by S. E. Smith
Andras glared at Ristèard’s back in frustration. “What do they have?”
Ristèard pressed a button on the tablet on his desk. The image of a female, the one he had been thinking about earlier, appeared. He stared at the pale alien features, surprised at the instant attraction he felt when he gazed at the vivid blue eyes looking back at him with just a touch of irritation in them. His lips curved upward as he remembered her low, furious words to him a few weeks before.
“The fabled Empress of Elipdios, my mythical bride,” Ristèard replied, looking up at Andras’ shocked face. “The prophecy states she will save our world. I suggest we put it to the test.”
Andras glanced from the holographic image of the woman to Ristèard and back again. His mouth opened and closed twice as he tried to think of how this strange, pale creature was supposed to be the prophesied Empress all young Elipdios’ children learned about at bedtime.
Skepticism darkened his features as he stared at his friend and leader. “Do you really believe it? She doesn’t even look like us. She is very… pale,” he added with a grimace. “Besides, everyone knows the legend is just a tale to give hope to young children.”
Ristèard continued to stare at the image, lost in thought. Yes, it was a tale told to give young children hope. Yet, behind all great tales, there is a thread of truth. He thought of one of his commanding officers, Mena Rue, and her passionate insistence that the ancient tablets her parents found spoke of the first sign telling of the coming of the great Empress.
What concerned him was the fact that so far, what had been foretold was actually happening! The battle against the traitorous Kassisan and the three unusual females who had saved the lives of Torak and Jazin Ja Kel Coradon, two of the three ruling members of the House of Kassis, were too much of a coincidence for him to ignore. Not only were there three great warrior women, they had been instrumental in saving the house of Kassis and they had brought back an unusual group of warriors, including a female that looked suspiciously like…
“Instruct Commander Rue that I want to see her immediately,” Ristèard suddenly ordered, looking up at Andras. “I also want any information Dedeis Rue and his bride have deciphered from the ancient tablets they have found.”
Andras bowed his head before he started for the door. He paused as it opened to turn and look at Ristèard with a frown. His eyes moved back to the holographic image.
“How do you propose finding out if she is truly the Empress that will save our world?” Andras asked, quietly. “What if she does not agree to help us?”
Ristèard looked up from the image with a scowl. “She will,” he replied arrogantly.
“How do you know?” Andras asked.
“Because she will have no other choice,” Ristèard responded with a determined glint in his eye. “She will help us, even if I have to kidnap her to do it.”
Andras didn’t say anything for a moment before a reluctant grin tugged at his lips. It would appear that things were about to become very interesting… one way or the other. They were either going to discover they had found the prophesied Empress of the Elipdios Rising, or they were going to be at war with the Kassisans. Either way, life for the people of Elipdios, and their Grand Ruler, was about to change.
“I’ll instruct Commander Rue to come immediately and bring any information she might have,” Andras replied. “And, I’ll warn Emyr, Sadao, and Harald to prepare for a covert mission.”
Ristèard nodded in agreement. He slowly sank down into the large chair behind his desk, his eyes glued to the image of Ricki Bailey. For a moment, a sense of indecision washed through him. Pushing it aside, he leaned forward and tapped a command into the console on his desk.
A second image, this time from the ancient tablets Dedeis Rue had discovered, appeared. He wanted to compare the information Commander Rue brought him with what he had already obtained. For her sake, and the sake of her parents, it had better match or be more in depth than what he currently had on file.
“Who are you?” He whispered, carefully studying the two images. “How can this even be possible?”
The images were almost identical. The color on the stone tablet was faded and a portion of it was missing, but the facial features looked as if Ricki Bailey had posed for the etching on the two thousand year old stone. If there was one thing he did not like, it was unanswered questions.
“Enter,” he called when a soft knock sounded at the door.
The slender blue figure of a woman stepped inside, a sultry smile on her face. She was dressed in the traditional gown worn by most women. It wrapped around her figure and folded over one delicate, blue shoulder before being pinned by a large, black broach. He scowled when she closed the door behind her and reached up to unclasp the pin holding the top of her gown.
“I’d heard you had returned,” she whispered. “I am here to pleasure you, my lord Grand Ruler.”
Chapter 3
Ricki scanned the tent, looking for her father. A smile curved her lips when she saw he was talking with Stan, the computer genius behind many of their shows. Stan was a very nice man and had been trying to get her to go out with him for the past year.
The problem with that was she had a very strict rule about dating members of the circus. She wanted to make sure that anyone she dated was interested in her and not in her father and mother’s wealth. It would also make life difficult if things did not work out. Since she had no intentions of leaving the circus, it would mean either living with the person or they would have to leave.
Ricki considered herself a very calm, logical person who looked at all possible scenarios. Based on the probability of such a relationship not working out, she had decided the best avenue to maintain a happy and healthy work and home environment was to avoid any type of personal relationships with those that traveled with them. Since that only left dating those not associated with the circus, which was constantly on the move, it meant that she had not had any relationships to speak of. Oh, she had gone out on the occasional date with someone she had met during their travels, but she quickly found they were more enamored with her lifestyle than with her. That realization often turned into death for any promise of a second date.
Now, well… now, she might have to rethink her strict guidelines since they were no longer on Earth. Her gaze moved around the tent, taking in the familiar faces mixed with not so familiar ones. A light blush rose in her cheeks when she saw one of the Kassisan guards she had grown used to being around looking at her with interest.
No, she thought, schooling her face into the serene mask that she always wore when she felt self-conscious, things were not the same as they had been before.
Turning, she smiled at Jo Strauss, or Jo Ja Kel Coradon, as she was now called. Jo was her best friend and the only one who really knew and understood how inadequate Ricki often felt. She wasn’t talented like Jo and her younger sister, Star. She couldn’t fly through the air, or throw knives like River Knight-Ja Kel Coradon, or write complex programs like Stan, or make people laugh, or the hundreds of other things that her friends and surrogate circus family could do. She was good at two things, organizing things and dealing with the hundreds of complex problems that came with moving a circus the size of Cirque de Magik from one place to the other.
The smile on her face grew as she watched Marvin and Martin, the two Mimes who turned out to be aliens, stop Manota Ja Kel Coradon, Jo’s husband. She had always been fascinated by them. They were just so good at what they did that even she often got caught up in their antics. The discovery that they were not human didn’t make her think differently about them. If anything, it made them fit in even more. Her father and mother had welcomed such a variety of misfits and lost souls over the years, that they were just part of the norm.
Who am I kidding, Ricki thought with a sigh. I’m just as much a misfit as the rest. Maybe that is why I never want to leave.
Her mom and dad had sat down with her when she was five years old and explained how she h
ad come to be a part of their life. By then, she was almost as tall as her mom. She remembered asking her mom why she looked so different from them.
*.*.*
"Mom, why do I have yellow hair when you and daddy both have brown hair," she remembered asking. "Star and Jo look like their parents, yet I don't look anything like you and dad."
Her mother had looked at her dad for several long seconds before she had gently taken her hand and sat her down. Ricki remembered how her mom had told her about finding her on the steps of their trailer. She had listened carefully, nodding as both of her parents told her that she was a wonderful gift to them and they loved her very, very much.
“Do you think they will come back for me?” She had asked, afraid. “If we keep moving, they won’t be able to find me, right? I don’t want them to take me away from you and dad.”
“Oh, Ricki,” Nema had responded, pulling her into her arms and holding her trembling body. “No, Ricki, we would never let them take you away from us. You are our little girl, isn’t that right, Walter? You are ours!”
“Damn right,” Walter assured her in a gruff voice. “We are your parents, Ricki. And let me tell you, every single member of this circus would fight to keep you with us, too. You are our little girl forever, no matter what!” He declared, throwing his arms out wide.
“You’re damn right, dad,” Ricki declared passionately with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “I never want to leave you, mom, or the circus!”
Ricki chuckled softly as she remembered her fierce response. It had taken both her and her parents by surprise, but it had been the moment she knew she would never leave the circus. Every single member accepted her as she was, just plain, ordinary, Ricki. They didn’t care that she couldn’t do all the wonderful, magical things they could. They just loved her for being her… shy, logical, organized, practical, Ricki.
“Ricki!” Jo called out, snapping her out of her reverie.
“Hi, Jo,” Ricki responded, chuckling when she heard a low snarl from Manota as Marvin pulled a long scarf out of his ear. “I hope Manota doesn’t kill them.”
Jo snorted and glanced over at Manota with a loving gaze. “Are you kidding me? After what those two turned into a few weeks ago? I don’t think anything could kill them.”
Ricki smiled when Martin turned to look at her. Her gaze softened at his intense, questioning look. It was as if he were trying to see her reaction. She bowed her head slightly to let him know that she was okay with his and Marvin’s new status as resident aliens of the circus.
“How is Thea doing?” Ricki asked quietly. “She was very upset. Has she forgiven them yet?”
Jo shook her head. “I don’t think so. She isn’t saying much, but I don’t think finding out the two men that she loves are something much different than she thought is what has her upset. I think it is the fact they didn’t tell her that is bothering her the most,” she replied with a sigh.
Ricki nodded, watching as the two brothers turned and silently walked out of the huge tent. “I think they are finished teasing your husband,” Ricki chuckled.
“I asked them to hold him off if he came after me,” Jo admitted with an amused twinkle in her eye. “Ever since he found out I was pregnant, he has been trying to keep me under lock and key. He is terrified of me doing anything.”
“Go to him,” Ricki murmured with a slightly sad smile. “He only wants to protect you. It is obvious he loves you very deeply.”
She watched as Jo turned to look at where Manota stood staring at them, worry and love in his eyes, as he ran them over Jo’s slightly rounded figure. She nodded when Jo murmured she would see her later. Something told Ricki that Jo probably would be very occupied. Just thinking about that, brought another faint blush to Ricki’s cheeks. She wondered what it would feel like to be loved so totally.
“You are as beautiful as ever, Ricki,” Stan commented, walking up to her. “When are you going to give in and let me take you to dinner?”
Ricki turned in surprise. She studied Stan for several long seconds before deciding that she needed to make a decision. She was no longer on Earth. If she was going to have a relationship, wasn’t it better to be with someone she knew, trusted, and respected? Stan was all of those things. While he did not make her pulse speed up like…
“How about tonight?” Ricki suddenly responded, jerking her thoughts away from where they were going. “That is if… “
“Tonight is great,” Stan immediately agreed with an easy grin. “I’ll come by your trailer just before dark. There is this great place in town that I’ve found.”
Ricki tilted her head in agreement and pushed her glasses up. “That sounds lovely,” she said with a nervous smile. “I look forward to seeing you later this evening. If you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to discuss with my father. Until later.”
Ricki nodded and gave Stan a shy smile watching as he turned and walked over to where one of the clowns was working on some of the rigging and needed some help. She refused to acknowledge the flutter in her stomach. It was past time that she made a decision on what she wanted to do with her life. Stan had proven he was dependable, nice, caring, and now it didn’t matter about her parents' wealth, she highly doubted Earth currency was accepted here.
“Dad, I need to talk to you about a few things if you have a moment,” Ricki called, turning back to her father.
*.*.*
Walter glanced at Ricki and felt a wave of pride and worry before he turned his attention back to Marcus. The ‘Magician Extraordinaire’ was really a master pickpocket and street hustler who had learned his trade on the streets of Las Vegas. He was just one of dozens of people that had gravitated to the circus looking for a way of life that both protected them from their past and gave them the rush they needed.
“I’ll be right there, Ricki,” Walter responded with a nod. “Marcus, work with Stan to check how everyone is doing tomorrow. This is still new to everyone and I know that some of the scientists are coming tomorrow to check the animals we have.”
Marcus grimaced. “You know how protective Katarina is about her cats, Walter,” he groaned. “She is just as likely to tell them to eat the aliens than allow any of them near one of her babies.”
“Well, make sure she doesn’t,” Walter grunted as he turned away. “Tell her to keep those damn cats under control, that eating our hosts won’t help them accept us.”
“Damn it,” Marcus grumbled, turning away. “I hate dealing with that crazy Russian. She always sends one of those damn cats after my ass.”
“Yeah, well, she wouldn’t have if she hadn’t caught you trying to stuff the ocelot cub in one of your magical disappearing boxes,” Stan observed, wiping his hands from where he was helping one of the clowns with some equipment. “I warned you she was protective of them.”
Walter shook his head as the two men walked out of the tent. Marcus was right, Katarina Danshov was extremely picky about her assortment of feline companions, to the point she was never without one or more of them by her side. He didn’t question how she kept them under control. Now that he knew aliens actually existed, he decided that it wasn’t so strange after all.
“What do you need, love?” Walter asked, looking up at her. “I swear you grow more beautiful each day. When are you going to find you a young man? You know your mom is itching to have a grand baby.”
Ricki rolled her eyes and pressed her lips together to keep the groan from escaping. Now that River, Star, and Jo were expecting, her mom had been dropping hints about how she would love to have a grandson or granddaughter to cuddle with.
She just kept pointing out that in order to have a baby that it helped to have a husband first. That led to her mom posting a long list of eligible men on her tablet this morning. Shaking her head at her dad, she stared down at the tablet in her hand instead.
“You are just as bad as mom,” Ricki grumbled under her breath.
Walter huffed and folded his arms across his chest. “We aren’t getting any
younger and neither are you,” he stated before his gaze softened on her flushed cheeks. “We just don’t want you to be alone, Ricki. If something should happen to your mom and I…”
Ricki’s gaze quickly focused on her dad’s face. Concern and fear darkened her vivid blue eyes as she stared down at him. For a moment, she bit her lip in worry. Was either one of them sick? She could schedule an appointment with the healers here. The medical staff seemed much more sophisticated than back on Earth. Surely if something was wrong, the doctors here could cure it.
“Are you or mom sick?” Ricki asked in a husky tone. “I can schedule an appointment with Shavic immediately. River says he is wonderful.”
Walter’s arms fell to his side before he reached over and gripped Ricki’s hand in reassurance. Shaking his head, he led her over to the aluminum stands and waited for her to sit down. Nema had asked him to have a talk with Ricki.
“Uh, Ricki, I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you,” Walter began in an uncomfortable voice as he paced slightly back and forth in front of where she was sitting. “Your mom and I… well… She thought it might be better if I talked to you about this, to give you a little of a man’s point of view and all.”
*.*.*
Ricki’s eyes widened before she lowered her eyelids to hide the amusement and mortification in them. Something told her she wasn’t going to like what her father had to say. Her eyes flickered up to his face again when he cleared his throat.
“Now, Ricki,” he started out gruffly. “There are some things in life that happen naturally. Take for example, a man meeting a woman or vice-versa. When a man finds a woman attractive, he will show it in many different ways. If he knows what is good for him, he’ll do the right thing and come ask me for permission to court you.”
Ricki watched her dad with rounded eyes when he suddenly stopped in front of her and glowered at her with a fierceness that had sunk men four times his height. She had discovered it wasn’t height that made a man, but the way he carried himself. Her dad was taller and fiercer than any of the alien warriors… even the big blue one, in her personal opinion.
