Julian turned his gaze to the floor, afraid that his true feelings would be betrayed by his appearance. He expected Isa would approach Ellie with the suggestion of partnering at some point, and if he was honest with himself, Julian knew Gevandar was the ideal candidate. But he didn’t expect her to spring the idea on her daughter so soon. Certainly not right before the first official leadership meeting since their return.
But more than that, he hadn’t expected his own feelings to cloud his reasoning.
“I cannot express to you how much it means to me that you would stand up for what we have, but Ellie, we can’t pretend this comes as a shock. You were warned, by your family and by me. I am a weapon. An automaton to be used if peace cannot be established through other means. It is understandable that my feelings for you are dismissed as a projection of your human upbringing. By all means, I should feel nothing but unwavering loyalty. Even then, there are those who question my loyalty.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “And as much as I hate it, I was expecting weird looks and comments about our ‘unnatural’ relationship. I mean, come on, you know people say stuff like that on Earth all the time. But Julian, fighting prejudice is one thing. Being told I have to marry someone else is ridiculous, barbaric, and unacceptable!”
Ellie’s declaration filled Julian with an entirely irrational sense of relief, quelling the unwelcome tendrils of jealousy that had crept unexpectedly into his heart.
“You needn’t worry about that right now,” he murmured, pulling her into a comforting embrace, though he wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort her or himself. “You gave yourself a valid reason to hold off any plans your mother may be making for a good long while.”
“I did?” Ellie pulled back and looked up to see Julian staring down at her with an impish smirk.
“You volunteered yourself to serve a traditional term of patriotic service, which is not unlike Earthly military service. Should you officially accept, your term would be three years.”
“Eidyssic, Earth, Ghowrn Universal Cycles, or some other unit of measurement altogether?” Ellie asked sarcastically, but only to hide her growing trepidation. The minor differences in timekeeping mattered little. Three years was a long time.
It was one thing to volunteer for a rescue and recovery mission, but in volunteering to formally enlist in service to Eidyn, she brought to the forefront the stark reality she’d been trying desperately to suppress: She was no longer an Earthling.
Sure, she’d already accepted that she was the child of aliens and knew automatically that she had a duty to stop the tyranny of the Huptsovian Empire, Kyroibi or no Kyroibi. But despite the whirlwind of life-changing events, Ellie still thought of New York as home. She still recognized the need to find a proficient tutor before she failed organic chemistry for the third time. She never once questioned whether she was going back, but when.
A three year or more absence from the planet was never in her plans.
“Oh Ellie,” Julian said softly. He knew what she was doing. Try as she may, Ellie was still unable to hold back her thoughts and feelings, especially from him and especially now. He desperately wished to quell her growing panic, but refrained out of respect. Instead, he held her close and brushed his lips over her ear before whispering, “You’ll see Earth again.”
She tilted her head sideways and gave Julian a questioning look. “Am I that transparent?”
“To me, yes,” he teased. “But I do believe your worry is unfounded.” A playful smile curled at his lips. “I merely meant to assure you that although there are no rules against Eidyssic state servants having normal relationships or even entering into marriage, most who serve note that there is no time for such distractions.”
“That’s something,” she said with a shaky sigh. “But Julian, three years! It was never in my plan to stay away for so long…” She trailed off before she started to fixate.
“You’re forgetting something.”
“What’s that?”
“Your parents and by extension you, are well known on Earth. By now, I’m sure there have been tabloid rumors as to where you have spirited off to. A diplomatic mission to quell suspicions of foul play would likely fall into the category of state service. Besides, at some point Vitokk is going to want to return to Gertie or bring her back here.”
“Speaking of, have you heard anything from him or Vonsse yet?” Ellie asked, grateful for something else to occupy her mind, even temporarily.
“I have not,” Julian answered honestly. None of his inquiries had been answered, which did not surprise him, but he didn’t want to give Ellie extra reason to worry. “Most likely they’re keeping whatever is discussed off the record.”
“Oh?” Ellie raised her eyebrows. “That’s curious.”
“It is unorthodox, but it may be a matter of security. I do not know the circumstances surrounding the commander being out there, but I can tell you that first officer of his is hiding something.”
“Aside from being Paisreatta?”
“That much isn’t hidden.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes in response to the vague remark.
“I am as in the dark as you are,” Julian clarified. “But for what it’s worth, I do not expect any of them to be in any danger.”
“But you expect secrets?”
“I’ve come to learn that the SiFa Cooperative has always maintained a measure of secrecy, but in this case I expect there are secrets of the royal family sort. There was talk of Sintar and Fhasmyr royals who were abroad during the Huptsovian uprising. Whether the brothers have their own differences to sort or not, I’m sure Vonsse is interested in anything Vitokk might have heard while in New York.”
“I’d be curious too,” Ellie began, but immediately shook her head. “You know what? I’ve got enough royal drama of my own right now.” She scowled down at the blinking tablet computer, which chose that moment to remind her of the unpleasantness of having the title of princess thrust unwillingly upon her.
Gevandar was requesting a private meeting in his apartment. Suffering his presence was bad enough without adding an extra layer of creepiness by asking her to his apartment. She jabbed the ignore request button with more force than necessary, hoping to stem off the rising anger over her mother’s declaration.
Ka’griannas’ message was next, informing her that he’d put together a tentative task force and asked if she’d be available to discuss the mission. For that, Ellie sent back a message stating that she was available as soon as possible and got an almost immediate reply with an address and a time later in the afternoon.
Her last message, however, made her light up with joy.
“My father’s on his way back,” she told Julian with a smile. “He’s scheduled to arrive at the docking port in less than a half hour.” It would be tough, but if she could get to the surface unannounced, she might catch him before he hopped the train back into the capital. “Now if there was just a way to hide my pulse trail on this infernal planet.”
“Actually, there is.”
Ellie’s eyes widened in curiosity as she looked up.
“I have something I’ve been meaning to give you.”
The uncharacteristic tremor in Julian’s voice further piqued her curiosity. His face lit up with a flood of uncontrolled emotion. Devotion, of course, but also fear and insecurity.
“What is it?” Ellie’s own voice was thick with curiosity, but tinged with worry.
Julian moved to the desk and picked up a small metal box that Ellie hadn’t noticed earlier.
“I’ve had it for a while, but I only just had a chance to test it and adjust the settings. The technology is new, but the team that designed it are known for quality work and intuitive innovations.” He held out the box and Ellie took it from his hands, slightly amused and curiosity piqued. Julian wasn’t one for rambling or nervousness, especially not in regards to introducing her to new technology.
The box itself was fairly light, despite being some fo
rm of metal. A seam ran along the middle, but lifting the top did nothing. There were no hinges, so she tried twisting and jumped when the two halves seemed to spring apart.
“Oh…”
Ellie’s breath caught in her throat. Inside the box, resting on a silken puff of material, lay a pale silver ring. Her own hands began to tremble as she looked up at Julian, understanding at last his nervousness.
“It’s a pulse dampener,” he explained in a rush, pointing to the small, almost unnoticeable indentations on the smooth outer sides of the ring. “There are two functions. The first setting will allow you to suppress your trail. It won’t be eliminated entirely, but this will help hide it, much like the energy fields of Earth and other energy negative industrialized planets.”
Ellie’s heart fluttered and her diodes flared. It was exactly what she needed to go to her father undetected. Besides that, the thought of disappearing into the wilds of the Korghetian forests without worrying about intruders disrupting her solitude went far in giving her the strength she needed to survive her new life.
“And the other setting,” Julian continued, smiling at her obvious excitement, “will aide you in suppressing your own urge to pulse when you go for a run.”
“Oh, Julian! This is amazing!” Ellie flung her arms around his neck and shared her excitement in the form of a passionate kiss. Hiking was calming, but it didn’t give her the same rush as running. Her heart swelled. Julian wasn’t just giving her a way to escape, he was giving her back a part of her mental well-being. She poured every emotion she had into a look that expressed not just her gratitude, but much more than she’d ever be able to vocalize.
“Will you?” she asked breathlessly, holding out her hand, fingers splayed.
“Of course,” Julian answered, noting Ellie held out her left hand. Her words and his might have been cryptic, but as he slid the pale silver ring onto her finger, their meaning was clear. The sudden rush of conflicting thoughts and emotions overwhelmed her.
“Come with me?”
“I would,” Julian leaned down to kiss her again, but not before hiding away his fears and misgivings. “But I have some inquiries to make and besides, you should spend some time with your father.”
“Fine, but I… I worry,” Ellie admitted.
“Your concern is sweet, but unnecessary,” he said as his expression darkened. “They still fear me.”
“They’d be better off fearing me if anything were to happen to you,” Ellie growled. “Honestly, we need to address this, Julian. What’s the point of being a world leader if I can’t abolish discrimination?”
“One thing at a time, Ellie,” he reminded her with one last kiss. “One thing at a time”
Chapter 5
Korghetia’s docking port was located on a mid-sized island continent, chosen specifically for its remote location in the northern seas. Since this was the largest man-made structure on the surface of the planet, it made sense that the environmentally conscious Korghetians would put the supposed eye sore as far from the green spaces of the rest of the planet as possible. But understanding the motives did not lessen the inconvenience of the location.
Ellie heaved a sigh at the enormity of the base and checked her father’s flight information against the map on the screen in front of her. Interestingly, he was coming in on a commercial transporter from the Sonnan moon of Cald. This was odd, but it worked in her favor. A private vessel would have landed in a special zone that required a security screening, which would have defeated the purpose of her arriving unannounced. Unfortunately, his terminal was also on the opposite side of the island from where she was and there was a pulse dampener over most of the area. With a resigned sigh, she hopped aboard a train and silently willed it to take her swiftly to her destination.
When her father first sent word he would be traveling to T’al Eidyn, Ellie was heartbroken that she couldn’t go with him. But as time dragged on with no additional communication, she began to worry. After all, it was her grandmother, her father’s mother, who had been responsible for the rise of the Huptsovian Empire and the enslavement of millions of Eidyssic people. If the Eidyn government planned to hold El’iadryov responsible, she wasn’t going to let them do so without a fight. Fortunately, there was nothing in his message to indicate that his return was conditional or temporary.
El’iadryov was easy to spot, towering above most of the other travelers. But as Ellie made her way down to the terminal, she noted with chagrin that the passengers—her father included—were already making their way up to the train platform. She snaked her way through the crowd, grateful for her time spent jostling commuters in the New York subway, and hung a tight U-turn to get back onto the escalator to the platform just in time to see her father stepping onto a train as it pulsed away.
So much for surprises, she lamented and grabbed the next car. It didn’t matter that it was going in the opposite direction. Once she was away from the base, Ellie fully intended to pulse her way along the other train’s route, noting that it terminated in the same farming village she’d ridden out to the night before.
The market under the atrium was no less active during the dark, pre-dawn hours of morning. Ellie skillfully avoided the crowded market lanes—where farmers and vendors haggled over the prices of bushel baskets filled with exotic fruits and vegetables—and sidestepped trolley operators making deliveries to various shops. She made a note to come back later in the day if she could, but at that moment, the train pulling into the station demanded her full attention. She let out a sigh of relief as her father exited, eyes on the arrival and departure board that loomed overhead.
“You’re not very easy to find, you know.”
El’iadryov looked down with a start.
“Ellie! I was just headed into the capital to see you. Did you not get my message?”
“I got it,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I was just hoping to surprise you. Besides,” she added with a flicker of discomfort, “it’s nice to have an excuse to get out of the capital.”
“I see.” El’iadryov smiled fondly, happy to see his daughter again, but he did not fail to notice her slight distress. “Perhaps a morning walk would be nice.”
“Thanks,” Ellie smiled and led them away from the market, not wishing to be underfoot as the shopkeepers set up for the long day ahead. “I don’t get this,” she said, waving a hand around to indicate the quaint square. “If the Korghetians absolutely insist on living underground, this is the way to do it. There’s natural light and even vegetation. What the heck possessed them to build their capitol under an active and dangerous volcano?”
“It’s symbolic, mostly,” her father explained. “It shows the people that the government is strong and will not surrender to any threat, even that of nature.”
“That seems unnecessarily reckless,” Ellie muttered.
“It’s only meant to appear that way,” her father assured her. “You are as safe at the capital as you are here. Even if the river of molten slag were to breach its shores, the shielding keeping the city safe would withstand the onslaught.”
“Well, it’s still dreary,” Ellie argued, not entirely sure she shared her father’s optimism about the odds of surviving a catastrophic event.
“That is also significant,” he explained. “It shows the people that the royal family are humble and will not take the choicest location as their own. Although, it seems that particular sentiment has been lost to history as the capital has for as long as I’ve known, been a coveted exotic holiday locale.”
“Korghetians have a strange definition of exotic.” Ellie turned the corner nearly running into a farm worker carrying a basket of purple fruits covered with fat tentacles. After an embarrassed apology, she turned back to her father. “I thought you would have been there for the meeting last night. You know, since the council was called and all.”
“Sorry, my usefulness to the assembly ended with my death.”
She flinched at the blunt reminder. “Does that
really matter though? Gevandar wanted the Kyroibi taken from me. I thought that would make you just as involved as I am.”
“I’m sorry, Ellie, but it doesn’t work like that. I’d already spoken to the council and the temple keep regarding my unique circumstances. You are the Kyroibi’s only master and if I heard correctly, that will not be changing anytime soon. I am nothing more than a ghost who has overstayed his welcome.”
“I wish you’d stop saying that,” Ellie huffed. The urge to run was growing, which didn’t bode well. She spied an empty bench and sat down, sliding over to make room for her father as well. “I mean, I get it, your body died so technically you’re dead. But clearly, you’re aware. Doesn’t sentience give you some sort of rights?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Ellie’s thoughts drifted to Julian and she became angry again. Though since he had been presented as nothing more than a mindless killer, she could at least understand that fear. The discrimination against her father, the man who singlehandedly saved them all from falling to the mercy of his over ambitious predecessor, was not just unfounded, but insulting.
“Perhaps if I was to fight for them, I might make a case for others who find themselves in my unique situation, but what I have done…” He trailed off with a haunted expression that Ellie found disconcerting. “No,” he said with a sigh, “I would not want to do anything to encourage others to do what I did. The cost in the end outweighs the temporary gains.”
“What is it you have done exactly?” she asked hesitantly, caught completely unaware by her father’s abrupt change in demeanor.
“Grounding stones are only meant for temporary suspension of the abstractive root,” he explained. “And used only in the most extreme cases. Usually to obtain the testimony of one who has suffered an untimely death, but there is a limitation on how long a root may be grounded before it suffers the ill effects of being tethered to the physical realm. Trials with dead key witnesses must be wrapped up within a few weeks.”
The Princess Rebellion (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 2) Page 4
