The Lost Princess

by K Bledsoe

  Chapter Forty-six

  Jonah stood awkwardly outside his apartment door. Feels strange to be knocking on my own door. But he didn’t want to disturb Raahi. She refused to have Jonah rent another apartment or even get her a hotel room in either of their names. “Too easy to track,” she’d said though would not elaborate on who would be looking. Probably has her fair share of enemies that she sold information on.

  He had volunteered to sleep on the couch and give her his bedroom, but he could see that had made her extremely nervous. There were three tiny rooms at the palace that workers could use if they were on call or working very late hours. He had used them before, though not for an entire week. He told anyone who asked that he was having remodeling done on his apartment and wanted to stay out of the way. The look on Raahi’s face when he presented her with this option had been complete relief and gratitude, so he was pleased with himself for the solution.

  Now, however, he was left with the strange situation of asking to be let into his own place. As he reached to press the buzzer, the door slid open.

  “I have told you that you may come in whenever you wish, Jonah,” said Raahi. He entered, noticing she was wearing her usual comfortable clothing, work slacks and plain long-sleeved gray top.

  “I don’t want to disturb you,” he answered as he sat. Raahi gracefully sat on the couch as well, but he noticed at the farthest point from him.

  “It is your place, you have more right to be here than me.”

  Again, that way of speaking, thought Jonah. Not at all how people on the back streets talk, not even the general working public. He desperately wanted to ask where she was from.

  “And that doesn’t look like the food you promised, either.” Her hand indicated the papers he was holding.

  He laughed.

  “Is that all I am to you? A food delivery boy?”

  “You’ve brought some fabulous meals, and I suppose I am getting a little spoiled. I haven’t eaten this well, since…well in a long time.” Her eyes turned a little distant and sad.

  Jonah was growing used to that look and knew she was reliving memories. She had done it most of the times she was recalling information to give him. He wanted to erase that haunting in her eyes.

  “I can whip something up in the kitchen. While the food will not be as tasty, I promise the company will be entertaining.”

  “Entertaining as in conversation or will you perform?” The smile was back, and Jonah kept up the lighthearted mood.

  He stood and swept a bow.

  “Whatever you wish. I could use a night of fun.”

  Her light laughter unexpectedly lifted Jonah’s heart, and he felt it give an extra thump.

  “However, Jonah, you have done so much for me, I will prepare something for us.” She stood and headed for the kitchen but looked over her shoulder at him with a smirk. “You may prepare your entertainment while you wait.”

  He laughed but followed her out of the room. “I don’t need any preparation, but I think you might need help around my disorganized kitchen.”

  Jonah and Raahi worked flawlessly as a team and created a meal that they both admitted was quite good. Neither brought up the slave organization or any of the usual uncomfortable topics they had been discussing nonstop for the week they had been working so closely together. Jonah had never felt such contentment and realized he had never had any sort of normal life.

  When Maya and her companion Lara first went missing, he stayed at the palace because everyone assumed they would be found soon. He had been kept busy with the investigations, and circumstances were never right for him to leave, even after the prince was born. The king didn’t want him to return home for that would mean all hope of finding the princess was lost, so he found him a place in the palace. His name was changed so as not to publicly be viewed as a challenge to the new prince. Resolutely Jonah shoved the memories away, determined to enjoy the present.

  “And then I said, ‘Back off. Next time you will know better.’” Raahi took a drink. “Sure enough, I never had a problem from them again.”

  “Wow, I guess I’d better stay on your good side,” said Jonah. They were back on the couch, sipping wine after dinner. She was still opposite but slightly closer, and he was heartened by the development.

  “Keep me plied with this fine wine, and you shall not worry.”

  She lifted her glass and he did the same, wondering again at her demeanor. Despite her stories of being on the street, he knew that was not where she really came from. She looked back at him, a twinkle in her eye, and their glances held for a moment that seemed to stretch for way too long. She finally broke the silence by tearing her gaze from his and reaching for the papers he had placed on the table in front of the couch when he arrived.

  “So, Jonah,” she cleared her throat. “Have you found anything new today?”

  Jonah looked away, embarrassed for staring and chided himself for lack of manners.

  “Um, well, hm. As you said, that liner is no longer in service. Are you sure it was smuggling slaves?”

  “Yes. And I knew it was no longer active, but I was hoping you could get more of a background than I.”

  “Unfortunately, no. The records indicated it was destroyed in an accident only weeks after it last left this planet.”

  “A ruse? To cover?” She handed him the pile so that he could locate the correct sheets.

  “That was my thought as well but without outside help, I won’t be able to run analyses of hull designs and similar craft.”

  “How about the names I found?”

  “Nothing new. But these three,” he shuffled the papers to find the ones he was talking about. “Are you sure about these? They are very high ranking, these two are close to the prince, which sort of makes sense, but are you sure this man is involved?” He looked directly at Raahi as he brandished the photo. “This is the Supreme Councilman and a close friend of the king for over thirty years.”

  Raahi looked away and shrugged. “It’s what I heard.”

  “Who or what is your source? Maybe with proof or verification I might be able to investigate further but without that—”

  Raahi stood, cutting off his sentence. “I told you I can’t reveal my sources. It would ruin my reputation, and then where would I be as an information broker? I cannot risk that loss when I leave.”

  “Are you truly leaving then?” Jonah couldn’t believe how much he was dreading that time.

  “I don’t belong here.” She began pacing from one side of the room to the other. To most people this might seem normal, but Jonah couldn’t ever remember a time when she turned her back to him. Maybe she was starting to trust him. Maybe now was the time for questions.

  “Then why did you come here?”

  She stopped and stared for a long moment. He thought she wouldn’t answer, but she resumed pacing, crossing her arms, staring at the floor and hunching her shoulders.

  “I had no choice and I…I promised someone but,” she pressed her lips together then continued. “But it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.”

  “And what did you think?”

  “It doesn’t matter!” She chopped the air with her hands then crossed her arms again. “I have to leave this planet. Soon.”

  “What if you were asked to stay?” Jonah asked softly. Raahi stopped again, arms still crossed, eyes unreadable.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want you to go. Stay.”

  Her eyes widened, and arms dropped to her sides. A small, sad smile flitted across her face. “Impossible.”

  Jonah was embarrassed again by his outburst. “I mean we work well together. I can get you a job in security at the palace and—”

  “Absolutely not!”

  Jonah stared, shocked at her vehemence, and now she looked embarrassed at her outburst. “I mean I make my own way. I don’t want charity. And I can’t stay.” She looked earnestly into his eyes. “Come with me.”

  For a wild and reck
less moment, he considered it, but that little voice inside told him that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t abandon the king and Lavan. His life and duties were here. Princess or not, his life was irrevocably tied to the palace.

  “I cannot. I wish I could, but I have certain obligations that won’t allow me…I can’t go.” For some reason, he glanced down at Raahi’s hands hanging at her side. She had stopped wearing gloves in the apartment, a sign of trust. But there was not a sign of what he wished were there.

  “There is one more piece of information I can obtain that might help. I don’t know if you can use it, though, since you didn’t get far with the ship. Maybe your associates who bought my last piece of intelligence could find something.”

  “What is the information?” Jonah tried to focus on the job and not his unhappiness that the intimate moment had passed.

  “I must retrieve it from a secure location tomorrow.”

  “I’ll go with you,” he said.

  She held up her hand. “No, I must go alone. But thank you for the offer.” She clasped her hands in front of her body and bowed slightly. “I will return the following day. I have appreciated your hospitality, especially the lovely dinner tonight. Good night, Jonah.”

  “Yes, it was a lovely dinner, wasn’t it? Thank you, as well, and good night, Raahi.”

  As she disappeared into the bedroom, his feet took a couple steps to follow before he reined in his reaction and turned back to the paperwork with a sigh. Perhaps if he found something more, she might stick around longer.

  ***

  “Ok, are we clear on the plan?” asked Lenore, as she secured her parachute pack firmly so as not to dislodge her other accoutrements.

  The two children nodded, but Diarmin spoke. “Since we have gone over them fifty times and have affirmed thirteen, I think we are prepared.”

  Lenore either didn’t hear the sarcasm or chose to ignore it. “After the drop, you will give me three hours to make it to the compound, another hour to be in and out and then the other three to make it to the rendezvous.”

  “And I will be there to pick you up in six hours, just in case things go quicker than intended,” said Diarmin.

  “Remember, it can go faster if you disable the scatter field from inside so that I can access the computer from the ship,” Allison added.

  Lenore shook her head. “As I’ve said before, that would be like lighting a beacon to any planetary security. And also quite useless since this kind of code requires direct contact with the corresponding core. The upload signal, once I have the download, should beam up to the ship through the scattering field with no problem.”

  “I don’t like being stuck up on the ship,” said Quinn, very close to sulking like a toddler. “I can’t do anything to help.”

  “Oh, so you’re saying I was useless up here when you and Mom went on that school shooting mission?” said Allison testily.

  “Of course not, but that’s you. You know your way around the systems and how to work them. Dad too, which is why it should be me, not him, at the rendezvous.”

  “Hey,” Lenore cut into their argument. She was about to say something more but Diarmin spoke hurriedly, knowing his expertise as the family glue was needed.

  “Now, we know everyone is apprehensive, but facts are facts, Quinn. Two quick lessons do not make you qualified to fly the shuttle for either the drop or the pickup.”

  “Then let me go with you.”

  “And leave Allison alone?”

  Quinn grumbled to himself. Diarmin figured it was probably something about “Allison will be fine,” but Quinn knew better than to argue at this point.

  “Good,” said Lenore. “Both of you monitor me and the shuttle. I will transmit data as soon as I can, and someone needs to be here to receive it.” She gave her kids a quick hug, cinched the parachute belt a little tighter and stepped into the shuttle. “Let’s go. Sooner started, sooner done.”

  Diarmin gave each a squeeze in return, ignoring the sullen look on Quinn’s face and Allison’s worried one. “Take care of each other and keep your eyes open.” They nodded, and he entered the pod and closed the door.

  He initiated the launch sequence and waited for Quinn and Allison to seal the hatch. As the shuttlepod’s engines came online, he glanced at Lenore sitting in the copilot’s chair staring straight ahead.

  “You hid it well,” he said softly, wondering if he was doing the right thing in bringing it up.

  “Hid what?” she snapped.

  “The fact that you are extremely nervous and more apprehensive about both the mission and leaving them aboard by themselves than you have ever been.”

  “Who said I was nervous?”

  “Come on, the jaw clenching, the way you bark orders. I can tell.” The all-clear sounded and Diarmin launched the shuttle.

  “You are right,” said Lenore. “I keep waiting for the calm before the mission that I always get, but it simply won’t come. Instead of focusing on what I need to do, I keep thinking about what could go wrong. I mean I’m always prepared for things to go wrong, but this time it seems to be getting in the way.”

  “Now you know how we feel when you go on these missions by yourself.” The look of surprise she shot him encouraged Diarmin to say what he felt needed to be said. “We have never had the fortune to have a little box suppressing those emotions of fear.” Her eyes sparked, and he hurried to get out what he needed to say before her retort. “And now you don’t have it either.”

  “You’re right. And I don’t need it.” She looked back out the window and placed her hands on the console.

  He placed his right hand over her left and said, “No, you don’t.”

  She said nothing, but her breathing became controlled, and she was no longer tensing her entire body. The board pinged but didn’t break their concentration.

  “Ten seconds to drop.”

  Lenore took the three steps necessary to reach the door, pulled down the cloth mask that covered all but her eyes against the cold of the drop and any security cameras.

  “Remember, hard about after I jump. You don’t want to be detected,” came her muffled voice.

  Diarmin declined to answer, knowing it was just his wife setting the plans in her head. Instead he placed a finger over the switch to open the hatch.

  The pressure popped, and the rush of air may have drowned out his “Good luck” but he continued in a shout. “Three…two…one…mark!”

  And she was gone.

  ***

  The rush of wind in her face as she fell, calmed Lenore as she felt her training kick in. Through the darkness below she could make out two sets of lights. The largest cluster would be the city and the smaller, though still impressive in size, was the compound she was aiming for.

  The count in her head was nearly to zero, so she grasped the handle to open the chute. Parachuting in the dead of night and approaching on foot was the best way to reach the compound unnoticed. Almost without thought, she pulled the cord and felt the familiar whoosh and tug of an opening chute. She knew she had a grin on her face, and the fierce pounding in her chest let her know her adrenaline was working just fine.

  She glanced at the horizon as she maneuvered her way down. Good. No hint of light. Plenty of time to traverse the two miles overland to arrive before dawn when night guards were the sleepiest and the household not stirring yet. The toughest part now would be to see where she was going to land without any illumination to help her. She couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. This is what she was good at. Not being a mother, not training youngsters, but missions. She shoved the thoughts away as she heard the rustle of leaves below.

  Damn! Trees! Everything was pitch black, the moons of this world already set. Now she regretted not having night vision goggles, but she would not have been able to accurately judge the distance of the lights if she had worn them. She needed to speak to Diarmin about creating some night vision contacts controlled with a blink. Later, Lenore. Focus.

  There. A sli
ghtly brighter spot to her left. Lenore hoped that indicated a clearing rather than a lake but had no time to worry as she felt her feet brush twigs. She curled up her legs and pulled hard to turn the chute toward the light spot. Despite the abrupt change, she still felt herself dropping into the foliage and scraping through nearly up to her neck before bursting into open air once again.

  The clearing was very small, and she had to drop quickly. She sensed more than saw the trees on the other side, hoped she was close enough to the ground, and pulled the cord that folded the chute. Her gentle descent turned into a plummet, and she absorbed the impact with a roll that tangled her in the chute cords only slightly. Putting her hand out, she realized her excellent judgement as she felt a tree less than an arm’s length from her face.

  As she stood to disentangle herself from the chute, she felt it tug at her shoulders and she realized that the canvas had been caught in a tree. When she was unsuccessful at dislodging the chute, she removed the entire pack instead and left it there, even though Diarmin would grumble about the expense needed to replace it. She would have liked to request he pick it up on his way to the rendezvous, but she wasn’t supposed to contact the ship until the data was in hand. Her biggest concern was that once the sun was up, the parachute would be seen by anyone flying over it despite its dark color. Well, she would just have to be back on the shuttle before then, wouldn’t she? She glanced at her wristcomp to see which direction the compound was in and started out in the ground-covering lope she had never liked but was good at. Putting most of her mind to dodging trees, she mentally rehearsed the mission while covering the two miles.

  ***

  “How are you following her through the trees?” asked Quinn.

  “She has a steady speed and direction. I put the camera on that trajectory and I know I am on the right…see?” Allison pointed at the screen. “There she is, oops gone again.”

  Their eyes were glued to the screen, hoping for a glimpse of their mother. Suddenly the picture went gray.

  “What’s happened? Why is the picture gone?”

  “Calm down, silly,” said Allison as she tapped on the keyboard. “Dad’s shuttle just docked so the camera is now pointing at the hull. Hang on…. there. Now using the ship’s cameras. Give me a second to find her.”