TEN YEARS, The Kenny Ackerman Story BOOK TWO~ FUTURES, by Melly O'Hara

TOMORROW

CHAPTER 1

Until the dawn came, I had him.
Snuggling into his warm, hard, sinewy chest; breathing in his musky scent, I held him. His strong, protective arms surrounded me, his stubble grazing my cheek as his mouth searched for mine; kissing me over and over, softly murmuring my name as we breathed each other in.
His heat engulfed me, with his desire, his need, and I took it hungrily; as if that would make time stand still.

But, the moonlight faded. And the first rays of gold pierced the sky. The golden, pink of the nascent dawn shadows played on his features, illuminating him like some forgotten god. Knowing it would all end soon, I held him closer and tilted my mouth to receive his warm, soft lips with my own; greedily accepting his hunger, his passion, his love.

And as the sun rose, I saw him slip away. The Kenny I knew, the Kenny I loved; the Kenny who loved me, was replaced by 'Kenny the Ripper turned Kenny the King's bodyguard'. The look in his eyes told me he was still in there, somewhere, but had become unreachable. I could see that he was sorry. But there would be no change. No turning back.
It was to be expected, but still, the lump in my throat threatened to break into tears; I had waited so long. And now, it seemed, I'd have to wait again. So I would be here, by his side. And eventually I knew that the peace he sought, he would find. And then it would be time for us.

The sounds of the Mitras Palace coming to life interrupted my pain, and I took one last look at the only man I had ever loved. Watching him smooth back his shoulder length, jet black hair; replacing his old cowboy hat in its familiar tilt, while he smiled that signature, ironic, Kenny smile.
"Hellava night, eh, Owl?!" he drawled. "My 'pologies for bein' such a downer!" he laughed.

I didn't reply, not trusting my own voice, but looked out toward the sun; that had become my enemy. The golden sphere, that provided us with warmth, with crops, with life; had become a thief. And I hated it.
The hate made me strong, and smoothing down my uniform, I said, "No problem, Kenny. Happens to the best of us."
And got up to leave.
"Got to get ready for work. I think Uri wants to ride out today. Apparently one of the smaller villages needs repairs or something. And you know Uri, he hates to see his people suffer, so we're checking it out and the Palace is picking up the tab".
As I took a step away, I felt his hand reach for mine. He'd remained seated on the turret; leaning back against the grey stone, bathing in the warmth of the sunrise, but leaned forward to take my hand. Looking down at him, I waited.
Softly, in almost a whisper, I heard him say, "Thank ya, Jas".

His hand released mine and together we walked across the vast, grey stone roof to the huge, arched oak doors that would allow us to enter the castle.

As our paths separated, he drawled, " Be seein' ya, Owl. Try not ta fall asleep on that mare o' yours! She's good, but she ain't that good!" he grinned.

"Whatever you reckon, Cinderella!" I retorted, as I descended the stairs.

After that night, I barely saw Kenny. I don't believe he was trying to avoid me, or forget that night; the night he had finally shown another human being, me, who he truly was. In fact, I don't think he thought much about me at all. For him, I could wait. As I always had for him.
It was as if he had to make up for all the time he'd lost while spending so much of the last five years in the Underground with Levi.

I would catch the occasional glimpse of him riding or walking out with Uri. Always with Uri.
And I knew that the power Uri had over him had only grown stronger. Kenny seemed to know he was running out of time. And that seemed to spur his need to know, to understand, into not just a need; but into desperation.
Looking back, I can now see that Kenny knew what none of us did. Yes, we all saw the deterioration in Uri's physical appearance. But because he was still not yet forty, no one expected him to die. Except Kenny. This was the one instance when Kenny knew he didn't have more time. Powerful though he was, he'd learnt the limits of that power and learnt the lessons that past had taught him; that there WASN'T always a tomorrow.

And it is only now that I know that much of that time, he spent alone with Uri, was spent beside the lake in deep discussion, about their friendship and the failure that Uri felt his reign to be.
The cowboy and the King. Seemingly so mismatched, such an unlikely alliance. But now I know that it wasn't just Kenny who needed their bond, but Uri; who depended on it and sought Kenny's affection and insight. Kenny was the closest thing to an equal that Uri ever had. Kenny wasn't a sycophant, or a competitor, or a climber trying to make a name for themselves in the King's court, like so many were. Out-manoeuvring, out-scheming each other for control of Paradise. Kenny had his own power and now, in serving Uri, Kenny had found his own path. What he didn't have, was understanding. So Kenny stayed. As a puppy follows his master, Kenny followed the King.

Uri would often ask Kenny the one question, Kenny refused to answer, "Why? Why did you offer yourself to me, offer your friendship? What happened to you on the day you swore loyalty to me?"

Kenny's silence guarded his heart. He would feign ignorance as to what the King was asking, or mumble incoherently. To admit that he needed the King's friendship as much as Uri needed his, was a weakness that he couldn't allow. Not after he'd believed in so many others and they had all failed him. So, instead, he would only question the King as to how he could possibly see so much good in this world and yet be unwilling to fight its evil. To which Uri's answer was always a sad smile.
They were both like two sides of a coin, mirroring each other, yet never meeting each other.
Both full of need, both unable to fulfil that need.

I knew that Kenny still served on the King's Council, and attended ceremonies to which I was not privy. So life for me, went on in much the same way as it had for the last five years. Being the King's equerry, my job as 'Squire of the Stables' involved doing what I had always done; managing the staff, the horses and accompanying the King riding whenever he wished to be accompanied. Though now he spent more time alone with Kenny, that happened a lot less than in the earlier days. Still, life was busy and routine.

Until the day the King died. And Paradise received its new queen; Queen Freida.

On that day, I remembered Kenny's words about Rod Reiss, King Uri's elder brother, who had declined the throne thirteen years ago, after their father had died. Instead it had been the younger Reiss, Uri, who had been crowned King. Clear as though it were four hours ago, not four years ago, when we spent the night confessing on the Palace turret, I could hear him saying, "  'Sides, Rod don' have the guts ta be King - too fond o' his whores an' his good livin'. An' that's why he let his little brother take the throne, 'nstead o' himself. An' that's why he'll 'ventually offer up one o' his own brats ta take the throne. He's a chicken shit asshole o' the highest order..."

He had been right all those years ago. Instead of inheriting the throne after his brother, Uri died, Rod had allowed his own eldest child, fifteen year old Frieda, to become Queen. As Uri had no children himself, and as the Reiss Royal bloodline continued to sit on the throne, there wasn't even a murmur amongst the people as to why we had a teenage Queen ruling our destiny, when a man of age and experience, such as the King's brother, Rod, was available.
But, as Kenny had said, "People are such sheep".
I must confess, that it didn't occur to me as odd that another King had died young in my lifetime, or that Frieda was our new monarch. Kenny would have said that was because the King, or in this case the Queen, controlled our memories, our very ability to question. But to me, it just felt natural.

The night Queen Frieda had been installed on the throne, following a private ceremony, he sought me out. His eyes filled with wonder and hope as he walked into the lantern lit, abandoned, except for me, stables; where I stood stroking my faithful Ginger. Confiding my secrets to her and bribing her silence with sugar cubes, her gentle whinny and prick of her chestnut ears told me that a friend had entered our sanctuary.

Bathed in the soft, orange glow of the candlelight, our eyes met, and he smiled. Without sarcasm, without irony. Full of relief and optimism; it was the first purely hopeful smile, I'd ever seen from him.

"It's true. It's possible", Kenny whispered.