by Dani Hoots
“Kibs yh, sbiohi hoji yh,” voices echoed through the city. I didn’t recognize the language.
“Is anyone there?” I called out.
“Kibs. Sbiohi,” they repeated.
I tried to follow the voices as they became louder and louder. Dusk started to make its way through the city. I hurried through the ruins of the buildings that once stood tall and mighty until the voices led me to a building in the city center. I examined the only intact building left in the city. It towered above me with dragon-sculpted pillars that still held the building up, and it seemed they would do so for eternity to protect whatever waited inside. I approached the massive doors and saw a light shining from underneath.
“Hello?” I slowly opened the doors. Light blinded me as ghostly images flew out of the building and circled me. Falling down to my knees, I tried to gasp for air but couldn’t.
I opened my eyes, breathless, thinking I still needed to gasp for air. I looked around to find myself in my quarters.
“That’s right,” I whispered to myself. “I fell asleep.”
Flinging my legs off the couch, I sat up straight and took deep breaths. It was just a dream. The same damn dream I had been having for the past few years. Dreams about the stories Father told all those years ago. Dreams of Sanshli.
Regaining my senses, I stood up and started to unbutton my jacket to cool off. I grabbed the tablet that still lay next to me and began to go through the list of guests for the ball.
Checking the time, I realized I had only been asleep for an hour. That gave me seven hours to look the tablet over and two hours to get ready. I leaned back in the couch and slid my hand on the screen to open all the different files.
The seven hours went by and I did my duty as I always did. I inspected all the files until I memorized them and then some. You could never be too careful.
Deciding to get ready for the ball, I pulled off my hair-band and started the shower. Before I could start to take my uniform off, I heard the buzzer to my quarters sound. I opened the door to find one of Neil’s personal servants with a dress bag.
“The Emperor ordered me to deliver this to you,” the woman handed me a long dress bag.
“Just in the nick of time, as always,” I moaned more to myself than to her.
“Do you want me to say that to his majesty the Emperor?” the servant inquired nervously.
I shook my head. “No, I suppose not. Just tell him I got it.”
The servant bowed and immediately left my sight. I clicked the button to slide the door shut and threw the bag on my bed. Unzipping it, I pulled out a long, bright red dress. It had a thick strap over one shoulder and a slit that came up a lot higher than I cared for. He included long white gloves with heels to match. I shook my head in bewilderment of how persistent Neil was as I climbed into the shower. I had plenty of dresses I could wear from previous balls but Neil always seemed to send a new one down just in time.
After getting ready and putting on the dress, which was a bit on the tight side, I headed towards Neil’s quarters. Guards tried not to let me notice them gaping as I passed by. I decided to ignore them rather than punch them in the throat for looking at me in that way. It wasn’t polite to stare. I knocked on the door to Neil’s personal quarters as I checked the clock that hung on the wall down the corridor. Right on time, as usual.
“Come in, it’s unlocked,” I heard his voice call from the other side of the door.
Waving my hand in front of the controls, I entered. Being the Emperor definitely had its privileges, personal quarters near the top of that list. The entrance led you into the living area where he had some couches and tables that faced out towards one of Anosira’s many clear blue lakes. To the right was his bedroom and a personal bathroom. There was a second bathroom to the left of the entrance. Neil’s head poked around the corner as he buttoned up the top of his shirt.
“I see you got the dress I picked out for you,” he gave me a quick once over.
“You didn’t have to buy me a new dress, sir,” I stated, rather embarrassed he spoiled me like this. I tried to tell him but he never seemed to get a hint.
“Yes, I did. You will be accompanying me and have to look your best. I can’t be letting you wear last year’s fashion, now can I?” he let his comment linger for a second. “And we are alone, you don’t need to be using formalities.”
“Sorry. Habit.”
He went back around the corner to finish getting ready. I made my way to the windows and peered down at the lake. The lights of the city reflected calmly off it as the sky began to darken. Moments later, Neil came back into the living area. He placed his hands on my shoulders.
“You know you are my favorite girl, Arcadia,” he whispered into my ear.
“Because I do anything you say?”
“No, that’s not why.”
I turned around to face him. “Then why am I your favorite girl?”
“Because you cared for me ever since my parents died,” he smiled. I peered down to find his tie in a mess. I quickly untied it and fixed it. “See? That’s what I mean.”
“You are forgetting that the first time we met I tried to kill you,” I bluntly added.
Neil just laughed. “That was a long time ago, Arcadia. Look at you now. You are the only person in this entire galaxy I trust with my life. Time changes things. You aren’t that girl anymore.”
“We should be getting to the soiree,” I quickly changed the subject. I didn’t like talking about the past, especially to those who were there with me. It reminded me of all the mistakes I had suffered through.
“Fine,” he held out his arm. “Shall we?”
I wrapped my arm around his and we made our way down into the ballroom. I used the earbuds to check with the generals that everything was secure and safe for the Emperor to enter. After getting the okay, I led the Emperor into the ballroom where everyone awaited.
People from all over the galaxy filled the ballroom that lay before us. They all turned as we made our way down the stairs and bowed before their Emperor. I scanned the crowd to make sure nothing seemed to be out of place. Nothing was, or at least nothing seemed to be.
“Now smile while you’re here, Arcadia,” Neil whispered. “Your deathly stare scares the guests.”
“I will try my best, sir,” I smiled, as ordered.
“Good.”
Making our way through the guests, Neil greeted each and every one. I simply held my smile, as ordered. I listened to all the pleas and wishes each representative had, wanting to take each and every one of them out with the TG-1, a personal hand gun, I had strapped to my leg. I picked it rather than a military issued TG-2 since it was a bit smaller and easier to hide. But I couldn’t because that was wrong, or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.
I followed Neil as he made his way through the crowd slowly, lingering as he passed the guests who each nodded to him. We came upon Sir Colate, the representative I accompanied to the planet.
“Ah, Sir Colate,” Neil began, “I do hope that my girl stayed out of trouble while on your ship.”
“Oh, yes your majesty, she didn’t bother any of us at all. I sometimes even forgot she was on board,” Lain didn’t want to make it seem like I had been a nuisance, even though he probably thought I was.
“Really?” Neil took a glimpse at me. “That is hard to believe.”
“I practiced my fighting while on board. Stayed mostly in the fitness room,” I watched as the representative looked around, catching his eye on something on the other side of the room.
“Oh, please excuse me your highness, my wife is motioning me to come to her. Thank you for your time,” Lain bowed as he left.
“I thought I told you to make him feel comfortable on the trip here?” Neil questioned after he left.
“I did. I stayed away from him. I figured that would be the best way to make him feel comfortable on his ship,” I explained as I felt someone’s arm brush up against mine. I turned to apologize when
I came upon a familiar face.
“Mister McHannon?” I never expected to find him standing behind me. I knew I didn’t see him on the guest list and he had never been invited to come before. He bowed at the presence of the Emperor.
“Miss Ryetirf,” he paused for a second, seeing the way Neil held me. “Long time no see.”
“You saw me only a week ago,” I corrected.
“Well, it felt longer,” he commented.
I had never seen him look so proper before. His scruffy face was nicely shaven and his brown hair was recently cut. He wore a new tuxedo, different from his usual worn-out suit and hat. I looked down. Even his shoes were shiny.
“I thought since he was our main contact on Recar he belonged at the Representative Soiree. It was a last minute addition, did Thomas not tell you?” Neil inquired.
“No, he left that part out,” I glanced around the ballroom to see if I could find the bastard.
I heard the earbud crackle from someone coming online. “Oh, by the way,” Thomas’ voice rang in my ear. “Jack’s coming.”
I made a note to myself to deal with him later.
“I contacted him after you left Recar and he agreed to come, but won’t be staying long, am I correct?” Neil emphasized the last part of that sentence.
“Oh, no. I have to get back to my people. I don’t like leaving them for any length of time. Never know what’s gonna happen while you’re away. I’ll be leaving late tonight or early tomorrow mornin’ depending on how this shindig goes,” his Recarian accent was as strong as ever. He was going to stand out in a place like this. It took everything I had not to pick it up while I stayed with him.
“Well then, tell me how does my girl treat you on her missions?” Neil pulled me in a little closer, stressing that I was his. I could tell it hurt Jack a little but he didn’t let it show.
“Good. She’s perfect at everything she does. She’s a great fighter. I see why you keep her close.”
“Yes, indeed. While you are here, enjoy being my guest. If there is anything you need, let me know,” Neil gladly offered.
I watched Jack’s eyes as he took a quick look at me. I knew what was on his mind, but he didn’t say anything.
“Thank you, sir,” he bowed again, “I mustn’t keep you away from your guests, there are a lot of people here that probably want to talk to you.” Grabbing my hand, he kissed it gently. “Nice seeing you again, Miss Ryetirf.”
“Likewise,” I nodded.
I watched as Jack headed off towards another group of people, wondering if he was truly enjoying himself or if this was like torture for him. I presumed the latter.
“Interesting character you associate with,” Neil finally whispered after Jack was out of hearing distance.
“You are the one who assigned me to spy on him all those years ago. Be happy he decided to make a treaty with us instead of killing me when he found out,” I answered.
For my first big mission, Neil ordered me to spy on Mister McHannon and once I had enough information I was to overthrow the Recarian government, or at least what they considered to be a government. When Jack found out I was an Imperial, instead of killing me he decided to make a treaty with the Empire by reporting any resistance that started to form on the planet. In exchange, anything that needed to be dealt with had to be dealt with by me. That was two years ago and he made every excuse to have me come, but I didn’t complain.
He laughed. “That’s true. I should blame myself.”
I looked at Neil, wondering what exactly he meant by that comment as he led us to another group of people. I peered around the room, making sure nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It wasn’t my job to make sure everything was running smoothly for the guests, only to make sure the Emperor was safe. That didn’t stop me from checking and making sure there were no fights or anything out of the ordinary.
“Arcadia?” Neil interrupted my thoughts.
“Sir?” I responded automatically.
“Would you like something to drink?” he gestured to the waiter standing in front of us.
“Oh, sorry sir. My mind was somewhere else,” I grabbed a glass of red wine from the server.
“Don’t let it happen again,” he ordered.
“I won’t sir,” I answered as I took a drink.
“Anyway,” Neil turned back to the representative. “I was just explaining to Harrison about the new military forces we will be sending to the Roz system.”
My attention sharpened. “Roz system?”
“Yes. It seems that there’s an underground resistance forming again on Garvner,” Neil informed me of what I missed.
“It is a small planet, they won’t last long. Sending a few troops should resolve the problem, no need for anything special. The citizens will expose them to make sure history won’t repeat itself. It took them a long time to rebuild the city and I doubt they will want to do that over again.” I was there, I should know.
“Smart girl you have here your majesty,” Harrison remarked. I hated it when representatives said things like that. They had no idea.
“Yes, she most certainly is,” Neil added.
Harrison went on. “It is true, a lot of the capital of Garvner was destroyed in the initial war all those years ago. After the first attack the people gave up the names of the resistance leaders right away. They didn’t want their precious little city destroyed. Ha! It wasn’t like there was anything there worth destroying. Everything was outdated and poorly built. They didn’t even have electricity to all the buildings. Such amusing little people. If you ask me, I would have wiped out the people and started over,” he laughed as I slowly reached for a butter knife that came by on a tray. I felt the Emperor grab my wrist.
“No,” he whispered into my ear.
“He deserves it,” I whispered back.
“Not in this company.”
I quickly retracted my effort to grab the knife and brought my lips back to a smile.
“It’s been a pleasure being appointed there. What they lack in advances they make up with great meals and scenery,” Harrison went on without noticing what had just happened with the butter knife.
“Glad you had a pleasurable time because you are now dismissed from your duties,” Neil said without hesitation.
Harrison nearly spat out his drink. “Excuse me?”
Neil’s voice became dark. “I will not tolerate any of my representatives looking down on their citizens and calling them amusing. You are dismissed from being a representative.”
“But your father appointed me,” he began.
“And I am not my father, now am I? Now leave my sight,” Neil snapped.
Harrison slammed his drink on the table and grabbed his wife and left the ballroom in anger. Everyone watched as they left, then went back to what they were doing.
“That is how you deal with it in this company,” he gently explained to me.
“I still think my idea was better,” I commented under my breath.
“Of course you would, but you need to learn to hold your anger. You do rash things when you are angry,” Neil added as we strolled through the ballroom.
I faced him and grinned. “You haven’t complained before.”
“You haven’t gotten this angry in this type of company before. I didn’t think you still cared about your home planet that much,” he hinted towards a deeper reason as to why I wanted to stab the representative.
“I don’t,” I answered as I took a sip of my drink. “I just don’t care for men who treat their citizens like filth.”
“And what you do is so much better?”
“I’m not their representative now am I? Besides, I only do what I do because I am following orders,” I responded.
“What if I told you to destroy everyone on Garvner? Or kill someone who means something to you? What would you do then?”
“You know there isn’t anyone that means anything to me other than yourself, sir.”
“Really now? I will have t
o keep that in mind,” Neil commented as he made his way to another group and started chatting away again.
I listened to them all, taking notes on the different tells each person had while lying or telling the truth. I was amazed how much these people lied to the Emperor. I kept smiling as ordered when I heard static on my earbud as someone began to talk.
“Damn, I wish I had legs like yours,” Tom’s voice filled my ear. “Then maybe I could be the Emperor’s shadow.”
I stepped away from Neil to speak into the earbud “You want to rephrase that?”
I heard his chuckle. “I’m just saying we all know why the Emperor keeps you around, Arcadia, just admit it.”
“Thomas,” I heard Peter’s voice chime in. “You better stop now.”
“But the party has just begun, Peter. Come on, I’m just having a little fun. Just look at that dress. I mean if I could, I would...”
“Where are you Thomas?” I interrupted him before he could finish that comment. My eyes scanned the ballroom.
“Somewhere I can admire those delicious legs of yours.”
It was crowded and he could be anywhere. He liked doing this to me, making comments in the earbuds and hiding himself in the crowd. Idiot should be man enough to say these things to my face. Then again, he said these things to my face as well. I kept searching when finally, I caught sight of his familiar face near the balcony.
I turned back to Neil. “Excuse me, sir.”
I started towards Tom but felt someone grab my wrist. I looked back to find Neil’s hand stopping me.
“Don’t do anything rash. This is a formal event after all,” he warned gently.
I nodded then I made my way back through the crowd. Tom was leaning against the doorframe that led outside to the balcony waiting for me. He smiled as I approached. I grabbed him by the tie firmly and forced him outside. I think he liked how rough I was being.
