by Meg Xuemei X
If he wanted such a secret meeting, he might have more to lose than I.
I cut a piece of chicken, my hands staying steady, yet suddenly I wanted to laugh at all this—the ridiculous new beginning.
I glanced at the infinite space outside and put the tender meat into my mouth.
On Pandemonium, everyone had to fight daily for food, and Kaara had made sure I always had something to eat. Food would never be a problem in my empire, yet I had no appetite.
“How’s your chicken?” the senator asked.
“Amazing,” I said. “But I doubt that you invited me to ask my opinion on the cuisine. Should we cut to the chase? I prefer we both put our cards on the table and be done with the games.”
But I’d never show anyone my cards.
“I’d like that,” Senator Wellstone said. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Do I already have enemies?”
“Everyone has enemies.”
“Who are my enemies in the new realm?”
“It depends on your moves, Your Highness.”
I drank my coffee, pondering on my new fate.
This generation of three centuries later had studied me. They knew what kind of coffee I liked. They even got right the percentage of cream and sugar I wanted in my coffee.
“Are they worried I’ll reclaim my throne?” I asked.
“Isn’t that’s why you returned?”
“I came home,” I said, ice slithering up on my skin, and I had a sinking feeling it might not be my home anymore.
“Of course, Princess Athena,” he said, leaning back on his chair, sipping his pure black coffee. “We’ll try the best of our ability to make you comfortable and fit in. The crown is rightfully yours. Your parents—the last king and queen—had a contract with the senators and the public, which states clearly about your return as the next sovereign. Even now we’ve evolved into a different society. What’s yours will be yours. We’ll honor the agreement that was made three centuries ago.”
Even before I’d left, Lithuaria Empire had been going through shift.
“I’ll review the documents my parents left,” I said. “Why don’t you update me about this new evolved society?”
“We still have twelve silver senators. We now also have a new governor—Tobey Goldwater—while the regency is vacant. Different powerful Houses also rose, but the senators still make the laws. If you take the crown, Tobey will be Prime Minister to the empire.”
“What are the new governor’s and the other senators’ attitudes toward my return?”
Senator Wellstone smiled. “We’re all nervous, but we—at least some of us—will work with you and make sure we won’t repeat our ancestors’ mistakes.”
“Which is?”
“Do you happen to know there was once a great power like yours five millennia ago?”
I arched an eyebrow. “You mean the High Witch Cassandra?”
Senator Wellstone’s look darkened. “She collapsed the entire civilization, wiped out half of the population, and ended the era of technology before her generation had a chance jump to the quantum age.”
“They pushed her into a corner. They constantly tried to eliminate her.”
“It’s human nature to fear the great unknown power that’s beyond their grasp. Their first instinct is to perceive it as the worst threat. ”
“Then the next they try everything to destroy it in order to sleep better,” I said. “I hope this generation will learn from that history and not pick a fight they can’t win.”
Senator nodded with a tight smile. “It’s easy to start a war, but few understand the grave consequences. While I’m here, I won’t let anyone start it. Once, blind fear made our ancestors irrational and stupid. We, the new people of science and reason, shall not let fear lead us along a dark path again.”
Despite what he’d said about reason and science, I could see through his deep-buried fear of my great magic. If a level-headed senator was anxious about my power, I could picture how the rest of the population would react if they knew that the Wickedest Witch in the universe had returned.
“I take it you came on behalf of those who have good will toward me?”
“My party bears no ill-will against you, Princess Athena. I rushed here before anyone else could get to you and escort you home in secrecy.”
“What if you decide that I’m a threat to the realm?”
“You won’t be,” he said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have banished yourself to a desolate planet with your memories wiped clean to protect the realm.”
I swallowed. “How many people know the true reason of my exile?”
“Only a select few.”
“How much do you know?”
“Not everything.”
“If you read the history books about my royal family, you should have known what happened to the assassins who sent missiles to my palace to eliminate me.”
“You incinerated the aircraft and everyone in it with your magic, except a pilot and a ringleader whom you needed to use to set as an example. We watched the hologram.”
To study me as the realm’s potential enemy.
“Princess Athena, I’m on your side,” he said. “I can’t expect everyone to be friendly, but we’ll try our best to make sure none of the hostile forces reach you. All I ask is that you don’t act hastily if we don’t get to you in time. Give us a chance to sort things out.”
I did have a ruthless and reckless reputation in the realm.
“It depends on your moves as well,” I said, returning his words.
“I understand,” he said. “Thank you for cutting to the chase. Gods, I hate games.”
“Then I’d like to show you something—a memory.”
“It’ll be my honor,” he said.
He wouldn’t say so if he knew where I was going to take him or how I would do it.
Twine flames glowed in my eyes, and he blinked.
Two vines of fire sprouted out from the flames in my eyes and clutched his temples. The senator yelped and slammed into the back of his chair, but the cord of fire didn’t let him go.
The next, he was with me fleeing Akem’s jungle, fighting through teeth and claws against a two-headed hellhound, a giant Lamashtu, and other beasts.
Wellstone screamed when the shirking Furies dove toward us. I dragged him forward with me, the Furies’ black fire singeing a patch of my raven-black hair.
We then crashed into a horde of vampires in the ruins of fire and smoke. My darkness drove the bloodsuckers back, only to have us meet a gang of alien militants and cannibal Kruids.
Wellstone had to watch the most brutal slaughter in the old gladiator arena, mouth agape, jaw dropped, and violet eyes widening in horror.
I withdrew the threads of my fire from the senator’s temples and returned him to the luxury dining lounge, at the window seat, overlooking the peaceful, starry space outside.
“Gods,” he cursed, his brown face paler than mine now. “That’s where you’ve been all those years?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I’m sorry you suffered so much, Princess Athena.”
“I do not regret it,” I said. “Not one bit.”
On Pandemonium, I’d met Archangel Gabriel. He’d declared that he’d fallen into the past to the savage planet for me, but now he’d flown to his bright future without me. Pain surged in me at the mere thought of him, but I shoved it down with sheer willpower.
Wellstone had seen the hurt in my eyes, but he didn’t know the true reason for it, and I wouldn’t explain to him or anyone.
“I came back more powerful than ever,” I said.
His eyes widened. “But you were already the most powerful witch.”
“For a witch, power can never be enough.” I smiled at him, probably a bit too predatory, and I saw the senator shiver. Gabriel was the only one who adored my smiles, but he was fearless.
“I’ve tapped into a source of inexhaustible energy,” I added, “by imprisoning an eleme
ntal entity—the planet eater. He can drain any planet in any galaxy, and his appetite is insatiable. The place I took you to see was drained by him.”
“I hope you locked up this entity for good.”
“Not really. He now temporarily lives in a ship’s engine, the shuttle you transported me from. He’s powering it.”
Senator Wellstone looked relieved. “That’s impressive, Princess! I’m glad the entity is far away from us.”
“Time-space isn’t a barrier to us, since he’s trapped in my Time Maze. I can summon him here anytime for you to take a look if you’re curious. He’s a dark mass with a living black hole in the core. The monsters you saw in my memory are his pets. He almost brought them on board, but I disagreed.”
“I’m not that curious,” the senator said. “The entity should stay where he is to serve a better purpose.”
I smiled again, less sharp, more amused. “I’m the only one who can bind him. If I perish, the malicious elemental entity will be unleashed. He’ll trace me to here.”
The senator’s face paled.
The dinner ended on a good note. We understood each other perfectly, and the nice senator would tell others about me and Akem as well.
“Your Highness, Senator Wellstone.” Captain Ravenna’s announcement buzzed in the lounge as the ship made another jump. “We’re above Lithuaria Empire. Welcome home, Princess Athena.”
I rose and gazed down at my realm.
Skyscrapers floated in the air. Highways like layers of veins suspended in the sky with all sort of flying cars whisking along them like lightning arrows.
Just as Senator Wellstone had informed me, the empire had entered a new era without me.
My eyes searched, but I couldn’t find the Royal Palace. Had this generation demolished it and given the space to all things new and shiny?
Senator Wellstone followed my sight and pointed a finger toward north. “The Royal Palace is under the dome now as one of the historical preservation sites. Part of it is open to the public, like any museum in the realm. The South Wing of the Palace, where you once resided, is sealed and kept for you. We’re taking you there right now. The Palace still belongs to you, according to Queen Faya’s agreement with the government.”
My Royal Palace had become heritage conservation? Was I a relic to them as well?
“What happened to my Royal summer mansion? Is it open to the public as well?”
“No, it’s privately kept, and it’s also your property.”
“Then it’ll be my new residence,” I said.
The realm had ended the monarchy, until and if I reestablished it.
But the people of my generation were all gone.
I had come home to a strange new world.
And I was utterly alone.
28
The Witch
I gave the senators’ committees an ultimatum after they kept summoning me and demanded I explain every detail of my life on Pandemonium. I’d never known how awful it was for anyone to suffer at the hands of bureaucracy until now.
“I’ll attend no more hearings,” I said icily. “As I’ve stated repeatedly, I don’t have a future plan yet. Right now, I only want to live as a private citizen. It’s neither my job nor obligation to obey or cooperate with Governor Tobey Goldwater, the senators, or any government agencies. I, Princess Athena Fiammetta Faya, answer to no one.”
Just like when I’d been on Pandemonium, I obeyed no one’s rules.
Yet, I realized my own realm wasn’t much safer than the City of Nine.
If I stretched my hand, I could touch their tangible fear and hatred of me. They all assumed one day I’d claim the throne. I would want to rule. I would disturb the balance of power they’d established. And I would use my great, terrible magic to rewind the clock and turn time backwards.
They’d for sure spent tons of time studying my type of magic and cross-referenced with Cassandra’s.
Somehow, they’d concluded that the shockwave of my TimeFire could collapse even quantum technology. And why was my magic so powerful? They’d also developed a theory: my magic contained the primary force that resonated with the planet, while the technology greatly exploited nature and alienated it.
“Then take care of nature and respect the planet instead of polluting it,” I offered a solution.
“We’d appreciate it if you’d demonstrate for us, a tiny touch of your magic, Princess Athena,” one of the senators said. She was an older woman with sharp, small eyes, thin lips, and neat-as-a-pin auburn hair.
“You don’t want to see it, believe me,” I said.
“Why is that, Princess Athena?” she asked, as if she was chiding a child.
“When I demonstrate it, none of you will be here anymore,” I said. “And the realm might grieve the loss of such national treasures.” I was returning the favor calling them what they’d called me. “I might shift you right to the dinosaur age. And what’s your name again, Senator? I’m still struggling with my memories. It’s been three centuries, after all.”
Senator Wellstone chuckled.
That woman senator’s lips tightened to a line. “So, you admit your magic is unstable.”
“If you want to assume the state of my magic,” I said, “just as you assumed many other things, then try not to force me to use my magic.” My voice turned inhuman and I saw some of them shudder in their seats. “I’ll just say it this once. I won’t tolerate any harassment and will take any necessary action to protect myself. So, be very careful and warn those who intend to treat me as a public enemy, when I’ve done absolutely nothing to endanger the realm. If I feel threatened, I won’t be any kinder than the High Witch Cassandra.”
“Are you seriously threatening us, Princess Athena Faya?” the thin-lipped senator asked.
“If you have any intelligence left, you should be able to tell the difference between a threat and a promise,” I said.
“There are over a billion people on the planet of Nesnurn and millions in Lithuaria Empire,” the woman senator said. “Don’t you even care?”
“They’re all strangers to me, just like you,” I said. “With all my honesty, I don’t give a fuck about you or them.”
They gasped.
“Don’t forget that I’m the Wickedest Witch. I don’t care much about your rules, laws, or hypocritical standards. I won’t get in your way, if you don’t try to inconvenience me. I don’t even want the crown.” It was but a burden made of gold. I wouldn’t want to put it on my head for a people I knew nothing about and who didn’t need me, either. “The government can have the Royal Palace as well. But the Royal summer mansion is mine. Try not to come near me or my property without my invitation, or I might take it as a hostile act, and my ‘unstable’ magic might just get the wrong idea. This hearing will be my last, and it’s adjourned.”
I stepped down from the high-rise platform.
“You’re not excused, Princess Athena!” the woman senator said.
I trained my eyes on her but held a leash on my fire. “Stop me, darling,” I said, smiling sweetly, “and I’ll be very happy to exhibit my volatile magic for you right here right now. Wouldn’t you want to be a brave example for the realm?”
She flinched, moving her chair a few inches back, as if that would make any difference to me. A fool!
“This farce has gone far and long enough!” Senator Wellstone stood up from his seat and waved his hand vehemently. “Princess Athena Faya isn’t the realm’s enemy. Shame on us that we’ve been treating Her Highness as a criminal and a threat, while all she’s done is to sacrifice herself to protect the empire three centuries ago.”
Governor Tobey Goldwater also rose. He hadn’t talked much in the hearings, but he’d carried himself solemnly and respectfully as he listened to the debates.
He was in his fifties with a high forehead and a pair of light-blue eyes. He was the fourth generation from the prestigious Goldwater House. He’d been groomed to be the governor, as I’d been to the crown, before m
y exile.
“The senators, the government, and the Royal House have reached a perfect understanding,” Goldwater said. “We’ll respect Princess Athena Faya’s wish to remain a private citizen. The princess has all civil rights, just like any citizen.”
He seized my words that I had no intention to claim the throne and immediately proclaimed me as a private citizen. However, I doubted that he, his administration, and the senators completely trusted my words.
Fear was a monster lurking inside everyone. It was only a matter of time before some radical dissents would eventually do something idiotic to aggravate or try to eliminate me, truly believing they were the patriots.
I was not much safer in my own kingdom than on Pandemonium.
~
It had been a week since I, relatively quietly, settled down in my Royal summer mansion that wasn’t too far from the Royal Palace. I could see the tip of the high dome that covered the Palace from my outdoor garden.
I didn’t idle. I tried to adapt. I studied this era and its science and technology to equip myself with new knowledge. As I was so busy catching up with the new age, the gnawing hole in my heart only increased.
The mating bond had followed me back with a punishing force, yet the Archangel was missing on the other side.
I didn’t receive visitors, except for Senator Wellstone.
He’d become like a friend and my connection to the outside world.
He had a new role since I’d returned—keep the realm safe from me, and me safe from the radicals and some members of the current ruling class who still feared I would rise to the throne and take away their privileges.
I let his people run the security of my mansion and often pretended they didn’t exist, just as I’d done the same in my Witch Tower.
While they ran around, all I cared was to find the one who had hunted me and caused me to flee into the past on Pandemonium—that piece of information still escaped my memory, and the last day they’d rushed me away from the Royal Palace was but blurry images of running figures overlapping with shadows, noises, and sobs.
I’d reviewed the documents and holo-recordings my parents left for me. There was no mention of the hunter. Not even a hint. It was as if all trace of the event had never existed.