The Lost Princess

by K Bledsoe

  The two circled and traded feints without closing. Hahn was becoming more conservative, inviting Raahi to engage, but she was too clever to take the bait. She kept just out of reach, not closing at all. The growing impatience on the prince’s face showed her tactic was working, and he abandoned his defensive posturing. Instead of parrying the blow, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it and herself to push him past her. She slammed her elbow into the back of his head, showing she wasn’t ignorant of or afraid to use the same sneaky moves the prince had. Before she released his wrist, she scored a small stab and then a deliberate deep scratch down the entire length of his shoulder blade.

  Hahn cried out in pain, and Jonah realized it was the first time either duelist had made a sound other than the grunts and exhalations of any type of exertion. It was several moments before the announcement. “One point, Maya. Four points, Maya.”

  “Four?” snarled the prince. He looked like he was going to challenge the judges but evidently thought better of it. The score was now seven to six, Maya’s favor.

  Hahn faced her again, the blow to his head obviously bothering him as he started to reach up to touch it but pulled back quickly as she took advantage of the distraction to charge. They came together with a frightening flurry of blows and metal scrapings of multiple attacks and parries. Suddenly, with another grab and twist, Raahi unbalanced Hahn and he fell hard onto his back, breath rushing out with an ‘oof’. His left dagger went flying and Raahi managed another stab to his thigh before he rolled out of her reach.

  “Three points, Maya.”

  Ten to six.

  She moved to score more before he could get up, but he had another idea.

  “Halt!”

  Raahi’s dagger stopped midswing as the bell chimed.

  Jonah marveled at her restraint. Since Hahn had called the halt, if she had continued the attack and scored, the points would have gone to him instead. She straightened, took one step back, then deliberately turned her back on Hahn as if she no longer feared him.

  Jonah could see the anger rise in the prince’s face, but it was overshadowed with a hint of fear. The emotion was plain to read. For the first time, the prince thought he might lose.

  As Raahi approached he looked at her. There was no anger or a suggestion of any emotion on her face. As he gave her a towel to wipe away sweat, he realized where he had seen that look on her face before. Whenever she was remembering her past. What the memories were didn’t matter. She knew she had to go back to that unhappy place in her head in order to win. His heart clenched again as he realized yet another sacrifice she was making. For her sister, Maya. Raahi was a true Companion to her in every sense of the word, and he fell in love with her all over again.

  ***

  As Lavan approached him with a towel and drink, Hahn snatched it without comment. He needed to rein in his anger but was finding it difficult. At least Lavan had the sense to keep his mouth closed as he slapped bandages on Hahn’s wounds. His business-like attitude as he served helped to center Hahn. It’s my turn to put her off balance. He could play just as dirty as she could.

  “Places.” The Council Leader came to the center again, palm down. He looked at one then the other and Hahn swore the look favored Maya.

  How dare he!

  His gaze swept over the few people watching. They are all on her side, rooting for her. This is why they had kept it from being fought with a live audience, so he would be cut off from his admirers.

  He’d show them. He could not be replaced, and they would all see.

  “Resume.” The Council Leader barely had time to back away before the prince leaped to tackle his opponent. They went down hard in a tangle of limbs and Hahn struggled to get a touch, but she managed to block each strike, roll away, then leap to her feet.

  “Two points, Maya.”

  What? Where? How? Hahn had felt nothing and was about to accuse the judges of cheating when pain blossomed on his cheek. He swiped it with the back of his hand which came away bloody. He snarled.

  “How dare you!”

  With no warning, he flung the knife straight at her chest. Hahn took sadistic pleasure in the gasps from the watchers and listened for the delicious thunk of the blade hitting home. But amazingly, Maya managed to twist fluidly so that it didn’t even leave a scratch. Hahn froze in disbelief only for a heartbeat, but it was enough for Maya to close the distance. He brought his left hand up in defense, but a snap of her right leg connected her foot with his hand and sent the dagger flying. As her leg came down, the left one rose, her foot catching him directly in his chest. He crashed hard, head hitting the ground with enough force to daze him.

  He blinked twice and fought to stand but couldn’t move. It took a moment to realize she was straddling him with her knees on his arms, pinning him. Only three points, one large wound would do it. She raised the knife high and, for a moment, he thought she was going to deliver a heart stab. He might die, but at least he would win.

  Only a hair from his chest she stopped. Her grin was wild and triumphant. She pricked him three times on his arm.

  “Point, point, point, Maya. Total fifteen.”

  The prince had lost.

  ***

  Noises of celebration came through all the monitors, but none were heard since the Keltons were cheering just as loud. Even Quinn had a smile on his face as he watched his sister jump up and down with glee.

  “I knew it! I knew she could do it. The good guys always win!” Her face was flushed as she flopped back down on the couch. “And justice is served.”

  Lenore chuckled, but Diarmin turned back to the screen.

  “Something’s happening.”

  “Turn the sound up on the feed from the palace, Allison. The highest gain.”

  She complied, and they could see people beginning to congratulate Raahi. First, Jonah gave her a towel and water. Then the judges and councilman shook her hand.

  The prince was still sitting on the floor, staring, apparently having not yet processed the fact he lost. Lavan was trying to console him, hand on his shoulder and urging him to drink something.

  Lenore happened to be watching the prince’s face as the king approached and embraced Maya. Suddenly Hahn yelled, the sound tortured and insane. He scrambled to his feet then reached behind his back and pulled out something hidden there underneath his clothing. Allison let out a small scream as Hahn pulled out a needle gun. Highly illegal and extremely rare, the weapon was designed to shoot a projectile that would penetrate any shield including some of those designed for ships. He fired at the princess, but all the guards were too far away to do anything, and those surrounding her had frozen in shock at the prince’s cry.

  One person, however, was quick enough to throw himself in front of the gun as it was fired. With an anguished cry, he crumpled as the guards reached the prince and disarmed him. But the weapon had done its damage.

  “No,” whispered the prince as he stared at his companion lying before him, gasping for breath. “You were supposed to be my friend,” he said as tears began. The guards bound the prince’s hands behind his back, but he didn’t resist as they led him away. Jonah scrambled to Lavan’s side and tried to stem the flow of blood.

  “Hang in there, Lavan. You’ll be fine.” He yelled toward the others staring in shock. “I need a doctor!”

  “No, Jonah. I don’t want to… betrayed the bond.”

  “No, Lavan, you saved the Princess. And the king. You’re a hero.”

  Lavan coughed and the blood ran faster, pooling around the kneeling Jonah. “Take care of the princess.”

  “No, Lavan!” Jonah gathered him up in his arms, but the boy went still. “You’re the bravest of us all. Don’t go. It’s okay now, you’re free.”

  There was no answer from the limp form in his arms. The doctors that had been on call gently took him from Jonah. They ran instruments over Lavan as Jonah watched, still kneeling, his entire body radiating helplessness and sorrow.

  “I’m sorry,” sa
id the medic.

  Jonah bowed his head, not bothering to stem the flow of tears. A hand on his shoulder shifted his blurred gaze upward. Princess Maya was looking down on him, tears also in her eyes.

  “He will be honored,” said Maya. Standing behind her, the king nodded in agreement.

  “All will know of his loyalty to the government and the people.” He raised his voice to the shocked crowd. “Know this. Lavan gave his life selflessly to save Maya. We shall never forget his sacrifice.” The king knelt to honor the boy one last time, not even flinching when his knees sank into the pool of blood.

  The Keltons watched, horribly saddened but deeply moved that people on every monitor and screen around the watching planet knelt as well.

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  “Hey, Alli.” Quinn tentatively stuck his head in his sister’s room. “Can I come in?”

  Allison shrugged, sitting on her bed with arms wrapped around legs pulled up to her chest.

  Since that was a huge improvement on “Go away!” Quinn felt encouraged.

  “How are you doing?” he asked. He pulled her computer chair close to the bed. Her terminal was turned off and that bothered him even more.

  “How do you think?”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “What’s to say?” Her eyes were glued on an imaginary spot on the wall.

  “Okay.” They both sat, not talking, but somehow it wasn’t uncomfortable. The minutes ticked by then suddenly words slipped out of Quinn’s lips.

  “That was the first time,” he said quietly.

  “What?” she said.

  “The first time I saw someone die.”

  Her head turned toward Quinn, but her eyes didn’t quite focus on him. He continued, trying to reach his sister.

  "In the school on the previous mission, I was checking the data I had pulled from the fake janitor when he was shot. I didn't see it happen."

  “What about when you were, you know, when Mom rescued you?”

  “I didn’t see anything. When I…” he swallowed, surprised he was still shaken at the experience, “when Mom got me out, I saw some people on the floor, but it didn’t sink in that they might be dead. They might not have been, just injured. I was focusing on getting the kids out, so the images were pushed back into my brain until…until we saw Lavan.” Quinn’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t finish.

  “I know.” Tears began to drip from the corners of Allison’s eyes.

  “I’m just glad we weren’t there.”

  “How can you say that?” Allison uncoiled herself from the bed.

  “At least watching it on the screen made it seem, well, detached. Had we seen it in person…” Quinn shook his head.

  “But we might have done something. Might have stopped it.”

  “Allison,” Quinn spoke softly, wanting to get through to his sister without hurting her more. “There were guards and lots of people in that room. There was nothing we could have done had we been there.”

  It was Allison’s turn to shake her head, tears flowing freely. She tried to talk between sobs. “Mom might have. Or…I should have watched…security cameras closer…how did he…”

  “Don’t you think I have been torturing myself with the same things?” Despite wanting to be kind to his sister, Quinn’s voice was rising along with a fire in his chest. “You never met him, Alli. I spoke with him, sat next to him, as close as I am sitting to you now. He’s close to my age, or…was…” His voice broke, and he put his head in his hands. Allison crawled to the edge of the bed and put her hand on his knee.

  “Mom told me she looked at the tapes and saw nothing. Nothing, Alli. Where, when and how he got the weapon is a mystery. She also said it happened so fast that even she couldn’t have done anything. It was amazing that Lavan managed to stop Hahn from killing Raahi.” Quinn swallowed, fighting back the memory again. “Lavan is being honored even more by the king, did you know?”

  Allison sniffed. “Really?”

  “Yes. There’s talk of a memorial day in his name, a statue in the courtyard where it occurred and stuff like that.”

  “That would be nice.”

  They sat in silence for several moments.

  “But it’s still not fair,” she said softly.

  “No. It’s not.” Quinn stood and shoved the chair back towards the computer table, wishing he could shove away thoughts as easily. Allison seemed better, but now horrible memories that he had suppressed because they had a job to do were resurfacing.

  “Thanks, Quinn.”

  He attempted a smile. After all, he was the big brother and should appear strong. “Anytime Alli.” He held up a hand for a high five, but somehow it turned into a brief squeeze. As he left, he saw her heading for the computer. Yes, she would be fine.

  Outside her door, Quinn nearly cried out in surprise when he saw his mother on the other side, hidden from anyone in the room. The anger he felt at the invasion of privacy lessened when his mother silently mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

  The anger lessened, but it didn’t vanish.

  Chapter Seventy

  Jonah entered the garden, his feet unerringly carrying him toward the far corner to where the newly-confirmed princess sat. Her hands were constantly clasping and unclasping on her lap. She caught sight of him and immediately stood. He took three strides toward her then dropped to one knee.

  “Your Highness, you summoned me?”

  “Stop it. Stand up. You don’t ever need to…” She pulled at his arm to emphasize her words. He stood and let his eyes drink in the sight of her.

  “Sit, please.” She sat back down and indicated the bench to her right.

  He sat, watching her constantly moving hands and waited for her to speak.

  “I’m not used to bare hands.” She looked out at the gardens and gave a humorless laugh. “Seems I am more at home in the slums fighting off thieves than here all dolled up.” Her voice dropped, and she looked back down at her hands. “We are out of range of cameras here, yes?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I wanted to apologize to you, Jonah. Or should I call you Sundeep?”

  “You don’t—”

  “Arrg. Don’t tell me I don’t have to, you idiot. I want to.”

  She looked at him with the old fire in her eyes, and he felt his heart lift. He knew Raahi was still in there somewhere.

  “Everything happened so quickly. There was no time for us to talk, and I regret that. You need to know exactly what happened and why. You said there will be no more secrets between us.” She smiled. “I completely agree.”

  Hope suddenly flared within him, but he blocked it, not wanting to risk another break.

  “I am not really Princess Maya.”

  He smiled gently. “I know.”

  She stammered. “How did…I mean… I thought…”

  He took her right hand in his and lightly traced the tattoos. “These.”

  She closed her eyes briefly at his caress but didn’t pull away.

  “People tend to forget about these bonds. And very few even know about mine.” He touched his loose shirt over his heart, not quite bold enough to show it. “When we were…intimate…it didn’t resonate with yours as it would if you were the princess. It was designed to match hers very closely. I was only very briefly aware of that as my mind was on other things.” He smiled at her blush. “And to be honest, I had put it out of my mind until much later. When I had time to think about it.” He released her hand, suddenly aware that it wasn’t appropriate.

  “I am sorry for not including you. We thought it would protect you. Cutting all ties would hide your involvement.” She shook her head. “Guess that didn’t work.”

  He shrugged. “It turned out well. Mostly.” An image of Lavan popped into his head and he felt the grief again.

  It was her turn to take his hand and squeeze it briefly. She released it to take something from a bag next to the bench that he hadn’t been aware of.

  “
Here.” She shoved a personal viewer into his hands. “This is why I had to do what I did.”

  When he made no move to activate it, she did it for him.

  He did a double-take when he saw her face. But…wait. The halting breaths and slightly higher voice showed it was Maya.

  “I have asked Menot to record this and give it to you after I die.” He watched the rest of it without comment and looked at the woman next to him when it was over. Tears were running down her face, ruining the perfect make-up she had had for her confirmation.

  “It’s ridiculous. I have cried more this week than I have in years.”

  Jonah wanted to envelop her in his arms but held back.

  “You see why I had to become Maya?”

  He nodded, feeling her slip away again. He looked down at the ground, fighting back his own tears. Damn, he thought he was getting over her.

  “She always thought of her planet, her people. You are just like her. I should never have excluded you from our plans. You almost had me convinced, before I saw her message. It’s why…” she stopped, grabbed his chin firmly and made him look her in the eyes. “It’s probably the main reason why I love you.”

  His heart skipped a beat and the words seemed to roar in his ears.

  “What?” escaped from his lips, and he berated himself for his complete lack of dignity.

  She laughed, and the light sound lifted his heart. “I love you, you idiot. You are the only person besides Maya I have said it to. I loved you as Jonah and, if you agree, I will love you as my husband.”

  He couldn’t respond. He was immobile with the emotions flooding up from the soles of his feet and threatening to burst out of his chest.

  “Aren’t I supposed to ask you?” he stammered.

  She laughed again, and this time he joined in.