21 comments/ 90967 views/ 37 favorites A Separate Peace By: Colleen Thomas Author's Note This story is a story of hope. Every effort has been made to not make political statements or offend anyone. Special thanks to Oggsbashan and Lauren-Hynde for advice on the history, attitudes and religions involved. CET Sarah Goldblum moved through the bazaar in Cairo feigning the stunned and rather vapid look of a western tourist. The myriad of sound and color had long ago lost its ability to mesmerize her. She dodged merchants hawking their wares, women in traditional dress shopping, and tourists, with an almost unconscious ease. Sarah wore jeans and a conservative top, along with a baseball cap. Her long blonde hair was done up in a ponytail, and the expensive camera bounced at the end of its straps with each stride. The man walking next to her was slightly shorter than her six feet and was darkly handsome in his Hawaiian shirt and shorts. They looked like any western tourists, stopping often to examine the wares and occasionally arguing loudly in English with a vendor, over a price. Jachin was totally at ease, but Sarah was nervous. The cover of American tourists worked best, but with the state of politics in the Middle East, it was inherently dangerous to masquerade as Americans. From her point of view, it was doubly dangerous, because they could very easily end up in trouble that had nothing to do with The Jackal and his militants. Jachin was a good agent, but he was careless sometimes, especially when it came to the ladies. While he assured her that he hadn't said or done anything to blow their cover last night, Sarah was extra wary as they moved around today, keeping an eye on their only link to the terrorist cell, a thin Palestinian called Ahmed. "Stop worrying," her partner whispered. "You're too tense, too watchful. Americans don't act like this." "Nor do they cry out in Yiddish when they cum," Sarah shot back. "A regrettable mistake, but come now. The girl was a German tourist, not an Egyptian whore," he said with irritating smugness. "I don't like this place. There are too many eyes on me," she said sullenly. "Oh no! Blonde hair, tits like ripe melons, legs up to your ass... There are always eyes upon you, Sarah." She was covertly watching a short man who was staring at her from under his long lashes. She could feel his hatred for her, as if it were a physical blow. "The blonde hair was not my idea, as you well know. When the eyes are sizing me up for a potential roll in the hay, it's one thing. That is not the feeling I get now," she whispered urgently. "Pah, I could make a small fortune pimping you to these animals. Your problem is you haven't had a man in your bed in too long. Why I... He's moving." The words were spoken softly, but the hard edge let her know exactly whom it was. Sarah turned and moved purposefully towards the alley where their man had just ducked out of sight. Jachin was two steps ahead of her, and only that saved her life. As she rounded the corner, a wave of intense heat and a violent shockwave threw her to the ground. Jachin didn't even have time to blink as the car exploded, sending thousands of shards of glass and bits of metal into his body. Sarah caught some fragments in her arms, but she was spared the full blast of the explosion. People were screaming, running in all directions and diving for cover. An ambulance pulled up and two men leapt out, ignored the several bystanders who were down, and none too gently placed Sarah on a stretcher. Her mind was foggy and she was disoriented, but she knew something was wrong. Once inside the ambulance, she realized it was just a panel-van with no medical equipment of any kind. She started to rise, but a foot slammed into her chest and forced her back down. The man who had been staring at her with such malevolence suddenly appeared in her vision. He jabbed a hypodermic needle into her arm and, within moments, the world began to spin. Sarah lashed out and broke the leg of the man who was standing on her chest, using her elbow as she had been taught. She actually made it to her feet, before the drug sent her conscious mind spiraling into darkness. A Separate Peace Sarah started to speak, but her mouth clamped shut to stifle a moan as the small woman's hands seized her breasts and squeezed. "You can't do this," the faux-blonde groaned. "Would you expect any less from an animal?" The woman said, as she began to roll Sarah's nipples between her fingers. Again, Sarah was struck mute by the juxtapose, such soft loving hands and such vicious, biting sarcasm. Sarah closed her eyes, and tried to shut out the sensations and think. This woman was a complete enigma to her, and it was a riddle she had better solve quickly, if she wished to live. But what to do? Her classes in psychology didn't even offer a clue on where to begin untangling the webs, paradoxes and contradictions of the Jackal. A further complication was her attraction to the woman. Two years of globetrotting to check out each and every rumor had left her with precious little time for a social life. Sarah hadn't had sex in months. Being gay wasn't the problem; it was finding the time and energy to go looking for a bedmate that enforced celibacy. Some agents didn't let being on assignment stop them, for some it was even part of the assignment, but she did and now her body was responding to this woman's touch as if they were long separated lovers reuniting. Tendrils of warmth spread from her breasts, through her chest and downward. Ripples of pleasure pushed deep thoughts from her mind and spiked as her nipples hardened and her aureoles puckered. The slight woman was taking her time, gently breaking down Sarah's already spotty defenses. Realizing that resisting would be in vain, Sarah relaxed and gave in to the sensations and the moment. "Won't you free my hands?" "No. I long to, but if you decided to try and escape, I couldn't stop you." "At least tell me your name?" Sarah pleaded. "Ablaa," she whispered, leaning down to press her lips gently to Sarah's. She parted her lips, accepting Ablaa's warm tongue in to her mouth. Their tongues touched, then pressed against one another, and soon a battle raged in her mouth. Sarah eventually gave up, allowing the dark-eyed woman to leisurely explore her mouth, only occasionally caressing the invading tongue with her own. Those soft hands continued to knead her breasts, gently squeezing or running the palms over her now stiff nipples. Ablaa smelled faintly of roses, and her mouth tasted sweeter than any candy. Sarah found herself trying to move her arms, but all thoughts of escape were gone, she wanted only to touch her lover back. Ablaa broke the kiss, stood and quickly striped, revealing a body that was every bit as stunning as her face. Sarah's first impression proved to be right. She had a very slight frame, perhaps not even as tall as a girl of thirteen or fourteen. She was thin as well, so thin her ribs were easily discerned, even from a distance. Despite this, her hips were wide and her ass firm and full. Pendulous breasts, looking far too large for her thin shoulders, sagged under their own weight, but still seemed firm. Between her long legs, she had a heavily furred pussy, but the berry colored lips peeked out from the dark curls. Her skin was a dusky color, one that resembled tea with just a touch of milk, and showed no blemish. Until she turned around. Her back was crisscrossed with multiple scars. Sarah gasped. Ablaa looked over her shoulder at the bound woman and shrugged. "I spent some time as the 'guest' of a wealthy Jordanian merchant. He was a cruel man, but it beat the streets," she explained. Sarah felt anger kindled in her breast. Anyone who would intentionally mar such beauty deserved to be consigned to the lowest part of hell. Ablaa returned to the bed and kissed Sarah again. This time there was no hesitation and a quick surrender. Sarah was in no mood to fight, even the tender battle of tongues. Ablaa's small hands returned to her breasts, but they concentrated more on her nipples, teasing the taunt buds until Sarah felt she was going mad. Her back arched, and still she felt as if Ablaa's hands were connected to strings that ran through her nipples and out her back. Every moment they seemed to be pulling harder at those strings, building an unendurable pressure that left her breathless. Sarah cried out in joy when one hand released the soft orb of her breast and leisurely slipped down her tight stomach towards her then very wet pussy. When it skirted her pubes, caressed her hip and her leg, the blonde groaned in frustration. Sarah twisted in her bonds, trying to move her mound under that soft hand, but Ablaa continued to caress the skin of her hips, thighs and tummy, studiously avoiding her pussy. Her other hand zeroed in on Sarah's hard nipple, gently squeezing and relaxing, driving the captive woman to distraction. She felt an incredible hunger; all the while, Ablaa kissed her, languidly exploring every millimeter of her mouth. Only very slowly did the Arab woman let the hunger they both felt begin to dictate the pace and passion of that long kiss. Ablaa eventually broke the torrid kiss and ran her tongue around Sarah's lips, then down her chin, before she began to lick and kiss her way down Sarah's long neck to the small hollow between her collarbones. Ablaa swirled her tongue once in that hollow and then started up Sarah's neck, along the line of her jaw and eventually to her sensitive ear. She breathed a soft warm breath that sent goose pimples along the tall woman's spine. Tiny teeth nipped the bottom of her ear, driving Sarah to whimper. The sensations were rolling, like a wave building in the sea. They piled up, one on another, melting, blending, adding their energy to the growing mass. Nails scraped along her hip, up her side, and along her outstretched arm. Delicate fingers squeezed and teased her nipple, while a soft tongue and tiny teeth worried her ear. The wave was peaking, towering above the shoreline, when Ablaa's fingers finally slipped through Sarah's damp pubes and touched her slick lips. Everything crashed in on Sarah, then, as a tidal wave, the sheer intensity of it wiped out every coherent thought in its path. Sarah gasped and arched her back so fiercely that she threw Ablaa off. The slight woman somehow managed to keep her hand between Sarah's legs and vigorously stroking the tall woman's spasming pussy. Sarah tossed her head from side to side and moaned, babbling nonsense words as her orgasm slowly subsided. Ablaa crawled over her leg and settled between them; Sarah's mind was just beginning to work again, when she felt the small woman's tongue slide between her velvety lips and lap at her inner folds. Intense spikes of pleasure shot through her still thrumming body with each movement of that small tongue. Sarah moaned, thrashed in her bonds as the sensation passed the threshold between outrageously pleasurable and unendurable. Her tall body arched, lifting her hips far off the bed. Ablaa quickly slipped her arms under and around Sarah's body and held on tightly, keeping her mouth centered over her captive's clitoral hood. She lapped at Sarah's pussy like a kitten, each swipe of her tongue making Sarah jerk and heave. Sarah knew this couldn't last long. She felt the beginnings of another orgasm, the tinge at her back, the rhythmic clenching of her anus and inner walls, the slight buzz in the back of her head. Sarah's clit revealed itself, and Ablaa's tongue found the nubbin. With soft, sure strokes, she carried the tall woman to another massive orgasm. Sarah was sure she would lose her mind. Starbursts and fanciful patterns of light and color danced on the backs of her tightly closed eyes. Pulses of raw bliss radiated out from her pussy, and the insanely erotic sounds of Ablaa's tongue reverberated in her ears. She barely noticed the slight woman uncoil and get off the bed. Her mind was still suffused with euphoria, when Ablaa threw on her clothes and left the room. A Separate Peace "You did." "I was wrong. The road to revenge does lead to death, but you are free to get off anytime. It just never seems that way. It takes a revelation to see the exit, and you were my revelation. I looked into the eyes of my most dangerous enemy and found a kindred soul. Not a slavering monster, intent on killing children, firing rockets into crowds or building colonies on the bones of my countrymen, but a woman, dedicated perhaps to ideals I didn't believe, but a woman beneath it all. When the time came to kill you, I couldn't do it. I found my humanity wasn't dead, just buried deep. In the days afterward, I found a great many things. Life goes on; from the highest high to the deepest low, time continues to march. Women go to the well, dogs wag their tails and hope for a pat on the head, children laugh, and lovers find a way to meet no matter what obstacles they face. From the depths of my own private darkness I woke to a glorious sunrise, not glorious because it was special, but because it was so mundane. Every day begins anew with the rising of the sun and it takes no stock of yesterday, but revels in its own time and place." Ablaa turned suddenly and stared at Sarah, her eyes were keen and piercing. "I have done great evil in my life time, but I see now that answering evil with evil isn't the answer. God didn't turn his back on me; I turned my back on Him. And in doing so, I shut out the sun and the promise of the new day. I found my humanity; while I can never atone for my sins, I have repented of them, and in doing so, I found that the sun still rises. I will never harm anyone if I can help it. I have turned the money given to me to buy death and destruction into alms that buy food, water and education instead. I've made peace with the ghosts and I've faced my demons; I live now for the sunrise and the new beginning it offers each morning, rather than dwelling on the darkness and horror that besets us all." "I am glad for you," Sarah said after a long pause, "but you still haven't explained why you sought me out." "Haven't I? In plain words then, it was the love of you that turned me from the dead man's path. From the moment I looked into your eyes and saw understanding instead of hate, I have loved you. I have, through long nights alone, convinced myself I saw the same love in your eyes, I had to find out if it was so." Sarah was silent for a long time. The enigmas and riddles this woman presented had long occupied her mind. It was only now that she realized she did love this woman. With that realization, so many things became clear. "I feel the same love, though much about you is still a puzzle to me," Sarah said after a long pause. Ablaa laughed again, and moved to sit next to Sarah on the big bed. "We have a lifetime of sunrises to solve the puzzles," she whispered, before leaning over and kissing Sarah. Their tongues twined and fingers plucked impatiently at clothing. Ablaa wore only a long dress and broke the kiss briefly to pull it over her head. Sarah's white blouse took longer, and she shrugged out of it as Ablaa impatiently helped her. The slight woman laid Sarah back on the bed and quickly undid the fly of her hotel-issue black trousers. Sarah raised her hips to make it easier for her lover to pull them down her long legs. Clad in only her lacy white bra, white bikini briefs, and stay-up stockings, Sarah felt strangely hot and realized she was blushing. Time paused, as the two women simply drank in one another's beauty. The tableau held for several beats of Sarah's heart and then they both moved. Ablaa mounted the bed on her knees, swung a leg over Sarah's chest and reversed herself. She settled onto Sarah's body, leaving her hips floating above the tall girl's chin. She felt Ablaa's small hand dig into the leg of her panties and pull them aside, but was only conscious of it in an oblique way. The lion's share of her attention was focused now on the thick pubes and pouting lips of Ablaa's sex. Sarah craned her neck upward and inhaled deeply, before pushing her tongue out and tracing the silken lips. Ablaa's tongue was not so gentle, pushing between Sarah's lips and souring her pussy. Sarah groaned as the sensations began to flow and wrapped her arms around the slight hips, pulling Ablaa down to feast on her sweet juices. Ablaa tasted like honey and berries and her aroma filled Sarah's nostrils. Sarah nibbled on the prominent lips, pulling them away and releasing them, tonguing delicately along the inner part of each. At the same time, she could feel Ablaa's tongue laving her pussy and sending insistent signals to her brain. As her excitement mounted, she noted Ablaa soft moans and occasional pauses as a tremor ran through her body. It became a race, not to get pleasure, but to give it, and in that selfless mode they found serendipity, as both of them came within seconds of each other. Sarah's orgasm was beautiful, neither overpowering nor violent. Just tremors of pleasure that seemed to suffuse her being rather than her body. She was still enjoying the ripples when she felt Ablaa slide a finger, then another into her yearning pussy. The slight woman crossed her fingers and began to gently slide them in and out, establishing a languid rhythm and matching it with her tongue. Sarah moaned and renewed her attentions, concentrating now on Ablaa's large clit. The sensitive organ was exposed, and Sarah was able to wrap her arms around Ablaa's slight hips and hold her pussy open, using her tongue with a surgeon's precision. She feathered her lover's clit with a flurry of strokes, using only the underside of the tip of her tongue. Ablaa moaned, her hips plunged and with a keening wail, her body went wild, sinking down on Sarah's upturned face. Sarah found it difficult to stay on her target, as Ablaa's motions became wild and irregular. Her own hips were jogging, rising to meet her lover's fingers, and even as she fought off the orgasm that was coming, she lost contact. Her back arched and an explosion of pleasure in her pussy blotted out the world, as violent waves tore through her. Even then, they didn't stop. For an untold time, they stayed locked together and made love. Each coo, sigh and moan seemed part of a life-affirming dance, and neither seemed willing to end it. Eventually, an orgasm of epic proportion rocked Sarah. She was only vaguely aware of Ablaa moving, but snuggled into her arms, unconsciously. It was dark outside; the room was silent except for the occasional tinkling sound of a hard snowflake hitting the window. Sarah thought of many things as she lay there; of death and life, right and wrong, good and evil. Mostly, she thought of the woman beside her, and the long journey they had both taken down that dead-end road. Ablaa credited her with pulling her off that road, and Sarah wondered if Ablaa realized that she had done the same for her. Blood and death, ageless hatred, acts they wished undone marked both of their pasts, as surely as they marked relations between both of their peoples. Yet, they had both found a better way to live. Ablaa. The name meant perfectly formed in Arabic. Sarah doubted it had ever been bestowed more appropriately. She drifted off to sleep, pondering the imponderables, certain of only two things. That she loved this woman, and that the sunrise would bring a new day. -Finis