Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

“Good to see you too my Lord, it was the least I could do,” Ahran replied.

  “Now I expect you young people are hungry,” the King said, playing the role of perfect host.

  I hadn’t thought about food but now he mentioned it, I was starving.

  “Yes, food would be good, my Lord,” Ahran replied. I suspected that the six pieces of toast he’d had for breakfast were no longer sustaining him.

  “Come then, let us eat. Sulaan has arranged some lunch for us in the dining room.”

  “How was your journey?” the King asked as we walked towards the door.

  I figured it probably wasn’t polite to report that I had puked my guts up. “It was a little shaky but I made it through in one piece,” I replied.

  “I have never travelled through a portal myself, I leave that kind of travel to the younger generations but I’ve heard it can be quite unpleasant.”

  “It wasn’t the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever had,” I confessed.

  “No, indeed. Still, you are in safe hands with Ahran here.”

  I glanced at Ahran who gave me a crooked smile. The King exuded strength and power and yet he was welcoming and gracious. I started to feel more relaxed. He pulled the door open and gestured for us to go ahead of him.

  “Leylana will be joining us for lunch, she is on her way back from the town,” the King said. “Leylana is my wife,” he explained in response to what must have been a blank look on my face.

  I nodded. There had been no mention of a Queen. So Toby had a grandmother too. It made me feel a little easier at the thought of having another woman around. We started to make our way back down the corridor.

  “We will be celebrating our 100th wedding anniversary soon,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. “She has spent the morning in town making arrangements for the celebrations.”

  “Wow! A hundred years, congratulations!” Was I being too informal? I groaned inwardly, I felt completely unprepared for meeting Toby’s royal grandparents.

  The three of us walked back the route we had come with Sulaan.

  “So how is my grandson?” The King said the word tentatively, clearly unaccustomed to saying it.

  For a moment, it didn’t register who he was referring to. The palatial surroundings and being in the presence of a King was so far removed from my life back home I failed to make the connection straight away. “Oh Toby,” I said after an embarrassing pause. “Yes, he’s good. He’s at school at the moment.”

  “I hope we will meet him very soon. We cannot guarantee your safety whilst you remain on Earth.”

  Now that I had at least seen the place, the idea of coming to stay here didn’t seem quite so bad.

  “Here we are,” announced the King.

  We had arrived at the dining room we had passed earlier. It was as if a banquet had appeared by magic. I had never seen so much food for four people. There were plates of cold meat, bowls of colourful and sumptuous looking salads, about eight different types of bread rolls and an array of fruit, some of which I didn’t recognise. I felt my stomach rumble and wondered, with their Ramian sense of hearing, whether the King and Ahran had heard it.

  A servant pulled out a chair for me. “Thank you,” I said and sat down. Ahran sat opposite but one leaving a space for the Queen. The King took a seat at the head of the table and unfolded his napkin, laying it across his lap. A solemn looking man dressed in a smart grey uniform appeared as if from nowhere and offered him a selection of rolls. Suddenly someone appeared at my elbow offering me an array of cold meats.

  “Yes please.” The girl, in a matching grey uniform, served a couple of slices onto my plate with a polite smile.

  Neither the King nor Ahran spoke as they concentrated on selecting their food; it was obviously a serious business. I followed suit and just as I was about to butter a roll, a tall elegant lady swept into the room.

  “Ah, there you are, my dear,” the King said, standing up as the woman approached. She put a hand on his shoulder and kissed the King on the cheek.

  “I’m sorry my darling, I got held up, it took longer than I thought,” she said in English, taking her cue from her husband. Everyone so far had spoken my language flawlessly.

  The woman looked younger than the King. She was tall and slim with rich, brown, beautifully coiffured hair that fell in thick, soft waves around her shoulders. She wore a cream trouser suit and was the epitome of elegance. I could have kicked myself for not giving more thought to who I would be meeting and dressing more appropriately.

  “Leylana, I want you to meet Miss McAllister,” the King said.

  “Sophie, please,” I corrected.

  Leylana came around to my side of the table and I stood up. The skin around her eyes was gently lined but the rest of her face was smooth. She had large brown, almond shaped eyes and she was gorgeous. Everyone here was so beautiful and it made me feel like one of the ugly sisters.

  “Sophie, I am absolutely delighted to meet you,” Leylana said warmly, extending her hand.

  I shook it gently. “It’s good to meet you too.” By a strange twist of fate, these people were Toby’s family and so far they had been nothing but warm and welcoming. Maybe I could actually get to like them.

  Leylana turned her attention to Ahran and he stood up to receive her hug.

  “Ahran, it is so lovely to see you, why haven’t you been to see us sooner?” she said, scolding him.

  “I am sorry Aunt Ley.”

  It was touching to hear him use a shortened version of her name; it was so much less formal than My Lady. Ahran had been polite and respectful towards the King, but there was obvious warmth between him and his aunt. “I’ve been concentrating on the purchase of the farm, there have been various issues.” He frowned.

  I listened with interest. It was the first time I’d heard Ahran talk about his life. He was buying a farm. That surprised me. He didn’t strike me as a farmer.

  “Has the purchase gone through now?” Halsan asked as Leylana took her seat next to Ahran.

  “Yes, I received notification a few days ago.”

  “I am pleased to hear that, it is about time you settled down,” Leylana said, “And how is Talina?”

  I nearly bit my tongue. I broke off some of my bread roll and listened intently to Ahran’s answer. Who was Talina? Please let it be his mother or some elderly female relative. Although why it mattered so much, I wasn’t sure.

  “She is well,” Ahran replied.

  I realised I was holding my breath.

  “Have you set a date for the wedding yet?”

  I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. It was worse than I feared. I felt a surge of anger towards him for not mentioning the fact that he had a fiancé, but then a small voice in my head questioned why he would. I didn’t know why I was surprised that Ahran wasn’t single. He was drop dead gorgeous and in the prime of his life, who wouldn’t want to marry him?

  “No Aunt, no date has been set yet. We have been waiting for the purchase of the farm to go through,” Ahran replied.

  I mimicked what he had just said in my head childishly. I was cross with myself for letting my attraction for him run away with me. Compared to the beautiful people of Ramia, I was short, with unruly hair and on the curvy side of slim, nothing like the svelte Elaya or the classical beauty that was Leylana. Talina was probably just as stunning as the other Ramian women I had met. Why would Ahran even give me a second glance?

  I kept my eyes on my lunch. There was a pause in the conversation and I realised that Leylana had turned her attention to me. Had she just asked me a question?

  “I’m sorry?”

  Leylana repeated her question. “We are very keen to know what our little grandson is like. We just couldn’t believe it when we found out that Tagan had a son.” A shadow of sadness flickered across her face.

  I tensed. Of course they would want to know what Toby was like, they were his grandparents. But they were also royal superhumans who lived in a beautiful
parallel universe. I felt dismayed to think how excited Toby was going to be about all of this, what eight year old wouldn’t be? How could I possibly compete?

  “What are his interests? I expect he’s a good sportsman, Tagan always excelled at sport,” she gushed.

  “Ley! Give the girl a chance to speak,” the King said, gently reprimanding his wife. He leant towards me. “You will have to forgive my wife, she was desperate for grandchildren and we thought that when we lost Tagan the chance of us ever having any had passed, so as you can imagine, ever since we found out about Toby it has caused great excitement.” He was only just about containing his own.

  My heart sank further.

  The King paused. “My dear, have we offended you?” he asked, a concerned frown on his face.

  “No, you haven’t offended me,” I replied. “It’s just that I’ve had a lot to deal with over the last few days and now I face losing Toby no matter what I decide to do.”

  “What do you mean you will lose him?” The King sounded surprised.

  In for a penny in for a pound. “Because if we stay at home there is every chance he will fall into Bazeera’s clutches and if we come here you will want to keep him because he is your heir, which of course is the best thing for him anyway because he will be safer here...” I knew I was starting to babble but I couldn’t help it, my misery was affecting my ability to speak eloquently.

  “You are right it is not safe for you to stay at home at the moment,” the King said.

  It didn’t escape my notice that he made no attempt to allay my fears about them wanting Toby to stay here. My main concern was my nephew’s safety but what frightened me more was that he would prefer to stay here given the choice. And from what I had seen so far, he would be treated like the Prince he was. I sighed inwardly at my predicament. No matter which way I looked at it, I faced the very real prospect of losing him.

  I glanced over at Leylana. Perhaps, I could appeal to the Queen’s sensibilities. She was a mother, she would understand. Maybe we could come to an arrangement where we could share Toby, although I couldn’t begin to think how this could work across two universes. The situation seemed impossible.

  “Toby is an adorable little boy,” I sighed, answering the Queen’s earlier questions. “He is smart, funny, and very good at sport as it happens. He’s got brown, curly hair and brown eyes.” The Queen was quite literally on the edge of her seat hanging on my every word.

  Leylana bent down to pick up her bag and took out a slim leather wallet. She opened the case of what turned out to be a small electronic tablet. She tapped the screen and a 3D image of a young man wearing military fatigues sprang from the screen and hovered in front of us.

  “Wow!” I exclaimed as I looked at the three inch image. “That’s incredible.”

  “It is our son.”

  Once I was over the initial shock of the unfamiliar technology I eyed the image of Tagan with interest. I had hated him with a vengeance for the last eight years and it was unsettling to see a handsome man, wearing military fatigues smiling up at me. He looked happy and relaxed as he leant back against a rock. “Toby is like his father,” I said slowly, shaking my head at the likeness.

  Leylana beamed, this obviously pleased her. She shook the tablet once and the image disappeared.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have a photo to show you of Toby, I’ve got a new phone and I haven’t taken any yet,” I said sheepishly.

  The Queen didn’t look overly disappointed. “No matter, we shall be meeting him soon. When do you think you will be back?” Leylana asked excitedly.

  “As soon I can make the necessary arrangements,” I said noncommittally.

  The Queen positively effervesced.

  “Ahran tells me you think it will take you a few days to make arrangements to leave Earth,” the King said. “I’m afraid I don’t think you have that much time. Bazeera knows of Toby’s existence. I would urge you to go back, collect Toby and return as quickly as you can. I will make an office available so you can make any necessary phone calls from here and I would like to offer you recompense for the loss of revenue you will suffer as a result of closing your business for the duration of your stay.”

  The King spoke in such a way that I knew I simply could not refuse, I would be a fool not to do as he was suggesting.

  “You are very kind. I will collect Toby from school when we get back and return with him straight away.” I raised my eyebrows questioningly at Ahran who nodded in agreement. In spite of my reservations about Toby’s future, he would be safe and we would be living in the lap of luxury for the foreseeable future. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

  “Good, well that settles it then.” The King seemed relieved and Leylana visibly relaxed.

  “We were sorry to hear of your friend’s brutal attack,” the King said, his tone turning grave. “If there is anything we can do that would help speed her recovery, please let us know.”

  “Thank you,” I answered gratefully.

  Grudgingly, I was beginning to like these people. Not only were they warm and welcoming but they were also refined, caring, generous and protective. We continued to eat our lunch and I attempted to focus on mine and Toby’s unusual and impromptu vacation rather than dwell on the less desirable aspects of the situation, such as the prospect of losing Toby and Ahran’s relationship status.

  I marvelled at how much the Ramians ate, even the willow-slim Leylana ate double the amount I ate. As someone who appreciated food, it was good to be among people who seemed to share my enthusiasm for it. Much of the following conversation was between Ahran and the King and about how business was going. Leylana chipped in from time to time. They both seemed to take an active role in the running of their kingdom, which sounded like it operated on an almost feudal basis. They clearly owned much of the land in the region and it was leased to tenants. These tenants operated within large cooperatives and Ahran was keen to hear how successful some of the more entrepreneurial tenants were faring as they trialled new technological methods of energy and food production. It struck me that this was a world of contrasts. A medieval system of kingship operating alongside technologically advanced methods of food production aligned with an ultra-modern lifestyle.

  Ahran talked knowledgeably with Halsan and was clearly excited about his new venture. He was keen to pick the King’s brains about the best way forward for some of his ideas. I was impressed. Ahran was obviously well-educated and had a sharp brain. I had learnt more in the last hour about him than I had in the last few days. And much to my dismay, I felt even more drawn to him.

  I decided I would do whatever I needed to do in the short term to protect Toby and then I would distance myself from Ahran as quickly as I could thereafter. Somehow, I would pick up the pieces of my life and try to forget that I had ever met him. What I hadn’t figured out yet was how I could fashion a life that straddled two worlds.

  Whilst their conversation flowed, Leylana and I chatted about Toby, what his interests were and what he enjoyed doing.

  “And what was Toby’s mother like?” Leylana asked as she sipped some fresh juice.

  “Katie, was a sweet and gentle person.” It didn’t get any easier talking about her. The extent to which I missed her had not diminished in the slightest over the last year. I swallowed. “She was clever, worked hard at school and was popular. We were very close. She was also a very good mother as it happens.” I wanted them to know that she would have been a worthy daughter-in-law.

  “What brought Tagan to Earth?” I asked. I had to smile inwardly at my use of the word. I had never referred to where I lived as Earth. Hatherley usually sufficed.

  “Like lots of young people, he was keen to travel and wanted to experience a different culture.”

  I fought the urge to laugh. Most gap year students went to Thailand or South America not another world entirely.

  “Katie was devastated when Tagan left, it took her a long time to get over him disappearing without a trace.” I couldn�
�t help mentioning the fact that he had left so suddenly after Katie had fallen pregnant, I felt I owed it to my sister. I waited for Leylana’s response.

  “I’m sorry if your sister suffered as a result of Tagan coming home. He was a good person and he certainly would not have abandoned her if he had known she was carrying his child, but as you know our world is not perfect and we have our enemies. At the time, we were at war and Halsan wanted our son to return to help him strategically.” She looked weary of the conflict. “Tagan had been a very successful Commander for the Strategic Operations division in our Special Force and came back to Dinara to help his former colleagues fight the threats to our kingdom.”

  I began to feel guilty about the uncharitable opinion I had held of Tagan for so long and I grudgingly accepted that his reason for leaving Katie and returning home was a laudable one.

  A sad expression settled on Leylana’s face. “Unfortunately, Tagan enjoyed life in the military and he found it hard to leave after he returned home. I always preferred it when he was working behind the lines but he was committed to the men who worked under his leadership and he preferred to be with them, ‘where it mattered’, he used to say.” She said this with a little smile. “One night his unit was ambushed by Bazeera’s forces, he and Ahran had gone back to save one of their soldiers who had been trapped. Tagan was killed in the cross-fire.”

  Ahran and the King had finished their conversation and were listening to what Leylana was telling me.

  I glanced over at Ahran and his expression was troubled. How awful to witness your cousin’s death? I also felt sorry for Leylana, I couldn’t imagine how dreadful it must be to outlive your child.

  “Once again, we face difficulties in our world,” the King interjected. “Bazeera has become increasingly powerful and will not stop until she gets what she wants.” He paused to take a sip of his drink. “But our Special Force is a formidable army and we have every confidence that we will defeat her.”

  “So you were in the Special Force with your cousin?” It wasn’t sensible to find out any more about Ahran’s life but my question was out before I could stop it.