The Kingdom Romance: Episode 1 Read online

  Chapter 3: Lavish Revelries and The Real World

  Beautiful music emanated from within the mansion, and all the windows were lit up. There was the feeling of a warm and loving household full of guests enjoying themselves and talking cheerfully inside. Mr. Donner, the head of the house himself opened the door, holding a martini in one hand, and pausing in mid sentence about some political matter with a friend standing just behind him. In a loud jolly voice, and welcomed Annette in.

  “Well look who is here! My you look lovely! Come in, come in!”

  He managed to not glance for too long at Annette’s strikingly beautiful womanly features. This was one thing that always made her feel silly about this town– the overly conservative nature of its folk and suppressive nature when it came to anything having to do with sex or sexiness… but by this time she hardly noticed it anymore. It did however passively cause her already floating mind to wander back to whether or not perhaps the hooded knight, Khanokh may have stolen any glances himself, and what he might have thought when he did. The nobleness of his demeanor caused her to forget anything in the realms of sexuality momentarily, but truth be told she was a bit bashful to realize she was feeling very aroused even at the mere thought of this mysterious guy, Khanokh!

  “I take it you must be hungry!” Said Mr. Donner, catching Annette in her musing thoughtful spaciness.

  “Ah! Ha, yes, I mean, I’m ok! I, are you guys having dinner now? I’m very honored to join you guys!” She stammered.

  For the next few hours, Annette went into automatic-socializing mode, although she really did genuinely enjoy herself at what was perhaps the nicest night of fellowship with the people of Eleneth since her arrival. She just couldn’t take her thoughts away from this feeling that something was different, and very significant. While chatting around the fireplace (and with their son, Richy, incessantly flirting with her to no end) she managed to still detach enough from the situation to ponder her being here and what it all meant.

  Her parents had asked her to come here, right? It was a kind of exchange trip. . . no, that couldn’t be it! Suddenly she realized she was not at all entirely aware of the reason for her being in Eleneth, and not only that– she couldn’t remember actually arriving, nor could she recall very definitely the events leading up to her coming here. This was such a wondrous place, and certainly she must have had made plans for a long time before her arrival to settle all the visa work (although with a British passport it is quite easy to go to any country you wish within reason) and-

  “Would you like something else to drink? I’d be so happy to get you more of whatever it is you’ve got there!” Richy said.

  He was trying valiantly not to stare at Annette’s somewhat exposed chest and only at her drink. She was holding her glass of wine purposefully just underneath her full breasts, just to play with him a little, knowing it would make him act like an even greater fool than he already was, but figuring that it was probably good for him. It was somewhat unusual for women to dress very flashy around here, so Annette was naturally getting lots of looks.

  She gave Richy hardly any help in starting conversation, knowing that the whole night was supposed to be a sort of setup for them. . . then again everyone else seemed very happy and enjoying themselves in the multitudes of halls and socializing rooms the Donner Mansion had. Richy was very sweetly stammering over even the most simplest of words to Annette, offering her no small amount of amusement. He was a very nice young man, of course, which is what you’d expect from someone having the proper training he’d received from his parents. However, if you think about it, they had gone to great lengths to educate him in some of the most useless fields of art and theological training during this very important time in the worlds history, with a large war (so they say) looming on the horizon. The need of the youth in their town and the neighboring cities for soldiering was growing every day. Everywhere you saw a unifying call to arms.

  Hardly any of these political topics interested Annette, however. She had spent every day consuming voraciously the vast amounts of rare literature and lore which the Eleneth library held, and had spent comparatively very little time with any of the young men. This indeed caused caused even the best of the nobility and otherwise very composed fellows (who were self-confident in their charms) to not stop at anything to court Annette. None of this held her fancy for long, although she had some secret flings here and there for a little while. That didn’t last. None of this captured her heart, as she knew she was indeed not ready for any sort of serious long term interloping with anyone she had met thus far.

  After commissioning Richy to go on a quest to assemble the perfect cocktail (which he would most likely never be able to do) and feeling only a little guilty about it, she took the chance to wander around the Donner estate and admire the various works of art and beautiful ornate architecture of this mansion… no, it was more like a palace! Who on earth could live like this? There was even a fantastic ballroom which they would be using soon, once the rest of the guests arrived. There was a gigantic dining hall and way too many bedrooms all furnished up to the standards of the finest royalty. Nevertheless, one got the impression that these riches were not being put to proper use. Some of the guests there were apparently going to be staying for quite some time, but the majority of the bedrooms were empty. She noticed too, a large area for classes and private tutoring in various arts and other skills, such as fencing and a whole area for target practice. There was even a large racetrack for horseback riding.

  Annette gazed out at the large terrace through a window overlooking an ornate garden with ivory water fountains that were beyond description. It was so beautiful, in fact, that if you looked at the sparkling water coming out of the carved statues long enough you felt emotion swell up inside of you, just because they were so unearthly! And despite all the “decadence,” the people who came were all very notably humble and sweet. There was none of the kind of pomp and circumstance you’d expect from a typical gathering of such obviously influential people at a party.

  Annette decided she’d been mean enough to dear Richy and decided to go and grace him once more with her presence, when a certain painting caught her eye. First of all, the frame itself almost seemed to be alive. There were swirling waves and diamonds scintillating throughout the frame, almost as if they were moving on their own accord. The painting seemed to fit with all the other famous and notable works in the large collection, but on second glance, the content was absolutely mysterious. Annette struggled within her mind to place exactly who the painter was and what the date was, but simply couldn’t. It was a simple depiction of the Nativity scene, but around the whole scene was a dark presence, which you would not expect from typical Christmas paintings. This was odd enough in itself, as you could see devils and demons and Hell itself seemingly opened in the far corner of the landscape behind the cave where Mary was holding The Child. But when you looked at it for more than a few moments, the scene itself seemed to draw you in and envelop you. She felt such a peace when looking at the picture, knowing that warm feeling from Christmas and having fond childhood memories of that festive time, but when seeing the demons surrounding (yet not being able to penetrate) the inner scene, she felt a deep meaningfulness and purposefulness. In this picture, why did it seem like Christmas itself was more of a declaration of war than a simple happy holiday of the Son of God being born? She hadn’t really thought about any of this, and her family hadn’t really taken the time to explain it to her before, not being much of a religious family.

  Finally she pulled herself back to the fireplace, just in time to see Richy gingerly balancing a pretty decent looking drink which he had carefully prepared for her. She suppressed a laugh when she realized that it had at least 9 different kinds of fruit sliced in and around the glass.

  She sat down with the utmost ladylike graces and charm, and the evening went on much as it had already. Although the atmosphere was warm and swe
et, it just failed to interest Annette at any deep level, until some talk began of a mysterious character spotted around town.

  "Did you hear of the unknown stranger? Word is out that he's here on some sort of spy mission!" Richy's friend said.

  "Don't believe every rumor you hear pop up around here, Buford. But hey-- it makes for a great excuse to go hunting! Let's go after the party! Annette, will you come?" Richy asked her.

  Trying to appear as bored as possible, she rejected the offer.

  "I've got so much homework to do, tomorrow's another big day at school you know!"

  "Oh, you'll just spend it at the library reading, anyway!" Richy replied.

  Eventually she managed to slip away, into another wing of the mansion.

  When the dancing began, she tried to enjoy herself but instead formulated a plan in her mind to escape once again, this time to the gardens. As she twirled and bowed and danced the special dance to the beautiful music, her thought processes were hard at work. She wanted to see which was the quickest way to the very unique flower groves which were just over the hill behind their backyard. It would take her roughly 20 minutes of walking, and she would have to be covert, she decided, if she was to make it in time for her meeting with the mysterious individual she had met only hours before. She noticed as she thought through her plan that her heart started to beat a little bit quicker. “What is wrong with me!” she wondered. She hadn’t felt like this in quite some time.

  The head of the household, Richy's father quieted the dancers and gave a speech. At this moment Annette made her way for the ladies room, but once she was sure no one was watching changed her course and slipped out through one of the side doors.

  She set out, baffled by the beautiful mountain range that stretched up into the sky, beyond any she’d previously seen. The trees were practically blue, although this was just a trick of the light, she decided. She made her way through the wooded area behind the Donner’s house, until reaching the flower groves. These were obviously some sort of genetic engineering feat, since unbelievably huge flowers of all shapes towered over you like this could hardly be natural. They created a nearly overpowering fragrance, especially at night. The evening dew created a sort of humidity that made you feel as though you were walking into a terrarium and the forest of gigantic stems with their huge leaves made you half expect to see a gigantic turtle or frog to come jumping out at any moment.

  She guessed it was about time for the mysterious man to arrive, although by now she was a little bit tired from the evening’s battles. Keeping that Mr. Richy at bay for so long had been exhausting! She was sure he had gotten the hint that she was not interested in him, but the way his family and hers were setting them up annoyed her. Why had the Mayor and his wife taken such an interest in Annette’s future and personal life? Had her parents asked them to do this?

  She was staring at a glowing blue worm making its way up a stalk, trying to figure out if that was supposed to exist or not when a voice interrupted her:

  “Hello! You came!”

  It was Khanokh, emerging from the misty fog surrounding the massive flowerbed they were standing in, similar to the way he had disappeared earlier.

  “Yes Sir! Mr. Khanokh, it is I… Lady Annette Valeria Simonette Esquire the 3rd at your service and reporting for duty!”

  For some reason she felt more able to act her wild and silly self when around this person. He was definitely not from Eleneth. She had asked some of the richer folks of influence at the dinner earlier that evening if there was any knowledge of a Mr. Khanokh’s arrival, but was met only with quizzical looks. She began to wonder if he could be some kind of spy, as this was wartime after all.

  “Dear Lady. . . Esquire the 3rd?” Responded Khanokh with a mocking tone. “Well I shall at once assign you to a cultural re-education center to teach you some proper announcement of noble titles! You couldn't fool me for one second. Do you know who I am? Or rather do you know who you are? I am here to take you down the rabbit hole, dear girl.”

  He bowed, extending his arm for her to take, and they set off walking.

  “You are rather an adventurous type, I see, but you haven’t yet set foot out of this country since your arrival here. Why is that?

  He spoke with a light air, but there was definitely an authority underneath his mirth.

  “No, I can’t say I’ve made it that far yet,” Annette answered. “I’ve been engrossed this past few months in, ah, I know this will sound silly but I really have an enthusiasm for reading!"

  “Well, I say! That’s better than watching TV! Have you figured out that this place isn’t normal yet? You are quite talented in your ways of perception. In fact that’s one reason we chose you.”

  “Really?”

  Annette felt a sudden joy at any kind of compliment from this man. Normally she would just feel proud as she did take pride in herself for paying attention to fine details in life. The longer she listened to the hooded traveler however, the more she lost interest in herself or her own need for validation.

  “Yup! Actually there is a position available for you, but we’ll get to that in a little while. It’s time to explain to you what is going on here. We usually don’t force reality on anyone before they are ready. But I think you are ready,” he said mysteriously.

  Annette suddenly felt a little offended, mainly at being treated as someone who was in the dark (even if she was still a little bit, at least).

  “What do you mean ‘we?’ And why do you still wear this ridiculous robe? I don’t think there’s anything to hide out here! Except you might offend the glow worms!”

  Enoch just smiled and bowed once more.

  “Ah! Aren't we a bit sensitive now, poor girl!”

  He stripped of his outer garment, and what ensued was a burst of light brighter than lightning that lit up the whole forest. Strangely, all the leaves and flowers turned to face the source– Khanok's armor. It was so bright you could not look at it directly for fear of going blind.

  “Offend the glow worms indeed we may!” he said, with a laugh that seemed to shake the whole forest. Khanok's voice also was full of a power that just continually reverberated within Annette’s soul.

  He then readorned himself with the drab looking robe, causing the light to dissipate immediately. Now he merely left the hood down, allowing a small amount of the impossibly bright light to gently illuminate the grove of flowers. It seemed as if the mist and dew itself still retained and held on to some of the light, almost as if they were drinking it in and treasuring it even after it had gone. Once she was able to recollect herself, Annette finally got back to her feet as she had fallen back in surprise.

  “Who are you!” she cried.

  Suddenly her eyes filled with tears. These were not tears of fear but of pure joy, and why she couldn’t say. There was a warmth in Khanokh’s face that shone clearly now and reached out to her, conquering her. She dropped to her knees and was speechless, trembling. The man was regal, resplendent, radiating with beauty. . . she could continue to write words of worship for the rest of the night just using the letter “R” if he hadn’t finally answered her question.

  “So many questions! This robe is somewhat ugly on purpose. It’s the only one that will completely cover the light of my armor. I have many names, and I just told you my real name, but it isn’t the name I am most known by. In English you guys most likely know me by the name of Enoch! Does that ring a bell?”

  Annette stood up once again. “yeah, I suppose… Sorry religion really isn’t my forte. You’re a Bible character, right? I mean, how else can you explain that? Or did you just survive some kind of nuclear radiation experiment?”

  “Heh! You might say so! And true religion is about to become your forte. Do you know where we are standing right now? This isn’t the Earth. Let’s just start right there. You’ve left home far, far behind. Far far behinder than you ever thought possible. Ac
tually, you were in an accident on Earth and you died. Your spirit wasn’t ready to accept that fact yet and so as a lost soul you wandered around your parents’ university in an alternate dimension, thinking you were still alive. You were in great danger of being even more lost than you already were if it weren’t for your emergency rescue pickup. Eleneth's mayor Ransom was sent by none other than God Himself to give you some very special mercy and offer you salvation after you died. That’s an offer most people don’t get!”

  Enoch walked up to a pond a little ways deeper into the Grove, and began tossing pebbles inside.

  “So. . . ” Annette began, following him. “I’m a ghost now? Somehow I already knew this, I was afraid to seriously give it any thought, you know? But I can’t be dead! This place is too real, too beautiful! Are we in Heaven now?”

  Strangely she felt little emotion despite the weight of the information just laid upon her. Let us not forget that Annette was an extremely exceptional and brave girl. Still, asking practical questions like this enabled her not to go into shock, or at least (she felt) stave off the act of going into shock until later. Although the things he was explaining to her were indeed crazy, she felt challenged to face death, or at least the realization of death with courage. She didn’t want to take this very important news with cowardice. Perhaps it was her own personal pride, but she resolved not to lose it emotionally at that point.

  Enoch picked up another pebble, carefully inspected and sniffed it, and then thoughtfully tossed it into the pond.

  “You have crossed over, that’s all! It’s a part of nature as things are now in their fallen and imperfect state! Nothing to be afraid of. Your parents were quite sad, though. They realized they hadn’t spend much time investing in you as a person as much as they had in your career status, or future career status. I’d say they did a great job though! You have gone through the training on Earth that you were meant to partake of, and done very well. We were going to get you saved while on earth, but the messenger we sent was thwarted. So, the Lord Sabaoth in His Mercy sent an entire battle station to your aid. That’s what you’re standing on right now. And no, this isn’t Heaven. Not at the moment, anyway.” Enoch replied, while he resumed the thoughtful pebble tossing.

  “Thanks for telling me, anyway.”

  Annette sat down next to the pond, dipping her feet inside, feeling the vivid coolness of the water bring her back to the present surroundings. Everything was coming together now, although the questions were piling on top of each other. She felt no fear, but only a passing whimper of regret at the realization of her life being over. I say it was a passing whimper because this emotion was immediately enveloped in the exuding kindness and severe amounts of joy emanating from Mr. Enoch here.

  He was at last laying down the hard-to-take-truth that none of the other Eleneth people had the guts to tell her. Annette realized this young looking man had the ability to understand her in a way that no one else ever had.

  "Was I living in some kind of denial this whole time? Gosh this is like Bruce Willis in the 6th Sense not knowing he was a ghost the entire time! Oops, sorry if I spoiled the movie for you," Annette rambled.

  “You weren't living in denial, my dear. It’s more like you were just so preoccupied with the mission you were originally sent on, you didn’t take the proper reflective moments to take it all in yet. And besides, actually this place is full of wonders. It’s easy to forget you’re on a ship when in this place, especially for someone like you who likes the quiet studious kind of life!"

  "Yes, OK I understand. But how is this place some kind of space ship? How about a little more explanation, Mr. Enoch!" Annette exclaimed.

  "The edges of the countryside across those hills behind this forest are where the higher-tech stuff begins. I don't believe you've seen that area yet. You are in the strip of real estate area, which stretches for miles and miles and gives you the feeling you are on Earth. The river is a nice effect, I must say. Straight from the New Jerusalem’s River of Life, I might add! They really did a terrific job on this whole place. They're also watering this section of Malacandria (what you normally call Mars) which was preserved from the Enemy’s onslaughts long ago, and still retains some of the original beauty. Water from the River of Life is quite potent stuff, you know!” Enoch said.

  “Are we in Purgatory then? Because obviously this isn’t Hell and I haven’t been punished for anything yet. I didn’t do anything particularly bad to anybody I don’t think, but I certainly don’t feel I deserve this kind of treatment! You guys have me here groomed for queen ship or something! And everyone I have met this entire time is either trying to date me or trying to set me up with people– and just won’t leave me alone! All I wanted to do was study all the strange and wonderful books you had here. . . . I know it was rather selfish of me.” As she rambled on, trying to put things together, Enoch came near to her and put his arm around her.

  “Look at this,” he said.

  All at once the water started to ripple, then rise up into the air. The blob of water formed into a definite shape and was no longer see-through. Then colors appeared, and basically it was a liquid floating model of a massive spaceship. On the top was a thin bubble, containing a weather system inside and an area that looked like a map of the county which Annette had been quietly and obliviously spending her past 6 months. There indeed was a perfect 3D model of the “town” called Eleneth, complete with detailed roads and forests and buildings, all encased inside the gigantic globe attached to the ship. It was totally something straight out of a space movie. She was dumbfounded. The model was perfect, and even had changed the light to refract the colors accurately. However, there was still a faint ripple from the wind blowing on it that reminded you it was made from water. The spaceship was amazing too, but Annette knew hardly anything about spaceships and hardly knew how to compare it to anything. It was sci-fi to the extreme.

  “This is the Starlion Craft. Eleneth and the surrounding areas were cut directly out of the Heavenly City of God and fused with one of the most famous royal battle cruisers.”

  “The what cut out of the where fused with a what?” Annette asked, blinking several times.

  Enoch continued as though he hadn’t heard her last question.

  “This ship is designed for battle, but the inhabitants are more of the church-type of folk (during their Earth life stage), and were more prone to enjoying their lovely lives. However there came a day in Heaven when a girl by the name of Sapphire stirred things up there a bit and got them raring to get up off their clouds and lay aside their harps (as we often say of people who aren’t doing anything with their reward yet in Heaven) . . . that’s another long story, but anyway, she’s returned tonight after a long journey in Heaven, and is going to get this bus back on the move once again."

  "By bus you mean the Starlion and Eleneth?" Annette asked, intrigued.

  "Hey you pick up fast! The reason for this is very simple: there is no more time for such a useful part of the Lord’s Armada to just be parked out here like it’s on vacation, fulfilling a duty which could easily be carried out by almost anyone else, you see! I mean, Malacandria does need to be watered and healed regularly, but it could also be accomplished by a number of other ships that also possess direct portal access to the Heavenly City's Water of Life system. There are so many other things this battle station is capable of. Thanks to Starlion's power and finesse in extreme situations, we could have her helping out on the Earth warfront (in the spirit dimension), or a great deal of other battlefields."

  Enoch spoke very passionately about this, as though he had been involved in some sort of space general's meeting organizing all this stuff recently and this had been the topic of debate.

  "Tell me about Malacandria. You've got my curiosity going and I'm not going to let you skip any of the important details, sir! So this is Mars?" Annette asked.

  "Indeed, a war took place on Malacandria, a
t which time the Enemy tried to wipe out all life on the planet. Now all that remains is orange desert, except for a hidden sliver of land, between some incredibly steep mountains. It is essentially a valley that still has a rich basin of life, sort of like an alien Noah’s Ark. Here is preserved all the seeds of life this planet once held. Dr. Ransom came here a long time ago and began to reestablish relations between their leaders and the Son. They weren’t created in the image of God so they didn’t know about the Cross and the Son of God sacrificing Himself to bring humanity back to the Father, but he told them all of this "Good News." So, that is why they are here now, due to this meeting they had a couple generations ago. Since passing on to his Heavenly Reward he was given authority over the Eleneth Township. Am I speaking too fast? Sorry. Anyway the Malacandrians are very thankful for Starlion’s presence here, and it will be needed undoubtedly again in the future. It’s just that it is definitely TIME TO GET THESE PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR RUT!! That’s why I’m very thankful for Sapphire’s return here to help rally them all back into action."

  “Huh- wait, what? This is a lot to take in you know! So basically you’re saying the afterlife is like a sci-fi novel, I get that so far. . . or at least the big picture is. It seems the people of Eleneth still live inside a romance novel they don't ever want to end! And now you're telling me all of this stuff. . . it makes me feel like I'm stepping into the story or saga around book 13 or something! Ahh, ok I’ll figure out the details later. Go on,” Annette sighed.

  Annette was used to reading quality literature, and Enoch’s prose and method for describing to her these details which were otherwise very poetic, fairy-legend material in such a blunt fashion were simply not her cup of tea. Nevertheless, Enoch continued on, indifferent.

  “The Starlion and the people who live and work upon her have been doing a service to this planet Malacandria by watering it well with the life giving streams of the Heavenly River. As you can imagine, these waters are quite “magical” in the sense that they came straight out of the Throne of God and so they have many uses. Very valuable stuff! Since entering the fiery airspace of London to retrieve your lost soul they who pilot the Starlion were a bit overwhelmed. That was, after all, their first real mission since departing the New Jerusalem base. The battle was intense there, and they came here for some surcease. Also the Enemy is encroaching on the borders of this lovely land (the inhabitable parts of Malacandria, or Mars as you’re used to calling it on Earth), and is about to mount an assault here. So now we are sending great reinforcements to the battle frontier. That’s where you come in. Are you game? Or rather, are you up for a little boot camp? I’ve already said too much, too fast, I know. But first of all you are invited to meet the King Himself, who has called you and who has paid for you by His Blood. The choice is yours… you haven’t made it yet, and it’s time.” Enoch said.

  He once again picked up pebbles, this time tossing them into the water that had formerly been a pond, but was now floating in midair. The pebbles would go in the model, and ripple the water, then sink down to the bottom and fall to the empty pond bed below and join the rest of the pebbles he had thrown.

  “This. . . this is just too much, it’s . . . I think it’s unfair.” Annette said.

  “You feel you have been wronged” Enoch replied.

  “No, it's not that at all. Quite the opposite, in fact! I mean, you guys have done so much for me. I always felt a love from far away that was guiding me, although I didn’t know its name. I guess you’re going to say that it was Jesus, right? He’s the King. Yeah, I knew it all along. Of course my pride never allowed me to do anything so religiously low as pray a prayer to “JESUS” but now I’ve reached that point. . . I see the wisdom and the profoundness of God now. . . He could hide all of His majesty in the Jesus, the one we always used to curse by, the one . . . we crossed out His Name at Christmas, his own Birthday. . . OK I am finished now. Yeah, I accept Jesus. Yes! I do! I. . . do I need to pray with you now?”

  “You can if you want to! But what you just said suffices. The procedure is complete! You have accepted Him, so you’re clear to enter into the city. Ahh, at last we can get this show on the road!”

  Enoch took Annette in his arms, holding her there meaningfully, then letting the silence do the talking. Only the sound of crickets filled in the quiet moments with their lovely melodies of chirping.

  "What is that?" Annette asked. She was pointing at the sky, where the stars were flashing unusually bright."

  "The dome refracts starlight in an enhanced manner, which gives us more information about them. those are stars that are celebrating your new birth into the Kingdom, my dear!" He replied.

  He was interrupted by the sound of distant galloping horses from the Donner’s estate. Annette let go and looked into Enoch’s eyes.

  (My, she is a total babe!) Enoch thought, but what he said was:

  “Well then? Ready to go?”

  Annette didn’t feel like going anywhere. She felt herself being reborn right there, in this beautiful softly lit garden. She fixed her eyes on Enoch's, feeling completely intoxicated. She didn’t want to let this moment pass, and the longer she held Enoch here the longer time seemed to extend into eternity. Each second held a lifetime’s worth of time to Annette.