The Space Merchants of Arachne

by Wendie Nordgren

  “I am eager to see my mother and sisters.”

  “So am I,” I said.

  “To meeting Yukihyo’s mother and sisters,” Phillip said with a lifted cup. We raised our cups, and Kaoti mimicked us.

  “My papa says we can all stay with him during our visit. I want to. Do any of you?” I looked around the table at their expressions.

  “I will go wherever you wish,” Yukihyo assured me.

  “So will I,” Simon said.

  “Chirp!”

  “We will see,” Hiroshi said.

  I moved to the edge of the seat and stood slowly. Then, I began clearing the table and cleaning up.

  “What are you doing?” Simon asked in complete shock. He indicated the plates that I had placed in the cleaning unit.

  “I’m cleaning my kitchen in my home, dear cousin. Calm down and accept it or you may need a sedative when I come for your laundry. Also, I am fulfilling my duties as the domestic assistant on Tora, and I think that I’m good at it.” I laughed at is expression. Yukihyo kissed me and went to the bridge with Hiroshi and Phillip. Simon and Kaoti stayed with me in the kitchen. Kaoti looked completely scandalized when I cleaned and put his dishes away for him. “Are either of you hungry?” They shook their heads. “Do either of you need anything?”

  “No, I don’t,” Simon answered.

  “In that case, I’m going to take a nice long nap. I am so glad to be away from that tiny seating area and that couch. Please don’t be alarmed if I sleep until dinner.” Thunderdrop chirped at me. “You and Cass can play with your toys or do whatever you want. Yukihyo has the new door adjusted for you, and you know where I will be.” I kissed Simon on the forehead and almost wept with relief once I crawled into my bed.

  That evening Kaoti showed the smallest bit of discomfiture again when we invited him to watch our movie. He tried to remain standing until I became exasperated with him. “Kaoti, we are in space on Tora, following Uncle Kagan, and Kane is in his ship behind us. Only family is on board. Why do you need to stand at attention by the door? Please, come sit with us.” Kaoti bowed to me and sat stiffly on the couch across from us next to Simon.

  As Yukihyo and I prepared to go to bed, I discovered another four gowns that had become uncomfortable and started another drawer of things that didn’t fit. I thought I looked terrible. Yukihyo felt differently and convinced me not to bother with a gown. The next morning, I woke sprawled across the bed. I had no idea what time it was or where Thunderdrop and Cass were. I showered, slipped on a soft peach colored dress, a pair of sandals, and braided my hair. I went to the area in front of the bridge to find Hiroshi and Yukihyo. “Good morning. Sorry, but my alarm didn’t wake me up.” Yukihyo smiled at me.

  In his deep monotone he said, “I disabled your alarm. I thought it would be better for you to rest more.”

  “It does help.” I went to the kitchen and found Phillip seated at the table with his vid-screen. I collected a breakfast of milk, yogurt, olives, and cheese cubes. I prepared to hear him gripe at me or take things away. He smiled, told me good morning, and kept reading. When I had finished and he still hadn’t fussed at me, I put the half empty jar of olives away and heated up a steak. I put two tablespoons of peanut butter on the plate for dipping. I washed it down with another glass of milk and felt much better. I cleaned and put away my dishes before leaving.

  I went to Phillip’s quarters and collected his soiled laundry. When I came out, Kaoti watched me with a steely expression. “What?”

  “Princess, what are you doing?”

  “Laundry.”

  “Don’t you have servants?” His dark eyes seemed angry.

  “No, I clean Tora. This is my home.”

  “Please allow me to carry that for you.” He reached for the basket. I pulled it away.

  “I’ve got it. This is my job.”

  “Cupcake, how about you permit us to leave our baskets in the laundry room for you, and then we can pick them up and take them to our rooms when you’re done?”

  “But you won’t find everything without my help, Phillip.”

  “I’ll try harder.”

  “Well, okay. I guess we can see how it goes.” Yukihyo and Hiroshi had been listening from the bridge and each went off to collect baskets. Phillip smiled and took his basket from me. I looked at Kaoti and waited. “Well, aren’t you going to get yours? Please be sure to check under your chairs and to put your towels into the basket.” He stared at me with minimal expression, but with what I began to consider to be his shocked face. However, he did comply. I went to Simon’s room for his. Phillip took it from me. Yukihyo winked at me as he returned with Hiroshi to the bridge.

  Kaoti stood with his back to the wall and observed as I ran our laundry through the cleaning unit. Once his laundry was clean, he promptly took it to his quarters. Once the others did so as well, Kaoti carried Simon’s for me, and I showed him where I usually placed baskets just inside of the door. I decided to put the floor bot off until the next day, so they wouldn’t all go crazy. I entered the kitchen and found Phillip seated at the table. “Will it bother you if I’m in here?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Where’s Simon?”

  “He bought an awful lot of silk really fast and is organizing it still.”

  “He’s been on Tora for a week, and he’s still working on it?”

  “The Alarics, Montgomeries, and Lings sent him with silk for us to sell.”

  “Do they think we will find buyers for all of it?”

  “Let me think. It is the highest quality Arachnean silk being brought into a wealthy empire that has never before had access to it before now, and it is being made available to them by their Emperor’s very own recently rescued daughter? Yes, we all think it will sell.” Phillip winked at me. I turned on a cake demonstration and watched it while I sipped tea. I had to convince Kaoti to sit down with us.

  “Phillip?”

  “Yes, Cupcake?”

  “What’s your favorite kind of cake?”

  He looked across the table at me with interest. “Chocolate.” I gathered together the ingredients, baked, and then iced one.

  “Phillip, will you please ask Simon if he wants to come to the kitchen?”

  “Sure thing.”

  I set the table and provided cups of coffee. Then, I informed the bridge crew.

  “Cookies yesterday and cake today? I had no idea you spoiled them so, or I would have accepted an earlier invitation.”

  “Oh, Simon. I know my humble attempts don’t come close to Stewart, but thank you.”

  When I awoke the next morning, I found Thunderdrop and Cass resting on a magnificent web they had constructed above my vanity. I laid still and watched them. I moved my hands over my rounded stomach. I thought I felt a soft flutter, like butterfly wings inside. I froze. “Yukihyo!” I thought.

  Suddenly, my husband raced into the room. “Are you alright?” I looked at his eyes and down.

  “Yes, I was just surprised. I could have sworn I felt something. Did I?” Phillip had followed on his heels, and had been pursued by Kaoti who wore an expression that dared anyone to suggest he leave. Yukihyo smiled proudly at me and kissed my hands. Phillip scanned me and let me see. “Yukihyo, look! Our baby has a head and hands.” He chuckled at me. As we watched, I felt the soft flutter again and saw our baby move a little. Shocked, I saw Yukihyo in tears. I had never seen him cry. Phillip patted him and grinned. Yukihyo refused to leave my side for the remainder of the day, and his hands only left me when I went for bathroom trips.

  While Yukihyo worked at the desk, I sat on the couch and called Grandmother on Uncle Kagan’s starship to tell her what had happened. Kaoti stood behind my couch at attention. Uncle Kagan entered the room behind Grandmother. “My granddaughter felt my great-grandchild move for the first time today, son.” She had a sweet smile on her face that made her cheeks look soft and wrinkled. Uncle Kagan gave her a smile in return, but I watched his eyes as he seemed to memorize everything in
my room. His eyes paused on my pictures, specifically the one the two of us had taken together with Kane on the day we had first met. He turned a gentler set of eyes to me.

  “You seem in better spirits, niece.”

  “Oh, yes. It feels so good to be home. I am nervous about going to Parvac, though.”

  “Why is that?” Grandmother asked. I just smiled and shook my head. I placed my hand over my stomach.

  “There is no reason for your nervousness,” Uncle Kagan said. I found a small bit of comfort as I looked into his green and gold eyes.

  “Being in a system and on a planet surrounded by armed Parvac soldiers will always be terrifying for me. How can I really be sure that my family is safe? You’re huge and can defend yourself. You’ll never understand what it’s like for someone like me.”

  “Teagan, the man standing behind you won’t let anyone hurt you. I can assign men to ensure your crew’s safety as well, if it will make you feel better.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  I spent the remainder of the afternoon in simulation attempting to learn how to disembark a fighter ship without losing a wing. In order to progress to take-off, I had to disembark and get the fighter ship into position twenty consecutive times. “Kaoti, please sit down, go eat, take a nap, or go to the exercise room. You’re making me nervous.”

  Yukihyo chuckled from where he sat at his desk. Kaoti sat beside me on the couch. After I grew tired of the simulator, I convinced him to play stones with me. He was much better at it than I. Everyone on board met for lunch with the exception of Thunderdrop and Cass, who decided that they would rather play with their transports. They had been keeping Simon company for most of the morning.

  By the time we reached Parvac, I felt centered and completely relaxed. After I had confided my fears to Uncle Kagan, I had received daily assurances from him, Papa, and Kane that all would be well. Kane assured Hiroshi that Tora would be kept under guard and that he need not worry about her or her cargo. Papa wanted us to get settled in at his home and relax for a day before speaking to buyers. He suggested loading silk samples and spider food into the large land transport. “You do not need to trouble yourselves with packing. I have had some things placed in your closets,” Papa said.

  “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that.” He just smiled at me.

  Once I saw Parvac on my vid-screen, my anxiety came back as though it had never left. Suddenly, the view changed to Yukihyo. He sat in his grav chair on the bridge. “Lady wife, I can feel your distress. Perhaps you should challenge Kaoti to another game.” Yukihyo’s face disappeared and a stones board appeared. Dutifully, Kaoti sat beside me. We had played several times, and I had never come close to winning. I knew Kaoti found me to be a boring opponent. Yukihyo got some kind of satisfaction making Kaoti amuse me. I had become well enough accustomed to Tora to know when she landed. It wouldn’t be much longer until we stepped foot on a planet that had given me nightmares. I wiped my palms on the skirt of my dress. Kaoti met my gaze with his dark one, but said nothing.

  With Thunderdrop on my shoulder and my arm twined with Yukihyo’s, we walked down Tora’s ramp. The sky forced all of my anxiety away. It was absolutely stunning. I had never considered the possibility of a sky being anything but blue. Parvac’s sky was soft shades of pink and orange. Then, I noticed a very clean and well-organized land port. All of the dock workers wore matching uniforms and worked with precision. The men seemed impressed, too. It wasn’t at all like the loud bustling land ports of Earth, Scipio, or Amphictyon. Papa waited for us inside of a long and luxurious looking land transport. The entire crew seemed nervous, now. I sat beside Papa. He held my hand. Yukihyo relaxed considerably once the transport began to move which put Hiroshi, Simon, and Phillip at ease. “Teagan, having you here with me means more to me than you will ever know. I longed for Neema’s return for almost two decades. I know she weeps tears of relief from the afterlife now that we are together as we should be.” Yukihyo handed me a silk square. After I had dried my eyes, I noticed people lined the streets and waved.

  We drove along a road with gardens to each side. I saw snowcapped mountains in the distance. We passed through a stone wall that surrounded an extensive cleared area of land. Grass spread out as far as I could see. A massive stone structure waited at the end of the road. The mountains were behind it and to the left, and a gigantic serene lake spread out to the right. Towering trees spread from the lake off toward the distant mountain. “This is breathtakingly beautiful,” I said. The others gaped out of the windows the same as me.

  “This is your home, Daughter. I hope one day you will feel as safe and happy here as you do on Tora.” Soldiers stood at attention in rows. Their black uniforms were immaculate and terrifying. “Come, Daughter. I will show you to your wing of the palace.” I stared at him. This was his home? “Daughter, I am the Emperor of Parvac, as were your grandfather, and great-grandfather. Where did you expect our family home to be?”

  Papa took my arm and led me into the palace. Floors of polished white stone flowed away in every direction. Although the ceiling was very high, the palace did not have a second floor. The others followed us. Thunderdrop chirped at them from my shoulder. Servants stood with their backs to the walls and smiled at us as we walked past them. At the end of the long hall, Papa walked through a set of doors and entered a large sitting room. It had couches, chairs, and tables and a wall of windows to the right overlooking the lake. At the other end of the room, large plasti-glass doors opened to a semi-circular stone patio with steps all the way around it that led down to the lawn. A table and chairs were at the patio’s center. In the middle of the left wall, an arched entrance opened onto a long hall. Papa walked with me through the entrance, and we walked past three doors to either side.

  “There are six rooms here for your friends, and the room at the end of the hall is yours.” We all followed Papa to the doors at the end of the hall and entered my room. The word lavish didn’t come anywhere close to what we saw.

  “Yukihyo, can we take pictures of this for Sydney, Gram, Auria, and Gina?” The same white stone flooring carried through. The bedding was all in white, and the bed frame resembled a golden birdcage, but open at the sides and foot. Golden tables with white stone tops were to either side of the massive bed. Vases full of white roses were atop each of them. In the corner across the room and to the right was a larger matching table and chairs. A large arched doorway across from the bed led to the bathroom. Sinks of white stone stood under a mirror in a golden frame. To the left I saw a white stone tub to rival Gina’s. To the right was a dressing area with a long golden rack full of clothing for Yukihyo and me. Cabinets were at the end. The waste unit was in the back corner hidden behind a semi-circular white stone wall.

  “Do you like it, Daughter?” I nodded and looked around in a daze. Thunderdrop jumped down to explore.

  “It’s the most beautiful room that I’ve ever seen. Thank you for letting us stay here.”

  “Stay here?” Papa said as he put his arms around me. “This wing of the palace belongs to my princess and only to you. My wish is that you will stay here whenever you are home on Parvac, and you may bring with you whomever you wish. I only hope you like it enough to return home often.”

  “I would want to return to see you wherever you lived, but this is really great.” I had slipped my arms between his shirt and jacket to hug him back. “I’m happy enough that you are mine, and I am yours, and that you like the rest of my family.” I lifted up on my toes to kiss his cheek.

  “My darling, I have matters to which I must attend. You may go anywhere in the palace that you wish with the exception of private rooms. This is your home. You may also explore the grounds. However, in your condition I would rather you stayed off of the mountains and remain close.”

  “Yes, Papa.”

  Yukihyo, Hiroshi, Phillip, and Simon bowed to him as he left. I watched him as he walked down the hall until he
turned the corner. Simon let out a low whistle. “I have my very own papa. It’s so hard to believe, and he’s so sweet.” I became emotional, and Yukihyo held me and patted my back. Then, I laughed when he handed me a bright red silk square. “Did you all see the tub?”

  We went to explore the other rooms. Each of the six rooms had beds, private bathrooms with tubs, corner desks with vid-screens and chairs, and bed side tables. They were much nicer than our quarters on Tora. New clothing had been placed in the three rooms closest to mine in the correct sizes.

  “Wow, Cupcake. It’s like we’re being treated like royalty.”

  “I told you so,” Simon snickered.

  “What did you tell me?”

  In a high-pitched impersonation of my voice, he said, “I’ve never been within two miles of one that I know of. I knew all along that my sweet cousin was indeed a princess.” Simon bent over my hand and placed a kiss on my knuckles.

  “Simon, you don’t sound anything at all like a girl.”

  “She’s right. Your voice is too deep and has an occasional rumbling quality,” Yukihyo said. Simon gave us his well-practiced rich and dashing smile. I took his arm. We found Thunderdrop and Cass crawling all over everything in the sitting room. Two men in white uniforms opened the patio doors for us. They proceeded to place drinks and appetizers on the patio table. We sat and sipped chilled juice. The steps leading down from the stone patio conformed to the semi-circular surface from one side to the other and their gradual descent flowed seamlessly down to the thick green wispy grass.

  “Excuse me, sir?” The uniformed man bowed to me.

  “How may I be of service, Princess?” I blushed.

  “Would you please take our picture? Otherwise, I’m not sure our family on Arachne will believe this.” I smiled at him.

  “Yes, Princess.” He took pictures of us with the pink and orange sky above us and the mountains and lake behind us. We all thanked him.

  Once he had gone, Hiroshi said, “I suggest we put our freedom here to the test.” We agreed and decided to take right turns. Kaoti followed us. After half an hour of exploring, we had discovered meeting rooms, a ballroom, exercise room, an indoor pool, private living quarters, entertainment rooms, and an infirmary where Phillip insisted on introducing himself. Then, he made friends by offering me up to the doctor on duty who eagerly scanned me. After some additional exploration, I thought we were lost and didn’t relish the idea of walking back the way we had come. I took a seat in an elegant chair under a pretty painting of a bird soaring in a pink sky.