THE BLACK FLOWER: An Elena Duran Story 12/18
Vi Moreau (vmoreau@ADELPHIA.NET)
Sat, 3 Mar 2001 09:25:40 -0500
THE BLACK FLOWER: An Elena Duran Story 12/18
Chapter 12
Don Lucas sat on the edge of the courtyard fountain, watching the marble
angel pour water forth. He was waiting for the Senorita to come back from
her morning ride, as the housekeeper had told him--a valuable piece of
information to have. He was a bit irritated that he had not been allowed
into the house itself, but even from here he could see how rich a property
Don Alvaro owned. He was quite pleased with the finery around him; the
house, the stables with some mighty fine horses, the tiny chapel, the fields
and the abundance of servants. If all went well, he and his brother would
soon reap the fruits of Don Alvaro's wealth, especially since they were not
going to be able to burn down the rancho*. The old man had built his damn
house out of stone--they'd seen that clearly from a distance through their
spyglass. Even the stables were made of stone. So Don Lucas had come up with
an alternate plan, as he always did.
After less than an hour's wait, he felt an Immortal presence. It had to be
the Senorita, he thought, frowning a little at what seemed to be the
strength of her presence, and as she came out of the house and towards him,
he stood respectfully and expectantly. He was immediately struck by her dark
vitality. Even standing still, dressed in a white blouse and a long dark
skirt, a few short dark curls pasted with sweat against the outline of her
face, the rest of her hair unpinned and hanging in glorious waves almost
down to her waist, Mariaelena Duran gave the impression of movement, of
life. She was either an India* or a mestiza*--definitely not a pale woman of
the type he favored. And yet, this woman ...
Although his heart was pounding in his chest, he kept his expression
perfectly composed as he bowed before her, never taking his eyes off her
stunning grey eyes. But she couldn't be that strong an Immortal ... and then
he looked more closely at one of the two men who were flanking her. One of
them was another Immortal, an Indio*, although Don Lucas couldn't look at
him now--he had to concentrate on the woman.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said graciously. "I am Juan Pedro
Carabas, an ... old friend of Don Alvaro's." He had no idea if the Don had
told his daughter about the Munoz brothers, and was not about to reveal his
true name. He was taking no chances, which is the other reason he'd come
alone. And now he was glad--there was no way Carlitos would have been able
to hide his reaction to this dark beauty, and he would have given their game
away. Although, in the end, it would not make any difference.
Her reaction was predictable. "I am Mariaelena Concepcion Duran y Agramonte,
my father never mentioned you, and he's not here, in any case," she said.
Don Lucas smiled indulgently. She had willingly and without his asking given
him some free information. She was a child; a new Immortal. He was sure of
it. Projecting warmth and camaraderie as much as possible, he ventured, "I
am desolate that your father is not here. He and I have had some adventures
..." He let his gaze become faraway for a moment, then visibly came back to
the present. "I am sure your father does not tell you everything, does he?
After all, some stories are not meant for the ears of a young lady. But I
can hardly expect you to take my word for it."
"I do not take your word for it," the Indio* interjected.
Don Lucas turned to face the other Immortal, who was in turn studying him
with dark, unreadable eyes. No, in fact there was something there in the
eyes, a wildness, a coiled strength in them--this one was *not* a new
Immortal, although he was just a savage and not armed. Not with a sword,
although Don Lucas saw the dagger at the Indio's* belt. And sticking out of
a backpack, over his shoulder, Don Lucas could see what might have been the
end of a weapon, a club, perhaps. The savage was armed, after all, and there
were many ways to kill, even Immortals. Taller than the woman, the Indio*
Immortal looked quite muscular under his white shirt and dark, wide pants. S
till ...
He nodded at the Indio*. Damn, the old man had left a Cerberus protecting
his daughter. A student perhaps? No--he had to be the stranger from the
north whom the priest had railed against in his letter. No matter--they
wouldn't have that much chance to get acquainted. He and Carlitos would just
have to take care of this savage first.
"I am Juan Pedro Carabas," he repeated to the other Immortal, "and I am
sorry that you find reason to doubt my word," he said, bowing as before
without taking his eyes off his opponent's. Because at that moment he became
convinced that, very soon, he and this native would be in a swordfight. And
savage or not, Don Lucas was confident, as always, of his upcoming victory.
But damn! If this fucking cabecita negra* was as strong as he seemed, it
could be a great fight. Good. Don Lucas was tired of slaughtering these
Indios* like cattle. He wanted a worthy opponent.
The Indio* did not bend one iota, which was what Don Lucas expected.
<Insolent dog!> Instead, the warrior--and by now Don Lucas had no doubt that
he was facing a warrior--looked directly into Don Lucas's eyes and said
simply, "We are Immortals."
He said this in front of the other man, a mortal, Don Lucas thought,
glancing at the other man. This old man obviously knew about Immortals. No
matter. "Yes, we are," he agreed. "But you have the advantage of me,
Senor--you know my name."
"I am Corazon Negro, a friend of Senorita Duran," the Aztec said, without
bowing.
But not a friend of Don Alvaro's? Curious. "It's good to have friends," Don
Lucas opined, intrigued and amused. A polite fucking savage with a peculiar
name. "Corazon Negro is your name? Surely you aren't from around here." This
had to be the Aztec from the north who was influencing the Senorita.
"No, I'm not from this area; no more than you are," the Immortal answered.
The Indio* was fishing for information, Don Lucas thought. The Indio* was
even subtly asking her for permission to drive him, Don Lucas, out, but
apparently did not dare to do so openly. The savage scowled at the Don, but
obviously remembered where he was and who his betters were.
"And just where do you come from?" Don Lucas exclaimed, showing his white
teeth in a big smile.
"Where I come from, we don't interrogate people we've just met. And surely
not in front of our hostess," the Indio* said, moving a little closer to the
woman.
The Don clearly understood that if he tried to attack the Senorita--which he
had no intention of doing at this point, not in her own house--the damn
Indio* would definitely protect her--another good thing to know. And she had
not contradicted him; she seemed to accept him, consider him a protector.
That meant she was not as sure of herself as she looked. Don Lucas was
pleased with the result of his little information-gathering mission. He'd
been right in coming here, even though he'd taken a risk in doing so.
"The Senorita is about to retire to her chambers. Perhaps the Don should
also retire," the savage said to him.
There was the bark--but did the Indio* dog bite? The Spaniard smiled
slightly, nodding, then turning back to the Senorita, studying her once
more. Time to go; but on this occasion, he decided, once they captured her,
he would take her first--his brother did not mind another man's leavings. He
could imagine the fire in those grey eyes--an uncommon shade of grey--fading
to cold fear, and the thought made him smile inwardly. He reached into his
breast pocket----and noted with amusement that the two Immortals both
stiffened--pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped his mouth. "Of course I will
retire until your father's return. You are quite right in not even inviting
me inside for a cool drink on this very hot day, as you should a friend of
your father's. But I am sure he will not fault you for being overly
cautious. After all," he said pleasantly, "there can be only one. Now--when
may I have the pleasure of calling again and seeing my old friend Don Alvaro
once more, here at his wonderful new home?"
Mariaelena opened her mouth to answer, but the Indio*, the damned Black
Heart, answered for her.
"We do not know when to expect Don Alvaro. Perhaps if you were to send a
message, a rider--are you staying in a town nearby?"
"I thought you just said that it is rude to question someone you just met,"
the Don answered gently, then grinned. "Please tell Don Alvaro," he said to
the woman, ignoring the Immortal guard dog, "that I will call again in one
week, and that I'm looking forward to seeing him again." The second part was
perfectly true. "And may I add, before I go, that Don Alvaro has a most
charming and intelligent daughter."
Privately, Don Lucas wondered how Don Alvaro, a man of good taste and ample
appetites, could have kept his hands off this beautiful, fiery woman who
called herself his "daughter." But apparently Don Alvaro had managed it. He
and his brother would not. He had a sudden vision of Mariaelena Duran
kneeling before him and had to take a deep breath to control his reaction.
"Very nice words, Don Juan," she said coldly. "If it turns out you are a
friend of my father's, I will of course apologize later for my lack of
hospitality. But now I must ask you to leave."
Don Lucas smiled innocently, thinking, <You will do more than apologize,
puta*>. "Of course. But if I have offended you in any way, my deepest
apologies--"
"I suggest you leave now while you still can," she amended.
<!Valgame Dios!* The bitch is insolent and apparently not afraid of me.> Don
Lucas looked forward to changing that. "Senorita." And bowing one more time,
he turned and went toward his horse.
Mariaelena nodded, and Paco pointed to a rancho* worker, who followed the
stranger.
Once Don Lucas left, Paco said, "I don't trust him."
Mariaelena looked at him kindly. "You wouldn't trust his Holiness the Pope,
Paco." She gazed in the direction the Don had left. "I was rude to him. He
seems perfectly nice, but ..." her eyes narrowed, "... he could be the
Immortal my father warned me about."
"Yes!" Paco exclaimed. "The one in the letter--he came looking for the Don."
"Letter?" Corazon Negro asked. "Your father warned you?"
"Yes. My lord left a note when he rode off, saying that he was going to
Buenos Aires on Immortal business and for me to be alert. He may have been
referring to Don Juan Pedro Carabas."
"He may have," Corazon Negro agreed. Good, she was trusting him--telling him
what her father had said to her.
"Then perhaps we should ask him to stay," Paco proposed. "To wait for Don
Alvaro's return?"
Mariaelena shook her head. "No; I don't believe Don Juan will want to stay.
And if we try to force him ..." She drifted off.
"We can't force a caballero* ... who might be a friend of Don Alvaro's ... I
mean--he is a nobleman," Paco said, a bit outraged.
Corazon Negro smiled a little bitterly. Paco would have probably tried to
force him, Corazon Negro, to stay until Don Alvaro's return, if the Senorita
had ordered it. But not a Spanish nobleman ... He suggested, "If Don Juan
*is* a friend of your father's--which may or may not be true--we could harm
a centuries-old friendship by doing violence to Don Juan. I believe we
should let your father sort this out himself. If they are destined to meet,
they will. And Don Alvaro will not appreciate your interfering in his
battles--"
"No, he won't," Mariaelena interrupted.
Corazon Negro saw her suppress a shudder. She would obviously not cross her
father on this point.
"It was one thing to let you stay, Corazon Negro, because you wanted to. But
locking up an Immortal ..." She took a deep breath. "Father went to meet
someone--perhaps Don Juan--to keep Immortal business away from the rancho*,
and to keep mortals out of his affairs. Besides," she said, considering, "I
don't want him here."
"Nor do I," said the Aztec.
"We're agreed, then. Good riddance," Paco declared. "If you don't need me
for anything else, I have a rancho* to run." He looked at Corazon Negro.
"And I believe you wanted to learn how to care for horses. I can assure you,
you haven't learned everything yet."
"I will join you as soon as I finish talking to the Senorita," the Aztec
told Paco, and she said, "I don't need you anymore, Paco, but thanks for
being here."
"You are welcome, Mariaelena," Paco said, bowing and walking away.
As soon as they were alone, she turned to Corazon Negro. "You were a little
bold, sending Don Juan away like that," she said accusingly.
Corazon Negro knew she wasn't used to being interrupted or questioned by
anyone except her father. At the time, the Aztec hadn't cared about that.
Now he looked at her, realizing she was possibly taking her anger--or
fear--out on him. And maybe-- Instead of answering her accusation, he asked
her, "Is this the first Immortal you've met without your father present? Who
might very well be an enemy?"
"Yes," she admitted. "But I think I handled him well," she stated.
Her first. The Aztec was impressed. "You did," he agreed.
And before he could say anything else, she asked him, "You didn't believe
him, did you?"
Over the centuries, Corazon Negro had learned to trust his instincts. And
his instincts told him that this so-called Juan Pedro Carabas was *not* Don
Alvaro's friend. That Don Juan was dangerous. The Aztec had a strong feeling
that he and this Spaniard would have a serious disagreement someday soon.
"No, I didn't," he answered her.
"You, Paco and I are in agreement? This must be a first," she said,
chuckling. Then she asked him, more seriously, "Do you think he has
something to do with your prophecy?"
Corazon Negro didn't answer for a while, thinking. Don Juan's smile had
reminded him of a skull blanched by the desert sun. But he had no proof, so
finally he said, "Honestly, I don't know."
Notes & Translations:
mestizo/a (Spanish): half-breed--half Spanish, half Indian
!Valgame Dios! (Spanish): God save me!
puta (Spanish): whore