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Summary; Warning; Copyright: See First Chapter.
Ah well, no reviews, but I was in the mood to update it.
Please review. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
“Grandmother, I have noticed recent shifts in my schedule and attendants. I would appreciate it if you informed me of the problems,” Aasta told her grandmother, almost a month having passed since the ceremony. “I was quite fond of several women you removed from my service, and a few seem completely unable to perform the simplest tasks.”
“It is not befitting a queen to be so paranoid – although a queen should always defend her safety to the utmost,” Maciela added. “It is nothing, Aasta. I am simply trying to find the least tiring schedule for you, so you do not wear out early. As for your attendants, if there are any whose services you have become attached to, I will have them reinstated immediately.”
“You are dodging my questions, Grandmother,” Aasta continued impatiently. “Why are you changing my attendants? Many of them I have never seen before.”
“They are in training for lesser royals. That is one of our simpler duties, Aasta,” her grandmother informed her. “You will simply have to grow accustomed to having them. Give me the names of the women you wish to return, and I shall to see to it as soon as I can. Now, I am busy, so if there is nothing else…?”
“Yes, Grandmother,” Aasta nodded, retreating from the room in irritation. Maciela sighed as her granddaughter left her alone and resumed her business, confident that her granddaughter’s suspicions were resolved.
Still unsatisfied, Aasta swept through the corridors, hoping to somehow find an answer.
“Are you all right, princess?” Qiana asked, but Aasta ignored the question and merely shrugged. She turned to glance out toward the sea, the outdoor halls having railings along one side and a ceiling above, but allowing a clearer view of the scenery, and her eyes widened as she saw a ship heading toward the city-palace. Suddenly, a tremendous crash echoed throughout the corridors, as an immense battle ship charged through the city-palace gates at another area.
“What is going on?” Aasta demanded, moving aside as soldiers began flooding the palace. A tall man, in his thirties with gray eyes and already losing his brown hair, came running down the hall towards her, and she recognized him as Enzi, one of Jozef’s officers and someone whom she had grown up around.
“Princess!” Enzi shouted, and threw himself at her, causing several constrictors to miss their target. The silver cords lay on the floor, seeking out a target, until Enzi turned and cleanly cut them with his sword.
“Enzi? What in the world –?”
“There is no time, Princess. We must get you off this planet immediately,” Jozef told her, rushing up to them and catching her arm as he continued down the halls. Enzi took her other arm, and she found herself being practically carried to the hangers. Qiana ran after them, holding up her skirts to allow herself an easier time of it.
“What about Grandmother?” Aasta protested desperately, having no idea what was going on. Qiana was the last aboard a small ship, just large enough to hold six people, and locked the door once it slid into place.
“She will be fine. You are their target, Princess,” Jozef explained to her impatiently, “Enzi and I will accompany you to an allied planet until this danger passes. Now, please sit down. Enzi, secure all doors and locks immediately!”
“Yes, sir,” Enzi nodded. After securing Aasta in her seat, the man double-checked all entrances to the shuttle as Jozef began the launching sequence. After Enzi belted himself in next to his commander, Jozef opened the hanger doors and they shot into the air.
“I believe it will be safe passage until we reach Calera,” Jozef sighed.
“Who’s on Calera?” Aasta asked, slipping into the common tongue as she usually did when speaking with the soldier, who had taught her the basics of several languages. Unfortunately, the princess showed no aptitude for languages, and relied on Qiana, who was quite skilled, to translate when the common language was unable to be used.
“Your betrothed, Prince Kovyt,” Jozef told her. Enzi frowned slightly at the mention of the man, but kept his opinions on the matter to himself.
“Betrothed? Jozef, this is no time to practice humor!” Aasta cried indignantly, while Qiana tried to calm her.
“I’m not, Princess. You two have been betrothed since birth. He is heir to the throne of Calera,” Jozef continued, “We will most certainly be safe there. I apologize for telling you so suddenly – your grandmother was planning on telling you herself shortly.” Aasta slumped back in her seat, absorbing the information. Enzi heaved a sigh, examining the scanners.
“There’s nothing coming up,” he told Jozef.
“Keep an eye out. Zahra has resources we know not – !” Jozef was cut off as the ship suddenly shook, and swore as a beeping began emitting from the console in front of him. Qiana shifted nervously as a boarding shuttle appeared beside them, but was able to keep her composure – the main reason Aasta had kept the woman in her service for almost six years, since nothing seemed to shake the woman.
“Hold on!” Enzi warned, swerving their ship underneath the enemy, whose ship was almost three times the size of their small transport. The shuttle had been expecting the maneuver, though, and forced the ship into a disadvantageous position by shooting their auxiliary engines, giving them no backup power or energy shields.
“Keep back, Princess!” Jozef ordered, as he and Enzi unsheathed their weapons. Qiana remained in front of Aasta, pushing the young woman up against the back wall as the doors slid open to admit a small group of armed solders, in uniforms of gray, tan, and black and helmets that covered their faces.
“We are ordered by Contessa Zahra Iloilo to escort the Princess Aasta to Liwkel immediately,” the leader recited, as several soldiers followed him in, their weapons facing the two men.
“Kidnap her, you mean,” Jozef corrected calmly, his hand grasping the hilt of his weapon.
“Over our dead bodies!” Enzi spat, his sword’s edge glinting in the sun. The man, although a trained solder, lacked a patient manner and collected temperament, which had landed him into trouble several times over the years.
“We have orders not to kill you, unfortunately,” a soldier sneered, as the man lunged. He clubbed Enzi’s head with the butt of his weapon, knocking him out immediately. Aasta winced, instinctively moving to go to him, but Qiana’s grasp on her arm kept her still.
“Must we repeat this performance with you?” the commander asked to Jozef, who laid aside his weapon with a calm look on his face.
“Jozef?” Aasta asked nervously, as they tied him with constrictors. The enemy met with no resistance, and Jozef’s lack of hostility was making Aasta bit uncertain as to what was going to happen to her.
“They won’t harm you, Princess. Do not worry – we shall be along shortly with reinforcements to defeat these traitors,” Jozef reassured her, as they forced her out the door, Qiana a few steps behind. “Do not doubt us!”
“I thought you were taking us to Zahra,” Aasta ventured, as the shuttles changed course. “This is the wrong system charter.” She and Qiana were placed between two of the soldiers, their hands bound by thin constrictors and tied to the seats to prevent any movement.
“Do you think we’re stupid enough to tell that old fool where we’re really going?” a soldier demanded. “Our destination is Scri.”
“Scri?” Aasta repeated, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What manner of planet is this? I have never heard of it in my studies.”
“It’s a planet Contessa Zahra kept hidden from your grandmother for this very purpose,” the commander said, sounding as if he was answering in order to pacify her, and turned around to face her. “It’s primarily a forest planet, with flying creatures abundant. It’s a few quadrant-jumps from this system.”
“Is Zahra planning to kill me, or am I just a hostage?” Aasta demanded, and Qiana resisted the urge to smile at the princess’ attitude.
“For a princess, you certainly don’t act like one,” the commander muttered, then shrugged. “I don’t know what Contessa Zahra is planning to do with you. We were ordered to bring you to Scri, and that’s what we’re doing. Now you better remain quiet so my pilot can concentrate, because we’re entering an asteroid field.”
“Don’t fret, Princess,” Qiana reassured her. Her black robes were ragged from their struggles, but her hair was still fixed tightly in her white cap. Her eyes, dark with worry, peered out from underneath the brim, contrasting with her tanned skin and dark eyelashes.
“I know, Qiana. We just have to deal with these arrogant bastards until someone comes and gets us,” Aasta glared at the soldiers, her fingers gripping Qiana‘s slender, calloused hands. A few of the soldiers gaped at hearing the young woman use that language, their faced hidden behind their helmets, but the commander sounded like he was laughing.
“They certainly put on a show, boarding us with half a squad and weapons ready to kill,” Enzi commented wryly. The two were back on Gazonas, conferring with Maciela as soon as they had arrived.
“They’re not taking her to Liwkel, that’s certain,” Jozef continued, having given the man plenty of time to calm down once he had woken up before they returned to Gazonas. “They’re trained enough to know not to tell the enemy their destination.”
“The problem Zahra has is that there are very few systems that will support her,” Maciela said in satisfaction. “Support will surely shift in our favor after this attack. But on which planet could they take her?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Madam,” Jozef confessed, “There are so few, and all military and civilian spies alike have not encountered any suggestive insinuations on any planet.”
“So, what are you planning to do?” Enzi asked. “I have a squad waiting for any orders to attack.”
“This is a perfect way to flush out Zahra’s influence in the systems, and expose her for who she is,” Maciela told them. “We can afford to take some time. They won’t dare harm my granddaughter, for fear of war.”
“True enough, and I see no reason to rush this. We don’t want to risk making any mistakes,” Jozef agreed, and Enzi nodded in agreement, looking forward to any kind of action. The three adults had just finished speaking when Driden burst into the chambers, his face dark with anger.
“What the hell did you two try to pull?” he demanded, stalking forward. “There’s no way you could’ve been overwhelmed with those numbers! You let them take her, didn’t you?”
“Be quiet, boy,” Enzi ordered, grabbing the young man by his collar and lifting him off the ground. Driden croaked as he tried to breath, and Jozef frowned.
“Put him down, Enzi,” he commanded, and the man reluctantly followed orders. Not a native of Gazonas, the man possessed unusual strength that complimented his skill with a weapon, which usually resulted in people thinking him no more than hired muscle in the military. However, the man had a mind sharper than his often-disturbing sense of humor, and was Jozef’s second-in-command, the rank only complimenting his enormous height of almost seven feet.
“I hope you’re ready to take the punishment for this,” Enzi said quietly, disliking the brooding young man and allowed himself a grin as Jozef stared sternly at his nephew.
“You’re to remain in the barracks until further notice, supervised by Corporal Margulis,” Jozef informed the young man. “There is no excuse for your actions just now. Private, escort him to the barracks,” he called, gesturing to one of the many guards placed near the queen.
“Yes, sir,” the man nodded, taking Driden’s arm firmly and leading the young man out of the room.
“You had better keep him under control, Jozef, or I will step in and administer discipline myself,” Maciela warned the man, who nodded to her in appreciation for the warning. As Head of Security, the man deferred to the queen, but she usually let him deal with the men as he saw fit.
As the princess looked around, curious despite her predicament, she noticed that the planet appeared to be nothing more than a huge forest, abundant with lush plant life and unseen animals. Qiana and Aaliya both jumped as a giant silver-blue bird shot out of a tree and swooped down in front of them before flying back up to the sky and disappearing in the distance as quickly as it had appeared.
“What in the world…?” Aasta looked at the ground in shock. The bird had left a trail of ice in its wake, the ice shining more brightly than the purest crystal she had ever seen.
“That was a Fluurostt, Princess. There are many more strange creatures on the planet, but hardly any of them are dangerous except when angered,” the commander informed them, striding beside Aasta as the soldiers marched them through the dense forest. “I believe only avian animals can survive on this planet, but there may be other animals here. I haven’t seen any besides the birds, however. They’re very beautiful, in my opinion.”
Aasta and Qiana exchanged glances at their captor’s strange behavior, and Qiana nodded slightly to show she believed they could trust any answers he gave them. Aasta winked back in reply, and glanced up at the man, who stood at slightly over six feet in her estimations.
“Where on this planet are you taking us?” she demanded calmly, forced to hold her skirts up to maneuver the ground with success.
“There are accommodations waiting for you – built several years ago,” he told them easily, not appearing to mind her questions. None of the soldiers had removed their helmets, and the scenery was reflected off of their mirrored visors.
“So Zahra’s been planning this power play for some time, then,” Qiana guessed. “In an attempt to force the queen to abdicate.”
“Ever since she discovered the Princess was to be the heir, passing her over for the throne,” the commander nodded. “That chest Contessa Zahra sent you was actually a monitoring device to track your movements, so we should know when to strike.”
“We should arrive there any time now,” the pilot, who had been leading the group, finally spoke up and gestured ahead of them.
“Oh!” Qiana gasped as a large building, fashioned after the ancient temples found on extinct systems and described in history books, loomed in front of them.
“I see Zahra prefers flashiness before subtlety,” Aasta remarked dryly, as he led them inside.
“Who else is on this planet to care, besides the birds?” the commander pointed out, “And this planet is entirely cloaked – it won’t even appear on extreme system wipers.”
“I’m not surprised. Why do things halfway?” Aasta said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the temple-like structure, where they saw the inside was completely up-to-date, despite the ancient appearance. They followed him for several moments more, Aasta losing track of their path as they moved down numerous winding halls. Finally, the commander stopped in front of a door, and it slid open after he entered a code. It was a rectangular room, and they saw that the wall opposite the door was entirely a window, while the two smaller walls were solid rocks. The man pointed them inside the room and remained near the door for a moment before leaving.
“And I wouldn’t try to escape, Princess,” he chuckled, as he locked them inside.
“I don’t like the sound of that warning,” Qiana said, and tossed a small stone from the floor towards one of the windows. It was disintegrated instantly, and the woman rolled her eyes at the dramatic security.
“I suppose we may as well relax, since there’s no way to get out of this place,” Aasta sat in a chair, sighing. “At least I can see things that no one else has seen before,” she added thoughtfully, having always enjoyed trips to other planets with her grandmother.
“You have a point, Princess, I guess,” Qiana agreed with a shrug, looking out the window. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Prince Kovyt is here to confer with Her Majesty on the rescue of the Royal Highness,” Jozef announced, speaking formally for the Prince’s benefit.
“Send him in immediately, Jozef. You know that,” Maciela said impatiently, “We have no time to waste!”
“Majesty,” Kovyt, tall and well-built, strode to her throne, and knelt.
“You may rise, Prince Kovyt. This is hardly time for formalities, as I’m sure you realize,” Maciela sighed wearily, as his sun-streaked head rose to her level. His brown eyes were set in a tanned, but somehow ghostly, face, and his appearance betrayed his age, only twenty-one.
“Thank you, Majesty,” Kovyt bowed slightly, forced to lapse into the common tongue in order to be understood. “I don’t believe you know this, but Zahra also kidnapped my sister.”
“The oldest one – who resigned from her position as heir in order to be a spy?” Maciela asked, “What on earth for?”
“Majesties, I regret to interrupt, but there has been a disturbance in the warping systems in a system Zahra recently gained control over,” Jozef broke in, “The only problem is, there isn’t any planets appearing on the wipers.”
“Could it be a cloaking device of some sort?” Kovyt wondered, “That seems the only possible explanation.”
“His Highness is most likely correct,” Jozef nodded, “I suggest we follow the trail their engines have left behind.”
“What do you mean?” Maciela demanded.
“Every engine is unique, and leaves a trail of its fuel behind in space,” Jozef explained, “Unless Zahra has somehow found a way to bypass this, we can track them easily enough.”
“I hope you’re right, Jozef,” Maciela sighed, and waved her hand, “Take a squadron of your best men and accompany His Highness’ forces to their destination.”
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