Authors: Thayer King
Reporters
shouted questions at them as guards led them to the family vehicle. Their
spokesperson,
Valvi
, informed the press that the
family requested privacy at this time and they would release a statement later.
“It’s so
very good to have you back,” her mother said, sitting beside her in the back of
the car. It was one of the newest models. It could be programmed with the
destination and then convey its passengers without a driver. It had no wheels.
It hovered above the roadway. However, her father always travelled with a
driver who doubled as a security guard. Faith gripped her hand and gave it a
squeeze. “I began to despair of ever seeing you again.” Her green eyes filled with
tears as she hugged her again.
Whimsy
had forgotten how beautiful her mother was. At fifty, her looks rivaled women
half her age. Her skin was the color of milky coffee. In recent years, she’d
begun keeping her soft curls cut short. But when she was younger, her hair was
as long and Whimsy’s own, reaching the middle of her back.
Whimsy
glanced over her mother’s shoulder at her father. He was as dark as their
mother was light with deep brown eyes. She and her sister had skin tones in
between the color of their two parents. Their father was still handsome at
sixty-four years. His hair was gray at the temples but showed no evidence of
thinning. As she watched, her father wiped away a tear.
“Tell us
about your rescue,” Veracity said, practically bouncing in her seat. “Was there
a fight?”
Whimsy
smiled at the teen’s excitement. “No. They happened to find me alone in the
garden.”
Veracity
frowned. “Then you weren’t held prisoner? We heard that you were captured and
sold by the
Gogath
.” She noticed as her sister
shuddered and Whimsy couldn’t help but join her sister with a shiver of her
own. “Yes. That was particularly horrible.”
“Then
let’s not discuss it,” her father said smoothly. “There will be plenty of time
for that later.” He gave her a meaningful look. There were topics that were not
appropriate for young ladies and her abduction and possible disgrace were among
them.
She was
not looking forward to the interrogation she would have to endure. It could end
in her being banished. Until then, she hoped to spend as much time with her
family as possible.
“It must
have been such a great adventure,” Veracity said, plopping down on Whimsy’s
bed. Her bedroom was cozy and small. Even
Gaedrian’s
bathing pool was larger. But then, everything on C21 was bigger. They had an
entire planet to spread out. On C7, space was at a premium. She was lucky to
have this small bedroom of her own.
Whimsy
had spent the day with her family. Her father had actually taken the day off to
be with them. They’d eaten together and sat around reminiscing. They’d mourned
True and planned a memorial service for him.
She
didn’t reply to her sister’s comment. Veracity often voiced complaints about
the restraints put on them by their society and by their status as royalty. She
wanted to be able to travel to more, stay out late, in short, to behave like a
hoyden unchecked. Even as a teen, Whimsy had never been overly adventurous.
She’d been boring and content to be so. She didn’t mind the rules. Order
protected them.
“Would
you like me to braid your hair?” She picked up a thick inky lock of her
sister’s hair. It was soft and silky to the touch. Veracity wore her hair long
like hers, but she often begged her mother to let her cut it. King Raul vetoed
the idea each time.
Veracity
smiled. “Just like old times? Sure, why not. I’ll do yours next.”
She
located her comb and brush and began working her way from the bottom to the top
of the lengthy curls. “I missed you all so much,” she said, meaning it. She’d
had no idea how much until she was in the arms of her family again. She’d tried
not to dwell on them overly much when she thought she’d end up serving
Editha
forever. It would have only made her a crying
pathetic mess. And
Gaedrian
had commanded a good deal
of her attention. She would call him in the morning. She hoped he was not too
worried. If the situation were reversed, she would be going out of her mind
with worry about now.
“We were
so relieved when
Serri
received word about your
whereabouts.” Veracity sighed. “It must have been so romantic.
Handsome
Serri
coming to your rescue.”
She
wrinkled her nose.
Serri
had abandoned her. She could
never forget that. She might be able to forgive him, but she would always be
aware of the flaw in his character. “Yes, well.”
“Are you
terribly worried about tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
She was to be questioned in the morning. After the formal inquisition, she
would be examined by a doctor. She’d waive the examination. There was no need.
They would find she had lost her virginity. Her only hope was that she would be
able to receive a temporary reprieve from banishment due to the extraordinary
circumstances. And it wasn’t as though
Gaedrian
didn’t intend to marry her. She hoped.
“Don’t
be. Mother will never let Father get away with banishing you.”
Her
fingers working fast, she shook her head. “I don’t know. Father has always told
us that the rules are there for everyone. And we must be held as examples to
all the people.”
“But
we’ve already lost so much. Myrna, it’s still hard to believe True is gone. I
keep expecting him to come striding in bragging about his driving skill.”
“I know.
I wish… If only I’d been here.” She’d parted her sister’s hair down the middle.
Two fat braids now rested on each side of Veracity’s face. She looked very
lovely and childlike. She sat so that she might have her hair done.
Veracity
bounced up and took the brush. Whimsy closed her eyes and tried to relax.
“Well, sister, you look like you were well taken care of. I’ve never seen your
hair so shiny.”
She
supposed it was whatever the bathing servants had been using. They’d wanted her
to be at her best for their king.
“Whenever
I say anything about your time away, you completely shut down. I can see you
weren’t abused. Why won’t you say anything?”
Whimsy
bit her lip. “Father wouldn’t want you to know.”
“I’m
seventeen already!” Veracity yanked the brush through her hair viciously.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry.
Didn’t mean to do that but you have to admit that it’s ridiculous the way I’m
treated like a five year old. I’ve already begun training to become a wife.
Trust me; I won’t faint if you tell me.”
“I don’t
know about that,” she muttered thinking of the night she’d met
Gaedrian
. “Stop nagging and finish my hair. I have to be up
in early in the morning.”
Veracity
mumbled under her breath but finished up. She’d braided her hair in the same
manner. The ends of her hair rested in her lap. She thanked her sister and
kissed her on the cheek as they separated for the night.
Deciding
not to wait any longer, she went to the wall and touched the communications
panel. Her personal portable communications device had been stolen by the
Gogath
when they’d kidnapped her. She bit her lip, hoping
that she reached
Gaedrian
.
The
screen lit up, giving her a view of the inside of the palace. A servant stared
back at her. He acknowledged her with a bow. “Hello? Can I speak with
Gaedrian
, please?”
“He is
unavailable.”
The
servant was nudged aside as
Editha
came into frame.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You!
You abandoned my son and you
have the audacity to call! How dare you? Do not try to contact my son ever
again!” She reached forward and the link was abruptly broken.
“Well
that truce was short-lived,” she groused. She wondered where
Gaedrian
was. She bit her lip. How would she be able to
contact him without
Editha
intercepting the call? She
stifled a yawn. It had been a long day.
She
climbed into bed and fell instantly into a restless sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Whimsy
wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this meeting. Her father had met her at her
bedroom. He’d embraced her and walked her to the meeting room. Their home was
larger than other homes because of the hall that was used for public meetings
and the occasional ball. The inquiries about her abduction would be private,
but if she were found to be impure, her shame would become public knowledge.
King Raul
squeezed her hand before placing his hand on the panel beside the wide metal
doors. They opened obediently with a quiet swoosh. Her father took his seat in
the middle of a curved table. To his left and to his right, he was flanked by
his advisors. She was led to a chair behind a smaller table opposite the larger
one. All the chairs and tables were made of metal. They could grow trees but
only in limited quantities. Wood was expensive and considered extravagant. She
thought back on the thick intricately carved doors that led to
Gaedrian’s
chambers. They would be worth a fortune here.
“Princess
Whimsical,” began
female in the room, “we all sympathize with the horrors you must have
experienced while away and we will try to keep this as brief and as relatively
pain free as possible. Why don’t you start by telling us about your initial
abduction from Colony 13? We understand you were there shopping for your
trousseau?”
Whimsy took
a deep breath and told them about the terrifying experience of being there
during the
Gogath
raid. She ended her tale at the
moment she was purchased at the flesh bazaar by
Chaldor
and
Editha
. She bit her lip, unsure of how to go on.
She looked up and could see the fury in her father’s gaze.
He asked
in a tight voice, “And why did these people wish to purchase you?”
She
lowered her gaze. “I was purchased for their king, as a carnal gift.”
There
were gasps of outrage and exclamations of anger. Finally her father banged his
hand on the table. “Did they not realize who you were?
That
they could have ransomed you?”
“No. It
did not matter who I was.”
“Were
you….” He broke off, his lips trembling. He cleared his throat. “Were you
defiled by their king?”
Defiled
did not describe the beauty of what transpired between her and
Gaedrian
, but she knew they would not see it that way. So
she simply nodded.
“Were you
forced? Threatened?”
“Not by
Gaedrian
.” She couldn’t let them think that of him. He was
almost as innocent in this as she.
“But you
were forced?”
“They
would not allow me to leave his chambers until…”
“I’ve
heard enough,” her father declared. “I have made my decision.”
Whimsy
stared up at the metal grating of the ceiling above her bed and sighed. Soft
artificial light poured in through her window. She should be happy.
Instead
she was plagued with melancholy. She had been unable to reach
Gaedrian
.
Editha
had intercepted
each of her calls and had since blocked any further communications from her.
That last
morning she had awakened enfolded in his warmth. He’d kissed her ear and
whispered how beautiful she was in that deep voice of his that never failed to
make her shiver with desire. His hard chest was molded to her back, his rigid
length pressed against her buttocks. He’d stroked her from her neck to between
her thighs, arousing her passions leisurely. The way he’d taken her had been
slow and sweet.
It was
nothing like what her father was convinced had happened to her. He thought that
she’d been raped. He’d ruled that though she could not be considered pure she
would not be banished or shunned due to the circumstances. After the hearing,
they’d sent her to the doctor to tend to any injuries she may have suffered.
The physician had been confused to find she had no bruises and was in good
condition. She’d been too embarrassed to explain the pheromones and how very
much she had wanted
Gaedrian
. They’d also drawn her
blood for testing. Though sexually transmitted disease was a thing of the past
on C7, they were unsure if the same could be said of C21.