by Brenda Hiatt
Explain what? he prompted.
It’s kind of a lot. I don’t want to confuse or worry you by starting when I can’t finish.
Sure enough, Molly was back in barely more than a minute, then Rigel had to taste my food before going to get his own—which he only did when I made him, since he was supposed to wait until after I’d eaten. Sean was already sitting on my left.
“Anything else you want to see or know about the ship?”
“Not right now.” I took a bite of the excellent grilled fish and steamed veggies. I couldn’t imagine anything sent to my suite would be better. As I ate, my gaze strayed to Rigel, who seemed to be having some trouble with the food recombinator.
Brenna and Rowena and their families entered from the other side of the big room just then, Rowena slanting a glance at Rigel as they headed to the food alcoves. Neither looked my way, and I was just as glad. With any luck, I wouldn’t see either of them again once we reached Nuath.
Rigel came back a moment later looking embarrassed, his tray heaped with food. “Took a little trial and error. Good thing I’m hungry.”
“Oh, sorry, we should have helped,” Molly said. “Some of the menus are a little confusing.”
He just shrugged and started to eat, so Molly asked me what I wanted to do after lunch.
What I wanted to do was find some place away from any cameras, so I could tell Rigel everything I needed to. And maybe for other reasons. “Um, I’ve never taken a yoga class, even though they sometimes had them at my Taekwondo school. I doubt the guys would want to, though.”
“You got that right. I’d rather lift weights.” Sean turned to Rigel with a slightly smug smile. “As Bodyguard, are you allowed to do anything she doesn’t?”
Rigel smiled back. “Nope, and that’s exactly how I like it. Good thing I have this job instead of you, huh?”
Sean’s smile disappeared. Looking around for something to distract them, I spotted that Royal I didn’t trust, Gordon, wandering around the Commons. He seemed to be stopping at nearly every table to chat with people.
“Wonder what Gordon’s up to?” I mused aloud. As I’d hoped, that diverted the boys’ attention before they started arguing.
“Schmoozing, looks like,” Rigel said after a moment. “Trying to drum up support?”
There weren’t many other teens on the ship—maybe half a dozen—but Gordon seemed to be making a special effort to talk to them. He spent a long time at Brenna and Rowena’s table, clearly interested in whatever Brenna and her mother were telling him.
I nudged Sean. “Brenna wouldn’t really try to cause trouble for me, would she?”
Sean glanced her way and I saw a flash of alarm in his eyes—and even felt a bit of it coming off him, which added weight to my suspicion that I might be developing a new ability. “I’m sure she wouldn’t say anything bad about you to a Royal.” Despite his light tone, I could tell he was concerned. “But I’ll warn her, first chance I get, just to make sure.”
“Good idea.” Rigel frowned over at the animated discussion that was too far away for any of us to hear. A few of them glanced our way just then and I could feel Rigel’s worry along with my own. Probably too late, he thought to me sourly.
Guess we’ll find out. There was nothing I could do about it either way.
Finally Gordon left Brenna’s table and went to join Mr. O’Gara and the rest of the Royals, on the far side of the dining area. Suddenly, I was tempted to try out my new “power” on the ones I was most curious about. Or should I wait for that dinner tonight?
Go for it, if you want, Rigel urged. I’ve got your back.
You’re right. Why wait? I stood up. “Back in a few,” I said in response to Sean’s and Molly’s startled looks and headed deliberately toward the Royal table.
Gordon was the first to see me coming. He nudged Devyn, next to him, and both of them stood, quickly followed by the others. Everyone bowed, but Mr. O’Gara spoke first.
“Ah, Excellency. I didn’t want to interrupt your meal, or I’d have suggested you join us. Allow me to introduce a few people you haven’t had a chance to meet yet.” He turned first to the oldest of the group. “Rory Glenn, Princess Emileia.”
Rory bowed again, deeply, and when I focused hard, I sensed strong, positive emotion, perhaps with a defensive edge. “It is my great, great honor to pledge myself to your service and assure you of my wholehearted allegiance, Excellency.”
“Thank you, Rory. I’m very happy to meet you.”
Mr. O now nodded toward a tall, handsome brunette who had clearly been gorgeous when younger—not that she looked much past forty now. “Phelan Monroe,” he said.
“I can’t tell you how delighted I am to make your acquaintance, Excellency.” Phelan’s voice was rich, mellow and reassuring, but I sensed a steely determination that belied her motherly expression. “Please feel free to come to me for any advice or assistance you might need when we reach Mars, as this will be your first visit.”
Irving Kennedy bowed nearly as deeply as Rory had. He also felt positive, but a bit overeager, while his brother Eamon radiated more nervousness and awe than anything else. When I thanked them both for their sworn allegiance, Eamon turned as red as his hair.
I didn’t particularly want to linger once the introductions had been made, so I excused myself and headed back to where Sean and Molly waited, Rigel still close behind.
Could you tell what I was sensing off them? I asked as we walked.
Some. This could turn out to be a super useful skill, M, especially if you really have to do the Sovereign thing.
We reached the others before I could comment on that “if.” It made me even more desperate for a chance to talk privately with Rigel.
Both Sean and Molly seemed determined to prevent that, though, insisting we both learn a Martian version of poker, which we played with Rowena and Desmond. They invited Brenna to join but she gave a lame excuse about having to catch up on some reading. When I focused, I not only got that jealous vibe off her, but a strong sense that she was lying—though that was fairly obvious without any special powers. Still, it would be cool to develop Mrs. O’Gara’s “lie-detector” ability, along with this new emotion-sensing thing.
When the game ended, I stole Brenna’s excuse and pretended to read, hoping Sean and Molly would do something else so Rigel and I could finally “talk” for a while. It only half worked. The two of them did stay at the card table, but other people kept coming up to me, some just to pay their respects and others to hint about what they thought I should do once we reached Mars.
All the interruptions prevented even a silent conversation with Rigel, though they gave me plenty of chances to gauge people’s emotions and motives. I found that getting easier with practice, but it was also draining. Finally, I announced I was going up to my room.
Sean and Molly immediately stood up from their game to join me, but I shook my head. “I need to decompress for a while before that dinner tonight. You guys can stay down here.” Though I knew Rigel wouldn’t.
Unfortunately, Molly wouldn’t hear of it, either. “I’m your Handmaid, remember? Where you go, I go, just like Rigel.”
I couldn’t reasonably argue, so the three of us headed for the executive lift, Sean glowering a bit because he didn’t have a similar excuse to tag along.
“Mum and Dad were invited to a dinner like this on the way to Earth, our first evening aboard,” Molly commented as we were whisked to Level One. “That trip was the first time I ever saw them get treated like Royals, which was kind of cool.”
“So even when Faxon was in power, the ship captains didn’t go along with his policies?” Interesting.
She shrugged. “Guess not. I didn’t really think about the politics of it at the time, but I could tell Mum and Dad were pretty relieved they could stop pretending to be Ags.”
“You don’t seem very keen on that dinner.” Rigel glanced at me in concern as we entered the suite, no doubt picking up on my emotions even more than my express
ion. “You don’t have to go, you know.”
I shrugged. “It probably won’t be much fun, but it’ll be good practice for Mars. There’ll probably be lots of formal dinners once we get there.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Good practice for me, too.”
“And me,” Molly chimed in. “Come on, let’s go pick out the perfect outfit for you.” She was clearly looking forward to tonight a lot more than I was.
CHAPTER 19
fasneis (FAHSH-ness): information; intelligence
“You might as well take a nap or something, Rigel. This may take a while,” Molly said, dragging me into my bedroom and practically skipping into my huge closet. “This will be so awesome,” she gushed from its depths. “How cool is it that everything in here is your size? I can’t wait to dress you properly!”
Actually, it creeped me out a little that somebody, maybe a whole lot of somebodies, already knew my exact size. Mostly, though, I was just frustrated by yet another delay when I’d finally made up my mind to tell Rigel the whole truth.
“What, I’ve been dressing like a slob all this time?” I was irked enough to ask.
“Of course not! It’s just—” Molly glanced over her shoulder and clearly decided I was teasing. “Okay, fine. You got me. Here, try these together.”
By the time Molly had absolutely everything picked out for both of us, Rigel had disappeared into his room. I reached out for his mind, hoping he was still awake, but either he wasn’t or a single door on this ship was enough to block our telepathy. I could have shaken Molly for taking so long.
I passed the time until Rigel woke studying recent Martian history, now that my little epiphany in Steerage had pointed up that gap in my education. Unfortunately, while my book-scroll contained a couple of accounts by Royals who’d escaped to Earth, there was nothing at all from the perspective of Faxon’s supporters. Mr. O’Gara might be able to tell me more, since he’d actually been there, but he probably held the same views as the Royals who’d written these memoirs.
The Quintessence archives weren’t much better. Though the search function put Google to shame, I found almost nothing about Faxon’s rise to power. Even when I dug through old news articles from Mars, I couldn’t find any—at all—from the year immediately before or after Faxon’s coup. Weird. Did he have them all destroyed? Or did someone else, later?
When Rigel finally emerged from his room and I broke off my mostly-fruitless search. “Good nap?”
“I guess,” he grumped. Why haven’t you been answering? I figured if I stayed in my room a while, we could talk without Molly noticing.
I tried to talk to you, too. Something in these walls must be blocking us.
Great. Perfect. Then, aloud, “What did I miss?”
“M playing on the data console.” Molly, on the couch, looked up from her book. “And grumbling.”
I shrugged. “Trying to find out exactly what led up to Faxon’s coup, but there’s nothing to find.”
“Huh.” Rigel didn’t seem nearly as bothered by that as I was. So what is it you need to tell me?
Before I could even start to answer such a complicated question, Molly jumped up. “Oh, wow, look how late it is! Time to get you dressed, M, and me, too. C’mon!”
It may be too complicated to explain this way at all, even if there was time. I wish we could talk privately for real! Especially since I didn’t dare tell him about the Grentl, even silently, where Molly or the cameras might notice his reaction.
Reaction to what? he asked as I reluctantly followed Molly into my bedroom.
All the stuff I need to tell you. If I ever get a chance!
Can’t you just— My bedroom door slid shut, cutting him off mid-thought and making me want to scream.
Twenty minutes later, though, I briefly forgot my frustration as I twirled in front of the mirror. For the first time since learning my status last fall, I felt like a real princess, decked out in a floaty lavender and silver dress. I also wore a necklace that looked like real diamonds—I hoped not—and a matching, tiny tiara Molly claimed my rank demanded. I’d have argued if I hadn’t seen historical pictures that backed her up.
“If they didn’t fit perfectly, I’d never believe all these clothes are for me.” I looked over my shoulder at the swirl of the skirt behind me. “Do you think I’ll get to keep them? On Mars, I mean. I can’t very well take them home to Jewel.”
“Yeah, your aunt would definitely freak. She’d think we bought them for you and want to pay us or something.”
“You look great, too.” I nodded at her blue dress trimmed in white.
Grinning, she twirled. “One of the perks of being the Sovereign’s Handmaid. My wardrobe isn’t as grand as yours, of course, but it’s nicer than anything I’ve ever had.”
Opening the door to the main area, Molly called out, “Rigel, come see how gorgeous she looks!”
He appeared, one eyebrow raised. “Coming into your room won’t seem too…familiar?”
“I’m in here, too,” Molly pointed out.
“Anyway, it’s a little late to worry about that,” I added. “If anybody actually looks at the recordings, I mean.” Which suddenly gave me an idea.
Molly gestured toward me. “So what do you think?”
“That she’s even more beautiful than usual.” Rigel’s words were accompanied by a wash of appreciation, love and desire—and a wariness that surprised me.
What’s wrong?
He answered out loud. “You’re a little intimidating. So, well, regal. But I guess that’s a good thing. Got to impress the other Royals, convince them you’re up to the task and all.”
“I don’t want to intimidate you, though.” Ever, I added silently, sending all the love I could back at him. “Anyway, it’s just for tonight.” Except we both knew that wasn’t really true.
At seven o’clock we went across the hall, where Captain Liam himself answered the door chime, greeting me with a deep bow before ushering us inside. His quarters were nearly as posh as mine, though his smaller living room was currently dominated by a long dining table.
“I am honored that you were able to accept my invitation, Excellency. The others will be here shortly, so please make yourself comfortable.”
In fact it was only seconds before the other Royals arrived, escorted by Commander Donia, the woman I recalled was the ship’s First Officer. Each politely bowed to me on entering and I responded with the proper nod. During the small talk that followed, Rigel silently reminded me to use my new emotion-sensing thing this evening.
I’ll do my best, I thought back, pinning what I hoped was a graciously regal smile on my face as I returned Annwyn’s polite query about my day. I was relieved to feel nothing from her but cautious respect.
Gordon was another matter. Though he wore an ingratiating smile, I distinctly perceived hostility and resentment along with that faint bad-guy vibe. Not surprising, if he wanted to become leader of Nuath or hoped Devyn would, but it rattled me to sense it so strongly.
“It is good to see you again, Princess. I must say I commend your willingness to attempt such a burdensome role, given your youth and inexperience.” His glance darted to Rigel and Molly, hovering behind me. “No doubt once you reach Nuath, you will be able to find attendants more, ah, befitting your rank, who can be of more use to you.”
I carefully raised one eyebrow, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. “Thank you for your concern, Gordon, but I’m perfectly happy with the ones I have,” I told him—told all of them—in no uncertain terms.
“Well said, Princess,” Devyn said with another smooth bow. “Your loyalty to those who have rendered you service is admirable.”
His were the emotions I most wanted to probe, but what I sensed surprised me. I didn’t feel anything negative from him at all—no resentment or jealousy, no hint of deceit or even irritation. In fact, something about his voice, expression and vibe made me instinctively want to trust him. Huh.
I smiled, inclining my head in
response to his bow. “Thank you. I appreciate your support.”
Even that didn’t trigger any emotional reaction that I could perceive. Interesting.
“Shall we eat?” Captain Liam suggested then and we all moved to the table, formally set for eleven.
My special orchid-adorned finger bowl was at one end and the Captain headed to the chair at the other. As I moved to my place, I did a quick count of those present and came up with fourteen. My momentary confusion was cleared up when Commander Donia excused herself to go up to the Bridge and I belatedly remembered that Rigel and Molly weren’t allowed to sit down. Which sucked. I should have made them both eat something before coming here.
It’s okay, really, Rigel assured me but I still felt guilty for not thinking ahead. They’d have done it for me.
“You look amazing tonight,” Sean murmured as he stepped up to pull out my chair.
I smiled my thanks, trying to ignore the spurt of jealousy I felt from Rigel along with the little tingle I got when Sean’s fingers brushed my arm. Once I was seated the others followed suit, then we went through the silly finger bowl ritual.
Finally, at the Captain’s signal, the food was brought in. Whether because my own hunger was augmented by Rigel’s, or because I was still irritated by what Gordon had said earlier, once Rigel had tasted my food and Molly had served it to me, I cleared my throat. Every eye turned my way.
“I realize it’s traditional for my Bodyguard and Handmaid to stand behind me for the whole meal and not eat till we’re finished, but that custom seems very awkward and elitist to me. I may have been born on Mars, but I was raised an American. Besides, Molly is a good friend and I owe Rigel my life several times over. Would anyone object to them sitting down and eating dinner with the rest of us?”
Most of the Royals looked scandalized and Sean, of course, glowered. But the Captain, I thought, looked both surprised and rather approving.
“If it is your wish, Excellency, then of course two more places will be set at once.” He nodded to one of the people who’d brought the food and a moment later an extra plate and chair was added on either side of the Captain—the only other non-Royal at the table.
