by Vi Voxley
There was a terrible bitterness in Senator Tawren's voice as he recounted that. His voice dropped to a hiss at the last sentence. Faren knew he'd never speak to him like that face to face.
"She is safe," he said. "She is my gesha."
Senator Tawren looked uncertain.
“Swear to me that is the truth,” he said.
Faren smiled. He didn’t do that often, and it had exactly the intended effect. Senator Tawren’s face went pale and he took several steps back, almost off the edge of his holo-projector.
“No one questions my word, Senator,” Faren said. “No one who wants to keep breathing.”
Senator Tawren did his best to hide the fear in his eyes. He was very good, but of course not good enough. Faren didn’t need to see what he knew was bound to be there anyway.
"You'll have to forgive me," the senator said through gritted teeth. "Under the circumstances, I had to ask. We already had our answers, but Isolde might have been a fluke. I had to make sure."
"Why does Senator Primen know?" Faren asked, not even bothering to hide the menace from his voice.
"He was with me when we took her from Terra. He's always been fond of her."
Faren almost repeated Primen's words from the previous night back to the loving father, but decided against it. Fond is not the word, he thought.
“But even so,” the senator was saying. “Even if Leiya is your gesha, General. That gives you no right to carry her off in the middle of the day like she’s your prisoner. I want to speak to her.”
“I am doing this to protect her,” Faren said. “Once I’ve eliminated the danger, she’ll be free to go.”
“What danger?” the senator demanded.
“That is not your concern.”
“No matter what, she’s still my daughter!”
“She’s my gesha, Senator,” Faren said. “Do you think I’d let anything happen to her?”
The senator’s face was etched with fury, something Faren almost admired. He had fighter spirit. So he wasn’t the worst of the treacherous, lying senators.
“You are what has happened to her,” the senator said through gritted teeth.
He hesitated then.
“I will not leave it like this.”
The holo-image flickered out, which was a bold move in itself, but Faren didn’t let it bother him. Senator Tawren could do what he wanted. The senators were not in any position of power over the generals at the moment, so that was of no concern to him. Especially with Eleya as the High Senator, a former general who wouldn’t give Tawren’s complaints any consideration.
No. What concerned him was the relationship between Tawren and Primen. He couldn’t have told the man to keep the information from Senator Primen, because he would have driven the concerned father straight to his enemy. But without saying anything he risked that he would go to Primen anyway. No matter. On the Unbroken, nothing could touch Leiya.
And now that he knew about the past, things started to make sense. She wasn't simply different, she had no chance of ever being like a normal Brion. She was in no way equipped to be. But Diego and Isolde had proved that the match was possible, so it gave him hope.
Faren made a call to Eleya himself. The new High Senator answered him almost immediately, a playful smile on her lips. She was one of the few women he’d ever been good at talking to, because she had been a general too and was as uncompromising as he was. After Diego, he preferred her company the most. There had even been an idea that she’d be his gesha when her traitorous gerion Senator Eren had died, but that had not turned out so. Eleya had expressed her regret over that, but it was all they’d ever spoken of it.
“Faren,” the High Senator said at once. “I hear congratulations are in order. And that you have kidnapped Briolina’s rising star. The people demand you bring her back.”
“When it’s time,” he said.
Faren knew Eleya didn’t really expect him to do that and was just trying to annoy him. It was her way of dealing with the generals, whom she still hadn’t forgiven for letting the Elders reassign her. She hated being a senator, it was widely known. It was also ironic that she was very good at it, and had played a major part in resolving the Rhea conflict.
“What’s stopping you?” she asked teasingly.
“Primen,” he said simply.
Then he looked Eleya straight in the eye. It was reassuring in a way that she could take the full power of his gaze. It spoke volumes to her suitability as the High Senator.
“Let me deal with him.”
Eleya sighed.
“The Galactic Union is watching. So are the Elders. So is everyone. We’ve been over this, Faren. You need a reason, an incentive.”
“He’s too smart for that.”
“I know,” Eleya agreed. “But I can’t let you kill him on a hunch, or just because we think he should die. You know I agree and Diego agrees, but that’s not enough. The Elders forgave everyone who was on the right side when the Rhea debacle ended, and that bastard was clever enough to switch sides at the last moment. We can’t disobey their ruling, Faren. Not now. The galaxy is watching to see how we handle ourselves. If the Elders appear weak, we’re back where we were before.”
Everything she said was true, Faren knew that. It simply grated on his nerves. His hands drew together into fists. Primen had escaped justice for too long. The need to put an end to that was becoming nigh unbearable.
“He has new leverage now.”
Eleya nodded.
“Yes, I suppose. I trust you can keep her safe from him. Wait. He’s bound to slip up at some point.”
That was not comforting, but he didn’t argue.
“Her father will probably see you soon.”
“I’ll deal with him,” Eleya said, grinning. “He’s the least of your concerns.”
“He’ll tell Primen.”
“I doubt he needs to,” the High Senator said. “After your performance, I don’t think there is anyone on Briolina who doesn’t know by this point.”
Of course. The abduction of Briolina’s star was no doubt noticed. Faren ignored the surge of frustration and shrugged.
“Very well.”
Eleya smiled and ended the call. Faren was left thinking whether he was being overly cautious. Primen couldn’t have hated him enough to endanger his own life just to ruin his. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring Leiya to his ship like that. Eleya was undoubtedly right.
Their leaving had been too public, and now they were in the center of attention whether he liked it or not. It might have been better to keep everything under the radar until he could resolve things with Senator Primen.
Yet another part of him was glad for her presence, even if her misery was almost palpable in the air. Maybe he had brought her aboard simply for his own selfish reasons. That would make him exactly the monster Leiya had accused him of being.
--
Roven saluted him and hesitated then.
“She saw me, Commander,” he said. “She looked out of the door and then screamed. She hasn’t come out of the room since.”
Faren nodded. The doors slid open for him.
Leiya was waiting for him, standing in the central room, her hands clenched into fists. Her eyes were determined. He waited for her to speak.
“That thing is behind the door,” she finally said.
“Roven,” he corrected.
“It has a name?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
Everyone had a name. Why would she think he didn’t?
“Is he… is he a Brion?” Leiya went on then.
Ah, that explained things. It was also painfully ironic.
“Yes,” he said. “He was captured by the Otangis when he was younger.”
He didn’t explain further. The Otangis conducted horrible experiments on their prisoners, and it was a miracle Roven had escaped at all, with the help of Faren’s rescue team of course. Many warriors had succumbed to their injuries or became reclusive, ashamed o
f their distorted looks. Roven, however, didn’t let it distract him from his duties in any way. Faren admired that. He kept the warrior close to him after that, trusting him with the tasks he didn’t trust to just anyone.
“Why is he there?” Leiya asked.
“He’s your guard.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“I… But I don’t… He scares me.”
Understandable, but irrelevant.
“You don’t have to look at him. He is a very capable warrior and would protect you with his own life.”
That was apparently not a good thing to say, because Leiya’s eyes narrowed at once.
“I don’t want him to die for me. I don’t want anyone to die for me.”
“It is unlikely he will have to,” Faren said. “Nothing aboard the Unbroken is a danger to you.”
“You said I was in danger.”
“Not here.”
Something else seemed to be on her mind. Faren saw that she was about to speak and waited until she gathered the courage. Leiya opened her mouth a few times, closing it again, until she finally managed,
“I am going to be staying here a while, right?”
“Yes,” Faren said.
“And these are my rooms too now?”
“Yes.”
She straightened herself up.
“Alright,” she said. “Then I want some things.”
“You can have everything you need brought to you. Ask Roven or any of the crew members.”
“Things, yes,” Leiya pressed on. “But I want light. And my own room. And some life in here. I don’t want to see dead creatures, or smell blood, or to stumble upon horrible weapons.”
“Don’t go into my trophy room then,” Faren suggested.
“Can it have a door, at least?” Leiya countered.
He considered it. Usually his quarters had no doors, but it wasn’t too much to give to her. He’d discovered a strange longing in him to see what she would look like when she was happy. Of course he’d seen her happy, at the reception, singing to all of those people, and then with her friends. He figured if she could be happy in his presence, it might help. If he had a gesha who hated him it wouldn’t make him better in any way. It would probably make him worse. That was not something he wanted.
Besides, rationally Faren knew that his rooms had to look terrifying to a human. Leiya's uncompromising resistance to violence made sense if she was human, therefore her tolerance had to be lower. Brions had a reputation, after all. It was all he could do to appease her.
“The door is fine,” he said.
Leiya seemed to relax at that, but there was another, strange light burning in her eyes.
“And the other things?” she asked.
“You can have your own room, or rooms, if you want,” he said.
It seemed natural she would want a place to store her things, just like he had a trophy room. So far her demands made sense to him. It was good.
“What about the light?” Leiya asked.
“I don’t mind if there is more light in here.”
She almost seemed disappointed in his answer. Faren wasn’t sure what he had done wrong. He’d promised her everything she’d asked for.
“Anything else?” he asked.
The starlet seemed to think it over.
“I… I want to sing.”
“Sing.”
“Where?” Leiya said. “I don’t have an audience here. I need fresh air, and a stage, and people to tell me stories so I could make new songs. I can’t get to any of those things here. I’m a singer, I need to perform. It’s what I do, just like you’re a warrior.”
Ah. So that’s what it was all about. She was trying to push him to drive her away or let her go. That wouldn’t work. Faren had set out to find his gesha to make himself complete, to be a better general and a better warrior. To better serve all Brions. Now that he had, Faren found himself in the position of every half of a fated couple. It had become the most important thing to him that Leiya was safe.
Which didn’t mean he knew what to do with her. All he knew was that he couldn’t let her get off his ship. Partly because he didn’t fully believe she would be safe and partly because he just didn’t want to. He’d been a loner all his life, never truly feeling comfortable with others. Yet now he’d only been able to stay away from her presence for a short while, most of which was spent on absolutely necessary duties. Then his feet had taken him back to the little starlet.
Still. She had to understand.
“You can go when I decide it’s safe.”
There. That was the full truth. She might not like how it was phrased, but it was for her own good. Faren had to find out what Primen was capable of first and whether he’d seek revenge for what he’d done to him. Only after he was certain he wasn’t a danger to his gesha could he let her go.
Leiya’s mouth drew into a hard line.
“You can’t keep me here forever.”
“I don’t mean to.”
“But you will if it’s necessary.”
He didn’t answer. The time period of “forever” was just too ridiculous to bother commenting, but Leiya’s face dropped.
He honestly didn’t know what to do with her. After the initial shock of her being the biggest star on Briolina, not to mention human, he’d found small things that he liked about her. The spirit that was on the one hand so very tiring was also quite endearing. He thought he wouldn’t have liked someone totally without character.
For his part, he would have been willing to do whatever gerions did to make their geshas happy, but it was becoming very clear to him that Leiya didn’t agree. She wasn’t going to try, much less give in.
The expression on her face said it all long before her words did.
“I don’t want to be your gesha,” she said. “I want you to take me home.”
Faren accepted that new attack on him without blinking an eye. He’d known that from the moment of the recognition. Leiya’s opinions were widely known, and he’d heard plenty of those at the reception. Her human nature was rebelling at him, but he had no choice.
“No,” he said.
She nearly shook with anger. He understood, in a way. But there was nothing to be done. That was the Brion way. It was long out of their hands. Fate had decided that they should be together, and so that was how it was going to be.
“You can’t keep me here!” she yelled.
Faren looked her in the eye, seeing her freeze at once, backing away from him.
“I really can,” he said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Leiya
Well, that didn’t work out at all like I intended, Leiya thought.
It had been a good plan. In fact, it had been several good plans, but who could have guessed that emotional manipulation wouldn’t work on the warrior said to be incapable of feeling?
She’d tried everything – running, anger, reasoning, guilt-tripping, and finally just trying to be too much for him to handle. Nothing had worked. Faren really was going to keep her.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. It seemed that Leiya’s day was about to get even worse, reaching its end with a thundering finale. She really had done something to the gods or fate, it seemed.
Faren had left her alone again for a while. Famous generals had other duties to attend to besides her, but of course it didn’t matter that she too had plans. She was scheduled to appear at concerts, but Faren was probably going to cancel all of them. Leiya wondered if her audience would demand her release. Possibly. Probably, actually. Quite another thing was whether Faren would care. Possibly not. Probably not.
Even the prospect of disappointing her audience diminished in the face of the horror that awaited her when night arrived.
There was only the single bed in Faren’s quarters. Big enough to allow both of them to sleep freely, but no way was she going to get in there.
Faren, naturally, disagreed.
“I can sleep on the floor,” Leiya offered a
s the last resort.
Oh gods, I can sleep on a tightrope if I have to. Just. Not. There.
The general denied her even that small mercy. Leiya protested as she dared, but she’d learned to stop at the point when Faren’s eyes got too cold for comfort. She didn’t know what he might do. Her mind provided several possibilities, which she did her best to ignore. It seemed the general had a very strict idea of how things should be going, and no reasons she could come up with were good enough.
Leiya did not want to push him to the point where he’d throw her over his shoulder again and simply carry her to bed.
Er, a part of her protested. That terrible, treacherous part had been silent for the most of the day. She’d been too upset and too scared to even consider the other feelings. Back when Faren’s broad, mighty shoulders had given her a pretty good idea of what he might look like under his armor. Not all of those feelings were negative and disappointingly few wanted to hold on to her resolve to deny him.
Faren was still watching her, waiting to see if she’d protest further. She sighed. At least he hadn’t tried anything. So far, he’d let her fight like a gesha was supposed to. And he was just proposing sleeping in the same bed. That was the lesser of all possible evils, wasn’t it?
Leiya sighed.
“I will not touch you,” Faren said, apparently once again reading her mind somehow.
She found the strength within her to nod, thinking she was just too tired of the day to continue fighting. And if he did do something she didn’t want, then she’d have a real reason to deny him forever.
She went to the other room to undress. At some point during the day, someone had brought things she might need. Among these was a sleeping shirt which would cover… almost nothing. Leiya stood, holding the cloth in her hand for a long minute before pushing that fight to another day.
She was honestly too tired, and perhaps after a good night’s sleep, she’d have a better chance at making herself understandable to Faren. The sleeping shirt was even shorter than she’d thought when she put it on. It barely covered her ass, leaving her long legs as well as her arms exposed. The cleavage was ridiculously low for a practical item like that.
