by Dawn, Stella
"Thank you," Cyndi says curtly.
"The King has lots and lots of children's books. He promised to show them to me." Charlotte wiggles out of Cyndi's arms and takes my hand and pulls. "You promised."
I smile down at her and catch Cyndi looking at me with her mouth tamped shut but her eyes alight. I lead Charlotte to a pair of window seats. I lift the cushions and there are two iron rings recessed into the wood. "Will you help me pull it open?"
I wait and Charlotte grabs hold of one of the rings. We pull together and she squeals with delight. Inside are hundreds of books, unsorted and haphazard. She instantly dives her upper body into the box.
I laugh to watch her rummage around and pull out books randomly. "Look, Cyndi, he has a book on witches and mermaids and indians and pioneers. Lots of fairy tales and even some space travel. I never want to leave this room."
Cyndi pats Charlotte on the shoulder and says, "You can pull out as many as you want to read." She turns to me and steps a bit closer and drops her voice. "I am sorry for my cross words earlier. This was an exceptionally kind and thoughtful gesture of yours. I owe you an apology."
This is the second time in twenty four hours that I have been entirely happy. I'm glad to have cheered Charlotte. I only wish you would look upon me as delightedly as Charlotte looks upon her books."
"Fat chance, KP. Why don't we settle for me being grateful for your generosity towards Charlotte. You have managed to wiggle back in my good graces, but I still claim my previous reservations. We will keep our distance."
"I will respect your wishes." I bow to her and leave the room. Charlotte's giggles and delight and Cyndi's beauty brighten my room of solace. Never before has it been so full of sunlight and life.
29
Gwendolyn
I brim with pleasure to see Tori walk over to the sideboard. "Come, sit beside me, dear. I want to hear all about your time at the ball and your dalliances. Don't hold back a single thing."
With surprise, Tori hastily fills her plate and slides in besides me. I lick my forefinger and reshape the loose strands of hair around Tori's sweet round face. If only Tori were a kitten! Then, she’d be purring at the attention I was giving her. Instead, she looks around the table with startled eyes.
"I don't know what it is, Tori, but this morning you look different somehow. Your eyes look greener. It might be something about the cast of your skin. Are you feeling alright, dear?"
"I feel fine. Maybe a bit hungrier than usual, but I feel wonderful other than that."
"I don't know." I put down my trimmed toast. "I can almost see a tinge of blue in your skin." I press my manicured fingers against Tori's forehead. "I don't detect a fever."
Dora put down her gossip magazine at the talk of skin turning blue and gives her sister a thorough look over. "Yes, I think I can see it too. It's very odd but exotic and beautiful. I want blue skin. Why does she have blue skin and not me?"
"Because she's pregnant," says Dowager Maggie.
"Pregnant! How can you be sure?" I ask.
Dowager Maggie says, "When Delta Ohr women become pregnant, their skin turns a shade bluer. By the time they give birth their skin is as blue as lapis lazuli. I have wondered about the dominance of our species, but this is the first occasion to see it in action."
"Lapis l-lazuli?" Tori asks?
"It's a semi precious stone. Men wear them as cuff links." I'm too distracted to soften my tone. My mind is going a million miles an hour. This is an unexpected turn of events.
I frown and then it comes to me. My eyes widen to accept this new vision of Tori. My eyebrows rise at the realization of what this means. "He will just have to marry you. He would never allow a bastard to be born." A slow smile spreads over me like a rising tide.
Tori drops her chin and takes a large bite of fluffy scrambled eggs.
"You've had enough. How do you expect to fit into your wedding dress?" I quickly grab the fork from Tori's hand. "Come with me."
30
Petros
"Well this is very unexpected." My head recoils at the sight of Gwendolyn dragging Victoria by the hand into my private study. I make a note to discuss this matter with the floor attendant. Apparently, nothing is more important to this family than their own particular problems. "May I help you?"
"Good morning, your Highness." Gwendolyn releases Victoria's hand and takes a deep curtsey. While down there, she glances over and gives her daughter a little slap and a moment later, the awkward girl gives a bob of her own.
Gwendolyn rises and her knees give a creak. Her mouth spreads wide like a baguette ready to be buttered with her voice, "I believe we have some private business to attend to." Gwendolyn gives me a pointed look, then rolls her eyes toward Victoria and back to me. Her chin juts out and her head tilts to the side.
"And what would that business be?" I can't fathom where this is going but she looks clearly on a mission to inform me in her own good time.
"Well, I hadn't wanted to be blunt but there is the matter of marriage. The sooner the better."
"Yes, I am aware there is to be a marriage. Are you suggesting I speed things along between Prince Rupert and Dora?" How could she be so intrusive? These things were between the man and woman themselves.
Gwendolyn gives a great sigh and I could swear I see her refrain from stamping her foot. Why hadn't I been warned that my productive morning work was going to be interrupted?
"If I must be blunt then blunt it is. What do you intend to do about this?
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Just look at her condition."
I frown and turn my head to look at poor Victoria, who is winding up her skirts in her hands. It is as though she is wringing the neck of a rabbit. Her eyes dart back and forth. Wait a moment. There is something amiss. Her cheeks bloom with a tinge of blue. I shut my eyes and let out a sigh. "I can see Victoria is pregnant. Congratulations."
"You must marry Tori! Immediately."
At the same time Gwendolyn screeches out her commands, there is an accompanying sound of a silver tray and dishes crashing upon the marble floor. The double doors to my office swing open and Bastian charges in, heedless of the clatter and mess he's left behind.
"I have nothing to do with her present state." I tell Gwendolyn who looks like she wishes she had a shotgun near at hand.
"That is correct. Tori's condition is all due to me." Bastian rushes over to scoop up Tori into an embrace.
"Goosey, you are brilliant. I couldn't be more thrilled."
"Who is he? She was supposed to be with you at the ball." Gwendolyn looks devastated enough to tear out all her hair.
"Gwendolyn, let me introduce you to our cook and my best friend, Bastian. It appears he has been dabbling outside the kitchen."
Gwendolyn's face drains of all color and she sputters. I am thankful that for once she cannot find her words.
"I believe the matter has been resolved. I would caution the mother as to the risk of jumping to conclusions."
31
Cyndi
Somehow I can't motivate myself to leave my room. I am not hungry, which is odd but considering how much my mind dwells on King Petros in all his manifestations, that must be why. My appetite is absorbed in other directions.
I see the naughty gleam in his eyes when he insisted on escorting me to my bedroom. Just the thought of his touch and I feel a corresponding fire in my belly, my heart quickens its beat.
I sigh and remind myself that his and my continued relations have no possible future. He is King and I am an outsider, I'm not even from his planet.
It is my own personal torture. Each time I think of his gray-blue eyes drilling into mine, I feel the corresponding ache between my thighs. I can still feel the intensity of our lovemaking. It felt like the first time ever. Nothing compares to my response to him. That was why it is so hard not to desire him. That is why I told him there would be no further relations between us. It is simply an impossibility.
There
is a knock on the door but before I can respond, it flies open. My step-mother comes in with a very strange look on her face. I draw in a big breath because I know things never go well when she has that look of determination on her face. She continues to stare at me and then her mouth drops open. She quickly shuts it. What is going on? Why has she barged in here? Why hasn't she said anything?
32
Cyndi
"I have some bad news. Charlotte was playing in the travel station and she got sent off planet by mistake."
"Oh no. How could an accident like that happen? You must take me there at once. She is only a child."
"As you wish. I don't think you have time to bring anything along."
I leave just as I am. Thoughts of poor Charlotte, being lost, without anyone or anything familiar around her just about drives me mad.
I can't believe how quickly Gwendolyn can move. She choses a golf cart to take us to the compound that serves as a military sub station as well as a royal travel hub.
While we are bouncing along in the golf cart going full speed, I wonder how Charlotte came to be exploring a site this far from the palace grounds. Perhaps the Prince and Dora gave her a tour and then she went missing.
Gwendolyn stops abruptly and I race into the building.
"I'd like to see your credentials, please."
Gwendolyn dresses down the young man with a voice full of indignation. I swear at that moment I am grateful she can be so intimidating. "We have just come from the palace. You do understand that the Prince is about to marry my daughter?"
The young man jumps up and pushes the code to open the secondary doors. The sounds of an air lock and a corresponding whoosh make my ears pop. I scan the room. Nothing unexpected. People are doing their jobs. A man bends over his com screen, a woman works a bank of controls that look like they could run NASA and the Pentagon at the same time.
Gwendolyn walks over to the man bent over his com screen and whispers in his ear. He shakes his head. She whispers a little louder and I can make out sounds like whips and low growls. She's reading him the riot act in a very discrete manner. Finally, the man nods and looks back to me. Gwendolyn beckons me to come over.
He sighs and tells me to come stand in an empty plexiglass pod the size of an old fashioned telephone booth. He closes the door and a blue wave of light scans my body while I hear a high pitched whistle. He opens the door and escorts me across to the other side of the room where there are a bank of controls. He tells me to stand still and I glance down at a set of circles of various sizes. I'm standing in a small one.
"Stand perfectly still and wait for me to get back to my desk. It only takes a couple of moments. You can stand quite still for me, right?"
"Is this where Charlotte stood? Are you aware I am looking to find my little sister. She is only eight years old but she looks a bit older."
"Be still. Don't talk. It will only take a moment."
Gwendolyn adds, "I explained the situation. He saw the whole thing happen and he is just repeating the same thing. Do as he says." For emphasis, she gives me a smile that is patently put on and it helps a bit. It's the only smile she ever gives me.
I do as I am told. One moment, I am standing there and the sub station is humming and buzzing with people doing their jobs. The next instant there is nothing.
33
Petros
Dora and the Prince laugh and toast to Tori and Bastian's good news. I have never seen Rupert, or Bastian for that matter, look happier. The two sisters giggle and flirt with my favorite men. Even Dowager Maggie has a glass of champagne in honor of the occasion.
My heart swells to have the palace filled with such love. I feel a pang of emptiness too. Cyndi should be here. She would love this more than any one else. Even little Charlotte expresses the mood. She dances around the salon, dipping and swirling.
Where is Cyndi? Come to think of it, where is Gwendolyn?
I don't exactly miss her dissonant laughter but it is extremely odd for her not to be around to vie for being the center of her daughter's attention. She would never miss this opportunity.
"Has anyone seen Cyndi? She should be here."
At that moment, Gwendolyn breezes into the salon with a pasted smile upon her face.
"Have you seen Cyndi?" I ask her.
"Why concern yourself with Cyndi? There are more than enough people here to celebrate these pairs of lovers. Don't they look charming?" Gwendolyn shoots a stern look at the Bishop and juts up her arched eyebrows. He holds up a glass of champagne and she nods.
"Where is my sister?" Charlotte suddenly stops dancing and asks no one in particular. "I haven't seen her since the library."
"Perhaps she's resting. I hear she was up dancing all night." Gwendolyn says in a snarky voice.
"Let's to go to her room and bring her down." said Tori.
* * *
We all march up to Cyndi's room. Charlotte discovers the Cinderella book splayed on the floor by the bed.
Dowager Maggie holds up the dress Cyndi has laid aside for dinner.
I see a glint in between her pillows and pluck out a gold chain hiding in the crevice. I hold up the locket and show it to the others.
"That's hers. I gave it to her last night," Dowager Maggie says.
"What do you know about this m-mother? Y-y-you both were gone and only you are here now. I think you know something you aren't telling."
"Why, Tori, I'm amazed you would suggest such a thing."
Instead of backing down, Tori stands her ground with fists on each hip and a brave look on her face.
"That's right. Gwendolyn arrived in the salon an hour late," I say. "Where were you, Gwendolyn?"
"Alright, alright. If you must know, Cyndi and I went over to the sub station and I had her transported to who knows where. I couldn't stand the look of her."
I want to slap her with the back of my hand but I haven't the time to spare. Instead, I spin on my heels leave the room. The others try to keep up.
34
Petros
Soon everyone mills inside the sub station. I struggle with my patience, asking for the third time, "Where did you send the young lady."
The technician's hands shake and his voice cracks with anxiety. "I am sorry, your Highness. I was given to understand that the young lady was a stalker and didn't belong on the premises. I was following the orders of the mother of the Prince's fiance. I'm very sorry, your Highness."
"Just tell me where she went."
"I sent her to an intergalactic airport. She was to take the first ship leaving Delta Ohr."
"Contact them. Find out if she is still at the airport. I want a full search and report back immediately. It can't be hard to find a twenty year old black human female with no luggage who has been there less than an hour."
"I've sent the message, sir."
I pace the floor and speak to no one for several minutes.
"I have their answer. No woman of that description remains at the airport."
I stare hard at the young man until he adds, "But you can follow up with the airport's central control. They may be able to trace where she has gone."
"Send me there, immediately."
Both Bastian and Prince Rupert insist on coming along. Then Tori and Dora and Charlotte also insist.
"I'm not going to be left behind. It's been far too long since I've traveled away from home," say Dowager Maggie.
That leaves Gwendolyn very alone and suddenly the object of all our scorn. "Alright, I would like to come too."
It seems fitting that my brother and best friend are with me. But the shock of having everyone else want to help me recover Cyndi is an unexpected encouragement. Except for Gwendolyn, who deserves to witness the extent of her treachery.
I pray to the Gods that I find Cyndi safe and can bring her back home.
35
Petros
One moment we are all standing on the clustered circles in the substation and, in the next, we are inside the command
room of the intergalactic airport. The sudden assault on our senses comes as a shock. Its as though we are dropped in the middle of a pedestrian rush hour. I look over to my grandmother to see how she is holding up.
"Go get her Petros."
I march over to a man seated before a hologram of a giant red sphere. He looks up from his com screen and instantly comes to his feet upon recognizing me.
"To what do we owe the honor of your visit, King Petros?" The round bellied man bends at the hips in a bow.
"No time for that. I'm looking for a ship that received a passenger sometime in the last hour."
He waves his arm over all the plotted points on the giant red sphere. "As you can see there are hundreds." He watches my face and continues, "I'm happy to run the search, if you give me the description."
"22 year old black human female, traveling without baggage."
"Give me a few minutes."
I glance back at the others who are huddled where we arrived. They seem to be in awe of the banks of monitor stations. The blue glow on the display screens is mirrored by bands of blue light on the dome above.
"I'm sorry your Highness, but we don't have a clear match. Can you think of anything else?"
"Size 11 feet."
"Really? Ok. Give me another minute."
I become aware of a steady hum inside control tower that sounds like a hive.
"I've got it! She's on a small transport ship that services each of the three moons of Delta Ohr."
"My God. Alert that ship that it is about to be boarded."
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