No Holes Barred

THE AWAKENING

By

Angelia Whiting

© copyright September 2005, Angelia Whiting

Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright September 2005

ISBN 1-58608-640-5

New Concepts Publishing

Lake Park, GA 31636

www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

Britenia tossed an expressionless glance at her mentor. “Why should I even bother?”

“You have been wronged Brit. All of your people have been wronged.”

Britenia scanned the satellite, located at the end of the gateway that Rupshel had brought her through. It was a colorless piece of rock, floating in the galaxy, bearing nothing except boulders and stones and pits of various sizes. It was as dead as she was, as dead as the enormous bolder they stood in front of that burrowed nondescriptly into the satellite’s pebbled surface, looking as much a part of the terrain as any other of the enormous rocks. In its stone façade the words, No Holes Barred was carved appearing as though a passerby had haplessly scratched into the surface. But Rupshel told her it was the entrance to the spa club and resort that she would reside at for as many dawnings as it took.

“It doesn't look like much of a place to find deliverance.”

“Not true child.” Rupshel cast his glance to the large boulder. “Many travelers pass through the cosmic gateways to this satellite play land, some stay awhile and some go. Inside you will find creatures from the galaxies far and wide. Emotions abound.”

The elderly man tipped his head toward Britenia and scratched his ancient purple-gray beard. His voice lowered an octave though his tone was still firm. “You may find joy here my dear.”

“I doubt I'll ever have that gift again, Rupshel.” Brit stared at the rocky wall in front of her. “Nothing holds meaning for me. I remain empty.”

“Ah child,” Rupshel glided over to her, his long flowing robes caressing the ground as he moved. He was the epitome of a life time of wisdom and knowledge, four centuries of learning he put to claim under his belt. “Do I detect despair within you?”

Brit’s head snapped around so she could look her mentor in the eye. “It is an emotion, yes?”

“It is.”

“Well, it is not a very pleasant feeling.” Still, feeling a twinge of an emotion stimulated Britenia’s hope, another emotion. Perhaps she would stay awhile.

“Be patient my student. You’ve just arrived here. You will learn.” A wily smile played at Rupshel’s lips. “You may even discover passion in this place.”

Britenia stared impassively at her mentor for a moment. “Or anger. Maybe I will find anger here, or hate, or some sentiment I can feel strongly.”

“Passion is a strong feeling child and encompasses an array of pleasures or displeasures as the case may be sometimes.”

Ignoring the man who counseled her, the wise teacher who instructed all of her peoples at the University of Emotional Awareness, Britenia turned away, putting her back to her mentor.

“I should feel hate,” she said.

“Do you?”

Britenia stood still, not answering him right away. It was as though she was trying to conjure the emotion. She shook her head with numb regard. On an inhale, she looked at her mentor. “No.”

Her soul was an empty shell--void of emotion.

Empty.

“It doesn't even feel strange to feel...nothing. I feel nothing, Rupshel.”

Rupshel placed a caring, fatherly hand gently on her shoulder. “You will, Britenia, as time passes and you witness the vibrancy that naturally resides in others. Study them and what they feel, and your emotions will begin to blossom.”

“Like this satellite?” Britenia knew she should chuckle at her own humor, but the sentiment evaded her.

Rupshel chuckled for her. “Beneath it all, my lady royal, I think we’ll discover you are quite a delight.”

“I would wish to say I believe you.” Britenia lowered to sit on a small rock near the big boulder. She folded her hands in her lap. “How will I recognize the emotions when the come?”

“You were one of my finest students.” Rupshel knelt in front of her and placed a palm on her cheek. “Just keep your scrolls nearby.”

Britenia nodded. Four solar annums she spent at the University for Emotional Awareness. She supposed she was ready. “My scrolls, yes. They will tell me all.”

“Not all,” Rupshel answered. “Much you will discover on you own.”

Britenia would’ve given him a confused look then, if she possessed the emotion. Instead she merely said. “I have no choice but to try.”

“For your sake and for the sake of your people.”

“So that I may return to my planet and enlighten them, yes?”

“Yes. And to take your rightful place on the throne.” Rupshel stood and stepped back from her. “For now I leave you. There is the welfare of the other apprentices I must see to.”

“Just one more question, Rupshel.” Britenia stood, causing Rupshel to halt, just as he was about to step into the tunnel that brought them here. “How might I understand the many languages spoken here?”

“A thoughtful question,” Rusphel turned and faced Britenia. “The place is equipped with a universal translator. Just speak your own words and others will understand you, and likewise you will understand them.”

“Thank you, my teacher.” Britenia closed her eyes and bowed her head respectfully. “I will be fine.”

When she opened her eyes again her mentor was gone, leaving her standing alone at the entrance of No Holes Barred--Alone, but not lonely.

Britenia wondered what loneliness felt like.

Sighing for no other reason than releasing a breath, she picked up her travel bag and knocked on the rock. A tiny stone piece sank inward revealing a hole about the size of her hand. Flattening her palm over the opening, she presented the tattoo on her flesh. It was the symbol that would gain her entrance. “Invited member.”

She felt a small tingle on her skin as the surveillance scanner read the mark. The small hole sealed as she dropped her hand and then a crack appeared in the surface of the rock door.

It spread open, revealing a dark, silent cavern.

Britenia stepped inside.

But she wasn’t inside at all.

As the rock doorway behind her scraped closed, there was a low rumble and a flash of light. The place began to illuminate and Britenia discovered that she had entered an outdoor garden, full of colorful flowers and trees and soft music. A white, marble brick path ran the center of it. Off to one side there were several small pools and one larger one. Steam rose from the bubbling waters on the smaller ones and she assumed the water in the larger pool was cool. A few guests were relaxing within the waters’ depths. Just beyond the pools, there were several raised, cushioned cots. The first four were vacant, but a male lay face down on the fifth one. He was nude except for the towel draped across his buttocks and thighs. A woman was kneading his shoulders.

Another relaxing activity, Britenia supposed, a way to relieve stress. What was stress like?

Britenia began walking along the path, catching the murmurs of conversations, hearing the animation in their voices and watching the assortment of emotions that played on the faces of the guests there. She could feel the tepid breeze of the air around her as it gently stroked her hair. The walkway was cool beneath her unclad feet. The garden that grew around her was an oasis of botanical scents. But despite all the delights the spa provided, Britenia was unable to feel any of it.

She could only observe.

From her studies, Britenia understood the various situations that should elicit certain emotions. Still, they evaded her. But that was why she was in this place. To explore--the life in others, the life that was missing in herself.

Passing a grouping of tables arranged along the garden terrace, Britenia’s eyes locked unresponsively onto a man indulging in a meal. She stopped.

Something very slight stirred within her and Britenia blinked several times at the unexpected feeling, but it vanished rather rapidly just as every sensation that threatened to surface regularly did.

The man’s head lifted and he smiled at her, and she acknowledged it with a nod. She didn’t smile back, but did notice the way nearby women were examining the brawny male, bearing a gleam in their eyes that Britenia could only interpret as desire. It wasn’t beyond her to comprehend the physical concept that the man was aesthetically pleasing.

Passion. Will I ever fully feel passion?

Her eyes flicked behind the man to an enormous tree, its trunk completely hollowed out. From the brochure the management sent her, Britenia recognized it as the club. Tipping her head she tuned into the sounds inside, catching a more upbeat style of music emerging from it. And there was movement. It was dancing. People were dancing on the main floor. And there was jovial talk and laughter. Her eyes flickered upward. The second level was of interest to her. Special services were offered there, personal fantasies and those of a more intimate kind. A twinge of anticipation seeped into Britenia’s chest, a flicker, just a flicker of excitement before it vanished.

She would sample all the services if she could. One of them was bound to awaken her.

Britenia’s gaze dropped downward. The man continued to watch her. Did he find her aesthetically pleasing?

No matter. She had work to do, emotions to discover.

Turning her head back to the path, Britenia sited the grouping of thatched roof cabanas. One of them had been reserved as living space for her during her stay, and at the moment her body felt weary. Deciding on a nap before the supper hour, Britenia continued down the path, thinking about nothing in particular.