainly not an excuse to spend more time with this sexy man.
I carefully pack up his gear and clean off my weapons.
Then, after lifting him up, I walk through the woods back to a clearer path.
He’s moderately heavy, but I wasn’t forced to do all those exercises by Father to no effect.
I try not to study his gorgeous sleeping face as I pass the thickly wooded area.
When I get to the clear path, the sun has almost set, and I certainly can’t walk all the way to where I left Liberty with this muscled man in tow.
So, I gently set him down on a smooth patch of grass, and dash away.
Hours later, the campfire crackles as I heat up my rations.
I’ve managed to retrieve Liberty, start a fire, and lay the stranger down on a silk sheet.
My tent is up, the stars twinkle above, and I’m sitting on the sheet as well.
When the man stirs, I turn to him and smile.
He sits up and shakes his head, gazing around in confusion.
“What the…?” he asks, with a raspy voice.
“Carmine Listo.” His eyes dart to me in alarm. “You are awake. I was most concerned.”
“It’s you…hot kickboxer guy.”
“Pardon?” I ask with a grin.
He shakes his head and sits upright. “I mean…you introduced yourself to me, right? Kur…um…?”
I rotate the meat on a skewer in my hand over the fire. “Xing Kurun. Prince of the Xing Empire, one of the many dynasties in the Middle Kingdom.” I bring my rations forward and try to give a sexy smile. “May I interest you in chicken?”
He gulps. “No thanks.”
“Are you sure? You collapsed, and food is integral in healing.”
He nods and stares at the fire. “I, um…have this thing where I’m not hungry for…” He gazes at his wrist jewelry, a silvery substance that I do not recognize. “Six more days now.”
“How specific,” I reply. Another mystery.
I bite and chew my rations and try not to feel self-conscious as he watches me.
A large part of me wants him to be interested in me.
Does he like my long, dark hair? His is so curly and I want to run my fingers through it.
His eyes are wide and green, his skin a pinker complexion than mine.
Everything about him is so foreign and fascinating.
“So, Carmine Listo, what brings you here?”
His eyebrows furrow, seemingly trying to find the words, then he relaxes. Staring at the fire, he says, “I’m…looking for something.”
“Are you looking to fight bears?”
We both laugh softly. “Not quite. Thank you again for, um…saving me. You’re an amazing weapons master.”
“It would seem your device to defend you…deposed you instead.”
His face grows alarmed, and he taps his waist where I placed his metal weapon. After looking at it, he relaxes again. “Yeah. That was embarrassing. I’ve rarely had to use it. And I’ve never encountered a big bear before.” He snickers. “At least, not that kind.”
“Are there no bears in dynasty you hail from?”
He frowns lightly, then shakes his head. His reluctance to answer my questions is concerning. I study his face and say, “Your…wife…would probably be devastated if a beast felled you.”
He smiles but avoids my gaze. “No. No wife to speak of.” His green eyes meet mine momentarily. “Or husband.”
My cheeks burn hot, and it has nothing to do with the fire before us. I quietly finish my meal but make no moves to stand up. This moment feels so intimate with this stranger. Carmine Listo is a mystery, but he’s exactly what I’ve been wishing for. “Well, I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Same to you, Prince Kurun.”
“I can help you find what you are looking for.” The idea of helping him complete his mission and leave so quickly fills me with disappointment. “After the sun comes up.”
He rubs his arms. “I do have time, but…” He clicks his wrist jewelry, then hesitates. He tucks it away into his sleeve. “I…don’t want to trouble you.”
“It is no trouble at all. I must insist. After all, this is my region, my responsibility. What are you searching for?”
He gazes at me with trepidation. “I’m not supposed to say. It’s private.”
“Does it have to do with your witchcraft?”
The stranger’s eyebrows jump. “Between the metal weapon that felled you and the jewelry that continues to show various moving images, it is very evident that you have powers.”
He sighs and his shoulder slumps. “Not powers. Just like…extremely fancy technology.” The stranger stares at the fire. “I could get in a lot of trouble if I tell you about my work.”
I move closer on the silk sheet, my knees tantalizingly close to his. “As a prince, I hold many secrets.” He looks at me, and the orange glow on his face reveals his interest. “What is one more?”
I smirk, and his hand idly taps his knee. “Let me help you, Carmine Listo. You have my word as a royal in the Xing Empire.” The stranger nods in resolve and he pulls back his sleeve—success!
“This isn’t witchcraft. It’s…a very special device.
Everything I have is advanced technology from far, far away.
” I gaze at the steel cuff on his wrist. The images swirl in blue, and I gasp lightly.
He claims it is not witchcraft, but I have never witnessed images move before, or blue lights shift in such a manner.
“This is harnessed lightning?”
“Sort of. But it won’t hurt. See, my job is to retrieve…
this.” He clicks the cuff, and the blue lights swirl to reveal sphere with hexagons patterned on it.
“This is the Astral Jade Sphere. It does not belong in your, um…kingdom. It came from the stars, and the longer it remains here, it endangers everyone on your Earth.”
My pulse picks up when a truth dawns on me. “I saw this!”
“What?” he asks. The image blinks away.
“It did come from the sky. I witnessed it one night in the woods. I fell on a rock, and it jabbed into my abdomen. I was lying there bleeding, and a green orb fell from the stars yards away from me.” I scramble to lie on my side. After lifting up my cloak, Listo leans forward to gaze at my skin.
“A warm green glow bathed me in light, then the orb disappeared. In its wake, I had this.” I lift up my shirt to reveal a tiny hexagonal dark spot above my pelvic bone and below my ribs. “No more wound, no bleeding, no pain. Just this tiny mark.”
“Fascinating,” the stranger says. “The Astral Jade Sphere marked you.” When he looks up, we both realize at the same time how close he is to my skin. A charge grows between us, and suddenly he is much too close to my groin. Or too far…
He moves back quickly and the moment is lost. Of course, what am I thinking? It is dangerous to get involved with someone who is…
“You are not from this planet, are you? You hail from the stars, yes?”
He looks panicked then gulps. When he quickly stands up, I follow. “I should go.”
“No, wait.” I grab his wrist to prevent him from leaving. “I have no ill will against you. I still want to help.”
“You don’t have to.”
“My duty is to my kingdom. Did you not say this sphere endangers us?”
He nods. “Yes. If it stays here it threatens to, um, unravel the land.”
I do not know what he means, but I cannot let him go. “Then it is imperative I assist you. Your hero’s journey will be easier with me.”
“Hero’s journey?” he asks with a half-smile.
“Yes. You are trying to protect us, are you not?”
He seems to ponder my words, looking down at where I still hold him. His skin is so smooth. “I’ve already said too much,” he says slowly. “This is my mission. I need to walk up the mountain, and—”
“Walking up at night is a death sentence. Please, Carmine Listo.” He gazes at me again, eyes reaching into my soul. “Stay the night in my tent. And tomorrow, I will help you.”
“I am pretty tired.” He nods, and I let go. “Okay. But I will go first thing in the morning to scale the mountain.”
The crickets sing as I quietly clean my mouth with water before turning in.
I lie on multiple silk sheets by the dying campfire, and Carmine Listo walks into my tent.
The idea of him being in my sleeping quarters is titillating, but getting involved with him sounds like it could be dangerous. He is so tempting…
A moment later, he walks back out. “Are you not coming?”
“I will stand outside and stay watch.”
“Man, no. This is your tent. And there’s plenty of room for both of us.”
Arousal jolts into my core. “Very well.” The words leave my mouth before I can second-guess it. Even if we don’t have sex, I want so badly to spend the night with Carmine Listo. I put out the fire, pack my silk sheets, and make my way into the tent.
In the dark, Carmine Listo and I lie facing each other.
I can only make out his silhouette. We are wearing too many garments for my liking, but I need to respect the man before me.
I may have saved his life, but he is still a stranger, likely an alien from the stars.
And I am but a prince. Our destinies are only meeting for a short period of time.
Still, I count the number of breaths he takes. And I can tell his eyes are open, likely studying me too.
“You do not have to tell me anything about your world,” I say in a hushed tone. All we can hear are the insects outside and the beating of our hearts. “I am simply content in helping you in the morning.”
“Why?”
I pause before I answer. “Truthfully…I long for adventure.”
He snickers. “Adventure is what I have in spades.”
“Spades?”
“It means like…I have a lot. It’s an expression.”
“How is your language so clear to me, yet so different? You bear no accent.”
“One of my devices allows me to talk in the languages of wherever I go.”
I gasp and smile. “Wow. Such fascinating technology from your world.”
He pauses. “I am from your world.”
“Then from the West then? I had no idea they held such mystical technology.”
“No, Kurun, not the West.” He takes a deep breath. “Hopefully no one will believe you if I tell you.”
“I will say nothing to anyone,” I reply.
“Right. I…am from a different time. Your future.”
After a moment, I reply, “Wow.”
“And if I don’t secure the Astral Jade Sphere, it could doom your time and all times.”
The gravity of it all hits me. Everything he says is unbelievable, but something deep within me trusts him. I have read folklore about the beyond, and I’ve wanted to believe in something bigger my whole life. And now, it is here, sharing a tent, my face less than a yard from him.
“Then…I will assist you. This sphere healed me, so I can identify it.”
“Why are you trusting me? In all my journeys, I’ve never had to explain myself because we were taught no one would believe I’m from the future.”
My heart beats faster. “I suppose…it’s instinct. Faith. I need to believe in something bigger than my destiny.”
“Aren’t you a prince? I know for a fact your destiny is great.”
I bite my lip. “An emperor’s duty is to be an ambassador.
Also, I must marry a woman and father children.
Having a wife and all the bureaucracy of being in meetings all day…
is not the life I long for. If something unbelievable can come true, then perhaps I can be worthy to forge a new path for myself. ”
We’re silent for a moment, and I’m afraid I’ve said too much.
“You, Kurun, are very worthy. Seeing you wield a sword was breathtaking. I get why they call you the kickboxing prince.”
“What?”
He snickers. “Nothing. Just know…I think you’ll be amazing, emperor or not. In the short time I’ve known you, I can already tell that you are astounding.”
My cheeks warm, and I can’t help a grin. “I…can say the same about you.”
“Clearly not. I’m so inept I collapsed,” he says with a soft laugh.
He snickers, but I reply, “You are not inept. Your mission seems difficult, and the bears in the woods are very formidable. You carry with you courage, poise, and otherworldly knowledge.” A yawn escapes my lips. “I do not judge you poorly, Carmine Listo. We may be strangers, but I value you.”
He says nothing, so I continue, “I know we’ve just met, but I consider myself a perceptive judge of character. You’ve traveled to a foreign time just to save my world. I can’t think of anything more noble.”
After another quiet moment, he rolls over. “Thank you, Kurun. And it’s just Carmine.”
“Pleased to be on this journey with you, Carmine.” I yawn as I continue, “You bring adventure to my life when I need it the most.”
He yawns, and I want so badly to reach over and hold him in the dark. “You saved me with your incredible skills.” His voice is barely there as I quickly fall into slumber. “Maybe in another life we could spend our days together. Because you’re amazing, and I want to show you the stars.”