“What was your intended purpose for summoning me?” Winters finally asked rising from his chair.
“What?” Shari asked still thinking on some of the things Shan Lin and Vincent had gone through before meeting her.
“Oh. Yes, that.” Shari stood taking one last look around the room before she hooked her arm through Winters and made her way out of the room with him.
“I was just a bit lonely. I wanted company. Thank you.” Shari leaned forward and kissed the older man on his cheek. “I’m sorry to have interrupted you.” She left him to do whatever it was he did.
Chapter Fifteen
“I do believe it’s time to meet my marriageniece. Why don’t we send her an invitation she can’t refuse. Officially, of course.”
The smile stretching across the aging Queen’s face sent a shiver of fear snaking up and down the spine of the eight servers in attendance.
“Brashon. Send the Lady Princess Shari’s escort with an invitation to lunch.”
Expecting immediate obedience, the Queen turned to look back at the spectacle playing out before her. An amused smiled played across her face as she watched the three women overpower the strapping man on the floor and proceed to tie him up. The first woman, homely at best, bared her teeth to the man in savage satisfaction.
“Mine. You will see to
my
needs first.”
Sara strode toward the woman, pride ringing her smile and stroked the woman’s hair absently.
“Now I’ll find out exactly what has been going through the minds of my supposedly loyal Warriors.
Riad
help them if they’ve betrayed me, for I will not.”
The words, spoken in such a casual manner, sent one attendant quietly from the room. She would need every second she could find to locate her contact allowing the woman to inform the Warriors of Queen Sara’s plans.
* * * * *
“Thank you, Krystal. That will be all.” Sara said in her best imitation of imperial sovereign. “You’ll be amply rewarded for your loyalty. You may go now.”
Sara did her best to hold in her anger as she waited for her spy to leave the room before letting out a snarl of anger. Panting in outrage, the Queen made her way through the official rooms of the palace ignoring greetings and questions alike. Her mind was focused on one thing.
Someone would pay for their betrayal, and that someone would soon be attending her.
* * * * *
“It’s such a lovely land. I don’t know when I’ve ever felt so relaxed. The surrounding areas I’ve seen so far have been the most picturesque places I’ve seen. I can’t imagine ever living anywhere else.”
Shari spoke of inconsequential things knowing what the pounding on the door meant. All Shari was waiting for was Winters to come in and inform her that her husbands had been killed, she was now a widow, and he’d come to take her back to her own world.
Turning back to Dorian
she listened for footsteps to approach her door. A moment went by, then another. When the door to the covered patio continued to remain closed, she gradually relaxed her body and giving a sigh of relief, relaxed against the back of the chair she sat in.
“My Lady Princess, is it true on Earth there is land and food aplenty for all?” Dorian asked casually.
Shari thought for a moment before answering.
“I could tell you yes, Dorian, but it wouldn’t necessarily be the truth. You see we have people starving on earth and no place to live. There are some who have a preference to wander the Earth for whatever reason they have and not live in one place. They’re homeless, but by choice.”
She paused to think of a few of the people she’d come in contact with that actually preferred this way of existence. Shaking her head in wonderment, she continued answering Dorian’s questions.
“Then there are those who have no choice. Be it from tragedies in their lives, not being able to find a job, lost in the system… Well, I could go on forever. Earth isn’t a perfect haven. The grass isn’t always greener in someone else’s yard.” She looked to Dorian to see if he understood her euphemism.
“Do you understand?” She asked hopefully.
“I get the meaning if not the actual saying. Basically, just because it sounds better, doesn’t always mean it is better.” Turning to look at her, he smiled.
“Exactly. Guess I could have said it that way. There are those who try to change the bad things about Earth. Even if it’s a different part of where I come from, there are those who want to help. We haven’t quite united the entire planet, and it sure won’t happen in my lifetime, but I have hopes it eventually will.”
Still watching Dorian, Shari observed as the smile slowly left his face.
“I’ll be happy if we ever get the chance to just reconcile with our neighbors. I want an end to this war. It’s been dragging on for so long, I wonder sometimes if we aren’t just fighting each other because it’s what we have always done.”
The wistfulness in his voice as he spoke of an end to the Aranak-Horrd War came through loud and clear. As war had only touched her life from a distance, there was little she could do to commiserate with him.
War on television was one thing. Living it day in and day out wasn’t something she ever wanted to experience again. She’d be glad when this charade was over.
The thought stopped her cold and made her sit up straighter.
No
, she thought.
She sure would
not
be glad.
Before her thoughts could wander into a time when she might have to leave Shan Lin and Vincent, the door to the patio opened distracting her. Both she and Dorian turned to see who had interrupted them, and her body went rigid at the site of Winters. As best she could, she rose from the chair, her knees shaking nearly so bad she couldn’t stand, she stepped toward Winters only to come to a halt when she spotted the two men behind him.
There was no time to reach out for Dorian. Suddenly he was there beside her. Admonishing herself to remain calm, she greeted Winters.
“Hello Winters. I see we have company. Please, invite them in and offer them something to drink.”
Winters face remained passive and when he spoke, his voice was crisp and precise.
“I’m afraid they are not staying, My Lady Princess. These…
men
,” he nearly sneered the word, “Walkins and Lith, have come to escort you to the palace. The Queen wishes an audience with her new marriageneice. I have taken the liberty to lay out some of your clothing, if it meets with your approval.”
Even though Dorian had grasped her arm with his hand in case she received bad news, it had taken all her strength to refrain from clinging to him. Now, she turned to Dorian and smiled, grasping his arm in return.
“A visit with the Queen. What an honor, Dorian.” Turning back to Winters, she smiled brilliantly.
“Of course, Winters. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I’ll just freshen up, change, and meet you in a few moments.” So saying, she walked into the house, Dorian following in her footsteps and Winters brushing the two newcomers out of her way.
Before either of the new men had come through the door, Shari stopped and looked back at Winters.
“Oh, Winters?”
“Yes My Lady Princess?” He stopped immediately blocking the men behind him from entering.
“If my husbands come home before I return, please give them word of my whereabouts. I wouldn’t want them to worry.”
“Of course, My Lady Princess. I shall see to it myself.”
Smiling her thanks for real this time, Shari made her way through the labyrinth of a house to the suite she shared with her husbands.
A soft, but relieved sounding sigh escaped from Dorian.
“What?” Shari asked quietly glancing back at Dorian startling him.
“My Lady?” Dorian asked following closer to Shari but still maintaining a discreet distance.
“Why the relieved sigh, Dorian? Did you expect someone to come here with the intention of harming me?”
“Of course not!” Dorian cried softly.
“Then why the relief?” Shari asked turning left at the intersection the two came to.
“I was… That is, they didn’t… Um…” Dorian’s words trailed away.
“What? Did you think they were here for you?” Shari asked turning back to once more look at Dorian.
“Yes.” Dorian whispered.
Shari stopped so quickly Dorian nearly fell in his attempt to avoid bumping into her.
“I don’t understand. Explain.” Shari demanded.
Dorian bowed his head momentarily before lifting it again, squaring his shoulders, and staring Shari directly in her eyes.
“My
aunt
,” The word was spat out savagely, “the reigning Queen of Aranak, enjoys her family. Enjoys her family so much, she uses them in whatever way amuses her at the time. I made the mistake of thinking I could use this to my advantage.” Bitter laughter sounded.
“Queen Sara treated me the same as any other peasant in from the gutters. She used me for her own depraved purposes then discarded me. Which wouldn’t have been so bad except instead of having me thrown out of her palace, banned from ever returning, she sent me to her prison and had me treated as a traitor to the crown.” Dorian’s voice hitched on the last word and Shari gave him a moment to recover.
“The beat…the torture was bad enough, but I could have healed from that. As it is now, I find I suffer from some of the injuries from time to time. It was the healer’s hope that in time… That isn’t relevant at the moment, even though the telling of my disgrace is.”
Shari began to disagree shaking her head in a negative but Dorian stopped her.
“You wanted to know why I was relieved. I was worried either of the two men would recognize me. I’m shocked they haven’t yet.”
“But… Well, why haven’t they?” Shari asked assuming the two men back with Winters were well known to Dorian.
“Because the healer was forced to replace my face with another one. I’m, even now, still healing from the effects.”
“Sheezuz, Dorian.” Shari blanched. The bitterness Shari heard in the young man’s voice was fierce. Whatever price Dorian had paid for his naiveté, it had been too high. She would have never known if he hadn’t revealed any of this. His appearance was perfectly normal for…
But was it?
Shari thought.
I never knew what he looked like before…
“It doesn’t matter at the moment. You asked; I gave you an answer. Come. You must hurry.”
Putting action to words, Dorian propelled her forward. As they approached the suite, Dorian made as if to hang behind, but Shari grabbed his hand unobtrusively and forced him to come with her.
“After hearing that, there’s no way I’d leave you out here. What if those two came down here to check what was taking so long? I’d never forgive myself if they caught on.” Shari mumbled the last.
“They would not dare to invade Shan Lin and Vincent’s private rooms. They may not be the sons of the Queen, but they are still privileged members of the royal family.”
“Well, come on in. I don’t want to take the chance today is the day they change their minds.”
Dorian nodded and followed Shari.
When they finally reached her room, Shari immediately saw the clothing Winters had laid out for her on the dressing chair. It was the outfit she had seen hanging in her closet, the one she’d exclaimed was fit for a Queen. The very one her husbands had insisted she wear for the arrival of the True Queen.
Shrugging aside thoughts of her men, Shari hurriedly began to strip off what she already wore not caring Dorian was with her. If she could greet a woman perfectly naked, she shouldn’t blanche at a man watching her simply dress. There wasn’t anytime to dither.
“My Lady Princess! I must…” Dorian began to protest the moment she started to undress, but Shari overrode his protests.
“We don’t have time! Just listen to me. No matter what the Queen is up to, and you know she’s up to something, make sure you get my husbands out of here. That woman knows what they’ve done. I know she does. If they get back alive, tell them I’ve left for Earth, and not to… Damn it! Help me here!”
While she spoke, Shari slid into the luxurious clothing. She had no clue what the outfit was made of, but she did know the only other thing to come close to the feeling of this material was silky smooth skin. Problem was, the outfit did not seem to be cooperating at all. She could not get the back to meet where she needed it to close.
Dorian made his way to her and managed to seal the opening in back.
“My La…Shari. You know there’s no way either of your husbands are going to believe me. They’ll know the moment you let them inside your head. If the Queen is going to use you as leverage of some kind, she is going to torture you in the hopes of learning everything about what Shan Lin and Vincent have done through your link with them.”
Shari nodded her head in agreement knowing Dorian had been in a position to know this first hand. His beating was supposed to have killed him. It was only through Queen Sara’s greed and love of finely honed men that saved the man from certain death.
Adjusting her clothing as best she could, she patted Dorian’s scarred hand absently then sat to slip into the shoes she was to wear with the outfit.
“I’ve already thought of that. It doesn’t matter what she does to me. There is no link. Apparently I’ve shut it off and have to find a way to turn it back on. I can’t give her what I haven’t got.”