by Judy Mays
Rodane stared after her. “What coloring! Was that dragon breathing fire? Grandmother is going to love her! Brother, in your position, I’d have married her myself! Is the rest of her that magnificent?”
“That, dear Brother, is something you’ll probably never know. You’ll have to excuse me for a moment. My wife needs me,” Char said dryly. Picking up the comb Brianna had dropped, he followed her into the bedroom.
Four pairs of eyes turned to a very amused Lorilana.
“It seems as if you will have to do the explaining. Does she always turn colors like that?” asked the man by her side.
“She only turns red when she’s embarrassed, Dadon,” Lorilana answered. “She calls it blushing. Also, her culture is more reserved than ours. Family members, except for small children, are almost always dressed in each other’s presence.”
Jamiros crossed the room and poured himself a glass of wine. “A society along the lines of the Varcians, then.”
“In some ways, yes,” answered Lorilana, “but, in many other ways, completely different. The planet is unique unto itself as are the five we already know.”
“Well, I’m his mother,” said the elegant woman who had been so shocked at Brianna’s appearance. “I deserve an explanation.” With those words, Alalakan dem al’ Xdana strode purposefully towards the bedroom door.
“I wouldn’t recommend going in there right now,” Lorilana called. “Char has become very protective.”
“Not from his mother!”
The sight that greeted Xdana was far more intimate than she expected. She’d walked in on her youngest son many times when he was enjoying a woman, but she’d never seen the tenderness he was now displaying.
Char was seated on the bed with the woman on his lap leaning back against his chest. His right arm was wrapped snugly beneath her breasts, pulling the towel she wore tight to reveal what its loosely draped folds had hidden when she’d first walked into the living room, the slightly distended stomach of midterm pregnancy. Char’s left hand was splayed gently over her belly, and he was whispering something in her ear.
Both of them heard the door open. A horrified look appeared on Brianna’s face and she flushed scarlet.
Char’s reaction was more direct. “Mother, get out!”
Speechless, Xdana quickly backed out of the room, wrenching the door closed behind her. She grabbed the back of a chair for support. “She’s pregnant! Lorilana, is she really pregnant?”
Lorilana walked over to her friend and helped her to the sofa. Throwing an expectant look at the three equally stunned men, she began to chafe Xdana’s hands. “Yes, and the baby is definitely Char’s. You saw the dragon she wears. Char had me put it there two days after they were married.”
All three men’s eyebrows rose.
“Brianna has the spirit to go with the challenge that dragon represents,” Lorilana continued. “He not only dotes on her, but he has also come to respect her judgments and insights. She’s taught herself our numerical system and it making great progress with paralleling our and her alphabets.”
Jamiros lowered himself onto a chair. “Well, that settles it then. She wears a dragon and carries the Alalakan heir. It’s up to us to make sure the elders accept her into the clan.”
“As if they will have a choice,” Dadon murmured into his wineglass.
“The Alalakan heir,” Rodane said in a soft voice. “I hope the baby is as colorful as its mother. A fiery-haired Alalakan.”
The bedroom door opened and Char rejoined them. “My wife,” he said in a biting tone that shocked everyone except Lorilana, “will join us momentarily. And, yes, she does carry the Alalakan heir. Are there any other questions?”
Char himself could not believe the tone of voice in which he addressed them, but he wouldn’t tolerate any insults, even from his mother. However, his mind shied away from how much Brianna was coming to mean to him. Instead, he concentrated on his other purpose. She was the bait for his trap.
Xdana asked, “When’s the baby due?”
Char smiled to himself. His mother had finally hit on the fact that her first grandchild was on the way. “Brianna feels that she’s about four and a half months pregnant.”
“Lorilana?”
“I think Brianna’s wrong, but she won’t listen to me.”
“You’ve examined her?”
“As well as I could in Char’s quarters.”
“What in the world was wrong with Medical? Don’t tell me the girl doesn’t understand modern medicine! Char, you must take the baby into account.”
Lorilana sighed. “Xdana, Brianna’s world is almost as advanced as ours. It wasn’t safe for her to leave Char’s quarters. Bakom was on board, remember.”
Xdana’s lips curled into a sneer. “Bakom. Jamiros, it is time to squash that bug.”
Char smiled to himself. If anything would endear Brianna to his mother, it would be the need to protect her from Bakom.
Now completely dressed, Brianna stood in the bedroom in a quandary. She was still unable to fasten the clasp on the turquoise comb. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided that since they were family, someone out here would be able to help her. So everyone except Char and Lorilana was surprised when she appeared and said, “I’m sorry to be a bother, but I still can’t get this clasp fastened.”
Laughing, Char crossed the room and fastened the comb. Then he took Brianna’s hand and presented her to his family and friends. “My wife, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna of Earth. Brianna, my parents, Alalakan dem al’ Xdana and Alalakan don al’ Jamiros and my brother, Alalakan don al’ Rodane. The tall gentleman next to Lorilana is her husband, Dr. Sendenton don al’ Dadon.”
Brianna gazed at the tall man next to Lorilana. He was even taller than Char, and laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his mouth and eyes. “You were named for him, weren’t you, Char?”
Bowing, Dadon said, “The Alalakan clan has added a flower of incomparable beauty to its garden.”
Brianna began to smile. “Now I understand why Char was named for you. His parents realized that his tongue was going to be as flexible as yours.”
Dadon smiled broadly.
Char smiled to himself—one down, three to go.
Rodane didn’t wait for Brianna to come to him. He stepped to her, lifted her off of her feet, and planted a kiss on each cheek. “I’ve been looking forward to the day I had a sister-in-law.”
“So that you can come to me and complain about everything Char does that you don’t like,” Brianna shot back breathlessly.
Laughing, Rodane swung her in a circle. “She’s perfect, Char. I think we should keep her.”
“As if you have any choice,” she whispered in his ear as she clung to him for balance.
“Here, Father,” Rodane said as he set her in front of Jamiros, “your turn.”
Grasping Brianna’s arm to help her regain her balance, Jamiros gazed at his new daughter-in-law speculatively. She had proved herself charming, but then that was to be expected of any woman Char chose. “Well, Daughter, what do you have to offer to the Alalakan clan?”
Brianna stepped back so she didn’t get a crick in her neck looking into his face. If this was what Char would look like in thirty or forty years, he was going to age very well. “Cranberry juice.”
A confused expression appeared on Jamiros’ face.
Brianna grinned. “Char has introduced me to Deslossian vandanug red. On Earth, it’s called cranberry juice. And we have lots of it, in different flavors.”
Jamiros stared at Brianna. Then he began to smile broadly. “Vandanug red! Son,” he said as he hugged Brianna, “I am very pleased to welcome your wife to our family and clan.”
Everyone turned his or her attention to Xdana who sat as regally as any queen on the sofa. Silently, she stared back.
Sighing, Brianna looked first to Char for his nod of reassurance and then walked over to the sofa until she stood directly in front of her mother-in-law. “Alalakan dem al’ Xdana,” she bega
n quietly, “I can understand your reservations. I’m from a world you didn’t even know existed, and I have, in a manner of speaking, taken your son from you. The circumstances were not as any of us would have wished, but,” she continued in a more challenging tone as she slipped her dress from her right shoulder, “I wear an Alalakan dragon, and I carry Char’s child. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me!”
Everyone, including Char, stared in amazement. No one had so directly challenged his mother in years. More than one of them murmured, “Stuck with me?”
“Reminds me a great deal of a certain young lady,” Jamiros interjected, “who told my mother that both she and the entire Alalakan clan could go hang because she was going to marry me no matter what.”
Xdana began to laugh. Rising from the sofa, she gathered Brianna into her arms for a fierce hug. Then she turned to Char. “Son, you have brought us a daughter worthy of the Alalakan dragon. I’m more than happy to welcome her into the family. Any woman who would challenge a mother for her own son is worth having.”
Char relaxed. Brianna met his gaze with raised eyebrows and a smile. And the evening hadn’t yet begun.
Chapter Ten
Brianna shifted her weight from foot to foot. Char and the rest of his family seemed completely at ease as they waited to be escorted to dinner, but the prospect of eating dinner with royalty had Brianna’s stomach in knots. To make matters worse, the baby was turning somersaults. How was she supposed to make it through tonight? What if she used the wrong spoon or something? Did they even have spoons?
Just as she was ready to bolt back to her suite, Meri appeared. “You look lovely.”
Leaning closer and taking Brianna’s hand in hers, she whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about Char’s parents, but I didn’t know they were here until it was too late. Come on. I’m here to take you to dinner.”
Char’s mother raised an elegant eyebrow at Meri’s informal attitude. The younger woman, however, was not intimidated. “It’s a family dinner, Xdana. Don’t worry about formalities.”
The butterflies in Brianna’s stomach calmed a bit. A family dinner? Well, maybe it won’t be that bad. Brianna relaxed until Meri pulled her into the elegantly appointed throne room and a crowd of people turned to stare at her. There have to be at least fifty people in this room! “Meri!” she hissed as her friend practically dragged her towards the dais on the other side of the room, with the rest of the Alalakans trailing along. “Are all these people members of you family?”
“More or less.”
“Just how big is your family?”
Meri glanced back at her friend and grinned. “Some of my great aunts and uncles and second cousins were too far away to get here in time. You’ll probably meet them within the next few days.”
Brianna swallowed, but before she could say anything else, Meri came to an abrupt halt in front of her parents.
An older version of Meri sighed, shook her head, and said in a vexed tone, “I had hoped marriage and motherhood would dampen some of your exuberance, Meri. I can see that I was wrong.” Turning to Char’s mother, she continued, “Xdana, I apologize for my daughter leading you across the room at almost a dead run. I did try to teach her better manners.”
Xdana laughed as she embraced her old friend. “At least,” she said shooting a chagrined look over her shoulder at Char, “your child told you she was getting married. My wayward son, on the other hand…”
Taking Brianna’s hand from Meri, Xdana said, “Carilinlalissa, Queen Hardan, I present to you my son’s wife and carrier of the Alalakan heir, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna of Earth.”
Brianna was going to curtsy, but before she got the chance, she found herself in the queen’s embrace. “Welcome to Mediria, my dear. So you carry the heir already. Wonderful.”
Turning to the man at her side, Carilin said, “This is Brianna, darling. Now wipe that rather pompous look off your face. I’m not going to go through all that formal introductory falderal. The Alalakans have been friends too long.”
“Now you know where Meri gets her impetuousness,” Xdana whispered into Brianna’s ear. “At Meri’s age, Carilin was twice as bad.”
“I heard that,” the queen teased. “Since you don’t know the proper tone to use with royalty, you’re going to have to come with me and talk to Findal’s mother.”
A dismayed expression flashed across Xdana’s face, but the queen already had a firm grasp on Xdana’s wrist and was dragging her across the room much as Meri had done with Brianna.
Sighing, the king watched his wife stride away. “This means another lecture from Mother. You’d think after twenty-eight years of marriage and five children, Mother would realize that she’s not going to change Carilin.”
All the men around Brianna laughed. Meri nudged her father in the ribs. “Father, you haven’t introduced yourself to Brianna. You’re the king. She can’t introduce herself to you.”
“Now you’re interested in protocol,” the king grumbled in an amused voice. His smile widened as he acknowledged Brianna. “You may as well just call me Findal.”
“But…you’re the king!”
Findal’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “Ha! A girl who knows the correct way to greet royalty. She’ll satisfy the Patriarch himself.” Then he swept Brianna into a hug that was even more exuberant than his wife’s. “Tell me, Brianna,” he said after he put her back down, “are there really dols and orcs on your planet?”
“Yes, if your dols and orc look like the carvings Meri has.” Brianna was definitely unsettled by the familiar treatment she was receiving. Am I nuts? Or am I really dreaming? A green man with a crown on his head just gave me a hug!
“Ha! It’s true then! Everybody, it’s true!”
Everyone in the room turned his or her attention to the dais where Findal had taken Brianna’s hand in his. “I wish to present to you Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, new wife to the Alalakan clan and carrier of its heir. As you can see, she is not a member of one of the five known human species. She comes from a planet on the far side of the galaxy which she calls Earth. Our dols and orcs reside there.”
At first…silence. Then…chaos, extremely loud chaos. Everyone began talking or rather shouting at once. Findal pounded the ornate cane he carried on the floor. The booming noise eventually silenced everyone. “The location of the dols and orcs has been given to us as a gift by Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, and she asks nothing in return. The Alalakans have given us the use of their largest ships to transport any dols and orcs who wish to return. This is a gift for which we can never offer adequate thanks.”
The whispers of anticipation whipped through the crowd.
“Therefore, I have decided to offer Brianna the only gift that even approaches the honor she has brought to us. I offer her the Hardan name and ask her to join my family as my fourth daughter.” Turning to Brianna, Findal said humbly, “Will you accept this small token of our esteem? Will you join our family?”
Breathlessly, the crowd waited. What Findal was doing was unprecedented. No one had ever become a member of the Hardan royal family except through marriage.
The Dowager Queen Mother fainted.
Completely out of her depth, Brianna looked to Char for guidance. By his expression and those of his family, she knew Findal’s offer was completely unexpected. Looking about the room, it was the face of Meri’s cousin, Bandalardrac that caught her attention. Emotions that clearly showed his approval, hope, and uncertainty flashed across what she was sure was a countenance that rarely displayed its true feelings. God. What am I supposed to do?
Char flashed her a supportive smile.
Sighing deeply, Brianna said humbly, “I will be honored to join your family.”
Findal swept her into another hug. Laughing, he whispered, “I’d like to see Bakom try and get his hands on you now.”
Locking her arms around his neck, Brianna planted a huge kiss on his cheek. It wasn’t every day that one was adopted by royalty.
L
ater that evening, Char leaned against the column on the right side of the dais contemplating all that had transpired, a smug smile on his face. This side trip to Mediria had worked out better than he could possibly have hoped. If Bakom tried to take Brianna now, he’d have every Medirian assassin in the galaxy after him.
Char watched as another member of the Hardan royal family cornered his wife. Too bad Findal’s mother revived enough to stay. The evening would have been more pleasant without her and some of the other members of the royal family. But Brianna had faced down the dissenters with dignity and aplomb. Though she didn’t say a word, the first outcry against her caused her to flush and raise her chin in the air. When he saw that dangerous sparkle flash in her eyes, he smiled and felt pity for the first person who thought he’d be able to browbeat her into denying the honor extended.
Char shook himself from his musings as his father joined him.
“Your wife certainly is a success,” Jamiros commented as Brianna and Meri were surrounded by yet another group of Hardan relatives.
“For more than one reason, it seems,” Char commented lightly. The last group that had surrounded Brianna consisted of Meri’s unmarried male relatives.
“From what I observed with Findal’s Uncle Dardralarlac, those rakes should be very careful,” Jamiros said in an amused tone. “Brianna has a temper to rival a Gattan.”
Char grinned. “And won’t it be very interesting when the Gattan finally make her acquaintance?”
The grin quickly turned to a frown and Char’s nonchalant pose against the column snapped to one of alertness. Bandalardrac had joined the group around Brianna. Char tensed as the Mediria’s most infamous womanizer raised his wife’s hand to his lips. Before he could take a step in their direction he felt a hand on his arm.
“You won’t interfere,” Jamiros said in a stern voice.
Char scowled but acceded to his father’s demand.
From various parts of the room, Alalakan eyes watched Brianna’s encounter with the most notorious rake on five planets.
