Tri-Ethereal

After I went through union with Johanna I put on the clothes that Lora had brought me. I have never worn such nice clothes. I think I'm going to like living here in the queen's private residence. It sure beats living in that dirty dark prison cell.

I spent the night reading, studying chess moves and gazing at the painting of the nude female -- she's beautiful and you can see everything she's got. I read from the book that Johanna had brought from the prison for me and from some of the books that are on the bookshelf in our bedroom. These latter books I merely read the titles and a paragraph or two from them.

Long after sunrise Lora knocked on the door to my and Johanna's bedroom. She was very surprised to see me, almost dropping a vase of flowers she was carrying.

"I'm Lora. Are you John?" she asked. She looked around the room. "Where is Johanna?"

Johanna told me she was beautiful. She is petite with small firm breasts and delicate hands. Her bronze skin accentuates her large brown eyes, long black hair and thin black eyelashes.

"Yes, I'm Johanna's counterpart. She's in transition right now."

"You're a Trimorph? I wasn't told that Johanna is a Trimorph," she said as she put the flowers on the table next to my chess set.

"Well we are. I hope you don't have a problem with that."

"No of course not. You are the first Trimorph I have ever met. You don't look anything like I imagined a Trimorph would look like."

"What did you think Trimorphs looked like?" I answered her, wondering if she believed that Trimorphs had two heads, green teeth and three red eyes in each of their heads.

"I don't know. Just different."

She paused, put her hand to her mouth and fell to her knees. "Please forgive me sir. Please don't think that I believe that Trimorphs are hideous, dreadful monsters."

I smiled at her innocence. I guessed that she couldn't have been more than sixteen, maybe seventeen. I told her that I did not think that of anyone, nor did Johanna.

We talked for a few more minutes. I asked her to tell me about herself. She said that she had lived in the queen's private retreat since she was orphaned eleven years ago. Her father died of sickness when she was seven and her mother died the following year. Queen Marina took her in and has cared for her since then. I was surprised; she didn't look nineteen. I wondered what she looked like in the nude.

She stripped the bed of its sheets. I told her that I hadn't slept in the bed, that Johanna and I only used it to go through union. She asked me what union was like and what happened during it. I revealed to her that union is somewhat sexual in the feelings and emotions but that it is mostly metamorphic in nature.

She told me that she didn't know anything about Trimorphs. I told her that I would be more than happy to answer any question she may have.

As she prepared to leave she said, "Breakfast will be served in a few minutes in the dinning room. Queen Marina will be expecting you."

"Thank you," I answered her.

She paused at the door, cast her eyes down and very quietly said, "I'm a virgin." Then she closed the door.

I was flabbergasted. This beautiful bronze nymph had just offered to give her virginity to me. At least that's how I interpreted her declaration of her sexual status.

My first thought was to accept her offer at the earliest possible convenience. Then I thought, 'wait a second. She has been raised in this mansion by the queen, who probably treats her and regards her as a daughter.' I figured that the wisest course of action would be to take it very slow and proceed with extreme caution. First, there is a chance that I misinterpreted her statement of her virginity. Second, find out how Queen Marina would view any sexual escapade Lora might indulge in.

I moved the vase of flowers away from my chess set and put it on the window sill. I didn't want it to get knocked over and spill onto my chessboard. Then I went to find the dinning room.

I went downstairs and walked into a room. It was full of books with a table and chairs in the center. I guessed this to be the mansion's library. I went across the hall to another room. This room appeared to be the living room or a parlor room. As I came out of that room I was met by a servant who asked me if he could be of service. I told him who I was and asked him where the dining room was. He directed me to a room down the wide hall.

I entered the room to be greeted by Lora. There were two other maids and a male servant in the room. The four of them were just standing around the table.

The table was set for three. I wondered who would be joining me and the queen for breakfast. Lora told me that Queen Marina would be coming in a moment and directed me to a chair. I asked her who the other setting was for. She said it was for Johanna.

I suddenly realized that these servants knew nothing about Trimorphs and transition. I wondered how much the queen knew.

I informed Lora again that Johanna was in deep transition and that she wouldn't be joining us for breakfast. Lora and the other servants were immediately horrified to believe that someone would turn down an invitation to eat breakfast with the queen. She told me that it would be an insult to the queen if Johanna didn't come to breakfast.

As I was attempting to tell them about transition and why Johanna couldn't join us, Queen Marina entered the dinning room. I bowed and introduced myself. She was both surprised and happy to see me. She said that Johanna had told her last night that I was in deep transition but I would be in possession of our body in time for breakfast.

I told her that I was trying to tell her servants why Johanna wouldn't be joining us for breakfast. Looking at the third place setting, the queen told the male servant -- she called him Charles -- that that setting would not be needed because my counterpart was in transition. She seemed to know something about transition, at least more than these servants. Charles picked up the plate, cup, spoon and knife and left the room. Then the queen told Lora to bring us our breakfast.

We had a breakfast of baked pheasant strips, scrambled eggs, freshly baked bread with butter -- the bread was still warm from the oven -- and tea. It was delicious. The best meal I had ever eaten.

Wow! A warm water bath last night, fine clean clothes, a goose feather bed, a breakfast of something other than cold porridge, our own personal maid, Johanna and I were living like royalty.

While we were eating breakfast the queen asked me if I would repair some of the books in her library. I of course told her that Johanna and I would inspect all her books and repair any we found that needed it. She told me to give a list of anything we might need to do the repairs to Charles and he would see to it that we got what we needed.

She asked that Johanna and I not leave the residence because of the danger. Then she changed her mind and asked that we just not venture outside the walls of the estate.

"You understand don't you John. I'm not trying to turn my residence into a prison for you. But if you leave the grounds somebody is bound to recognize you and claim that you've escaped from prison. Then God only knows what they would do to you. You could very easily end up dead."

"Yes my Lady. I understand and I'm sure Johanna will also understand. I'm sure I also speak for my counterpart when I say that we will follow your advice in all things."

"As far as I'm concerned John, you and Johanna are not under arrest while you are here. I don't view either of you as criminals. You're Trimorphs and why it's against the law to be a Trimorph is a mystery to me."

"It's an ancient law my Lady, made thousands of years ago."

"Well it's a stupid law and the royal council needs to repeal it. But in the meantime please don't go outside the walls."

"Yes my Lady," I answered her. "I'm positive that Lord Kennington will be successful in having the law repealed."

We spent the rest of the breakfast in small talk. The queen asked me a couple of questions about Trimorphs. She seemed very apologetic with her questions, almost as if she were ashamed that she didn't know more about Trimorphs. I answered her questions as candidly and honestly as I could while at the same time trying not to insult her lack of knowledge.

Talk about walking on thin ice.

But I quickly learned that Queen Marina is a very humble Tri-etherealian. She is nothing like the monarchs and Lords I have heard about who exult themselves above everyone. She seems as though -- no -- she wants to be a commoner. That is, she wants to get close to commoners so that she will know what their desires and needs are so that she can better serve them. The way to do that is to know them.

I asked her about a rumor I had heard about ten months ago, about her directing some palace guards to build a farmer's house and barn. She said that the truth had been blown way out of proportion.

She said that she had some of the palace guards partially rebuild the barn of a dairy farmer whose barn partially burned down last year. It would have taken him years to recover from his loss. But the guards were able to repair his barn in a little over a week.

After the queen was finishing her breakfast, she told me that she was going to go to the royal palace later this morning. She asked me if there was anything she could get for me. I told her no but that I would give Charles a list of what I would need to start repairing her books after breakfast. She thanked me.

I then asked her if it were possible for William to come play chess with me. She asked me who William was. I told her that he was the son of the prison cook, that he was learning how to cook so that he could become a prison cook also.

Queen Marina said that she would look into his visiting here but she couldn't promise me anything. Then I suddenly remembered that his mother was one of her cooks. I informed her of that. She smiled. She told me that she would talk to the boy's mother to see if it was alright for him to come learn how to cook here at her private residence.

I knew then that it would only be a matter of time before I had someone to play chess with.

After breakfast I went to the library to give the books there a once over, in order to figure out which ones were in need of immediate repair and which ones could wait a while. I then made up a list of things I thought I would need -- glue, paper, quill, ink and weights to hold the books in place while the glue was drying. I gave the list to Charles. He told me that I would have the items by the end of the day.

Next, I went outside to the rear of the mansion. It was a bright sunny day. There was a flower garden off to the right. To the left was a gazebo. I thought it might be a nice place to study chess in the cool afternoons. While I was there Johanna came out of deep transition. She asked me if I wouldn't mind visiting the flower garden. I walked over to it.

She told me that the flowers were beautiful and that they smelled wonderful. I asked her if she wanted to go through union so that she could enjoy them the more. She said no, that it was my turn to have 16 hours in possession of our body.

However, she asked me to stay in the garden a little while longer so that she could take pleasure in the flower's fragrance. I did so.

After several minutes I went back to the gazebo. We talked about our new freedom and how long we each thought it might last. We both thought that it would be a long time before we were truly free. We talked about the coming vote on the anti-Trimorph laws. We both thought that they would eventually be repealed and we would be pardoned. This led to a discussion on what we were going to do after we are pardoned.

For the first time in our lives we disagreed on what we wanted to do. She wants to return to the library. I want to explore. There are many areas in the southern part of Tri-ethereal that are unexplored, and across the Middle Sea Ethereal and Bi-ethereal are virtually uninhabited. Separated by the Spirit Mountains, their interiors are also unexplored.

But we decided that we would wait and see how the vote went and whether or not we would be pardoned before discussing it again. It's the only thing we can do since at present we are both adamant in what we want to do. However, we did agree to talk to Melissa and Melyssan to see what they did or if they know what other Trimorphs did when their counterparts did not agree on something.

I asked Johanna if she wanted to take a walk around the courtyard to see the rest of the grounds. She answered me rather huffily that I had possession of the body that I could go where ever I wanted. She was still somewhat angry over my wanting to travel around and discover Tri-ethereal. I stayed where I was just looking out toward a small pond to the rear of the gazebo.

After a few moments Johanna apologized and said that she would love to see the rest of Queen Marina's estate. She warned me that the queen asked that we not stray outside the walls for our own protection. I answered her that the queen told me the same thing this morning at breakfast.

I went toward the pond. There was a small stone footbridge over the center of the pond. I could see fish and turtles swimming in the water, which couldn't have been more than about knee deep. A large green frog was sitting on a lily pad near the edge of the pond. It jumped into the water as I approached the bridge.

I sat down on the bridge, took off my shoes and socks. I dangled our body's feet in the water. It was cool and refreshing. Johanna immediately thanked me, telling me that it was almost more uplifting than the warm water bath she had last night. I told her that I intended to have a warm water bath this evening and that I would let her know how I felt about it.

I felt her hug me and kiss me. She told me that she loved me. Then she told me that she would love to see Tri-ethereal, that there would always be libraries to work in. I reminded her that Tri-ethereal would always be here for us to explore, that Lord Kennington's library would someday cease to exist and that we could explore Tri-ethereal then.

"John, let's not fight about that now. There is too much to see here, too much to do."

"You're right my love," I answered her. "Let's walk around the estate a bit and see what we have right here."

"Sounds like a great idea," she answered me.

We walked around -- or rather I walked around to the front of Queen Marina's mansion. There was nothing there except a wide cobblestone driveway, flanked by several large oak trees. There were two palace guards on the porch; they were talking. They looked in my direction as I turned the corner of the house. They immediately stopped talking and stood at attention. As I returned to the rear of the mansion, they went back to their conversation.

Behind the flower garden was a large vegetable garden. I could see numerous rows of corn, wheat, cabbage, potatoes and carrot tops, to name just a few of them. I questioned whether these were for the queen or if her servants grew them for themselves. Johanna said it was probably both. After thinking about it a moment, I agreed.

Next to the vegetable garden was what appeared to be a guesthouse. We talked about going to look at it. I thought that it was getting late. I advised Johanna that I thought that we should be getting back inside. We could explore it another day. There were a lot of books that needed mending. She agreed.

Walking back toward the house, I told Johanna of the things I asked Charles to get for us. When I entered the library everything was on the table, waiting for me to begin. I asked Johanna if she thought I should start at the top row of books and work down or from the bottom row and work up. She answered that it didn't matter, that either way was OK with her. I got a stool and started at the top.

************************************

It has been four weeks since John and I began living in Queen Marina's private retreat. Together we have repaired quite a number of her books. We are almost finished with the ones in her library that needed fixing. We are looking at getting started on the books in our bedroom, possibly next week.

William Jr. comes here everyday with his mother, Helen. She is teaching him how to cook. Now he says that he wants to cook for the queen instead of the prison guards and prisoners. His mother is glad because now he can learn how to cook without going to 'that dreadful place,' as she calls it.

He plays chess with John every chance he gets. He has even played chess with me on a couple of occasions. John says he is getting to be a real good player. He beats me all the time now.

Sometimes he sleeps over in the servant's quarters, which is attached to the side of the mansion. He does that when he and John play chess way into the night.

Not only has Queen Marina asked for us to teach her about Trimorphs but the servants have also asked us to teach them about Trimorphs, especially Lora. But then it would only be natural for her to question us the more; she is our personal maid.

John told me about her informing him of her sexual status. He asked me if I had any idea as to why she would tell him that. I told him that in my pinion she wanted to go to bed with him. He asked me to talk to her and find out what she wanted. I then played the role of "big sister" looking out for her "younger brother" and found out that Lora was just bragging that she is still a virgin.

I revealed to John what I discovered about her one day when he had possession of our body. He just shrugged his shoulders. He said that he probably wouldn't have enjoyed sex with her. She's too dim-witted and gullible for his taste. He told me that sex with her would just have been carving notches on his bedpost, which he is not into doing. He then added that she's too impetuous and hotheaded, just the opposite of me. I smiled when he said that.

It's a good thing that he didn't have sex with her, because Queen Marina considers Lora to be somewhat of an adopted daughter of sorts. When she visits among the commoners she takes Lora with her. The queen is playing the role of cupid for her, looking for just the right male to introduce Lora to. I learned this one afternoon while talking with the queen at the gazebo.

The queen frequently has commoners visiting her private residence -- they sleep in a guesthouse. She said that when she finds someone she considers to be suitable enough she invites him to live in the guesthouse for a little while. Then she has Lora visit him there, bringing him lunch, changing the sheets on his bed and other domestic duties. Queen Marina is hoping that Lora will hook up with someone but so far she hasn't done so.

But as I was saying, Lora -- as well as the other servants -- can't do enough for us. They treat us like celebrities. Lora told me that next to the royal family we are the most important Tri-etherealians to ever visit the queen's private residence. When I questioned her on that she modified her statement and said that we were the most famous.

The cooks are constantly fixing cherry pies for John, his favorite dessert, and peach cobbler for me, my favorite. Whenever we need supplies to fix the books Charles immediately goes into town to purchase them. Several of the servants and maids have given us their "old" clothes to wear.

There is this one maid, Penelope, every time she sees either me or John she asks us what she can do for us. If we have nothing for her to do she begs us not to tell the queen that she is useless. I usually end up inventing something for her to do so she doesn't get too depressed.

Even the palace guards treat us as something special. Since we started living here, Sir Glauco has added four extra guards. Now there are sixteen palace guards always on guard duty, patrolling the courtyard.