by T. S. Ryder
"Maskin, Hero of the Apdratee invasion."
The second man's most prominent feature was the fierce scowl he wore. His hair was long, braided down his back. He was larger than Bjorn. His black studded armor was clearly meant for heavy battles, rather than the ceremonial skirmishes Bjorn's nanite armor was designed for. His arms were naked and bore scars, both of blade and blaster. Dark diamonds were tattooed under his eyes. Judging from the sky-blue of his skin, he was born a warrior-slave. A mix of insults and cheers rose for him. He did not bow.
"These men fought each other for a day and a night until both fainted with loss of blood," Priest Quincy shouted, more to the crowd than Cheryl. "The Gods have decreed that they are equally worthy of the crown. But which is more worthy of the queen? She must choose now."
Everything went silent.
Cheryl couldn't breathe. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like. She was supposed to be presented to her king, not given a choice between two men. Everything in the temple was decided for her, down to what she wore and ate. How was she supposed to choose between these two men? Her chest started heaving, her hands shaking.
"You have to choose," Priest Quincy said again.
Tears burned in her eyes as she stared at the two warriors. "I can't."
Priest Quincy turned towards her, narrowing his eyes. She shrank back from him but shook her head. She thought she might vomit. Taking a deep breath, she managed to straighten her shoulders and raise her chin. Once more, she shook her head.
"It's the Gods who decide who the king will be. I'm only the queen."
The corner of the priest's mouth twitched. He turned back to the crowd. "The queen has said let the Gods decide. Therefore, she and the two Kings Presumptive will be sent to the shrine of Nethja, Goddess of fertility. There they will stay until the alignment of the four moons. If the queen is with child, the father will be king. If she is not, then both will be put to death and a new king chosen."
Cheryl pressed her hands to her mouth, horrified.
There would be no wedding night for her, but two months in a moon shrine with rivals fighting to impregnate her. She stared down the steps at the two presumptive kings. Neither looked surprised. Maskin returned her stare with a hungry look in his golden-orange eyes. Bjorn's own green eyes twinkled. They both walked up the steps to join her on the platform. It lifted again, this time heading for the shipyard.
In two months, one or both of these men would be dead.
Chapter Two: Maskin
The moon shrine of Nethja was an ancient place, established when the Temadian people first developed space travel. Maskin stood between two ivory pillars as he watched the sun rising on the northern horizon. The large planet of Thoutle, seat of the Demante System and home to the noble houses, was still visible in the sky like a large, green jewel. Maskin's own home planet was a hardly-visible speck in the morning sun.
The warrior-slave had been on the front lines when the Apdratee attacked, trying to conquer the system. It was he who had led a single ship against their blockade after his Lord Commander had perished.
At the time, he had never seen anything outside the strict barracks where he and the other warrior-slaves were raised and trained to fight. After he had taken control of an Apdratee ship and broken a hole through the blockade, ending their siege, he had been brought to Thoutle to be awarded his freedom and the title of commander.
It was the first time he saw beauty. The planet was breathtaking. Everything was green and lush. He thought it must be paradise.
This moon, however, was even more beautiful. Flowers grew everywhere. There were so much color and such sweet scents perfuming the air that when Maskin first stepped foot on the moon, he thought he had died and had been taken to the nirvana all faithful worshippers went to.
Bjorn's presence had quickly reminded him it was not so.
Maskin scowled as he turned from the sunrise. That man was the final obstacle to all of his plans. If Bjorn became king, nothing would ever change. Warrior-slaves would still be ripped from their mother's arms as infants. They would still live and die without being allowed to see any beauty or have any choices.
So he did not have the time to appreciate the beauty he was in. He only had two months to impregnate the queen, after all.
He looked down as he finished the grass necklace he had been braiding. It was one of the few things that all warrior-slaves knew how to do. They rarely got any downtime, but when they did, they liked to make things with whatever resources were available. Necklaces such as these were used to express affection for one another. They were simple compared to the sapphire that was gifted among the higher ranks, but Maskin found a joy in the simple appearance of things made by hand.
It was his only hope that Cheryl would feel the same. If she didn't, then he had nothing to compete against Bjorn with. Failure was not an option.
Maskin wasn't afraid of dying for his attempts to become king. The odds had been stacked against him from the start, and he honestly hadn't expected to get this far. But he didn't want to be remembered as the warrior-slave who almost became king.
He wanted to be remembered as the king who changed everything.
The shrine itself was a wide space that included gardens, a lake, and several small cabins and pavilions. Cheryl was in a pavilion at the heart. The queen jumped when he entered the building. She gave him a look akin to terror, although she nodded and turned off the holographic view she had been using.
If he were smart, he would just lay her down where she was and lift her skirts. The more times he claimed her, the more likely his child would grow in her belly. He wouldn't be surprised if Bjorn had already had her dozens of times.
But she was so pretty, and in the black dresses, she favored she looked so innocent. Besides, he couldn't bear the thought of even kissing her when she looked at him like that. She wouldn't fight him, he knew that, but he wanted her to like him. He didn't want a queen who feared the times they were joined.
"I made this for you," he said gruffly, holding out the grass necklace.
A pink stain rose in her cheeks. "You did? For me?"
She took it. A small smile graced her face and Maskin was surprised when his heart skipped a beat. He coughed, shifting a little to the side. His reaction was just because he had little experience with women. The only females that warrior-slaves interacted with were the orbots that were gifted to the men who excelled in battle. Even then, they were only gifted for a night or two at most. When Maskin had first seen a flesh-and-blood woman, he had been shocked. They were soft and warm, not cold and hard-skinned like the orbots with their synthetic flesh.
"I don't think anybody has ever given me a gift before," Cheryl said. "What is it?"
"A necklace. Here." He unclasped the turquoise necklace that was around her neck and tied on the grass one instead.
Cheryl beamed as though it was more precious than celestial rubies. Her fingers stroked it. Maskin stared at them, imagining those fingers stroking his skin instead. Heat stirred inside of him. He leaned forward to kiss her. The human turned her head.
Maskin sat back and sighed. "We will have to engage in physical activity sooner or later."
"I know. I just… I don't think it's fair to be with one of you without letting both of you know who will have me first."
So Bjorn hadn't had her already? Maskin was surprised at that, though he tried not to show it. "And is that a decision you will make?"
Her fair, pink skin turned bright red. It made her hair look all the more golden. "Why do you want to be king?"
Maskin sat for a moment, considering her. She had been raised to be the queen, but like him, she was a slave. A temple-slave, pampered, her baby-soft skin indicating she had never worked a day in her life, but a slave nonetheless. She would understand what his goals were, wouldn't she?
"I want to bring about change. Our society is built around precepts that existed when we were still in the age of light speed travel. You and I are proof of th
at. I was taken from my family the moment I was born and raised by machines to be a machine myself. Not to think for myself, not even to have goals and dreams for the future. You were raised to be the queen, to be given to a man without any choice of your own. We were both meant to be docile and give up our lives in our own ways."
Cheryl's eyes were wide as she listened to him. Maskin couldn't help but smile wryly at her slightly horrified expression. He had seen it plenty of times when he talked with others in his division about rising above the rank he had been born with.
The change was frightening for people who were told society would fall if it were restructured.
"But how would we defend ourselves against outside threats?"
"We are not at war. If anything, we are headed towards civil war. Unrest grows as slaves educate themselves. I want to preserve our society. Things have to change. An empire built on backs that can break has a precarious existence. Besides, if a pampered boy like Bjorn who has spent his life being waited on hand and foot can be king, why not a man like me? I saved our world, Cheryl. What has he done?"
Cheryl ducked her head. "You make a good argument. But if I were not the queen, what would I be? I can't even choose between two men. How could I be trusted to choose my life?"
Maskin sighed. "And that is exactly why I think change needs to be made. We should all be taught to choose, whether well or poorly. Why should our lives be dictated by people in their sapphire chairs?"
"Thank you for the necklace." Cheryl scrambled to her feet. "I need to go."
She ran from him as though he carried the plague. Maskin sighed and leaned back. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way. Perhaps he should just demand her.
But he wanted to be her choice, not the man that was forced on her. Would that happen? He repressed another sigh. He had to decide what was more important, his plans for the system or his desires for himself…
He just wished they didn't seem so far apart right now.
Chapter Three: Cheryl
Cheryl had never had to take care of her hair before. At the temple, the acolytes would pass a hairlight rod over her hair, infusing it with various vitamins to ensure that it grew strong and healthy. The gentle pulses of light would automatically detangle her curls, and the acolytes would style it.
The shrine did not have hairlight rods. There were only these slabs of plastic with stiff spikes that emitted a sonic frequency. It just made her hair stand on end all around her head. In the end, she gave up trying to tame it and merely clipped it back from her face.
Hardly had she done so when Bjorn and Maskin entered her cabin. They glared at each other as their shoulders bumped.
Cheryl unconsciously began fingering the necklace Maskin had given her the previous day. As much as she appreciated the gift, she wasn't so sure about what he had told her. Changing everything about their society was so frightening… Would it have been better for her to have been raised with choices?
If the choice were hers, she could eat as much as she wanted. She could cut her hair. She could run down the stairs and read for hours.
"What are you doing here, Hero?" Bjorn asked, the title sounding like an insult on his lips.
"I am going to walk with Cheryl above the valley."
Maskin was, as usual, wearing his studded armor. He looked like he was about to charge into battle. The only thing missing were his blasters, but those were not permitted on the shrine grounds. The only technology allowed here were things that had already been developed when the shrine was founded. At that point in history, the only guns available were projectile ones, rather than the energy-based weapons of today's age.
Bjorn, on the other hand, had two fine daggers strapped to his thighs. Even his nanite armor was allowed. But then, nanites were in use before space-flight was developed. Cheryl knew this because of the history that Priest Quincy always made her study.
The prince frowned. "I am going to take Cheryl down into the valley."
"She's coming with me, Prince."
They were going to start fighting if she didn't do something. Cheryl gulped in a quick breath. "Actually, I'm going to walk by the lake."
Both men turned to stare at her with surprised looks. The human blushed. Her hands shook, but she nodded as she stood. She had been wanting to get closer to the lake, anyway. Now was a good time, wasn't it?
"I'll go with you," Bjorn said.
"As will I." Maskin glared at his rival.
Bjorn reached her side first, offering her his arm. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. Maskin was soon on her other side, gripping her small hand tightly in his thick, calloused one. Having both of the big Temadians on either side of her had her heart skipping a beat. She could feel their strength and determination.
That neither of them had bedded her yet surprised her. She expected to be stripped bare and spend the whole two months until the moons' alignment being ravished by the first one and then the other. Perhaps the reason was they couldn't agree on who should have her first. Like this walk–they never would have agreed to back down if she hadn't made a choice.
Was the sex her choice as well? To decide who and when had her? But how was she meant to decide?
Her heart rate increased as they left the food pavilion, walking under fragrant, purple-leafed trees towards the lake. The path was paved with cobblestones. Cheryl's feet were used to padding on carpeted floors in temple slippers. Even the shoes she had been given for this trip made her toes ache. Still, she wasn't going to complain. She wanted to go see the lake, after all. With both of them.
Both of them. Should she tell them that it was the only way they'd bed her as well?
Heat rose in her cheeks and swirled in her lower belly as she considered it. Taking both at the same time. The first time she had dreamt of sex it was with two men. If she did indeed have a choice…
It was as though Maskin could read her mind. "Have you decided which one of us you want first?"
The trees faded away to a wide green field dotted with flowers, the lake in the distance. Cheryl concentrated on admiring the view instead of thinking about Maskin's question. The sky was a beautiful blue, deeper than the color of Maskin's skin, almost the same shade as her own eyes. The eyes that had determined her fate to be queen one day as a child.
"Yes," Bjorn said, his hand sliding around her waist. "Have you decided? I know this must be an uncomfortable topic for a temple virgin—"
"A what?" Maskin interrupted, brow furrowed.
Bjorn rolled his eyes. "How can you expect to be king when you don't even know your own culture? All of our queens are virgins until they are claimed by a king. I doubt this pretty Lapis Lazuli has even been kissed before, have you?"
He gave Cheryl a kind smile that made her blush as she shook her head. Maskin, however, looked shocked–and angry.
"Abominable. It's abominable that a woman with such starlight in her eyes has never experienced physical pleasure."
He stopped and pulled her roughly towards him. The human opened her mouth to protest but he pressed his lips to hers. He swallowed her startled gasp as he kissed her hard.
A hot feeling pooled in her lips, slipping down her throat to settle in her breasts and lower in her belly. His calloused hands caught her face, pulling her closer as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Cheryl grasped his wrists, but not to pull him away. Her legs were turning into jelly, and she needed to hold him to keep herself on her feet.
In the next second, she was physically torn away from him. The scrape of his callouses over her soft skin made her cry out, and then she was in Bjorn's arms. He kissed her as well, eliciting the same exciting heat inside her. His hands were not still, though. They roamed her body, touching her in places nobody had ever touched before.
Growling into her mouth, Bjorn grasped the neckline of her dress and yanked. The fabric caught against her skin as it tore open, letting her breasts fall out. They were soon made prisoner to his hands. Cheryl gasped, her head falling back
. Bjorn's mouth moved to her neck.
Her lungs were heaving as his kneading hands built heat in her. She loved every feeling he was giving her, but it was too much. It was too good, too hot. She was going to burn from the inside out.
And then she was being torn away from Bjorn. Maskin's rock-hard arms were around her, pinning her arms to her sides. She looked up at him, hopeful and frightful that he would pick up where Bjorn had left off. To her dismay, though, he wasn't looking at her, but rather glaring at the other man.
"You think you can just take whatever you want, Princeling? Not this time. The queen is not for you to take. Her rose is mine. The Gods granted me with strength to defeat all my opponents until I got to you, and it was only through your fancy nanite armor that you could stand against me. If you weren't such a coward, I'd have beaten you."
Cheryl shook her head. "I think—"
"Coward? Me?" Bjorn's eyes narrowed. In an instant, his two daggers were in his hands. He flipped one over and offered it to Maskin. "Remove your armor and I will remove mine."
"No," Cheryl protested, but both ignored her as Maskin took the proffered dagger.
Chapter Four: Bjorn
Bjorn mentally ordered his nanite armor to retreat. It melted off him, forming a pool of material as soft as silk and stronger than titanium at his feet. His rival was yanking at his own heavy, bulky armor. The prince watched every movement, his knife at the ready.
It was forbidden to kill on the grounds of the holy shrine, but that didn't mean they couldn't spill a little blood. And there seemed to be no other way to decide who would claim the queen's rose.
"No, don't fight," Cheryl said, her hands fluttering in the air as she looked between them. "You can both have me at the same time, I don't mind."
Both men ignored her, although Bjorn had to work to keep his surprise off his face. For such a sweet, naive-looking woman, his Cheryl seemed to know what she wanted sexually. If only she could actually say that it was what she wanted, Bjorn might consider it. Women were scarce among the Temadian people, as sons were far more common than daughters due to the nature of genetic manipulations to produce pureblooded Temadians. It was common for one woman to have a harem of men. He himself had five fathers, and each one worshiped the ground his mother walked on.
