Awakening: The Prince of Nabalar (The Princes of Uvieroein Book 1)

by Samuda, C. D.

  Ariella pretended not to remember. “I can’t recall, what did I say?”

  A knock at the door interrupted them. Mirsux slid from the bed and pulled on a clean pair of sweats. Ariella pulled the sheets around her to cover her nakedness.

  “What is it Ubea?” Mirsux inquired when he opened the door.

  “The captain is awake, Prince Mirsux,” the alien attendant replied. “I am to fetch the princess.”

  Ariella wrapped the sheet tightly around her and slipped to the bathroom where she brushed her hair and pulled on a light silky gown. She splashed water on her face and noticed how her skin glowed.

  Mirsux took her hand when she returned to the room and led her to the great room. McTaggart was standing near the king and queen awaiting her arrival. His face brightened when he saw her and he rushed over to greet her.

  “Ariella!”

  “Are you well?” she asked.

  “Yes, much better. They gave me medicine and I have been fed,” he replied with a smile. “Ariella, I’m so happy to see you.” He reached for her to hug her but she stepped from his embrace.

  Without knowing it, her palm opened and raised, then landed splat on his cheek. “You are no longer my captain, you will show me respect!”

  Delvin’s cheek turned red with the welt marks of her fingers. He opened his eyes wide and stared at her. Then he bowed.

  “I’m sorry, Princess,” he said.

  She was angry. She felt it flare inside her the minute she learned he was on Xygor. All this time, she’d given him the benefit of doubt. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  “What have you to say for yourself? How could you betray me?” her voice was hard.

  He looked at her bewildered. “I did no such thing,” he denied.

  Mirsux whispered in her ear, “Let’s hear what he has to say.”

  She looked into Mirsux’s golden pools and some of the anger ebbed. She turned back to Delvin and sighed, allowing some more of her tension to dissipate.

  “Alright, let’s hear it,” she said.

  “I did not betray you. The prince promised me a jewel in exchange for my ship and a meeting with you,” he looked into her eyes.

  “Isn’t that a betrayal?” she sneered.

  “No, it wasn’t a set up at all. He promised that he could help find your father, that was what the meeting was for.”

  “You had many opportunities to tell me this before the ship’s failure and while we were here. Why didn’t you?”

  She found her anger was rising again and her heart thudding heavily.

  He shuffled and quietly answered, “I was not sure I wanted to part with my ship. I wanted to tell you, but the time never seemed right, and then we lost it all, including Marlon. I just thought it futile at that point.”

  “What was so special about the ship?”

  “There were parts I acquired on Fopra that he needed. They were made of a rare metal only found in Galaxy 969. He said he was building some sort of machine and needed it. I was supposed to get a bigger, better ship with the money from the Yarzib jewel.”

  She stared at her captain for a minute, then walked to the window overlooking the Nabalar land. What was she to believe? The rare jewel, much like a diamond, only a thousand times more valuable would have given him a better craft. She knew the Xygor prince was cunning. He must have tricked Delvin. But why would he lie about her father and request a meeting with her?

  She twirled to face him. “What about my father?”

  Delvin stepped towards her and locked eyes with hers. “Ariella…Princess, believe me, I am telling you the truth. Your father is a prisoner of Xygor.”

  Chapter 17

  Ariella glared at the screen of the tele-broadcaster. Her teeth clenched in disgust as she watched a vessel anchor onto the wastelands of Nabalar, home to the mutated alien species condemned to live there by the Galaxy Council.

  The dense fauna in that section of the planet made it a prime hiding place for the flesh-eating beasts. This proved quite dangerous for any other living creature on the planet.

  A shudder ran through her as she remembered the Migrels’ attack of her and Delvin, her captain on the shuttle. Her first contact with the ten-foot purple reptilian creatures occurred shortly after their shuttle failed and landed on Nabalar. Shaking her head, Ariella brought her attention back to the present.

  She clenched her fists as her chest tightened in anger, watching a group of azure complexioned soldiers disembark the ship. Their eyes were pools of amber that seemed to blaze in their almond-shaped sockets. With long thin necks, their pointy ears jutted from the sides of their heads. They wore standard issue figure hugging uniforms, dark ash in color with an emblazoned crest on the left breast.

  The markings on the ship were clear: UNIFED – NXPR, followed by translations into several alien languages and the numbers of the various fleets the federation represented. The vessel was from the Universal Federation of Galaxy Councils, particularly the NXPR Galaxy.

  She clenched her fists, pursing her lips. The heat of anger, fast becoming a ball of fire within her, caused her skin to flush and her cheeks to burn. She wanted to scream at the troops, commanding them to take the creatures back. Her anger soon turned to rage, not because of what had happened to her, but because she deemed it abominable for the council to continue dumping the Migrels on Nabalar when they had removed the planet from the council.

  Nabalar was no longer a part of their league. They had no military protection; neither did they receive any fiscal or scientific benefits.

  She had accidently stumbled into the channel broadcasting the atrocity while searching for something to keep her sane as she formulated a plan to rescue her father.

  Her eyes followed their every move as they lowered the beasts to the planet’s surface. The Migrels appeared to be in a state of stupor. As their feet touched Nabalar soil, the captain passed a black rectangular device across their foreheads. Upon looking closely, she noticed that the device gave off a red glow, which turned green before it went off.

  Someone moved up beside her. It was Queen Heffun. “Don’t watch that my child,” the queen softly advised

  “Why not?” Ariella’s voice registered her rising frustration.

  The queen looked at her with a slight frown. “What troubles you, Princess?”

  She turned to face Heffun. Her skin flushed pink and her emerald eyes ablaze. “Aren’t you in any way concerned about this?” she asked, gesturing towards the screen.

  “I don’t understand,” Heffun replied, confused.

  She again waved her hand at the screen. “The Migrels,” she said, her voice rising a decibel.” When will they stop dumping them on Nabalar?”

  With narrowed eyes, Heffun looked at her a moment before turning to the monitor. “There’s nothing we can do about it. The Galaxy Council has ruled. Our planet must accept these creatures, just as Xygor houses the prisoners. We have no choice.”

  “Why do you accept it so easily? Why don’t you fight for your planet?” Her voice thick with the emotions bubbling inside her.

  “Ariella,” Heffun’s tone was troubled. “There’s nothing we can do about it. It is the council’s decision.”

  “But Nabalar is no longer a part of the council, remember? You’ve been stripped of your position on the board. They are using Nabalar as no more than a dump!”

  “Yes, but…,” Heffun’s voice lowered as she stared at the monitor.

  Ariella moved closer to her. “I can see that it troubles you as well. Why haven’t you done something about it?”

  “No,” Heffun sighed, shaking her head. “There is nothing we can do about it. This is of our own doing. It is our punishment for what we did.”

  Ariella could not believe what she was hearing. It sounded like the queen felt they deserved the punishment.

  She turned to face the queen, meeting her golden eyes. “What did you do? You were a victim of bad decisions. Your entire planet shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences.
And who the hell are these councilmen…?”

  “Al Qithoghuex…,” Heffun chimed in.

  “What?”

  “They are the Overlords… Al Qithoghuex. They rule the galaxy. Their word is law.”

  Ariella gritted her teeth in frustration. How could a species as intelligent as the Nabalarians be so doltish about the matter? This was unjustifiable. There was no way, as the new princess of Nabalar, she intended to allow this practice to continue. Not to mention that the Migrels were flesh-eating beasts who fed on anything that moved, including the planet’s inhabitants. The Migrels’ only usefulness was the eradication of the large armored scary bugs she had once encountered on the planet.

  For a moment, her mind flashed back to that first night on Nabalar. Those golf ball sized bugs, with an uncanny resemblance to earth’s cockroaches, had crawled onto her as she slept. She awoke to their cold feet crawling over her body and their mandibles nipping at her flesh. They had frightened her terribly, and the clicking sounds they made still reverberated through her head. She had to close her eyes to shut out the memory as another shudder ran through her.

  “Then, tell them to deliver meals for the beasts as well,” she argued, her thoughts returning to the present.

  Heffun shook her head. “Ariella, that thinking is dangerous.”

  “Explain to me how it’s dangerous.”

  Heffun went silent, apparently refusing to say more. Ariella would not let up so easily. In addition to the actions of the Galaxy Overlords, there was something about the creatures that bothered her.

  “Tell me something else,” Ariella added. Heffun looked quizzically at her. “Why are there so many mutated species, yet not one of them are of Nabalar or Xygor?”

  A flicker crossed Heffun’s eyes, but she looked away before Ariella could determine her mood. When Heffun turned back around, her face was expressionless. She turned from the monitor and walked slowly to the podium where she appeared about to sit, then changed her mind. A moment later she come back to stand before Ariella. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then snapped it shut.

  The discussion and her suggestion about the mutated Migrels were clearly affecting the queen. Ariella was not certain if there was more to this than she knew. She was new to their world and maybe Heffun knew something that she didn’t. However, she found that she could not keep silent. Something inside of her cried out about the injustice being served to these people.

  “How long will you allow them to feed on the people of Nabalar? Are you aware that your people are at risk of becoming extinct?” She added.

  “I am very aware of that fact!” Heffun’s voice raised a few decibels. Clearly affected by the conversation, she walked to her chair on the royal podium and sat, leaning into the chair’s high back. “Is it not I who made sure you wed my son in order to save us?”

  Ariella gave a sarcastic laugh. “Ha! So you finally admit to manipulating me. Still, you have done nothing to assist in finding my father. That was the bargain we made, was it not?”

  Heffun stood and walked back to her, facing her squarely, lifting her chin. “You seem to forget your place, Earth-being.” Her words passed through clenched teeth.

  Ariella’s emerald pools glinted as they locked with the golden eyes of her queen. “The moment I bonded with your son, I was no longer of earth. With that bond came the authority to question the atrocities committed on this planet by the Galaxy Overlords!”

  “That might be so,” the queen lowered her voice and turned away, acquiescing. “Still, that tone towards your queen is unacceptable.”

  “Tell me, was it my tone, or my words, that have offended the queen?”

  Heffun twirled, her satiny lavender gown swirling around her feet. Her long raven hair shimmered with the movement as she turned to face the younger woman. She appeared to have gained an inch as she straightened her shoulders, glowering at Ariella. For a moment, they eyed each other, exchanging fiery darts.

  Ariella’s frustration would not allow her to relent. She squared her shoulders as well, and pursed her lips. She would not back away from the issue. If she was supposed to save Nabalar, then she would do everything in her power to accomplish the task.

  “Both,” Heffun replied in a tight voice. “You were never like this before. What has become of your grace?”

  “I have always been this way, Mother. Have you forgotten why you imprisoned me? Did you think that I would just sit back and allow all this to happen now that I am wed to your son? Did you think I wouldn’t question the ludicrous actions of the Al Q…” Stumbling over the alien words, she continued. “… the Overlords?”

  Heffun sighed. “Ariella, I beg of you. Let this go. There are things beyond our control, things from the past, events of which you have no knowledge.”

  “Then fill me in. I have a right to know why you will not act to defend your people and your planet.”

  Heffun seemed reluctant to share the events that befell Nabalar many years ago. However, Ariella’s stubborn persistence eventually overcame her resolve. Sighing, the queen guided her to a room she’d never seen before, located behind the royal podium.

  “This is my sanctuary, no one is allowed inside... except my son. I will tell you what you desire to hear,” she said.

  Ariella surveyed the expansive room. The cool light of the orb hanging low in the sky filled the space. The air was crisp and clean, as with the other rooms in the palace. The light source produced no heat although it was as bright as the earth’s sun. A red velvet chaise stood near the window. A massive floor to ceiling shelf, holding what appeared to be golden scrolls, filled the wall to its right. On an opposing wall were portraits of Nabalarian royalty, perhaps going back a few generations.

  Heffun beckoned her to the chaise. Once seated, she waited to hear what the alien queen had to say. Above the portraits, something resembling a coat of arms made of gold and other metals drew Ariella’s attention. Noticing her interest, the queen walked to the wall pointing to the emblem.

  “Xakr,” she said with a small click of the tongue. “Crest,” she clarified, seeing Ariella’s confusion.

  Ariella stepped forward to more closely inspect the crest. From her estimation, it was about the size of a basketball, depicting an axe laid across a replica of the Ysark, forming an X. A wreath of Alzanuas, crystal roses native to the planet, lay behind the two items. In the foreground, displayed against a red and green metal sheet, was a crown decorated with a stone similar to the Diainspar. Ariella wanted to touch it but it was beyond her reach. Heffun moved to stand beside her.

  “That is our insignia, the Xakr,” Heffun repeated.

  “Xakr,” Ariella breathed the word, attempting to produce the clicking sound.

  “There are thirteen in number, one for each planet in our world,” Heffun continued, staring at the crest. Her voice took on a faraway sound, “Uvieroein, that’s what our galaxy was named before all this destruction and ruin!”

  Ariella listened keenly as Heffun revealed what had transpired within the alien world. Wealth and harmony created the grandeur that defined Uvieroein. Each planet had one thing that existed nowhere else in the sector. Nabalar had the Alzanuas. Xygor had the Yarzib gem. The oracles resided on Axrylore, the only planet beyond the reach of the evil Overlords. Of the thirteen planets in the galaxy, two remained wealthy and thriving, Maxzoliokz and Oxilia, both occupied by the Overlords.

  “Tell me about the Overlords,” Ariella said, when Heffun paused.

  She wanted to know all she could about these unscrupulous tyrants. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they were responsible for her father’s imprisonment on Xygor. However, she couldn’t dismiss the fact that Prince Julkaz could be the culprit as well. The Undercrypt of Xygor, as Delvin, her commanding officer, had referred to it, was where the federation’s prisoners were sent. Julkaz was allowed use of the empty cells, but most were used for enemies of Heilfelst.

  “The Overlord Premier of Maxzoliokz is Heilfelst,” Heffun spat the name throu
gh curled lips.

  “Who is he?”

  Heffun took Ariella’s shoulders, replying with a strained voice, “The one you should fear the most.”

  “Is this his doing?”

  “He, and a league of others just as powerful. I cannot tell you how they did it, but they have the largest, most powerful army in our world. And their own planets thrive with wealth and offspring. Their children are groomed at an early age to serve only the council while all others are…,” she swallowed hard. “Imprisoned or put to death!”

  “What? That’s crazy!” She didn’t want to believe something so incomprehensible. How could such an evil exist? “But why?”

  “They search for the ultimate source of energy and power. They have been mining the planets for it. It’s called the blaerix.”

  “Source of power… what do you mean?”

  Heffun’s tone sounded calmer as she explained to Ariella, “Ariella, you know about the Z’raschein, how it awakens our people. One source cannot be diminished. The one who finds and obtains its powers becomes the rightful ruler of our galaxy.”

  “What or where is that source… blaerix?” Ariella asked, intrigued with this information.

  “We don’t know. But, the one who should be our leader was executed. We believed he knew where the blaerix was and how to obtain its power.”

  “Who was that?”

  “The Oxilian King.”

  Ariella processed all that Heffun relayed to her. It was a lot to absorb but she needed to know every detail in order to carry out her duties as the new princess of Nabalar. However, there was more she needed from the queen, as her priority was to release her father from prison.

  “So the Undercrypt on Xygor, tell me about it,” she said.

  Heffun stiffened, her face becoming austere as she turned and walked to the window overlooking the land. Ariella walked up behind her.

  “I cannot tell you what you seek to know,” Heffun’s voice was stern.

  “Why not? You know all I seek to know,” she stated, her confusion evident.

  Heffun spun around, her golden eyes ablaze, “It is forbidden to speak of that planet.”