by K Bledsoe
“We are just the beginning. We can make these changes, but only if you act decisively. As you know, I am limited in my power because the royalty only serves in an advisory capacity, a voice of the people. If you and your constituents vote to give me true power in the council, I can push these advancements through fast, without the need for laborious committees and surveys.” Hahn’s hand swept over the book. “Back when kings had real power, things got done.” He pounded his fist on the table. “They weren’t debated incessantly.” The others nodded and murmured, caught up in the speech. Interesting how they all forgot that when the kings had that much power, eighty-five percent of the people lived in poverty, unable to even scrape up enough money to leave the planet in hopes of better lives. Now Hahn leaned forward, hands on the table, an earnest look on his face.
“The people love me. They would welcome me with the promises I have been feeding to them and give me that power willingly. Of course, once I have that power, you, my loyal comrades,” Hahn spread his hands to indicate those in front of him, “you will help me rule the way it should be, the power in the few strong people that will bring change to our world.” Now he nodded to each person in turn. “Lower taxes for corporations and exports,” another nod, “Easement of manufacturing regulations. Pardons and expunged past records for those who have helped me,” and now his smile turned grim. “And getting rid of those who might oppose us.” A couple of the council members hissed agreements, and one man that Jonah didn’t know smiled as he drew a finger across his throat. Jonah felt a shiver at the subtle threat. He’d thought that they only wanted more money and influence, not that they condoned violence.
“Good. Then I count on your support. My friends…to a new, more powerful monarchy!” He raised his fist and the others followed suit, eyes feverish and flushed. He then raised his chin and stretched out his hands, palm down and indicated that they should sit back down. Their immediate obedience shook Jonah to the core. The prince reached back into his pocket as he sat. When he pulled his hand out, the young boy was back, his voice higher, the mask back in place as he thought the cameras were back on.
“Does that sound like a good ceremony?” The others nodded, and Hahn marked the place in the book. “Very well. I shall pass along your advice to the planners. Good day honored guests. Thank you for coming and for your valuable input.” He shook their hands as they left and murmured something to each individual that the camera couldn’t pick up, but Jonah could guess. Probably promises or something to appeal to each ego, making them seem special to the prince.
“Interesting.”
Jonah spun his chair to see Raahi standing behind, staring at the screen.
“Did you see?”
“I saw enough. Still proves nothing.”
Jonah sputtered, and she pivoted abruptly and walked toward the kitchen. Without conscious thought, his feet followed. “You can’t mean that.”
“So he wants power to make changes. Doesn’t mean those changes will be bad.” She began grabbing food and dishes to prepare a lunch, but the forceful way she was doing so indicated her mood. He pressed on.
“Did you hear the part where he assures the king will die?” Despite the fact that he knew she was purposely playing devil’s advocate, Jonah was beginning to feel anger now.
“You told me yourself he was quite ill.” She shrugged as she dumped food into pans to reheat, but she didn’t look at him.
“I know the doctors intimately. They have made no such predictions. And now I am beginning to think there is more to his decline than simply grief. Don’t you see?” Jonah grabbed her by the shoulders. “He is planning not only to grab power but kill the king!”
Despite the fact he hadn’t been very rough, Raahi went absolutely rigid.
“Let me go,” she said, voice low, eyes smoldering. Embarrassed by his angry outburst, Jonah snatched his hands behind his back. Raahi tossed the dishes to the stove with a clatter, stepped around Jonah out of the kitchen and grabbed her jacket.
“Don’t go. Please, I’m sorry for my reaction. Please,” Jonah said softly, feeling a tightness in his chest. She paused a few steps from the door, looked down, and sighed.
“I don’t know what you expect of me. Maybe the prince is up to something but there is nothing I can do.”
Jonah’s mind raced, grateful she had stopped but her back was still to him and he struggled for something to keep her here.
“Maybe you can speak out, as the former Companion, or…”
“No. Won’t work.”
“But with—”
She turned to face him, interrupting. “Not even with that video. It’s not enough. They would say their words were misunderstood, probably decry the video as fake and maybe even get more people to his side in sympathy.” She shook her head. “Face it, Jonah. I, we, are powerless here.”
“Lavan…” he tried again.
“Is only a companion and fairly unknown to the public. Companions are only seen as friends of the ruler. Very little is known of the physical bond.”
“The bond, that’s it.” The idea that had been teasing at the back of his mind burst into full flower.
“That picture, you both look like twins. You can become Princes Maya.”
Chapter Fifty-seven
“Impossible.” Raahi stood frozen at Jonah’s suggestion, fighting down memories and ghosts from the past.
“Not impossible. You have the tattoos, you look just like her, you know the palace and the king—”
“Stop!” Raahi tried to shut out Jonah’s excitement and silence her own inner voices. “It won’t work. When we were first taken,” she swallowed but continued, attempting to empty herself of emotions. “They surgically altered us to look like twins when they found out that we became very ill when we were separated. Any investigation would reveal that surgery and prove me a fake.”
“Not necessarily. I know the person…”
“No, I won’t do it.” She turned away from him, eyeing the door, wanting to leave this situation, but her feet wouldn’t move. Her right thumb rubbed a slight scar on her left palm as she searched for something to say. She settled for shifting the focus.
“Can’t you just let it go?” she asked softly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
“The prince isn’t—”
She spun to face him, feeling anger now which was preferable. “‘The prince, the prince.’ Is that all you can say? I see nothing to show a reason to change my entire self and live a lie. Perhaps you don’t want to give up your position as the future spouse of the ruler.”
It was Jonah’s turn to be rendered speechless, and the hurt look on his face cooled Raahi’s anger somewhat. Stubbornly she crossed her arms, not wanting to feel sorry for what she said.
“There might be some truth to what you say,” he began, looking down. “But it would be worse to let Prince Hahn become king. I…I don’t really know what else to say to convince you. But I know something you have to hear.”
She let her arms drop with an exasperated huff. “Not another ‘bad thing’ the prince said?”
“No,” he said as he rifled through the box that he had pulled out of the safe. “Something King Nirav said.”
An icy chill ran down her spine.
Jonah pulled out a data stick and personal reader. He waved an arm at the couch and the serious, almost sad, look on his face impelled her to sit. He inserted the stick as he lowered himself to the couch as well. He began to speak, eyes distant.
“The night before the ceremony that officially named Hahn prince, the king called me into the gardens. By this time, I was a reviewer, junior grade, but I knew that there were no cameras there. Without conscious thought, because it was part of my training as a reviewer, I took my personal recorder, hidden in my pocket. I arrived at the garden and the king was as far from the entrance as he could get. As I approached, I could smell liquor on him. I was shocked because I had never known him to drink. And then, well…” Jonah activated the playback.
The king’s sonorous voice tumbled out of the recorder and Raahi fought against the resurfacing memories.
King Nirav: “Ah, Barad, or I suppose I should say Jonah. How are you doing?”
Jonah: “Fine, your Majesty.”
King “Please, Nirav. If anyone deserves to call me by my given name, it’s you.” Sound of liquid swishing and swallowing.
Jonah: “I am honored, Nirav.”
King: “After all, you were supposed to be my son-in-law. I don’t suppose you will be now.” Humorless laugh. “Tell me, what do you think of the prince-to-be?”
Jonah: “He is a well-grown eight-year-old, very handsome, lots of energy.”
King: “Yes, well, you are very diplomatic. I suppose I should have taken more of an interest in the boy if he is going to be the next king.”
Jonah: “Our planet is used to a monarch, even though they have voting rights. Your position is very influential.”
King: “You are perceptive as well. And quite intelligent. I chose well for Maya.” Pause, sigh. “Barad, do you have any hope that Maya is still alive somewhere?”
Jonah: “I always have hope.”
King: “I should have abandoned everything here to look for her. I will always regret that.”
Jonah: “Your duties here were too important. I…I’m aware that you were watched and even guarded against leaving. I promise you, I will redouble my efforts and investigations.”
King: “Don’t give up my boy.” Another swig. “I am going to tell you why. And if the time comes, it may become necessary to find her.” Long pause. “Hahn is not truly my son. A very small and quite secret group of people found a distant cousin of the queen who had just conceived a child. The cousin was all too willing to have her child become the next ruler and swore herself to secrecy. Passing her off as the nanny, she was left to the raising of the child which, as you may now see, was a mistake. He is spoiled and full of his own virtue and thinks all there is to being a king is getting his way. The only people aware of these facts are myself, the queen, my companion, Hahn’s real mother and two other men. The only one left alive is myself.” Pause. “And now you. The prince himself doesn’t even know. I never wanted it to happen, but I let myself be talked into it so there would be an heir. And without Maya, even if the truth were known, it wouldn’t matter. The people need the continuity. He is a relative, however distant.” He sighed. “From this point on, I will take a hand in the young man’s education. Maybe there is something left to salvage and become a proper king. If not, maybe you can find a way to remove him from the succession. I would rather the monarchy cease to exist than turn it over to a man less than worthy. The queen felt the same. She was the brave one. Took her own life rather than live a lie.”
Jonah: “But Sire…”
King: “Take care, Jonah. We will never speak of this again. We will go about our duties as everyone expects us to. But we will always have this moment of honesty.”
Jonah switched off the playback and waited for Raahi to speak.
“Why would this matter to me?” she asked.
“Even the king said he didn’t think Hahn was a good fit for a future king.”
“The prince was only eight at the time. Children grow up. And as he said, he started to take an interest in training him.”
“But…”
Raahi sighed, “What do you want from me?”
“I want you to become Princess Maya. Like Nirav said, it’s the only way to prevent the prince from inheriting. The public would never accept the end of the monarchy even though it is mostly symbolic.”
Raahi looked at Jonah, trying not to be pulled in by those innocent, begging eyes. “Even if I wanted to, who is going to believe that miraculously the princess has been found only a month before the prince’s eighteenth birthday, old enough to be confirmed king?”
“Okay, yes I suppose it does sound coincidental, but you—”
“Look, Jonah.” She tried but couldn’t quite keep pity out of her voice. “You have lived in the palace all your life, so I forgive your naivete.” Jonah’s face reddened, but she continued. “But I’ve been living among the people. I have seen all levels of prosperity and poverty, and they are all listening to this prince and his promises. His public face is very well known and liked, and few will believe that his true nature is different. And even then, I know some groups would even prefer a new bloodline.”
Jonah’s face fell. “I understand.”
Raahi’s heart tugged again, and she wanted to convey how deeply she felt. Her thumb again rubbed the scar.
“Long ago, after we were first taken, M-Maya thought as you do.” She held her left hand out to Jonah, showed him the scar. “Even swore a blood oath as sisters. She said that if anything happened to her, I should take her place if it was needed.”
“See? That means—”
“No, Jonah.” Raahi used the look of hope on his face to steel herself against the past. “She said ‘If it was needed.’ So far, I don’t see it is.” She held up a hand when Jonah opened his mouth again. “You may not believe me, but I have given this a lot of thought and the main reason I won’t do it is…” She looked down and clenched her fists. “It would be a great disrespect to my soul sister for me to think I can replace her. She was unique, and I could not hope to become anything like her.” She looked up, closed the distance between them and put her hand on his cheek. “I am sorry, sweet Jonah. I simply cannot do this. In fact, I must leave. I’ve been putting it off, but I need to be away from here and the memories. I didn’t come back voluntarily. There were some who thought it would be good for me, but…” she swallowed, “it wasn’t. I…you…all this distracted me, but I have been trying to get away from this planet for years, and now I have the means to do so.”
He brought his hand up to cover hers, and they were silent like that, eyes locked for several long moments.
“Then let me go with you.”
She tried to ignore the extra jump of her heart. “You mean that? You’d leave everything you have here?”
“You are more important to me. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I don’t want to be away from you, ever. And…” he swallowed. “and you are right. We don’t have enough and maybe the prince won’t be so bad.” He sounded like he was convincing himself. She wanted to agree but wasn’t sure if it was the right thing.
She brought her other hand to the opposite cheek and, as she opened her mouth to say something, a ping from the console startled them both.
Jonah turned back to answer. Raahi was flattered by his annoyed look at the interruption. He even mumbled something about getting rid of whoever was calling so that he and Raahi could “make plans.”
The Baroness’ face appeared, and as Jonah reached out a hand to dismiss it, Raahi stopped him.
“Let’s listen.”
“It is vital that we meet. New information concerning our search has come up. Bring our mutual friend. It concerns her as well.” An address of a nearby park briefly scrolled across the screen with a time to meet in less than an hour. The screen abruptly cut out with the usual static “sizzle.”
“Why me?” asked Raahi.
“Remember, I told you they know who you are and have been tracking your path since you disappeared. They must have found something important.”
She thought about what it might be, and her gut tightened, not liking any of the possibilities. Especially after the information she had given them.
“Shall we go then?” asked Jonah.
“A quick bite first. I’m hungry.” Anything to delay what she knew would be a confrontation.
“You get started. I need a shower.” His grin tugged at her emotions again and she smiled back, wanting to spend as much time with Jonah as she could before things changed. She knew that he probably wouldn’t leave with her. He was too much a part of this world, had lived his entire life here. Most of her life had happened elsewhere. Grimly she suppressed the memories again. She needed to have a clear head when the
y met the Baroness.
Chapter Fifty-eight
Lenore sat at one end of the large, circular bench and watched Jonah and Raahi approach. They weren’t touching, but they kept glancing at each other with shy smiles which gave her the feeling that they had been intimate. As they caught sight of her, Jonah’s hand reached out slightly toward Raahi’s, but he pulled it back and Lenore knew her instincts were correct.
She spread her hands to indicate they sit on the bench as well. Jonah took the middle and Raahi the opposite as Lenore expected. The curve of the bench allowed the women to be face to face. Perfect, thought Lenore. This message was primarily for her anyway. Jonah had been invited to put Raahi at ease, but he also needed to hear what Lenore had to say.
“Hello, Jonah, Raahi,” she said, nodding at each.
“Good afternoon, Baroness,” said Jonah while Raahi merely dipped her head slightly.
“Jonah, as we discussed previously, I know you are aware that this young lady here is one of the people I was hired to find.”
“Yes. She confirmed it.”
“Ah, good. Then you know that this is in fact Princess Maya, not the companion.” Lenore watched the girl closely and, out of the corner of her eye, saw Jonah’s jaw drop.