The Mutant World (39 page)

“Show me. It is already late, but I would like to speak with him. He seems to be a breed apart from most of the men here.”

Sasha nodded and led the way.

As they neared Lord Jawara’s chambers Miko heard a sound that she hadn’t heard since she arrived in the palace, women laughing, really laughing, and with a man.

“Who are you?”

Miko turned around quickly and saw a girl almost as tall as her looking at them curiously. Her hair was long and light brown. Her complexion was light olive, but a little darker than Miko’s and she was well-endowed and curvy. She had green feline eyes just like Miko’s own.
The girl was a beauty, but what Miko noticed immediately was that this girl carried herself with authority and even the Barratian men made way for her. Sasha dropped to her knees immediately and put her head to the floor. Miko bowed.

“I have just arrived here from Illyria, my lady. I…” began Miko quickly.

“Ah! You’re the Illyrian girl who everyone is talking about,” said the new girl, cutting her off, “the one that humiliated that fool, Stragg. Excellent! You saved me the trouble of doing it myself one day. Because of his strength, he was deemed the only suitable man to be my mate. But after his shameful behavior and ignoble defeat my father will never allow it. I owe you. I am Princess Sandra, welcome to Barrat.”

Miko bowed again. “I am…”

“You are Princess Miko of Illyria,”
said the other girl mentally.

Miko shook her head and smiled unconvincingly. “I fear you are confused, Princess. I…”

“You ARE the Princess Miko,”
said the other girl again.
“Welcome to Dinos, Cousin. What are you and this slave doing here? Oh, I see. Lord Jawara’s chambers are near here. Just like a woman of the imperial family to scout out the only nobleman worth having in Barrat and immediately try to make a play for him.”

Realizing it was pointless to keep up the act with this girl, Miko came clean mentally. The fact that Princess Sandra had revealed her knowledge mentally proved that she had no intention of exposing her, at least not yet.

“I’m sorry I deceived your people, Cousin, but I wanted to be able to move around and meet people without an entourage and status getting in the way. As for your brother…”
Miko noticed the princess’s eye twitch at this and stopped. Strange, the princess had given the impression that she was very fond of her half-brother. Maybe she respected him as a man, but would not acknowledge him as kin because of the status of his mother and the condition of his birth. Stupid! She herself had admitted that he was the noblest man among the lords of this barbaric land…at least as far as Miko had seen so far.

“I too am here to see, Lord Jawara,” said Princess Sandra verbally. “I was not aware that he had arrived until news of the feast and what happened there reached me. I will have words with Tidor about his being lodged in such a low place near slaves and common servants. Together we will see this corrected. Come along, Lady Gorgo.” She looked at the kneeling Sasha and snapped, “Up slave!”

As the women drew closer to the lord’s chambers the louder the laughing, giggling and other noises became. The Princess announced herself and the servants scurried to open the door for the two women. They were led into the outer living space of Jawara’s residence and saw several warriors lounging casually about with women who actually seemed to truly enjoy their company. Food was being served and wine was flowing freely. The black youth was reclining on a large couch drinking with a chocolate colored slave giggling on his lap and a very pale and busty redhead curled up next to him under his arm. The women were incredibly made of body and beautiful of face. Upon seeing the Barratian Princess, both females slid off the ebony colored youth and bowed head down before her. Miko noticed that both girls moved with feline grace. The warriors stood immediately and the other slave girls also fell to their knees heads bowed. The princess Sandra noticed that neither of the girls with Lord Jawara was wearing her collar. The things were laying on the floor open. Jawara stood up. He was almost naked. The Illyrian girl liked what she saw. Her eyes wandered everywhere.

“My lord,” said Princess Sandra, “I just received the news that you’ve come home. Since you didn’t come to see me, I came to see you. And what do I find? You with these slaves! The sluts aren’t even wearing their collars! I demand that you send these tramps back to their hole!”

“These are
my
women, Sister,” said the youth good-naturedly. “And what fun could we all have if they were collared and as weak and fragile as humans?”

“They are mutants?” asked Miko, looking at the two girls.

“Of course, lady,” said Jawara. “You didn’t actually believe I’d be this familiar with a
human
female did you?” Slowly a smile appeared on Miko’s face. She also marked that Jawara had referred to the two girls as his
women
, not his slaves. “But I am being rude. I never actually gave you my name at the feast, so many things happening so fast and all. I am called Jawara, son of Roc. By now you may have heard other names for me like, ‘The Bastard Prince’ or…”

“I prefer ‘The Dark Prince’,” said Miko smiling. “I like that name. My father is the exact same complexion as you.”

“Your mother has impeccable taste,” said the smiling Jawara, bowing. Miko giggled. “Perhaps you’d care to join us? Or do I have to challenge you to battle and win your favors? Of course I realize that you believe I
might
be too weak for you. That might prove I’m not.”

Miko giggled again, after what she’d seen him do to Stragg she knew that he was plenty strong enough to handle her.

“Enough of that!” said Princess Sandra. “You should be ashamed of yourself, lord. This woman has just arrived and these two females are slaves!”

“Please, Sister. I was only joking…sort of. Besides, I didn’t know you were coming and I didn’t arrive in time to actually have anything to eat at the feast. Well, that’s not really true, but there was the fight and then I was ordered to leave and the party was ended. I don’t think anyone had an appetite anymore anyway after Stragg stunk up the place. And like you said, I was home again. It was too late to visit my friends and family so I decided to celebrate here. What’s wrong with that, Sister?”

“I’ve told you not to call me that!” snapped Sandra.

Jawara sighed and said, “I know you are ashamed of me, Princess, but…”

“I am not ashamed of you!” said Sandra quickly, “I am very,
very
proud of you, most of the time. I just…You need to start behaving more like a prince! And another thing…”

“But I’m
not
a prince,” said Jawara with a shrug, “I’m Father’s bastard.”

“You are what I say you are!” cried the princess in outrage.

As the two half-siblings argued, Princess Miko picked up one of the girl’s slave collars and examined it. She shook her head and smiled. The thing was useless. It was only a metal band with no actual inhibiting qualities at all. The young women had full use of their mutant abilities collard or not. These so-called slaves could easily remove them themselves whenever they wished. She doubted they wore them at all back in Jawara’s domains. The girls seemed
very
strong. And although it was obvious to any fool that they happily shared pleasure with their master
,
they were more than just toys, they were probably his personal guards as well…and who knows what else. Jawara was indeed an uncommon Barratian. Miko looked at Sandra chewing him out and sighed. There really wasn’t anything wrong with Jawara’s proposal from a Bellasarian’s standpoint. Indeed, she had been excited by the prospect. This was the first man she’d met that was strong enough to handle her who wasn’t a
close
relative and whom she actually liked. But Princess Sandra seemed jealous. Miko had wondered why Sandra became irritated when she called Jawara her brother even though she seemed to like him. She had assumed it was because of his inferior status in birth. Now she suspected the real reason. If the family trait ran true, this boy was
definitely
one of the few males who could mate with her. He was also the best choice in every other way as far as men went in this country. Even she had reached that conclusion already. Miko felt sorry for her. He could never become her mate. They were much too closely related. Miko shook her head as Sandra continued to reprimand her half-brother.

“While I’m in your presence you will NOT behave in such a way!” said the furious Sandra. “Collar these tramps, clean yourself up and then come with me! I’ll see you and our friend here fed and entertained
properly
. I know you didn’t eat at the feast, but your warriors and slaves can eat this fare. There is better in my chambers. I cooked it myself. Now get ready. Lady Gorgo and I will wait.”

“I won’t be long, Princess Mi…I mean,
Lady
Gorgo,” said Jawara with a wink. He then turned and walked away.

“I had a suspicion that he guessed my secret,”
said Miko mentally to Sandra,
“but did I fool anyone?”

“Lord Jawara is very sharp, Cousin,”
said Sandra,
“but most Barratian men here are quite dull. You fooled most of the common warriors and my brother, Tidor. I think he will have figured it out by now though. Tomorrow I suggest you come clean and explain yourself before they can expose you. It will look better that way.”

“Yes, I agree,”
said Miko.
“Your older brother, Prince Tidor, does not seem as good-natured as Lord Jawara.”

“He has more responsibilities on his shoulders than Jawara,”
said Princess Sandra,
“being my father’s heir. He must bow to certain conventions of our society that he doesn’t like while Jawara can simply ignore them to a degree. Jawara actually enjoys living in the boonies away from these fools. I can’t say that I blame him. And by the way, I am the oldest
.
”

Miko was confused.

“But I was told…”

“Yes, I know,”
said Sandra.
“You believed that Tidor was the oldest. It’s simple really. I was deliberately played down by some because I am a girl. If I was born with a yard and two stones I would be our father’s heir. I am even older than Jawara, who is not mentioned at all because of the condition of his birth.”

“I see,”
said Princess Miko. Suddenly this trip was becoming more and more interesting. The knowledge of both these siblings could benefit the empire greatly.

******

When Princess Miko arrived much later that evening, she found Lady Lana and her people still awake and most anxious. They were eager to know if she was alright and what she had learned.

“Prince Jawara has more than perked my interest,”
said Princess Miko.

“He is not truly a prince, Highness,”
said the Lady Lana.

“No. Not in this land,”
said Miko.
“But the son of a king is STILL the son of a king. His mother was a slave? Bah! She is a mutant. That’s all that matters! That’s all that has ever mattered to our women. He seems to have all of the gifts of my mighty ancestor too. He may be a bastard here, but in the empire he would be a prize all the women of the great clans would be fighting for. I can’t believe they name him bastard. Only the mongrel spawn of a mutant and a human is labeled so in Illyria. I have a feeling about that boy. He might be valuable to us, and in many ways. I already know his physical power is extraordinary, beyond even my strength. But I have reason to believe that his character is more than acceptable and his leadership abilities exceptional. We cannot allow this one to get away. ”

“Princess,”
said Lana,
“he is publically unrecognized and powerless here. King Roc’s son Tidor is…”

“A promising boy if managed right, I know,”
said Miko.
“I suspect he is why my mother sent me here. I didn’t like him at first, but he has potential. But Tidor still holds to the old ways of this barbaric land whether he likes them or not. This is not the case with Jawara. They all but banished him to the fringe of their nation and he welcomed it. I have good reason to believe that he lives as he wishes there, ruling his province like an independent ruler almost. Soon the day may come when he goes beyond his father’s realm and founds a nation himself.

“But, Princess Miko,”
sighed Lady Lana,
“what will your mother say if you dismiss an honored and titled prince to concentrate your efforts on a bastard with no formal recognition by his clan and no value?”

Princess Miko looked at her vassal closely and said,
“Here in the capital he is called bastard and other names behind his back. However, on his own lands he is called by nobler names and is highly respected by the peoples beyond Roc’s realm…and even within. Only certain jealous and threatened men despise him in Barrat.”

“But the king has not recognized him,”
repeated Lana.
“Not openly that is.”

“I fear King Roc does realize his son’s gifts,”
replied Princess Miko,
“but cannot capitalize on them because of the stupid traditions of this land. Or possibly he is resigned to the fact that Jawara and Sandra will never be allowed to amount to anything. So he focusses on his legitimate sons not realizing that an exceptional person cannot be held down. Well, he’s not the first ruler to drop the ball in this area.”