The Surpen King - Part 2 - Rise of the Elves

by Charity Kelly

  “Give them back their money,” Rhen yelled over his shoulder, pushing his way around the people blocking his exit.

  “No!” the children screamed. “We’ve made so much money.”

  “We have the most popular booth,” James’ daughter added. “You can’t stop.”

  Rhen was already heading up the path towards the side entrance to the Thestran palace.

  “Oh, no,” Crystam moaned.

  Jet was furious. It was just like the Thestrans to do something like this to Rhen. He wished they lived on Surpen. The Surpens never would have taken advantage of Rhen.

  Rhen ran up to his bedroom in the Thestran palace, but Ceceta wasn’t there. He searched a few of Ceceta’s favorite places in the palace before realizing she had returned to the University. Phasing into their apartment, he found her in their bedroom shoving her belongings into a bag. “Ceceta?” he whispered, wiping at the lipstick on his mouth. “Are you alright?”

  Ceceta didn’t look up as she continued to throw things into her bag. “No. I’m not alright, but I will be.”

  “What’re you doing?"

  “I’m leaving.” She glanced up, spotted Rhen’s swollen lips and realized that the students she’d been hearing had been right. She never should have married Rhen. He’d be better off with an elf.

  Rhen frowned. He didn’t understand. “Why?”

  Ceceta’s anger flared. How could he ask such a stupid question? “You know damn well why.”

  Rhen took a step forward. “But, Ceceta, you can’t be mad at me for the booth. You told me to do it. I asked you not to say yes, but you said yes and the children heard you say yes. I couldn’t tell them that you had said no.”

  Ceceta laughed bitterly. “You’re blaming this on me? Oh, why not? Why take responsibility for your own actions? I guess I can’t expect that from you. You’re acting like a child. Didn’t you stop to consider that what you were doing was wrong?” Ceceta shoved something into her bag and turned towards Rhen. “Rhen, I never heard you ask about the booth, and if I had, I would have said no.”

  “That’s what I thought you would have said, but you said yes.” Rhen stepped towards her but she backed away.

  “I was very busy today. Didn’t you notice that I wasn’t able to concentrate on what you were saying? Didn’t you even consider that you shouldn’t be asking me anything important while I was working?”

  “I knew you were busy. That’s why I told you everything twice to be sure that you heard me.”

  “Well, I didn’t hear you. And why were you asking me anyway? Could you really be that immature that you don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong? Couldn’t you stand up to a couple of little kids and tell them no?” Ceceta raised her hands in frustration. Rhen had made her feel bad, yet this whole incident had been his fault. It was always the same with him. She found herself thinking once again that he’d be better off with an elf. Tears welled up in her eyes. She should have listened to the students ages ago. It would be best for everyone if she left Rhen. Grabbing her bag, she headed for the door.

  “Wait,” Rhen called out. Ceceta hesitated by the open door to their living room. “I’ll go. You’re the one who wanted to get an education. I don’t really belong here. I’ll go back to Surpen until we can work this out.” Ceceta didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked back to the bed and threw her bag onto the comforter then stared at Rhen, waiting for him to leave.

  Rhen’s eyes were moist when he looked back at her from the living room door. “How long do you think this will last?”

  Ceceta couldn’t bring herself to say “Forever,” so she gave a non-answer. “It’s for the best, Rhen.”

  “Can I visit you?” he croaked. Rhen cleared his throat to try to remedy the ache that had settled in it.

  Ceceta turned her back on him. She didn’t want him to see the tears that were now running down her cheeks. Whispering hoarsely, she said, “I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

  As Rhen turned to go, he glanced back in time to see Ceceta pulling off her wedding rings and dropping them into her night table drawer. A sharp pain pierced his chest. He phased home seconds before breaking down.

  ***

  Rhen’s guards arrived back at his apartment later. They found Ceceta sitting in her living room, reading a textbook. Glancing about the room, they expected to find Rhen punished and sitting on the couch with his pillow, but instead he was missing. Since Ceceta was clearly ignoring them, she was obviously still upset.

  “Hey,” Latsoh said, sitting down on the couch beside Ceceta.

  “Hi,” Ceceta said, without looking up from her book.

  “So?” Aaron asked. “Where’s Rhen?”

  “I don’t know,” Ceceta snapped.

  “Was he here?” Charlie asked.

  Ceceta slammed her book closed and rose from her chair. “Yes, he was here. Yes, we talked, and no, he’s not here anymore. Okay? Now leave me alone and run off to follow him like the good little guard elves that you are.” She strode into her bedroom and slammed the door.

  Jet reached out to pull Lilly into his arms. “What are you doing?” she asked when Jet pressed his face into her hair.

  Jet held his wife tightly for a moment longer before whispering, “Ceceta’s not wearing Rhen’s marriage ring.”

  “So?” Charlie asked, barging in on their moment together.

  Jet glanced over at him. “Under Surpen law, they’re now… what’s the Thestran equivalent… divorced?”

  “No,” Latsoh gasped.

  Jet nodded and released Lilly. He studied her face for a moment before saying, “I’ve got to find him. I’ll notify you when I locate him. We might be moving to Surpen. Are you okay with that?”

  Lilly didn’t want to move to Surpen. She didn’t want to leave her family, but she nodded. Jet kissed her then left.

  As Lilly went into her bedroom to relieve her babysitter, she felt terrible. Latsoh had explained the entire situation to them. She couldn’t understand why Rhen and Ceceta hadn’t communicated. If they’d just taken the time to listen to each other, none of this would have happened.

  Chapter 21

  Rhen’s Bedroom – Surpen Palace

  Rhen walked into his bedroom and brushed the dust off of his tunic. He’d been in Surpen’s military headquarters when he’d found a magazine on jetbikes carelessly tossed into the trash. He’d rescued it and carried it up to his room so he could relax while checking out the latest bike designs. He opened the magazine with expectation then stopped short. A moment later, he turned and walked towards his mom’s sitting room.

  “I want to go away for a while.”

  Bosternd and Orpel jumped. Neither of them had heard Rhen enter the room. They’d been meeting to discuss closing the palace to the public. Too many foreign women had been invading Surpen in the hopes of dating Rhen. The palace was no longer the quiet, pleasant home that it had once been.

  The sight of Rhen made them both wince. Rhen had been hiding his misery, putting on a cheerful ‘public’ image. They knew he was devastated about losing Ceceta, but he’d been trying to hide it, even from them. The Genisters had been so worried about him that they’d begged Ceceta to return, but she’d refused. For some reason, she had it in her head that Rhen would be better off without her. She was wrong. The Genisters, able to sense Rhen’s pain, had fled.

  Bosternd had been happy to see them go. He’d never known that a group of Genisters could cry and blubber as much as they had, lying about the palace for days lamenting over Rhen’s misfortune. Bosternd had thought the Gods were above that sort of thing, but it was as if they’d lost their loved one, too.

  As Bosternd and Orpel looked up at Rhen, they felt like they were finally seeing him for the first time. The open, raw pain on his face from losing Ceceta was tangible. His hair was dirty and unkempt, there were dark bags under his eyes, and his mouth was creased from frowning. Bosternd reached out to comfort him, but Rhen stepped away from his hand.

  “That’s
wonderful,” Orpel said, before turning her face to hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes. “I think a vacation is a fantastic idea.”

  “Yeah,” Rhen mumbled. He turned to go, appeared lost for a minute, then sighed and dropped the magazine he’d been holding into the trash before leaving.

  Orpel lifted the edge of her mauve tunic to her face to hide her tears. Bosternd felt sorry for her and put an arm around her shoulders. He’d call Tgonar and Chara later to see if they could comfort her. When he felt Orpel shudder, he said, “I think this is good. It’ll be healing for him to get away.”

  Orpel sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Yes,” she said, getting herself under control. She patted Bosternd’s leg to thank him for his kindness.

  Bosternd rose to tell the guard elves that Rhen was planning on taking a vacation. He paused by the trash can, his eyes spotting the magazine Rhen had thrown out. “Oh,” he breathed out. Bending down, he picked it up to show it to Orpel.

  “Well, I guess that explains it,” she said as Bosternd showed her the images he had seen. There were a variety of pictures of Ceceta and her latest boyfriend in intimate poses.

  “You’re right,” Orpel added. “This is a good sign. He’ll get away and have some new experiences. It’ll be restoring for him. I’m glad he found that magazine. Ceceta has unwittingly helped us push Rhen forward.”

  ***

  Crystam and Latsoh decided that Ceceta needed a vacation. She had just broken up with her fifth boyfriend and was feeling depressed. Every man she met was interested in her solely because they wanted to own what Themrock had possessed. They wanted to have the woman that Themrock had loved. They didn’t care about her. As their last class for the week ended, Crystam grabbed Ceceta’s hands and sprung the news on her. “Guess what?”

  “What?” Ceceta asked softly, while gathering her books.

  “We spoke with the Headmaster and he’s going to let us have a week’s vacation. Isn’t that wonderful?!”

  Ceceta smiled at the twinkle in Crystam’s eyes. “You’ve become rather adept at using your powers, haven’t you?” Crystam blushed and dropped her head, making Ceceta laugh. “So, where are we going on our vacation?”

  “Crithnians,” Tgfhi answered. He walked up to them holding out brochures that showed blue waters, sunny skies and sandy beaches. “I just booked us three rooms in this awesome hotel on the hottest side of Crithnians.” He waved the brochures in front of them. “Let’s go.”

  “I’ve never been to the hottest side of Crithnians,” Ceceta said, grabbing her bag. “Rhen and I always went to the cooler side.”

  Crystam reached out for one of the brochures. “Great. You’ll have a new experience, you’ll relax and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a new man who doesn’t know who you are.”

  “Yes,” Ceceta said, feeling hopeful. For some reason, she had a good vibe about this vacation.

  Later that day, the Headmaster caught them as they were entering the portal room to leave. “Oh, Ceceta,” he called out. “I want you to read this before you leave. I’ve held onto it for you this whole time, because I thought I would give it to you when you came to ask me about paying for your school tuition, but you never stopped by.”

  Ceceta’s heart seized. “Paying for my tuition?” she squeaked. She’d completely forgotten about that. Rhen had promoted General Authe to be his Treasurer and Authe had done such an amazing job that neither she nor Rhen ever looked at their finances. Authe took care of everything. Ceceta felt sick to her stomach. The Elfin University was extremely expensive for non-elves, thus the reason why only the children of kings and queens could attend; they were the only ones who could afford it. With Rhen gone, she had nothing. She didn’t even have parents she could call to ask for money. Ceceta’s blue skin paled and everyone crowded around her, thinking she was going to faint.

  “No,” the Headmaster said, reaching for her arm. “Before Rhen left the University, he paid for your tuition for the remainder of this semester and for next semester as well. He left you this note.” Ceceta took the piece of blue paper, he was holding. “I know what it says, because I had to write it for him, but the words are his.” Ceceta couldn’t believe that Rhen had paid for her schooling. She opened the note and saw Rhen’s thumbprint at the end of it before reading.

  “I don’t understand,” the Headmaster said when Ceceta passed out. “I thought she’d be happy.”

  “What does it say?” Tgfhi asked. He had caught Ceceta when she’d started to drop and had carried her over to a chair by the portal.

  “Do you think she’ll mind if I tell you?” the Headmaster asked. When Latsoh shook her head, he said, “Rhen left her eight trillion trade coins in a bank account on Thestran. He also gave her their Neptian home, their home on Crithnians and their home on Geis, as well as all of the jewelry he’s acquired during his years as a soldier. The jewelry is located in a lock box in a bank on Ventar. The key to the lock box is taped to the letter.” He paused before adding, “Ceceta is the richest woman in the Universe.”

  “Eight trillion trade coins?” Erfce asked, enunciating every word. “My entire planet’s net worth is only 380 billion trade coins. Ceceta could buy my planet right out from under me.”

  “She could buy all of our planets combined and still have several trillion trade coins left over to play with,” Crystam said, feeling equally shocked.

  “Does this mean that I still have to pay for her part of the vacation?” Tgfhi asked. “The hotel you chose wasn’t cheap, you know.” Crystam smacked him on the arm.

  Ceceta took a quick breath and opened her eyes. Blinking, she sat up. “Sorry. I can’t believe Rhen did that. When the Headmaster mentioned the school’s tuition, I thought I was going to have to leave, because I don’t have any money. I have nothing.” After a brief pause, she added, “I guess that’s not the case anymore.”

  “No. Not anymore. Now you’re rich,” Crystam said.

  “Thanks to Rhen,” Tgfhi said softly.

  Ceceta nodded and stood up. She wondered if Rhen was mad at her for not thanking him for his gift. They hadn’t had any contact since the Fair. Rhen had obeyed her wishes about leaving her alone. She felt bad about not sending him a card or something to thank him. She’d have to do it when they got back from vacation.

  They arrived at their hotel on Crithnians and were greeted by the hotel staff, who were holding drinks and appetizers out to them on glass trays. “I could get used to this,” Erfce said, as he lay down on a fluffy green couch in the open lobby area of the hotel, while swirling his drink around in his hand. A warm breeze was blowing in off the ocean and the sound of waves and sea birds drifted into the lobby. Tgfhi looked very pleased as he drank his cocktail. “I’ve always heard that Crithnians was amazing but this is beyond amazing. This is the time after.”

  “Check us in, so we can change and go to the beach before the sun sets,” Crystam told him. She pulled off her hat and shook out her hair making a couple of people by the gift shop pass out. “Whoops,” she said, winking at Ceceta. “Things have been going so well that sometimes I forget I have powers.”

  Tgfhi and Erfce walked over towards a well-dressed man who was sitting behind a table. He greeted them and offered them cookies while checking their room assignments. Two women in hotel uniforms appeared behind them to massage their shoulders while they waited to be checked in.

  Seeing that their men were taken care of, Crystam and the others decided to check out the hotel’s pool while they waited. They walked down a stone path to find three crystal blue pools leading out towards the ocean. “Spectacular,” Latsoh breathed out. They strolled around the infinity pool, waving off the hotel’s staff, who were offering them towels and pool shoes, then stopped at the edge of the pool deck to lean against the railing. “This is perfect,” Latsoh said, gazing out at the vast blue ocean and the soft white sand beach that ran for miles down the coastline.

  “Time after is right,” Crystam said, smelling the rich, moist tropical air. A hote
l servant appeared next to them to see if they wanted massages.

  “Yes!” Latsoh yelped. The staff brought chairs over to them so they could sit and watch the sun set as they received shoulder and neck massages.

  Glancing down towards the beach, they saw a few of the other hotel guests. Most of the guests were swimming in the ocean or lying about on comfortable lounge chairs on the sand. Latsoh spotted one man whose chair was next to three empty chairs. He had a bronzed, muscular body and medium-length brown hair, the tips of which were bleached by the sun. There was a magazine resting across his face and he appeared to be sleeping.

  “Oh, Ceceta,” Crystam said. “Check him out. He’d be perfect for you.”

  “And I have a man for you, too,” Latsoh said. She pointed down towards the beach.

  “Which man?” Crystam asked.

  “The one on the lounge chair with the great body. He has a magazine on his face. Which one do you have for her?”

  Crystam laughed. “The same one,” she admitted. “He’s delicious looking.” She checked behind her to make sure Tgfhi hadn’t heard. She didn’t want him to feel jealous.

  “Where is he?” Ceceta asked, leaning forward in her chair to look down at the beach.

  “There, by the three empty chairs,” Latsoh told her, while pointing to their right.

  “Oh,” Ceceta exhaled, when she spotted him. “Yes. I believe you’re right. It’s hard to see him clearly from the glare of the sun, but I think I’ve finally found my man. Don’t tell him my name. I want him to like me for who I am and not for whom I’ve been with.”

  “What should we call you then?” Latsoh asked.

  “Call me… Crissi.” Latsoh and Crystam giggled. They were going to have fun with this.

  “I love this place,” Erfce murmured, when he and Tgfhi arrived.

  “We all do,” Latsoh said. “Can we go to our rooms now?”

  Erfce accepted an appetizer from a passing servant. “Yes, the rooms are ready.”