by J. Naomi Ay
Fortunately Angelica's grandmother Luci sent her lots of paycards. Any reason to give her a gift, that's all she got. That worked fine for Angelica, as it would have been really stupid for a princess to go to the mall and not be able to buy all the things she wanted, plus the matching shoes.
Angelica wondered how fat she'd get if she were actually pregnant. That would be bad, horrible even, as Angelica was terrified of fat. She wouldn't want anyone to see her looking that way. Frankly, she wouldn't want to see herself. Angelica would have every mirror covered just so she couldn't catch a glimpse. Then, after she had the baby, she'd go back to her starvation diet.
Angelica decided she would need to go into confinement right away. She certainly wouldn't want the press to see her with a bump all sticking out. Her boobs, on the other hand, she wouldn't mind if they grew a bunch. Angelica took off all her clothes and looked in the mirror, discovering that so far, she looked exactly the same as before.
She did her fat test and passed it with flying colors. Although, now that she looked closer, there was an enormous zit on the side of her nose. That was new since yesterday. Yikes! There was one on her forehead, too. Did this have something to do with being pregnant, or could it have been that tiny bite of chocolate?
"Angelica?" It was her mother coming into the room. She didn't even knock! She just barged right in. Who did she think she was? "What are you doing here standing naked?" Elana quickly turned around so as to give Angelica some privacy.
"I was looking for zits," Angelica replied, putting on her clothes. Elana thought this was funny although Angelica didn't know why. "What do you want anyway?" She snapped, hoping it wouldn't be another woman to woman chat. Then, Angelica almost laughed. What if her mom had come to talk about how babies were made? A little too late for that, chickie, Angelica snickered.
Lucky for both of them, Elana had another agenda in mind. It never even occurred to her that Angelica would need THAT talk.
"Sweetheart," Elana announced with a bit of trepidation. She wasn't happy about this, although she tried not to show it. "You'll be leaving for Mishnah right away."
"Cool!" Angelica nearly screamed. It was almost as if someone heard Angelica say she wanted to get away. Was there a better place to be confined that the Imperial Palace of the Realm?
Elana, on the other hand, didn't think it very cool at all. In fact, she was surprised that Marik had been so insistent.
"She must go there immediately," he had said without an explanation as to why. Well, he had mumbled something about keeping his mother company.
Elana supposed it would be beneficial for Angelica to learn court etiquette and manners befitting a future queen. On the other hand, Angelica could certainly do all that at the court of Elana's mother, the Queen of Cyganus. She didn't need to go seven light years away. Not when she was still only fifteen, and practically still a baby.
But, Marik wouldn't listen, refusing to reconsider no matter what Elana had said. The argument had turned into a tug of war over who was in charge. Did an earl trump a crown princess? Could a duke's command supersede a queen's? Once again, Marik started reiterating that Korelesk was far superior to Cyganus. Elana ended up shutting off the vid, so as not to look at her husband's face.
Angelica immediately changed her clothes. Then, she changed them again because nothing she had was exactly right. In Mishnah, everyone wore the height of fashion. Even the old Empress was always impeccably dressed. Grandmother Luci, well, that was another story.
Within an hour, Angelica was packed and ready to go. After kissing her mother and grandparents goodbye, she was driven to the spaceport and loaded on to an ancient Cyganian plane. Angelica had wished that one from the Imperial SpaceNavy or SdK Corporation had been sent for her. They were way, way much nicer and the food aboard was better.
Regardless, she was happy to be going to the Capital Planet. In fact, she was so happy, she had forgotten her prior dilemma. When several mornings later, when upon rising, Angelica began to puke, she figured she had picked up a stomach bug from the different water.
Luci, however, was extremely perceptive to her granddaughter's condition. This might have been because she had nothing else to do. Since the Empress spent every moment holding a vigil by the Emperor's side, all appointments and meetings had been cancelled.
When Berkan announced Angelica was coming to visit, Luci was quite thrilled as it gave her someone to tend. She had the spare bedroom in the Palace apartment redecorated in pastels with balloons and flowers appliqued on all the walls. Then, she ordered the seamstresses to design and craft Angelica some new dresses.
Luci was determined that her granddaughter's gowns would be modest and reserved. One simply did not walk around the Imperial Palace baring body parts that were supposed to remain covered.
"All young folks do it, Ma'am," The Seamstress had declared.
"Pish tosh," Luci replied. "Just cover her up. No one needs to see anything beyond her face and hair."
Now that Angelica had lived with them for two weeks, Luci began to notice changes in the girl's behavior. She spent her mornings with her head stuck in the loo. She refused to eat anything but tea and a bite of toast. At first, Luci attributed all this to that eating disease that she suspected all Cyganian women had. The odd thing was, Angelica wasn't getting any thinner.
"Blessed Saint." Luci worried all by herself as Berkan was off doing whatever it was that he did these days. Often, he was on the vid speaking in hushed tones with Marik and sometimes, Petya. The rest of the time, he claimed he was working in the Emperor's empty office.
The Empress was in no condition to listen. Most of the time, she was staring glassy eyed at the Emperor's face, waiting for him to wake up. Sometimes, she'd go off on a rant, shouting at him about all the injustices she felt and faulting the poor fellow for every one of them. When she did this, the guards and the retainers could hear every word.
In the beginning, they had tittered politely. Some exchanged stricken looks. Now, after several weeks, they were all used to it and simply chalked it up to the idiosyncrasies of the Imperial Pair, which over the years, had become increasingly strange.
Unfortunately, due the Empress's state, Luci was left with only Shelly to confide in. Shelly had her own set of problems, namely her husband, Tim and her son, Thad. However, Shelly made an effort to listen, and offered a bit of advice.
"I don't know, Luci." Shelly shook her head. "You should probably insist the girl go have a check-up. It sounds like she might have gotten herself into a bit of trouble."
That bit of trouble frightened Luci to her core, and when she confronted Angelica with it, she became even more disturbed.
"Yeah," Angelica admitted cavalierly, for by now she realized it wasn't the different water making her ill. "Lucky, I'm here in Mishnah, so no one on Cyganus even needs to know about it, right?"
Luci had a retort already prepared on her lips but instead decided to keep her mouth shut. She debated whether to tell Marik. He seemed quite stressed during his weekly call, so Luci hesitated before adding any more difficulty to his life. With everything in the Empire having been so disrupted, Angelica's silly little problem was really of no consequence. Again, Luci confided in Shelly.
"Have you discussed it with your husband?" Shelly queried, looking up from the vid where she was playing a game.
"Well, no," Luci insisted. "He, too, is extremely perturbed. Frankly, I'm not certain we shouldn't keep the whole thing under wraps."
"That will be a little hard to do in a few months."
For Luci, a few months were simply too far away to think about. "I'll just take it one day at a time and let the girl lie around and rest," Luci decided. "Hopefully by then, things will have returned back to normal."
A child, in fact, was on the tip of Lord Berkan's mind, although he was blissfully unaware of the great-grandchild he was soon to acquire. It seemed that the captains of the SpaceNavy and the Members of the Ruling Councils were objecting to what Berkan and Mari
k considered the most logical transition.
It was becoming more and more apparent that Katie was in no condition to act as Regent. Shika's behavior, if anything, had only gotten worse. However, if Shika had an issue, specifically a son, that child might be considered acceptable, especially when matched to Princess Angelica Korelesk.
Berkan decided this all made a tremendous amount of sense. He could then promote himself as Regent, grandfather-in-law to the lad. His descendants would then control the throne, perhaps for generations. Berkan imagined his revered ancestor, the Saint, smiling down from the heavens on this plan. Berkan's mother, too, would have been thrilled to finally be rid of those despicable de Kudishas.
"Your mother?" Luci shrieked when Berkan calmly clued her in. "What has your mother got to do with any of this? Don't tell me after all these years of her being dead, you're still trying to win her approval?"
"No, no," Berkan scoffed, but held his tongue from saying more.
Instead, he applauded himself for making such a logical and sensible plan. The challenge, of course, was to uncover Shika's offspring. Surely, there had to be one or more around. Saint knew, the man never kept his trousers zipped. The question was whom they were, and where Berkan might find them, in order to bring them back to Mishnah to marry Angelica.
"Hannah's children?" Berkan suggested to Marik the very next day. "Are you quite certain they belong to her husband? Perhaps, the boy was actually sired by the Imperial Prince?"
"No," Marik replied. "They both look like Cascadian freaks with great bunches of red hair, ears larger than their noses, and three identical rows of yellow teeth."
"It is imperative we find a bastard," Berkan muttered while Marik drummed his large fingers against the table; a nasty habit he had acquired from his grandfather Loman.
"And what if one does not exist?"
It was then the thought occurred to both gentlemen simultaneously. Why wait until the next generation? A Korelesk could be mated with the Prince, and then, the offspring would be entirely under their control. Angelica could marry the Imperial Prince and beget a child right away, no need to wait until a boy had come of age.
"Angelica and Shika?" Berkan offered a bit hesitantly.
"Angelica and Shika?" Marik considered thoughtfully. Although he loved his daughter with all his heart, royal duty must come before personal choice.
"Angelica and Shika," they both decided.
Now, how to get her in Shika's bed? Undoubtedly, the Prince would never consent if he were sober. He certainly wouldn't marry a girl less than half his age. Besides that, Shika was a hardened drunk while Angelica was a naïve young child, or, so her father and grandfather assumed.
Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult to sell this plan to Angelica. Angelica was game without even a bribe. She was a pragmatic girl, and this might solve the very problem she was facing. Getting screwed by the Imperial Prince was certainly higher on the social strata than the rock star and his brother. Angelica would just close her eyes and dream of floating off somewhere in space. She figured the whole thing would take three minutes or less.
Afterward, she could simply pass off the one she carried as the Prince's brat, who arrived a bit premature. Forevermore, she'd have a glorious life here in the Palace of Mishnah and she could party every night of the week. She could spend money on anything and everything she desired. Angelica would refuse to return to Cyganus until she was old and forced to rule.
"Why sure, Grandpa Berkan," Angelica cried sweetly. "I will sleep with the Imperial Prince."
Chapter 11
Shika was getting tired of his father's illness, if that was what it was. After several weeks of this, the doctors still could not discern any symptoms or causes. Everything was working properly, except the Emperor wasn't awake.
"He's off flitting around the Universe again," Shika's mother snapped, while waving her hands at the windows. "As if there is nothing to do here at home, he's got to be off joyriding among the stars or visiting teenager's beds." She turned at this last part, a growl erupting from her throat. "Get back here!" She raged at the blank and impassive face.
Shika considered that his mother had gone quite insane. As to his father, he had no clue what the old man was doing right now. Frankly, he wished the both of them would just pass on to that merry palace in the sky, and leave him alone to do exactly what he wanted.
The whole Empire would be terribly distraught when that happened. The people would turn to their Imperial Prince, the only descendent of the pair. In order to assuage the people's grief, poor Shika would be forced to assume the throne.
"Calm down, Mother," Shika said when the Empress had finished her rant. She was back in the chair at his father's side. The old man's hand rested limply in her lap, the two Firestone rings glinting from his fingers.
Furtively, Shika glanced at his own hand imagining those same rings shining there. They would look fabulous, he decided as if there were any doubt. His father's Imperial Crown would look even better on his head. His father's Robes of State and his magnificent medallions and sashes of gold would look fantastic on Shika's body. Yes, indeed, Shika would make a splendid form on the dais. He'd look amazing as he sat on the throne.
"Yes, dear?" Katie glanced up at her son, noting his disheveled appearance, and the pervasive smell of stale alcohol emanating off his body. Altogether, his appearance filled Katie with disgust. She was further distressed that she should feel this way about her own beloved son.
"You need to declare me as the Regent," Shika announced, crouching down to kneel before her on bended knee. In the past, whenever he looked up like this, her heart would begin to melt. He batted his eyes, which were always his best feature; deep blue like hers but lined by thick dark lashes just like his dad's. "You are obviously not fit to fulfill that role, right now, whilst I could and it would relieve your burden, Mommy. Don't you think it would be wise to put me in charge instead of Berkan? Darling Mother, I'm afraid he is scheming to get rid of all of us. My sources say that Marik has been approaching the SpaceNavy captains. While you've been holding a vigil here with Dad, our Korelesk cousins have been planning a coup d'état."
"That's ridiculous." Katie waved her son away. "I think you're the one who's trying to usurp my command. Go take a shower, Shika. You stink to the high heavens. Better yet, go sleep off your obvious intoxication. Next time you want to speak to me, you come in here clean and dry."
Shika knew there was no point in arguing now. When his mother made up her mind, she was as stubborn as a mule. He'd have to chip at her little by little until her resolution faltered. In the meantime, he was getting thirsty for something to drink.
"Oh, Sir." A nurse curtseyed as he stumbled from the room. "Might I speak with you a moment, Your Imperial Highness, milord?"
"Briefly," Shika muttered not slowing his step. He must get something to drink before this headache became quite worse.
"Sir," the girl continued, jogging by his side. "Sir, do you remember me from before?"
"Before what?" Shika summoned the lift, hoping it would arrive quite quickly. While this girl was cute, right now, he'd rather have a drink.
"Before when you and I…when we…well." She grew flustered. Her face turned bright red and her eyes filled with tears.
"Sorry, babe," Shika replied as the lift door swished open. He stepped inside and scanned his pass to the Imperial apartments. "I've never seen you before. That being said, perhaps, at another time, I shall see you again." He pointed his finger like a gun, thinking himself ever so clever in his response. Then, the door swished shut and whisked him across the Palace campus.
"But, I'm pregnant," Nily whispered, although Shika was no longer there to hear. "It's yours, Sir. I'm going to have your baby."
That was assuming she would remain alive, for at just that moment, Lord Berkan rounded the corner. He had caught the last bit of the conversation, unfortunately for Nily.
No, no, Lord Berkan thought to himself. Only Angelica shall bear the Prince
a son. It simply wouldn't do to have some nurse muddy up his plan. To complicate matters further, the lift door swished open again. This time, stepping out was Lord Taner with a Talasian man.
"Berk!" Taner cried, extending his hand.
"Taner!" Berk cried as well, wondering who had summoned Taner here.
"Berk!" The Talasian enveloped Berkan in a hug. "I have twelve toes, but as you can see, only ten fingers. How about you? Once I was full of water, but now I'm dry." He shook his head to one side as if to demonstrate that no water leaked from his ears.
"That's lovely." Berkan smiled politely and extricated himself from the Talasian's grip. "What brings you here, Taner, with your…friend? Thank you, sir, would you mind not grabbing at me anymore?"
"That's enough, Zem." Taner steadied Zem's shoulder. "Run down the hall, old fellow, and see if you can find our friend, Captain Katie."
"Ok, Taner!" Zem cried joyfully and scampered off in the wrong direction. "I remember going to visit Captain Katie in a place like this when she had her baby."
"Yes, well, the baby has just left in pursuit of another drink," Berkan announced. "That baby seems to favor his Karut side as they all seem to have a weakness for the fire water. If you'll pardon me, Taner, I have business to attend right away. Madame is not up to seeing visitors, I'm afraid, and His Imperial Majesty is still quite under the weather."
"Cut the bullshit, Berkan," Taner snapped and grabbed the younger man's collar with surprising force. "I've known you since you were twelve and your father longer than that. I don't know what you think you're going to achieve, but let me remind you of something. When Senya wakes up, he's going to be none too pleased."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Berkan huffed and released his collar from Taner's grip. He dusted off his shirt and straightened his tie. "You may be retired, but I am still tasked with keeping this government running. Perhaps later, if I have a spare moment, we can meet for a drink and catch up." Berkan smiled, showing all of his teeth and then jauntily strutted away. As soon as he was clear of the hospital, he took out his cell and rang Marik.
