Chapter 2

Sid stepped through the portal and gazed upon the loveliness that was Sally Caretaker. It was hard to believe that she looked even lovelier since his last visit. All thoughts and questions Sid had wanted to ask flew from his mind to be replaced by desire for this woman. He moved to her like a man possessed.

Sally’s smile could have lit the night brighter than a full moon. Her translucent green gown hinted at the treasures it contained. It captivated him and drew his eyes to seek out glimpses of her beauty.

When he reached her, she took his hand. Her body undulated as she led him to the bedroom. The grace of her movements captivated him. Unable to take his eyes from her, Sid followed without being aware that he was even moving.

Upon reaching the bedroom, Sally released his hand and turned to face him so that he would have a perfect view of her unveiling. When she went to remove her gown, Sid took her hand and requested, “Allow me do that.”

Surprised he would want to undress her, she replied, “I would be most pleased.”

It took but a moment for Sid to locate the strap holding up the gown. Releasing the knot, the gown slid to the ground. The diaphanous material was so smooth that it flowed over her skin and slipped though his fingers. There was no way for him to slow its passage to the floor. The sight of her took his breath away.

Sid stepped back and worshiped her body with his eyes. His fingers trembled at the thought of touching her bare skin. For a moment, it seemed to him that touching her would be a sacrilege.

In a whisper, he said, “So beautiful. So perfect.”

Sid pulled her into an embrace. Once she was comfortable on the bed, Sid began his assault upon her body. It wasn’t an assault of strength or domination, but a focused concentrated attention to each and every inch of her.

After bringing her to heights she did not believe possible, Sid backed off and returned to an incremental adoration of her body.

After another hour, Sid stopped his caresses.

When their end came, a tidal wave washed through Sid, draining all of the energy from his body. Sally’s eyes flicked open once and then shut as her mind was forced to retreat from the overwhelming pleasure it had just experienced. Exhausted beyond description, Sid lay beside her still trembling body.

Unwilling to sleep, Sid turned to his side to watch the beautiful woman recover from the experience. Even after ten minutes, her body would tense up. The sight fascinated him and reinforced his belief that she was something special.

Unable to fight off his exhaustion, Sid fell asleep with the sleep that came after sex well done. It was hours later when he woke to find Sally sitting beside him. She was watching him with a dreamy look upon her face. Deep in her heart, she knew there was nothing she could deny him.

Throat dry, he croaked, “You are so beautiful.”

She ran a finger along his jaw with the tender touch. Even touching him brought a thrill to her body. In a soft voice, she said, “Restorative, please.”

A tall narrow glass filled with a green fluid appeared on the nightstand. The glass itself looked to be only a bit wider than a test tube, although the base was large enough to provide a stable support for it. She reached out with a delicate gesture and took it.

Handing it to Sid, she said, “Drink this. It will help restore your energy.”

Smelling the liquid, Sid was puzzled by the odor. He didn’t recognize it and couldn’t even begin to describe it. It was as though every scent he had ever smelled was jumbled together. Upon taking a sip, an explosion of flavors burst through his mouth and energy flooded into his body. He sat up straighter and looked at the glass in amazement. That little sip had emptied half the glass. He finished the glass with a second sip.

Feeling much better, he smiled at Sally and, in a clear voice, asked, “What would I do without you to take care of me?”

“A better question is what I would do without you,” replied Sally.

The pleasure he had given her had overwhelmed her and destroyed all ability to resist him. She had remained nude, because she had to remain undressed. Her attempt to dress while he had been asleep had triggered sexual responses that nearly overwhelmed her.

“What did you do to me?” she asked.

“I made love to you in the manner in which I’ve always wanted,” answered Sid.

He reached out and brushed the back of his hand along the side of her face. Her whole body reacted to his touch.

Concerned, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she replied unsure exactly what had happened to her.

It was as though every nerve of her body was poised on the edge of ecstasy. Sid smiled at the idea that his attentions had left her in that state. He reached out to touch her again, but she backed away.

Almost pleading, she said, “I don’t know if I can take more.”

“I understand,” he said, although in truth he didn’t understand.

Feeling as though she needed to be busy doing something, she decided that it was time to undertake some of her other duties. First she would bathe and then feed him. Standing, she said, “Robe.”

A robe appeared at the foot of the bed. Reaching down, she picked it up and held it out for him to step into. With a smile, she said, “Let us wash ourselves, and then eat.”

Sid put on the robe, being helped into it by Sally. He thanked her, “You take such excellent care of me. I’m the luckiest man on four worlds.”

She stared at him unable to believe his words. If he was the luckiest man in four worlds, then she was the luckiest woman on four worlds. Never had a woman of Cassandra been blessed with such a skilled lover.

Softly, she said, “Let us go.”

Over dinner, Sid remembered the questions that he wanted to ask of Sally. He slowly chewed a piece of steak as he considered how to explain his suspicions that his role in the game was as a sperm donor to the women of Cassandra.

After taking a sip of his wine, Sid said, “While I was at home, I gave a lot of thought to what happened last time I was here. I came to the conclusion that I don’t quite understand the rules of the game. Can you explain them to me?”

She had dreaded this conversation ever since she chased him through the portal at the end of his last visit to Crossroads. Looking over at Sid, Sally put down her fork and pushed away her salad. Her appetite had disappeared remembering how Elizabeth Caretaker had described the arguments with Gerald upon his learning that he had fathered a child.

She considered his request, realizing that she didn’t really know how to answer him. There were a few things she knew held true, but there were situations that cropped up on occasion that surprised the caretakers.

She said, “I don’t think I can. We don’t really know all the rules, just little things that work and some that don’t work.”

“So request a rule book,” suggested Sid, recalling what happened when he requested a user’s manual for the apartment. He had been given a very thin volume instructing him to ask his caretaker to attend to his needs. When she had requested a user’s manual, she had received three of them.

“Uh, I don’t think there is one,” replied Sally surprised by the recommendation.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sid said, “You didn’t know that there was a user’s manual, but there was one.”

Sally thought about it for a moment and then called out, “Rule book please.”

Instead of a rule book, a sheet of paper appeared on the table in front of her. Expecting it to say that there was no rule book, she was surprised to discover that it was a list of rule books.

“What is it?”

She announced, “It’s a list of rule books.”

“A list?”

She read the list aloud, “Rules for Hero Greeters. Rules for Caretakers. Rules for Heroes. Rules for Hero Companions. Rules for Damsels. Rules for Companion Greeters.”

Sid listened to the list with surprise. One item attracted his attention and he wondered what a Hero companion was. However, for the moment he was far more curious about the rules for heroes. Excited, he said, “I’d like the rules for heroes.”

Smiling, Sally said, “Rules for Heroes, Rules for Caretakers, and Rules for Damsels, please.”

Three pamphlets appeared on the table in front of Sally. She looked through the stack before handing the appropriate one to Sid. She put one down and sat back to read the third. Sid looked at the manual and then at the half-eaten steak still on his plate. Pushing the manual to the side, he returned to his meal. There was no way that he was going to let a perfectly good steak get thrown away. He watched as Sally read her pamphlet with great care.

After finishing his meal, he picked up the pamphlet and started to read. The first two rules were quite explicit concerning the role of the Hero. The Hero was required to be ready, willing, and able to fulfill the primary and secondary goals of the heroic mission: to rescue the damsel from her distress on Chaos, and to impregnate her upon return to Crossroads. The secondary goal let him know that he had been correct in his earlier guess.

There were a few surprises within the rules. A few of them he would have broken if he hadn’t had this chance to learn about them. Looking up, he said, “It says here that I’m not allowed to kill a protected species or harm an endangered species.”

Sally looked up from her rule book in surprise. No one had ever suggested that there were limits to what a Hero could do to the source of danger when rescuing a damsel. All that was required of the Hero was to behave in a heroic fashion. She asked, “What species are protected and which are endangered?”

“Says here that mermaids, mermen, dragons, trolls, pixies, brownies, and hippogriffs are protected. Unicorns, fairies, will-o’-the-wisps, and sphinxes are endangered.”

“Ah, that explains a lot. That is why no Hero has been able to go on a mission to rescue a damsel from a dragon,” said Sally. In the past, the heroes planning on rescuing a Damsel from a dragon had left with the full intention of killing the dragon. Of course, it followed that the portal wouldn’t open for a person who meant to break a rule.

Sid went back to studying the pamphlet. After a reading for a while, he reached the part of the manual that addressed bringing a companion with him from Earth. He said, “It says that I can bring a companion to Chaos.”

The idea that he could bring a companion with him bothered Sally. She didn’t want to deal with two men and definitely didn’t want another woman competing with her for his attention. She asked, “What does it say about the companion?”

“They have to come from Earth and must serve as my caretaker while on Chaos. They have to do the cooking, cleaning, and most of the carrying. They can’t participate directly in the rescue of the Damsel. That is the job of the Hero,” answered Sid. He wondered if that allowed the companion to hold the horses while he rescued the Damsel. He decided the companion was allowed to provide an indirect support.

“What about sex?”

“It appears that the only one I can have sex with on Chaos is a companion,” answered Sid after an untimely pause. That was another rule that he would have broken without knowing it assuming the opportunity arose. He read that part of the pamphlet a second time before he added, “I can’t have sex with the companion while in Crossroads. It seems kind of strange to me that I can have sex with the companion on Chaos and Earth, but can’t in Crossroads.”

Smiling at the restrictions, Sally replied, “It’s not confusing to me at all.”

Realizing that she was feeling a little possessive, Sid said, “Don’t worry. There isn’t an Earth women alive who can compare with you.”

Pleased at the compliment, Sally flipped through her pamphlet searching for any information concerning Hero companions. She found a few rules and read them. Looking up at Sid, she said, “It appears that I have to take care of a companion’s basic food, clothing, and rest needs. At least I’m not required to have sex with them.”

She read on and then exclaimed, “Oh, it does say that having sex with a Hero Companion is my choice and not the companion’s choice.”

“What does that mean?”

Deciding that there weren’t any real downsides associated with him bringing a companion from Earth, Sally shrugged and put the subject behind her. In an off-handed manner, she said, “I guess I would have to read the rules for companions to determine that.”

Sid thought about Cynthia and wondered if she would be willing to live with those rules for a chance to learn how to be a lady from Sally. He seriously doubted she would be interested, but he’d ask for the Rules for Hero Companions before going back to Earth. He asked, “Is there anything else?”