Chapter 11

Lynn watched as Voltaire dragged a servant girl by the arm out of the banquet hall. The room grew quiet as everyone turned to stare at the spectacle.

Brigieta hastily rose and bowed to King Eber. “Please forgive the disruption, your Majesties. The servant girl was clumsy and spilled wine all over Lord Voltaire’s suit. Please do not allow this to disturb a wonderful evening. She will be dealt with accordingly.”

King Eber waved away the apology and then clapped his hands, “Music!”

In the far corner the band struck up a merry tune. Tristyn rose, bowed to Lynn and offered his hand. “Lady Lynn, I would be delighted if you would dance with me.”

Lynn’s cheeks flushed red. It was no secret that she hated the spotlight, but she would have to bare it especially since everyone in the room was watching her. Gingerly she took his arm and followed him to the dance floor. Her fingers trembled lightly as Tristyn placed one hand on her hip and with the other gently entwined their fingers together. She wanted to protest that she was no dancer, but he looked so confident. Closing her eyes, she let go of her fears and placed her trust in him.

Tristyn did not disappoint. He spun her around the room, her feet barely touching the ground as he twirled her around. She found herself laughing freely. This was one of the happiest moments she had been since Kyle had kidnapped her from Earth. Anger flared for a moment within her at the thought of Kyle’s unwillingness to share secrets with her. Tristyn swept the doubts away with a heartbeat, as he dipped her and danced on. By the end of the dance, Lynn felt exhilarated and was gasping for breath.

“Do you remember the last time we were that close together?” Tristyn whispered to her as they walked through the crowd that had joined them on the dance floor.

Lynn stifled a giggle. “You said your name was George.”

“And you nearly kidnapped me,” Tristyn winked at her. “Well tonight you’ve kidnapped my heart.”

Lynn laughed. “Really? Is that your best pick up line?”

“What is a pick … up … line?” Tristyn asked curious.

Lynn considered explaining, but they arrived at the dais and the moment passed as they sat down at the table.

Marvis placed a glass of fresh water in front of Lynn that she gulped down. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Lunu’s been hustling in the kitchen. She’s cooking up a surprise desert to celebrate the occasion.”

Lynn leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. “Is it … pie?”

“She made me promise not to tell.”

“Just a little hint?”

“Nope. Lunu will skin my hide if I spoil the surprise.”

“But –”

“Jael’s waving. The next course is about to be served. I’ll be back later with desert,” Marvis said as he dashed out through the kitchen doors, the coat tails of his black servant’s dinner jacket waving goodbye at her. Since her champion had won the duels, her staff had the privilege of serving the royal family dinner tonight. It meant they’d be running around, dressed in their matching dress uniforms. By the looks of things, they were happy and had not fumbled once.

“Do you always allow your slaves to speak so freely?” Tristyn asked.

Lynn stiffened. “They are not and never will be my slaves. They are my friends and I would do anything for them because they would do anything for me. I trust them with my life.”

Tristyn held up his hands in defense, “I apologize. I meant no disrespect. I can see plainly how they love you and obey you. It is rare to find such devotion in strangers.”

Lynn relaxed, a bit. She had for a moment feared that Tristyn would think of slaves as property as everyone else in the palace did. “True we were strangers at first, but we’ve grown to be a family. I do not expect you to understand, but I do ask that you respect my staff as you would respect me.”

Tristyn cocked his head to the side and considered this. “As you say. Now please tell me about yourself.”

“What would you like to know?”

“Well… what do you think of Saldiora?”

“It’s different.”

“Different how?”

Lynn gazed at the finely dressed people twirling around on the dance floor, the fine linen that covered the tables and chairs, the delicate silverware and the abundance of food and drink. They had no idea how fortunate they were. Outside these walls, people in the capital city were starving. Lynn reached for her glass and took a sip of water. There was no way she could explain that to Tristyn, he would not understand. Maybe if she got the chance she would show him the true state of his kingdom.

“Well for one thing, the food is different.”

“Do you have a favorite food?”

“I really like toraggas.” Changing the subject, Lynn asked, “Do you like antiques?”

Tristyn looked surprised. “How did you know?”

Lynn glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, and then she whispered. “I saw the old rugged couch, hand carved drawers and old books in your quarters on Destiny. They were the only pieces of furniture that did not match the rest of the ship. So, I assumed it was because you had explicitly decided to place them there.”

Tristyn mimicked Lynn by softening his voice, “As I recall, Pibbel, you dropped into my lap before destroying my most valued antique… a rather rare family heirloom… the vase?”

Lynn blushed at his nickname for her. “I’m sorry. I never had a chance to apologize, but I had no idea –”

Tristyn unexpectedly placed a finger on her lips. “Shh, no need to apologize. Kyle told me everything. All is forgiven.”

Lynn nodded, too intimidated by Tristyn’s touch. Words flittered through her mind but none would form into any coherent thoughts, so she kept her mouth shut.

“Now to answer your question,” Tristyn said, resuming his normal tone. “I love antiques.”

Lynn stroked the rim of the cup in her hands, a plan was starting to form. “My grandfather was an artist. He would make the most wonderful cups, bowls, vases and pots from glass, porcelain, clay, you name it. Every summer I would help him in his workshop. People would bring in their faded and old antiques and he would spend hours restoring them to their former glory. He always said working with someone’s treasure was a great privilege. And to see the joy on their faces when seeing the item restored was priceless.”

“You speak of him in the past tense. What happened?”

“He died in a fire.” Lynn bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She wished Pappy and Grammy could be here. This was after all where they belonged.

Tristyn was kind enough to not press for more details. “I think I would have liked him. I love antiques because of their history. They’ve seen things and lived a hundred lives before they meet me, and will continue after I’m gone. I wish I could learn how to restore them like your grandfather did. However, I would not know where to start. If you could be or do anything, what would that be?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Tristyn nodded, but she was not convinced. She was about to say as much when a squeak sounded from underneath the table. Not now, Lynn thought.

“What was that?” Tristyn asked scooting back from the table in alarm.

Lynn lifted the edge of the tablecloth and peered at George who was curled up in a basket. George started to chitter and jumped onto Tristyn’s lap with a banana in hand, holding it out like a sword.

“And who’s this?” Tristyn asked with laughter in his voice.

Lynn hastily grabbed and peeled the banana and coaxed George back into his basket. “Go to sleep,” Lynn cooed.

George whined and reluctantly curled up in his basket before chomping down on the banana.

Lynn sat back and sighed in relief. No one else appeared to have noticed him. “This is Master George. All my friends are preparing and serving dinner tonight. I had no one to leave him with, so they snuck him in here. I hope you don’t mind?”

Tristyn’s eyes crinkled as he hid his laughter. “Is he named after me by chance?”

Lynn blushed. “Perhaps, but don’t tell him that.”

Tristyn leaned down to pat George’s tail.

“No! Don’t do that,” Lynn reprimanded.

Tristyn’s hand froze and he turned a questioning look at Lynn.

“Poodolian’s at this age have extremely sensitive tails. If you touch his tail now it will excite him and I won’t be able to get him to calm down.”

“Learned that the hard way?” Tristyn asked, opting to pat George’s head instead.

“Yes. I did that once and George scolded me by tearing up my bedding. He ignored me for a week, but finally forgave me when I bought him his own bed.” Lynn reached into her leather bag and took out another banana, offering it to Tristyn.

Tristyn peeled the banana and held it out to the sleepy George. “You know who else needs forgiveness?”

Lynn knew what was coming, and so kept her anger in check and her mouth shut.

Tristyn folded his arms and sat back staring hard at her. “You know that Kyle would do anything for you, even lie to you if it was for your protection.”

“Who is he to decide what is good for me?”

Tristyn’s mouth dropped open. “You mean he never told you?”

“Told me what?” Lynn spat.

Tristyn leaned forward and took her hands in his own. “He must really believe in you then if he kept this from you.”

“Great, more lies,” Lynn pouted trying to pull her hands away but Tristyn held on.

“Lynn. Kyle is your sponsor.”

Lynn’s head spun. “No. You must be wrong. He couldn’t be. Why? Why did he not tell me?”

Tristyn laughed as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, which sent a shiver up her spine. “Because you’re stubborn and would have refused his help. That much he learned from your time on Destiny. You know he’s told me a lot about you and who he believes you are. Today in the arena your blood proved you are a von Astrium. You have to know Lynn that I trust Kyle like a brother. He knows me well and believes we will be happy. This is why he keeps secrets and why he did everything he could to make sure you and I got to spend this evening together. He would never do anything to compromise us being together.”

Lynn felt dizzy. Had she misjudged Kyle’s motives? She freed one hand and gulped down some wine. How could she have been so stubborn? Kyle has worked so hard to ensure that she becomes queen. From that first day they met he had always been there for her through everything. And what had she done? Scolded him instead of thanking him.

“I did not know,” was all she could say. The excuse sounded weak even to her ears.

Tristyn tucked a loose strand of hair behind Lynn’s ear. “There is much that you do not know. But there is one thing you can always trust in. Kyle is and always will be your champion, whether you want him to or not. He is that loyal. I should know, he has always been by my side.”

Lynn glanced at the door leading to the guard’s mess hall. Kyle had kept true to his words, and she had not seen him since they fought. She wished that Kyle would appear right away through those doors so that she could apologize. However much she wanted to rush to Kyle instead and tell him how sorry she was, she could not bring herself to be rude to Tristyn. So she waited.

Marvis appeared carrying two bowls of steaming hot toragga pie with ice cream.

“I don’t believe it. She made it?” Lynn grabbed a spoon and savored the desert.

“Just for you,” Marvis winked and headed back to the kitchen to help serve the others.

Tristyn picked up the spoon and tentatively took a bite. Lynn smiled as he started to shovel pie into his mouth. She did the same and for a few moments there was peace and quiet between them. Neither stopped until their bowls were empty.

Lynn sighed, softly tapping her stuffed tummy. “Now that was delicious.”

“Mmm hmm,” Tristyn agreed dabbing at the corner of his mouth with the napkin.

Lynn peeked at Tristyn from the corner of her eye. His wavy blond hair hung over his delightful green eyes that saw through everything. He sat upright observing everyone with a keen eye, and noticed all that was transpiring around him, while simultaneously presenting the illusion of being at ease.

“How long have you known Kyle?”

Tristyn neatly folded his napkin and placed it next to his empty bowl. He waved Marvis over and ordered seconds.

“No, thank you. I think I am satisfied for tonight. Tell Lunu it was delicious,” Lynn said when Marvis asked her if she wanted seconds.

“Great, you can bring her second desert for me,” Tristyn said before answering Lynn’s question. “I think Kyle was 4 when Lord Slovicks brought him to live at the palace. Dloakar and I were the only boys around his age, so we naturally became friends. Kyle would get me into so much trouble, but then he’d always get me out as well.”

Lynn could still recall what Lord Slovicks had looked like when he had visited them on Earth. She had never told anyone but Kyle about this connection. Kyle had the same piercing eyes as Slovicks that looked right through one’s defenses. Slovicks had always captivated her when he had visited, usually with a trinket or two for her to enjoy. Intrigued to learn more about Tristyn and Kyle’s relationship, Lynn asked “How so?”

“Let me think…” Tristyn’s green eyes sparkled as he recalled a memory; a sly grin grew on his handsome face. “There was that one time when Kyle dared me to ride Lord Brutus?”

“Lord Brutus?”

“Yes, Lord Brutus was Lord Brial’s sire and a gigantic horse lord, even taller than Brial. Brutus served my father and Kyle thought I would be too afraid to go through with the dare. So one night we snuck into the stables. I crept up to Brutus, climbed the half-sized wall that made up his stable and leapt onto his back. The poor horse was so startled that he reared up on his hind legs, threw me from his back and kicked Kyle in the head. My father scolded us but thought my broken arm and Kyle’s concussion was punishment enough. For weeks afterward, Kyle had to take my class notes and help feed and dress me. That was the day I learned that Kyle would stay by my side no matter the consequences of our actions.”

Lynn tried to image a young Kyle traipsing around Tristyn like a servant. It must be one of the reasons why Kyle never treated her friends any less than real people.

A trumpeter sounded and the room instantly grew silent.

Tristyn sighed. “What a shame. It does not look like I’ll get to enjoy a second helping of the pie.”

Lynn laughed at Tristyn’s pout. “I’ll have Lunu make an entire pie just for you.”

Tristyn brightened at the prospect of his own pie. Men were so predictable. “Come let’s finish this ceremony with a flare.” Tristyn offered Lynn a hand and led her to the center of the dance floor from where they would address the crowd. A small stage had been placed there, and they stepped onto it so that they could see everyone.

Tristyn bowed to the audience. “Family, friends and guests, it is with great delight that this evening we celebrate the Leyente festivals. I hope that all have had an enjoyable day, with lots of good food, dancing and friends. As we come to the close of the festivities a few items remain to be concluded. First off, let’s hear a cheer for the beauty who won the Leyente duels.”

The air filled with roars, boots stomping the floor and knives pounding the table. Lynn was taken aback; she had never seen these people this rowdy. It must be all the wine, Lynn concluded. Tristyn allowed the cheering to grow and then waved for silence. “Dear Lady Lynn as the winner of today’s contest, I am to grant you a request. What would you have of me?”

Lynn stood baffled. Tristyn had already given her a gift and that was freeing Kyle from adhering to any traditions he did not wish to keep. “There is naught that I require, my Lord. You have already given me all I desire and a wonderful evening.”

“None the less, what would you have of me?” Tristyn asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Lynn stared at Tristyn, her face scrunched up as she tried to figure out what he wanted. She supposed they had a script to follow, and that she had to ask something of him to please the crowd. Lynn could ask for so many things, but what would make Tristyn happy? “My Lord, it is a simple matter. I ask that you be granted access to the royal library so that you may visit with me.”

From behind her, Lynn heard Queen Elanor grown and King Eber sigh. She dared not glance at them, but a smile played on her lips. Instead she stared straight at Tristyn, locking him in her gaze so that he could not look towards his family for assistance.

Complying Tristyn said, “It will be as you have asked.”

The crowed was supposed to cheer at this point, but everyone sat dumbfounded; their eyes as big as saucers, their mouths agape like gawking fish. Lynn knew she had once again asked for the impossible, but she felt that Tristyn needed to see the library. That he would fall in love with all those antique books the way she had, and that eventually the silly law would be changed so that everyone could enjoy it.

“Now, we shall reward your champion who fought for you so valiantly today. Lord Kyle von Talion, come forward!” Tristyn bellowed.

The crowd awoke from their stupor and cheered as Kyle’s name was mentioned. Kyle had not appeared for the banquet. As promised, he was keeping away from Lynn and thus had supped with the guard’s instead. When Kyle did not appear in the door to the guard’s mess hall, the crowd looked at one another confused.

Jael ran up to them, “A moment, your Highness. I will go see what is keeping Lord Kyle.”

Tristyn nodded and Jael sprinted for the door. Lynn worried that Kyle had kept his promise to never see her again, and hoped that Tristyn was right about Kyle’s temper needing to cool down. The crowd stared alternatively between her, Tristyn and the door where Kyle was supposed to emerge. Lynn grew impatient waiting, and kept shifting her wait from one foot to the other. What was taking so long?

The minute Jael appeared, Lynn knew something was terribly wrong. Jael carried Ferial, Kyle’s sword as he jogged up to them, out of breath. “Lord Kyle is missing. I’ve spoken to the guards. They believe he’s been abducted. They found his sword unsheathed and lying in the corridor leading from the guard’s mess hall to here.”

Chaos broke out as Tristyn took Ferial and bellowed his orders, and together with 20 men started a search party. Lynn tightened her firsts at the thought of Kyle being kidnapped. Who would do such a thing? Lynn made to follow Tristyn to go see what she could do to help with the search, but Jael stepped in front of her.

“I would leave it to them to find Lord Kyle, my Lady. They are much more familiar with the palace, and you, well… seem to get lost rather frequently.”

“But, I have to find Kyle. I need to apologize for the way I acted early.”

“Be that as it may, you should return to your quarters as all the other sensible beauties have already done. I’m sure his Highness will find Lord Kyle, and send word to you.”

“I suppose your right. But I don’t like this one bit,” Lynn admitted as she reluctantly left to go gather up George and head for the sanctity of her own apartments.

Chapter 12

By the next morning things still had not settled down. Doors slammed as Lynn hurried past everyone as they showered her with their glares, as if the previous night’s events had been her fault. Little did they know that she knew nothing more than they did about what was going on, but unlike them, she was determined to find out what had happened to Kyle.

Lynn entered the Beauty Gala meeting room and found the others already seated. They had been instructed to assemble for their 10 minute interviews with Tristyn. Afterwards he would announce who he’d spend the first week with. This ritual would repeat once a week until only 2 beauties were left.

Brigieta waved her hand and ordered her slave to bring her something to drink. The slave girls dress was torn and red welts shone through the tares. Lynn recognized it as the girl who had accidently spilled wine on Voltaire at the banquet. Hot anger boiled in Lynn, but she bit her tongue for there was nothing she could do to berate Brigieta on her poor treatment of human life. The nanubits had already closed up the open sores from where the whip must have torn her flesh apart. No one deserved to be treated the way Brigieta treated the skittish girl.

Lynn waved to Marvis, who promptly came over. “What is that girl’s name?” Lynn whispered, nodding her head at Brigieta’s slave.

“I believe it is Ulla,” Marvis replied softly.

Lynn hated what Brigieta had done, but what irritated her more was that no one else even seemed to mind. “Please give Ulla some money, Marvis. Enough for a new dress and several warm meals. Don’t tell her it’s from me and don’t let Brigieta find out. She will not be pleased to find me meddling with her slaves.”

“I will be discrete. It will be done as you have asked.”

Lynn giggled. “Did Jael teach you to say that?”

Marvis looked shocked and then stifled a laugh as he nodded. The door to the beauty room crashed open and a servant girl ran up to Queen Elanor.

“Have you found him?” Queen Elanor demanded.

“Yes, your Majesty. I gave him your message but he refused to come.”

“Why?”

“He asked me to inform you that more important matters need his attention.”

“What can be more important than choosing a wife?” Queen Elanor rose and stomped towards the door. “Beauties you are dismissed until further notice,” she called from beyond the door.

Lynn cringed at the thought of the argument about to take place between Queen Elanor and Tristyn. Lynn followed the other beauties out of the room and made her way back to her apartment.

---

Two days passed and the mood in the palace was somber and secretive. A letter arrived from Queen Elanor explaining that the Beauty Gala had temporarily been placed on hold. Everything would commence in five days. Also, Tristyn had decided to skip the interview process and would visit with each beauty in their order, starting with Brigieta, number 1 and ending with Lynn, number 10.

Lynn crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. That meant it would be weeks before she would have the chance to speak to Tristyn. She simply could not wait that long to learn what had happened to Kyle. With Williamson off hunting assassins in order to become Delmi von Astrium, Lunu helping at the orphanage, and Jael running her businesses in the city, it left Marvis to help her find Tristyn.

“Marvis, do you have any idea where Tristyn may be?”

Marvis looked up from his workbench with a meuritch in hand. “If I had to guess I would say he is stationed in the von Talion suite, based on the number of people coming in and out of there.”

“Let’s go then,” Lynn said, stomping over to the door. When Marvis did not follow, she stopped and placed her hands on her hips. “If you aren’t yet rooted like a tree to that spot, then tell me why you hesitate?”

Marvis turned the meuritch off and placed it in his pocket. “It is not proper to speak to royalty without an invitation.”

“Considering the circumstances, I am willing to chance looking like a fool. Kyle may be in danger and if I caused it in any way, I will be responsible for getting him out of the situation he is in. Now, lead the way or I’ll just go by myself.”

“You’ll just get lost,” Marvis mumbled underneath his breath.

Lynn pretended not to hear him, but waited arms crossed until he sighed and began putting his experiment away before he headed for the door.

Twice they had to circle back to keep from running into guards. Finally, they reached the door to Kyle’s apartment. Lynn took a deep breath and knocked. No one answered. So, she knocked a little louder. Still no one opened the door. Testing the door handle, she turned it and gave the door a nudge.

Inside chaos ruled. Papers were strewn all over the place. The wall with the fireplace was now covered by images streaming from a wall of computer monitors. Some showed images from surveillance camera’s while others had news channels with aliens Lynn did not recognize. Men barked orders at subordinates manning the monitors. For a palace that claimed to be tech free, this room was conspicuously an exception to the rule.

Lynn considered retreating and was on the point of closing the door when Tristyn spotted her. “Lynn come in and shut the door,” Tristyn quickly spoke. He stood at the center of the chaos with arms crossed and feet spread apart.

Lynn called for Marvis to join her and close the door behind them. Spotting an open chair against the wall, Lynn took a seat and waited.

“Blasted Hural , don’t tell me that.”

“I’m sorry Captain, but we’re unable to reach Destiny. The receiver cannot handle the large amount of data stream needed to reach them.”

“Well do something about it.”

“Without the right equipment it will take weeks to fix. Even if we could fix it, the signal to Destiny is being jammed and we don’t know the decoding frequency or encryption.”

“That is not good enough!” Tristyn slammed his fist on the table. The impact made the age-old table cringe and protest at the beating.

In the background Lynn heard a repetitive pattern beeping over white noise.

“Fine. Turn that infernal noise off,” Tristyn barked. “It’s over. Pack it all up.” Tristyn’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Wait!” Marvis shouted.

Everyone stopped and stared at Marvis.

Tristyn swung toward them, “What –”

“Shh!” Marvis ordered. Everyone obeyed, even Tristyn.

Lynn stared at Marvis, surprised that everyone was doing as he bid. Marvis stood with his eyes closed, right ear cocked to the beeping noise and a deep look of concentration on his face.

Marvis’ eyes popped open and he grinned. “Your Highness, I can solve this problem for you in 10 minutes, but you must promise to talk with Lady Lynn when I am finished.”

Tristyn stared from Marvis to Lynn and back to Marvis. “You can really solve this in 10 minutes?”

“Yes, your Highness.”

“If that is the case then not only will I talk with Lady Lynn, but I will beg her to allow you to help me in the current predicament.”

“Consider it as good as done.” Marvis dashed over to one of the consoles. He took out his meuritch and dove into the cables.

Hural shrieked, “What are you doing? It took me hours to do this wiring.”

“Yes, well, you did it all wrong,” Marvis admitted while starting to pull cables out, “I don’t have the time at present to explain myself and teach you how to do it proper.”

Hural turned purple in the face. “Of all the confounded idiotic –”

Tristyn placed a hand on Hural’s shoulder, “Let him be. He can’t make things worse than they already are.”

Hural grumbled, crossed his arms and watched Marvis like a hawk. Five minutes later Marvis emerged from the nest of cables. He replaced his meuritch in his pocket and flipped a switch. The white noise disappeared, leaving only a clean signal.

“Well I be.” Hural took the seat next to Marvis at the control panel. “But how?”

Marvis cracked his knuckles. “I’ll explain later. First I have a code to crack.” His hands flew over the controls. By the look on his face, Lynn was sure that Marvis was having a grand time. Ten minutes from when he had promised to be done, Marvis leaned back in his chair. “Your Highness, please enter your security code.”

“Your Highness, this is ludicrous,” Hural protested. “I’ve watched him and there is no way this will work. This slave is only after your security code.”

Marvis paid the accusation no mind and continued to stare at Tristyn. The console next to Tristyn chimed. Without hesitation, Tristyn entered the requested information. Moments later an image of Destiny’s bridge filled the wall monitors.

“How did you… Never mind, I don’t think I want to know,” Tristyn said, turning his attention to Destiny. “Dloakar, I do not have a lot of time. Kyle has been abducted.”

“How were you able to break through my jamming signal and what about Kyle?” Dloakar stood from the captain’s chair. “I worked hard on getting that jamming frequency in place.”

Tristyn raised an eyebrow and nodded at Marvis who shrugged. “You have Pibbel’s… friend here to thank for it. But that’s beside the point. Have you heard anything from Kyle?”

Dloakar shook his head. “I have not spoken to him since the end of the Leyente duels, when Williamson and I were ordered by King Eber to leave immediately for Drexos to go interrogate the manufacturer of the Castosius.”

“Who’s leading the landing party and with what crew? You had naught but auxiliary staff on Destiny when you departed.”

Dloakar glanced at Lynn and said the name she dreaded to hear. “Williamson is leading the landing party. As for a crew? Well, he had to get creative.”

“How is Williamson?” Lynn asked, stepping up next to Tristyn.

“As well as can be expected. He’s learning that making decisions as a leader is not all that glorious.”

“Someone else is also learning that lesson,” Peter quipped, nodding his head at Dloakar.

Dloakar flicked Peter’s ear playfully. “Watch where you’re going, flyboy. Just cause you’re in love with my sister does not give you liberty to mouth off.” Both of them turned to Lynn as if they’d just stuck their hand in the cookie jar and got caught. She wondered why they stared at her with worried looks plastered on their faces. True she had not known that Dloakar had a sister, but so what? She had always assumed he had a family stashed away somewhere.

Dloakar cleared his throat, “Captain, what are your orders? Should we return to Saldiora or continue to Drexos?”

Tristyn tapped his lips with an index finger, thinking hard. Lynn wanted to beg him to bring Williamson back. She did not like it that he was going into such a dangerous, unknown situation.

Tristyn dropped his arms to his side once the decision was made. “You must continue on to Drexos. They may have essential information on who might be behind all this. Right now that is the only solid lead we have.”

“As you command, Captain.”

“Bring them home safely. Oh, and do try to get along you two.”

Dloakar patted Peter’s shoulder. “Aye Captain, we will. Now will you please stop messing with my jamming signal? We don’t want to be found.”

Tristyn nodded and with a flip of a switch Marvis terminated the transmission.

“Well done, Marvis. This way if you please, Lady Lynn.”

Tristyn led her into the adjoining study. It was large and spacious, with a desk at one end in front of large windows, and a sitting area by a fire. She took a seat next to Tristyn on the couch. “Why did you call me Pibbel in there?”

“For your safety we’ve given you the code name Pibbel. This is to protect your identity from anyone who wishes to cause you harm.”

“Oh, and here I thought it was meant to embarrass me.”

“No never to embarrass, but maybe to tease. It was Kyle’s idea by the way. So blame him.”

Lynn could believe that. Kyle had a way of finding inventive ways to tease her. Now that her anger has subsided, she missed him and hoped he was all right. “Have you learned anything about what has happened to him?”

“Workers in the shuttle hanger reported that about the same hour of Kyle’s disappearance, men were seen carrying a large chest onto Lord Voltaire’s shuttle. The chest was supposedly big enough to fit a grown man. All Voltaire’s paperwork checked out, so they let him go.”

“So Voltaire’s innocent?”

“I doubt it. The papers listed his destination as Nuelda, but he has not been seen there yet. The trip would not have taken him this long. Although I have no evidence, I believe Voltaire kidnapped Kyle and is delivering him to someone before heading to Nuelda.”

“Who and what would anyone want with Kyle?”

Tristyn’s eyes darted all over the room, a clear sign that he was about to lie. Lynn crossed her arms. “The truth now. No more lying to me. The secrets have to stop, from both of you.”

Tristyn stared at her, looking astonished that she could read him so well. “I suppose you are right, but you will not like what you are about to hear. Promise me you will not scold me until I’ve told you all of it.”

“I will make no such promise.”

“Lady Lynn, please hear me out. We only had your safety in mind.”

“You know that excuse is losing its power every time you use it.”

“I know, but it is the truth.”

“Oh all right. Get on with it.”

Tristyn drummed his fingers on his knee. Then he leaned forward, clasped his hands together and rested his elbow on his knees. “I have reason to believe that the Juntus have taken Kyle.”

“Why?”

“Because Kyle was carrying your necklace.”

Lynn’s mind raced as she tried to absorb Tristyn’s blunt words. It suddenly all made sense. All the times Kyle reached to check his pocket, he must have been checking to make sure he still had the necklace. Her world spun as she realized her necklace had been so close to her, that he had found it, and now it was lost with Kyle. Tristyn took her hands, drawing her back to reality. He had been talking and she had not been paying attention to his explanation. “Stop. Please start again. How did Kyle find my necklace?”

Tristyn rubbed the back of Lynn’s hand with his thumb. His touch sent goosebumps up her arm. Here was a man courting her and all they ever seemed to talk about was his best friend. She would have to remedy that. Right now she wanted answers.

“Perhaps it will make more sense if I told you what I believed happened to your necklace. You see it is no ordinary piece of jewelry. It has secrets that none of us understand. The necklace transmitted a signal to Destiny with the words Piapish Mishtum. Kyle convinced me to abandon a battle at Bushwatch that we were heading into so that we could track the signal. Well it led him straight to you, except at that time we had no idea it was your necklace giving off such a powerful signal.

The Juntus had a spy on Destiny, as you well know by now. Dr. Phyldoa stole your necklace and a blood sample because the Juntus held his family captive. Once Destiny had returned to Saldiora, the Juntus took Dr. Phyldoa and your necklace to Vahvun. Dr. Phyldoa told us that there they ran extensive tests on the necklace but were not successful at revealing its secrets. So they decided to send it back to Saldiora, hoping that mere proximity to you would trigger its powers. The night we rescued Dr. Phyldoa and his family from the Juntus, we found the necklace on Naima von Juntu, the middle brother of the three Juntu brothers, after he had been killed. Kyle immediately recognized it from the description you had given him, but we decided to first run our own tests, to make sure it was safe to give back to you. Kyle had intended to present it to you at the Leyente banquet. I believe Kyle and the necklace was taken by Voltaire because the Juntus desperately want control over the necklace.”

“What is so special about the necklace?”

“We don’t know. We ran hundreds of tests. Somehow the Juntus learned that Kyle had it and decided to take it back.”

“Why not steal it? Why take Kyle as well.”

“Probably to see if we learned any more than what they already know.”

“I can’t believe he kept this from me. If only he had given me the necklace sooner, then he would not have been taken.”

“Perhaps, but we both knew that giving it to you would put your life in danger. In truth, I urged him to give it back to you sooner, but he insisted that your security was more important than a necklace, and he was right.”

Lynn sat back, trying to absorb all of this. She remembered standing devastated and suddenly feeling terribly alone in the middle of the crowd when they learned Kyle had been kidnapped. She thought back on the wonderful time she had with Tristyn, how caring he was. Then something sparked in her memory. “The night of the Leyente festival, do you remember the incidence with Ulla accidently pouring wine all over Voltaire?”

“The slave girl? Yes. It was right before Voltaire left the banquet, with an excellent reason to be excused. It would have given him ample opportunity to ambush Kyle on his way to the banquet hall.”

Lynn scrunched up her brow trying to recall all of the details. Being careful in how she formed her words, she ventured a guess. “What if Brigieta was involved? She could easily have tripped Ulla, or even shoved the girl, or they could have planned it in advance.”

Tristyn crossed his arms. “We have no proof, no evidence and no motive for Brigieta to be involved. But…” Tristyn shrugged, “I feel she is hiding something from me.”

Realization dawned on Lynn. “That’s why you decided to visit with the beauties in order of arrival.”

Tristyn nodded, “It would give me a chance to observe Brigieta without making it seem that I have any favorites. There is one problem though.”

“What?”

“I fear that if Brigieta is in any way involved with the Juntus, then if I dismiss her from the Beauty Gala there is a good chance that Kyle’s life will be in even greater danger.”

“I see.” Lynn felt sorry for Tristyn who had so many difficult decisions to make.

“It means I will have to keep Brigieta around, at least until we’ve found Kyle and rescued him.” Tristyn sighed. “I will have to leave the rescue up to others I suppose, since I’m not allowed to leave the planet till after the closing ceremony of the Beauty Gala.”

Lynn wanted to comfort Tristyn but still felt awkward around him. “I’m sure Kyle will be all right. Dloakar and Williamson will find the evidence we need and then they will rescue Kyle.”

Tristyn scratched his stubbly, unshaven chin. “That reminds me, can I borrow Marvis until this is all over?”

Lynn cocked an eyebrow, “As a slave?”

“Of course, that is what he is.”

Lynn placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “No.”

“Why not? I clearly need him,” Tristyn whined.

“He is my friend and I will not pass him around like an object. However, if you promise to employ him and pay him for his work then I will release him.”

Tristyn scratched his chin some more. “You drive a hard bargain. Now I must go prepare to spend time with Brigieta. I apologize that it could not be with you.”

Lynn blushed as Tristyn rose and escorted her back to the living room. Marvis stood with his head inches from Hural’s, going over some information running across a screen.

Lynn smiled as she turned to leave. “Oh and one more thing Tristyn…”

“Yes?”

Lynn nodded to Marvis. “You have to tell him.” Lynn bowed and hurried from the room, hoping she could find her way back to her apartment.

Lynn could hear Tristyn groan down the hallway.

Chapter 13

Voltaire slugged Kyle in the stomach as if he was a punching bag. Kyle spat out blood onto the deck floor. Fortunately, the nanubits had not yet worn out. Otherwise Kyle would probably have been dead already. Kyle pulled at the wrist constraints that were chained to the ceiling of the transport carrier. He drew in a ragged breath and muttered, “I don’t know anything more.” Voltaire punched Kyle on the left kneecap, sending hot pain coursing through his leg.

“Liar,” Voltaire grunted, “You had the necklace for months. You must have learned something.”

“Nothing,” Kyle uttered through clenched teeth, “I could never get it to activate.”

Voltaire struck the other kneecap. Kyle bit his tongue, refusing to give Voltaire the pleasure of screeching in pain. Sweat dripped from Kyle’s body onto the cold floor.

Voltaire kicked Kyle a few times in the ribs before stepping back, panting heavily. “I would kill you now and have it done with. Fortunately for you, the Juntus want you alive and they are willing to pay me handsomely for delivering you to them.” Voltaire turned to the guard and ordered, “Untie him and give him something to eat. Come tomorrow he will wish that I had killed him instead.”

Kyle’s legs crumbled underneath his own weight as the guard lowered him. Too tired to lift even an arm, Kyle lay in a heap. Two guards grabbed him by the feet and shoulders and dragged him onto a hard metal bench. Some dry bread and water was left next to his head. As the cell door clanged shut, Kyle rolled onto his back.

What he regretted most was having his last words to Lynn spoken in anger. Their fight had been epic and it had been the first time her wrath had been fully focused on him. Keeping those secrets from her had been straining on his mind for months. Regardless, he would never reveal any of her secrets to the Juntus or to anyone else for that matter. Perhaps some time apart would do them both good. Although, this was not what he had had in mind.

He loved the dimple in her cheek every time she smiled, and the way she bit her lower lip when she was upset or trying to hide something from him. Her laugh always tinkled like silver goblets in his ears, and her ease of talking with any one regardless of who they were was what he admired most. He had to admit he was growing too fond of her.

No matter though, he would not be the one to keep her from Tristyn, to keep her from regaining her heritage and being queen. The only way to keep his family’s honor was to allow her and Tristyn to fall in love, as he was sure they would. In truth he was happy for them. They both deserved happiness and were well suited for one another. Although, he would have to make it up to both of them. He had lost the necklace.

Jael had come to fetch him at the guard’s mess hall, and on the way to the banquet Voltaire had knocked Kyle unconscious. He could still feel the bruise on his head. Sometime during the struggle, he had lost his sword, Ferial. He hoped Jael had gotten away safely and had told Tristyn or Lynn what had happened. Perhaps even now they were on their way to rescue him.

Kyle grunted as he sat up, reaching for the stale bread. He had to eat something to keep the nanubits fueled for as long as they could go. The instant the water hit his tongue he knew it was laced with dreampuff powder. Nonetheless, he drank it all and then curling up on the cold bench, he welcomed the drug induced sleep.

---

The moonlight reflected off the silver leaves of the silver-branched trees on the edge of Greenstin Forest. Lile von Talion leered like a giant over Kyle. Lile was laden down with a huge backpack, stuffed full of camping gear, rations for a week, and armor.

Lile bent down on one knee and gave the 5-year-old Kyle a hug. “You be a big boy now and listen to your grandfather. I promise I will only be gone as long as needed and not a minute more.”

“But I want to come with you. I can help,” Young Kyle protested as Lile rose and headed for the bridge that spanned the valley that separated the Greenstin Forest from the City of Asciendum. Kyle took a tentative step forward wanting to follow his father, but his grandfather Slovicks rested a hand firmly on his shoulder. “Let him be Kyle. This is his duty, and he must honor our family promise.”

“What promise is that?” Kyle asked.

“To do all we can to prepare the way for the royal heir to return,” Slovicks said as he turned away and headed to where the horses stood waiting to take them back to the palace.

That was the last time he had seen his dad. Some days he blamed their family’s burden for causing his dad to abandon him, but then if Lynn were the heir, he would have gone into that forest if it meant she would be queen. The sad dream of his father’s abandonment faded as Kyle sank deeper into sleep.

Kyle woke abruptly as someone kicked him in the stomach.

“Wake up!” Voltaire shouted in Kyle’s face before kicking him again.

Kyle blocked the next kick and sat up. “I’m awake. Enough!” Kyle growled as he rose to his feet and followed Voltaire out of the cell. His head felt heavy from the dreampuff. Had a day passed, a week, or only hours? Kyle could not tell how long he had slept. The nanubits had healed the worst of his beating, so it must have been at least several hours. He would need another injection if he hoped to recover fully. The previous dose had run its course leaving him starving. His stomach growled, and he suppressed the hunger by focusing his anger on the brute that stood before him.

Voltaire stopped at the air lock and waited for a guard to open it.

“Where are we?” Kyle asked.

“You have arrived at your grave. Me… I’m merely passing by,” Voltaire said looking over his shoulder back at Kyle. The hatch opened and Voltaire waved Kyle through. “Welcome to Vahvun.”

At the end of the airlock stood armed guards waiting on them. As Kyle stepped through, he was grabbed by the arms and escorted to the nearest airlift. This was his first time on Vahvun and found it curious that the space station’s floor seemed to spiral upwards. The airlift door opened and people spilled out. Kyle considered calling out for help, but doubted anyone would help him. Everyone avoided looking at him and scurried away into the shadows. The guards shoved Kyle into the now empty airlift. Voltaire followed with a smug smile plastered on his face. No one spoke a word as they rode up.

When the airlift doors opened they were greeted with lush carpets, perfumed air and soft music. The rotunda had a glass floor that looked down into the belly of the station. At the center of the rotunda stood a pedestal with a lobble decorated vase perched on top. Could that be one of the original ten family heirlooms, Kyle wondered as he was shoved forward. If so, how had the Juntus gotten their grimy hands on one, unless… this was actually the von Astrium vase?

“Come on,” the guard ordered, pushing Kyle towards one of the doors. The conference room they entered had a triangular table at its center.

“Sit!” ordered the guard as he shoved Kyle into a chair. “Lord von Juntu will be here shortly,” the guard bowed to Voltaire and left.

Voltaire took a chair to Kyle’s right along another side of the triangular table. He crossed his long brawny legs and twirled his red moustache as they waited.

The door on the far end of the room swooshed open. Isa von Juntu entered, his glasses teetered on the tip of his pointy nose.

Voltaire rose swiftly and bowed. “Lord von Juntu, I present to you Lord Kyle von Talion, my prisoner.”

Isa raised his eyebrows at the last part but said not a word.

Voltaire fumbled at his pant pockets and pulled out the necklace. “Also, Lady Brigieta thought you would want this back.”

What did Brigieta have to do with all of this, and what did she know about the necklace, Kyle wondered. As far as he knew she was a von Neashop and he could not imagine that she would be tangled up with these foul men.

Isa’s eyes twitched and flicked to Kyle when Brigieta’s name was mentioned. “You are too kind to present me with these…” Isa tapped his lips searching for the correct word “… gifts. The necklace is of course splendid but I am not so sure what to do with the other.”

Voltaire reached for his weapon. “I could take care of him if you like. It’s just Lady Brigieta thought he may be worth something. I tried beating out what information he had about the necklace, but he knew nothing.”

Kyle sat quietly observing the exchange, and noticed that every time Brigieta was mentioned, Isa cringed and his eyebrows drew together in anger. Then it dawned on Kyle. He was livid at not realizing sooner that Brigieta was involved with the Juntus. The question was how deep was she in with them, and why would she want to sell him out? Lynn had tried to warn him countless times about Brigieta, but he had owned it up to a jealous rivalry between them. How could he have been so blind? Regardless of the wave of emotions sweeping through him, Kyle kept his face serene and still.

Isa put his hands together and formed a steeple with his index fingers. “You have my thanks, Lord Voltaire. Is there anything you require of me?”

“No, my Lord.”

Isa waived him off. “Very well then. You may leave us and find refreshment in the guest quarters.”

Voltaire bowed. “Thank you. We will depart tomorrow for Nuelda. Lady Brigieta has requested me to check in on the paint factory on her behalf.”

“You mean the weapons factory, don’t you?” Isa said with a smirk.

Voltaire stammered, “You knew?”

“I suppose she does not want me to tell Pel about this. Tell her to be careful, that is a dangerous industry. However, she is not to worry… I won’t say a word.”

Voltaire gulped back a response before he bowed and left without as much as a glance at Kyle.

Isa pressed a button on his desk and a fodium slid out from a hidden panel behind him. As he rose and walked over to it, he asked “What would you have to drink?”

Kyle shifted uneasily in his chair, not sure why Isa was being kind. “Coffee with cream and two sugars.” Both the coffee and sugar would help him stay on his guard. Hopefully it would help usher out the final remnants of the dreampuff still coursing through his sleepy body.

Isa placed the coffee before Kyle, then leaned back comfortably onto the table, cupping hot cider in his hands. “I hope you like the coffee. It’s part of my private blend.”

Kyle picked up the cup and sipped. The coffee had a bitter taste to it, but the sugar helped. “I like it, dark roast is a favorite of mine.”

“Good,” Isa said walking back to his seat. “It seems that my niece is more cunning than I give her credit.”

“Your niece?” Kyle asked confused.

“Oh right, you nor anyone else in that pathetic palace knows the truth.” Isa grinned wickedly, “Brigieta is my niece.”

“That’s impossible. Lord Lauri von Neashop presented her to the court as his granddaughter.”

“Yes, indeed she is. Her mother, Opal, was born the fifth daughter of the von Neashop family line, which meant she would never see a penny from her family’s fortune and thus set out to make her own riches. She did so by marrying my brother, Pel, who I believe you’ve met. Together, they produced the perfect spy, my niece, Brigieta. When she wins, the Juntus will rule all.”

Kyle struggled to keep his hands from quivering as the rage boiled up inside him. The vixen had tricked him. He had believed her lies. And now he could do nothing about it. If only he had a weapon, he’d dispose of Isa and find a way off this station. But he knew that if he tried anything at the moment, that they would detain him in seconds. Perhaps he could get further by seeing where all of this may lead. Kyle sighed inwardly. He would never hear the end of this from Lynn. No doubt she would give him grief for not listening to her warnings. Now that he knew the truth, it all started to make sense. “Then it has been Brigieta who has orchestrated all of these breaches of security at the Beauty Gala,” Kyle said thinking aloud, not really intending it to be a question.

Isa pushed his teetering glasses up further onto his nose, “Indeed. Her objective is to become queen at all cost and at any one’s expense. She will do what has to be done in order to claim the throne for the Juntus.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Ah, smart man. Yes, why indeed. Information usually comes with a price. Therefore, let’s you and me make a deal before continuing. I will grant you your life as well as some information about the necklace, if you will do the same for me.”

Kyle considered the offer. It wasn’t freedom, but he had nowhere to run or a manner in which to get away. If he refused Isa, he had no doubt that his life would end right here. Isa seemed calm and collective on the surface, but Kyle knew him to be a master manipulator and strategist with a mean streak. Nothing he did was without reason. “You have a deal, but on one condition. You go first.”

Isa chuckled. “You are in no position to set conditions. I think you should tell me all you’ve learned about the necklace. In that manner I will know what information to tell you and what not.”

This was going in circles. Kyle considered lying, but then decided not to since Isa probably knew more about the necklace than he did. “You want to know what I know?”

Isa nodded.

“Nothing. All right? I know absolutely nothing.”

“Come, come, Lord Kyle. You can’t expect me to believe that. Just tell me what you do know, no matter how inconsequential you think it is.”

“The necklace has a locket, on one side is a lobble flower and on the other the words inscribed, which read Piapish Mishtum. Lynn received the necklace from her grandmother days before I found her. We were out in the Bushwatch preparing for an assault on your forces when a signal came across our monitors with the words Piapish Mishtum. My grandfather had often told me that on the day that it would matter the most that I was to ‘seize life’ and follow it, and that it would lead me to the royal heir. I never understood what he meant until I saw Lynn for the first time. She is the image of Lady Gabriella, who has disappeared. When Lynn arrived on Destiny, the necklace was stolen by Dr. Phyldoa. I did not see it again, until later when I took it from your brother‘s cold dead fingers. We ran hundreds of tests on it, but could never get the necklace to activate. Thus it lay dormant in my pocket like any other regular locket until Voltaire assaulted me.”

“That is rather curious. It confirms one of the things I have suspected all along.”

“That is?”

“The necklace can only be activated by the direct descendant of the royal line. Although I’m such a person, I’m not the first in line. I wonder if we killed Lady Lynn whether it would pass to me?”

Kyle slammed his cup onto the table. “You will have to kill me first.”

Isa sighed, “Alas, I doubt it would work though, since Gabriella is probably still alive.”

Kyle sank back in his chair, upset with himself for losing control and giving Isa even the slightest satisfaction that this interrogation was working. He needed to gain control of his emotions, or he would make things even more dangerous for Lynn. Her safety came first. He knew he had to stop being so hot tempered, for Lynn’s sake.

Isa picked up the necklace that Voltaire had left. “Come with me, there is something I want to show you.”

Isa led Kyle back to the rotunda with the pedestal and the vase. “You may recognize this vase.”

Kyle stared at the familiar vase that had painted blue lobble flowers all over it. “Where did you get it?”

“This is the von Astrium vase. I cannot tell you how it came to be in my possession, but it’s safe to say it is the real thing.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because of this.” Isa picked up the vase and turned it over. At the base of the vase there was an indentation. Isa placed the locket there and it fit snuggly as if the two pieces were meant to go together.

“Is something supposed to happen?”

“I’ve spent hours reading through all the records and histories we have on these items. I’ve learned that another piece is still missing to make it work. I have yet to find it but I have a few leads yet to follow. Also, only the royal heir can make it work, once again the historical records do not say how this is done. The one thing that my research has made abundantly clear is that when the instruments work, that they lead to a source of unthinkable power. I believe it is a weapon that can destroy and terraform planets.” Isa placed the vase with the necklace hidden underneath it, back on the pedestal. “Now that I’ve taken care of that, what am I to do with you?”

Although Isa had granted Kyle his life, he had not specified for how long. After everything that Isa had just revealed, Kyle had a bad feeling about what was to come. “Give me a ship and let me go.” Kyle had to at least appear as if he was trying to get away, although he knew it was futile.

Isa laughed. “I suppose I could do that, but what would be the fun in that? No, I think it is time that you learned your place.” Isa snapped his fingers and the guards appeared.

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Take Kyle here to the pits. He is to slave there for as long as he is able to survive the harsh conditions. I have promised him his life, but if he should die from hard work, then what is that to me.”

Kyle wanted to strangle Isa, but before Kyle could make his move, the guards unholstered their weapons and waved Kyle towards the airlift. As they descended into the dark pits, the noise of the power generators grew louder and the smell grew rank. When the doors opened, Kyle gagged on the fumes from dead corpses, rat droppings, oil, and fire. Men in ragged clothes and boney bodies pushed wheel barrels loaded heavy with minerals to the inferno. Kyle would be surprised if he lived out the week.

Chapter 14

“I heard he killed a man with his bare hands.”

“I heard he is ten feet tall and can turn you to ice just by looking at you.”

“Nah, those are all stories. Everyone knows that he is only two feet tall, likes to chew ice and has never killed anyone.”

“Oh please, you are all absurd. He used to be a slave in the palace and now is on a mission for King Eber.”

The four crewmembers continued to argue back and forth. Williamson stood hidden behind a shipping container listening to the banter going on, and had no idea who was saying what. He smirked at the wild rumors that had been circulating.

“Ahem.” Dloakar cleared his throat.

Williamson peeked out from behind the container and saw his four future warriors line up in a straight line. They had left Saldiora so quickly that only a hand full of containers stood in the empty hanger, containing the barest of supplies. Everyone was enjoying rations for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This led to a crew that was always on edge and argumentative. However, they would all have to live with it for the next 3 months or so while they were gone. Williamson had been through far worse, gone days without eating, but not since having entered the palace. What he would not give for a fat, juicy steak.

“You have all been assembled here for your mission,” Dloakar started off with his hands grasped behind his back. “You will escort Williamson to the planet Drexos and retrieve the information about the assassination attempt on Lady Lynn.”

Williamson’s gut clenched as he saw the shock register on the team’s faces.

Dloakar ignored the reactions and continued on. “As you know we left Saldiora in a bit of a hurry without a full crew complement. You have been chosen for this mission because frankly your job is not vital or essential to the function of this ship. Now be that as it may, I am confident that your previous training at the academy will serve you well. You will succeed in your mission or you will deal with me. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” came the crisp unison response.

Dloakar gave the signal and Williamson stepped out from behind the container. “This here is Williamson and he will be your commanding officer. You will obey him as if he was me. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” the responses echoed off the walls.

“Now. I have other matters to attend. Williamson, good luck,” and with that Dloakar hurried off leaving Williamson to face his team.

“I am Williamson. I have served Lady Lynn von Astrium for the past 6 months, as she is competing in the Beauty Gala to marry Prince Tristyn and become our next queen. On our way to the arena for the Leyente duels, an assassin fired poisoned arrows at Lady Lynn. I was successful in pulling her from her horse a split second before the arrows would have ripped through her. An innocent man died instantly by the poisoned arrow that had missed its mark. Shortly afterwards, I was dismissed as her servant to undergo the ordeal of Delmi von Astrium. I intend to find the assassin and bring him to justice so that I may take my rightful place as Lady Lynn’s protector.” Williamson stopped to let the words sink in as he observed each of them. To their credit, they stood staring straight ahead while masking all emotions. “You are going to help me do this.” This statement elicited a few raised eyebrows that were quickly wiped away. “We have 6 weeks to train and prepare for this mission. We were able to salvage one of the arrows and Captain Dloakar has analyzed the poison and identified it to be Castosius, made from the caddyweed plant. There is a single manufacturer of caddyweed on Drexos. Our mission is to find the owner and learn what information we can.” There, Williamson thought, now they knew about as much as he did about what they were supposed to do. “Now that you know who I am and what my purpose is, I would like you to introduce yourself, tell me what you are doing on Destiny, and tell me one thing that you think you are gifted with.”

A scrawny, red head, freckled face man took a step forward and bowed to Williamson. “I am Vior. I am a cleaner. My job involves cleaning the inside of ships whenever they are in port. My gift, well I guess that would be easier to show you.” Vior proceeded to bend his left arm in inhuman ways. After that, he balled himself into a tiny mound so that it was nearly impossible to recognize him as a two-legged being. “I have been double jointed since birth,” Vior continued while unraveling his body and standing up. “I have practiced to be a contortionist since I was old enough to understand that I was different. It helps me in my job to get into and out of tight spaces to clean. Well I have completed all the cleaning and am just grateful that Captain Dloakar has given me something to do.” Vior returned to his position in line. Williamson nodded to the next person.

“I am Rael and a scientist,” the short blue haired athletic female said in a melodious voice as she stepped forward. “My job involves downloading all the data collected by a ship while it is away from Saldiora. I analyze the data and try to learn interesting things. I would have been able to do that now, however none of my tools made it on board prior to our departure. So I too have nothing better to do than help you. My gift is knowledge.” Rael saluted and returned to her position.

The tail of the green poodolian twitched nervously as he stepped forward. “I am Stix and a mechanic. All available parts have been used up and there are 10 other mechanics on board to take care of maintenance. I’m the last one in line and so got tagged for tailing along. I have no idea why Captain Dloakar would even want me and I probably will be of no use on this mission. Yet I will do as told. My gift is strength. I am the strongest of anyone on board, even you, sir, I would wager.” Williamson did not doubt for a second that Stix could bench press far more weight than Williamson could ever manage. Stix had thick arms like tree trunks and legs that looked rooted to one place.

Next was a handsome young fellow who would likely be voted ;most popular bachelor’ on Destiny if the ladies had a say. His singsong voice complimented his good looks and Williamson was intrigued. “I am Lamean. I am a pilot. I was shuttling cargo and people back and forth between Destiny and Saldiora when I got stuck on this lousy ship when it warped away from home and me on it. I do not want to be here, but you need a shuttle pilot to get you down to the planet. Besides first officer Peter, I am the only other pilot on this dreary and deserted ship.” Lamean did not even salute and stepped back in line with an air of superiority.

Williamson eyed each of his ragtag crew that he and Dloakar had assembled. None of them were warriors like himself, but they would have to do. Each had their own strengths and pitfalls, as did he. True he could not bend like Vior, nor was he as smart as Rael. He did not know the first thing about mechanics like Stix and he was not about to pilot a shuttle like Lamean. However, he could whoop them all in a fight. The only way he would earn their respect was if he showed them.

“Arm yourselves!” shouted Williamson, pointing at a barrel of weapons standing in a lonely corner of the hanger.

The four strolled over to the barrel and each picked out a weapon. A lot could be learned about someone’s personality based on his or her choice of weapon. Rael was the first to settle on a weapon and choose a bow and arrows. She probably liked the precision and delicateness of the weapon. Stix walked away with an axe, swinging it back and forth in wide arcs, relying on his overpowering strength and was ready to quickly chop an opponent down. Vior returned with a dagger in each hand, relying on his speed and ability to dodge tight close fights. The most curious of all was Lamean who settled on a wooden staff. Williamson had pegged him as a sword master, but apparently the man felt more comfortable knocking people around and displaying his acrobatic moves. ‘Vain’ and ‘proud’ were the two words that come to mind as Williamson assessed Lamean.

“Now that you are armed, I want all four of you to attack me at once,” Williamson ordered his reluctant warriors.

“But sir, you have no weapon,” Rael objected.

“Surely you must have a weapon for it to be fair fight,” Stix chimed in.

Williamson smiled and said, “Life is not always fair and just. Besides, I will be all right. I think it is you who have the disadvantage, but we will see. Now. Attack!” Williamson ordered again.

When nobody moved Williamson shouted, “Argggghhh!” and ran straight for Lamean who at the last possible moment brought up his staff. Williamson ripped it from his weakly grasped fingers and punched him in the stomach. Lamean doubled over in pain as Williamson swung the staff aimed at Stix’s head, who ducked and rolled away.

Vior approached with a knife in each hand from behind Williamson, as Rael took aim. She loosed an arrow but it went to the far right as she pulled away when she saw Williamson shouting at the top of his lungs, charging down on her. She did not have time to draw another arrow and thus turned to run.

Williamson grabbed her by her blue hair sending her screaming and clawing with long red polished nails into his arm. Williamson swung the staff taking Rael’s feet away under her. She crumpled, crying into a miserable heap.

Williamson turned and sprung in the air and did a somersault over Stix’s axe that was chopping at his heels. As Williamson landed, he butted the end of the staff into Stix’s back who was already off balance. This sent Stix flying across the room.

Stix landed on Vior’s foot who was stooping over Lamean to check if he was all right. Noticing that he was the only one left standing, Vior cautiously and nervously approached Williamson. Faking to the left and dodging to the right, Vior had both arms stretched out, the knives pointing now to empty space where Williamson should have been.

Crack!

Vior dropped the knives and clutched his wrists that were in agonizing pain where the staff had nearly chopped them off.

Williamson stood observing the bunch of untrained warriors and wondered about what he would have to do to get them in shape. “Get back in line you bubbling, good-for-nothing dishwashing brutes,” Williamson shouted, crossing his arms across his chest. “Well come on. Move it!” he shouted when nobody rose.

Williamson marched up and down the sloppy formed line. “So what have we learned?” Williamson demanded, now mad at thinking he would ever be able to do this mission with this bunch. “Well?”

Vior shrugged holding his bruised wrists close to his chest. Rael stared at the floor, while Lamean and Stix were still fighting to catch their breaths. The fight had lasted less than a minute.

No one was going to answer, Williamson realized. He took a deep breath, counted to ten with his eyes closed and then let it out slowly. Cracking his knuckles and jaw, he calmed himself down.

In a calmer voice now Williamson said, “What you have learned now is to never underestimate your opponent. I may not be a contortionist, scientist, mechanic or pilot, but I am a warrior and have been trained by the elite palace guard.” Williamson started to pace, trying to think about how Jael would put it more eloquently. He stopped, and to his surprise a tear rolled over his cheek. He turned his back on his warriors and hastily swiped at his cheek. He missed his family. He had never imagined he would ever say this but Lynn, Lunu, Jael, Marvis, George, Lord Kyle and Chief Meelocks were his family now and he missed them all. He would do anything to get back to them, even if it meant whipping this sorry bunch into shape. With resolve, Williamson turned to face his warriors.

“None of you are ready for a mission of this magnitude. Frankly, I would not have picked any of your sorry liver-nilly-bellies for this mission. But, you are all I have to work with. So, I warn you to prepare yourself because I have 6 weeks to get you ready. And mark my words… You. Will. Be. Ready. It is going to be extremely hard work and none of you can quit. Quitting is not something I believe in. Working hard and giving it everything you have is more important than if you can beat me. Now, report to sickbay and get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow at 5am report here to the hanger with everything you will need for 6 weeks. We are going to eat, sleep and work together in this hanger until you know what the other person is going to do even before they think of it. Dismissed.”

The four injured warriors filed out of the hanger while leaning on each other for support. Williamson stood examining the hanger a moment longer, then went to go tell Dloakar his plans to turn the hanger into a training camp.

Chapter 15

At first light George jumped on Lynn’s bed. “Hi,” George squeaked.

Lynn sat up, a bit startled. “George, did you just say hi?”

George tumbled into Lynn’s lap. “Yes.” His young poodolian voice sounded like a wheel that needed oil.

Lynn drew George into her arms and cuddled his warm green haired body. “When did you start speaking?”

“Now.” George squirmed out of her arms and ran for the bedroom door. “Come,” he said jumping up to grab the door handle; his words becoming soft and clearer with each new word.

Lynn followed him in her nightgown. In the living room George sat on the kitchen counter pointing to the apartment door with a banana. “Door. Knock.”

Lynn peeked through the peep hole and saw Tristyn. He was several hours early. Wait, what time was it? Lynn ran to the windows and drew back the curtains. The sun already hung in the sky.

“George, open the door,” Lynn said as she sprinted for her dressing room. Ever since all her servants had moved out because of their respective assignments, there was no one there to help her anymore. The result, she was frequently late because Saldiorans did not believe in alarm clocks. Lynn slipped into the dress she had set aside last night. She dragged a brush through her unwieldy hair that had grown past her shoulders in the last few months. This is why she always preferred to keep it short, but growing her hair long was one tradition she had decided to adhere to. She regretted that decision every morning. Today was the first she would spend with Tristyn. For weeks she had planned this day. Pulling her hair back she tied the braid off with a ribbon and headed back to the living room.

Tristyn sat at the kitchen counter peeling a banana for George who jumped up and down in anticipation. Tristyn wore a white fine-pressed full formal suite with a teal buttoned down shirt, a white tie and black polished shoes. A teal colored handkerchief poked out of his white jacket waving at her. He looked like a prince today. The captain was gone.

“Good morning,” Lynn said entering as soon as George had the peeled banana stuffed into his cheeks.

Tristyn looked up at her with laughter in his eyes. “Morning. Is he always this demanding so early?”

Lynn picked George up. She smiled. “Usually I can’t get him to budge out of bed, but I suspect today is a special day for him. It’s his birthday. He’s old enough now that he can start to talk. Am I right George?”

“Right,” George said, smacking his lips together.

“How do you know so much about Poodolians?”

“I’ve studied a lot of the books in the library that talk about them. There are hundreds of books on the topic, but I’ve only read those that deal with raising one. Did you know that Poodolians will bond with a single family their entire life?”

Tristyn nodded. “If I recall, Chief Meelocks is bonded to the von Talion house.”

George leapt from Lynn’s arms and raced to her bedroom. “Go,” he squeaked before he disappeared.

Tristyn laughed. “Where’s he off to?”

“I think he’s going to go get ready to leave.”

Lynn had to stifle a laugh at Tristyn’s discomfort. “Don’t worry. I’ve made plans for him to stay with a friend today.” Lynn walked around inspecting Tristyn’s clothes. “This, however, will not do.”

Tristyn pulled his jacket straight. “You don’t approve of my clothes?” Tristyn asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Lynn chuckled. “Oh, I love them, but it will not do for what I have planned for today. Wait one moment.” Lynn retrieved a wrapped package from her bedroom. “For you,” she said holding the gift out to Tristyn. “I had Sir Doyle make this for you. I hope it fits, but knowing him it will be perfect.”

Tristyn took the parcel and unwrapped it. Inside were brown fisherman trousers, a loose white shirt, a worn leather jacket and leather boots. “These look… used,” Tristyn grumbled.

“All the materials are recycled, but the clothes are newly sewn.”

“Do I have to wear this?” Tristyn pleaded.

“I’m afraid so. You will draw too much unwanted attention in your current attire.”

Tristyn scrunched up his nose and then gave in. “Oh, all right.” He disappeared into the servant bathroom. By the time he was ready to go, George stood jumping up and down at the apartment door.

“George. Go. Now,” he said jumping up and down, his red tail spinning in circles.

“Come on then you two,” Lynn said picking up her leather bag stuffed with books. Tristyn offered to carry the leather bag but she waived him off. “These books are in my custody and I must return them to Lord Parin von Libek if I want to borrow any of the other library books. Now that you have access to the library, I’m sure he will let you borrow some of the books. But beware; he’s an old curmudgeon when it comes to protecting the most valued ones. He won’t let those out of sight for long.”

As they stepped out into the sunlight, a footman bowed and opened the door to the carriage that awaited them. Tristyn politely bowed and waited for Lynn to climb in. However, when she did not pass by his downward gaze, he looked up to see she was walking away from the carriage. She was halfway to the gate before he caught up to her. “Wait! Where are you going? The carriage is ready to take us anywhere you want to go.”

Without breaking her stride, Lynn kept walking towards the gate with George by her side. “Is that the carriage with the royal emblem on the side?”

“Yes,” Tristyn said, still staring back at the carriage.

“Do you not think it would look suspicious if two servants and a poodolian got out of the royal carriage in the middle of town on market day?”

“I suppose so. But do you really want to walk?”

Lynn waited as the guards opened the palace gates. “Yes I do, and some walking will do you good as well. Besides, it will be an adventure.”

Tristyn shook his head but fell into step next to her as she headed down the street heading in the direction of the arena. He glanced back and noticed that about ten paces behind them, the twinians Bo and Jo shadowed every step that Lynn took. “Are they your guards?”

“Who? Bo and Jo?”

“Yes.”

“I’m afraid so. After what happened on the way to the arena and with the disappearance of Kyle, Chief Meelocks will not allow me to go anywhere outside the palace grounds without the extra security. He mentioned something about upholding the von Talion family honor in Kyle’s absence. I hope this is not an inconvenience, and even if it was, they don’t listen to me. You’d have to convince Meelocks that you’re enough to protect me.” In truth she was glad that Bo and Jo were there to protect her. Since they were twinian, they communicated telepathically, thereby hardly ever intruding on her. Yet they were there the instant she needed them. They had proven their worth to her the night when Lynn had blundered into the house where the Juntus were hiding out, and nearly gotten her friends killed. Tristyn had lectured her that night about being responsible for those in her care, and she had taken it to heart. She smiled at the memory and looked up at Tristyn.

Several side streets, markets, fountains and craft districts later they stopped in front of a gated house surrounded by high walls. The guard on duty bowed and let them all enter without any fuss.

“Where are we?” Tristyn asked.

“My home. Welcome,” Lynn explained leading him down a curved path to a stately home with a wraparound porch.

“Are you allowed to have a town home?” Tristyn asked, awed.

Lynn smiled sheepishly. “My money is to be used however I want. Let’s just say I have been spreading it around and have a lot of returned investments.”

The front door opened and children spilled out onto the front lawn. Lunu followed them, but when she spotted Lynn she rushed over. They hugged since it was not every day that Lynn ventured here to visit.

“It is good to see you Lunu. How are the orphans?”

“They are rapscallions and give me no end of grief. Three arrived just yesterday making the total 274.”

“What?” Tristyn asked shocked. “You’re taking care of 274 orphans? All in this house?”

“No. We’ve rescued 274 orphans from the street. Many of them have been placed with families who now work full time for me.” Lynn answered. “How many are living here now, Lunu?”

Lunu picked up a toddler and tucked the curly red hair behind the child’s ear. “27 at present. That reminds me. The Boffins have chosen a sister and brother. They will be moving in with you at the end of the week.”

“Splendid. The apartment has been lonely with everyone gone. It will be great to have some help.”

George jumped into Lynn’s arms. “Play?” he asked.

“If it’s all right with Lunu,” Lynn said.

Lunu looked stunned. “He spoke! Happy birthday, Master George.”

“Thanks!”

“Well come on then, since you’re all grown up now, you can help me with the little ones.” Lunu turned and headed to a clump of kids that were happily kicking a ball around. George jumped right into the game and seemed happy to be left here for the day.

“Who are the Boffins and where are all the slaves King Eber gave you?” Tristyn asked following Lynn up the porch steps.

Lynn scrunched up her nose. “They are not my slaves! I already told you this.”

Tristyn looked away rightfully chastised. “I’m sorry. Old habits die hard. Where are your friends?”

“As you know, Williamson is off chasing my assassin with Dloakar and Marvis works for you. Lunu manages the orphans and this house, and Jael is inside running my business. They are too valuable and too busy to serve on me hand and foot. So I’ve hired a lovely couple, the Boffins, to help me in the palace. They cannot have any children of their own, and so have decided to adopt two to live with us.”

Tristyn shook his head as Lynn led him into the house. “You surprise me at every turn. No wonder the people chose you as the people’s choice.”

“I do what I can with what I have.”

From the foyer there was a long hallway straight ahead with a staircase that led to the second and third floors. Underneath their boots were hardwood floors. Lynn waived at the stairs. “The bedrooms are all upstairs. We converted the living room on the left into a school class room. The dining room and kitchen are attached to the school room. The library, study and offices are to the right.” Lynn led the way into the library which was the first door on the right.

Several men and women jumped to their feet and bowed as they entered. Lynn greeted each visitor before heading to the study. Several desks with stacks of papers filled this room.

Mileosh poked his head around one stack of papers when they entered. The stout little man rose and bowed, his glasses nearly slipped off his knobby nose. “Lady Lynn a pleasure as always. Prince Tristyn, my dear cousin, it’s good to see you again. Please come this way.” Mileosh led them through the doors to the main office in the back. “Martiok, can you please make us some tea?” Mileosh asked as he passed his secretaries’ desk. Lynn could not say for sure, but she suspected that Mileosh and Martiok were husband and wife, although they never spoke of their personal lives. She was always diligently by Mileosh’s side, handing him everything he needed in order to keep Lynn’s bank accounts straight and the money flowing and growing.

Jael and Lord Parin von Libek sat around a big conference table in the main office. When Lynn entered both men stood and bowed respectfully. “Good morning. Tristyn please allow me to introduce you to my council. Lord Parin von Libek, Sir Mileosh von Feol and Jael. Lord Parin is a historian and wise in many matters of the realm. Jael is responsible for negotiating all the contracts and running things in general.” Lynn placed her leather bag on the table and slid it over to Parin. “I’ve returned the books I borrowed.”

Parin took the leather bag and checked each book. “Good. I’ve brought a new stack as you requested. Let me change these out. I think you’ll especially enjoy the one on rearing an adolescent Poodolian.”

“He started talking today. One word at a time.”

“Oh how splendid. Casea’s book said –”

Jael cleared his throat, causing Parin to blush. “Oh my, yes, you have a full day planned, and here I am standing and rattling off again. Let me get those books.” Parin disappeared through a side door.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, your Highness,” Jael said politely as they waited.

“Tell me, Jael, what sort of business do you manage for Lady Lynn?”

“All manner of different sorts. Most are related to consumer goods, such as fishing, bakeries, tailors and so forth. All in all, we have 60 businesses and employ 700 workers.”

Tristyn gulped. “That is as large as what my family does. Who manages all the finances?”

“I do,” Mileosh said stepping forward.

Lynn placed a hand on Mileosh’s shoulder. “Sir Mileosh von Feol, former banker, is now my full time Chief of Finance.”

“This is quite an operation you have going here. I would never have imagined that you could be so resourceful,” Tristyn said looking from one face to the other.

Parin returned with the leather bag full of books and handed it to Lynn. “Here you are.”

“Thank you Parin. Jael, are the papers I requested ready?” Lynn asked.

“Yes, I have them right here.” Jael removed a sealed envelope from the inside of his dress jacket. “All the arrangements have been made and he’s expecting you.”

“Who?” Tristyn asked.

Lynn snatched the envelope from Jael before Tristyn could intercept it. “Never you mind.” She spun on her heels and headed back the way they had come. “We’ll see you for dinner. You best have something special planned for George, or you’ll never hear the end of it once he starts talking full sentences.”

Lynn was at the front door before Tristyn caught up to her. “Where are we going now?” he asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“I hate surprises,” Tristyn groaned.

“You’re going to like this one. I promise.”

The streets were filled to the brim with people, horses and carts making their way to and from the market squares. The air was filled with sweat, horse aroma and grilled fish. Lynn reached over and took Tristyn’s hand as they exited through the gate. “Stay close and don’t let go.”

Lynn set a quick pace as she led them away from the house. Men at street corners and women at the washing fountains all greeted her as they passed by. Lynn squeezed Tristyn’s hand to reassure herself that he was still there. Then she entered the square with a wave of humanity and rode it, adjusting their course every now and then, angling for one of the side streets. Bo and Jo stayed close so as not to get separated.

A few turns later, they stopped in front of an antique store. Bo and Jo immediately took up guard either side of the front door. Lynn let go of Tristyn’s hand, regretting it the moment she did. “We’re here. You still in one piece?” Lynn asked.

Tristyn dusted off his clothes. “I see now why you had me dress down. Besides having been put through the gauntlet, I am remarkably in good health. Where are we?”

“At an antique store.”

“I can see that,” Tristyn said admiring the rocking chair in the display window. “Why are we here?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Lynn said. A doorbell chimed as they entered the shop. “Have a look around and tell me what you think.”

Tristyn’s eyes glittered with excitement. Lynn watched him roam the entire store inspecting each piece carefully. Tristyn picked up a wrought iron table lamp and inspected the seal at the bottom. He nearly dropped the lamp. “I don’t believe it,” Tristyn said looking from the lamp to Lynn. “This is the antique stamp of Sir Olash von Illinisa. He’s only the greatest antique dealer alive.”

“I’m pleased you recognize my work.” Olash tapped his cane as he walked into the shop from his workspace hidden behind curtains beyond the register.

Tristyn hurriedly came over and bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, sir. I have admired your work since I was a youth.”

Olash bowed in return. “Lady Lynn, you look radiant today, my dear.”

Lynn returned the gesture and held out the papers Jael had given her earlier, giving Olash a knowing smile. “You speak kindly, sir. As promised I have found you a new part-time assistant.” Lynn waived towards Tristyn. “As the work permit indicates his name is George.” Lynn smiled at Tristyn, who stood gaping at her speechless. The look of glee on his face was priceless.

Olash looked up from the paper and peered at Tristyn. “Do you think he’ll do? He looks rather skinny to me. And look at those hands. They’re as soft as a baby’s.”

Tristyn blinked hard. “I will do my best to learn and serve… Master Olash.”

“I suggest you try this out for one week. Then the two of you can decide how to continue. Fair?” Lynn suggested.

Olash turned and headed for his workspace. “Come on boy, these antiques aren’t going to fix themselves.”

Tristyn stepped up to Lynn and gave her a hug. “Thanks. When –”

Lynn put a finger on Tristyn’s lips. “I’ll be back at 6 to pick you up for dinner.”

“George!” came a bellowing voice from the workshop. “Hurry up. We ain’t got all day.”

Chapter 16

Lynn tucked a book into her leather bag, swung it over her shoulder and headed for the palace gates in order to return to the market. She had enjoyed spending the day with Velice riding through the woods, before returning and getting cleaned up for dinner with Tristyn. Bo and Jo had gone with her of course to keep watch, and even now were only a few steps behind her.

As she slipped through the gates, the dinner bell sounded throughout the city proper. In an hour from now the nobles would sit down to their meals while the slaves served. Lynn still had difficulty reconciling the primitive lifestyle of the palace compared to that of the life on the starships where everyone worked hard and were treated in an equal manner. At least from what she had been able to tell.

Lynn made excellent time in reaching Olash’s shop. The markets had all closed down and the farmers had left the city preferring to sleep under their own roofs. The streets were empty besides those heading to the bathhouses and the eating establishments.

The door to the store was open, so Lynn let herself in. “Hello?”

“Back here,” Tristyn’s voice sounded from behind the curtains. “I’m in the workshop, Lynn.”

Lynn parted the curtain, “How did you know it was me?”

Tristyn looked up from the chair he was sanding. “My stomach growled. Ready for dinner?”

“If you are?”

“I will be but a minute.” Tristyn tidied up his workspace. He took his time, meticulously placing the tools exactly in their proper places.

“Where is Master Olash?” Lynn asked, looking around the workshop for the older gentleman.

“He went upstairs a few hours ago, complaining about how he was not the man he used to be, that his bones ached and that if I did not return in the morning he was planning on complaining to you. As if that would do him any good.” Tristyn winked at the last. He removed the filthy apron he had been wearing and hung it on a peg on the wall next to its companion. Presumably that one belonged to Master Olash. “Ready?” Tristyn asked offering Lynn his arm.

She took it and they headed out to the street. Tristyn produced a key out of his pocket and locked up the front door. Lynn had to smile at how domesticated Tristyn was turning out to be.

“So where do you want to go for dinner?” Tristyn asked pocketing the key. “We can catch a cab to the palace and ask Piernt to cook us up some supper.”

Lynn stopped and stared at Tristyn through slitted eyes.

Tristyn held up his hands and took a step back. “What did I do wrong now?”

Lynn sighed. “Look, there is only one promise I ask you to keep this week.” She hesitated not knowing the risk she was about to take.

“Yes?” Tristyn prompted.

“I want you to promise me that for this week, you will not be the prince. You will not be the captain. You will not be a man who has beauties traipsing after him.”

Tristyn scratched his head in confusion. “But I’m all those things. Who do you want me to be? I can’t be Kyle, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Lynn rolled her eyes. “No, you big looby. That’s not what I’m asking. I want you to promise me that you will put all of that aside, and just be you. Be yourself.”

Tristyn blinked at her with round puppy eyes. “Why?”

Lynn placed a hand on Tristyn’s chest. A tingle of anticipation raced down her arm into her heart. “Because I don’t want you to pretend when you are around me. I want you to be free to be who you are. I want to get to know the real you.”

Tristyn covered her hand with his. “I promise.” They stood there awkward for a few more moments, and then broke apart, both blushing slightly. “Now, what about dinner? I’m starving,” Tristyn said with a wicked smile.

“Don’t you mind that. I have the perfect place in mind. But first we need to get you cleaned up.”

Lynn led Tristyn down the street to the local bathhouse. Men and women carrying baskets filled with clothes and toiletries came and went.

As they drew near to the building Tristyn froze and hesitantly asked, “What is this place?”

“It’s a public bathhouse. Don’t you know anything about your own city?” Lynn asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Tristyn gulped and shook his head. “I’ve never been to one. How does it work?”

“Got any money on you?”

Tristyn shook his head. She guessed that if you were the prince, and technically owned everything, that there was no need for you to carry money around. Lynn sighed and reached into her pocket producing a silver coin. “This is worth 10 Rupids. When you get inside, pay the attendant and ask for a private room. If you don’t, she’ll put you in the co-ed bath tub.”

Tristyn’s jaw dropped “The what?”

“Don’t look so shocked. Not everyone can afford a private bath. Now listen. Place your clothes in the basket outside the door and ask for it to be cleaned while you bathe. For a Rupid they’ll have one of their devices clean it in a matter of minutes. You got all that?”

Tristyn nodded, taking the coin. “Why don’t they just use a shower at home?”

Lynn’s shoulders heaved up in a sigh as she explained, “Because your family never invested in upgrading the infrastructure to put running water in the homes of the people.”

“Oh,” was all that Tristyn could say while he stared at the coin.

Lynn pointed at a bench outside the bathhouse. “I’ll be waiting for you there. Go on then. Enjoy your bath.”

Tristyn fell in line and headed in while Lynn went to go wait. She plopped down on a bench and retrieved her book from her leather bag. Bo and Jo sat either side of her, patiently waiting in silence while they kept an eye on the people milling past them. 20 minutes later, Tristyn appeared in front of her, sparkling clean. “Done?” she asked, replacing her lace bookmark.

“I’ve never had a bath that quick. The moment they saw the silver coin, five attendants rushed over.” Lynn took Tristyn’s proffered arm and they headed down the street.

“Where to for supper?” Tristyn asked.

“The Golden Swan.” Lynn’s shoulder rammed into Tristyn’s back as he stopped.

“That’s a tavern and not an appropriate place for a lady to be seen at.”

Lynn crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Have you ever been there?”

“No.”

“Do you know of any of the people there?”

“No.”

“Have you ever tasted Pricilla’s succulent pig with toragga jelly?”

“Who?”

“Well, have you?”

“No.”

“Then you don’t know what you’re saying. Now come along,” Lynn said stomping off.

Tristyn hurried to catch up. “Wait! What did I do wrong now?”

Lynn waited for him to catch up. “Just because these people don’t have fancy clothes, pure bloodlines or live in the palace, does not make them any less worthy of respect. Tristyn, look around you and open your eyes. The only reason you have any power at all is because these common people trust you to rule over them justly. Don’t you think it’s time to honor that trust and show them respect?”

Tristyn stood mouth agape. “No one has ever dared to speak to me so.”

“Well it’s the truth and it’s high time you listened, even if the words are coming from someone who wasn’t born on this planet.”

Tristyn took her hand. “Tell me more.”

As they strolled down the street, Lynn told him about his city. She told him how the people lived, where they bought fresh fish, about how poor the schooling conditions were and much more. All though she could have gone on all night, the Golden Swan came into view. The smell of roasting pig drifted on the air. Tristyn’s stomach growled. He blushed and apologized, but Lynn laughed and they hurried along.

The tavern was crowded and noisy. The sailors inside cheered and raised their cups when Lynn entered. She curtsied and waved. “Good evening. Is dinner ready yet? I hope we’re not late.”

“Aye m’lday, but ye best hurry before Nob gets ’ere. He’s bound to make everyone wait while he retells the tale of how he caught this one.” A heavy man with broad shoulders bellowed across the room. All others nodded in agreement and laughed heartily.

“Who be tis wit ya?” asked someone in the crowd.

Lynn had not seen who the speaker was. “This is George. He’s Master Olash’s new apprentice. You boys play nice and leave him be,” Lynn said.

“Me. George.” The green poodolian raced over the tables and leapt into Lynn’s waiting arms. “Hi!” George said. “Come. Party.” He pointed at the booth where Jael and Lunu sat. “Cake?” George said jumping down and onto the bench next to Jael and Lunu.

“After dinner, Master George,” Lunu corrected.

Lynn and Tristyn slid onto the bench opposite the trio, while Bo and Jo took a table nearby. Most people would find these twinians obvious silence disturbing. But in truth they were carrying out conversations with each other telepathically, and thus were content to be quiet. Lynn really appreciated their discreteness, which made her feel more at ease around them.

“Who’s watching the orphans?” Tristyn asked while taking a sip from the tankard the waitress had delivered.

“Mileosh and Martiok are keeping an eye on them, and Marvis I hear is on duty at the moment. He stopped by earlier in the day to play with Master George. How was your day with Master Olash?” Lunu asked. Lynn was kind of surprised at how easy it was for Lunu to talk with Tristyn. Usually Lynn had to pry words out of Lunu when they were around anyone from the palace.

Over supper Tristyn entertained them with stories of how being a novice in the workshop reminded him of when he was learning to fight. Many bumps, bruises, and calluses later he became proficient to enter a tourney and win.

“Have you learned anything about Lord Kyle’s whereabouts?” Jael asked, speaking up for the first time as they all pushed back empty plates.

Tristyn fixed his gaze on Jael and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We have many people out looking but the trail is cold. We have to wait to learn what Destiny finds out.”

“What about Voltaire’s ship?” Lynn asked.

“It has surfaced on Nuelda with no sign or evidence that Kyle was ever on board. We asked them why they were delayed getting to Nuelda, and they claimed they had stopped for parts for the ship. Apparently a coupler had blown, which had delayed them. There was nothing we could do but let them go.”

“Well, I’m confident that Kyle will be just fine,” Lunu said.

Lynn noticed Tristyn share a knowing smile with Lunu. It was as if they were sharing an inside joke or some knowledge known to only them. Before Lynn could ponder it any further the birthday cake arrived.

Everyone had a slice and George got half the cake all over himself. Soon after, Lunu and Jael left to go relieve the baby sitters and put the orphans to bed. After they had left, Lynn pulled a small box from her dress and gave it to George. “Your present.”

George’s tail bobbed up and down with excitement as he opened the box. In the center on a cushion lay a silver ring. Etched along the side were 10 flowers. George oo’d as he slipped it on. Then he flung his cake covered hairy body into Lynn’s arms. “Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.”

“What?” George said twirling the ring on his finger inspecting the flowers.

Lynn took out her book and read. “On the fifth birthday of a poodolian’s life they are old enough to start talking. On this day, it is the duty of the poodolian’s bond family to present a family heirloom as gift. If the poodolian accepts he will forever be bonded to that family by blood.” Lynn placed the book down. “Do you understand George?”

George peered from the book, to Lynn, to the ring on his finger, then back at Lynn. “Yes.”

“It’s your choice, George. I will never ask this of you.”

George’s tail lazily swept back and forth in contemplation. He then did the most peculiar thing. He bit his tail. “Owey,” George whimpered as blood dripped onto the ring. He then held out the ring to Lynn. “Blood. You.”

Lynn nodded. “Tristyn, may I borrow your dagger.”

“How did you know I had one?” Tristyn asked pulling the knife from his wrist sheath.

“I guessed.” Lynn took the blade and pierced her fingertip. She then dropped her blood on the ring. Strangely, the instant her blood mixed with George’s the ring sizzled and the flowers lit up in blue. A chemical reaction? Lynn wondered but without running tests she would never know for sure.

George turned the ring on his finger. “George. Serve. Lynn.”

Lynn pulled George into her arms and snuggled. “You are not my servant George. You are my family by blood.”

George fell asleep in her arms as they walked back to the palace. Tristyn escorted them to the apartment, where Bo and Jo bid them goodnight. While Tristyn grabbed his royal clothes, Lynn put George to bed. As Tristyn prepared to leave, he spontaneously swooped Lynn up into a hug. Her feet flew through the air as he twirled her around. He smelled like lemon and oak and she felt safe in his strong arms.

As her feet touched the ground she asked, “What was that for?”

“This was the first day in many years that I had fun. I will remember it always. Thank you.”

Lynn giggled. She could not help it. “Well, just you wait until tomorrow. You best not be late to Master Olash, or I will never hear the end.”

Tristyn bowed delighted and left her dreaming about what their lives together may be like.

Chapter 17

“Get over that wall now!” Williamson shouted into Rael’s ears. He stood pointing at the 10-foot wall with rope inches away from them.

“I can’t! I don’t have the upper body strength!” she shouted back in defiance.

“How are you going to build strength if you even refuse to try? What are you going to do if a wall stands between you and surviving?” Williamson screamed back in frustration.

Rael flipped her blue hair at him. “I’ll just walk around it,” she said as she ran away from him, around the wall and towards the next obstacle.

Stix kept stumbling over the rods that had been placed upright in a straight line a foot apart. They had to weave through the rods, but Stix was too bulky and not at all nimble on his feet, but at least he tried.

“You have to bend your hips more, and move your feet faster,” instructed Williamson. No matter how often he repeated this to Stix, the poor poodolian just seemed to be getting worse.

“Try it again, Stix,” Williamson commanded as he moved towards the rope swing.

Rael had already swung past it and was moving as fast as possible away from him. He had no idea what he was going to do with this female who broke every rule in the book.

Vior hung from the rope not swinging at all. He stared down as Williamson approached. He let go and dropped to the floor. “I just don’t get it.”

Williamson wanted to sigh and shake his head, or scream or throw something at this bunch who after 4 weeks of training were nowhere near ready. Instead, he remembered all those times that Lynn would patiently sit by his side helping him make the letters over and over until he learned how to write.

“Vior, the objective is to get across the obstacle that is too wide to jump across and too deep to climb down and back up. So, what you need to do is get a running start and jump to grab the rope… then you swing to the other side…letting go as you reach the top of the swing,” Williamson said as he demonstrated each of the steps. “Now you try.”

Rael had finally completed the course. Well not really. She had side stepped several obstacles. She plunked down next Lamean who sat at their rough campsite reading a book.

Lamean, after the first day of these exercises, had promptly the next morning informed Williamson that he was not planning on setting foot outside the shuttle, so there was no need for him to do any training.

No matter how Williamson tried to cajole, order, shout, or plead, Lamean had not budged in 4 weeks, which led the morale of the others to spiral ever downward. Truth be told, Williamson was ready to give up. He was never going to pass the ordeal of Delmi, so why waste everyone’s time? He too felt like just sitting down and forgetting it all.

No. He had had it. Enough was enough. “Line up!” shouted Williamson.

Reluctantly all four of them stood in a straight line, shoulders slouching, and fidgeting.

Without any ceremony Williamson simply said. “You are hereby disbanded. I don’t care what you do, but I don’t ever want to see your ugly faces again. Dismissed.” Williamson turned on his heels, not waiting on a reply from any of them.

He knew he should go report to Dloakar, but he couldn’t face him. He knew all he’d get would be the same old lecture about how a leader is supposed to act. Well, as Williamson was starting to learn, he was no leader. Instead he headed to the gym to take his anger out on the punching bag. After that, he unsheathed his sword and worked through his fighting maneuvers and stances. Panting and dripping sweat, Williamson finally had worked loose every muscle in his body.

Ping. “Dloakar to Williamson, come in.”

Williamson glowered at the communicator on his wrist. He was a free man and did not have to respond. So he switched the comm off and continued with his stretches and cooling down.

He still had to get into the facility on Drexos to get the information for Lynn. He had to come up with a new plan. One that did not entail him having to drag four dead weight bodies after him. Time to get back to work.

Williamson returned to the hanger to find the team lounging about the campsite. They apparently had nothing better to do. Fortunately for them, they all had the presence of mind not to talk to him. He would probably have snapped a neck if they had.

He grabbed one of the rations, tore open the pack, and bit into the protein bar. Then he sat down at the table and started looking over the plans of the facility that he would have to infiltrate. They all had been printed out on paper as Williamson was not adept at working on computers like Marvis. Now that it was only him, he would have to turn this into a solo mission.

Ping. “Dloakar to Williamson, come in.”

Williamson grunted. This time the voice was over in the in-ship intercom and that could not be turned off. So instead, Williamson took out his ear plugs that he used at night when Stix snored, and inserted them. He sighed as blissful silence surrounded him.

Now the manufacturing building on Drexos was large and complex. Williamson stared at the blueprints trying to decide on what the best entry point would be.

Slam!! A fist hit the table in front of Williamson’s face where he sat reviewing the list of materials he would need for the mission. Williamson looked up to see Dloakar shouting at him.

Williamson stood and took out the ear plugs. “What do you want?” he asked, interrupting Dloakar mid-sentence.

“Williamson, what in blazes are you doing?”

Williamson ignored Dloakar, and continued scribbling notes on his paper. He had to remember the rope and harness if he was going to repel in from the ceiling.

“Okay. I get it. You don’t report to me. But can you please tell me why you disbanded the team?” Dloakar asked exasperated.

“Three reasons. First, they will never be ready. Two, they will only be a liability in battle and I cannot protect them from their own stupidity. Three, I don’t have any more time to waste on them. We have to infiltrate Drexos in 2 weeks. Maybe if I had two years to prepare them, we could get somewhere, but not in 2 weeks.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’ll rework the plan for just me to go in. You can drop me off, and I’ll infiltrate the manufacturing facility, work my way towards finding what we need, and then you can transport me out. If it looks too risky, I will need to go in under cover as a worker and wait until I have an opportune moment to escape.”

“That could take weeks to gather the information. Kyle could be dead by then.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Williamson shouted as he gripped the edge of the table and turned it over in a mighty crash. Rael let out a little yelp. Stix instantly crouched down looking ready to pounce away, while Vior contorted into a little ball. Lamean was the only one unaffected by the outburst as he continued with his nap.

Williamson snorted. “Look at them, Dloakar. They are spooked and scared by the smallest outburst. They will only get themselves killed if faced by guns.”

Dloakar did look at the team then. “Come with me. Someone wants to talk with you.”

“I’m busy,” Williamson said, reaching to turn the table up again.

“It’s Marvis,” Dloakar said as he headed for the door.

Marvis? What did he want? Williamson stood there hesitating whether to follow, but then gave in. It would be good to see a friend’s face.

“You can take the call in my office. You’re lucky to have such a wiz of a friend, he reworked the entire communications network, making this is the most secure transmission I’ve ever seen,” Dloakar said as he sat down in the captain’s chair on the bridge. “Still don’t take too long, every moment the communication is open we are at risk of being detected.”

Williamson nodded, and headed towards the office that was off to the side of the bridge.

Slipping in behind the desk, Williamson flipped on the screen and instantly there was Marvis with a big grin on his face.

“Williamson, how are you?”

“I’ve been better. How is Lynn?”

“Umm. I don’t really know.”

“What happened to her? Is she all right? Why didn’t anyone contact me?”

“No, no, no, it’s nothing like that,” Marvis said, waving his hands in the air.

“Huh?”

“Lady Lynn released me from her service a few days after you left. I’m working for Prince Tristyn at the moment, trying to find Lord Kyle. So, I haven’t seen much of Lynn these past few weeks. She’s on her dates with the Prince this week though.”

“So who’s keeping an eye on her?”

“Bo and Jo.”

“Oh, that’s good. Not that I didn’t trust you with those knives, but they do have more experience.”

“Dloakar tells me you’ve been having a hard time with the recruits.”

“Can we just not talk about it? I’m already depressed enough about it.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Marvis asked, leaning forward.

“None of them know how to fight. Worst of all, none of them are even trying, or even care about what we’re doing.” Williamson ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve tried for weeks to motivate them, I’ve tried ordering, shouting, pleading, and everything in between, but they’ve not improved. There’s no way they’ll be ready, and I can’t risk our lives on their stupidity. Honestly, Marvis, I have no idea how Lynn did it.”

“Did what?”

“How she took the four of us, total strangers to her, and turned us into a family. I can’t do it. I’m afraid I’m going to fail. There’s no way we will be ready to infiltrate the manufacturing compound in a few days. I’m such a failure. No one even listens to me.”

“Stop that, right now!” Marvis shouted.

Williamson looked up in shock. Marvis had never spoken to him like that, but then he saw the concern in his friend’s eyes, and he felt a lump starting to form in his throat. He swallowed hard.

Marvis cleared his throat, and composed himself. “You will not fail. Do you know why?”

Williamson shook his head.

“Because you are the bravest warrior I know, and no one else can do a better job of protecting Lynn. Not Kyle. Not Dloakar. Not even the Prince. Only you. So you better get yourself together. We are all counting on you. Lynn is counting on you. Are you going to let her down?”

Williamson shook his head.

“What is it that Lynn always tells us?”

“To be the best that we can be.”

“Does that mean you have to be good at engineering like me?”

“No.”

“Does it mean you have to be eloquent and good at writing?”

“No.”

“Do you have the skills to cook, clean, and take care of orphans?”

“No.”

“Think Williamson! Why not?”

Williamson sat racking his brain. Sure he could not program software like Marvis, run a business like Jael or a household like Lunu, yet he was the best fighter out of all of them. They were all unique, yet each part of the whole.

“I think I see what you mean. Although we’re each so different, we are a part of each other and thus a part of the whole. This gave us purpose. But what do I do?” Williamson asked.

“You’ve spent 4 weeks with these people. By now you should know them.”

“Right.”

“Well, figure out a way to use their strengths to complement each other, and turn their weaknesses into their strengths.”

“But how?”

Marvis laughed. “I don’t know. That’s why you’re the one undergoing the ordeal of Delmi, not me.”

Williamson laughed too. It had been some time since he had laughed, and having talked with Marvis felt like a weight had been lifted. “All right. I’ll go try it. Hey Marvis… can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

Williamson bit his lower lip. “The day of the Leyente duels, why did Jael disappear like that before the parade?”

Marvis scratched his head trying to recall. “He said that he had forgotten something at the house that he needed to retrieve before the start of the Leyente duels.”

“Do you know what it was?”

“No, I’m sorry I don’t.”

“That’s all right. The assassin was a master archer… I wondered who it could be.”

“Well he wasn’t that great. He never hit any of us.”

“True, but what if that was intentional?”

“I think you’ve read one to many of Jael’s novels.”

“Who is the best archer you know? Maybe you could ask around to see if anyone in the palace could have the skill to pull it off.”

“To be honest, the only archer I know is Jael, but I have no idea how good he is. He usually hits his mark every time, but I don’t know enough about archery to tell you anything more.”

“Neither do I. Thanks any way.”

“I have to go, Prince Tristyn just returned and he’s asking for a report. Go get the job done.”

And just like that, Marvis’ face winked out. Williamson stretched, and considered what to do next. Then he rose and headed back to the hanger. Time for a different tactic.

Williamson marched into the hanger, determination showing on his face. It was now or never. “Line up!” he shouted.

Everyone grunted, but obediently took their places. Even Lamean who stood at the end looking bored.

Williamson considered what to say, and then dove in. He sat down legs crossed, and indicated the others to do likewise. “Have any of you here met Lord Kyle?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“How about someone in the royal family?”

Another round of blank stares and shoulder shrugs.

“I have the honor of serving the lost royal heir, her Highness Lady Lynn von Astrium.”

The sucking in of breaths cascaded over one another. “How do you know she’s the royal heir? What prove do you have?” Rael asked.

“It’s preposterous. He’s making it up,” Lamean commented.

“You all saw the Leyente duels right?” Williamson asked.

Slowly they nodded.

“Well, you saw that Lady Lynn opened the King’s gate that can be opened by no one other than with royal blood. Also King Eber acknowledged her as von Astrium.”

“He must be crazy!” Vior decided.

“Or under a spell,” was Stix’s contribution.

“I promise you it is none of that. Lady Lynn is the kindest person I know.” For the next hour, Williamson regaled them with stories of Lynn and Kyle, and how he had become part of their family. “So you see, the need for me to go into Drexos is not for myself, but to help Lynn rescue a friend who had willingly placed himself in danger for her sake countless times. But, I cannot do it alone. I need your help.” Williamson looked at each of them in turn, “Will you help me?”

“How?” Rael griped. “I can’t even complete your stupid course.”

Williamson smiled, “That’s because you’ve been playing by my rules.”

“What do you mean? Is there another set of rules?” Vior asked.

“I’m so confused,” Stix added.

Lamean quietly observed them without a word.

“Indeed there is,” Williamson said standing and walking over to the tall wall. “Rael, you’re good at physics, right?”

“Yes,” Rael said skeptical, as if she was expecting a trick question.

“If you had to climb this wall, but only had us five to help you, what would you do?” Williamson asked.

“Hmm,” Rael said giving it some thought. She walked around each of her team mates sizing them up. “I’d have you and Stix give Lamean a boost, so that he could reach the top of the wall. Then Lamean would sit atop the wall leaning down. Then Vior would go next, as you and Stix boosted him, Lamean would reach down, grab Vior’s hands and help pull him up. Vior would go down the other side. I’d go next and do what Vior did. Then you would climb onto Stix’s shoulders and jump to reach Lamean who would pull you up. Then both you and Lamean would reach over the top of the wall to help Stix, who would step a few paces back, take a giant leap and catch your hands. Then you’d pull Stix up, and the three of you would jump down the other side.”

“Let’s give it a try,” Williamson said.

“What, are you crazy?” Lamean asked.

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Vior asked.

“No, but I’m not going to leave the shuttle, so why would I help?” Lamean complained.

“Lamean, we need you. Can’t you see we would not be able to do this without you?” Stix asked.

“Do you really want us to die because you were too lazy to get your butt out of the shuttle?” Rael chimed in.

“Fine all ready,” Lamean finally agreed, joining everyone at the base of the wall.

In under a minute they had executed the movement. In this manner, they progressed from obstacle to obstacle, Williamson always asking the person most adept at the task to come up with a solution that would work for the entire team. At the very end they ran through the entire course together as a team in under 10 minutes, something that would have taken them hours to do as individuals.

“I can’t believe we did it,” Vior commented.

“We’ve never done the course that fast,” Stix said.

Rael turned to Williamson, hands on hips, “What now, Commander Williamson?”

It was the first time she had called him that. He was momentarily stunned to silence until he realized their next step. “We’ll run the course again tomorrow morning.”

Everyone groaned, but Williamson went one, “but for now, we need to plan out our attack on Drexos. Anyone have any ideas?”

Chapter 18

Brigieta pulled up sharp at the corner of the building. Behind her, the sounds from the market square rang in her ears. She paid the distraction no mind. Quickly she poked her head around the building.

Up ahead Tristyn and Lynn entered an antique store. What were they going to buy, Brigieta wondered as she tugged on the small slippers she had borrowed from Ulla. Yesterday she had expected to follow them in a carriage. When they unexpectedly had gone on foot, Brigieta had been forced to follow in her finery and high heels. Frustratingly, she had lost sight of them after a few blocks.

Yet her determination and curiosity over ruled her sense of pride. So much so that she had agreed to Ulla’s plan of dressing in one of Ulla’s commoner gowns and wearing these tight slippers. She had to admit, it was easier to move around in the clothes, but she would still have preferred her own fine things. But the idea was to not stand out and be noticed. So the high heels and finery had given way to the sensible slippers and rough woolen dress.

What was taking them so long, Brigieta thought angry. Brigieta leaned against the wall in her hiding spot and waited. Shoppers milled all about her but they paid her no attention. Dressing like a commoner had its advantages. She stole another glance at the antique store and saw Lynn exiting alone. What was going on?

Tristyn was plainly still in the store and Lynn was heading down the street, her twinian guards right behind her. Ever since the failed assassination, the guards had not left her side which made getting at her without being noticed now more difficult than ever. Making an impulsive decision, Brigieta decided to follow Lynn. As she slipped out of her hiding spot and stepped into the street, a horse appeared out of nowhere. The startled beast reared up on its hind legs and kicked at Brigieta’s face. Instinctively she ducked and rolled out of the way.

Crack!

Her back hit a food stand. Brigieta sprang to her feet in time to miss the roof of the vendor’s hut collapsing down.

A big broad shouldered man walked through the wreckage with a cleaver in hand. Fresh meat lay strewn all around him. Already the vultures, dogs, commoners, and birds alike circled. The butcher pointed his cleaver at her, “Aye you! You gonna pay for this.”

Brigieta had no idea what to do. She could try and fight him, but he was too big and those in the crowed looked hungry for a fight. When the odds were stacked against her, there was only one thing to do. Run!

Hiking up her dress, she spun on her heels and ran. The street she was on led to the harbor. However, the only safety for her was at the palace, which she was moving further away from with each pounding footstep. A quick glance over her shoulder showed the butcher and a few of his friends following her.

Smack!

Brigieta fell hard on her rump and stared up at the horse towering over her, and then her eyes shifted to the city guardsman on its back. When her pursuers came within ear shot, recognition lit up on the guard’s face. He made to grab her, but she had already ducked underneath the horse. She jumped over a cart, and slipped behind another stall. Frantically looking for a way out, she spotted an alley and made a dash for it. Halfway down the alley, she heard the pounding hooves of the horse racing after her. She dared not look back, but kept pumping her arms and legs.

Sunlight greeted her at the end of the alley. She swung to the right hoping to head to the palace and instead ran straight into a man carrying an arm full of packages. Together they went down in a tumbled mess of elbows, boxes, knees and hats. Before Brigieta could scramble to her feet, a stiff arm grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her up.

“ ’Ere now missy. No more runnin’ out of ya,” the guardsman said. “Look ’ere what ya done. Ya made a mess of tings, ya ’ave.”

“But it was an accident,” Brigieta protested.

“Tell it to the magistrate,” the guardsman said while getting his fetters out. He was about to bind her wrist when a commanding voice said, “Stop!”

The voice came from behind them. “Let her go.”

The guardsman yanked her around so they could face the accusing man. When Brigieta saw who it was, she tried to straighten her dress but the guardsman grabbed her so tight she could already feel the bruise starting to form on her arm. Before her stood Prince Eldwa with the man she had tumbled into, none other than his assistant, Otis. Prince Eldwa’s golden wavy hair framed his face, and his deep green eyes looked strong and in command.

“Sorry for any inconvenience, my Lord,” said the guardsman, “but this wench has business to settle with the magistrate.”

“Do you not know who this lady is? I command you to unhand the Lady Brigieta von Neashop immediately.”

“But –”

“No buts, this is a royal command,” Eldwa said standing tall.

The butcher and his friends appeared and started to advance on them. He pointed with the cleaver at Brigieta’s face. “You will repay me every last Rupid, missy.”

Eldwa silently fumed that the guardsman was still ignoring his commands. So instead he turned his attention to the butcher. “How much does she owe?”

“50 Rupids,” the butcher spat out, “my whole weeks’ worth of produce is wasted.”

Eldwa snapped his fingers. “Otis, please pay the gentleman 100 Rupids.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Otis said and bowed.

Turning to face the butcher, Eldwa said “I suppose that will be satisfactory and you won’t be pressing charges.”

The butcher gawked at them. By the look of things, he was considering whether he should not have asked for more. But sensing all the eyes staring at his direction, he nodded and held out his card reader.

Eldwa turned to face the guardsman, “Was there anything else?”

The guardsman let Brigieta go, bowed to them and mounted his horse to resume his patrol.

Eldwa cautiously approached Brigieta and bowed. “I hope that you are well, my Lady. Although I am curious as to the outfit you are wearing.”

Brigieta blushed, but bowed as custom dictated. “Thank you for your concern and aid, your Highness. As to my outfit, I was tempted to see the city through the eyes of its people. To help me understand their plight.” She fibbed and placed a hand to her forehead, “I fear that I am a little overwhelmed.” She pretended that she was about to faint. Eldwa took the bait and rushed to her side to steady her.

She placed a hand in the crook of his arm. An unexpected shiver of excitement ran down her spine. “Thank you. I think I will be all right with you here.”

Eldwa escorted her into his carriage where they waited on Otis to gather up the scattered hats.

“So, you like hats?” Brigieta asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“Oh yes, very much. I had wanted to study fashion at school, but Father insisted I pursue a more meaningful career. Now I’m up to my ears learning about molecular biology, quantum mechanics, physics and much more, all for the sake of pleasing him.”

Brigieta detected a twinge of resentment and regret in Eldwa’s voice. This explained why she had not seen him at any of the parties. He probably had his nose stuck in a book at all times. Wanting to cheer him up, she said “I love to paint. It is one of my greatest passions and I’ve made some money dealing in art. It’s fun to have a hobby outside of real life responsibilities. Why do you like hats?”

Otis knocked on the carriage door and poked his head in. “Where to, my Lord?”

“Would you like to have lunch?” Eldwa asked with pleading eyes.

Brigieta wanted to say no. She wanted to continue her quest to discover what Lynn and Tristyn were doing during their time together. It was still possible to retrace her steps back to the antique store, but Tristyn would probably be long gone by now. It would be impossible to find them in this big city. Besides, Eldwa was practically her brother-in-law. It would be good to get to know the reclusive prince. “I would love to. However, it may be best if we returned to the palace first so that I can change into something more appropriate.”

“You heard the lady, Otis. We’re off to the palace.”

Back at the palace Brigieta rushed through a bath while Ulla laid out her clothes.

“A letter from Nuelda arrived while you were out. I placed it on your desk,” Ulla said as she finished with Brigieta’s hair.

“Whose it from?”

“Lord Voltaire.”

Brigieta retrieved the letter and tore it open with her finger. It simply read, The package has been delivered. Tucked in with the note was an invoice for twenty thousand weapons to be delivered in 12 weeks to Vahvun. Brigieta grinned from ear to ear.

“Good news?” Ulla asked.

“Great news. Kyle’s finally been delivered to Isa. Also, our first official arms order has come in. I wonder if Isa knows that he just bought a stockpile of weapons for Vahvun from me.”

“Knowing your uncle, he probably knows but has not told anyone.”

“True. Today may have started out rough but it is starting to look up. Soon I will have enough weapons and men at my disposal to take the crown, if it is not handed to me by Tristyn.” Brigieta relished the thought of sitting on the throne and being the one to call the shots. In 4 months she would be queen one way or the other. But first she had a date with a handsome young prince. If only Eldwa was the one that she had to compete for, then all her troubles would be behind her. Tristyn was so dreary and utterly dull.

When Brigieta arrived outside the palace, Eldwa escorted her to his private home. The magnificent house stood on a reclusive street near the school that Eldwa attended. Servants dashed about seeing to their every need.

“I hope lunch was satisfactory,” Eldwa said, lounging in a plush chair in his study that also served as a two-story library. Ladders ran up and down the wall and moved about on rails.

“Lunch was exceptional. Thank you.” Brigieta ran her hand along some of the books that took up every inch of the library shelves. “Are all these yours? I’ve never seen so many in one place. Where did you find them?”

Eldwa chuckled. “No my dear, these do not belong to me. You have Tristyn to thank for taking up all the space in my study. He is a collector of antiques, and old books are his weak spot. I’m a student of science, all I need to know is contained in this,” Eldwa said tapping his electronic notebook. “Do you have plans for this afternoon or can I interest you in a stroll through the gardens?”

“That would be delightful,” Brigieta said, turning her back on the dusty books and considered how handsome and more intelligent Eldwa was than his older brother.

Eldwa was gracious and gentle in his behavior. He was smart but never made her feel dumb. They spent the afternoon in the gardens talking about art, fashion, anything and everything that would keep Eldwa talking about his personal life. Although she had initially been on guard, Brigieta soon warmed up to Eldwa’s charm.

“I cannot remember the last time I had such a relaxing day,” Brigieta remarked as the sun was setting. They each held a glass of wine as they stood on a patio overlooking the beach. The cool breeze off the ocean settled all around them, bringing with it the awakening noises of the night life.

“It is a shame that it must come to an end. We should do this again,” Eldwa said. He had not taken his eyes form her since he had rescued her from her morning mishaps.

“I would like that. When I become queen I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of each other.” Brigieta noticed the flash of jealousy cross Eldwa’s face. It was there one breath and gone the next.

“Tell me, what are your hopes to accomplish if you were to become queen?”

Brigieta considered whether to tell him the truth. She settled for telling him part of it at least. “I want to put an end to this fighting between us and the Juntus. It has to stop. Many good people are dying for archaic reasons that no one can even recall.”

“That is a lofty goal. How do you plan to accomplish this?”

“I have my plans. How about you? If you were to be king what would you do?”

Eldwa looked longingly into her eyes. “I would marry the most beautiful woman and do anything to make her happy.” Eldwa broke his stare and pulled himself together. “Also, I would make sure that every child received an education. But it will never be. Tristyn is the king-to-be.”

Brigieta bit the inside of her lip pondering what to say. In the end she dared it. “That is noble of you, but one does not know the future. Perhaps there is yet a chance to see both our dreams come true.”

They clinked their wine glasses and sat in silence until it was time for Brigieta to leave. Eldwa saw her to the door that would lead her back towards her wing of the Palace. He took her hand and kissed the back of it gently. With hope filled eyes he asked, “Did you mean what you said?”

Brigieta cupped the cheek of her love sick puppet. “Every word.” With that, she left him to wonder at what could be his if he dared to pay the price she would require.

Chapter 19

Birds chirped happily as the morning sun shone through the tree canopy. Weeks had passed since Lynn had last visited the library with Kyle. The day was nice and warm and the company exceptional.

“Last one to the library has to jump in the pool first,” Robert called over his shoulder. Tristyn bent down low over Robert as they sprinted away.

“Let’s catch them,” Lynn urged Velice.

They raced through the forests at blinding speeds, Tristyn in the lead, Lynn in the middle, with Bo and Jo bringing up the rear. Lynn laughed when they finally caught up and passed Robert and Tristyn. She remembered her first ride out here and how scared she had been. Now that she knew how to protect herself, life seemed a fair bit more exciting.

The race was neck to neck, but in the end Velice pulled ahead and dashed through the barn door first. After congratulations, they brushed down their companions and gave them some food and water. The stable hands had the day off and so this chore fell to them. Lynn actually enjoyed brushing Velice. It always left her feeling calm and relaxed.

“Ready?” Lynn asked as they put everything away.

“Yes. Let’s go,” Tristyn agreed, offering his arm to Lynn.

They entered the small house that served as the library curator’s home. Lord Parin von Libek was nowhere to be found. A note left on the fire mantelpiece was addressed to Lynn. She opened the note and scanned the content.

“What does it say?” Tristyn asked.

“Parin has gone to town today. We’re both allowed to roam the library as we like, but any escorts have to remain in the waiting room. He apologizes that he won’t be here to grant us access to the rare collections.”

“No matter. From what you say there is plenty to see.”

“Bo, Jo, will the two of you be all right staying up here?” Lynn asked.

They both nodded wordlessly and spread out on the couches, clearly preparing for a snooze. Lynn rolled her eyes. For being her bodyguards, these two had a knack of slacking off. Well, in all fairness, they always seemed to appear when she needed them, so she couldn’t complain about having some privacy and alone time with Tristyn. Lynn pushed the button in the middle of the spoke wheel tapestry that hung over the fire place. The secret entrance opened and Lynn led the way down.

“Is this the main entrance to the library?” Tristyn asked after sneezing from the disturbed dust.

“No, I don’t think so. The main entrance used to be in a clearing about a 10-minute walk south from here. At the time when the King’s line was broken, the main entrance was destroyed. The book by Lady Giodina explains that when Tiana von Feol became queen she did not want people remembering the archaic ways but be free to explore their uniqueness. Lady Giodina was an expert historian and wrote many books. They’ve taught me much on Saldioran history and traditions. It’s kind of funny in a way.”

“How so?”

Lynn stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “People traded in their old traditions for new ones. Only by understanding our history can we appreciate our present and look forward to the future.”

“You seem passionate about this?”

Lynn opened the door to the library and stepped through. Tristyn gawked at the rows upon rows of floor to ceiling bookshelves.

“There is a wealth of knowledge to be found here. So yes, I’m passionate to learn as much as I can.”

“This. Is. Amazing!” Tristyn gasped, running his fingers along a row of books. “This makes my personal library seem miniscule in comparison. I had no idea so many of them had been preserved.” Tristyn took Lynn’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me here and making this possible.”

“You’re welcome. Now come on, there’s a lot more to see.” Lynn led Tristyn to the glass wall where they stood peering out over the Valley of the Divide at the Greenstin Forest; silver trees waving back at them. Lynn shivered just thinking about all the secrets and dread that the forest held. “Do you know anyone who’s gotten lost in the forest?”

“As a matter of fact I do.”

“Who?”

Tristyn stared off at the forest, concern and awe filling his face. “Lord Lile von Talion. Kyle’s dad.”

“Oh. I remember Kyle telling me how he acquired Ferial. What happened to Lord Lile?”

Tristyn shrugged. “No one knows. He was in the palace one day, and the next he had deserted Kyle and his king, and walked into the forest. Never to be seen again.”

“How old were you when this happened?”

Tristyn tapped his finger on his lips, trying to recall. “I must have been 6 or 7. Kyle was devastated of course, and for some odd reason refused to talk about it. Although I consider Kyle like a brother, he has never told me what happened to this day.”

Lynn reflected on what it must have felt like to be abandoned at such a young age. How she wished she could just talk with Kyle, even if it was just for a moment. Her heart ached terribly as she worried about where he may be and what trouble he was in. She was about to say something to that effect, but then recalled that this was her time with Tristyn and it would be rude to talk about Kyle when she’s trying to get to know Tristyn. So instead she said, “Come, I want to show you something.”

Lynn led Tristyn to her favorite study and showed him how to pull up information about books. Then she showed him how to find those books on the shelves. The next few hours slipped away as they enjoyed the comfortable silence and leafed through one book after the other. Occasionally they would share an interesting fact that they had learned.

“Look here,” Tristyn said pointing at a picture of a lobble vase. He had been searching all afternoon for clues that could help them find out why the Juntus wanted Lynn’s necklace. “This looks exactly like the family heirloom vases you destroyed.”

“Am I never going to hear the end of that?”

Tristyn grabbed Lynn’s hand and pulled her close. “Never.” They stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Tristyn cleared his throat, breaking the moment and nodded towards the book. “Well, what do you think?”

Lynn picked up the book and looked at it in all earnest. “It could be.” Lynn turned the page. “It says here that these vases were created by Lord Vivialdo von Illinisa and that at all times each leader of a house would have one in their possession. It also says that it is supposed to be part of a key.”

“A key? To what?” Tristyn asked peering at the book over Lynn’s shoulder.

“It reads… The lobble vase is one of three pieces of a key. Together with the other pieces the whole key can be used to activate the mighty weapon.” Lynn flipped a few more pages, but it only went into intricate detail on how the vases were constructed. Pappy would have loved it. “Do you think my necklace is another piece?”

“Possibly. But what could be the third piece?”

Neither of them had an answer. “Don’t give up. We’ll figure it out.” Tristyn’s reassuring words calmed Lynn’s racing heart.

“Perhaps Olash knows something about this. I’ll ask Parin if we can borrow this book.” The silence drifted between them, and instead of pondering the disappointment of having yet more questions, Lynn decided to focus on things within her control. “It’s getting late. How about a picnic before heading back to the palace?”

“That sounds delightful. Lead the way.”

They left the dusty library behind and joined their friends already enjoying the waterfall and pool. Tristyn spread out a blanket on the green grass while Lynn retrieved a bundle from her sack that contained the picnic food. The waterfall produced fresh spring water for them to enjoy.

After a snack, Lynn blocked the sun from shining in her eyes and looked at the top of the waterfall. She remembered the first time Kyle had taken her by the hand there. She had trusted him with her life and together they had leapt off that cliff together. Every moment of the day she regretted the harsh words she had spoken to him after he had won the Leyente duels. Each one of her words had cut him deep. Her anger at his secrets had stopped her from considering why the man she trusted would do such a thing. After everything she has learned since then, the biggest fact is that at all times Kyle had kept his promise to protect her and help her become queen by marrying his best friend. How she desperately hoped that it was not too late and that she would have a chance to tell him how sorry she was, and thank him for always being there for her.

“What are you thinking about?” Tristyn asked.

Lynn was startled back to the present. “I’m thinking about what a wonderful time I’ve had today.”

Tristyn stared at her a minute and then looked away. He plucked at some grass. “You don’t have to lie.”

“I’m not. I had a marvelous day.”

Tristyn smiled gently. “I had a good day to, but that is not what you are lying about. Be honest. What were you thinking about just now when you went miles away from me?”

“How do you know I’m lying?”

“Because you’re biting your lower lip. Kyle said it is a telltale sign that you are covering something up.”

At Kyle’s name, Lynn’s eyes betrayed her as they zipped to the top of the waterfall. Tristyn who had been paying close attention said, “You were thinking about Kyle, were you not?”

Feeling like a fool, Lynn nodded. She did not feel comfortable admitting to the one that she was courting that she was thinking of another man.

Tristyn came to her rescue. “It’s all right you know. We can talk about Kyle, if you like. I think about him too and how I’m letting him down by not chasing after the leads myself in an attempt to find him.”

“He would not want you to. He knows your duty is to remain here and pick a wife. Let others do the searching.”

Tristyn leaned back on his elbows and peered up at the sun. Lynn had thought the conversation done until Tristyn said, “I’ve already chosen whom I’m going to marry.”

Startled, Lynn sat up straight. “You have?”

Tristyn closed his eyes. “Yes.”

She knew he wanted her to ask who. However, she felt that it was not her place to question him. Besides, how could she tell if he told the truth? Perhaps he said this to all the beauties to test them. Well, she would not play his game. It would be better not to know. So she settled for a diplomatic reply. “I hope you will be happy together.”

Tristyn jerked up and laughed until tears formed in his eyes. “Oh Lynn. You are so precious when you try to be naïve.”

Lynn scowled at him. “Whatever do you mean?”

“It’s you.”

Lynn shook her head not understanding. What was he talking about? She gasped as Tristyn pulled her into a hug. He whispered in her ear, “I’ve chosen to marry you.”

Lynn sat back. “What?”

“Kyle told me everything. I cannot believe Dechou’s prophecies from A Royal Return are coming true. You are the royal heir. The throne belongs to you, and it will be an honor to return your kingdom to you through our marriage. I’m sure it is meant to be.” The words bubbled out of Tristyn, as if he’d been keeping them pent up for years.

“No.”

That single word brought Tristyn slamming back hard to reality. He raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean, no.”

Lynn folded her arms. “I will not marry you simply for the sake of restoring the King’s line.”

Tristyn’s mouth dropped open. “But why not? How else would you get your kingdom back? And what have you been working towards all this time then if not to marry me?”

“Listen closely for this is something you must understand.”

Tristyn nodded indicating that he was paying attention.

Lynn continued. “I will only marry for love. We have only really known each other for a week. I do like you, and all though you may be ready to marry me, I’m not ready to marry you. I want to get to know you more. What I don’t want to do is rush into this, marry and then ten years from now feel like you are a total stranger. Can you understand this?”

Tristyn stared at her with round unblinking eyes as he processed this information. Lynn worried that she had just cost herself the marriage. She wanted to marry for love. Nothing else would do, even if it did mean she would lose Tristyn. Grammy had warned her that she would have to choose between love and loyalty. This must have been what Grammy meant. Right?

“I understand, but know that our time together is limited. I have made my choice. I will marry you, if you will have me.”

She wanted to tell him yes on the spot, but Grammy’s words kept running through her mind. Should she marry out of duty to restore the King’s line and serve the people or should she marry for love? Why could these two not be the same?

These questions haunted her on their silent ride back to the palace. The determined look on Tristyn’s face had been comforting. But could she love him? Yes, she was attracted to him. In the end she decided that she owed it to herself. She would try to love Tristyn and see what happened.

Chapter 20

Williamson pulled on the tight dress uniform he had raided out of the Captain’s closet. They had debated for hours as to what would be the best way into the manufacturing plant, whether to go in under disguises, or to just raid it at night. First they would try the disguises.

As the shuttle approached the manufacturing plant, they flew over a deep ravine that had been cut into the crust of the red clay surface of the planet. Williamson was amazed by the size of the manufacturing plant; it could swallow up three of the palaces on Saldiora. How in the world were they going to make it out of there alive? Williamson and his crew had studied the layout of the factory for weeks, but now that they saw it up close, the blueprints faded from their memory.

Williamson pulled at the collar of the uniform as he scanned the shuttle and took in the state of each of his crewmembers. Lamean sat behind the pilot chair, intently concentrating on getting them safely on the ground. They had gotten clearance to land a few minutes ago, and he was chatting away with ground control as he prepared to land.

Rael sat next to Lamean, eyes round and trying to drink in everything she was seeing. She usually only got to read about new planets in reports, so this was her first time actually on a new planet. Her excitement was contagious as her smile eased some of the tension at the pit of Williamson’s stomach. Vior and Stix sat at the back, content to leave the flying up to Lamean.

“We’ll be landing in 2 minutes,” Lamean announced.

“Everyone, check your gear and be ready. Follow the plan, but improvise when needed. You guys are exceptional at improvising, use it. Don’t play by the rules,” Williamson said as he straightened his jacket. He wished he could be wearing jumpsuits like everyone else, but he had to look the part of a captain wanting to do business or they would never make it into the compound.

The shuttle touched down and the door opened. They all stepped out into the bright desert sunlight of Drexos. A contraption hovered in the air a few feet away from them. The hover craft extended a ramp to them and a metallic voice said “Please enter.”

They all filed into the craft. As it flew off, Williamson leaned over to Lamean “You sure you can find the way back to the shuttle?”

“I placed a transmitter on the shuttle that I can track with this.” Lamean smiled pointing at his comm.

Satisfied, Williamson ignored all the twists and turns the hover craft was taking, and instead focused on their surroundings. They swiftly flew by rows upon rows of market vendors, all selling different wears. The manufacturing plant seemed to be more like a central hub of civilization on this planet. After the markets, they passed through a 10 feet thick inner concrete wall. The hover craft took a few more turns, and then stopped in a large room.

The vaulted ceilings were ribbed by golden beams, and glass stained windows allowed sunlight to filter onto the marbled floors. People dressed impeccably smart walked to and fro, through what seemed to be a central station of sorts. Hover shuttles stopped all over the place, and people were constantly getting on and off, going who knew where. In the center of the room was a round desk with a huge “Information” sign over it.

“Let’s try over there,” Williamson suggested as he headed to the desk.

“How may I help you?” asked the old woman with curlers stuck in her grey hair. She stared up at Williamson from behind the desk.

“Umm… well you see, we would like to make a purchase,” Williamson started to explain.

“What would you like to buy?” the old woman asked, turning towards her computer.

Williamson gulped. He leaned forwards and whispered, “Castosius.”

The old woman did not say a word or even look at him, she just typed away on her computer. Silence filled the air and he wasn’t sure the lady had heard him. He was about to lean over and tell her again when she swiveled in her chair, took something from the bookshelf behind her, and turned back to him, holding out an envelope.

“You will need to fill out this document in triplicate with blue ink, and return it here before you will be allowed to speak to a vendor,” she explained as she slid the envelope across the table.

“I thought there was only one vendor that sold Castosius?” Rael blurted out.

Williamson was about to chastise her for speaking out of turn, but the old woman did not seem to mind the outburst. “There is only one who sells pure Castosius, but you’ll need to make a substantial down payment if you wish to talk with him.” The old woman peered over her spectacles and looked Williamson over head to toe, “I don’t suppose you have a million Rupids hiding away in the suite of yours.”

Williamson shook his head. “No ma’m,” he said. He didn’t have that much money and had never even known someone who did.

“Then I suggest you fill out the paperwork and take what you can get. Good day to you.” The old woman swiveled back to her computer, and ignored them.

“Now what?” asked Vior.

Williamson handed Rael the envelope, “Fill it out?”

Rael dug out a blue pen from her pocket, and slipped out a decent sized book out of the envelope. “Um, Williamson?”

“Yes?” Williamson said, becoming agitated.

“They want to know a lot of details… this may take some time,” Rael said, holding up the booklet.

“I hate bureaucracy,” he grumbled before making up his mind. “All right. You and Vior stay here and finish it up. Stix and Lamean with me. We’ll meet up when you’re done.”

Rael nodded, tore off half the booklet form and handed it to Vior, who immediately got to work on it.

“Where we going?” Stix asked, his tail bouncing up and down as he trailed behind Williamson and Lamean.

“I thought I saw a drinking hole on the way here. Perhaps we can get some more… useful… information from the locals,” Williamson said.

“Do you know how to hold your liquor?” Lamean asked, skeptical.

“Of course. Do you?” Williamson answered nonchalant.

The pub was dark and smelled of musky bodies that had been out in the sun too long. The place was starting to get crowded as more and more men slumped down to enjoy a refreshing cold beer and supper.

After hours of trying to make small talk with these men, Williamson stared at the empty bottom of his cup. He’d eventually given up on discovering anything useful and had instead left it up to Lamean and Stix to work the room. Lamean sat at the bar with three pretty girls surrounding him, hanging on his every word. Stix on the other hand played a game of grambshee in the corner with some of the men. Williamson didn’t understand the game, except that it involved luck and wasting your money.

Williamson stared down at his communicator watch. It had been at least 4 hours since he left Rael to deal with the paper work. He was starting to get a bit concerned, they should have been done ages ago. Should he call her? He was just about to tap on his comm when Rael and Vior sauntered in.

They slid in across the table from Williamson as Stix wrapped up his game and Lamean disentangled himself from the girls. They all stared at one another from across the table.

“Well? Report,” Williamson said.

“Shouldn’t we go somewhere, more secure?” Vior asked, scanning the room.

“Don’t worry. Everyone here’s too drunk to care what we have to say,” Lamean observed with a hiccup.

Williamson eyed him suspiciously.

“Sorry,” Lamean said while dragging his sleeve across his face.

“Let’s hear it,” Williamson ordered.

Rael yawned as she took a piece of the bread that had been placed on the table by the waitress. “We finished out the paperwork and handed it back to that cremudeon of an old fart. Then she proceeded to give us another booklet. In the first one we had to disclose why we needed the Castosius , and in the second we had to provide evidence that we could afford it.”

Williamson looked aghast, “How did you complete it?”

“We made stuff up,” Rael said.

“And then she hacked into their system to make it all seem legit,” Vior contributed nervously. “They are bound to catch onto us.”

“Yeah, but I was only in their system for less than 5 minutes. They shouldn’t be able to tell. I covered my tracks.”

“What took so long then?” Williamson asked, “Besides filling out the forms, you’ve been gone for hours.”

“We had a tail coming here,” Vior explained.

“What?” Williamson asked.

“A bald man in a blue turncoat kept following us everywhere once we left the information desk. It took us forever to shake him before we could return here relatively confident that we lost him.”

“Now that is interesting,” Stix commented. “Why would they follow you?”

Rael and Vior shrugged in unison.

“How long did they say it would take for us to meet the seller?” Williamson asked.

Rael sighed, “The old fart said it could be hours or weeks, depends on how much money we had offered to make the purchase. I think we’d have a better chance if we grew the caddyweed ourselves.”

“Not so,” Stix supplied. “Caddyweed is extremely difficult to grow, it takes up to 6 months for one plant to be ready for harvest.”

“Where’d you learn that?” Rael asked.

Stix nodded at the men around the room. “Most of these guys work in the manufacturing plant.”

“What else did you learn?” Williamson asked.

“Let’s see,” Stix said as his tail bounced up and down. “You know that ravine we flew over?”

Everyone nodded.

“How could you miss that?” Lamean asked with another hiccup.

Stix ignored the question. “Well, the caddyweed only grows at the bottom of that ravine. It takes a perfect combination of soil, light, and water from the river at the bottom of the ravine to grow caddyweed. These men have to climb up and down the ravine to harvest each individual plant. At most, they can harvest two or three plants a day.”

“Why don’t they just fly down?” Lamean asked gently, swaying side to side a bit as he tried to get more comfortable.

“No place to land.”

“Ah. Well that’s interesting and all, but not nearly as grand as what I learned,” Lamean said, pointing one finger in the air.

“And that is?” Rael asked, giving Lamean a disapproving eye.

“I found out who the main manufacturer for caddyweed is of course,” Lamean said.

“What? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Williamson asked.

“Shhh!!” Lamean said holding a finger to his lips. “Not so loud, it hurts my ears.” Lamean shook his head trying to clear it. “His name is Zentrial.” Lamean nodded his head at a blond girl that winked at him from the bar. “She works in his kitchens as a scullery maid. Nice girl, but she blabs too much.”

“Do you have an address?” Rael asked.

“She said… she said…” Lamean’s eye lids fell shut and his head plunked down on the table.

“Ugh! Never mind,” Rael said taking out her electronic notebook and started digging for information.

“I found us a lovely inn to rest up at tonight. It’s not too far,” Vior said, standing and helping Stix heave Lamean over Stix’s shoulders.

Together they headed out into the dark of night. As they turned the corner heading down the main street, a bald man with a blue turncoat stepped out in front of them. He had a weapon raised at them. Williamson spun around, and saw 10 more men appear out of the shadows, all with their weapons drawn.

Williamson spun back, and although he itched to fight, he knew they were outmatched. “Can I help you gentleman?” Williamson asked.

“I hear you’re looking for Zentrial,” the man said.

Williamson swallowed hard. “How did you know that?”

“It’s not every day someone comes to town seeking to buy Castosius.”

“Do you know where we can find him?” Rael asked, putting her electronic notebook away.

The man smirked. “I can help you find him. You will come with me, and not make a sound.”