by Calista Skye
“It’s time,” Adaar said softly. “When he’s finished his speech, the doors will open to the private chambers of the betrothed, and the couple will join us here for the ceremony. You’ll want to get to Ellistra before that happens.”
Lana nodded. She still a job to do. The moment she had shared with Adaar gave her a renewed sense of hope and possibility.
He pointed to a majestic archway leading away from the ballroom. “During the dance, the princess would have moved into the waiting chamber, just through that passage. The princess has a private devotional ceremony, a ritual prayer to perform in isolation as the assembly consecrates the hall with the waltz. Ellista will be waiting in there for her attendant to knock and escort her to the ballroom balcony.”
“But I’ll be there instead.”
Adaar flashed his blue eyes and smiled at her. “Only if you hurry.”
Lana reached up onto her toes and planted a kiss on his mouth.
“I’ll be waiting here,” he said. “Gods go with you.”
***
Lana pressed her way through the crowd, diving in between an audaciously dressed older Anaran couple as she approached the door. She imagined herself steering her magnecycle through the crumbling canyon back on Tarksis, darting and weaving on her feet as she dodged the crowd. She spun and turned, weaving the elements of the dance in with her visions of flight, until she crashed into a large Kamaran man with an angry copper tint to his golden skin.
“Watch it,” he called to absent ears as Lana pressed on, intent on reaching the princess before she left her chamber.
When she finally dipped through the archway and into the hall beyond, she was greeted by a solid wooden door, heavily adorned with tarkanium. She shuddered as she thought of the lives of the miners who slaved away to provide such lavish ornamentation. She couldn’t let that fate befall the Anaran people. She hoped she wasn’t too late.
Lana knocked. And she waited.
Nothing.
After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the soft footsteps approaching from within. The door creaked open on its heavy hinges as Ellistra huffed to pull it open.
Lana was awestruck by her beauty. The Anarans were an attractive people by nature, and their planet’s abundance of exotic foods and natural herbal medicines gave a vitality to their appearance that bordered on the supernatural. But Ellistra was even more beautiful than she’d imagined. With high cheekbones and a slender face, her flowing blond hair was wrapped up in an elaborately wound braid with wisps that perfectly framed her radiant smile.
“I was just finishing up,” she said. “You’re earlier than I expected.”
“Princess,” said Lana.
“Please, Ellistra is fine. It’s so exhausting playing these royal games all day.” Her face grew serious. “Not that I don’t appreciate the gravity of the ceremony.”
“No, I would never assume that…”
“It’s just that it would be nice to have a real conversation for once. It gets so exhausting to be so formal all the time.”
Lana laughed uncomfortably. “I can imagine.”
“Well, you would know, I suppose. Except…you don’t look familiar. You’re not part of the assembly.”
“Ellistra, I was hoping that we could talk. Before the ceremony. Woman to woman.”
Ellistra rolled her eyes in a way that reminded her of herself. “If you’re here to gush about the Emporer…”
“Gods no,” said Lana, her face drawn in as though she’d taken a bite of an overripe sunfruit.
“I swear, if I have to listen to one more woman tell me about how hot he is, I’m going to…do something very unbefitting of a princess. I don’t care about that. That’s not what this is about.”
Lana liked her immediately. Ellistra seemed like a person she could have been friends with in another life. “Believe me, I get it. I have a friend back home who’s always on about those shirtless Kamaran soilders. I never got the fascination until…but that’s not why I’m here.”
Ellistra stopped and looked at her carefully. “I don’t quite know what to make of you, miss…”
“Lana,” she said.
“Lana, you’re not my attendant. You’re not here to escort me to the ceremony. And if you’re trying to assassinate me, you’re the worst assassin I’ve ever met. So what exactly do you want?”
“I want to talk to you about the Emporer,” she said. Lana drew a deep breath. It was now or never. “Please don’t go through with this. It isn’t right.”
“I knew it!” said Ellistra. “Look, I know he’s not the nicest man in the world. But this is for the good of my people. The Empire is going to take care of us. Life will be better for everyone. My advisors have looked over everything. They believe that this arrangement will benefit everyone. And so do I.”
“You don’t love him,” she said.
“Of course not. But love is not a requirement for marriage. I wish it wasn’t the case, Lana, but that’s the reality of my position. This is all political. People think that being a princess is all about ceremonies, fancy costumes, and getting whatever you want all the time.” She shook her head, and Lana saw a wisdom and a burden in the pained lines of her face. She sympathized with the woman.
“There’s hardly a day that goes by,” Ellistra continued, “when I don’t spend half my time second guessing people’s motives. I’m surrounded by people all day, Lana, but being the Princess of Anara is lonelier than you could imagine.”
Ellistra scrunched her face and looked away, drawing a deep breath. “I don’t know where you’re from, and I don’t know why I’m opening up to you now…but you don’t carry yourself like one of the pretentious nobles on either side of the aisle. And I like that.”
“That’s true,” Lana said. “I’m not from around here.”
“Which raises the all-important question of how you got in here in the first place. But then, I guess it doesn’t matter. You’re here now and you don’t seem dangerous. Thanks for letting me vent.”
Lana smiled at her. “You seem to care a lot about your people. I admire that, and I respect it.” She looked at her feet and steeled her nerves. Building rapport would be helpful, but she didn’t have time to waste. Any minute, the attendant would come to escort Ellistra away and her chance would be gone. “And that’s why you can’t marry the Emperor.”
Ellistra shook her head. “What do you know about politics? I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“You’re right. I’m not a politician, or a royal, or an Imperial. I’m not wealthy. I’ve never held a position of power of influence. But I do know a thing or two about life.” She felt the courage well up inside her. “I’m a cargo pilot from Tarksis, and I’ve seen what happens when the Empire moves in. When I was young, the Kamarans negotiated a pact, a binding agreement with our government that put our little mining colony under Imperial control.”
“I remember,” said Ellistra. “I was only a child, but my advisors and my tutors have taught me enough about the Empire’s history. It was a good arrangement. It freed up humanity’s limited resources to focus on their other colonies, and it helped build wealth for the Empire. It was a good negotiation all around.”
“Not for the colonists,” said Lana with more force than she’d intended. She had suffered for so many years in silence that she hadn’t seen the way the sadness had soured into rage. “The Kamarans made my people slaves. Not officially, but slaves nonetheless. The colonists there are forced to work under grueling conditions in the mines, extracting tarkanium for the Empire. Do they get to keep any of that wealth? Anything at all for their efforts? No. By the threat of the gun-barrel, they turn it all over to the Empire. With barely enough wages to live, they pay the taxes that reinforce their oppression.”
“I’m sorry, Lana. I had no idea.”
“And those Imperials who are supposed to uphold the laws and protect us? Corrupt. Every last one of them is under the thumb of any gangster who wants to offer them a bribe. Ev
ery day, we fear for our lives. We have very little food. We have no access to medicine. Anything that would cut into the Empire’s profits…”
Ellistra looked at her for a long moment. “I don’t doubt you, Lana. I can see the truth in your eyes. I suppose it’s possible that the stories I’ve been told were polished and changed to reflect what they needed me to believe. Nevertheless, I don’t see that happening here.”
“I was afraid you’d say that. But I had to try. The Anarans aren’t my people. They’re not my responsibility. But I’ve seen enough suffering to last a lifetime. If there’s anything I can do to prevent them from sharing our fate, I have to try.”
Ellistra smiled at her. “You know something, Lana? You sound a lot like somebody that I once knew. The Kamaran Prince, Adaar.”
Lana froze.
“Don’t look so startled. The prince was a wonderful man. Kind, thoughtful, and more concerned about the good of the people than anyone I’ve ever known. If he were the one I was supposed to marry today, I wouldn’t have put it off for so long.”
Lana shook her head, her brow wrinkled in confusion.
“You don’t know this story? Even if you don’t get all the Imperial gossip back on Tarksis, surely you would have heard this.”
“No,” she said.
Ellistra nodded and continued. “It was about ten years ago. Just before Tarksis was annexed by the Empire, in fact…which may have had something to do with it, now that you mention it…”
Lana sat in shocked silence, listening to Ellistra’s words. It had to be a coincidence.
“Anyway, Adaar was a great and noble young man. He was the heir to the Kamaran throne. And his growing dissatisfaction with the way the Kamaran Empire was running things was no secret. And then one day, just when he had reached the age of adulthood, he disappeared. Just vanished. There were plenty of rumors that his personal attendant, a young commoner named Ja’al that he’d grown close with over the years, arranged his escape. It makes perfect sense to me. Neither of them were ever seen again.”
Lana’s mind reeled. She had her doubts. Adaar could be a common enough name. But the story fit. It explained why he knew so much about the Empire. It explained his thorough familiarity with their military and their tactics.
“But why? Why would he just leave like that? Why not try to change things?”
Ellistra shook her head. “In a perfect world, that’s exactly what he would have done. But things are never so simple.”
“You knew him?”
“He was a friend, yes. Negotiations between our two worlds have been in the works for a long time. We met many times when we were young. He didn’t keep his feelings about the Empire a secret. If he were the Emperor, I’d marry him in a heartbeat.”
A pang of jealousy shot through her. And fear. And complete unfettered rage that he’d never told her any of this. It was too much to process.
“That lying, rotten…bastard!”
Ellistra turned and stared.
“A prince. A gods damned prince! How could he have never told me?”
“Lana, calm down. What are you talking about?”
She took a deep breath and looked at the princess, weighing her options. She felt hurt and betrayed. After all that about trust…and his entire life, his whole existence, and everything she knew about him was a lie.
Lana glanced at the door. She wanted to run. She wanted to give Adaar a piece of her mind. But she remembered Ja’al’s words of warning. This was what he meant. It was all part of the plan.
She gathered herself. Despite her rage, she couldn’t let the Anarans suffer the fate of her people.
“I can’t explain…but you have to trust me about this. Don’t go through with it. For the sake of your people.”
“I can hardly call this off on the advice of someone I just met a few moments ago. I like you, Lana, but that would be insane.”
“Alright,” she said. “Then would you do it for Adaar?”
Ellistra’s eyes shot up. Lana felt them scrutinizing her, judging her intentions.
“He’s the reason I’m here.”
“Adaar is…alive?”
“He’s alive. And he’s no fan of the Empire. It was his idea to come here and talk to you.”
Ellistra shook her head. “I don’t believe that. I can’t. Adaar is dead. He has to be.”
“He helped me sneak in.”
“Adaar is here?”
Lana nodded.
“This changes everything. If Prince Adaar is alive…”
“You’ll call off the wedding?”
She looked at Lana through heavy eyes. “I’ll do what needs to be done. Go to him.”
Lana lowered her head and bowed.
As she turned to leave, the princess reached out and touched her shoulder. “Thank you, Lana.”
Chapter 15
Lana didn’t notice the faces of the people as she wound her way back through the crowd. The Prince of Kamara? How could he have kept it from her? Everything they’d been through, everything they’d shared…
Lies.
All of it.
Well, that’s what you get for trusting a Kamaran. She should have known. All the signs and all the red flags should have kept her far away. It was stupid to let herself fall for his charm. There’s always an angle.
It shouldn’t have surprised her. What did she expect, getting mixed up with a pirate?
No, she told herself. Not a pirate. A gods damned prince.
Tears of rage welled up inside her as she pushed her way through the gathering. Rage at him. Rage at herself, for trusting him. She let her guard down. She let him in. And now she would pay the price.
Adaar stood waiting for her at the entrance to the grand ballroom with a look of anticipation painted across his stupid, lying, asshole face.
“Lana, how did it go?”
She dug her heel into the ground. The words spun frenetically in her mind. She bit her trembling lip and stared straight ahead through watery eyes.
“Lana, what happened?”
“How could you?” came the whisper at last.
He reached out to comfort her, but his touch burned her shoulder as she shook him away.
Adaar drew a deep breath. “Lana, I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“I trusted you,” she said. She shook her head, fighting back tears. She couldn’t let him see her cry. “Was it all a lie?”
Adaar looked at her with sympathetic eyes. Before he could answer, they glimpsed a flurry of movement above.
Ellistra stepped onto the balcony, accompanied by a pair of guards, broad-shouldered and fully armed. The princess stepped out from in between them and whispered to the Head of the Ceremony.
His head shot up, eyes wide.
The quartet stepped forward together, looking out at the crowd.
Lana watched through her sobs, waiting for the announcement.
The princess scanned the room. When she spotted Lana, the two shared a brief moment of eye contact. But Ellistra’s face was inscrutable. She leaned over to the large Kamarran guard, whispering as she pointed out towards Lana and Adaar.
The large man nodded and stepped away, raising a finger to his earpiece as he spoke.
“Shit,” said Adaar under his breath.
Lana looked up at him.
“Time to go, Lana.”
He turned and moved back through the crowd, pulling a reluctant Lana along by her hand. The crowd provided some cover, but it wouldn’t be enough. The guards had their descriptions now, and it would only be a matter of time before they found them.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests,” came the voice of the Head of Ceremony. “I’m sorry to announce that the ceremony will be postponed. Please make your way to the exits.”
“They’re trying to flush us out,” said Adaar. “Guards at every exit.”
“What do we do?” said Lana.
“Follow me,” he said. “Stay low. They’ll be watching.”
Adaar led her through the crowd as they swarmed back towards the palace gates. Lana kept her head down, her heart pounding as the heavy booted guards circled the room.
“This way,” said Adaar. He pulled her around behind the towering statue that they’d marked on their way into the palace. Adaar reached down to the statue’s base, sliding his fingers along the metal plating until his hands found purchase.
The roar of the crowd swelled up around them. Not accustomed to being herded like cattle, the royals and the nobles bickered amongst themselves in a panicked frenzy.
Adaar took a deep breath and lifted the plate as quietly as he could. It creaked and groaned as he slid it along the stone, but the tumult of the fleeing crowd masked the sound.
“After you,” he said to Lana, pointing down at a narrow granite stairway hidden beneath the plate.
Lana glared at him. She hated everything about this. Climbing down into the darkness, fleeing for her life. How could he expect her to trust him now?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the extended barrel of a pulse rifle as the guards made their way through the room. She knew her window of opportunity was closing. Whether she liked it or not, Adaar was her only way out of this.
She began her descent down the rocky steps as Adaar slid the cover back into place above them. This is crazy, she thought. This is utterly insane. How did I get myself into this? It was stupid to ever fall for him. Stupid to go along with this plan.
As she cursed and berated herself, she wasn’t focused on the path ahead. Her heel caught in a small crevasse, and she teetered forward.
Adaar reacted fast. He caught her, wrapping his strong arms around her body and pulling her back to safety. The feel of his skin seared her. She flailed violently against his touch, but his arms held her steady.
“Watch your step, Lana,” he said.
She steadied herself and shook free from his grasp. “Yeah,” she said. She lowered herself to the ground. Her body shook with fear and anger and pain. It was too much. For a brief and shining moment, she had allowed herself to hope. To think that maybe the universe had a plan, and that everything would work out. That she could help her brother. That she could save an entire planet from the suffering she’d endured. And that maybe, just maybe, happiness was possible. Even love.
