by Rory Mackay
was said directly about Eladria’s mother or the situation at hand, conversation was strained and tense.
That evening, after she’d reluctantly consented to do her homework, she and her father sat in the lounge of their royal chamber, her father poring over voluminous security and intelligence reports on the state of the Ha’shon and True Way conflict. The princess sat in front of the old-fashioned wood fire, watching as the dancing flames consumed the glowing logs, illuminating the room in a fiery orange glow. Her beloved pet grudik, Tanos, lay stretched out on the rug beside her, basking in the warmth of the fire. A small dog-like creature native to the Alchazat tundra, Tanos had shaggy grey hair with brown stripes, a hairless pink tail, large pointed ears and a tapered snout with long twitching whiskers. She distractedly rubbed the grudik’s belly as she sat staring into the fire.
Her father informed her it was time for bed. She duly complied and went to her chamber, washed her face, cleaned her teeth and changed into her nightdress. The king tore himself away from his reports and the warmth of the fire to tuck her into bed. As he said goodnight, Tanos jumped onto the bed and made himself comfortable by her side. As she reached down to stroke him, Eladria decided to broach the issue of her mother. “You’re not going to give up on her, are you father?” she asked pointedly.
The king’s face fell as he took a deep breath and sat upon the edge of her bed. He reached out and took hold of the princess’s hand, which he held with a gentle firmness. “We’re doing all we can, darling,” he answered softly.
Her face creased. “But you said you’ve called off the main investigation?”
The king nodded sadly. “The truth is, there are only so many times we can search the same places and interview the same people. Our resources are stretched. The military is needed along the borders of the neutral territories to prevent further Ha’shon and True Way incursions. But there are still officers whose sole duty is to find your mother, no matter the cost.”
That wasn’t good enough. She wanted every available officer searching for her mother: surely the more people that were searching for her, the greater the chances of finding her? “We have to do more,” she implored.
“We’re doing all we can, little one,” the king assured her.
It wasn’t, however, enough to assuage her doubts. She felt her face crease in a scowl as her eyes moistened with tears.
The king reached down and kissed her forehead. “I know this isn’t easy, Eladria, but we’ll get through this, together.”
“You mean we’ll find her, and bring her home?” she looked up expectantly.
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
But in spite of his resolute answer, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t quite believe it. He squeezed her hand and got up to leave. “Good night, darling. Try to get some sleep. We’re going to be all right…I promise you that.”
He left, closing the door gently behind him. Eladria lay staring up at the ceiling. A muted blue light shone through a crack in her curtains, illuminating her bedroom in a ghostly light. All she could hear was the sound of Tanos breathing beside her and the faint hum of the air filtration system.
He’s given up on her, she realized. But I won’t...ever...
Perhaps unsurprisingly, sleep eluded her.
As she lay, the minutes and hours slowly ticking by, it was with a growing sense of certainty that Eladria realized she couldn’t stay here. She had to get away. If she stayed, she feared that in time she too would simply come to accept her mother’s disappearance as her father had. She vowed she would never let that happen. If her father wasn’t willing to leave this stupid moon to go look for her, then she would.
It was a foolhardy notion, and she knew that. After all, she was just a little girl and easily recognizable as the daughter of the House of Chaldeen. But perhaps she could find a way of disguising herself? Then she could leave the palace and slip aboard a transport to the planet surface. From there she could try to get passage to Nukarean province. That was where her mother was headed, and that was the best place of starting her search.
She knew that the military had most likely been exhaustive in their efforts to find her, but she was driven by something they weren’t: the power of her love, and her willful determination. Perhaps she’d be able to search in places they hadn’t been able to. However she’d do it, she swore that she would find her mother.
She turned over in bed and began plotting her escape. First of all, she’d need to slip out of the palace unseen, and to do that she’d have to leave before morning. She’d get a couple of hours of sleep and then, while her father was still asleep, she would sneak out.
She reached over to the timepiece on her bedside table and set the alarm for two hours earlier than usual. That should give her enough time to stage her escape. She reached down, stroked Tanos and let out a sigh as she endeavored to relax into sleep. Now that she’d committed to finding her mother, her grief and shock had transformed into a fiery determination, ignited by the hope—and the sheer determination—that she would see her mother again.
In spite of whatever her father might think, this wasn’t over.
When the alarm sounded, Eladria felt as though she’d only just gotten off to sleep. In reflex reaction, she reached over and switched it off, the rhythmic beeping receding into silence. Through heavy, sleep-filled eyes, she looked over at the window. The curtains were drawn but she could tell it was still dark outside. Despite yearning to roll over and go back to sleep, she knew she had to get ready to leave. In another hour or so, her father would be up and would stop by her chamber to make sure she was awake. She had to be long gone by then.
With a wave of her hand she activated the spherical light by her bedside. She forced herself out of bed and crept over to the wardrobe. She spent some time raking through her clothes, keen to find something that would serve not just in terms of functionality and comfort, but would provide some measure of disguise. She selected a pair of navy trousers, a white blouse and blue cardigan, black boots and a long, padded grey overcoat with a hood. The latter was seldom worn and was there only in the rare event that she might accompany her parents down to one of the colder regions of the planet.
Tanos lay on the bed, following her every movement her as she quickly dressed. She again delved into the wardrobe and selected a change of clothes, which she stuffed into a canvas bag. She reached for her favorite doll and placed it in the bag along with the clothes. Catching sight of a fruit bowl on the table at the far end of her chamber, she stepped over and deposited its contents into the bag: three large torja fruits and a handful of berries. That would provide one meal at least.
She knew she’d have to find some money. Currency wasn’t used here in the palace, but would be necessary once she got to the planet. There was probably some stored away somewhere, but she had no idea where to look—besides, it was highly probable that she’d be caught by the palace officers and staff. No, she’d have to worry about money once she reached the planet.
She looked over at Tanos, who stared back at her with his wide brown eyes, ever alert and curious. She knew she couldn’t leave him behind, not least because the moment she left him alone in the room he’d probably start barking and wake up her father. She called him down off the bed, reached for his leash and clipped it onto his red collar. The grudik wagged his pink tail excitedly as she slung the canvas bag across her shoulders and made for the door. “You’ve got to be quiet now, Tanos, you hear me?” she whispered as she pulled the door open and crept through the corridor, toward the exit. She was especially nervous as she tiptoed past her parents' bedroom.
With barely a sound, she made it to the main door of the royal chamber and exited into the white marble corridor. Fortunately all was quiet, but the princess wasn’t going to adopt an attitude of complacency. While she’d formulated an excuse should anyone accost her—that she woke up early and was going for a walk in the gardens with Tanos—she knew that she’d look suspicious dressed in an overcoat wit
h a carrying bag. Most of the palace staff would be unlikely to question her, but the senior officers and some of the security personnel certainly might. She approached the elevator and, looking around nervously, was relieved that aside for a lone technician wandering the far end of the corridor, there was nobody around. She entered the elevator and reached up, keying in level three. She deliberately wasn’t going all the way down to the first level, for there would be too many security officers on duty at the main entrance. But she knew a way she could hopefully sneak out undetected.
She watched as the display dial gradually moved down and the elevator came to a juddering halt at level three. The doors rolled open and she cautiously stepped out, pulling on the leash for Tanos to follow. The grudik trotted by her side as she entered a large foyer that branched off into several corridors like the hub of a wheel. This level housed the palace’s service division, including the kitchens and cleaning facilities. Even at this hour it was busy, with a dozen or so service personnel going about their duties. As they passed through the foyer and the corridors, most were too preoccupied to notice the young princess, although a few glanced at her in surprise. But as she’d hoped, they didn’t have the nerve to stop and
