by Smith, S. E.
Jaw clenched, he reflected on the terrible scenes she’d witnessed and the turn of fate that had saved her life when so many died. “Seven hells, what you endured—”
“Oh, there’s more.” She paused, facing the water, her fists clenched and her voice steady but relentless with the details. “I said if we were leaving the palace to that bad man, we had to take the Goddess Heart of Ruatsar with us so he couldn’t have it. I was stubborn. Madame told me not to be silly, the jewel didn’t matter, and she and her niece and I went out into the stairs to the servants’ corridors. I was pretending to be her grandniece. I got away from her in the crowd and made my way to my mother’s rooms.” Tassia’s face gentled into a soft, happy expression. “My mother was the current favorite wife, and she’d been granted the honor of having the Goddess Heart in her possession. She was planning to wear it at the wedding. I’d been allowed to touch it, to wear it for a few minutes. Her room, it smelled like her perfume.” Head tilted, Tassia turned her head just enough to focus on him. “The delicate scent is one of my most vivid memories of the day, other than the blood. But I didn’t cry. Even then I knew I could not cry.” Nodding as if satisfied with the self-control of her eight year old self, she resumed her narrative. “I opened her jewelry box the way she’d shown me and took the jewel.
“I didn’t know where to hide the stone, but then I saw F’rrh’s container. There was a hidden compartment at the bottom. While I was jamming the necklace in there, F’rrh appeared to me and told me where to go to find Xandrina, who had remained in the palace, hoping to find me again. I grabbed the box and ran with it under my arm, until I caught up with Madame, right where the jenfelini said she’d be, close to the kitchen. She flung a cape over me, and we left the palace with a crowd of terrified servants. The Duke’s men were actively pursuing members of the nobility and putting them to death but no one was thinking about the workers.”
“And then?”
“I was ill for a long time, feverish from my wounds, and out of my head with grief. Xandrina got us out of the capital city then off the planet somehow. She had a nephew who was in the Duke’s army actually, and I think he may have helped us get passage. Not everyone agreed with what the duke had done, and he hadn’t fully tightened his control on the Ruatsar system yet. Madame got us our fake papers by selling many of my dragizi miniatures, which are highly sought after by collectors, you know, and no questions of provenance are asked in that market.” Tassia shrugged and rose to her feet, strolling along the beach.
Liam hastened to join her, catching her hand. “Why would she run such risks in turbulent times?” He was puzzled about the woman’s motivations, and unclear what role she’d played in Tassia’s childhood. “I mean sure, I get she cared about what happened to you but why not simply go to ground in the Ruatsar system somewhere? Why this elaborate years-long journey across the Sectors?”
“She was my priestess-mentor at the temple, my teacher—for dance and so many other things, preparing me to become a priestess someday. She had no children of her own and I think to some extent I was like a daughter to her. I was so far down in the list of heirs to the throne no consideration was ever given to my having a more elevated role at court than service in the temple and possibly marriage to a minor noble.” Tassia was silent, watching the sky. He didn’t intrude on her private reverie and then she said, “Make no mistake, Xandrina was a fierce partisan for the Oleavna family—it was said she’d once had an affair with my father and would do anything for him, for us. She wanted me to reach my great aunt and lay claim to the throne from a protected place, to attain the final revenge on Gradmirov by surviving and rising again.”
Shaking his head slowly, Liam reflected on the tribulations she’d gone through. He wished he could have met Madame Xandrina and thanked her. “It’s an amazing feat to have crossed so many Sectors when you two were on the run and pretty much broke.”
“It’s taken me years. It was a strange existence, no doubt. And now I’ve lost Xandrina.” She squeezed his arm. “But found you.” Her voice was soft, and the look she gave him was inviting.
“Tell me more about this great aunt we’re taking you to reunite with.” He was pretty sure he knew the answer but wanted verification.
“At the time of the massacre, the king’s estranged aunt, my great aunt Emiliaza, had gone to live on Dyenbachar Five, at the famous cultural center, after she was widowed many decades ago. She was a temple dancer, like me, or rather as I was supposed to become, and a well-known patroness of the arts in the Sectors. She remained there after the coup, protected by the Sectors authorities. The interstellar government couldn’t intervene in internal politics on Ruatsar, or so they said, but did grant asylum to any who chose to remain in Sectors space. Over the years, a sort of shadow court has sprung up with the Grand Duchess at the center.”
So far her explanation tracked with what he’d learned, doing his own research. “Do you believe she and her people are thinking of launching a coup or inciting a revolution at home on Ruatsar?”
Tassia shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. She’s elderly and has made it clear she has no appetite to take on the Duke or the RNR. Her only child died many years ago in a spacer racing accident so there are none of the direct Oleavna blood left to claim the throne after her.”
“Other than you.” Being the sole surviving heir was a heavy burden for anyone to bear and he hated the fact of Tassia being saddled with the role.
“Right.” Her voice was emotionless, resigned.
“I have one question: why didn’t the RNR know you were missing as a child? Or did they figure it out and kept your escape quiet?”
Tassia took a deep breath. “I’m not sure, but I do know one of my other half-sisters was allowed to bring her best friend to the reception and the girl was about my age and build. The two of them were inseparable. We used to joke they were like twins, even though unrelated. Her family was killed in the subsequent purge so it’s possible, with no one to demand to know her whereabouts, the RNR assumed the body was mine. The dead were thrown onto a bonfire.” She shuddered. “It was a time of great brutality. Gradmirov wanted to crush all thoughts of rebellion, or so I was told. Xandrina burned my sash and broke the brooches up to sell so there was no evidence I’d escaped.”
“But the RNR has been following you.”
Raising her eyebrows, she shook her head rapidly. “They’ve been following the jewel actually. I believe after the dust settled and he had time to think it over, Gradmirov suspected Xandrina of stealing it. We were careless in one or two places we took refuge, trusted people we shouldn’t have, in hindsight. The net has gotten tighter and closer. If I get the jewel and myself to my great aunt, then the issue is settled.”
“And the shadow court would have a young, fiery heiress to the throne to rally around.” Resentment on her behalf burned in his heart. The great aunt and her faux court couldn’t possibly care for Tassia as he did. She’d be useful to them, as a young, charismatic heir to a long gone throne, not as a woman to love and cherish. Not the way she mattered to him.
She lowered her eyes. “For years I’ve thought of nothing else. As an Oleavna, it would be my duty.”
Liam hated the way her voice sounded so defeated, almost robotic, as if reciting a lesson learned by rote. Xandrina might have saved her life but clearly she’d put every effort into molding Tassia into a persona meant to fit a life that no longer existed, outside the deluded dreams of an old woman and her fawning court. If the great aunt even believed in it. She’d left Ruatsar a long time before the family was killed, after all. “And what about us? I’m assuming a retired ex-soldier, a commoner, doesn’t figure into anyone’s plans for a suitable consort, not among a bunch like her courtiers, all tied up in blood lines and the unbroken, pure lineage. I’m nothing but an orphan from a rim world who found his way into the service and lucked out, not some fairy tale prince.”
“You’d leave the Nebula Zephyr to stand at my side?” She sounded shocked.
“I’ll be there as long as you want me.” He brushed away a sense of hurt that she hadn’t realized the depth of his commitment to her. When Liam decided he was all in, nothing could shake his resolve. And Tassia was the most important person in the galaxy to him. Time to tread carefully now, because she’d just shown him how indoctrinated she was by all the royalty bullshit. He took a deep breath and prepared to fight for the woman he loved. “But I’ve been doing some research, pulled in a few favors, talked to a few old friends, shall we say, to get a sense of the situation.” He hugged her, hoping he wasn’t going to lose her in the next few minutes when he laid some hard truths on the line. She needed to hear what he’d learned. “If you’re going to plunge yourself into a revolution to overthrow the government of Ruatsar, with me by your side, I wanted to have some hard facts. An intelligence report I could trust, not urban legends and rumors.”
“Well?” she asked as he paused. She had her hand to her chest as if to shield her heart and he thought she was shaking.
“It might be better if we sit down for this part of the discussion.” He took her by the hand and led her to a nearby table and chairs. Under the gaily colored umbrella, he sat on the edge of his seat and said, “You won’t like this, but there’s not a snowflake’s chance in a black hole the RNR can be overthrown. They’re powerful, have a huge, well trained military and protect the Sectors borders ferociously against the Mawreg and Chimmer. Our government regards them as valuable allies and has no appetite for anyone to create chaos in a critical area of the frontier. Another thing and this is key—
the citizens may not like everything about their current government, but there’s virtually no clamoring going on for the House of Oleavna to return.”
Tassia gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. “This I cannot believe. Surely the people chafe under the Duke’s cruel regime. My father wasn’t exactly beloved but—”
“Your father was hated, sweetheart.” He probably should have sugarcoated the blunt statement but after a night studying the reprehensible deeds of her father, Liam was full of loathing for the guy. Not that he and his family deserved to perish in such a terrible fashion. Liam tried to gentle his tone. He wasn’t debriefing a military intelligence agent but trying to help the woman he loved sort fact from fiction and make a well informed decision, hopefully to go in the direction that included a life with him. Liam was under no illusions about his own motives, although he was prepared to accept her choice to throw in her lot with the great aunt. In the latter case he’d be the best damned mercenary the emigres ever met. “He and his nobles were milking the populace dry and living in luxury while the people were literally starving. The ruling class kept the entire solar system from modernizing because the semi-feudal state he ran suited his greed. If the RNR hadn’t overthrown him, there were others waiting in the wings with the same idea. The duke’s methods for taking power were barbaric but his ideas for governance are actually rather enlightened. He’s been giving more and more of his power and authority to his eldest son, who was educated in the Sectors and served in our military. The heir apparent is no angel but, by all accounts, he intends to continue reforming things there.”
Tassia seemed at a total loss, blinking at him and frowning. “I never heard any of this before.”
“You were a kid. Your family was pretty much your entire world. I get it. Xandrina must have been a fierce partisan for your family, as you yourself said earlier, and I’m guessing she indoctrinated you even further on your royal duty after the tragedy. You’ve grown up in a bubble.”
“The RNR just tried to kill me to retrieve the jewel.” Her jaw was clenched. “Why do they hate me so much if I’m not a threat?”
“I’ve got feelers out on that as well. There’s an old bounty on your head, but my guess is we could achieve a live and let live truce with them, if you renounced all claim to the throne, maybe gave the jewel back. Or gave the damn thing to your great aunt and let her flaunt it publicly. Make it her problem not ours. I could—we could keep you safe here on the Zephyr. You could marry me, Tassia, because I love you more than life itself. Start some new dreams, some dreams for you, not your long gone family dynasty. When—if—we ever decided to have a family, I have veterans’ acres rights coming to me. We could pick a colony with a strong military veteran presence where we’d be safe.”
“Be a principal dancer sailing the stars instead of a princess inciting rebellion?” She disentangled herself from the chair’s embrace and walked to the waterline. He followed, unsure how she was reacting to all his blunt information and suggestions. Asking her to marry him was probably over the top for tonight but his iron control over his own emotions was slipping and the thought of losing her unbearable.
Hands fisted, posture rigid and voice steady, she said, “You realize you’re trying to destroy the foundations of my entire life? All my energy for years has been directed to reaching the Grand Duchess and working with her to retake and rebuild Ruatsar.”
He put his arms around her, and for once she didn’t lean into him. But she didn’t push him away either. “I’ll give you the results of my intel survey, and you can make up your mind for yourself. We have a week till we reach Dyenbachar Five. I’ve done some checking into your great aunt and her shadow court as well. All I’m saying is go in there with an open mind and decide for yourself if this is truly what you want.” Now, he did spin her slowly so he could gaze into her eyes. “If you still want me then I’ll be there, I promise, whatever you decide, but it’s time for the old dreams to be tempered with the current reality.” He leaned his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. “You don’t have to blindly follow the path other people have laid out for you since you were a grieving eight-year-old. You can follow your own dream.”
“You tempt me terribly,” she said in a voice so soft he could barely hear it over the sound of the waves. “I love you too, you know. It’s hard to contemplate rejecting the duty and position I’ve been groomed for my entire life, however, to do something as selfish as pursuing my own happiness.”
7
The day came when the Nebula Zephyr sailed neatly in orbit high above Dyenbachar Five. Liam had given notice to his boss of his possible resignation and been told in no uncertain terms to do whatever needed to be done and his job would be waiting for him.
Tassia’s meeting with Riall over her position with the Comettes had gone much the same, although of course the director didn’t know the whole truth about her being the long-lost princess.
“Of course take care of your personal business on the planet,” Riall had said graciously. “I’ll hold your spot—you’ve become quite a draw for the show and enhanced the Comettes’ reputation in a short time. Send me word if you do decide to remain on Dyenbachar.”
After promising she would, Tassia left the office, only to run into Micki, who eyed her suspiciously. “Word is you and your hot guy are sneaking off to the planet today.”
A little panicked the news was leaking out and concerned what the gossip might be, Tassia, said, “We might be. Why?”
“Because if you think you’re getting married in secret down there without me as your maid of honor, you just think again.” Micki’s oval face, usually so cheerful, displayed her concern and pique, from her flashing eyes to the frown lines on her forehead. Her amazing curls bobbed as she emphasized her point by shaking a finger in Tassia’s face. “I want to catch the bouquet and I sure as seven hells want to organize the party to celebrate.”
Flooded with cool relief her friend seemed to have no idea of the real nature of her trip to the planet, Tassia hugged her impulsively. Laughing and feeling as if she might cry too, Tassia said, “I promise, you’ll be the first to know and can plan the party, pick the dress, anything you want. But no, we’re not getting married today.”
“He’s asked you though, hasn’t he?”
Tassia winked, proud to confirm Micki’s guess. She didn’t take Liam’s love for granted – he was too special i
n her eyes. “More than once in fact. But please don’t repeat that!”
Lowering her voice, Micki leaned closer. “What are you waiting for? You’re clearly not interested in the high rollers on the passenger list or stardom in trideos, so grab the guy and make it official.”
“I’ve got to go but I appreciate your advice,” Tassia said. “Talk to you later.”
Liam was waiting in her quarters on Level Fourteen as they’d agreed. Suddenly nervous, she said, “I should check with F’rrh before we take the shuttle the captain’s lending us. She might want to go with me or she might have some last minute instructions. And I need to get the jewel.”
“Take your time. I’m the pilot and there are no other passengers besides us.” He grinned. “I have to admit I’m curious to see this stone.”
“You’ll be impressed.” Tassia headed for the bedroom and Liam followed her. “How’s your Ruatsarn comprehension coming?”
“Once I got my old military implants enough words to work with, thanks to you and the recording you made for me, they kicked butt and found something similar evidently, to accelerate my comprehension rate. I can discuss the finest points of the weather with your great aunt if she wants.” His answer was in flawless Ruatsarn. “I’ll probably choose to keep my ability to understand your mother tongue my little secret though. It’s always surprising what people will say when they don’t think the bodyguard understands.”
Hand on the lid of F’rrh’s container, she paused. Eyebrows drawn together in a frown, she looked at him. “You’re much more than my bodyguard.”
He moved behind her, nuzzling her neck and kissing her. “You know and I know that but at least in the beginning today I think we should play it as if I’m only there as security. See how things go.”
