The Noble Petty, Complete Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 2)

by Craig Gerttula

  Trent stood frozen, starring at the scene with empty eyes, tears streaming down trembling cheeks. Vickie continued screaming in horror from his side, while Tiana looked on in confusion.

  “Oh no...” Tiana gasped. Sasha reached for her ladies, needing their support. But as soon as she touched Vickie, the world changed, not drastically, but enough to make her gasp.

  The woman in the embrace of many men was replaced by someone Sasha knew quite well; Vickie herself. She lay naked within the sea of pillows and the man standing in the doorway was no longer Trent, but Georigi. Vickie's mind must have overlaid her own imagination on the scene. The woman, who shifted between that of the Trent's once love and Vickie, seeing Trent/Georigi for the first time, smiled seductively, a passionate moan escaping her fluttering lips.

  “Trent/Georigi....” the woman on the couch purred, using both Vickie's and her natural voice, the dueling tones sounding odd. Trent/Georigi turned, ready to run. Sasha tried to follow, but couldn't, finding Tiana holding onto both her and Vickie's hands with unexpected strength.

  “Who was that?” one of the men asked, climbing onto a couch to catch his breath.

  “Just a puppy who became boring. It's about time he learned the truth,” the cold, uncaring words that were born from the woman Trent had loved, struck her like a dagger.

  “That's cold...why not let him join?” another man asked.

  “He's too kind. I had to slip him some “fun” before he'd do anything with me...kept saying he wanted to get to know me better first,” the woman laughed, beckoning the men to renew their assault on her flesh. Sasha stood frozen, the conversation unreal. She not only hurt Trent, but drugged him and had her way with him. My Trent, my poor Trent, her mind cried. One of the men dropped something into the woman's mouth, a pink pill of some sort, and all thoughts of Trent vanished as the moans grew in intensity. But Sasha found it odd. If Trent had left how could they be witnessing this scene?

  “Trent!” she turned, ripping her hand free of Tiana's grasp, and running to the door, finding him standing just beyond, head buried deep in his hands, tears leaking through the cracks.

  “I'd never use it for...” Vickie muttered, her confused words barely audible above the moans, she still standing frozen in the doorway staring at the scene unfolding within. Sasha, having had enough, rushed the short distance between them and slapped her lady

  “You would! Do not think for a moment you would not indulge...just like them...hurting those you love!” Sasha shouted, her anger bursting forth to mix with the sea of emotions that were running out of control. Vickie stared at her in shock. She seemed to want to respond, to shout at Sasha and tell her she was wrong. But her eyes went wide, her purple irises shining with understanding, her dress shifting to the brightest red.

  “I would, wouldn't I. Oh no, it...it was just a little, to help stop the pain...” Vickie stared at the scene, then back to Sasha. “But the little can lead to...to...” she stuttered, seeming reluctant to admit her realization. But Sasha knew Vickie had learned a valuable lesson. The room began to fade. Sasha turned back to Trent, who'd started stumbling towards the exit. They quickly followed.

  A dense rain had begun falling from a sky of unnatural darkness. Trent slipped on the rain soaked steps, tumbling to the path below. Unfazed, he pulled himself to his feet, sprinting like the wind through the yard and back down the blurry street. Sasha followed, trying to keep pace, to stop him, but he moved too fast, only slowing when they approached to a large lake, a starry sky twinkling off its mirrored surface, even though it was raining heavily.

  Trent tore off his drenched clothing, wildly throwing them to all sides with inhuman grunts, before diving headfirst into the lake, sending ripples in every direction. Sasha's heart raced, she realizing exactly what was coursing through Trent's mind, exactly what he was planning to do, and the fact that he would realize his folly before it was too late.

  A thought suddenly took her; what if this time was different? Would his mind allow him to die, and if it did, would he be able to recover? The thoughts forced her to move, removing her own wispy white dress, and splashing out into the pitch black lake, fighting her primal fear that a hidden danger may be lurking within.

  Trent swam fast, so fast she couldn't keep up. Her fear of being left behind, losing Trent forever, started to take hold. But luckily, he slowed, rolling onto his back, floating quietly, staring up at the night sky and the falling rain that vanished just before striking the lakes surface. Sasha pushed herself forward, reaching his side, her breathing heavy as the small waves from his movements splashed over her head.

  “Trent!” she shouted, unable to mask her desperation. He didn't respond, just laid still, floating. A smile of acceptance emerged on his glistening lips, and more tears flowed from his bloodshot eyes. He had made a decision, a horrible decision, Sasha’s mind threatening to collapse at the mere thought.

  He exhaled and his body began to sink.

  Fear overwhelmed her. Trent was going to die, somehow she knew he would, even if this was just a memory. He would die this time, but not only in the memory. They changed something, when she touched him, everything had changed. Now his memory would think he died and he might actually...

  She dove below the surface, grasping the fear of losing him, losing his love, searching desperately in the utter darkness of lakes depths. Her hand brushed something warm, Trent's side, and she wrapped herself around his sinking body, trying to drag him back to the surface, back to safety. But she couldn't, his body just too heavy and she too weak.

  She continued to struggle, unwilling to relent, bubbles escaping his gaping mouth as Trent continued to sink deeper into darkness, into death, into a place she could not follow. As her hope began to fade, her love slipping from her grasp, many hands engulfed him and his body began to rise, having become light as air. Sasha swam harder, kicking her legs in desperation, dragging Trent to the surface with her entire being. They burst forth, as if born anew, the cool air striking her skin as the stars opened before her. The unnatural night vanished, along with the rain, replaced by a clear, starry sky. She had saved him. She had saved her love. But she hadn't saved him alone. Vickie and Tiana were at her sides, helping her hold him afloat.

  “Who...” Trent sobbed, his bloodshot eyes showing his utter confusion, unable to comprehend the sight of those before him.

  “Those who love you...never...ever...ever...try that again!” Anger poured out of her as she kissed his young lips.

  “We all love you,” Vickie said, trembling, as she kissed his cheek. Jealousy awoke and Sasha kissed him again, deeply this time.

  “No fair!” Tiana leaned in and kissed him too, causing Sasha to push her away with an unexpected giggle.

  “Nobody loves me...” Trent said, his words hollow, the words of a lost soul.

  “No...I have always loved you and always will,” she replied, honestly and truthfully, with all her love, all her caring, while staring deep into his hazel green eyes, reflecting the emerging moonlight.

  Cleansing tears started streaming down his cheeks as everything went dark.

  “Your Grace, Your Grace...are you alright?” a distant, but near, voice asked. She forced her eyes open to find Sir Seb'Losh standing over her, Trent’s head lying on her lap. It took a moment for the fogginess to fade, but when it did, she nodded.

  “Yes...thank you, Sir Seb'Losh...” the words were difficult at first, as if she'd been out for a long while. She blinked clear the tears that clung to her eyes, looking past Sir Seb'Losh, to the two ladies stretching across the aisle, both appearing unharmed by the ordeal.

  Trent started to stir, showing he was, indeed, alive, which for some reason, had been one of her most pressing concerns from her time within his mind.

  “Sasha...” Tiana squeaked as she came fully awake.

  “Are you two alright?” Sasha asked. Vickie's face appeared from behind Tiana, flush and covered in tears.

  “Yes...and thank you...” her voice was ho
arse, but honest.

  “Ah...Your Grace...we really need to get going. We landed an hour ago and they are awaiting our arrival. Sir Illion and Precursor Dei'Fil have proceeded ahead already,” Sir Seb'Losh explained, looking down on the still sleeping Trent.

  “Very well, Sir Seb'Losh...once Trent awakens we shall go,” Sir Seb’Losh nodded, moving toward the exit to tell the others they would have to wait for a bit yet.

  For now, they would rest and wait, that was the least she could do for Trent, who once again sacrificed so much to help those he loved, that she loved. The kiss was gentle and filled with all her affection.

  My duke...my Trent...my life.

  Chapter 19

  The door slid shut just as the atmospheric ferry shuttle started its slow ascent. It angled away from the ABF Fro'Tis, and started gradually accelerating over a line of parked freight shuttles. Sacred Venra Holdings employees bustled about them like ants, loading and unloading goods for transport to and from space. A portal opened in the wall of the private landing bay, revealing a dense flow of atmospheric shuttles moving slowly towards the outer ring of the massive, cylindrical, New Rovial Spaceport that was situated in the center of Rovial City, capital of Planet Don'Alutia, where they had landed a little over two hours before.

  Trent recalled first viewing the spaceport when he studied a detailed projection of the city in preparation for their fateful journey, finding it looked, oddly enough, similar to a giant wheel of cheddar cheese sitting atop a narrow green pillar. His analogy did the massive structure little justice, however, the view from its interior showing it to be a functional spaceport that was on par with the one being grown in the center of Alutia City on Alutia'Earth.

  Enormous columns ringed the inside of the spaceport, splitting it into three distinct sections. The cylindrical inner most section was completely hollow, allowing the larger freight shuttles moving to and from orbit to descend directly into the spaceport’s core to dock within the wide middle section, which was broken into tens of thousands of individual landing bays. The narrow outer section, where they were currently heading, was empty of all but atmospheric shuttles that weaved their way through invisible flight lanes, heading to or coming from the various sized, porthole-like exits that littered the outer surface of the spaceport.

  “Hold on, please,” the shuttles pilot instructed calmly as they reached the head of the queue. Trent tightened his grip on Sasha's hand the moment they accelerated into the flow of fast moving atmospheric shuttles steaming towards the nearest exit, in the direction of their destination; Sacred Venra Holding’s headquarters.

  Trent instinctively shaded his eyes as they burst into the clear blue sky, expecting the bright sunlight to blind him. But the shuttles transparent hull adjusted for the sudden shift in lighting, providing him a clear view that no projection could have ever possibly prepared him for.

  He stared in awe, mouth agape, at the majestic city of Rovial that towered around him. Sasha placed a finger on his chin with a smile, forcing closed his jaw. He nodded an apology and frowned as an atmospheric freight shuttle appeared alongside theirs, blocking his fleeting view of the cityscape below. The pilot, seeming to sense his disappointment, quickly accelerated past, weaving to the edge of the flight lane, allowing him to again, fully experience a bird's eye view of the city that grew densely around the spaceport, and the thousands upon thousands of shuttles that constantly streamed through her skies.

  Most of the shuttles moved in the same direction as theirs, while others, only a few meters below, moved in a slightly different direction, while just below those, others moved in yet another. It was an amazing sight to behold, the display of such organization and precision required for so many shuttles to be traveling in differing directions, while flying only a few meters apart, was astonishing. It was a sight that made him realize just how much he still had to learn, and fully struck home the fact that he'd yet to experience much of what the NHA actually had to offer.

  The ferry shuttle banked right, pulling him clear of his thoughts as they joined a line of shuttles that exited the main flight lane, spiraling down to merge into another, heading in a slightly different direction. His gaze fell back to the city below, and the many colorful, tiny specks that he assumed were people moving between the tightly packed biological buildings that shot up like narrow pyramids. Most of the biological buildings had surfaces of dark green, appearing spongy, like they were covered in a type of moss that existed in symbiosis with the massive manipulated foliage. Alongside the moss, creeping up the buildings exteriors, were many landing pads, looking like giant leaves; which they probably once are, Trent mused to himself. Interconnected walkways were interspersed between the landings pads, extending in all directions, connecting the tightly packed towers together.

  Their unpredictable crisscrossing pattern made the space between the buildings appear like an intricate lattice work that made it difficult to see the ground below. But he did catch a fleeting glimpse, noticing the walkways seemed to start near the base of the pyramid shaped towers, climbing almost to their peeks, while the majority of the visible walkways appeared to be packed with bustling citizenry. He couldn't even begin to guess at their numbers.

  Trent tensed when the shuttle swooped down, clearing the downtown area that surrounded the spaceport, and the largest of the biological buildings, leveling off again a few kilometers below their peeks, now flying barely 50 meters above the roofs of their smaller brethren.

  The smaller biological buildings were distinctly unlike their taller cousins, each design unique and wondrous, with wide promenades of green and reddish-brown stone running in-between. Mysterious blue lights flickered and flowed across the surfaces of many of the structures they flew past, while others had signs over open fronts with strange names, pictures of people and places, or other magical designs that he realized may have been advertisements for those who walked leisurely below. His gaze was drawn to the crowds moving in groups between the buildings, noticing many wearing dark green robes and uniforms, but found most adorning a cacophony of clashing colors.

  “The styles are changing again...” Vickie muttered from behind, still seated next to Tiana, having recovered quickly from their ordeal. Sasha leaned over Trent to provide herself a better view at what Vickie spoke, the pleasant aroma of freshly picked roses tickling his nostrils as her silky black hair caressed his chin.

  “Sorry...” she apologized.

  “I don't mind,” he responded honestly, finding that after he awoke from the shared memory, his cheer had finally begun to return, his brain chemistry starting to normalize.

  The experience had been; unique. Recalling memories that had been almost completely lost, repressed, all but the one of his debilitating first love. He had been in a constant daze during that time in his life, never able to fully grasp everything that had befallen, or all he had done. But somewhere deep within his subconscious mind lay the memories, even if it had decided to hide that fact from his conscious mind.

  “I'm sure we will have time to explore and find the newest fashions, Vickie. It will only be appropriate as part of our cover, of course,” Sasha responded, clearing her throat as she pulled back from the window, smiling mischievously at Trent, who found his arm around her shoulder.

  “Splendid idea, Sasha. Plus, I do think a visit to the local spa is well overdue,” Tiana agreed as her head popped over the seat.

  “Spa....as in large mineral baths and other skin related cleansing?” Trent asked, his words lighthearted, seeing immediate confusion in Tiana and Sasha's eyes.

  “No...well...yes...there are massages of all kinds available,” Sasha glanced up at Tiana, who nodded agreement. “But it is more of a health clinic. Though even that does not fit well its purpose. It is a place you eat rejuvenating foods while relaxing in specialized rooms where you bath your skin in special oils, breath special air, and utilizing specialized nanites and foods,” Sasha seemed to lose her train of thought as she finished, like she was trying to expla
in something that everybody should already know, so she'd never before had to actually explain its meaning.

  “It's a type of body regrowth, Trent,” Tiana elaborated. “While at a spa old cells are removed and new, healthy cells are produced. Think of it like being reborn, all impurities cleansed from your system. I'm surprised you didn't know about it...you always act like you know everything, Sir Know-It-All,” Tiana teased, “...ouch,” then yelped as Sasha pinched her cheek. Tiana rubbed it as she forced a pout, but seeing no one would come to her aid, sighed. “There is one in your private apartments within Alutia Palace. I've already visited twice,” Tiana said proudly. Trent glanced at Sasha, who nodded.

  “She’s correct...but we've been so busy of late, my duke, and I have not had time to show you. It is recommended that we visit a spa at least once every 50 days since it replenishes most cells throughout the body, allowing it to rest...recharge in a way. You remember how young my mother looks?” Sasha asked. Trent recalled the 149 year old woman who didn't look a day over 30. “And how old my father looks?” he remembered the first time he saw the white haired old man with wrinkly skin, age spots, and a hunched back next to the young woman who looked more a great-great grand daughter then a wife. He nodded. “Mother goes every 10 days...father never has, he claims it's a waste of time and that the only reason he looks so old is because of the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders....such a melodramatic man,” Sasha winked and he felt her playful meaning. “But even with all the alterations and improvements to our genes, unless you alleviate some of the burden from your body through the use of the spa, you'll never live to be a day over 200,” Trent sighed as Sasha leaned in and kissed him.