by Crystal Dawn
“Oh, God. I can’t believe what you have to go through every day.”
Now she felt sympathy for what he went through. She also understood he liked these family parties because they helped him escape from the heavy load on his shoulders all the time. Maybe she’d looked at him and his position all wrong.
It also helped to know she wouldn’t be forced to start making big decisions right away. Not that she couldn’t make decisions. Business owners made them all the time. The difference was that they weren’t a matter of life and death.
The party broke up and they all went home. Her home was probably the least impressive. She’d rented a small hut, but she was alone and didn’t need more. The best thing in the place was the kitchen. The previous tenant had cooked pies to sell and made a living that way until she mated and moved in with her mate.
As she got ready for bed, her mind was on Erak. She went to bed thinking about him and woke up the same way. Today, she’d make it through then tomorrow she would spend mostly in his company seeing what a king and queen did.
Once she made it to the castle, she began to work right away. Once everything was going and plenty of food was available for customers, she took a few minutes to eat breakfast. Now it was time to get ready for lunch. There was really little time off during her day. She went from one task to the next never completely caught up.
Tomorrow would be her first partial day off since she’d opened the cafeteria. It was odd that when she’d worked for others she’d felt overworked. Now she worked for herself and she somehow managed to work even harder.
“How are you doing?” Erak asked pulling her out of her thoughts.
“It’s a typical day. What are you doing here?”
“I forgot to eat breakfast so I thought I would come here to scrounge something up.”
“There’s plenty of leftovers still. I’ll fix you and your guard a plate.”
She had overcooked for breakfast so she filled an extra-large plate for each. The locals here seemed to love her white gravy and biscuits. She made hers with sausage and she thought that made it better. Erak grabbed coffee for him and his guard and as soon as she set the plates down they both began to eat quickly.
“Do you have time to sit with us?” Erak took time in between bites to ask.
“I can take a couple minutes. It’s great to have extra help.”
“I’m happy for you. Will that be enough help for you now?”
“I could use a couple more helpers. It’s hard to ever get enough help.”
“I see. Maybe you’ll get lucky again. There are people needing jobs so I don’t know why you can’t get plenty of help.”
“Males here don’t want to work in a kitchen.”
“Is that different where you come from?”
“It is in a certain number of males. There are some who feel it’s woman’s work, but probably more that don’t feel that way.” She admitted.
“Perhaps a young male looking for a part time job while he goes to school? We can start by training the next generation to be more free thinking?”
“That’s not a bad idea. The lifting is hard on my females. If I could find a male just to lift things for them that would help a lot.”
“Glad to be of help. Don’t forget about tomorrow.” He reminded, as if he needed to. They were done eating and he had to get back to his work.
As if she could forget. It was on her mind constantly. The day went slowly, probably because tomorrow loomed ahead. They were finally finished with cleaning up and she locked the doors so she could head home. Lushia had accepted the job as her assistant manager and would be in charge tomorrow. It was the first time she would be completely on her own for most of the day.
Getting home earlier than usual because of the new help, she needed to relax so she could get to sleep. She poured a glass of wine carrying it outside to sit in a chair and relax. The weather here was lovely. There was no true winter and crops of some kind grew year round. It got cold enough a few nights during the coldest time of year, but that wasn’t now.
The wine was sweet and relaxed her so she turned in to go to bed. It must have worked because she got up a bit earlier than usual to help Lushia get ready for breakfast. Few people were up and about when she got there and went in to the kitchen. She got the first of the coffee started. It had turned out to be a popular drink here like it was on Earth.
Lushia came in just when the coffee was done. “I think you timed it right.” She poured herself a mug and Lushia as well. They each fixed it the way they wanted it.
“I always know when the coffee is ready. This stuff is addictive.”
“I’ve always thought so. But at home they say it’s not so.”
“Must be people who sell it.” Lushia said with a giggle. “I didn’t expect you in today.”
“I thought I’d help you get started then take Erak and me our breakfast.”
“Sounds like a good plan. He’ll appreciate it. You can always get to a male with food.”
“We have a similar saying. Time for us to get to work.”
She got up and started the biscuits then she worked on the white gravy. Lushia was cooking pans of bacon and sausage. Enough that some would be used to make small breakfast sandwiches. Now she turned her attention to the cinnamon rolls Erak loved best. No one else could make them so they didn’t get made often. The smell wafted through the castle and it would draw in many customers.
Fixing a plate for her and one for Erak, she made her way to the throne room. The guard held the door open for her and she went on through. Erak sat at the table and looked up with a grin. “I thought you might hide.”
“I would just have said no. Hiding isn’t my thing.”
“Good to know. Looks like you brought me a treat.”
“I figured we needed to eat.”
“We’ll have a busy day. It’s good to start it like this.” He got up and got them each a cup of coffee. There was a large pot full on a sideboard.
“Thank you.” She said as she added cream to her coffee and watched him add cream and sugar.
“Your highness?” Jary addressed him. “The people are here.”
“Send them in.” Erak said.
“What people?”
He didn’t answer because a line of people were entering. “Erak, it’s lovely to see you. Is this your new secretary?” A blonde asked.
“No, this is my intended. What are you needing, Moona?”
“My father was concerned about the females signing up as soldiers. He’s against it.” Moona objected.
“He and the other lords will have a chance to address it. This is not the kind of thing we discuss on open door days.”
“Sorry to bother you.” She shot a hateful look at Tomi. Several of the females close to the front of the line slipped away. Tomi would guess they’d heard he was taken. She raised her brow at him and he shrugged.
The line thinned every time a female got to the front and asked who she was. “I’m sorry about this. I thought the word would be out.” Erak admitted.
“You’re a popular guy.” She observed.
“Most of them want the position, not the male.” He explained.
“I would hate to believe so many females here are that power hungry.”
“It’s painful, but it’s true.”
A male stepped up. “Several of us, me and my neighbors, are looking for work with no luck.” The male said.
“Are you aware the kitchen is looking for help?” Erak asked.
“We heard that the female there was hard to work with. She fired a female for no reason at all.” He admitted.
“The female that was fired was spending all her time looking for a mate. Most places expect a little work.” Erak said with a gentle smile. “There’s also a place where you can work the fields and other types of tasks.”
“I heard that lady was full up.”
“Perhaps you should check before assuming anything? She’s taking people now and has a
few that were soldiers leaving to go back to their former jobs.”
“I heard those old soldiers were bad guys.”
“Not bad, mistaken. They now understand to make sure they aren’t lied to. Send anyone that needs a job to her or the kitchen. Males wanting to support a family need to take the jobs available. There are also openings for guards.” Erak observed.
“Yes, my king. I will let the others know.” He said before he bowed and backed away.
“Think my mom or I will see him?”
“Yes. They are desperate. Why he waited so long, I don’t know.”
People kept coming until the doors closed at lunch time. “You do this often?”
“Yes, at least once a month or more. I never want to seem unapproachable. The guards are supposed to make sure the reason they came is appropriate for this circumstance. One of the guards is new, maybe he didn’t know what to do. Those females should never have been allowed in.” Erak observed. “Lunch should be here soon.”
There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Erak said and a servant came in with a tray. “Thank you.” The servant set the tray down and left right away. “See, here it is.”
“Lushia did a wonderful job, it smells great.” They both began to eat. “What will we do when lunch is done?”
“We will have two hours of open doors after lunch, then a meeting with Garulto. The military is of great importance since we need to defend ourselves.”
“I can understand that. Especially since you have several planets to protect.”
“We have limited resources now especially with so many troops on Earth.”
“Why use troops on Earth?” She asked.
“What do you mean?”
“A lot of what you do can be done with civilians. Why not send some of those to allow some troops to come home?”
“There is some value in using civilians, but the troops should be rewarded more. They look at being on Earth as a reward.”
“Isn’t there a way to blood test for compatibility?” She asked.
“I don’t know. We don’t have many scientists.”
“Why don’t you try to get some Earth scientists to work for you?”
“Again, a valid idea if we can find the ones we need and trust them to work for us.” Erak admitted.
“These are things to work on. There seem to be so many people around, yet you have so few.”
“We recently added some colonies. We sent several thousand of our people to each one. The meteor that is mined also draws more than its share of people because some of them get paid well. The old colonies also draw people in search of wealth. All that, and the planet we drew females from is no more. They are slow in coming from Earth and that has cut our numbers too.”
“You need to find a way to increase those numbers. Filling a big ship wouldn’t be a problem, but you need to prepare them for what they will face. Being a mail order bride is nothing new, you just have to sell the idea to women from Earth.”
“I’m surprised you would say that since you were unhappy to find yourself here.” Erak pointed out.
“I don’t like surprises, so don’t surprise them.”
Chapter 4
Planning
“How do we manage that?”
“You’ll have to find a way to let them know the isolated country is on another planet. Earth has talked about starting colonies in space for years, you could make it sound like a new colony. You might even come to an understanding with our government and tell the truth. Eventually, you’ll have to deal with them.”
“I know, but I’d hoped to put off meeting with politicians.” He admitted.
“Aren’t you a politician of a sort?”
“No, I’m a leader. I give back to my people and do my best to ensure no one takes advantage of them.”
“Excuse me. I had no idea the term was offensive to you.”
“I’m sorry. People often feel royalty sits around all day sipping tea. I get a bit touchy.” He admitted.
Tomi giggled. “I never really knew much about royalty, but on Earth they are political. They support charity and some run their countries.”
“Some run their countries?”
“Yes, some are only figure heads.”
“Why is this?” He asked.
“I believe it is because the people wanted elected officials. I never really studied the situation. My country always had elected officials, since it became a country.”
“So if I spoke to someone in your country, it would be an elected official?”
“I expect it would be the president. He would have enough authority to get things started.”
“I’ll have my people check into it and see what they say about the possibility.” He declared. “It would help to bring more people especially females here, but maybe even a few families.”
“That would be good for everyone. Earth is over populated.”
“I’ve heard that it is. It’s amazing that your planet can feed so many people.”
“You’ve seen what my mom can do.”
“That’s true. She’s an amazing female. Are all your women like the ones in your family?”
“No, our people are unique. Not all good, not all bad, and some that are a mix of both. There’s a saying that it takes all kinds and there are none missing.” Tomi admitted.
“An odd saying.”
“We have a lot of odd sayings.”
A knock on the door signaled lunch was over. They quickly finished the last of their food so they could continue with what they’d been doing. The tray of empty dishes was taken away.
“It’s time to get back to work.” He grinned. “Your mother is coming to see us in a little while, but she asked for a closed room. I wonder what requires privacy?”
“I had no idea she was coming here. I hope it’s nothing serious.” Tomi declared as she wrung her hands. Apparently she was concerned.
They moved to the thrones sitting on them. The line of people coming to see them had thinned out greatly. Maybe it was the lack of young females looking for his attention. He was glad they were gone. At least Tomi hadn’t been too upset by them.
It was toward the end of the two hours set aside for meeting with his people that Dori showed up. Bree and Betty were with her. He signaled the guards to let no one else in. When Dori got to them, the room was empty.
“What brings you ladies here?” He asked.
“I need a favor.” Dori admitted.
“Anything I can do, I will.” His brows knit together as he tried to figure out what they could possibly need.
“I’ve spoken to Kitty. She’s through with her training and would like to come here if she can.” Dori explained.
He sighed heavily. “That is beyond my power to grant because she had a choice before. All I can do is asked the emperor and point out the potential benefits of having her here. She’s an Earth healer, isn’t she?”
“Yes, we call them doctors. She’s very good and she only stayed to complete her training. Surely the emperor would understand that.” Betty mentioned.
“The emperor will be here for Lord Toreen’s birthday. We can all approach him then.”
“Thank you. It would make my world perfect to have my baby here too.” Dori’s eyes were shiny but she didn’t cry.
Betty and Bree also thanked him before they all said goodbye and left. “Do you think he’ll agree?” Tomi asked.
“She’s young, single, and educated. I have hope that he will. Every female in your family has become a valuable part of the community. That should also help convince him. That said, there is no guarantee.”
“If he doesn’t, it will break my mom’s heart.”
“I’ll do all I can. Meanwhile let me show you the castle. There are parts I’m sure you’ve never seen. Where do you want to start?”
“What about the gardens? Betty tells me about them all the time.”
“The gardens it is.” Holding out his arm she placed her hand on it
. He escorted her out of the room and to the stairs.
He was glad she was in good shape from working so hard and she kept up just fine. There were several stories of stairs to go down and back up when they returned. Once to the bottom, they exited through doors that were barely noticeable. The scent of flowers hit them immediately. There was a riot of color all over the garden. Red was directly outside the door and the vines were thick that the flowers grew on. These flowers looked similar to Earth roses.
There were bushes nearby with yellow flowers on one side and purple on the other. Flowers resembling Earth tulips lined the path in colors of blue, pink, and light green. It was like a wonderland of beautiful plants. He was sure she enjoyed them, but she stilled with a look of concentration on her face.
“What are you thinking about with so much concentration?” He asked.
“Kitty loves plants. These would impress her.”
“We’ll do all we can. Your mom is a very convincing female. Maybe she should show the emperor a picture of Kitty? It might help convince him.”
“Because she’s lovely?”
“That couldn’t hurt. It might also make him feel more like he knows her. Making him feel a bond makes it harder to say no.” He explained.
“I’m sure you’re right. It’s been hard to leave everything behind, but especially Kitty.” Tomi admitted.
“Let’s walk to the fountain.” He took her hand and led her there.
“Oh, my God! That’s gorgeous. What is it?”
“It’s a torkesh. They no longer live on our world. Their feathers were so beautiful, rogues hunted them to extinction even though it was against the law.”
“They look like black and purple swans.” Tomi observed.
“Maybe we need to look more closely at your plant and animal life. Something resembling a torkesh would give my people much hope.”
“Why?”
“It is said when they return, our world will prosper as it did in the old days. My kind is a bit superstitious.”
“My kind is too, in some ways.”