by V. St. Clair
“Good God, what’s happened to you?” Carl stared down at her in concern, reaching into his bag and extracting a tissue for her.
“Carl—I need—to punch—Risa—”
She accepted the tissue and blew her nose, coughing painfully once more and wishing she hadn’t pushed herself quite so hard to get across campus.
Risa frowned down at her and said, “I can understand why you’re upset with me, and our friend too…but we weren’t holding out on you on purpose—”
“Like hell,” Ana panted, trying to get to her feet but failing.
“Well, fine, but we weren’t just being petty,” Risa amended. “I wanted to tell you more than once, but it’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I used to be—” She glanced briefly at Carl as she said this, looking worried. “That I was close to someone like him.”
Carl looked at Ana, then Risa, and back again, sticking his chin out. “I assume one of you is eventually going to tell me what you’re talking about, and why Ana sprinted across campus to fail at yelling at you.”
“Yes, my cousin wants you to come with us today, so she must be alright with you knowing,” Risa sighed, looking around anxiously to make sure they weren’t overheard. She seemed to be willing to put her bad feelings about Carl’s new ambitions aside for now. “If we can get off campus and rent a car, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
“He’s coming with us?” Ana asked in surprise. “When did your cousin decide to summon Carl?” she snapped in annoyance.
“She called early this morning to tell me.” Risa shrugged, still looking uneasy. “I am sorry, you know.”
“Ana, get up so we can rent a car and get out of here. I don’t like being kept in the dark,” Carl chided her, nudging her with his shoe.
“I don’t think I can walk right now,” Ana admitted. “I may have pushed myself too hard.”
Carl dropped his bag onto the grass.
“You’re lucky my new limbs have finished healing, or I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He crouched down, and for a second, Ana and Risa stared blankly at him.
“Wait, are you serious?” Ana coughed, sharing an amused glance with Risa. “You want me to climb on your back so you can carry me to a rental car?”
“He’s always been dramatic,” Risa giggled, looking confused by the moment of levity but deciding to let it continue. “Do you remember when he got drunk and tried to serenade me in the middle of our floor party?”
Ana laughed and said, “If I recall, you weren’t at the party but it took him awhile to realize it. Didn’t he sing at like, five different redheads–two of them men–while looking for you?”
Carl had abandoned his attempt to tote her across campus and retrieved his bag, now walking a few paces ahead of them.
“In all fairness, that guy Michael was a stunning redhead,” he interjected with a glance backwards, and the three of them burst into laughter.
It was a nice moment, and it gave Ana some hope that maybe things would be alright between the three of them again someday.
It wasn’t far to the rental garage on the east side of campus, so Ana focused on taking deep breaths and clearing her mind while they went to pick out a car.
Carl scanned his biochip at the front desk. The man working behind the counter didn’t ask what their business was, though his eyes flickered constantly between the three of them as though trying to puzzle it out for himself.
“You rented a mini?” Ana asked skeptically, as Carl gestured for her and Risa to get in.
“I’m not wealthy, you know. The military hasn’t hired me yet, though they also haven’t arrested me, which I take for a good sign.”
Risa got in the front seat with Carl while Ana crammed into the tiny backseat, buckling her seatbelt and trying to get comfortable as Carl pulled out of the lot and left the Academy through the eastern exit. At the first light, he placed his communicator on the dashboard and tapped a few keys on it without explanation. When a blue light began blinking on the display he said, “Now tell me what the hell is going on.”
“What’s going on with your comm?” Risa asked curiously.
“If there are any bugs in the car they shouldn’t be able to hear anything but white noise.”
Ana leaned forward, impressed. “How did you manage to get that app on your comm? We aren’t even allowed to play with most tech without getting arrested.”
Carl shrugged and said, “I programmed it myself, and I don’t really advertise it. Now tell me what’s going on.”
Risa started speaking immediately, before Ana could comment further on Carl’s skills with technology.
“We were at the tail end of a meeting with Hera last night when all of a sudden a Provo-Major busted into the kitchen, from the basement, with Vicerina Jessamine in tow.”
“Wait, seriously?” Carl nearly rear-ended the car in front of them as he whirled around to look at them both.
“Eyes on the road,” Ana said, “If you can’t react and drive at the same time, switch places with me.”
Carl turned back, grumbling something inaudible but doubtlessly sarcastic in response.
Risa continued. “He said there had been an attack by one of the other Majors in the Augenspire—the one Ana and Max fought off a while ago at Club Roxx. He needed to leave Jessamine there to keep her safe, while he went back to the Augenspire to see what was happening.”
“Hang on a second,” Carl slowed the car without realizing it to process this information. Risa shot a look over her shoulder at Ana and mouthed worst driver ever. Cars passed them on every side and Carl finally sped up when someone honked at him.
“You’re leaving a lot to be desired with this story, Risa. I know Ana said that Fox guy had some thoughts about killing the Viceroy, but how does this other Major factor into things, and why would he turn up in Hera’s kitchen, of all places? Why would he bring the Vicerina to the middle of downtown Silveria to hide out, when there are probably a lot of better places they could go?”
Now it was Ana’s turn to speak.
“The Major was Topher Augen. He’s apparently Hera’s son, and the childhood crush that Risa ‘lost to the Provo,’ even though he wasn’t murdered, like she implied.”
Carl registered all of this in silence.
“He was as good as dead,” Risa defended, sounding petulant. “My family lived near his, and even though I was three years younger, we were close as children. I wasn’t too surprised when he joined the military, though; his father was a soldier and Topher worshipped the Viceroy for his visionary work on the infrastructure upgrades, and for the upturn in the economy. Besides, I was only ten when he joined up, so neither of us knew I was Gifted yet. We didn’t talk much after he enlisted because he was busy, but then his mother and I saw the rebellion at Corithans go down in flames on the news, and suddenly Topher gets a really big promotion out of it.”
Risa allowed the silence to linger, turning to look out the window so Ana could see her face in profile. She looked abstracted, her eyes glazing over as her thoughts turned inward.
“His mother and I were…uneasy, after that. Corithans was one of the last few pockets of actual fighting, and I didn’t like the thought of Topher being involved in something so dangerous. His mother didn’t like the thought of her son playing a key role in so many deaths.” Risa turned away from the window. “When he called her with news of his big promotion she got pretty upset with him. He hung up on her. We heard from Topher even less after that.”
Ana was drawn into the story, unable to hold onto the anger with her friend as she listened. Carl remained completely silent, focusing intently on the road in front of him as he drove them towards Hera’s.
“Then came Halstead, and the end of Ash’s rebellion. Ash was a friend and mentor of Hera’s. She was supposed to be with him in Halstead when the attack happened, and I don’t think she’s ever forgiven herself for not being there.” Ana could see Risa’s fingers tapping on a denim knee, but not her friend’s face. “Toph
er got yet another massive promotion, and I think it was the last straw for his mother. It broke her heart to burn the bodies of the people she loved, and her estranged son was at the fore of it all.”
She was silent for a moment longer. “Soon after he was asked to apply for a position as a Major, I found out I was Gifted. I called Topher to tell him what happened, but suddenly I wasn’t even important enough to speak to him directly. I got routed through the Augenspire switchboard, and then to the Minors, who made me leave a message for him and assured me they’d get it to him. Of course he never called me back.”
Risa clenched her hand slowly into a fist during her story and now she examined the crescent-shaped marks on her palm with detached interest.
Ana met her friend’s eyes when Risa turned towards the back seat.
“I know I should have told you the truth, but it isn’t easy for me to talk about.”
“I understand,” Ana said. She looked up at the roof of the mini, studying the water stains she found there. “But you know you can trust me, right? Unlike Major Topher, I’ll always call you back.”
Risa gave Ana a true smile.
“His mother and I just kind of stopped talking about him after that. It was like he was dead to us, these last eight years. She’s been carrying the resistance all alone ever since Ash died, knowing her only son is on the other side of the fight. Can you understand why she wouldn’t want to talk about it with anyone else?”
Ana could.
Now I can’t stay properly mad at them.
She exhaled and released the last of her anger.
“Thank you for telling us. I can see why you were so close-mouthed about it, especially since a lot of it involved someone else and wasn’t your secret to tell. It was just jarring to have Major Topher pop up suddenly in her kitchen like that.” Ana swallowed and looked down at her feet, wondering how her friends would take the next bit of information. “Now I have to fill you in on something. I had been planning to meet with him—today, actually—to tell him Fox was plotting against the Viceroy.”
“Wait, you were going to meet with Topher?” Risa whirled around to stare at her.
“You remember when I told you I begged a favor off of a Major to let us visit Carl in the hospital?” She winced. “That was Topher, too.”
“What?” Risa’s eyes were wide. Carl was still eerily focused on his driving. “You didn’t tell me—”
“All I knew from you was that Topher killed the kid you used to lo—be friends with,” she changed tracks after remembering Carl was in the car with them. “So I didn’t tell you he interviewed me on the day the Majors swarmed the Academy looking for me and hauled off those other innocent girls instead. After, I saw him outside GMH and asked him to let you and I see Carl—come to think of it, I only told him your first name, and you aren’t the only Risa in the Academy. He must have known you were my friend, to clear your biochip access without any other information from me.” She could kick herself for missing something so obvious in hindsight.
Oh hell, she remembered suddenly. I told Topher that Risa had already lost someone she loved when I was begging him to let us in to see Carl.
Did he know she was talking about him?
Risa looked like she wasn’t sure how to take the knowledge that Topher had done her a favor after not speaking to her for over eight years. She digested it silently.
“After he let us in to see Carl, I decided he wasn’t so bad, for a Major,” Ana admitted. “And I knew he wanted to keep Jessamine and her father alive, so I called him and arranged a meeting with him to share the news about Fox, but I guess Fox beat me to it by trying to off Jessamine last night, so it’s a moot point now.”
“You actually got through to him on the phone?” Risa asked in surprise.
“Yes. The switchboard sent me to the Minors, and they called him and asked if he was willing to talk to me and then patched me through to his personal number.” She could see why this would sit badly with her friend right now.
Risa laughed, though it was half-hearted. “We should really talk to each other more, huh?”
Carl hadn’t said anything for most of the trip, but now he had a blandly pleasant look on his face and sounded like nothing had happened at all when he said, “We’re here. Everybody out.”
Ana wondered if he was really quite as unaffected as he seemed, since Carl’s typical response to unpleasant news was to ignore it completely or smother it with humor.
They piled out of the car and knocked on the front door, though it felt strange to come in through the main entrance when Hera usually routed them through the basement.
I guess she thinks the Provo have better things to do right now than worry about who is visiting people at home when the heir to the Viceroyalty is missing.
Max looked through the window to confirm their identities before letting them in, looking pleased to see them.
“I’m so glad you all are here,” he whispered to Ana as he shut the door behind them. “I don’t know what Hera and the Vicerina said to each other earlier, but they have been trying to out-polite each other all day and it’s really creeping me out.”
Ana raised an eyebrow and said, “You’d rather they argue?”
“No, but it’s creepy as hell watching them battle quietly over who can be more formal and who has the best etiquette. It’s like watching the world’s most intensely-polite hostage negotiation go down, and I can’t compete on their level so I just sit there looking like a stuffed idiot.”
Ana snorted in amusement, wincing at the embarrassing sound, though it seemed to cheer Max up.
“Who’s winning?” she whispered as they entered the kitchen.
“I think they’re tied.”
Sure enough, the Vicerina of their entire planet was sitting casually at the kitchen table, sipping tea and finishing the last of a buttered pastry. Her knife was set diagonally across her empty plate, which somehow had no obvious crumbs on it even though the pastry she was eating was quite flaky. Jessamine looked different with her hair down around her shoulders, though it was pinned neatly away from her face. Even wearing borrowed clothing made for someone shorter and broader than her, her straight posture and regal features made her appear in command of the room.
“Hello, Vicerina,” Ana said awkwardly, wondering if there was a more formal way she should be greeting the next ruler of their planet. Was she supposed to bow or shake hands or something? She hadn’t exactly trained for this.
“Good afternoon, Ana.” Jessamine rose fluidly to her feet and extended her hand, ending Ana’s internal debate over how to greet her.
“Ah, you remember my name,” she replied, still uneasy about the second-most-powerful person in the world knowing who she was and what she could do.
“Of course.” Jessamine turned to Risa next and said, “You must be Risa.”
Risa shook her hand, the displeasure evident in her features. Ana had often wondered at her friend’s apparent hatred of the Vicerina, especially since she was the only one in power who was really pushing for progress in the area of civil liberties for the Gifted. Now she thought she had a better idea of why Risa disliked a woman she had never met until now.
Jessamine is beautiful, powerful, intelligent, poised, and she has Topher…
“You don’t seem to care for me much,” Jessamine startled the room by saying this out loud, quite calmly. “I noticed it last night as well, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Have I done something to offend you?”
Risa was clearly displeased at being called out in front of everyone like this, but she tried to pull herself together quickly and said, “I don’t think much of the lack of progress you and your father have made in giving us our basic rights back, Your Majesty.”
Jessamine still looked quite relaxed when she said, “I can understand that. Change never happens as quickly as I’d care for, either. As an aside, the proper form of address for me would be ‘Excellence,’ not ‘Your Majesty.’ My father would be referred to as
‘Excellency,’ and my sister would simply be called ‘Vicerina.’ I don’t care particularly about titles, but it is the sort of thing my Majors are likely to be touchy over if you misuse them.”
Risa blushed at the mistake but only responded with, “I was being sarcastic.”
Jessamine raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement of this. If she was bothered by Risa’s rudeness, it didn’t show.
“Oh, good. Few people are comfortable enough around me to speak freely, and since even those who definitely should know better mess up my title every now and again, I’ve fallen into the habit of clarifying.”
Carl was either tired of being ignored or he wanted to give Risa a break and end the tension, because he leaned forward and said, “Carl Vucanis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Excellence.”
Jessamine shook his hand and looked at him closely.
“I know your name…” She tilted her head inquisitively. “Where have I heard your name before?” She seemed to be straining her memory.
“Uh…” Carl blinked in surprise at the thought of the Vicerina knowing who he was. “I am currently in the application process for a position as a Ground-Captain, if that helps.”
“Ah, yes,” her expression cleared instantly, only to darken a moment later. “So you are also part of the resistance against my family and our government?” She looked displeased. “And here I thought this would be a good thing for unifying our people.”
“No, Vicerina!” Carl waved his hands, obviously keen on explaining himself. “I used to be a part of Hera’s resistance, but only because I didn’t think I could ever have a real job after I became Gifted. Once I got the offer from the government, I backed out of my work here and I’ve been busting my butt trying to pass the psych tests for the job. I think what you’re doing is great, and it could definitely help ease tensions as long as you don’t use me to unfairly slaughter other Gifted.”
Risa looked quietly furious at the sight of Carl vying for the Vicerina’s approval, though Ana had to admit there was something about Jessamine that made her not want to let the woman down.