by M. Garnet
I was off the floater and recognized the large gilded doors of the official crown room. I remembered some of the lessons I had taught myself, that allowed me to slip past guards and donned a face that would show no emotion. I slowed my heart and made sure no snifter would get a trace of anxiety through my sweat or breath.
I moved across the floor as a dancer, hardly stirring any dust—not that there would be any dust on his floor. I was grateful for the hood as it let me look at all the faces in the room. This was the full council.
My father held control over thirty-one worlds, moons, communities, and large satellites. For reasons only he knew, he allowed these individuals to think they helped govern the Questes Consortium.
"Ah, my firstborn has arrived." The king waved the guards away.
I was prepared for anything. Standing alone in front of all of these people was not going to intimidate me.
"Remove your cloak, Princess Mikla." I wondered why he used my title, but I still kept my body in control and just let the cape fall to the floor.
I could hear a few sighs and some whispers. Still I kept my eyes on my father, as he sat sideways in the large throne, one leg stretch forward. I recognized the casual pose he was in to show this crowd that he was in control and had no fear.
"You are more beautiful than your mother."
She was his daughter, so she would not show any more loss of control than he did. "Yet you send my beautiful mother to a desert and then an icescape. So beauty isn't everything."
I heard his deep chuckle and I didn't like it. I locked my knees for whatever was coming.
"Your beauty will pay off well. You are to be married. I will miss watching you. It has been the only entertainment I have had in this dreary life. I wish you only had the beauty and not that fantastic mind because your mind will not serve you in your marriage."
* * * *
Up until they were putting me into the sleep pod for the deep space jump, my whole attention was based on escaping. Everyone else around me was filling my time with measuring me for new clothes, packing jewels that I had never seen and teaching me how to act in front of royalty.
I was really looking forward to meeting the people on the world called GigasVnee. I was not looking forward to marrying a strange male. I wondered what my father was getting for me. Worse, I wondered what kind of male had to trade for a wife.
I was pretty sure he had to be ugly and deformed, even if he was of royal blood. Perhaps he was of the same breed as the beings from Questes. Would my father marry me off to an alien breed? Yes, if it was to his benefit.
I had studied as much as I could about this planet that was so far away it was in another quadrant of the active universe. The news said there had been a war in that area with very little details.
It seemed that the Threads of Targent that powered the jump ships that I was now boarding came from that one planet. I finally got more information from the gossip among the kitchen staff.
There was a mystery about the planet I was going to live on. There was a slave who had been made a queen. There were magic and unusual things that happened on the planet. It was thought there were even Assassins.
The planet did not own or control many other governments. It was by itself and was supposed to be richer than my father's whole Consortium.
Still, all of this information was not real facts. They were just whispered gossip and guesses. I didn't know if any of it was true. I didn’t even know if the male I was to marry had compatible DNA.
I was watched closer than ever and escape became impossible. Here I was; taking a last look at the skip ship that had brought me to the jump ship. At this distance, the planet Questes was nothing but another bright light in the black universe among other distant stars.
I have to admit that traveling off-planet is exciting and a learning experience. I looked at everything carefully, trying to commit all the details to memory. I started with the skip ship. This clean bare small ship was efficient and fast. Because of its size, several had been sent up with all the things my father decided was to be sent with me.
There were also many guards and several Council representatives that were to accompany me to my new home. I have five personal maids. If I were to show emotions, I would have thrown all of these beings from the skip ship. I would have preferred to go to my marriage alone, not surrounded by my father's lackeys.
I knew all of these beings would be reporting back to my father from the new planet I would be living on. They would also be reporting back on my own behavior.
I was able to see through the front of the skip ship to observe the giant jump ship. Since jump ships never approach close to gravity, they can be built to any size and in any configuration. There are so many locations on these jump ships where small ships can tie up and unload or load.
I was told that my personal items were loaded at a different place to where I entered the jump ship. Once aboard, I could no longer see outside as there were no outside viewports along the hallways.
The workers on the jump ship were Federated employees and were very polite. In fact, I felt more comfortable with them after I was separated from my entourage.
Two men pulled out the long padded bed and helped me step up to lie back on the mattress. One brought a small pillow to place behind my neck and another brought me a slightly sweet drink. They spoke quietly, telling me to relax and that they would be here to help me when I woke up.
Before they even started to push the bed back into the tube, I felt my eyes closing. When I woke up I was still stretched out on the comfortable mattress that had obviously been pulled out of the tube. The two pleasant males were on each side with smiles and treats.
They explained to me that if I ate a small amount and drank the liquid with a lot of good stuff in it, I would gain my land legs faster.
I started laughing. "Do you talk to all the ones you wake up as if they were children?"
I took the cup out of a hand and he nodded but answered me as if I had a brain. "Some throw up immediately, some cry. Some males need to prove how male they are and stand up just as they pass out."
The other male held out his crackers. "We have to write up reports on their head wounds and show the vids."
Doing my good deed and drinking and eating, I let them help me stand. I realized these were the first beings to touch me that were not related or personal maids. I felt stable and let them lead me to a small private room. Shortly, one of my personal handmaids came in and started helping me change into what was called my royal robes.
I had lost the battle of dressing myself when it came to the silly royal robes. I wouldn't let anyone dress me in what I called normal clothes. Somewhere in my growth and learning, there were new styles that I allowed some to help me with. If it was something simple like exercise clothes, I only let them show me once.
There were two classifications where I seemed to need help and I think it was because I really didn't want to wear them. One was dancing costumes and the other were the royal robes that changed due to the need.
In this case, the royal robes were all white, trimmed in silver. White and silver were the color my father wore and the colors that were on most of the interior of the official residence.
There were seventeen layers of this thin white and silver floating material in what was called my royal robe, for this first meeting of my future husband.
I was told his name was Quilliam Devi GemC'him and that he was the Royal Heir to the Slave/Queen. This was the female who ruled the planet.
My hair was pulled back and left down in its dark brown color against the white in back. It was forbidden to cut my hair. It was so long I could sit on it. My eyes were outlined in dark shadows and my heavy lashes were covered with black makeup.
Last, the final layer was a long full veil of the same soft material that was put over my head and hung down in front to the tips of my fingers and flowed down in back to drag on the ground as I walked.
The maid held out her
hand. "I can lead you if you have any trouble seeing."
I shook my head. "No, this is so thin I can see fine. Just get out of my way." I was disgusted with these whole layers of what I decided was a disguise. I hadn't played dress-up since I was a little girl and I hated this game now.
I just gathered up a whole armful of skirts and veil, taking off down the hallway to the exit where the skip ship waited. I ignored the protests from the maid behind me. I wondered how much freedom I would have on the planet below. After all, they did make a slave their queen.
I could see through the thin veil, out ports on this fine skip ship bringing me down to GigasVnee. Through the heavy storm clouds, I could see the oceans. I gave thanks to the fates that had brought me to a planet that had water, plenty of water.
The little skip ship had more than enough power to move through the great storm with tossing waves on the ocean that we were skimming over. We were going straight to a mountain that was pointing out of the waters.
I found this whole ride exciting and enriching while my companions either threw up or hung on with closed eyes. I saw that as the water met the rock of the mountain about one-quarter of the monolith was open. The little ship entered and came to a slow and gentle landing, right inside the huge prominence.
I sighed in pleasure. We were inside a mountain at the edge of an ocean with a storm at the fringe of the horizon. No planet that my father owned came close to this miracle of civilization.
I didn't care how much my father had to pay for a bride price, I would find a way to pay him back just for the experience of the last few minutes. But now the time I was dreading was here.
The whole back end of the skip ship dropped down to provide a wide slopping egress to leave the ship and go down to the landing area. Of course, I had to come off the ship last. The first were the Councilmen, putting on a show with their costumes of jewels and layers of jackets and pants and necklaces and rings.
I looked up as I took my first step out and my breath caught in amazement. Above me, in a cave too high to distinguish the details at the top, could be seen balconies after balconies. Running around the three insides of the uncountable size of this cavern, were living quarters making a city.
I thought to myself, what brilliant people had crawled out of that oceans eons ago and built their lives in this rock to make such a beautiful place to live. Lights flickered everywhere above me as far as I could see.
I could see individuals moving along with floating carts so high I could not identify the items. I turned to watch lifts moving up to let beings travel to different levels, moving up and down, some starting at this landing area.
I was glad I had a veil so no one could see my mouth open in awe of this magnificent cavern city. I finally looked down to see so many ships and work areas on this large entrance. Although there was a lot of noise, I heard no echo. The cavern was too large, so like yelling in a large open place, it was not able to reflect the waves of a being's voice.
I reached the unpaved floor and felt the cool mountain speak to me through my bare feet. For some reason I didn't understand, I was connected here.
A path was opened for me and I moved slowly, bringing my eyes down to look at the crowds in drab-colored work clothes. I saw the troops of this planet in plain black, some with a bit of green as trim. All of this so different than the glittering fools of my father's Consortium.
At last, the crowds and troops parted to let a tall male, dressed in plain black with a long brown braid over one shoulder, walk forward.
Through my veil, I looked into those green eyes and at the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I realized my life was over.
Chapter Four
I have decided to write about my new life on this older recorder, so that if I ever do find a way to reclaim my brain and body, I will be able to read this and remember my observations.
To say that I fell deeply and desperately in love with a male with unreal green eyes is true. To say that it happened instantly and that I felt the pain of my heart breaking and leaving my body at the same time, that is also true.
After seeing him, the next thing I knew I woke up in a very sophisticated medical unit, in a private room. This was where I heard his voice for the first time. It was just above a whisper to another who did whisper, outside my door.
"So Quill, you scared the Princess into fainting."
There was a soft chuckle. "Maybe she fainted from seeing the beauty of our cave."
I thought as I listened and learned. His friends call him Quill, short for his long name starting with Quilliam. But we would never be friends, even after the marriage ceremony, we would not see each other very often. It had been explained to me that we wouldn't be together in this negotiated contract, not signed in blood, but signed by transferring a daughter.
I was told I would be a wife in name only and would have to be paraded out for official occasions. I would be a symbol that the Questes Consortium protected GigasVnee and that the planet GigasVnee protected the Questes Consortium.
Reading between the lines and listening through the walls, I understood the meaning. It meant that there were two strong important sources on opposite sides of this active quadrant of the universe that could hurt anyone that might seek war.
I readily agreed, thinking this would give me my freedom. But one look at that tall beautiful male and my freedom, my heart, and my life were gone. It just was so not fair. I wondered how many more loved this male as deeply as I did?
This time, I looked at him when he came into the room with someone behind him. I was careful to avoid those eyes, but I needed to memorize all of the rest of him, every minute detail. This was my one chance to examine him, as they could blame it on my ill condition.
He was tall, taller than even a lot of the people on this planet. His long strong legs reminded me of my male dance tutors. His narrow hips and waist led up to a wide chest and strong arms. I wondered if he did a lot of swimming. That long braid was now hiding behind his back, but his sharp cheekbones and heavy dark lashes around those curious eyes made it hard not to stare.
I let my eyes linger on his full lower lip and understood, in reality, some of what the boring old woman had tried to teach me about sexing. I would like to kiss and bite that lip. I know I felt the heat in my face and I know I blushed.
It all went away as I tore my eyes away from him and looked past his shoulder. There was an even taller shadow leaning just inside the door against the wall.
I think for a short time I quit breathing. I had heard, as I hid and listened about such males. Mostly people spoke as if they were myths, as it was often said that one could not afford to hire their services.
Standing behind the future ruler of this world was a killer, a member of the Assassin's Guild. What have I done, to agree to come to this world? Then I took a breath and my natural curiosity took over. I was meeting a real Assassin. I hardly got a chance to come face to face with higher officers in the military in my father's troops and here, on my first day, I was meeting a live myth.
"Are you feeling better, Princess?"
I dragged my eyes back to my pain and looked at him. Of course, his voice would sound like music. What else would come out of that mouth? Oh, wake up. This is not my father who I can manipulate and fool. This male sees through everyone he approaches.
"I am well now, your majesty. Sorry for my failure."
"First Princess, I am not happy with titles. We will have to try later to find something less formal we can call each other in private. We have arranged a suite for you on the same floor as my mother. Obviously, it is safe. Unfortunately, we do have enemies. You will learn more about those later. What can I do for you in the meantime?"
I was now looking down at my hands that were twisting the thin cover. I had agreed to my father's proposal, meaning I didn't throw a tantrum and fight him. He didn't question my concurrence because the tyrant expected everyone to agree with him.
For me, this was freedom to be away fro
m my father and the Questes Consortium. The planet of GigasVnee was as far as one could get across this quadrant of the universe from my father's heavy thumb.
I knew the marriage was on paper only, but to me it was freedom. Facing my shock at my feelings for this tall male with the mesmerizing eyes, I decided to ask for what I wanted.
"Sir, there are a few things I need."
He moved a hand away from his chest. "Say it and it is done."
I cleared my voice and went ahead. "I would like to have clothes only from your world. I hate the clothes that were forced on me. I like what I saw on your crowds."
Out of the corner, I saw a small smile on those lips. My stomach churned. I hoped this city was as large as it appeared, as I needed to stay away from my future husband before I made a fool of myself.
"You can have your clothes stored or there is a recycling area that one can contribute for reuse."
Now I got brave for the hard one.
"Sir, there is one more thing that might be difficult."
I could feel him glance back at the dark dangerous shadow behind him. Again he waved that long-fingered hand.
My voice shook. "I want all of those, including my personal maids, returned to my father."
Oh, this amazing male had such control. My unusual request had to have been a shock, but he didn't even shift. I thought I needed to give him a reason, one that might be true.
"I feel that they are spies for my father. I only agreed to this arrangement to get away from my oppressing father. I want to become a citizen of GigasVnee."
There was a shift in the dark cape of the killer against the wall. I did jerk, ashamed that I showed a reaction. Still, it seemed to be a message to the Heir as he raised that hand to his face.
"Are you sure you want your handmaids returned also?"
Now I could show what I felt, passion and need to get rid of these people that would report back to the King about my actions. "Yes, especially the maids. I am sure I can figure out how to brush my hair by myself."
"It is done. I must go and take care of business. Trust the people that I send to you." With this, he and the Assassin were gone, along with the warmth that had been in the room.
