Marcus
Erin didn't know how long she stood there crying, but Michael and Clare embraced her in support and allowed here grief to run its course. When she looked up, very few people remained within the auditorium. She wiped her eyes with her hands and Clare admonished her saying, "You have no reason to apologize. Baby girl, if need to cry, you get that out."
"Erin had to smile at that remark. It's likely that Clare didn't realize that Erin was twice her age. She nodded her head in agreement and thanked them again. "I'm okay. I feel a little better now," she said and remarked, "Let's find out where we need to go."
By now most of the information panels were free and the trio walked up to an empty one. Amazingly, except for depicting different pictures and names each of their destinations read the same, "House Athurius Hoplites - First Cohort – Prize." Clare was excited that they would be sticking together as a team.
They walked outside and found Lana waiting with a group of six other arrivals, a mix of young men and women, all with bluish-silver hair like theirs and in various styles. Lana said in her thick Russian, "I was beginning to wonder if something bad had happened."
Clare spoke up, "Erin was upset by the ending of the welcome ceremony. She probably doesn't want to talk about it right now."
Lana formally introduced herself and asked everyone to follow her. The group walked in silence and followed behind Lana. It seemed to Erin they were walking back the way they had come, but at the end the turned a different direction and arrived at a building across the park from where she had started her journey that morning.
After they entered the common room, Lana took Erin off to the side. "Are you okay? Please wait here for a moment, while I get the others settled-in."
Erin silently nodded. Having a little break in the flurry of new experiences would give her a chance to settle her emotions. Everything was still very difficult to process – the loss of her mother. Brad, her transformation, this new world and these new people. She said to herself, "I just need a chance to breathe."
Lana gave her shoulder a tender squeeze of encouragement and then moved off to give the others some directions. When she returned, to tenderly placed Erin's hand in her and they walked across the room to another door. They stepped out into an inner courtyard and across to another door. Before she opened it, Lana turned to her and gave her a hug. Eventually Erin returned it as well.
When the embrace was broken, Lana said, "You are going to be taught by the person who taught me everything I know. Erin, you have tremendous ability and I feel that only a master can properly teach you how to use it." She continued by saying, "I will check in with you from time to time and then you will be ready to assume your responsibilities."
Erin looked in her eyes and then silently nodded her head. Lana kissed her on the forehead and then opened the door.
The room they entered was completely different and Erin felt out of place compared to everywhere else she had recently been. While all the other building she had been in were practically bare, this was well appointed with old world style furnishing. Erin placed it as Tuscan and there was a hint of cinnamon in the air. They were in a sitting room and across from their entrance another door stood. A chair stood in one corner, with silk pillows before it. Along another wall was a divan. Erin marveled and said, "This is amazing."
As if on que, the door on the other side of the room opened and an older looking man entered the room. He smiled warmly at them and said, "Why, thank you my dear. Welcome to my humble abode."
He walked up to them and gave Lana a warm hug. Lana returned it and gave him a kiss on the cheeks and then one on the lips. She then stepped back and said, "Erin this is Marcus. He will teach everything you will need to know to become a Prize."
Marcus turned to Erin and smiled warmly to her, "Erin, my dear. Welcome to my home. My star pupil here over inflates my ego to win points once again. She says you may have abilities that outstrip hers. I count it as a privilege to tutor you."
Lana kissed Erin on the cheeks and finally on the lips, which made Erin feel a little uncomfortable and then left them alone.
Erin noticed that Marcus had the same type of gem in his forehead, as Lana as he turned and padded across the room to the chair. The Older man wore his drape in the form of a toga and unlike the others with hair, Marcus possessed a receding hairline. The older man then sat in the chair and invited her to take a seat of the pillows. Erin complied and sat down crossing her legs in front of her.
Marcus smiled and said, "My goodness. Lana's description, doesn't do you justice. Why, I would imagine Venus herself would be green with envy upon seeing you."
Erin didn't know if the cheeks of her face reddened with embarrassment, but it sure felt like they did. No one had ever said that to her before.
The older man said, "My child, don't be embarrassed. You truly are ravishing! Eden rarely receives Prizes and none as beautiful as you." Inhaling deeply, he continued by saying, "Why sitting here, I feel the potential coursing through you."
"There's that name or title, again," Erin pointed out, "What is a Prize?"
Marcus smiled and said, "A very good first question." He then launched into the subject with gusto. "Being a Prize is like being both a confidant and healer. Eden is a truly amazing place, but we all come here by violent means. This new world can give us wonderful new and beautiful bodies and allow us to enjoy pleasures beyond description. The one thing it can't do is heal the broken spirits we all have from being born into it."
"I am not a scientist, but from what I understand the Caretakers at certain times are able to bring people from Earth through a dimensional portal, into this new reality. As part of the process for making us able to enjoy this world, our bodies change color as the enhancements are made. Much like the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Sadly, the one thing the transformation can't do is heal our broken hearts, concerning the losses each of us suffer."
At that Erin's eyes began welling with tears again and she began crying.
Marcus seeing her pain got up from where he was sitting and came and knelt by her side. He then led her to the divan and helped her sit down. He invited her to place her head in his lap. She did so and then curled into a half fetal position. She continued to weep for several minutes, while he tenderly rubbed her upper arm and softly shushed her and said, "I see that you understand what I mean, child."
"Being a Prize," Marcus said, "Is a special responsibility. We heal the thought and spirits of those the Caretakers bring here. In doing so, arrivals are given the ability to flourish and grow, living many years longer than what we would on Earth. If you would like, I could help you."
From where she lay, she nodded her head.
Marcus instructed Erin to lay on her back and relax, with her head laying in his lap and close her eyes. He asked her to breathe deeply, in through her nose and slowly out through her mouth. Her chest rose and fell as she slowly began to calm. His fingertips began to massage her temples. In his soothing voice, he told her she was doing very good. He asked her if she would fold her hands across her stomach. When she complied, Marcus lay his left hand over hers. As he did so, he slid his right hand under Erin's head and with his fingertips, he pressed them against the base of her skull. Her eyes immediately snapped opened and she gasped. At the same time, the gem set in Marcus's forehead glowed brightly.
- - - -
Marcus stood in a well-appointed study. Bookshelves filled with a variety of hardbound volumes lined the paneled walls. A man in a naval officer's khaki uniform sat in a chair, smoking a pipe and reading a book. A laughing little girl burst into the room. She must have been between three and five years-old. She was wearing a white cotton tee shirt with flowers on it and shorts. The officer grinned broadly, set his book down on an end table and happily lifted the girl off the floor with strong arms and set her on his lap. This must have been Erin and her father. It was obvious to Marcus this memory held a special place in her heart.
Images shifted ... a loving father teaching her to ride a bike; the little girl and her mother kissing and hugging the father as he boarded his ship, to leave on a prolonged deployment and then moths later, when he returned; the father teaching the girl to dance and as she got older to drive a car; an older father and mother celebrating with their daughter upon graduation from high school and college. The few boys and young men involved in Erin's life palled in comparison to her father, as none of them could fill his impressive shoes. Then he was gone suddenly. His life was cut short by a drunk driver.
Erin then poured her life into her aging mother, who tried to encourage her to find someone to spend her time with. Marcus watched as she would leave work at the end of the day, she would come home, to a mother, who thought her daughter was becoming an old maid. Years passed. The few men Erin dated, never measured up to the standards her loving father set.
Erin was promoted through the ranks of management to become a store manager, responsible for opening and closing the department store she worked for. She was meticulous in her work and she interacted well with her employees and customers. As she worked, Marcus began noticing a man observing her from a distance. He would stroll the store and casually observe her. Once she left work, this man would then tail her in his car. Erin never seemed to notice he was there.
After several weeks, the man orchestrated a meeting. He seemed to be walking through the store and bumped into Erin who was carrying some clothing to be put on a display. The accident led to a conversation that resulted in them having a cup of coffee together in the mall. A chill ran down Marcus's spine as he observed the man. From his study of Erin's history, he knew this man was Bradley Goldsmith.
