Stefantok’s harsh whisper caused Taggertton to wince. "I’m sorry, my Lord Advisor," he replied in a hushed tone. "I *have* tried....."

"Well, obviously you have not tried hard enough!" Stefantok shot back. "Simply explain to Zira Brenda that His Majesty is resting comfortably and the doctors have not yet finished examining him."

Taggertton glanced over his shoulder as voices rose in the corridor outside Jax’s apartment. "I *have* explained that to Her Majesty, my Lord," he growled. "But to be perfectly honest.......Zira Brenda scares me."

Stefantok snorted derisively. "Your new queen *scares* you?!" He looked up and down the tall man as Taggertton blushed uncomfortably. "A mere slip of a woman who stands no taller than a full-grown drondak bush *scares* you?"

Just then, Brenda’s voice could clearly be heard in the hallway. "I don’t fundin care if the physicians are still with Zir Jax! He’s my husband and I demand to see him NOW!!!"

Stefantok glared at Taggertton as the captain tried to stifle a smug smile. "Step aside," he muttered through gritted teeth. "I’ll handle Her Majesty." The moment he stepped outside Jax’s apartment door, Brenda practically flung herself into his arms.

"Stefantok! Finally!" She glowered at the guards who stood firm in their resolve to keep her away from Jax. "These men can’t seem to understand that I’m Jax’s wife and I need to be by his side."

"I’m sorry, Zira Brenda," Stefantok murmured, taking her arm and steering her deftly back into the hallway and away from the door. "But there are already a number of people inside with Zir Jax."

Her eyes widened. "I *understand* that, Stefantok," she said slowly, "and I want to be one of them! I can’t just stand out here in the hallway and do nothing when Jax may very well be dying in there!"

He smiled and patted Brenda’s arm condescendingly. "Now, Zira Brenda, please don’t make assumptions that have no base in fact. Zir Jax is not dying, and you have already done more for him than you realize."

She frowned. "I have? How?"

"You make him happy, Your Majesty," Stefantok pronounced wisely. "You *complete* him. I have never seen Jax with this much inner peace of mind....."

Brenda cut him off as she seized the lapels of his tunic and pulled Stefantok so close that he felt her breath. "I’ve had a long day, do you understand, Stefantok? And the last thing I need at this point is some antiquated, feel-good psycho-babble from prehistoric civilizations!" The fire in her eyes was almost hot enough to raise Stefantok’s body temperature. "Now if you don’t take me inside to see my husband this very instant, I’ll call Tomassif and have him place a spell on you to shrink a certain part of your anatomy that I happen to know is *very* important to a Familiar male!" She finally released her hold on his tunic but continued to stare into his eyes. "Do we understand each other?"

"Perfectly, Zira Brenda." Stefantok straightened his tunic, cleared his throat, and then turned around and marched resolutely towards the door to Jax’s apartment. "Zira Brenda is to be admitted to His Majesty’s apartment immediately," he announced to the guards.

As soon as the doors opened, Brenda ran through them. She got her bearings and then ran towards the large bed, pushing aside guards, advisors, and a very tall Familiar in a flowing white robe. "Jax!" Brenda nearly stopped breathing herself but when his eyes opened and he smiled at her, she threw her arms around him and lay her head on his chest. "Oh, Jax......."

Jax reached out to stroke her hair and place a kiss near her temple. "Angel," he murmured, "I’m sorry I frightened you so....."

Brenda looked up at the Familiar she assumed was the physician. "What’s the matter with him? Is it something serious?"

Heated thoughts were exchanged telepathically between Jax and Alanair before the physician answered. "Zir Jax’s condition is stable, Your Majesty." He took a breath and Jax arched an eyebrow at him. "What will help him most at this point is sleep."

"Sleep?" Brenda looked back and forth between Jax and the physician and then she rose an eyebrow of her own. "Is there something you two aren’t telling me?"

Jax finally nodded his head ever so slightly and Alanair bowed to him. "I will leave you now, Zir Jax, but I will be nearby if you need me again."

"Thank you -- for everything, Alanair," Jax replied, pulling Brenda to sit next to him on the bed. "I shall not hestitate to call if I feel the symptoms returning."

"What symptoms?" Brenda turned but the physician was already on his way out the door. She shifted her weight so that she faced Jax again. "Do you have some disease, Jax?"

Jax watched until all of the people had left the room except Stefantok and then took both of her hands in his. "This is not a disease, Brenda. It is a normal part of the life cycle of a Familiar male." Stefantok walked forward slowly until he stood on the fringes of the light coming from Jax’s bedside. "It is called a manifestation."

"A manifestation?" She frowned at Jax and at Stefantok in turn. "I have never heard of such a thing."

Jax firmly gripped Brenda’s hands, causing her to face him again squarely. He tone was grave. "Brenda, you must understand -- the things I am about to tell you about the life cycle of a Familiar male are very sacred." She nodded immediately, but Jax held her tight, implying that she still did not realize the importance of his revelations. "If these facts were to become well-known in the universe, Familiars would be hunted down with a vengeance. We would never be able to leave Meer’an again for fear of being captured."

She swallowed hard and then nodded again. "Tell me, Jax. You know I would never reveal your secrets to anyone."

Jax sighed but then as he was about to speak, he seemed befuddled as to where to start. He looked to Stefantok and the Advisor stepped forward a little. "Zira Brenda, when you met the male Familiars in the feasting hall this night, what was your impression of them?"

She looked confused but went along with Jax’s tactic. "I have already told Jax on more than one occasion that I have never seen such beautiful people in any corner of the universe." She shrugged her shoulders. "All of the men seemed to be strong, handsome, healthy specimens of Familiar masculinity."

Stefantok nodded in agreement with her assessment. "And what about their ages? Was there an assortment represented -- old, young, middle aged?"

Brenda opened her mouth to answer but then frowned. "Now that you say it aloud......" She turned confused eyes to Jax. "Most of them seemed to be in the prime of their lives.....about the age that *you* are, Jax." She bit her lower lip in thought. "I don’t seem to recall seeing anyone the age of Jonun or...." She glanced over her shoulder at Stefantok sheepishly.

"You can say it, Zira Brenda. None were as old as I."

She smiled at his forthright manner. "Is that....." Then she turned to Jax, a little of the color leaving her face. "Jax......are you saying......" She looked back to Stefantok. ".......But that’s impossible. Familiars must age ......because Stefantok and Jonun obviously are older......"

Jax placed a finger on Brenda’s chin to turn her face back to him. "I will try to explain this as simply as I can, angel. When a Familiar male reaches the age of puberty, he experiences his first manifestation."

"First?"

Jax held up a hand to stop her flow of questions. "Please -- just listen. The manifestation is a re-birth, if you will -- a stage that he must go through, much as a glaff enters a cocoon to emerge later as a mature zlantof."

"So it is a rite of passage? From childhood into maturity?"

"In the beginning. But once Familiar has passed through his first manifestation, the aging process ...... halts."

Brenda’s eyes widened. "Forever?" she whispered.

"For a period of ten rotations of Meer’an around the sun. Ten years. Until his next manifestation."

"Next?" Brenda’s voice was hushed. "How .......how many are there?"

"A total of nine." Jax continued to gently stroke the back of her hand as he revealed the amazing facts. "Each time a Familiar passes through a manifestation, he retains his youth for another ten year period."

"So......" She looked back up at Stefantok. "So a Familiar has his youth for a period of 90 years?" Stefantok nodded and she looked back to Jax. "Then what happens?"

"He begins to age at a normal rate." Jax inclined his head towards his advisor. "Jonun has already passed all nine of his manifestations, as has Stefantok." He smiled. "That is part of the reason why I listen to his advice so intently."

Stefantok came more fully into the light, baring his neck for Brenda to see. "Every time a Familiar completes the manifestation ritual, a marking is placed here, showing his maturation."

Brenda gasped aloud. "That is like the marking on your neck, Jax!" She pointed with even more excitement. "And now I recall seeing one on Scorpian’s neck, also!"

"Scorpian and I are contemporaries, angel," Jax replied. "We have both passed through the manifestation once." Then he looked down into his lap sheepishly. "Although now, I seem to have reached the point of my second manifestation quicker than he has."

"This is *most* remarkable," Brenda breathed softly. "No wonder you wish to keep this knowledge hidden from the rest of the universe." Then, she suddenly frowned. "But it’s really not equitable, you know."

"Equitable? What do you mean, zira?"

Brenda’s hands moved in restless embarrassment on her lap. "Well, Familiar males retain their youth and vitality for ninety years, while the females…..well….." She blushed. "…..get old….and lumpy….."

Jax lifted her chin with his fingers to smile into her face. "Not necessarily, Brenda." He saw her eyes widen again. "When the Familiar male and his mate perform the manifestation ritual, part of the energy….."

"Waaaaait a minute," Brenda drawled. She looked between Jax and Stefantok again. "Ritual? I thought this whole thing was just some kind of phase you passed through……like a painful case of latbluenza….." Brenda’s voice trailed as Jax looked up at Stefantok again. She glanced over her shoulder at the blushing advisor and then back at Jax. "Exactly what kind of ritual are you talking about?"

Jax took a deep breath. "I think that perhaps you should leave us now, Stefantok. I appreciate your assistance thus far, but there are matters I should discuss in private with Zira Brenda."

Stefantok bowed formally at the waist. "As you wish, Zir Jax." Then he leaned towards Jax and spoke so softly Brenda could not hear. "And I shall summon Maerdithon to the palace – just as a precaution."

"NO!" The force of Jax’s exclamation startled Brenda. He cleared his throat and then spoke in a much quieter tone to his pale-faced advisor. "I’m certain that Zira Brenda will see what needs to be done. There is no need for Maerdithon at this point."

Stefantok rose an eyebrow but then bowed again and exited the room quickly. Brenda watched him leave and then turned back to Jax. "Who is Maerdithon?"

Jax took her hands in his again and pulled her closer to him on the bed. "Please……just hear me out, angel." She nodded grudgingly and he took another deep breath before continuing. "First of all," he began, "you must remember that for the Familiars, the act of physical love has a much deeper significance than the ultimate expression of desire." He looked deeply into Brenda’s eyes. "It is a joining, not only of bodies, but of spirits……of the essence of our lives. And I speak not only of the culmination of the act, but of the extended physical stimulation that comes before it."

Brenda tried to keep the blush from rising to her cheeks. "The…..the foreplay?"

Jax smiled. "Precisely." He paused, and then began to explain again. "That is why the ritual Familiars perform to accomplish the manifestation involves the act of physical love."

Brenda rose an eyebrow. "You….you have sex? To be re-born and achieve ten years of suspended aging?"

Jax chuckled a little. "Not just "have sex," my sweet angel. For the Familiar male, the most important part of the sexual union is the satisfaction and pleasure he brings to his mate. The …..release…..the male achieves is far less significant than his mate’s release." Brenda nodded once quickly as Jax paused. "When a Familiar male and his mate make love during the manifestation ritual, the male brings the female to a *series* of releases. A series of increasingly pleasurable and intense releases."

Brenda tried again to quash the feeling that the room was growing warmer by the second. "How…..how *many* releases?"

"Nine, to be exact." He saw her blanch momentarily but then smiled and went on. "As you might surmise, by the time the ninth release is achieved and the male reaches his own climax, much energy has built between the two. So," he gripped her hands again, "to answer your original question – at the point where both the male and female reach their climax, this incredible energy passes between them, enervating and enriching both." Jax looked deeply into her eyes. "When this happens, the male Familiar achieves his re-birth and has the ability to return some of the power to his female partner – an exchange, if you will, of life."

"So….the male Familiar receives his ten years of vitality, and he can give it to his mate also?"

"Put simply, but yes, zira."

Jax could feel her hands trembling. "Oh, myyyyyy….." Brenda gasped softly. She was no longer surprised that Jax swore her to secrecy about male Familiars. They possessed a virtual fountain of youth, which they could also pass to their mates during the manifestation process.

Brenda rose from Jax’s bed slowly, turned, and was about to walk towards a window when she froze abruptly. She turned back to Jax with confusion written on her face. "But Jax……you said that this ritual was performed with a Familiar’s mate, did you not?" Jax bowed his head as Brenda returned to his bed. "What about……" She gestured towards him as the words came with difficulty. "…..I mean, your first time, you didn’t have a mate yet….." Then she drew an excited breath. "Or what about Stefantok? He doesn’t seem to have a mate. Who performs the ritual with him?"

Jax reached out a hand to pull Brenda back to a seated position on the bed next to him. "You are correct, Brenda. The first manifestation often occurs before a Familiar has taken a mate, as did Scorpian’s and my own. There are priestesses at the temple who assist unmated Familiars through their manifestations."

"Priestesses?" Brenda could not help the quirk in her eyebrow. "They devote their lives to ……."

Jax finished the dangling statement with a nod. "……to the service of their fellow Familiars."

"What a miserable vocation," Brenda muttered under her breath, hoping Jax did not hear her. Then she raised her eyes to him again. "And this Maerdithon…..she is one of those priestesses?"

Jax nodded. "She performed the ritual with me during my first manifestation." Brenda’s eyebrow rose ever so slightly again but she nodded in understanding. "I believe she has assisted Stefantok through all nine of his manifestations."

"But now that you have taken *me* as your mate….." Brenda’s eyes widened.

Jax took a deep breath before answering. "I was under the impression that you had not as yet agreed to being my mate, Brenda." Her eyes widened again. "Technically, as Stefantok has pointed out to me, our union has not been ratified by the high priests of the Familiars. It has not been sealed." He shrugged. "*That* is why Stefantok keeps insisting on summoning Maerdithon….."

The complex nature of the problem before them suddenly became clearer to Brenda and she turned to face him. "So…..if I perform the ritual with you, I tacitly agree to be your mate…..in all ways, including ruling Meer’an." Jax nodded. "And if I do *not* agree to be your mate, and perform the ritual with you, then…..then….Maerdithon……"

Jax spoke as she left the sentence unfinished. "You are my true mate, Brenda. I will never love another woman in the galaxy as I love you. I knew that the instant I lay eyes on you in Corinthon’s dungeon." He reached a trembling hand towards her and she walked to the bed to take it, her own trembling similarly. "Some phrases mumbled in the Familiar tongue by old men dressed in flowing robes will not bind my heart to yours any more than it is already bound." He squeezed her hand tightly. "I will *not* perform the ritual with any woman but you, zira."

Tears gathered in the corners of Brenda’s eyes. "And if you do not perform the ritual at all?……" Jax looked down at the bed and his silence answered for him. "Oh, NO, Jax!" Brenda rushed to sit beside him. "I will not let you forfeit your life to try to save me from making a decision…."

Jax put his fingers to his lips to stop the flow of her words. "But there is more than just my future to consider, angel." He sighed again. "In most cases, Familiar females perform the ritual with Familiar males." His eyes held hers captive. "I told you when we first met that Familiar loveplay is intense. Do you recall the first time we made love? When I……enhanced?" She nodded quickly and looked away but he caught her chin and turned her face back to him. "Enhancing is a mere *shadow* of the fervor of the foreplay during a manifestation ritual, Brenda."

She swallowed hard. "Are you saying……that I may not be able to …..survive it?"

Jax’s face grew stony again. "I would never let it go that far, Brenda. I would stop the ritual before I ever let harm come to you."

"But then, what would happen?……." Brenda let the statement trail and she gasped softly when Jax’s silence was her answer yet again. She rose from the bed and walked slowly over to a window, where she stared out on the quiet courtyard below her.

Jax’s voice was subdued. "You know I would never have added this complication to your decision purposely, Brenda."

She nodded and looked back at him, remaining by the window. "But I can’t just let you die, Jax. What I told you earlier is true…..I *do* love you."

"But you’re not certain if you love me enough to be a queen, is that it?" Brenda turned back to the window, but Jax knew her answer. "That is why I believe I have come up with a compromise."

"What kind of compromise?" Brenda’s turn back to face him was swift, her eyes hopeful.

"If you stay with me…..become my zira, and perform the manifestation ritual with me, I will not ever keep you from following your Torengi nature wherever in the universe it takes you."

Brenda frowned. "I do not understand."

Jax shrugged with a smile. "We are not so different, you and I – Torengi and Familiar. The Familiars also love to explore new worlds -- experience new lifestyles. If you were my mate, we could explore them together." Brenda walked slowly towards Jax and he reached out his hands to her. "I can see us together, angel," he crooned. "I have already seen corners of this universe that you have only dreamed of." She took a shaky breath as she looked into his eyes, lit by a hypnotic fire. "Become my zira and let me show them to you."

"Do you mean….." She hesitated, forming her words carefully. "Would you resign your place as zir ….. to show me these new worlds and experience them with me?"

"We can do *both* Brenda, can’t you see that?" Her heart sank a little at the words and her head started to swim. "Meer’an is a peaceful place. There is actually very little required of the zir and zira on a day-to-day basis." When Brenda pulled away from him, Jax swung his legs out of the bed. He braced his hands on each side of him and stood slowly. She turned back and caught her breath, but he walked towards her, intent on showing her the error of her ways. "Open your heart to me, Brenda," he purred, running his hands up and down the sides of her arms. "Our love will only set it free."

Brenda closed her eyes, trying to think clearly. Lilata’s words echoed in her ears….

As Jax pulled her against him, she felt his warm breath at the side of her neck. She closed her eyes and flashed back to the warm night after they had left Corinthon’s dungeon, when she had vehemently told him she planned never to take a mate.

Brenda sighed loudly as Jax pulled her against him, spooning her from behind as they stared out a window at Meer’an’s moons. "This is no simple choice for me, Jax." Her voice trembled. "You have placed your life in my hands."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "No much more than I did when you came to me in Corinthon’s dungeon, Brenda." He smiled and traced his finger over her lips. "We have traveled so many miles from Charporta, and yet it seems we stand at the same crossroads we did then. You have the power to save my life and your own ……" He let his finger trail down her chin to her breast. "…..if you will but listen to your heart."

She began to breathe more quickly but a soft knock at Jax’s door caused them to step apart quickly. Jax cleared his throat awkwardly but still stared into Brenda’s eyes. "Enter."

Stefantok cautiously put his head through the door but when he saw Jax out of bed, he frowned and came inside. He walked briskly to where Jax stood. "You should be back in bed, Zir Jax. Alanair specifically said that you need sleep."

"That is my fault, Stefantok," Brenda allowed, finally breaking eye contact with Jax. She placed her flat hands against Jax’s chest. "You go back to bed……I’ll just change out of my gown and join you shortly."

Once Jax saw Brenda disappear past the bathing pool, he let Stefantok take him by the arm and assist him back to bed. Once his young king was settled again, Stefantok remained. "So……you told her everything?"

Jax sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes."

Stefantok waited a few seconds. "Your silence tells me that she has not agreed to perform the ritual with you."

"There is much for her to process," Jax replied, opening one eye to stare at his concerned advisor. "It does not surprise me that she needs the night to weigh her options."

"And if you were to hazard a guess……"

Jax sighed. "One thing I have learned during my adventures with Zira Brenda, Stefantok, is that she is practically impossible to predict." Then his eyes grew bright. "But she realizes now that she loves me. She merely has to understand that it does not lessen her freedom in any way."

Stefantok looked toward the bathing pool when he heard Brenda singing quietly. He arched an eyebrow and leaned closer to Jax. "So…..about the manifestation……you told her…..ALL?"

Jax arched an eyebrow. "Well…….not *quite* all."

Stefantok pursed his lips and nodded. "Probably another wise move, my zir." He bowed at the waist. "I will leave you both now – but please call me if there is any change in your condition."

Meanwhile, Brenda stared at her reflection in the bathing pool. She had changed into a soft pink caftan that reminded her of the gown she wore when she first came to Jax in the dungeon.

{He trusts you with his life – now, even as he did then. We have been through so much together…..} Brenda trailed a hand in the water of the pool but then gasped softly and covered her mouth with that hand. {He has saved your life so many times, never asking for anything in return. He has given you his love since first looking at you…..yet you didn’t feel shackled by it.} She blushed a little as she realized how many times she regretted the thought of having to say good-bye to Jax. {How could you think spending your life with him would ever become tedious? What makes you think his love would ever do anything but what it has done all along – make you fly higher than you have in your life thus far?}

By the time Brenda returned to Jax’s bed, he was sound asleep. She debated whether to sleep in another bed that night for fear of disturbing him, but suddenly his eyes drifted open. He silently extended a hand to her and she slipped into the bed next to him. As he had done ever since she knew him, Jax wound himself around her, purring contentedly as he nestled his head against her shoulder. He drifted back off to sleep as she did shortly thereafter.

For the night, Brenda and her Familiar were at peace.

To be continued……