Queen's Ransom: The Golden Bulls of Minos

by Isabel Wroth

  *****

  "Why didn't anyone bother to mention there'd be a farking ball tonight?" she hissed under her breath at Tom.

  Jalia had been expecting a formal dinner, sure, the beauty of the green dress and her gold cape of gems was kind of a clue that something special was going on.

  Jalia had just assumed it would be like the other evening meals with the handful of princes and councilors, not every prince and royal on the planet.

  The grand hall was packed to the gills with men and women in their finest clothes, the hum of conversation so loud it sounded like the beginnings of a storm.

  Above them, the night sky was bared by the glass ceiling, the clouds that rolled by still gray and drab, but in the ballroom, there wasn't a single shadow to be seen.

  Thousands of shimmering crystals sat in braziers that hung from mirrored arches, intensifying the shine tenfold.

  Dhega had said there were over forty princes, easily discernible in the crowd by the golden points or rings around their horns, the Golden Bulls of Minos, but there had to be over two hundred bodies in the room, mingling, drinking, eating, laughing, staying well away from where Dhega sat in his customary sprawl upon a slightly raised dais.

  Nivir and Zavir stood behind, and on either side of him, arms crossed over their chests, looking severe and intimidating as they scanned the crowd.

  Jalia looked for Antehe, wondering if the former queen was here somewhere, hoping her sons would speak to her. Jalia didn't see her scowling face.

  Instead, she saw Renaya standing stiffly beside a tall, slender Minoan who wore an openly naked expression of eagerness, looking crestfallen and frustrated when the princess shook her head and hurried to disappear into the crush.

  "I didn't find out until a few hours ago but got distracted listening to the Nirian's attendants having a hushed conversation about how their mistress has gone insane. She's not coming tonight. Do you want me to look into that?"

  Jalia did her best to maintain her game face when she really wanted to frown at her escort.

  "Look into Entayta having gone insane?"

  "I already know everything regarding Entayta's sanity. We'll talk about it later. I meant, what happened just now between Renaya and her unhappy friend. "

  "How could you tell I was watching them?"

  Tom snorted under his breath, "I'm overly observant. When you win, I want a job."

  Jalia could barely contain her surprise, casting a smile at a woman who looked her way curiously when they reached the landing halfway down the staircase. Tom's request was such a shock, at first, she didn't know how to respond.

  "I didn't realize you were unhappy with Boudreaux's crew."

  Tom made a careless, casual noise, "I'm not unhappy, I'm just ready for a change. Besides, queen's need their own royal guard, don't they?"

  "Fair enough. Sure, I win, you're hired."

  "Don't need to confer with your soon-to-be-husband?"

  Jalia let her gaze return to the man in question, her stomach lurching as though she'd just taken a high-G turn without the intertional dampeners when she found Dhega staring right at her.

  He covered his possessive smirk by rubbing his hand over his jaw, lavishing a long, head-to-toe look at her that made Jalia feel like the only person in the room.

  Without looking away, he tipped his head to the left and said something to Nivir that set the captain striding toward her immediately.

  "He has his guard, and I'll have mine, and yes. I would like to know what that thing with Renaya was all about."

  "Consider it done."

  Like he had his personal force field, the crowd parted around Nivir until he had an unobstructed path, and everyone was now looking right at her.

  She and Tom hit the bottom stairs as Nivir came to a stop and gave a slight bow, winking at her from the cover of his shaggy hair.

  "His majesty the king requests your presence, Marchesa." He spoke just loud enough that anyone within earshot now knew who she was, and as she moved from Tom's arm to Nivir's, she could hear the wave of whispers that echoed out around her, feel the eyes that turned to follow, scrutinizing her every move.

  She must have been clutching too tightly at his arm, because Nivir covered her hand with his and whispered,

  "You have no reason to fear, they stare because no one anticipated our new queen to be so lovely."

  "I'm not queen yet," Jalia reminded him.

  Jalia crossed the last few feet to where Dhega waited, snared by the now familiar heat in his eyes.

  He didn't say anything, continuing to look her up and down, his satisfaction plain, lingering on the gold and jewels where they lay draped across her breasts.

  "Would you like me to turn around so you can stare at my ass for a while? It's feeling jealous of all the attention you're paying my breasts."

  Jalia heard gasps come from those close enough to hear, no doubt waiting for Dhega to snarl or do something ferocious. He blinked at her and startled every person present when he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

  "Your ass has my sincerest apologies, Marchesa. Sit." He motioned to the smaller seat beside his, dainty and feminine, with a cushion embroidered with her false standard waiting for her.

  Jalia swept her long, gauzy skirts aside and sat, folding her hands demurely in her lap.

  "You should be apologizing for not telling me every prince in Minos would be here tonight. Everyone is staring so hard I feel like I'm naked."

  "I vow, I will apologize most fervently later. Will you accept?" The sensual promise in his voice made her shiver, throwing him a sidelong look she hoped was answer enough.

  "Good. There is no reason for you to feel so exposed. No other present is more beautiful than you."

  She couldn't help but smile and didn't bother to try and contain her blush, or the roll of her eyes.

  "You think I flatter you untruthfully?" Dhega guffawed, his tone hardening like she'd just insulted him.

  "I think, without your gifts and careful hours spent choosing my colors, I would pale in comparison to several others here."

  Dhega gave an incredulous snort, tossing a hand back to catch Zavir on the arm.

  "What have you to say to that, Zavir?"

  Zavir grunted, his face giving no indication of his mood, though his voice was thick with amusement.

  "If my lady so doubts her beauty, you have not properly paid homage to the exotic little goddess at your side, my king."

  "Exotic little goddess?" Jalia laughed, getting a faint wink from Zavir.

  "Indeed, I seat you here like my trophy, when it is you who have won me. Come,"

  Dhega stood and offered her his hand, his bored, lazy look ruined by the warmth and softness of his gaze. His fingers closed over hers, his thumb brushing her knuckles, keeping hold of her as he led her in a slow stroll through the crowd.

  He introduced her to several of the princes, some she knew already, Jansus, Kalphius, and to her delight, Turju.

  The prince of Islingrane gave a flirtatious bow, quick to compliment her on the beauty of her dress and jewels,

  "But both would be no more than trinkets and rags without your beauty to make them shine. The only thing missing is your crown," the prince winked playfully, and Jalia could feel Dhega tense in reaction to her laughter.

  She leaned against his arm, curling her free hand around his wrist in hopes he understood she was his alone.

  "Missing? How can it be missing? I haven't won it yet."

  Turju's teasing fled, replaced by a far more honest, open smile as he glanced at her and Dhega's joined hands.

  "It appears you have won something far more important."

  Dhega remained mute, but his hand tightened on hers, and the tension thrumming through him eased. "I mistakenly forgot to mention to the Marchesa why all are be present tonight. Perhaps you would be so good as to explain?"

  Turju spread his arms wide, his grin as bright as the crystals surrounding them.

  "We are here
to witness your victory, and to welcome our new queen as she chooses her crown."

  "I get to choose it?" she asked in surprise.

  "His majesty has crafted a crown fit for his queen, but the choice is ultimately yours. Let me show you,"

  She looked up at Dhega's towering form for permission, waiting for his nod before she released him and accepted the arm Turju offered.

  Dhega remained close, a muscle in his jaw ticking, which Turju very purposefully ignored. He drew her to the round rail in the center of the ballroom, and at his urging, she looked down.

  The tiled floor far, far below was illuminated by torches set in the walls, the pattern of black and white tiles she immediately committed to memory, even as she took in the hundreds of tiaras and crowns that sat on shelves and pedestals.

  "It is the heart of the labyrinth," Turju told her, pointing at the staircase that began a few feet to their left and wound around and around the side of the shaft.

  "And also, the entrance. You and Lady Entayta will be escorted down, and all us golden bulls will follow to a chamber above, where we will wait and watch.

  “You will choose, but much like the Maze of Cups, you may choose only one, and you must choose wisely, for all is not what it seems below."

  "Is that what you did, Turju? Chose your crown amongst all that?"

  Turju chuckled and gave her hand a pat, "Typically the heart here is filled with gems or jewels, and if a young male has no specific palace in mind, or no family member they intend to replace someday, his gem is later put into a pot and pulled at random by the king. The crowns were added especially for you and the others as we know precisely which region you will rule."

  "Jalia,"

  She returned to Dhega at the imperious command he made of her name, glad to feel the strength of his hand around hers.

  Their meeting and greeting continued, and she did her best to remember names and faces, but she would rather have stood a little longer at the heart of the labyrinth to study the chamber more closely.

  She ate and drank her fill, stood beside Dhega while he thanked everyone for coming, finding Renaya watching from one of the alcoves with a sad look until their eyes met.

  The princess squared her shoulders and gave a solemn nod, one Jalia responded to with a smile, seeing the man she saw speaking to Renaya earlier, watching the princess with such naked longing it made Jalia's heart ache a little.

  When it came time for her to turn in, Dhega leaned down to whisper in her ear, his hot breath causing ripples of desire to shake her.

  "This will be the last night we spend apart."

  If not for the horde of people moving throughout the palace, all the attendants and spies, Jalia would have considered utilizing Tom's skills to get her in and out of Dhega's quarters.

  But, it was just one more night.

  She could wait.

  *****

  Jalia looked up before she was swallowed by the stone staircase, the vertical shaft filled with blinding sunlight.

  The last bit of light she would see until she found her way back here, to the heart of the labyrinth.

  The path itself wound down and around, down and around into a shadowy mouth, the chamber beyond lit by only two torches on either side of an arched stone door.

  She stared at it, at its beautifully sinister carvings across the towering wooden panels. It took four men, two on either side to pull the doors open, and Jalia couldn't say what frightened her more.

  The wall of absolute darkness beyond, or Entayta's constant mumbles, yips, and ticks.

  There were no rules that said an insane female couldn't run the labyrinths. Anyone could try, the logic being that the entire purpose of the labyrinths was to weed out those too weak, too inferior, or too unstable to lead.

  The problem was, the most dangerous people Jalia had ever known had been legitimately insane.

  Tom said Entayta's family were Nirian purists, and they liked to keep marriages in the family to ensure uncorrupted bloodlines.

  Entayta had come to Minos to escape marrying her brother, and whatever had happened to her within the Maze of Two Souls, it became clear to Entayta she wasn't going to win.

  Her attendants feared that's what had driven Entayta over the edge, so now not only was she insane, she was desperate.

  "This is the last trial you will face," Tyro told them in his bland, monotonous voice. "Only one of you will be our new queen."

  Entayta gave a sharp little bark, muttering under her breath over and over, "Me. Me, me, me. Queen me."

  It was the most unnerving thing she'd ever heard, and when Jalia looked to find Dhega, he gave her a serious nod. She could almost hear his voice in her ear,

  This will be the last night we spend apart.

  His certainty filled her, and as soon as the doors shut behind her, as soon as the darkness swallowed her whole, Jalia dropped to her hands and knees in the soft dirt. Her sight was useless in here, better to use her hands and ears to find her way.

  She very quickly decided that no, it wasn't the dark that was frightening, it was Entayta's fear, the sounds of her screams every time she touched something, echoing through the tunnels loud enough to wake the dead that terrified her the most.

  Jalia began her crawl, carefully feeling her way, taking her time while Entayta ran back and forth screaming and screaming...gods, why wouldn't she just shut up?

  "Where are you?!" Entayta shrieked, "Where are you? Did he trick me? Put me in here alone while you languish in his bed? Everyone knows! Everyone knows you're his favorite! But I won't go back!

  “I won't go back you filthy stinking whore! I smell him on you! I smell his foul breath and his disgusting seed! I'll kill you, dig my fingers into your eyeballs and feel them pop like rancid berries!

  “Bash your face in, rip out your hair! Will you be his favorite then? NO! No favorites! Only me, only ME!"

  Jalia had no idea if Entayta was threatening her, or someone else, but her intentions certainly sounded sincere. The more Entayta ranted, the easier it was to avoid her.

  The violent energy she put off so intense it was tangible, charging the cool air that blew her hair gently across her face.

  Jalia stopped moving, Axtasusa's brash voice crossing her thoughts, taking her back to a conversation they'd shared during a morning meal at Letau palace, the day after they had all sat beside Dhega for the Minoan day of justice.

  Dhega hadn't arrived yet, and while they waited, Jalia had decided she wanted to nurture the relationship between herself and the Duggan, hoping an alliance of friendship could be made.

  Jalia had asked Susa about Dugg, about her life there, what Susa's role in the military was.

  "I take recruits into our tunnels and teach them how to survive," she'd said proudly.

  "I imagine that's a lot like navigating a labyrinth."

  Axtasusa brayed her loud, gut-busting laugh and rubbed her arm across her mouth to remove bits of the morning salad from her tusks.

  "Not really. So deep beneath the earth, there's no light to follow. No carvings on the walls or any real way to navigate."

  "So how do you do it? How do you survive the tunnels on your homeworld?"

  "Simple. If the air is blowing in your face, you're going the wrong way. Every tunnel system has to breathe, and you follow the exhale."

  No one would ever see Jalia smile, but she sent up a quick thanks to Susa and turned until she could feel the air against the back of her ears.

  It was barely there, no more than a tickle, but she let it guide her, and before long felt an opening in the wall of the labyrinth.

  Every few feet Jalia had to stop and find the air again, crawling farther and farther away from Entayta's senseless ranting.

  She thought all that noise had been frightening? It was ten times as bad when Entayta suddenly stopped, and everything fell silent.

  With her hands pressed to the dirt, Jalia could feel the vibrations of Entayta's pounding footsteps long before she heard them and barely
threw herself out of the way in time to avoid Entayta as she went flying by.

  Jalia supposed bouncing off the walls constantly was one way to find the openings.

  As the hours went by, Entayta made sure to let Jalia know where she was periodically, whether it was ahead or behind with random outbursts that grew increasingly agitated, until Jalia had a rather gruesome list of the many creative ways in which the Nirian would murder her.

  It was beginning to feel more than a little personal and sounded as though Entayta had been planning for some time now.

  "I want out, Amenei! I don't care if I have to rip this one's entrails out her throat! You can't keep me in here!" Entayta's screaming fury had turned the corner to crazed and fearful crying, speaking to someone else now.

  Jalia assumed she was the one in danger of being strangled with her entrails, but the rest? Entayta's brother? Another insane family member? Who could say?

  The airflow was steadily growing stronger, and when she felt an actual breeze Jalia opened her eyes, her heart leaping when she realized her eyes had either adjusted to the deep gloom, or she was close to the center of the labyrinth. She could see the faintest outline of her hand in front of her face!

  It was hard not to rush forward, to not climb to her feet right then and there to hurry toward the idea of light and close her eyes again, but with her eyes open and searching for light, Jalia had lost the sensation of the air.

  Was it a trick? Did she imagine that faint breeze? It was possible she was losing her mind too, down here alone in the pitch black with a crazed murderer. Who wouldn't be scared out of their mind and make up ways to escape?

  Jalia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regulate her breathing as quietly as possible, waiting for her heart rate to calm enough for her to find the moving air again.

  It felt like another hour passed before the faint stirring of her hair urged her to turn slightly to the left, and to keep herself going, Jalia counted to twenty as she crawled forward, opened her eyes to test the light, then closed her eyes and counted to twenty again.

  Over and over, until she was sure the darkness was fading.

  It took a count of three hundred before she was able to look down and see her own filthy, dirt covered hands in perfect detail.