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Warning
This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.
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Chapter 1
The suns were rising. As the golden glow crept across the palace floor, Telmet rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The palace physician had given his father just one more week. This meant that Telmet had just one more week to find a suitable mate and plant his seed. Without the promise of an heir, Telmet would – by Golarian tradition – be refused succession to the throne.
The tradition had been set in place five generations ago in Golar, before Telmet’s family reigned. In fact, it was how Telmet’s family first took the throne and why the law was put in place. The failure to produce a male heir on the king’s part had given the throne to Telmet’s family – his great, great, great grandfather to be exact. And the strongest military male on the planet at the time. Once their rule began however, the family was going to ensure that if the throne didn't remain in their line, they would at least have a say in where it ended up. The new law stated that any male heir to the throne by succession must have at least one child (thereby proving his fertility,) prior to succession. Should the male heir have no children, then the throne would succeed to one chosen directly by the current reigning king. Small print provided for almost every eventuality. Whatever the small print offered, however, it was not a solution to Telmet’s problem.
The planet Golar was rather unique by design. The entire population’s offspring gender being determined by the warming and cooling patterns of the planet. A planet which spends the majority of its annual orbit in close proximity to one of the planet’s two suns. Only twice a year, when the planet hits midway in its elliptical orbit, is birth of the female gender possible. Consequently, the male Golarian population outnumbers the female at an astronomical rate.
One might think the task of finding a female willing and able to carry the offspring of a future king, would be an easy one. The unfortunate truth, however, is that following birth of the first born son, the female in question is discarded. If she is lucky, she is returned to her home with no claim to her child. If she is unlucky, she is dispatched with the upmost efficiency. With that said, the existing female population of Golar was reluctant to involve themselves in such matters. Of course, if Telmet saw fit, he might pluck a woman at random and utilize her for her services. Unlike his predecessors though, he had no desire to have a begrudging woman locked away in his palace for the six-month gestation period. He would much rather have a willing participant to accompany him as a queen until his child was born.
Queens in Telmet were few and far between. They arose only through the coital joining with a king and lasted for only as long as it took her to produce a male heir. The longest reigning Golarian queen to date was Queen Jaska. Partner to King Hobart and mother to sixteen daughters, she reigned alongside her husband for seventeen years until the birth of their son, Dury. Upon Dury’s birth, Queen Jaska was returned to the small farming village where she had been found seventeen years ago. For a while, King Hobart feared an uprising. Over the many years, the people of Golar had become attached to their queen and they truly believed that she had earned her position beside her husband. Golarian rule, however, dictated differently. It took until the death of King Hobart for the planet to truly forgive Jaska’s displacement, but even then, they would go on to rename their planetary currency after her. The Jaska.
“Sir?” A small hunched over figure scuttled across the shining floor towards Telmet.
“Hmm?” Telmet looked away from the large open balcony and towards the servant who had just entered.
“Sir, the king’s physician has called for you.” The servant remained crouched and avoided looking directly at Telmet as he spoke.
“What does he want?” Telmet asked, his voice tinged with annoyance at the interruption.
“He…umm…he doesn't believe that your father is going to survive for seven days. He believes he miscalculated…” The servant shuffled his feet nervously, wishing that he were anywhere but here.
“And does he say how long he thinks my father will survive this time?” Telmet asked, more concerned about his own time frame than his father’s.
“Y…yes, Sir. He suggests perhaps two to three days.” Telmet glared at the servant, his large bulbous violet hued eyes glinting.
“Two to three days?” He boomed. The servant flinched slightly and nodded.
“Y…yes, sir.” He muttered. Telmet stood. The large gold trimmed mantle that all princes were dictated to wear, flowed out behind him.
“Is he with my father now, Belzar?” Telmet asked the servant. The servant nodded.
“Y…yes, sir.” Telmet shook his head at Belzar’s nervous stuttering and with an exhausted huff, he headed off in the direction of his father’s chambers.
When Telmet got to his father’s chambers he found the royal physician at his father’s bedside and a rather rowdy Curia Regis at the foot of the bed. As his father wheezed with each breath, the councilmen each rattled off questions designed to tie off any lose ends before he should shuffle off his mortal coil. The phlegm filled responses were barely audible, and often the advisors asked the king to repeat himself. With each request to repeat, the royal physician tutted and shook his head.
“How is he?” Telmet asked, pushing his way through the council to stand beside the physician.
“Not good.” The physician said, shaking his head solemnly. “I give him perhaps another couple of days…”Telmet looked down at his father. The once corpulent man with flushed cheeks seemed to have wasted away overnight. His skin was now greying and his rotund belly was shrinking fast.
“Do what you can.” Telmet said. Leaning down he looked in to his father’s face, but there was no acknowledgement. It seemed to Telmet that wherever his father was going when he died, he was already there in his mind.
Chapter 2
The suns were now blazing through the crystal windowed hallways that connected the king’s quarters to the palace. Telmet walked briskly. He had to make a move today. It was sooner than he would have liked – he wasn't entirely sure that he was ready, but he had no choice. Time was not on his side.
He was greeted at the door to his quarters by Belzar, who was still shuffling his feet nervously.
“Belzar, prepare the pod for me. I will be leaving in ten drusecs.” Belzar nodded obediently.
“Yes, sir. What is your destination, sir?” Belzar asked.
“My destination is of no concern to you.” Telmet snapped.
“Sir, forgive the intrusion, but if I am to prepare the pod adequately for your travel, I must know the atmospheric conditions of your destination.” Belzar said, with a noticeable quiver in his voice. Telmet threw a large leather case on his bed, flipping it open.
“Then prepare for Opan.” He said, without turning around.
“Yes, sir.” Belzar said quickly as he backed out of the door. “Right away.”
Opan lay 406 miles from Golar. The weather patterns there significantly resembled those of the planet Earth, however the race that inhabited it didn't. The Opan were a rather tall and slender race. Their blue tinted faces featured three yellow gills on either side to enable aquatic living. Their long lion-like tails an adaptation for which they had yet to find a functional application. In all, they were strange in appearance, but they offered Telmet what he was looking for – women. Unlike Golar, the Opan race was able to reproduce under any circumstances and birth an equal mix of male and female offspring. And in such dire straits, it was Telmet’s only hope.
Telmet gi
ngerly set the pod down on the lush green grass. The journey to Golar had taken just five hundred drusecs, but Telmet was tired and he regretted not bringing Belzar along to share the journey.
Switching off the pod ignition, Telmet climbed in to the back of the cockpit to retrieve his brown leather jacket. Opan was much colder to Golarian skin, this Telmet had learned from experience upon his last scouting mission. He slid the sleeves up over his long red-tinged arms and pulled the collar up around his veiny neck.
“That should be efficient for the season that they call ‘summer.’” He said to himself, tugging the zipper up.
Telmet hated to admit it, but he was nervous. He would never dare tell another living soul, but the idea of finding a woman…of having to find a woman, was daunting. His failure would result in his being cast from the life of luxury he had known all of his life. There was no choice but to succeed.
“Excuse me!” A voice came from outside the pod’s main door. It was followed by a knock. “Excuse me!” Telmet unlocked the door and heaved it open. As it fell forward on to the ground, a cloud of yellow pollen flew up in to the air and left the visitor fanning her face and coughing.
“My many apologies”, Telmet said slowly as he stepped out of the pod. The stranger recovered from her coughing fit only to start giggling.
“Your many apologies? Really?” She asked before bursting in to laughter again. Telmet scratched his head, puzzled. He was sure that he had the right language and he had practiced his pronunciation for hours on the way here.
“I don't understand?” He said finally. The girl shook her head as her laughter died down.
“I'm sorry, it's just that…you sounded so funny and standing there wearing a coat in the middle of summer…it's like something out of a science fiction movie.” She said.
“Oh…” Telmet said, looking down at his jacket and then back to the girl. Her long blue tail flicked behind her as her face settled in to a warm smile.
“I was just coming to tell you that you can't park here for long. They are having a parade here tonight and if you leave your pod here, it will be stuck until tomorrow.” She paused and the gills on the side of her face opened and closed. Telmet couldn't help but stare at them.
“I won't be here for long.” He said, as he waited to see the gills open up again so that he could get a better look.
“You know, it's rude to stare.” The girl said, reaching up and clasping her hands over her gills. Telmet looked at her large rounded eyes and cocked his head to the side slightly.
“I'm sorry.” He said. “I've just…I've never seen an Opan up close before.” The girl shook her head, a large furrow forming between her eyes.
“That's no excuse. I've never seen a…whatever you are, before, but you don't see me staring, do you?” She asked accusingly. Telmet shook his head. He was so confused, no one had ever spoken to him like this before. “What are you anyway?” She asked, her large brown eyes looking him up and down.
“I am the prince of Golar.” Telmet said, watching as her hands dropped from her gills.
“Golar? As in two suns, hotter than hell, Golar?” Telmet nodded. “Oh…well, I suppose that explains the jacket.” She stepped forward and peered around to look behind him. “Hmm, no tail.” Telmet moved to prevent her from staring at his ass.
“No! No tail! Now who is staring?” He said quickly. The girl shook her head.
“I'm sorry, but you're right, it is strange to see someone so different up close.” She said. Telmet nodded shortly. “What are you doing here anyway?” She asked.
“I'm looking for someone.” Telmet said without hesitation. This was something he had practiced on the journey here.
“Hmm…anyone in particular?” The girl asked. Telmet shook his head quickly.
“I'll know her when I see her.” He said, then tiring of the conversation, he began to walk towards the Cantina. The girl followed.
“Is she Opan?” She asked.
“Yes.” Telmet said, picking up his pace, hoping to at least outrun her questions.
“Maybe I know her.” The girl said. “I'm Jaska, by the way.” Telmet stopped in his tracks and turned to her.
“Jaska?” He asked, looking her up and down once again. The girl nodded quickly. From a quick assessment of her, there was no way that she could be Queen Jaska. She was far too youthful and that had been so long ago.
“My mother named me after your queen.” Jaska answered Telmet’s question once and for all.
“Oh.” He turned back around and continued toward the Cantina.
“You didn't tell me your name.” Jaska said, picking up her pace to keep up with him.
“I did.” Telmet said brusquely. Jaska shook her head despite the fact that Telmet couldn't see her.
“You didn't. I would hardly call ‘prince of Golar’ a name. It's more like a job…or a title…but it's definitely not a name. A name is something more like Jaska or Oleka or…” Before she could finish, Telmet spun around and stared her in to silence.
“Why are you following me?” He shouted. Jaska’s gills clamped shut and her already oversized eyes grew wider.
“I…I was just being friendly…” Jaska muttered, the hint of tears already brimming in her eyes.
“Well don't!” Telmet snapped. “I have something very important to do and I don't need someone like you following me around everywhere!” Jaska stood still in silence. When it was obvious that she was going to say nothing, Telmet turned back around and walked the rest of the way to the Cantina.
Chapter 3
The brightness of the sun outside faded quickly in to near pitch black as Telmet entered the Cantina. He could hear the loud muffled conversation of its patrons even as he was still in the narrow stairway. Once he turned around the last corner and showed his face however, the room fell silent. All eyes locked on him. Telmet’s heart began to race as he surveyed the crowd. Every single face there was Opan.
“What’d you want?!” A large blue skinned man shouted from behind the bar. Telmet opened his mouth to reply, but the sheer size of the man told him to think better of it.
“He wants a drink, same as all of you. And he's with me, so cut it out!” Jaska’s voice came from behind Telmet. He watched as all of the faces in the Cantina suddenly looked ashamed and turned away from Telmet’s direction. “Looks like maybe you do need me following you around everywhere?” She said as she squeezed past him and walked over to the bar. Telmet followed her obediently. This was not how things were supposed to work.
“What’s it drinkin’?” The bartender asked Jaska.
“We are both drinking Lar. Make them large and keep them coming.” Jaska held out her hand and a small pile of gold coins materialized. She set them on the bar top. The bar tender’s eyes sparkled greedily as he swept them in to his hand and nodded.
“Anything you want.” He said, turning to begin pouring the drinks.
“How did you do that?” Telmet whispered as he leaned in closer to Jaska.
“I was born a sorceress.” She said bluntly. Telmet was silent for a moment as he processed this newest piece of information.
“Are there many sorceresses here?” Telmet asked. Jaska shook her head.
“Once every seven hundred years a sorceress is born.” The bartender put two large mugs of a golden Amber liquid in front of them, glared at Telmet and then walked away. “A seventh daughter of a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.” Jaska said, picking up her mug and taking a large gulp. Telmet followed suit, but as soon as the bitter liquid touched his tongue he spat it back in to his mug.
“Urgh! This tastes awful!” He put the mug back on the bar top. Jaska took another gulp of hers before reaching over and pushing his mug closer to him.
“If you know what's good for you, you'll drink it. I might be able to stop him from killing you for being a Golarian, but offend his wares and I'm afraid that's on you.” Jaska said, setting her own mug back on the bar top. Telmet glanced at his mug that was now frothy o
n top with a mixture of the bitter drink and his own spit. He winced.
“Why did you help me?” Telmet changed the subject. Jaska frowned.
“What?”
“Why did you help me? I was such an ass to you out there and yet, you helped me anyway…why?” Telmet picked up his mug out of habit and before he could stop himself he’d taken another swig of the bitter concoction. He forced it down.
“Isn't that what Golarians do? Isn't it what all beings do? Help each other when they are in need?” Telmet contemplated this question for a moment. The answer was quite obviously no, and yet telling her this seemed as though it might forever taint her view of the universe.
“Well…” He scratched his head. “Hmm.” He gave up on answering the question. “Thank you for your help.” He said instead. “I'm quite sure that Mr. Bartender here would have had my blood as the new paint color of this place if you hadn't stepped in.”
“Maybe…” Jaska said. “He can be a little temperamental, but as long as you have gold you’ll get away with your life.” She flicked her fingers and a single gold doing appeared in them. She handed it to Telmet with a smile. “Better hide that away as an insurance policy for the rest of your stay here.” Telmet took it and slipped it in to his pocket.
“Thank you.” He gave her an awkward smile and she giggled.
“You’re welcome. Is this your final destination?” She asked, gesturing around the bar. Telmet shrugged.
“I'm not sure.” He said as he weighed out the possible outcomes of sharing his purpose of being there with her.
“Well, it seems to me that whatever your business, you ought to conduct it fast because prince or not, things are going to get rowdy in here once the parade begins and you are very likely to be the first casualty when they do.” Telmet watched as Jaska drained her mug of Lar and set it on the bar top before sliding off her stool.
Romance: Yes, Stepbrother! Page 50
