by M. Garnet
I sat back out of breath. I had not asked anyone about attendance, I had only listened to Set who was thrilled with all the new dresses and robes. She was a child living out a dream through me. Damn, damn and double the rest of the swear words that I couldn't think of at this moment.
"I don't know if I am stepping over a line here, sir, but I feel I have a need for an advisor now and then. I have so much to learn. May I call on you again from time to time?"
I was surprised that there was warmth in his eyes, as well as his words.
"Little Princess, I would consider it a pleasure to have another child to hear my words. If at any time you need help or knowledge that you feel is in this old brain, please call. Tell your Marshall to always say it is for advice for the Princess and I will get back as soon as possible. There will never be a delay like we had this time."
I stood up feeling a load had been lifted from my shoulders. I seemed to have found a friend. My old friend stood also and came around the couch to escort me out of the office.
I was looking at Dee as he held the door open and I started to step through, but my toe hit something. I turned and looked down at a body lying on the floor and at that point I heard the noise of a fight across the small inner office.
Dee stepped forward as a beam of fire from guns bounced off the wall beside the door. I was frozen, not quite recognizing what was happening, but Dee reacted immediately.
Dee pushed me back into his office. The shove made me believe that there was some type of attack taking place in that inner office. The whole scene was surreal for me. In remembering, I still don't understand how I allowed Dee to save me at the cost of himself.
He pushed me so hard I stumbled in my bare feet several steps backward. There were beams, in different colors flashing across the room, a couple hitting Dee as he jerked and pulled the door shut.
I caught myself from the backward steps and immediately moved up against the door. I reached for the panel, but nothing happened as I swiped and touched it. I pounded on the door, and then I heard a siren as some type of alarm was going off within this office. I could only hope it was going off throughout the entire military area.
I leaned against the door and screamed until my throat was unable to make anything but a rasp. My knuckles were bloody where I had pounded the access panel and the door.
At last, I sank to my knees, my face wet with tears when I heard an annunciator speak.
"Princess, this is Joo. We can see you and I want to open the door but we need you to move back first. Can you move, Princess? It is important."
I looked up at the words in the room and realized at last that help had come. I pushed against the wall to help myself stand. I wiped the tears from my face as I stepped back. I had cried more on this planet than I had in my entire life on my father's ugly worlds.
The door opened to the scene out of a nightmare.
At the edge of the door was the body of Dee that Joo was stepping around with respect. It was being held in the tight arms of Quilliam the Heir, whose head was buried down against the Advisor's body.
The Assassin stood in the middle of the small room—all black killer. He looked around with a small knife in one hand. There were several soldiers in black uniforms, preventing anyone from entering from the hallway as their leader, Commander Sachim, was on one knee examining a body.
I could hear the Commander's words even as Joo approached me.
"This one lived through your attack Assassin, but took poison."
The Assassin whispered in return. "Yes, the King of Questes didn't want anyone to trace this back to him."
As my eyes looked up at the Assassin over Joo's shoulder, he nodded at me.
Joo ushered me further back and encouraged me to sit in a chair before Dee’s desk.
"I need to make sure you are okay, Princess. I can get a healer in here immediately if you need anything. Did any of the beams strike you?"
As usual, her voice was firm and business-like. It helped me draw on the strength I got from the father I hated. I took a deep breath and refused to shed another tear. I would not take another look at the friend I had found and lost so fast. I would not think of the young male, holding an individual that had raised his fathers and helped bring him to adulthood.
I could answer Joo and get information.
"I am fine. The Advisor protected me with his life." I took a moment and then asked the ugly question. "They were my father's people, weren't they?"
Joo looked over her shoulder at Commander Sachim. The Commander seemed to feel her eyes on him. He looked up and nodded, as he stood up to talk quietly to the Assassin.
Joo nodded in return and looked at me and I heard her words clearly. "Yes, Princess. He is serious about wanting to talk to you."
I took another deep breath and then spoke loud enough for all of them to hear.
"Then it is time for me to talk to the King of the Questes Consortium."
Chapter Fifteen
I wanted to wait for a couple of turnings to prepare myself and to decide on a background for my father to see, as I spoke to him. It actually turned out to be longer, as there had to be a very special funeral service that affected the entire planet of GigasVnee. I made sure Set checked with Marshall Bower as to the proper attire I should wear to the special funeral. I was assured I should wear a dark green, very plain pants suit. The suit was ordered and delivered in plenty of time for any adjustments. This time, I had to wear shoes or rather green soft boots that matched the outfit.
I had Set help me put my hair into one long braid and I didn't wear any jewelry. Marshall Bower called for me, dressed all in black. We had a contingent of soldiers, also dressed in black. Now the soldiers looked serious and more dangerous. It was the look in their serious eyes that they knew of the death of not only the Advisor, but also of their own companions. They were going to shoot first and ask questions later to protect me.
The funeral was held on the landing area at the edge of the water with the large force screen turned off. There were thousands of beings, all of the green color, except for the military that was in black. As I was walked through the shoulder to shoulder solemn individuals, I looked up to see that every balcony was crowded with beings.
I could guess that at least one hundred thousand sets of eyes were now here to say goodbye to the beloved Advisor.
At last, we reached the front and I had a position right behind the Queen. On all sides in this section were all those of importance to the planet. Here stood the Commander, Joo, the Assassin, and the entire Council. Any visitors to this world were so far back that I couldn't see or recognize them. This was a family funeral.
I held my breath to see the Heir several feet away, near the water with a floating table that held the Advisor, draped in a Royal Green blanket. A priest moved forward just a few steps and started some ritual that must have been familiar to a lot of the local natives, as some murmured along with the prayer.
I heard some gasps and the prayers were silenced, as eyes were turned to a distance over the sea. I heard the Heir's voice.
"My fathers approach." I saw him go down on one knee by the bier of the Advisor.
Following his example, I realized beings around me were going down on one knee. Some were going all the way, kneeling on both knees with their heads bowed. I saw everyone but the Queen kneel, and I also went down on one knee, but I still looked up to see my future fathers-in-law approach.
There was a green glow flowing across the ocean, creating a deep wave in front of the two levitating figures. There had been an unbelievable cluster of surface boats off to both sides of the large landing area. The wave just shoved all of these boats away and out of sight. I guessed it would take a moon's turning for some owners to reclaim their floating possessions.
I'm not sure what I was expecting. I had heard a lot of tales about these two twins. What I saw surprised me. As they settled on each side of the Advisor's bier, I saw only two tall and very handsome males.
There were no horns, no giant bodies, no emanations of radiations or anything that marked them as something different at this point. They just stood on strong legs with sad-looking faces that were identical. It was as if there was a mirror that showed the same face on each end over the Advisor's body.
The difference hit me when they began to speak. They both talked at the same time and it was like hearing a distant echo.
"We aren't going to return our beloved Dee Con DeArmond to the sea as is the custom of the people of GigasVnee. We are taking him with us to a different firmament."
I had to wonder where two Gods could take the man who had loved and raised them. Was there a Paradise somewhere out there? Then we all watched them as they turned and walked back to their Queen.
I was close to where the Queen was standing, but suddenly that area wasn't clear to my eyes. I glanced to the side and watched others moving and straining to try and see. I decided nobody could see what was going on between the Queen and her husbands.
The area cleared and the two tall males turned and approached their still kneeling son. Each placed a hand on one of his shoulders. They turned and looked with green glass glowing eyes.
"We agree that it is time to complete the cycle. We think it is time that Quilliam Devi GemC'him becomes the king of this world. Our wife, Loralei has shouldered this heavy load long enough. She will move into the role of Advisor in order to stand strongly behind the new King."
I felt a cool wind pass over me and the smell of the ocean, as the two twins turned and looked at me. I was frozen in the glow of those green eyes from a different firmament.
"We think for you Princess, that it is time for you to declare your independence from your father. We think that when it is time for your meeting you will find you have the ability to appear instantly in front of him, wherever he is. Also, all individuals within a Federated hour of time of where you meet with him will have a problem. If they have evil in their hearts, that heart will cease to operate. Your ability to travel to and from his location will only be available once, so use it wisely."
I felt a small twinge on my left arm and when I looked down there was a green bracelet around my wrist. Damn, I was glad I was still kneeling as it meant I had less room to fall.
The twins turned to raise their left hands to their people. It was at that point that I realized no one else had heard the words the two males had said to me. I must have been enclosed just like when they talked to the Queen.
"We love our people and this world and will always protect it."
With those words there was a green flash and when our eyes cleared they were gone along with the bier and the Advisor.
I look at the male I loved and he was standing, legs apart and head back. There was a dark storm moving in fast across the large lashing waves. I thought there would be more watercraft lost before dawn came.
The priest started a prayer again, but I looked over and saw that the Assassin was holding up the Queen. Several others moved forward to help, as it looked as if she was unconscious.
For myself, I looked first at my new wrist decoration and then for Marshall Bower. Thank the fates that he was pushing his way to me with several troopers right behind him.
I didn't care what people thought, as I reached out and leaned against him as soon as he was close. "I need to get to my rooms. I can't breathe with all these individuals pushing so close."
Bower was a miracle worker. Giving orders to the troopers that had moved with him, he put his arm around me. Enclosed within the black clad military males, we were soon moving to the side of the opening and to an enclosed lift.
It must have been an express lift, as it seemed there was only one stop and Bower, with his arms still around me, was taking me down a hallway.
The troopers stayed back, letting Bower get me into my suite. I was surprised that Set wasn't here, and then I realized she must be out in the crowds. She had gone out to watch the funeral.
Somewhere in our travels, my arms had gotten wrapped up around Bower’s shoulders. I needed something or someone to hang onto, just to feel stabilized.
It was dark in the room with the only light coming in off the distant ocean in the storm.
Bower's voice was husky. "Are you okay, Princess?"
Still holding onto him, I looked up at his dark green eyes. I wondered, if everyone born on this world had green eyes?
Without hesitation, I rose up on my toes and pressed my lips to his open mouth. At least, he didn't pull back, but I felt his muscles tighten. Then he responded, lowering his head and gently moving his tongue to touch mine.
Everything came alive in my body. My toes curled in my shoes, my thighs felt his, and my stomach tightened into a knot. This was so wrong and felt so good. It was different than the words of the tutors.
Chapter Sixteen
I sat in my bathing pool, thinking about the day I had experienced. I saw two gods, I said goodbye to a friend that I had just met, and I had my first genuine kiss. The kind my sex tutors had told me about, but really had described so that I didn't understand it until it happened.
Thinking of the kiss brought heat to my center core and I decided to wait until I was in bed to revisit that experience. I did know that my tutors were right and oh so very wrong. I moved my legs in the warm water.
The ripples of the water made me see the green band on my wrist. It was not a bracelet it was part of my wrist. I ran my fingers of my other hand over the green marking that looked like it was raised and metal. It didn't feel anything like what it appeared. My skin felt smooth and clean. The bracelet was an illusion.
I felt the loss of Dee and the two little boys he had helped raise until they turned into gods or something beyond the plain that all of us lived within. I knew from what I had seen. They could travel wherever they wanted without anything but their own minds. I doubted that they breathed. I believed they could go out between the stars and just stop and watch.
But when they stopped, what were they watching? Did they watch this small planet that had borne them or were they observing the follies of the beings that developed and traveled this section of the known universe?
Suddenly, I thought of something else. Perhaps it was the kiss or perhaps it was just the warm water. The Queen had two husbands and I remembered the sounds of my father coming to my mother's bed. It dawned on me that the Queen had intercourse with both her husbands.
She had felt the thickness of a male enter her, from both twins. This was something my tutors had not touched on. I felt myself shiver and realized it was time to get out of the water.
I wrapped in an over-sized warm robe and went to my large bed. This bed was bigger than the ones that I had seen in my father's residences. Damn, here I was still comparing things against the male that I held with no love. I needed to cut that string once and for all.
It had taken me a bit to get over feeling guilty for sending Set from my suite when I wanted to sleep alone. We finally reached a compromise where she could sleep in a generously sized closet that was just inside the front doors of the suite. I had it converted to a small room for her.
I asked Bower's help in converting the closet after I found that when I escorted her out of my suite, she spent the night sleeping against my doors. Guilt does so much. I did lock my bedroom door, denying her entry while I bathed and slept.
Now I took off the robe and got into the bed naked. I had to crawl to get to the center and snuggle down under the thick blankets.
Now I could think about my first real kiss. I had to think about what it meant to the future for me. The Queen told me that Quilliam Devi GemC'him would have his consort standing beside him even at official events. I would sit in a chair beside him, but she would be on his right hand. The right-hand location was a position of high importance to these people and to most of the populated universe.
I refused to let any more tears flow, as I knew the new King would have sex with his consort. He would not have sex with his new first wife.
As in most arranged marriages, I assumed I could have an affair if I wished, as long as I was discreet.
I had one major problem with this scenario. My demanding, scheming, bastard father had left me in a condition to have children. Now I had been trained by the best to understand what made babies. But none of those damn tutors told me what I could do to have the joy of sex without creating a new life.
I lay in this warm soft bed, wishing for someone else besides me and thinking of solutions. I couldn't go to a healer and say the future bride of the future king needed something to prevent conception. Yeah, that would go over really well.
I didn't go to sleep right away until I rolled over to see some fresh flowers on a stand beside my bed. I smiled and fell asleep.
The next morning I just drank hot chocolate, telling Set I was still upset from the funeral. I let her get me ready to go topside. The pale green and soft brown intermixed on the material of the coverall would let the wearer blend in with the growth on the plateau on the mountain.
I came out of the exit and stopped, looking in surprise at the area. This was a park, no a jungle. A strange jungle, with trees that had large leaves and ground cover that had vines and flowers wrapping everything. I looked at the growth and was fascinated to see it all danced gracefully with the movement of the winds.
There were smells in the wind beside the salty ocean. I caught scents of growing things that I couldn't name. It was like spices that I had never tasted; smells that just tickled my nose, but didn't bring forth a name or memory.
Still standing just outside the gate of my exit, I could see Coro slowly making his way in a distance from the growth. He moved carefully, stepping over large limbs and around heavy bushes. He carried a large soft bag that was held open by its handles.
