"I couldn't cope with everything that'd happened. Before I could even recover from Mom and Dad's deaths, I'm bombarded by a Ring that tried to drive me crazy, hyperspace portals created by the Sibyls, the Council of Kings, and worst of all, people thinking I'm defective because my mother was a clone. Being Queen was not worth what it was doing to me. I had to get away."
"Mom said you didn't access the hyperportal. We were all convinced you'd been abducted, especially after you texted me that 'they have hyper.' So how'd you get away without the Vhirko knowing it?"
Sini's gave me the biggest smile I'd seen on her face in a loop. "The Sibyls aren't the only ones with hyperspace portals. The Arvors have them too."
My eyes must have bulged out of their sockets because Sini started laughing. "Grandfather showed me how to manipulate their portals. I texted you from the place where all of the Kings' holos can be accessed. We talked nonstop. It did me a world of good to know that they too had times where they didn't want to continue. That gave me the strength to go on."
I started to tell her about Loik Lok's claim, but decided to wait. She didn't need another kick in the stomach while she felt so good. Perhaps, Mom was right. There can be a time for secrets.
Her expression became serious. "When I returned, I quickly realized what a mess my sneaking off had created. Konya was raving that unless I took Vhirko protection whenever I accessed those wretched Sibyl portals that she'd destroy every portal if it was the last thing she did. Then your mom called to check on my status and told me what the Assembly was up to."
She pulled on her ear lobe. "You know, after spending time with the Kings, I enjoyed marching into the Assembly. I think that with the Kings' help, I'm going to like being Queen."
It was nice to her see her so upbeat. "Well, you were impressive. I don't think the Assembly is going to mess with you for awhile."
She scowled. "I'll have to see it to believe."
"Trust me," I said confidently. "You will."
-19-
Kuinsi's Quarters
Arvor Castel
Planet Tirano
Sini said she was looking forward to a good night's sleep, so I returned to my quarters. I was famished and wished I could have Dad's favorite "p" – pizza. Unfortunately, the key to a great pizza is time. Time to make fresh dough, a minimum of two deci to rise, and at least three deci to start a wood fire in my brick oven and heat the bricks so the pizza bakes in no more than three myria.
I didn't have that kind of time, so I opted for what would be the next best thing: the fourth "p" - panini. Panini is the simplest to prepare of the five p's. All that's required is a two-sided grill, two slices of bread (preferable a crusty sourdough), and cheese. Oh, and of course, a nice glass of wine. All of which I had on hand. Within five myria, I had a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of zinfandel.
As I ate my sandwich, I grabbed my viewer to hear more from Aos Whey-ki. "Begin where I last marked," I said.
The rainbow swirled into Aos's image and she spoke.
*
I flung open the door and stormed into our quarters. "I've never been so upset in my life," I shouted.
Kwenerra almost dropped the dish she was sitting on the dinner table. At the other end of the table, Ahrtzor looked at me with a knowing smirk on his face. "Let me guess," he said placidly. "The two almost-men oppose leaving our current location. They think the Imperatora will send a ship to retrieve us."
My shock must have shown because Ahrtzor shook his head slowly as if I were a child. "Mom, everyone knows about the planet that's only five years away. The enlists have even started calling it Terra New. All of the gossip concerns why we haven't gotten underway yet, and it doesn't take much imagination to figure why. If we don't get going soon, those two won't be able to walk the corridors and survive."
My eyes widened in shock. The planet's discovery was supposed to be known only by the leadership council and the scientists who had discovered and analyzed the planet. Instead, the whole ship knew about it, and who was preventing our departure. I didn't know what to say and stared blankly.
Ahrtzor winked at me. "Thanks for the confirmation, Mom. I'll talk to a few people. It shouldn't be too long before you prevail at council." He stood and bustled out of our quarters.
Kwenerra looked at me with her lips drawn down. "Mom, you're so busy with council business that you don't realize. He probably has more influence with the ship's crew than the council. Some of them would do anything he tells them to do. I just worry that he's too young and will do something impulsive that causes trouble."
"Oh, Kwenerra," I said. "I'm sure people like him, but they're not going to follow a teenager."
"Mom, the majority of people on this ship are under 16. He's old and wise to them."
I looked at how Kwenerra had her hands on her hips. Over the past few months, she'd been more of a mother to Ahrtzor than I had. She was showing motherly concern, and I was the outsider who needed to comfort her. "Don't be such a worry wart, honey. He's a good child. He knows right from wrong. He won't do anything foolish."
Three days later . . .
The screen on my reader flashed red, then went black. I assumed it had crashed and pushed the reset button. "Begin where the last session ended."
The rainbow swirled into Aos's image and she spoke.
I flung open the door and stormed into our quarters. "I've never been so upset in my life," I shouted.
"Pause and skip forward until I say to stop," I said.
Aos' image stopped in the same place as before and the screen went black again. Frustrated, I stared at the screen. A gold cursive appeared on the screen.
Erased. A W-K.
I flipped the reader on the couch and headed into the bedroom. As I tried to fall asleep, one question roiled my mind. Why did Aos erase the rest of her journal?
-20-
Kuinsi's Quarters
Arvor Castel
Planet Tirano
I woke full of optimism. Even though Sini had been through a mentally rough period, I thought she was on the upswing. Then, my vid-con beeped.
Because I sat at my table in my morning rob and was sipping a cup of tea, I didn't feel like traipsing to the screen. "Show as holo," I said.
Sini's head was lowered toward her hand reader. She appeared to be chewing her lower lip. "I've never been so wrong about anyone before."
"What?" was all I could mutter.
She faced me, her lips drew back into a snarl. "Moheix is nothing but a rat in the barrel room."
Her venom stunned me. I shook my head.
"Don't believe me. Then, read this."
I stepped closer and looked at her reader. It displayed a message on Assembly stationary:
Your Highness;
Many of my fellow Assembly members believe the Lord Chancellor orchestrated your appearance yesterday to obscure your true condition. I do not, but I am only one man. You must convince all.
I personally request that you and the Lord Chancellor appear before the Assembly today at 4th deci to address any questions those with concerns may raise. To do otherwise would only increase the concerns of the Assembly and contradict your offer yesterday to appear before the Assembly when invited to discuss your condition.
Yours respectfully,
Count Dom Moheix
The Count was a cellar rat, but a clever one. "What are you going to do?" I asked. "If we don't appear, it looks like we have something to hide. If we appear, there's not any time to prepare. And who knows what they might have planned."
Sini clenched her fist. "I don't really have a choice. He's used my own words against me. I said I'd appear if invited. And I will."
"Before you decide," I said, "talk to Nalena. Get her take."
"Don't you think she would have contacted me if she knew anything?" Sini tossed her hand held on the couch. "Besides, after yesterday with the Kings, I know who
and what I am. I can handle anything the Assembly and that rat Moheix throw at me."
I wasn't as certain about myself. I'd flopped last time.
*
In the fresh light of morning, government workers headed to their offices scurried across the Grand Square. From the moment I exited the Castel, I had no trouble spotting Sini. She stood straight-backed at her full height near the Archonan Assembly building. She was a head taller than any member of the Vhirko squad that encircled her. Her bearing had changed dramatically from a few days ago. No one in the Square would be uncertain who was the Queen of Tirano.
The Vhirko parted so I could stand next to Sini. "Don't look so nervous," she winked. "I'll do all the talking and you just nod sagely."
Whatever the Kings had told her had changed her. I couldn't remember her ever being so confident. I wouldn't want to be in Moheix's or Nhoth's shoes.
An eerie silence greeted us when we entered the Assembly floor. Most of the members had their heads lowered and appeared to be reading their viewers. I looked toward Nalena. When she saw me looking at her, she frowned. I glanced at Rheghie. His head was lowered as he looked at his viewer, but I could see his eyebrows were raised and his forehead wrinkled. Something was going on and I didn't have the slightest idea what. My stomach tightened.
Sini had reached the rostrum and adjusted the amplifier. "You have requested my presence. Please begin."
Moheix rose and leaned on his cane. "On behalf of all members of this Assembly, I would like to express our appreciation for your presence. However, since I requested your presence, new information has arisen."
He picked up his viewer. "We face an unexpected crisis. The Mhargrava Nhatalie Lok, the Tamok representative who signed Mhikhel's Great Alliance, has passed away. Her last will and testament required that an archive be released on the universal web. That archive was received while you were in transit from the Castel. I will holo it for your viewing."
An old, gray-haired lady sitting in a overstuffed chair appeared in holo. Her black dress contrasted with her creamy and unblemished skin. A golden neckband with a sapphire star-stone set accentuated her long neck. She looked straight into the camera and spoke. "If you are viewing this archive, it means I have died. I do not look forward to entering the eternal void of death, but have no choice. I do, however, have a choice whether to reveal the secret I have held since I was a young woman. I have decided my death is the time to start a new beginning for two worlds by revealing my long held secret. And to show that I am not some senile crone babbling senselessly, attached to this archive are detailed genetic records and analysis of my family that will support all you will hear."
She paused and pulled on the sleeves of her dress over her wrists. "When I was a young woman, I traveled to Tirano as the Tamok representative to the conference that established the Alliance that battled the Radani. There I met and fell in love with the handsomest man in the galaxy. We made love only one time, but a child resulted from it. Suffice to say that because of his and his world's bigotry against anyone not pure with their blood, I returned to Tamok where my son was born. I never told anyone who the father was. My son was a wonderful man and accepted his heritage without bitterness or rancor."
She took a deep breath as if to summon the strength to continue. "I cannot say the same for his two sons. His younger son was of his body, but the older was a child fostered to him by one of my lover's Tiranoan sons. I assume my lover's son had no idea of the relationship. No one could be that callous."
She lifted a finger to the corner of her eye and wiped away a tear. "My grandsons have brought Tamok to the brink of destruction by my lover's world. That world is Tirano and my lover was King Mhikhel."
Sini gasped.
"Imagine my horror when my idiot and unknowing daughter-in-law proposed as a way to create peace between Tamok and Tirano that my great grandson marry my lover's granddaughter. Inbreeding may not disturb Tirano's Archonan, but I abhor it. I would have had no choice to tell the galaxy then if not for his murder."
It took less than a lacti for me to realize she was referring to Sini's potential marriage to Fiotr Lok. I feared all of this would devastate Sini. Instead, to my surprise, she didn't look upset, just intrigued.
"I have decided to reveal my secret now to try to right the wrong Mhikhel and I created. We loved each other, but we were too young to be wise enough to know we could have challenged the bigotry and bring Tamok and Tirano closer. Instead, our weakness resulted in increasing animosity of two great worlds. Hopefully, those with goodwill and percipience can bring Tamok and Tirano together before the Radani again try to destroy all of us. I believe with all my heart that Mhikhel would request the same if he could."
The holo dissolved. All eyes in the chamber landed on Sini. She seemed not to notice and stared where the holo had played. Silence endured until Sini raised her head and spoke. "Well, Count Moheix, I believe that solves your problem," she said in a sarcastic tone. "If I am defective, there are still those of Arvor blood who can assume the Golden Vine Throne."
With a smirk on her face, she turned to look down at Rheghie. "And you Count Nhoth, I assume you would have no objections to recognizing the superiority of my Tamok relatives claim to the Throne to yours. After all, unlike you, they are direct descendants of a King of Tirano."
Rheghie's face turned red. "No descendent of a Tamok bastard will ever sit on the Golden Vine Throne."
Sini laughed. "I believe you have said similar things about the child of a clone. Nonetheless, I sit on the Throne."
Rheghie's double chin vibrated with rage.
"I will take my leave now and seek counsel on how to respond to the Mhargrava's archive. I suggest all of you return to what concerns you, your budget."
Sini took my arm, and surrounded by Vhirko, we marched out the Chamber.
-21-
Arvor Castel
Planet Tirano
Even though Sini didn't say a word while we walked to her chambers, she gritted her teeth so hard that I was afraid they'd snap. I'd have reacted exactly the same if I'd almost married my father's granddaughter.
When we reached the door to her chambers, she turned to the Vhirko squad. "I am not to be disturbed. No one comes through those doors until I say so." She palmed the door, then turned back to the Vhirko. "No interruptions or all of you will be permanently relieved from duty."
I started to walk away. Sini grabbed my arm. "You come with me. And make sure your palm-viewer is set to display that damn archive."
As soon as we were in the chamber, she kicked the door shut. "How could those sons of bitches hide this from me? They're going to hear exactly how I feel."
She held up her hand and pressed on the Golden Vine Ring. A white light arched from the Ring to the floor, shimmered, then turned into a rainbow. Each of the seven colors separated from the rainbow, straightened, and each morphed into several human shapes. Sini stomped over to Mhikhel and stood face to face with him. "How could you do such a thing?"
Mhikhel clenched his fists. "I suggest you get out of my face."
Sini leaned so that her nose penetrated his. "I suggest you tell me about the Mhargrava Nahtalie Lok of Tamok."
Mhikhel's head flinched. "What?"
Sini turned her head to me. "Play the archive for this deceitful old man."
I activated my viewer. The holo of the Mhargrava appeared. Mhikhel's eyes widened and he took a step back. His mouth opened, but neither he nor any of the Kings said a word while the archive played. As soon as it stopped, the Kings stood still as if stunned. Finally, Pierre stepped forward to where Sini and Mhikhel stood. "Mhikhel, is this true?"
Mhikhel continued staring at where the holo had appeared. "She chose not to reveal to the galaxy her last words to me. Words that still echo in my mind: 'Damn your ways. I lay this curse on you and your heirs. Tiranoan bigotry will haunt the Arvors through the ages. No Arvor will ever s
it comfortably on the Golden Vine Throne.'"
Mhikhel grimaced. "I had hoped time would dull her hatred. But even after we're both dead, she continues to lay her curse on my rightful heirs."
His raised his head and his eyes bore into Pierre. "Yes. It is true. But I wouldn't change a thing. I also remember my exact thoughts when she walked out that day. 'I had a war to fight. If the Radani weren't driven out of the galaxy, nothing would matter. Especially a Tamok female and a half-breed child.'"
"Damn your arrogance," Sini screamed so hard that spit flew from her mouth. It passed through Mhikhel's holo and landed on the floor. "If you had at least acknowledged the child, my father would still be alive."
Mhikhel didn't flinch. "And if I had? Your father would not have been stranded on Earth with your mother, and you would not exist." His eyes softened. "No. I would not change a thing. You, child, are exactly what I always wanted as an heir."
Sini's lips quivered. "But," her voice cracked, "but, father died because of the hatred you created."
"No. The hatred she created by not counseling her scion while she lived. And now she is trying to create more hatred. Both on Tamok and on Tirano. She's given the Archonan hope that they can remove you and incited Tamok to believe a Lok belongs on the Golden Vine Throne." Mhikhel reached out and set his hands on Sini's shoulders. "You must not let her succeed. You are the one who must put an end to her curse."
Sini held out her ring hand and with the forefinger of her other hand touched the Ring's cluster. "You want me to end the curse. Fine. I'll abdicate. That'll end the curse. There'll be no Arvor sitting on the Throne then."
As Mhikhel's face reddened, Sini's finger pressed the Ring's cluster. The Kings evaporated.
-22-
Siniastra's Chamber
Arvor Castel
Planet Tirano
"Sini, you can't be serious," I said.
Sini turned to me. "You have a better idea?"
I thought for a moment. "Do you think that just because you abdicate, the Tamok and the Loks will suddenly morph their hatred into a love of Tirano?"
Sini's companel sounded. "I told them," she said as she glanced at the companel, "not to disturb-"