Teach Me 5

Malena closed the door behind her back, more forcefully than needed. The sound rebounded through the empty halls like gunshot. Her hands shook, as did her whole body and on her lips she could feel the salty and bitter taste of the tears that blurred her vision.

She turned her back on the door and marched inside her quarters. She felt angry, betrayed, but at the same time the warmth of hope grew inside her. Ten years were not a long period of time for an asari, but every minute had dragged itself by, torturously slow, cutting her like the edge of an enemy's blade. She had felt lonely and cold, but when her eyes had met Trine's only minutes before, her whole body had tingled and the frost inside her melted as if spring's spirit was suddenly coming.

A soft knock on her door startled her and she jumped out of her reverie, turning again. She approached the door rapidly, her heart beating so fast she thought it was trying to come out of her chest.

It was Trine.

The elder warrior seemed tired, her shoulders a bit slumped, as she leaned against the doorway, but when their eyes locked the tender smile Malena remembered so well crept on her lips, brightening her face.

"May I come in?" she asked quietly, hesitation heavy in her voice. Unable to speak, the weapon instructor nodded and stepped aside closing the door on her heels.

"Malena I..."

"Don't."

She paced back and forth as she talked, like a rabid varren in a cage.

"Not a word in ten years Trine. Not-one-word. And now you come back as if nothing has happened?!"

It was the anger getting the better of her. She knew what her lover had done was done for her sake only. Still... still the rage burned higher.

"I pretend nothing child, deny nothing. I did not wish to see you hurt. It was the only way." Trine placed her hands on the other's shoulders, forcing her to stop. Malena's cheeks were streaked with tears.

"You could have told me. What if you had died? Had something happened to you, I..." I would not have survived you long. I won't survive you long if something ever happened to you.

Trine shook her head, her soul torn by the pain she heard in her lover's voice.

"There was no other choice. Astraea..."

Malena barked a bitter laugh. "She said you've stolen my honor."

"And you believe her?" Trine's voice quivered with barely restrained anguish.

The maiden sighed heavily. "If I did I would not have let you in," she whispered back. Anger was fading now. There were only pain and longing.

"I missed you Trine. I was so lost without you. It was as if all light had been vanquished from my life."

She shivered, suddenly cold and Trine draped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight, protective embrace.

"I tried to contact you many times," she murmured, pressing her lips to her lover's ear, " but my missives were returned, comms rejected. I thought you never wanted to see me again. We rushed around from mission to mission, but I finally had to stop, had to know for sure and hear it from you directly. Nothing I've ever done before took the courage that standing before you does."

Malena pulled back slightly and lifted her face, eyes narrowing.

"But who rejected them, I never heard anything! Who would do such a thing? No, on second thought, don't answer that, I think I already know."

But Astraea's motives were beyond her. And who had given her the authority to do so? She was a matriarch, true, but though being the Headmistress of the Academy granted her a place on the Council, it did not bring much political weight. And everybody knew why the matriarch had been placed there: wrong strategic choices that led to disaster had convinced the Council that she was not suitable for campaigns and wars. She had never managed to rid herself of the shame. And it had turned her into an emotionless being, unable to feel, unable to care for anyone.

Malena realized with a shiver that she had been so close to that change. She had trained one maiden after another, but never cared to guide and shape them as Trine had shaped her.

"By the Goddess," she whispered as anguish filled her, "hold me Trine. I missed you so much."

The elder asari complied and they held each other until the fear subsided, pushed away by the love they shared. Contact brought back memories. And desire.

They touched, hesitantly at first, fingers lightly tracing long abandoned paths, their mouths crashing into one another, tongues dancing, renewing their love. Clothes were shed, tossed around the room and forgotten as the two warriors basked in each other's presence. The heat of their bodies could have melted snow.

Limbs entwined they tumbled on Malena's bed, skin to skin, breasts to breasts. Their eyes changed, turning as black as a moonless night and they merged and screamed and finally collapsed in an exhausted heap of shaking flesh. Ten years is not a long time at all. Time and distance do not matter much when you share your heart with someone.

Trine walked into the Headmistress' office unannounced. A look of unbridled hatred flashed across the matriarch's visage before the coolness settled into place.

"So, the prodigal daughter returns. You are no longer welcome here, Trine," Astraea said, acid dripping from every word. "I have a more than able weapons master now."

Trine walked over to the bookcases lining the office wall and perused the titles.

"Shall I call the guard?" the matriarch threatened.

"They should be here momentarily," Trine replied casually. "I asked them to give us a few minutes to speak."

"I have nothing to say to you," Astraea spat out the words.

"That's unfortunate," the matron commented softly, "I would have thought you would like to leave on good terms."

The matriarch's head snapped up, eyes blazing, a look that rekindled memories.

Trine coolly met her stare, thinking back to their shared past. A young maiden, questioning her commander's tactics, refusing to retreat when everyone but her battalion had quit the field, an unlikely victory. Later, their paths crossed again when the Council had requested that she teach at the Academy, to understand the dynamics of the institution. Her reports had borne fruit, just not as expected.

Shaking her head, Trine tossed the Council's orders on the desk, sending Astraea into retirement and naming her interim Headmistress. She had much work to do if the Academy were to be restored to its former glory. Trine turned and left the office, relieved to see the arms master at the head of the special security duty. Tomorrow was soon enough to begin. She still had unfinished business to attend to with a certain member of her staff. A grin spread as she thought of the welcome that awaited her.

If I look back now, to the early days and that part of my youth I spent inside the Academy, I can't believe how lucky I was to find someone like Trine. She would laugh if she saw that I am referring about that time as youth. It was not that many years ago after all. I am still a maiden after all.

But I feel that the Change is near now, and that's why I left the bed I share with her. I am restless. Excited and scared at the same time. I feel the passage of time now and never before have I felt the weight of my few centuries.

"What's the matter?" A sleepy voice behind me asks, as strong arms circle my waist. Her breath tickles my neck then her lips brush my skin and I chuckle.

"It's just..."I shrug. I do not know how to explain.

Her hands massage my shoulders gently, easing the tension that strains my muscles.

"I feel it," my voice trembles slightly, "it's getting closer."

Her hands tighten for a brief moment, then she caresses me again, her fingers roaming from my arms to my back.

"I am here, I'll never leave your side."

I know- she promised after that mission that should have been mine- and I made the same promise. We've been together since then, exploring every star we could reach.

As always when she is near, fear is defeated and soon forgotten.

We are as one.

She is my soul mate.

And I belong to her until my last day.