Papi was perfect for what she needed. She’d have no problem taking advantage of him. She grinned to herself at his response to being called Papi and the fact that she’d never heard of him. He clearly thought himself notariable and something of an outlaw.
Rosie adjusted the towel on her back and pulled it tighter around her. Perhaps when her back was dried from the medication she was applying again, she’d go look for Papi. She well knew his name was Rokai, but she’d decided to call him Papi anyway because it clearly irritated him so much. Perhaps she’d see if she could find him — the evening was young, and she found she had a need to mingle a bit.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Zha Quin stood in front of the holovid imager and screen in the meeting room he’d used to meet with his men earlier in the day. Facing him from the holovid screen were his parents.
“Has he arrived?” his father asked.
“Yes, sir. He has,” Quin answered.
“And his attitude?” his mother asked, her eyebrow raised.
“The same if not worse,” Quin answered.
“He is hurting still,” Sovereign Zha Tahl Tha Tel Mo’ Kok, Zha Quin’s father, said.
“Does he make any effort to converse at all?” Eula, Zha Quin’s mother, asked.
“Only with disrespect, sarcasm is the best you can hope for,” Quin answered. “This is why I contacted you. The moment he stepped off the ship, he greeted me as his dear brother. I have no problems with this — I am not ashamed of him. But I know that you have not publicly claimed him. We were in the docking bay when he announced his relation to me, with a bit of glee on his face. I am sure it’s only a matter of time before word gets out. I thought perhaps you would like to make the announcement before the rumors start up again.”
“The rumors have always been a part of life,” Zha Tahl said.
Eula had been looking off into space, her eyes not really focused on anyone. Suddenly she zeroed in on Zha Quin. “This is my fault. Had I been stronger when I was younger, I’d have refused to allow anyone,” she glanced meaningfully at her husband, “anyone at all, to separate me from my child. He should never have been sent back to Quarin for integration with his species. Periodic visits are not enough, were never enough. He should have been afforded all the opportunities that Zha Quin had, and he should never have had any doubt that his mother loved, and still does, love him,” she stated emphatically.
“It was not your fault, my Ehlealah. My mother was very, very set in her ways, we were both young. I should have stood for you,” Zha Tahl said, putting his arm around his Ehlealah.
Eula looked at Zha Quin. “I will be making an announcement before the second revolution. I plan to tell our world, and any other who cares to listen that Rokai ahl is my son. I am telling them all, that had I been a better mother to him, he would be a better male. I will accept my responsibility with humility. I am tired of worrying about what the people think. He is my child. Period. This should have been done a long time ago. I only pray to the fates that he can forgive me,” Eula finished, looking down at her now folded hands.
“I’m sure he will,” a quiet female’s voice said from the slightly opened door to the quiet meeting room.
Zha Quin’s attention snapped to the door he’d not heard open because he’d been so involved in his mother’s impassioned response to Rokai’s current situation.
“Vivi,” he said, not sure if his parents wanted her involved in this or not. He certainly did not. He didn’t want her ever again touched by anything but happiness and security. Rokai ahl was not a provider of happiness — at least not for his family.
“Quin,” she responded. Then Vivian looked at the holovid screen, waiting for Quin’s parents to invite her in.
Chapter 10
“Enter, Daughter,” Eula said without hesitation.
“Daughter,” Zha Tahl said by way of acknowledging Vivian, inclining his head just barely noticeably.
Vivian came the rest of the way into the room. “Why do you think he will forgive me?” Eula asked.
“Us,” Zha Tahl amended.
“Because you were both very young and under the influence of a very powerful pair of rulers,” Vivian answered.
“It seems a weak excuse,” Eula said softly, the strain showing in her face.
“And because when I hugged him, he seemed shocked, but he didn’t pull away — well, not at first. And he was very amiable. And I even hugged him again before he joined his friend for their meal.”
“You what?!” Zha Quin shouted. “I asked for one thing, Vivi! One single thing! Steer clear of Rokai ahl! That’s all I asked! So what do you do? You go find him, so you can hug him. You held him to your person, knowing full well that he is unpredictable with a particular vendetta against me!”
Vivian stood where she’d been when she’d first begun speaking. She’d folded her arms across her chest, her little foot tapped the metallic floor rapidly, and her eyebrow was raised as she watched Zha Quin have his meltdown. When finally he stopped raging, she addressed him. “You done?”
“What?” he asked, clearly exasperated.
“You done yelling at me? ‘Cause I have to let you know, I’m not going to be yelled at. You may yell at your warriors, you may even yell at your generals, but if you think you’re going to yell at me and walk away unscathed, you got another think coming,” she snapped, her face a mask of fury.
“I am merely concerned for your safety. You know I asked you to stay away from him,” Zha Quin said, his voice strained, obviously doing his best to keep from raising it again.
“Exactly. You asked. I thought about it, and you were wrong,” Vivian declared, her own voice rising.
“He could have hurt you, Vivi!” Zha Quin said beseechingly.
“You yell at me again, and I’m gonna hurt you,” Vivian warned quietly.
“Daughter…” Eula interrupted, a smile on her face at the two of them arguing and Vivian not being the least little bit intimidated by her much larger mate.
“Yes, ma’am?” she said, still glaring at Quin.
“What happened when you hugged Rokai, what did he do?” Eula asked.
Vivian glared at Zha Quin for a moment longer to make her point before turning her attention to the holovid screen to respond to Eula. “He did nothing at first, he was shocked I think. Then he kind of patted my sides in response to my hugging him.”
“Did you speak to him?” Zha Tahl asked.
“I did. I think when he approached me, he expected to put me in my place, make me uncomfortable. His words were sarcastic and held a tone. But I welcomed him anyway, and I hugged him. And I let him see that to me, family is family. I no longer have one, well, except for Bart and Samuel. And you took me in. You accepted me without question. And that’s what family does. They love you even when you think that your own self can’t be loved. You gave me that, Quin,” she said, glancing to Quin quickly over her shoulder before looking back into the holovid imager. “And so did both of you. So, I decided if he was angry and bitter, maybe he just needed a hug. Just needed someone to see that there was something in him that needed love. So I hugged him when I met him.” Vivian glanced at Quin again. “I didn’t go looking for him. I just happened to run into him in the commissary.”
“What would you have done had he not allowed your familiarity?” Quin hissed at her.
“I’d have put him in his place. I had my chain, I had Kitty. I’d have shown him that I may be little, but I can still whip his ass!”
Eula was grinning, and Zha Tahl was chuckling. Quin just looked at her exasperatedly.
“Where were your guard?” he finally asked after an uncomfortable silence.
“They were there. They surrounded us, and so did Kitty.”
Quin inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “You will be the cause of the loss of all my sanity one day, Ehlealah,” he mumbled.
“Too strong for you?” she asked sarcastically.
“No. You are not too strong for me,” Quin state
d emphatically.
“Is that all that was said?” Eula asked.
“Not exactly. He mentioned that he was sorry he wasn’t invited to our mating ceremony, that he’d have liked to have met me. I told him that I was sorry, too, but that I’d just found out about him this morning. I told him that I felt badly about it because family was family. Then I hugged him when he was ready to go back to his table, and he wasn’t quite as stiff this time. Then when they got ready to leave, he looked over his shoulder and waved at me with a smile.”
“You have certainly made more progress with him than any of us have,” Zha Tahl stated.
“All I did was show him that he mattered, that I was glad to see him,” Vivian answered.
“Where is he now?” Eula asked. “I would like to speak with him.”
“He is aboard. We disabled his ship, and he is unable to use any of ours because they’ve all been programmed to only lift off with credentials and DNA scan to prove who the pilot is. So at the very least, I know he is still aboard,” Zha Quin answered, pulling up the virtual monitor at his place on the meeting table and sliding his fingers over a few different commands.
Eventually the computer gave the information he searched for. Zha Quin’s brow furrowed. “Why is he walking the corridors where we have the rescued females housed?” he said aloud to himself.
“Maybe he found his Ehlealah, too,” Vivian answered.
“That is ridiculous!” Zha Quin answered.
“Why? Because he’s not allowed to have one? He’s not as good as you?” Vivian yelled at him.
“Who is yelling now, little Ehlealah?” Quin asked her quietly.
Vivian ignored his comment and confronted him after she consciously lowered her voice. “Why is it ridiculous that he may have found his Ehlealah?”
“Because he only ever uses females for one reason. Sex. It is all he cares about, and then he disappears.”
“How do you even know this?” Vivian asked. “I think you are way too interested in your brother’s sex life,” Vivian answered, shaking her head and tsking.
“I am not interested in his sex life!” Quin denied.
“We have received complaints from a number of dignitaries. He apparently has a taste for females that wouldn’t normally choose males of his… class or expertise,” Eula answered. “He seems to get a certain satisfaction from seducing the females of stature, especially those that treat him haughtily and give him no attentions at their first introductions.”
Vivian thought about it and started laughing. “They treat him like he’s not good enough, so he proves to them that he is. Don’t you see it?” she asked.
“I do,” Eula answered, a sad smile on her face.
“He is a very dangerous male, Daughter. Please, do not take any contact with him lightly. He is still angry, and he is still unpredictable. I do not believe that he would harm you, but I still would prefer that you err on the side of caution,” Zha Tahl said to Vivian.
“Yes, sir,” Vivian responded. “I’ll be careful.”
Zha Quin, still upset with Vivian, just watched her.
Vivian still upset with Quin, couldn’t help herself. “Told you all he needed was a hug. Even from the women he’s been with. He’s just looking for something to make him feel better. When he doesn’t find it, he moves on.”
“In the night, Vivi. Without word. He takes these women’s virtue and absconds in the night,” Quin said emphatically.
Vivian scowled. “Please! Do you honestly believe that just because they are females, they are virtuous? Most of them have their own courtiers to serve their needs — especially the more wealthy females. They just have their feelings hurt that he didn’t want them afterward!”
“How would you know this?” Quin asked, a shocked look on his face.
“I know women! I am one. I don’t care what species you are, if it’s female, it’s got pride. If she’s wealthy, nobility, she’s been catered to her whole life. You have an outlaw, a dangerous male, look your way, and you think you can tame him when all others failed. Then he leaves you in the middle of the night just like all the rest, because you’re no better than all the rest — you get your panties in a wad! You get mad and you have daddy go after your lost “virtue”,” she said, using her fingers to make inferred quotation marks around the word, ‘virtue’.
Quin was at a loss of words, he just looked at Vivian. Eula’s eyebrows were raised as she listened to her daughter-in-law explain about conniving females regardless of their species, and Zha Tahl surprised them even more.
He laughed louder and harder than he had in a very long time. “She’s right! I am sure there were a few that are the exception, but overall, she’s right!” he said again, breaking out into laughter again. “I am very pleased with our new daughter, Zha Quin. You have chosen well. We can of course never allow her to speak on behalf of our public relations team, but she is spot on correct. Very astute, Daughter! Very, very astute!”
“Vivi,” Zha Tahl said. “Perhaps you can accompany me to several diplomatic events, and we can confer afterward, to get your take on the people I am forced to compromise with. If we agree, then I know I am assured in my assumptions of their persons.”
“I’d be honored, Fa… uh, Mr. uh, Sovereign,” she answered, her nose in the air, looking side-eyed at Zha Quin.
Zha Quin continued to glare at Vivi.
Finally, she could take it no more. “He just needed a hug,” Vivi said softly.
“No more of your hugs!” Zha Quin said, his voice rising ever so slightly.
Vivian turned her head and looked at Quin. She raised her chin and looked down her nose at him. “Fine.”
“Fine!” he answered on a snarl.
“Do not snarl at me,” she ordered, turning her attention back to the holovid screen.
“I did not snarl at you,” he answered.
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I did not. I snarled at the situation,” Quin insisted.
“Regardless, we should make a formal announcement. I plan to publicly claim my son, put all the rumors to rest at once and to request his forgiveness,” Eula explained, cutting off their argument.
“How did the dignitaries know to contact you if you’ve never acknowledged him publically?” Vivian asked.
“His ship is registered to our planet. His DNA, whether or not he cares to admit it, is half Cruestaci. There are rumors among those familiar with our people and our society that Rokai is of noble birth, perhaps linked directly to the ruling family of Cruestace.”
“I see,” Vivian said, thinking about all she’d just learned.
Eula watched Vivian, trying to make sense of things in her head. “Daughter… I was much younger than you. Too young actually to be mated to anyone. I’d never met Zha Tahl. I’d only ever met his parents, and they were intimidating to say the very least. They were very frightening. My family was of royal descent, and I’d been promised to him at birth. Zha Tahl’s father became very ill, and it was necessary that he take the title of Sovereign. Because he was young as well, it was necessary that he stand as one, united with his mate, in order to be seen as more mature, older. When they came for me, I ran. I found myself on Quarin, hiding among their people. One of their warriors was kind to me. I thought myself in love, and…” Eula stopped speaking, her eyes cast down.
Zha Tahl took over for her. “I went after her as a matter of pride. I found her, and I knew at once, she was not only promised to me, she was my Ehlealah. And she knew me for what I was to her as well. But, she carried a child. The child of another.” Zha Tahl shrugged. “I cared not. She was mine. The child would be mine. I brought her back and solidified our mating. We presented a united front and became Sovereign and Sovereigna of Cruestace. But my mother stayed involved. She, along with our advisors, insisted that we raise Rokai in the shadows, even returning him to his father’s people often for familiarity with his father’s people and their traditions. As he would never be able to ascend the throne, it w
ould be important for him to know from whence he came. We did what we thought was best for him.”
“And for Cruestace,” Eula whispered.
Zha Tahl nodded. “And for Cruestace. But we should not have ever sent him away. We should have stood up to my mother, the advisors, everyone. We should have ignored them, we should have laughed in the face of all who demanded we not treat him as the very thing he was.” He stopped and held his mate to him. “Our son. Rokai is our son. And it doesn’t matter that he will never be able to take the throne. What matters is that he is our son, and he deserved all that we had to offer rather than being hidden away.”
“All that he has become is a direct result of our own actions,” Eula said softly.
“He is much like the males of his father’s planet. They are stubborn, brutal males, to all but their own female,” Zha Tahl explained.
“Are they criminals?” Vivi asked.
“Some. But Rokai is what he is as a result of feeling unwanted and less than. That is the part that is my fault,” Eula added.
“But you had a whole government insisting you do what you did. And you were kids, basically,” Vivian said.
“It is still a weak excuse,” Eula said quietly.
“I have never known all this,” Zha Quin said.
“Now you do. As a child, you loved him so. You were always so excited when he was with us and sad when it was time for him to return to Quarin. It broke my heart to see you both so sad to have to leave one another each time he returned to his father’s people,” Eula said. She seemed to be lost in her memories before smiling and taking a step closer to her holovid imager. “Do you remember being stung by the shraler when you were small?” she asked.
“Yes! I do. It’s why I didn’t want Kitty here when Vivi first found him.”
Haven 2: Redemption Page 8
