Orphans In the Black: A Space Opera Anthology

by Amy J. Murphy

  Certainly she couldn’t just leave the creature hiding in the shadows of Suite Four, starving to death. She supposed she could turn it in to the ship’s purser, but it was doubtful the cat would ever be returned to its original owner. The fines for transporting pets were very severe. The cat’s owner wouldn’t have reported the loss, and they wouldn’t step up to claim the animal, either. It had likely been replaced the moment the passengers returned to Earth.

  Besides, Liza couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself. The maid who discovered an illicit creature hiding in one of the suites would be remembered.

  So would the person caught smuggling said animal off the ship, the sensible part of her brain reminded her.

  Liza ignored it. When had being sensible ever worked out for her? She and the cat could be fugitives together. The thought held a certain crooked charm—no matter the logistical nightmare she’d now set for herself.

  Transporting the cat in her valise wouldn’t do, even if the animal consented to be closed in. Luggage was scanned as it came off or on any ship, and a life form inside would be instantly flagged.

  The door whooshed open as Liza was pondering her options, admitting Jenny and her stream of chatter. So much for a bit of peace to work things out.

  “Jenny,” Liza said, “I need your help. Can you keep a secret?”

  Eyes wide, the other maid plopped down on her bunk. “Of course I can.”

  Privately, Liza doubted it—but the story she’d come up with would buy her time enough to disappear into Turmeric Central’s major city of Wali.

  “I’m leaving the Star Palace II,” Liza said, leaning forward and speaking in a low voice. “Strictly confidential. But the man I love is on Turmeric Central, and I’ve run away to be with him.”

  “Ooh!” Jenny squeezed her hands together and brought them up under her chin. “I knew it! I knew you were more than a maid—anyone who talks like you must be upper crust. Tell me all about him. Ah, it’s so romantic.”

  Sitting beside her, Liza spun a tale of feuding families and forbidden love that had no basis in reality. Jenny, however, listened raptly, her eyes shining. When Liza finished, the other girl took her hand and squeezed it gently.

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she said. “Maybe someday I’ll find true love, too.”

  With effort, Liza kept her smile from slipping. True love only brings pain, she wanted to tell the girl. The universe cares nothing for human emotion.

  “Once I’m gone, you’ll need to inform the Head Housekeeper,” she said, instead. “I don’t want you having to do our rooms by yourself.”

  “I won’t mind. Jillaca can help me.”

  “Even with Suite Four?” Liza asked.

  Jenny let out a worried breath, but after a moment her smile returned. “Even then. Maybe the strength of your true love banished the demon ghost. You didn’t see anything when you were there alone, aye?”

  “Nothing at all,” Liza lied. “I’ll clean the suite again by myself today, just in case. But I suspect you’re right, and whatever was haunting that stateroom is gone.”

  Or would be, as soon as Liza managed to smuggle it off the ship.

  “When will you go meet your fellow?” Jenny asked, her eyes shining. “I’m sure you can’t wait.”

  “I have to,” Liza said, “though it pains my heart. I’m planning to leave the ship after we finish our shift this afternoon.”

  The Star Palace II would be docked on Turmeric Central for fourteen hours; enough time for the upper class passengers to take a jaunt about the exotic marketplaces, play polo, visit the baths, and attend one of the balls held nightly in the Grand Taj. The schedule also allowed for the servants to spend some time on-planet, once they’d finished their work.

  Promptly at midnight, however, the ship would depart, leaving Liza and the cat behind, like an abandoned princess whose coach had turned into a pumpkin. Which was perfectly fine with her—she preferred pumpkins to starships, and had no intention of being a princess ever again. Her Royal Highness Elizabeth Calloway von Saxe-Roth was gone forever.

  “I’ll go with you to meet him,” Jenny said. “I imagine he’s very handsome.”

  “Very.” Liza scrambled to find some excuse. “But our meeting must take place in the utmost secrecy. If my family finds out… I can’t put you in any danger.”

  Jenny looked so crestfallen that Liza patted her hand in comfort. “But you can come with me off the ship. I’ll need you take my ID back on and scan it so that nobody realizes I’m missing right away.”

  It was unfortunate, since the false identity had cost her so much, but she couldn’t see any other way.

  “I’ll do that, then.” Jenny’s smile was back in place. “I hear there’s wonderful food, too. I’m a mite tired of synthesized porridge.”

  “As am I.”

  The fresh food was reserved for the passengers, of course. The servants ate whatever the cafeteria dispensed, and learned to like it. Well, tolerate it. With every meal, Liza thought fondly of Eun-Jeong’s Galactic Bulgogi House. The week that had passed since she left the station seemed more like a month—especially when she faced the gray meatlike substance served at suppertime, along with a side of unidentifiable starch and boiled vegetables.

  A soft bump, barely perceptible, ran through the ship, and then another quiet chime rang through the comm system.

  “Landing complete. Passengers, prepare to meet your native guides in twenty minutes at the starboard hatch.”

  “I need to get ready,” Liza said, standing.

  Not that there was much for her to pack. She laid out a pair of bloomers to change into, along with her voluminous pelisse, then packed away the rest of her clothing. Her fingers brushed the edges of the holoframe concealed at the bottom of the valise. Selina’s portrait.

  Liza’s true love hadn’t been some handsome nobleman on Turmeric Central, but a smiling miner girl on an outer edge asteroid. She’d been killed six months ago in a senseless act of violence on the planet Doralfi that had left over a hundred families reeling and grief-stricken.

  Liza cleared her throat and blinked away the memories.

  “Just think,” Jenny said, “your last shift as a maid. Oh, I envy you. I dream of having my own bit of farm someday.”

  “That sounds lovely.” Liza met the other girl’s gaze. “Don’t give up on that dream. It’s what keeps us moving forward.”

  Selina might be gone, but their shared vision of the future remained.

  Even though sometimes it was hard to remember, the stars held boundless possibility as well as pain.

  Not to mention a winged cat that needed rescuing. Liza tied on her apron, then slipped two biscuits into the pocket when Jenny’s back was turned.

  “Let’s go,” Liza said, waving open the door of their little room. “Soonest begun, soonest done, as they say.”

  Alone in Suite Four, Liza watched the gray cat devour the biscuit. It was a dainty little creature, even in its obvious hunger, licking up any stray crumbs and then grooming its whiskers when it had finished. The wings on its back rustled softly.

  “You need a name, kitten,” Liza said.

  At the sound of her voice, the cat looked up, regarding her with unblinking purple eyes. At least it wasn’t afraid of her, but Liza dreaded what was coming next.

  She knelt down by the cat and laid out the pillowcase she’d nicked from the vast ship’s linen closet. As the creature watched, she reached into the pillowcase and tucked the second biscuit into the back corner.

  “You’re going to have to trust me,” she said, holding the pillowcase open. “I can carry you out of here with the laundry, but after that, things are going to get complicated.”

  By all the bright stars, this was so risky—yet she had to try. She prayed that her solution for smuggling the cat off the ship was the same way the animal had been brought on board—the animal’s life signs concealed by the warmth and beat of a human heart. Hopefully, Liza wouldn’t bear claw marks
for the rest of her life.

  The cat tilted its head, then stood and slowly walked forward. It sniffed Liza’s hand, then continued into the tent Liza had made. Fur the texture of spun silk brushed her hand, and she got a good look at its hindquarters as the cat went all the way into the pillowcase.

  “You’re a girl, then,” she said. “Sit tight, love.”

  Carefully she gathered up the case. The cat let out a barely audible purr, the needles of her claws lightly pricking Liza’s arm through the fine cotton. Step one, accomplished.

  Step two was a bit trickier, but as Jenny and Liza unloaded the dirty linens from their cart, Liza managed to tuck the cat, pillowcase and all, into her blouse. Luckily, the poor malnourished creature was quite small.

  She still made a suspicious lump, however, where she fetched up against the waistband of Liza’s skirt.

  “I’m not feeling well,” Liza said, arms cradled over her stomach. “Do you mind finishing up here, so I might go rest a moment?”

  Jenny shot her a sympathetic look. “Nerves, aye? You’ll see him soon, though, don’t worry!”

  With a forced smile, Liza nodded, then hurried back to their room. She removed the cat, who peeked out at her from the folds of the pillowcase, but thankfully made no move to bolt from its shelter.

  Quickly stripping off her maid’s uniform, Liza donned her bloomers, then picked up the bundle containing the cat again.

  “Just a bit more,” she said, stroking it on the nose. “Then we’ll both be off this ship, for good.”

  It blinked at her and then yawned, showing sharp white teeth. Hoping it would be content to nap, Liza slid the cat into her blouse again, settling the creature against her ribcage. The edge of the cat’s wings poked her a bit, but there was no help for it.

  Sleep, she thought, giving the warm lump a pat.

  She was just pulling on her pelisse, thankful for the voluminous folds of the outer garment, when the door slid open and Jenny bounded in.

  “Aren’t you excited?” Jenny asked, stripping off her apron and cap. “Time for your adventure to begin!”

  There were a few tense moments as they went through off-ship security. Liza held her breath as she and her stowaway crossed the scanner threshold, but no sensors started beeping. The bored-looking guard sat up when she placed her valise on the counter.

  “Running away?” he asked, and then laughed at his own joke.

  Liza had a story ready, however.

  “We’re going shopping,” she said, giving the man an innocent look. “And hopefully I can barter some of my old clothes. I promised my family I’d bring them home gifts from my travels. Where’s your favorite place to buy souvenirs?”

  “Anyplace is fine,” he said with a shrug. “Cheaper stuff the farther you get from port, of course.”

  “Aye.” Jenny nodded wisely.

  Then they were through, the shiny bulk of the Star Palace II behind them as they stepped into the warm, spice-scented streets of Wali. Liza slipped a hand under her pelisse and gave the furry bulge tucked into her blouse a gentle pat.

  “Where are you meeting your lover?” Jenny asked, glancing at the brightly-garbed crowd around them. “He’s not coming to the spaceport, is he?” She sounded ridiculously hopeful.

  “No—it’s too risky. Let me double-check the coordinates.” Liza flicked on her handheld and called up a map of the city. Pretending to search for a specific address, she picked a landmark that seemed a reasonable distance away. “I’m meeting him there, at the Lotus Gardens.”

  “I could come with you partway,” Jenny said. “There looks to be an open market along the way.”

  Liza was about to say yes, when a flash of red caught her eye. She turned, and her lungs clenched as she saw two soldiers wearing the uniform of the British Galactic Army. They were working their way down the portside street, pausing to speak to passersby. The taller one had his handheld out, displaying an image, and Liza quickly tugged her hat lower.

  With six million and a land grant offered for her return, she had a sick certainty in her gut that they were showing the Wanted holo featuring her face. Or Princess Saxe-Roth’s face, not that there was any difference.

  So far, everyone the soldiers talked to had shaken their heads—but the redcoats were getting uncomfortably close to the Star Palace II’s berth.

  “We need to go,” she said in a low voice, drawing Jenny further into the crowds.

  “Oh!” The girl glanced at the redcoats. “Your family is looking for you? Don’t worry—I won’t say a word.”

  When she found out the scope of the reward, though, she might change her mind. If not immediately, then once she thought about it…

  As if sensing the increased tension running through Liza’s body, the cat stirred, claws lightly pricking her skin.

  “I’m getting married in three days,” Liza said, trying not to wince at the needle-sharp digs. “After that, I don’t care if my family finds me.”

  Lies, of course, but if Jenny could at least hold her tongue that long, it would give Liza time to cover her tracks.

  “I’m sorry, Jenny,” she continued, “but it’s safer if I travel alone from here. Thank you for your friendship.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” the other girl cried, grabbing Liza’s hand. “I’ll always think of you, married to your prince and living happily ever after. He is a prince, isn’t he?”

  “Of course.” Liza gave her a weary smile. “And I’m a princess. Don’t tell anyone.”

  “Never.” Jenny’s eyes were wide. “Goodbye, Your Highness. And good luck.”

  She made to bob a curtsey. Liza stopped her, then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Goodbye, Jenny. Follow your dreams.”

  Then, before the girl could do anything else that might give her away, Liza pivoted and hurried away into the crowd. A trickle of sweat ran down her temple, not only from the danger but the fact she was sweltering in her pelisse in Turmeric Central’s warm climate. Still, she didn’t slow down, determined to put as much distance between herself and the redcoats as possible.

  Of course, leaving the port area meant she was stuck on this planet for the time being. Now that the authorities were showing her image everywhere, she dared not go back until she’d figured out a disguise that would pass deep security. Then she could go into space again.

  And go where?

  Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? One place was as good as the other, she supposed. She could get work here in New Turmeric, away from the spaceport. Probably nothing as comfortable as playing keyboard in the Galactic Bulgogi House, but she didn’t have the luxury to be picky.

  Beggars squatted on the corners, rattling their pans for credit chips. Liza swallowed dust. It wouldn’t come to that, she swore it.

  The cat tucked next to her ribs quieted as they left the noisy jumble of the marketplace abutting the spaceport. Liza paused and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Consulting her map, she turned the opposite direction from the gardens she’d mentioned to Jenny. Just in case.

  The roar of departing spacecraft overhead faded as she walked into a neighborhood with little shops on the ground floor and apartments above. The smell of garlic and frying meat made her mouth water. The cat gave a mew, thin and piteous.

  “I know.” Liza patted the lump. “I’m hungry, too.”

  “Then you should come with me,” a creaky voice said.

  Liza whirled to see an old man leaning against the wall, his robes and skin the same dun color as the stucco. Even the wispy tuft of hair on the top of his head blended with the earthen tones, as did the stout staff he rested his weight upon. If he hadn’t spoken, she never would have noticed his presence.

  “What do you mean?” She shifted her weight, ready to dart away.

  “The Temple of Vishnu welcomes weary travelers, no questions asked.” His gaze dropped to her midriff, concealed by her pelisse. “And their companions.”

  She hesitated. As the daughter of a royal,
destined to be the future wife of a high-ranking galactic diplomat, she’d been trained to quickly and accurately read people. That skill had stood her in good stead when she’d escaped from Earth, and since then she’d learn to rely even further on her well-honed instincts. This old man presented no threat—at least, not an immediate one.

  “What does the temple require in return?” she asked, giving him a suspicious look. The offer seemed too good to be true.

  The priest laughed, his eyes crinkling closed in his mirth. “You’re a wary one, I see. Not to fear, youngling. Scrubbing the steps, changing the flowers on the altars and dusting the statues, fetching water from the fountain—there are many tasks waiting for open hands. Will you come?”

  “Do you provide sanctuary?” Her voice nearly cracked on the last word, to her surprise.

  It had been so long since she’d felt safe.

  He opened his eyes wide and swept her with a look, then gave a slow, thoughtful nod. “The elders would want to know what you are running from.”

  “Nothing that will bring harm to you or your temple,” she said, perhaps a bit too hastily.

  “We will be the judges of that. Now, come.” He gestured with his staff. “It is not far.”

  After nearly an hour of traversing the winding streets of Wali, the priest finally pointed out the pale dome of the Temple of Vishnu ahead. It floated like a cloud over the smaller buildings, and Liza caught the sweet waft of incense in the air. The cat stirred beneath her blouse, at least as hot and sweaty as she was, and she privately thought the priest’s estimation of distance could use some refining. Claws pricked her skin as it shifted irritably.

  “Come inside,” the priest said as they mounted the wide steps leading into the cool recesses of the temple. “Freshen up, and I will speak with the rest of the elders.”

  Ranks of statues lined the edges of the huge, high-ceiling space. They were adorned with garlands of bright flowers—marigolds, daisies, and other blooms she did not recognize. Altars at the statues’ feet held fruit and bowls of coin, and glowing clusters of incense that hazed the air with tendrils of sweet smoke.