by Zara Zenia
He glanced at it. “It's okay,” he said. “That's the fuel gauge. It's not quite full, but it's got plenty to take us to our trip.”
“What is fuel economy like on a ship like this?” she asked.
He gave her a funny look. “I have no idea,” he said.
She laughed. “It's okay. I'm just teasing you,” she said.
“Is that something that you talk about on Earth?” he asked.
“Sometimes,” she said. “Usually whenever someone buys a new car, you inquire about the fuel economy. And the cup holders.”
She knew they were just making idle conversation, but she was thrilled at the feeling of his arms on her shoulders, reaching around her to guide her.
“What about ships?” he asked.
“I mean, some people buy planes, but the ships are business-owned,” she said. “It's really rare for regular people. Mostly, it's just road cars.”
“How quaint,” he said with a smile. “I think I would enjoy that.”
“Perhaps you could. Perhaps we could pay Earth a visit sometime,” she said. “When everything is settled.”
She was afraid that he was going to say no. But instead, he shrugged.
“Why not?” he said. “I've never been, and I don't think we'll be needed every second of every day. I'm sure we could find some time.”
“That would be neat,” she said, resisting the urge to lean her head against his arm. Before she knew it, they were hovering and then ascending through the sky. “Oh, I did it! We did it!”
“You did it,” he said, and then she felt his lips on her ear.
She shuddered with pleasure. It was a brief moment, or perhaps it was even an accident, but it made her body tingle. She knew this trip was going to be amazing because of what she was going to get to paint. But as they flew along, her hopes grew that perhaps it was going to be more than amazing. She remembered Queen Joronna's words about producing an heir and thought that maybe, if everything was perfect, they could try for the first time. It might not work, but she thought that perhaps she could be in the mood to at least attempt to produce a Tamaraxian child.
It was the first time she had really thought such a thing, aside from half-asleep lustful dreams.
Chapter 14
Draklan
Eventually, they reached a cruising altitude. Draklan was not at all bothered by the fact that there was a bit of turbulence, but Margot seemed a bit nervous. In order to distract her, he decided to ask her about her family. She knew his family, of course, but he didn't know much about hers.
“I mean, pretty normal,” she said. “I'm an only child, so I don't have any sibling drama. But I'm close to my mom. I was just talking to my mother this morning.”
“Oh?” Draklan asked. “Did you finish your conversation with her?”
“Uh, well, I was in a bit of a rush,” Margot replied. “Why?”
“You could call her on this screen.” Draklan pointed to the ship’s screen. “And she could see outside the ship too.”
“Really?” This idea seemed to excite Margot. “Yes, let's do that, please. She would love that.”
“All right.” Draklan reached over to set it up. He found that he was happy whenever she was happy, something he never experienced with anyone else before. She had such a bright smile that he wanted to see it at every opportunity. “Now, do you know your mother's contact information for a video call?”
It didn't take long for Margot to input it, and Draklan showed her how to proceed.
“I'll just be over here,” he said, pointing to a corner of the ship.
“Why?” Margot asked, surprised.
He gave her a funny look. “Well, you'll be talking to your mother,” he said, “and I don't want to interrupt.”
“Don't you want to meet her?” Margot asked.
Draklan stuttered. “Um . . . do you want me to?”
“Well . . .” Margot considered this. “Yes. I think so. She's heard so much about you, after all.”
“Oh.” Draklan wasn't usually nervous, but he felt nervous now. He could speak to crowds throughout the kingdom and stand on the balcony and wave at the thousands of people without any fear. But the idea of talking with Margot's mother sent his heart into flutters. He wanted to make a good impression, and he was in more casual clothing than normal. “Uh . . . I'm sure I could—”
“Awesome!” Margot cried and pressed the Call button before he could say anything else. The call rang several times and then her mother was on the line.
She looked just like Margot, or the way Draklan thought Margot would age. She had her eyes and a few more wrinkles, but other than that, they were identical.
“Hi, Mom,” Margot said. “This is Draklan. My husband.”
Margot's mother took a moment and then smiled. “Hello, Draklan,” she said. “It's nice to meet you.”
“Hello,” Draklan said, feeling like he should shake her hand or do anything other than dip forward toward a camera. “It’s nice to finally meet you as well. Margot tells me such good things about you.”
“Are you two on your road trip now?” she asked.
Margot smiled. “Yes, Mom. Let me show you. Let me . . . how do I flip the camera?”
Draklan leaned forward, accidentally brushing her arm. Their eyes met, and Margot smiled as he flipped the camera to show the outside view.
“Oh, my goodness,” her mother gasped. “Margot, that's so wonderful.”
“Isn't it the most amazing view?” Margot asked. “You should see the other window. And this is a small shuttle, Mom. The big ship was even better.”
“Do you two own this ship?” she asked.
“Uh . . .” Margot turned to Draklan as she switched the camera back to look at them.
“We do,” he said. “Well, it's part of the Palace Fleet. Depending on what type of journey the royals take, there are various types of ships and shuttles.”
“Oh, that's right,” her mother said. “I sometimes forget that you’re a prince. How exciting.”
“Uh . . . yes,” Draklan said. He was secretly thrilled with the fact that she wasn't thinking about his being a prince because it meant that Margot wasn't talking about it that much. It meant, to him, that Margot was more focused on their marriage and the person he was than his rank. “I'm the third in line to the throne, so we have third pick of the fleet.”
“But the other two princes never go anywhere,” Margot said with a grin. “My brothers-in-law are dedicated to their jobs, luckily for us and our shuttle pick. My brother-in-law, Bhatraz, actually planned this whole trip for us.”
“Well, that's quite nice,” her mother said.
They chatted for a while, and then Margot's mother said that she had to go. Margot said her goodbyes and then turned to Draklan.
“What did you think?” she asked.
“Your mother seems nice,” Draklan said, not sure what else he was supposed to say. “I . . . she forgot I was a prince.”
“Yeah,” Margot said. “I guess I don't talk about it that much. And when I was on Earth . . . some of the gallery openings we have attended have had celebrities, so she's pretty used to it. She’s never cared about those things. She always cared more about the food at the openings than who was standing beside her.”
“Sounds like a good soul,” he said with a smile.
“She is,” Margot said, looking fondly at the blank screen. “She just wants me to be happy, and she doesn't really mind how I find it.”
“I wish my mother was like that,” Draklan replied.
Margot gave him a gentle smile.
“I think she does want you to be happy,” she said. “She just thinks that your happiness and her happiness are the same thing.”
“Which they most certainly are not,” Draklan answered. “I think she thinks that her happiness and the kingdom's happiness are the same thing. Even when my father was alive, he would have to constantly remind her that she didn't know the views of the whole kingdom.”
Margot paused, meeti
ng his eyes. “You miss him a lot, don't you?”
Draklan felt a dagger in his heart as she spoke gently. “I do,” he said. “Partly because he never seemed to struggle. He always seemed to know what to do.”
“Do you think that's . . .” Margot paused, searching for words. “Let me try again. Do you think that he never struggled or that he was good at keeping his composure?”
“I mean, he must have,” Draklan said. “Nobody can be perfect at this . . . can they?” He thought that he might have to elaborate on what he meant, but Margot seemed to understand.
“No,” Margot said softly. “I think everyone struggles.”
It was the most honest conversation that they had ever had, and it seemed to change things between them. Draklan felt hope as they cruised along. His hope wasn't just in his attraction to Margot but also in his thought that perhaps she would be a good co-ruler. He had thought this before, but it seemed in the past few days, she was adding to it with her every action.
The ride was mostly smooth until the halfway mark. As soon as they reached it, it was as if someone had flipped a switch on the small shuttle.
It started to stutter, and Margot turned to Draklan, concerned.
“Is that all right?” she asked.
He tried to remain calm as he considered what could possibly be wrong. “I don't think it's terrible,” he said. “Sometimes, we hit a bit of turbulence, and because the shuttle is so small, it takes a beating.”
“Right, but we aren't going to crash or anything?” Margot asked.
“Never seen it happen,” he answered, trying to put her at ease. “So I really wouldn't worry.”
“Right,” she said, trusting him. “When do people learn to fly shuttles around here?”
“You can get a license at ten,” he said, “and fly alone when you are twelve.”
“Oh, my,” Margot answered. “That's quite young.”
“Why, how long do they take on Earth to learn? It's just on the road, right?”
“Yes, mostly. And in most places, it's sixteen,” she said.
“You're an adult by then,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “No,” she said. “You certainly are not.”
“I think Earth years and Tamaraxian years are different,” he said.
“You’re probably right,” she agreed.
They dove into a discussion about the differences and had almost forgotten about the turbulence when it happened again. Margot nearly jumped into Draklan's arms, and he stood up from his dinner, going to the control panel. She didn't offer to learn this time, and Draklan took a moment to think in silence, looking at the various monitors and lights.
“Everything is reading all right,” he said after a few moments. “But that doesn't mean there isn't something . . . about to go wrong.”
“Should we land?” she asked.
He turned to her. “I don't think so,” he said. “Not unless you want to.”
“Well . . .” Margot looked between him and the control panel. “Are we all right?”
“I wouldn't do anything to put you in danger,” he said. “And I really don't think we should land. I want to get there as soon as possible.”
“All right.” She seemed unsure, but she did want to trust him. “What should we do then?”
“We could . . . where's the manual for this?”
Margot smiled at that. “That seems like an Earth thing,” she said. “People are always asking for the manual for something.”
Draklan and Margot searched the shuttle and eventually found an electronic manual. It was all in Tamaraxian, which all official documents were in. Margot was trying to work on learning the language, but it was incredibly difficult. She was blessed in the fact that the entire royal family spoke English, or Basic, as they referred to it. Some of them were better at it than others, but she hadn't run into a problem until now.
“Uh . . .”
“Here,” he said, offering to scan it.
“Will you teach me someday?” she asked him.
“If you are to stay here your whole life, I would think that you’d pick it up,” he replied, and the idea of her spending her future with him made him smile. “But yes, I can teach you, if you want.”
“Well, you aren't going to teach me right now,” Margot said as the shuttle stuttered again.
“That's true,” he replied and looked down at the manual again.
It didn't help him in the slightest, especially given that nothing seemed to be the problem. He could tell that they really shouldn't be experiencing that many bumps, given that the air outside was smooth. He didn't want to alarm Margot, so he decided to do what he usually did when he had no idea what he was doing, which was to call Pralmav.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” Margot asked again.
“It may just be that one of the sensors isn't properly detecting the turbulence outside,” he replied. “Which would explain why we are bumping along without feeling it. So I'm just going to ask him how to reset that because the manual isn't very clear.”
“Oh,” Margot said, although she didn't quite seem to understand. Draklan dialed his brother's lab, hoping that he would answer. It took a bit of calling around, but eventually, he found Pralmav, who looked a bit annoyed as he came to the camera.
“Brother,” he said. “Aren't you supposed to be on a trip?”
“I am on the trip.” Draklan switched to Tamaraxian now that he knew exactly how little Margot understood of it. “And there is something wrong with the shuttle. Can you help?”
“Maybe,” Pralmav said. “Describe the problem.”
As soon as he described the problem, Pralmav's faced changed.
“Well, that's not good,” he said. “Let me see if I can recall the way to reset that model.”
Margot looked half alarmed at the fact that they were communicating in Tamaraxian because she seemed to know the problem was worse than he’d said it was.
“I think you might need to land,” he said. “And quickly.”
“We're almost there,” Draklan responded. “Don't you think we could just wait until we get there and then take it to someone to fix?”
“I wouldn't—” Pralmav said and then the video cut out.
“Uh . . .” Draklan hit the screen and then hit it again. “This isn't good.”
“Draklan,” Margot said, and then the climate control went out. The shuttle immediately got a bit colder “Uh-oh.”
“The thing is,” Draklan said as he looked at the monitors and the landscape below, “right now, we are over a lake and this is not rated for water landings. So we don't want to do that.”
“What happens if we land on the water?” Margot asked.
“We sink,” he said.
“Oh,” she replied. “How long until we aren't over water?”
“A few hours,” he said. “But we should be good flying until then.”
“Amazing,” she said and tried to smile. “Well, we wanted an adventure.”
“It's definitely an adventure,” he replied, trying to hide his nerves from her.
She reached to hold his hand. “I know it's a little bit scary, but is there something else that is bothering you?”
“No,” he said. “I just want to make everything good for you on this trip.”
“I'm having a great time,” she said. “I believe that half the journey is the experience. And this is a truth that I can tell my mother. After we’re safe, of course.”
“After we're safe,” he said. “Which we will be.”
“Mmm,” Margot said, and she looked down at their hands, together. They didn't have a lot of physical affection, but in this moment, it seemed right.
He gave her hand a squeeze.
“Has David tried to contact the wire?”
“No,” Draklan said. “I check it once in a while to see the bounced calls, but there is nothing. I think he took it to heart.”
“That's surprising,” she said. “He's never one to give up.”
>
“You were with him a long time, weren’t you?” Draklan asked.
“Mostly out of pity,” Margot replied. “I know that is a cruel thing to say. But he used to spend all of his time volunteering for charity, and everyone told him what a good person he was. The truth was, he didn't want to work a job, and he didn't want to commit to anything. He told me time and time again that I was selfish because I wasn't willing to use one hundred percent of my paycheck to support him when he volunteered and refused to look for a job.”
“Wait,” Draklan said. “He refused to look for a job?”
“Well, he’d say he was looking, but I don’t think he did, not really. There were plenty of jobs available, but he never seemed to get one,” she responded. “It wasn't that he couldn't get one or he wasn't qualified for anything. I’m pretty sure it was that he wouldn't even look. His life's purpose was volunteering, and I was meant to support him while he did that.”
“And you didn't . . .” he paused, considering his words. “You didn't make that much money, did you?”
“No,” she said. “I told you I was a painter, and that was true. But I barely made enough for one person. I wasn't famous or anything. I had my first solo gallery show the night David . . . ruined everything.”
“Did everyone you know share the same view of him as you?”
“It was pretty split,” she said. “But honestly, most people took his side.”
“That's terrible,” Draklan said. “It shouldn’t be that way. Was there anyone who supported you?”
“Well, no,” Margot replied. “He was a saint. Or so they thought.”
“I'm sorry,” he sympathized. “Really, you shouldn't have gone through that.”
“What about you?” Margot asked, trying to change the topic. “Were you in a relationship before me?”
“Uh, well, that's hard,” he said. “Because any relationship I engaged in had to be approved by the crown.”
“Right, but was there something you didn't tell your parents about?” she asked, arching a brow.
He grinned. “You and I are of one mind,” he said. “There were a few.”
“Anyone as disastrous as David?”
“No,” he said with a smirk. “I was just bad at it.”
