by Lexi Ander
"Canry?" Azaes asked with hope before Ashari could finish.
Ashari reached across and took Mestor's and Azaes's hands. "Canry is with Poseidon now."
"Is he not coming home?" Mestor's hand squeezed hers lightly.
"I do not know. That depends on Poseidon." She wished she had more to give to them. They were young and had not been in the nursery for two years now. She hoped their youth would help to buffer them to the loss of a sibling, that they had not formed an attachment to their young brother yet. She prayed they would be open to the youngling she would soon bring into their life.
The glider exited the dark tunnel onto the jungle parkway. Old, thick branches arched over the road. The vehicle sliced through dappled spots of sunlight cast by the foliage.
"Is that why you cried all the time? The servants said you would fade because you were sick for Canry," Azaes confided. His eyes blinked rapidly several times, the only sign of how affected he had truly been.
Ashari ached to pull the twins into her lap. "Yes, I miss your brother terribly, but I am not fading."
"Bringing a youngling home, is that what helped you to not be sick?" Mestor kicked his feet nervously.
"Canry will always be with us, no matter where Poseidon has taken him. We are not replacing him." Ashari had not thought about what they would think about a new youngling in the house. Her boys questioned everything, and she knew she could not dilute her explanation. She began to understand they were more affected than she had believed them to be. Ashari was ashamed that in her grief, she had believed them to be sheltered from the sorrow.
She had been very wrong.
The rain forest suddenly gave way to a cleared grassy field bordered by trees. Off in the distance, beyond the administrative buildings, were the half dozen shuttle launch pads. Ashari saw only one stationary ship on the tarmac before the glider turned into the drive for the main complex.
The Mar'Sani architecture shunned angles for soft curves, rounded edges, and domed peaks. When forced to use ninety degree corners in construction, the engineers over-compensated by rounding out the angles, adding cupolas and softly peaked windows. This gave the military base a fanciful appearance accentuated by the marine colors ranging from deep greens to turquoise blue.
The lift stopped in front of the Ares Command Center, and Warlord Sohm'lan, along with other officers, waited outside the great arching doorway for her. Unbuckling from the seat, she knelt in front of her boys and kissed each on the forehead.
"I love you so very much," she whispered. The twins trilled their delight. "Now, are you ready to meet your new brother?"
Without answering her, they scrambled to release the belts that secured them to their seats. The driver opened the door to the hovercraft, and the twins bounded out of the glider ahead of Ashari. They ran down the paved, stone walkway to Sohm'lan, hopping around him, their tails causing mayhem as they unintentionally lashed the other officers' legs as they circled Sohm'lan. The officers hastily moved away before they accidentally tripped over Azaes or Mestor. Sohm'lan held still while he watched the younglings dance around him in their excitement. Ashari took in the dark brown of his scales, noting how they blended perfectly with his military uniform, allowing him to easily disappear in the Atlainticia rain forest, until his luminous blue eyes were revealed.
"Empress," Sohm'lan murmured calmly. "The Emperor said you would claim the Terren youngling."
"I have come to pick up my Mar'Sani son, Warlord." Ashari's voice was flinty. She gazed coolly at Sohm'lan, glancing behind him to take in the silenced officers. Humans were not held in high regard throughout Galactic space. She would not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Once she claimed the youngling, he would be Mar'Sani and raised no differently than those born of her womb. They needed to understand her stance quickly, before she or Valdor were forced to take issue with malicious talk or deeds.
Warlord Sohm'lan bowed deeply, making a hiss-click display of the highest respect. After the initial shock, the attending officers scrambled to give various forms of acknowledgment, although not as reverent as Sohm'lan's gesture had been.
"Then let me escort you to the prince." Warlord Sohm'lan opened the door for Ashari and the twins.
In the far corner of the medical center, a doctor stared into the makeshift birth bed as the youngling sniffled and mewled. Ashari halted for a second when she realized her body responded to the infant's noises as if it knew she would be nursing again. Azaes and Mestor rushed to peer inside the shell.
"Greetings, Empress Ashari," The doctor bowed slightly, taking in the group of military officers following in her wake. "I am Solon, the leader of Team Deimos."
"You found the boy?"
"Yes, Your Highness. He was in cryo-sleep. He has just awakened. The decontamination team cleared him before we took him from the abandoned vessel. I am told his blood is clean of any harmful bacteria or viruses. We bathed him well when we arrived, but his skin may breakout from the chemicals we used to make sure he was free of contagion. I have sent a team back onto the Terren ship to locate food for the youngling. The database on human infants has been very helpful to his needs."
Before she knew it, the twins started with the questions, their twin connectivity easy to see in that moment. "He is so soft," Azaes whispered in awe.
"And he has no scales," replied Mestor.
"Will he grow scales?" Azaes tapped the infant's fingernail.
"His head is fuzzy?"
"He must grow fur …" Azaes leaned in and sniffed the hair.
"Instead of scales." Mestor nodded his agreement.
"Oh! He is changing colors."
"He is chimera then?"
"I want to be chimera, too."
"I like his eyes." Mestor touched his own eyelid.
"All the females will want him for his eyes." Azaes scowled.
"That is okay, they can look." Mestor crossed his arms over his chest, giving a tiny but fierce frown.
"Yes, and we will protect him." Azaes placed his fist on his hip, exactly like his father when his word would become law.
Mestor gazed up at Ashari. "What is his name, Meme?"
"He is called Zeus." She gave her sons a heartfelt smile, so very proud of the two of them. They would grow to be fine males one day.
Azaes nodded his head solemnly. "Because he is from the sky. Poseidon named him well."
Mestor ran his fingers down Zeus's arm. "He is soft," her little prince whispered then smiled when the youngling grabbed his finger in a fist. "Meme, he could be easily hurt."
Azaes scented the youngling again. "He is definitely from the sky—he smells like rain."
Zeus started mewling again, and Ashari's body responded by lactating. She had been breast feeding Canry when … she thought her mother's milk had dried up. Now the strange noises the child made, so different from the noises of the younglings she had given birth to, seemed to awaken her body.
"The team should be back soon so we can feed him," Dr. Solon offered when Zeus's noises rose in volume.
"I do not think that will be necessary." Ashari grinned. "Show me how to pick up and hold the youngling, doctor."
Mestor and Azaes stepped back and watched Dr. Solon with rapt attention. Ashari was glad she had listened to Valdor regarding her claws because the youngling was impossibly soft and fragile compared to what she was used to. They all seemed to be holding their breath as she settled Zeus into her arms.
Ashari had never seen a human before, but there was something—she could not quite put her finger on it—something about him called to her. Zeus's silvery white eyes stared unblinkingly up at her, his toothless mouth in an O, pink tongue making a soft sucking sound. He did smell like rain, warm and clean. The black fuzz on his head floated straight out, dark blue highlights streaked throughout. The youngling had her completely mesmerized.
Zeus's creamy alabaster skin began to turn a pink, then a deeper red. A wail to rival their military sirens burst from the babe. Ashari smiled with utt
er delight, eyes bright and wide as she listened to the beautiful noise. Mestor and Azaes hissed in excitement and started dancing around her. That was the sound of a great warrior. She offered the youngling her tit, and he latched on with robust effort. Yes, he was a fighter.
Ashari spent the day in a sort of daze. After she said her farewells to the officers, she and the twins left for court where they devoted the afternoon to showing the young bull off to any who glanced their way. She knew the emperor watched them from afar, not once approaching. She thought nothing of it, as consumed as she was with the new addition to their family. There were a few who barely refrained from giving offense to her, but she thought most were open to the little prince.
When evening came, Ashari looked on as the nannies carried the twins to their room. Azaes and Mestor refused to leave Zeus and had fallen asleep on the floor around Canry's birth bed, where Zeus now slept. She could not blame her sons. The longer the youngling was with them, the more tied to them he became. She found herself sitting in the corner of the dark nursery long past the time to retire to bed. The sorrow of the morning was hard to recall as she gazed out of the window in the night-draped city.
Valdor entered the nursery, leaning to peer into Shaneva's bed. Their daughter spent the majority of the day in the Waters of Poseidon. Soon they would need to find foster parents. Already her presence had drawn a couple of small family pods. Ashari wondered the why of it all. She could not deny her daughter what she needed, even if those needs took Shaneva away from the family.
Ashari watched from her dark corner as Valdor gazed lovingly at his sleeping daughter for some time. His duties kept him away from his family for long periods of the daytime and sometimes well into the night. Ashari did not regret the weight of her or Valdor's responsibilities. This was who they were, what they had been meant to do.
Zeus gurgled within Canry's birth bed. Ashari watched as Valdor crossed the room and peered inside. She held her breath as Valdor stared, brow slightly wrinkled as he regarded the youngling within. Zeus's tiny fists waved defiantly in the air, milky white skin gleaming pearlescent in the glow of the double moons. Downy blue-black hair lay in fluffy waves around the infant's head, but it was the eyes with their not quite silver irises staring expressionlessly that seemed to hold Valdor transfixed. Ashari lost track of time as Valdor watched the child fall asleep.
"You were right, love," Valdor whispered as he stepped away from the birth bed. "Little Zeus is a gift from Poseidon. He has given us back our fourth child."
Zeus knew he was dreaming, trapped in that space between deep sleep and wakefulness. He attempted wake from the kaleidoscope of long buried memories he did not wish to relive, but his body, his mind, ignored his insistent demands.
"The past is important," Shaneva whispered in his ear. Stunned, Zeus quit struggling, wondering how his sister spoke to him in his dream. "It is time for you to recall what you have forgotten."
Zeus sensed a hand grasp his and pull him backward.
He was blind again … no, not again. He was young, maybe ten summers, and he followed the voices of his arguing brothers, Azaes and Mestor. Father had scheduled Azaes and Mestor's military training with the Warlord Sohm'lan when they turned fifteen summers. Earlier, the warlord almost caught Azaes and Mestor breaking the rules, and Zeus knew he was at fault.
"We should not be teaching him anything. Zeus has not reached the appropriate age for training," Mestor whispered angrily. "If Sohm'lan finds out we have been secretly instructing Zeus, Father will not only restrict us to our rooms, but deny our own training."
"It is your fault. You bloodied him!" Azaes hissed back. "You let your temper get away with you, and now Zeus has a split lip. There is no way we can hide that."
Zeus's heart beat wildly in his chest. He did not want to lose his lessons with his brothers because he had not ducked quickly enough. He would do better next time; he just needed to make sure they understood so he would not be shut out of lessons again.
Even blind, Zeus knew there were distinct differences between his family and himself. When he touched their cool skin, his fingertips slid over the fine, delicate scales that covered their bodies. They did not have hair like him, but a single row of triangular barbs that ran from the crown of their heads all the way down the center of their backs to the tips of their thick tails. He was jealous that he did not have a tail of his own. Theirs were strong and heavy. His brothers often used it to prop themselves up as they stood. The twins would learn how to use the appendage in close combat soon.
Yet with all of the differences, and despite the discreetly-whispered comments by a few of the court nobles, Zeus considered himself Mar'Sani. They would too if he could only prove himself to be as skilled as a Mar'Sani warrior. But he would need to be able to train in order to do so.
When the twins turned fifteen solar years, their father, Emperor Valdor Vondorian, assigned Warlord Sohm'lan to tutor Azaes and Mestor in combat and strategy. Azaes would be the next emperor and Mestor his Chief Warlord. Their father refused to commit Zeus's future as a warlord for his brother, instead bidding him to wait. Valdor assured Zeus his talents might lie in another direction. Zeus was desperate to be allowed to fight alongside his brothers. As the twins argued, he could feel his chance begin to slip away.
Zeus brushed his fingers along the molding, the irregularity letting him know he was in the doorway of his Meme's yellow room. The rustling of clothing along with the aggressive hisses and grunts told Zeus the arguing had turned into a fight. Without thinking about the consequences, Zeus ran across the room and used the spindly solarium settee as a launching pad, soaring through the air toward his siblings.
People thought of him as blind, but he truly was not. No one listened when he explained he could see, only in a different way than they did. Each noise, huff of air, every vibration, and even the scents he inhaled created a canvas, redrawing a picture for him every passing second.
He was determined to show them, make them understand he was no weakling. Zeus bore the twins to the ground under him and gave a yell of triumph. He had snuck up on them and caught them unawares. They rolled around on the floor trading quick strikes, most of which Zeus evaded. He bit Mestor on the ankle, causing his brother to howl and attempt to shake him off. Azaes laughed at Mestor's discomfort. Zeus would have none of it. He was affronted by their perception of him and would go to great lengths to teach them both a lesson. He bit the tip of Azaes's tail hard. The scales were thicker there, but he was determined to make his brother stop giggling.
He vaguely noted Shaneva's exclamation at the entrance to the salon, but they all ignored her. Zeus knew the moment Warlord Sohm'lan entered the room because the air crackled with electricity. The scent of an angry bull swamped Zeus's senses. He and his brothers continued to roll around on the floor, trading steady blows, wrecking the room as furniture buckled underneath them. Heirloom ceramics shattered when bumped from precarious perches.
Giving a bellow of exasperation, Sohm'lan pulled them apart. He kept a fist in Zeus's robe to prevent him from responding to his brothers' taunts. Slightly squashed and battered, Zeus grinned devilishly and laughed once everyone had calmed down. Nose bleeding, his eye sore and probably blackened, Zeus stood proudly next to his brothers for he was Mar'Sani, a member of a strong warrior race who proudly displayed courage in battle.
"What goes on here? What have the three of you been doing that would terrify Shaneva so much she ran through the corridors calling for help?" their father's voice demanded.
Zeus tilted his head higher, falling into the stance the twins had taught him, proudly displaying his battle wounds. He sensed someone approach, by the scent his father, who halted before Zeus before stepping over to Mestor, then Azaes.
"You boys have destroyed your Meme's yellow room."
Zeus hid his smile.
"I cannot have you roughhousing within the palace if your manners are going to be left by the wayside. Warlord Sohm'lan has already expressed his concern
about the two of you sharing your knowledge with Zeus. I was willing to ignore the breach as long as the three of you acted responsibly. This display was not what I had in mind."
Zeus frowned. He had upset his father instead of making him proud.
"They are young yet, Valdor," his mother intoned politely.
"Yes, they are, but it is time they should learn to hold their tempers and not hide their actions from their elders."
Valdor laid a heavy hand on Zeus's shoulders. "You placed your brothers in a precarious position, son. You convinced them to teach you after I forbade it. They will receive punishment for disobeying me, but it will not be severe because I understand that my reasoning was partly to blame. I underestimated your determination and drive. As my youngest child, I only wished to keep you safe. For disobeying me, you will attend to your mother for two weeks while your brothers continue to train. When the discipline period has expired, I will allow you to be instructed along with them. If you try to train before then, I will retract the promise, and you will wait until your fifteenth summer."
Zeus's busted lip throbbed as he beamed at his father. "On my honor, I will attend to Meme and wait the two weeks. Thank you, Father!"
Valdor gave a low chuckle. "Do not thank me yet." The hand slipped off Zeus's shoulder, and he sensed his father stepping away.
"There is no honor in battling over frivolous issues. You must think first then exercise wisdom and restraint when men depend on your command," Valdor admonished his sons. "Sohm'lan will take the three of you to the physician to treat your wounds, and then you will be assigned chores in the regiment latrines and mess hall." Zeus moaned along with the twins, detesting the punishment even as his heart was light as air at his father's concession.
Following his brothers out of the salon, Zeus trailed purposely behind. He wanted to express to his parents how thankful he was. He listened intently to make sure no one stopped to wait for him before he backtracked.
"Are you sure he will be all right?" his mother asked.