Beral, thought about this and began to calm down. As usual, Mother Bellasaris was well ahead of the game. If Pantherus became the mate of both girls two birds would be killed with one stone.
“I’m sorry I insulted you, honored ancestor,” said Beral. “I should not have called you such names. However, I am empress here, not you. I respect your age and wisdom, but these machinations behind my back, I don’t like it. Your advice and suggestions are valued, but I rule! If you would share your intentions with me this sort of thing will not happen again.”
“You are right, of course,” said Bellasaris verbally after a moment. “I apologize, but at my age…Well I tend to…”
It’s alright,” said Beral with a sigh. “But although mating both women to the prince is the best choice, there are still problems, honored one. One is that Bella resents Bal. The Mavie queen has nothing personal against Bella, or at least she didn’t, but they are rivals and the rest goes without saying. But even if the women did get along. King Roc favors Bella, but he sees Bal as an enemy. The Mavie killed his mother. He wants to kill her and crush her people. He knows he is on the verge of total victory. He has no interest in a political marriage for the sake of peace.”
“He’ll come around,” said Bellasaris. “If he wants what the empire has to offer and a better life for his people he’ll come around.”
******
Later, after teleporting from Illia, Gorgo looked at Bellasaris. “Hypocrite,” she said with a grin.
“What?”
“I said you’re a hypocrite. Telling that baby they were all acting like humans for not wanting to share knowing that we were just as bad! Do you forget what we did to Cato to keep him close to home and out of reach of other females? We barely could stand sharing among ourselves. None of us really wanted to share Cato, and sad and even shameful to say, we were even relieved when some of our sisters began to finally look and feel their age and eventually drop out of the picture. Don’t deny it! Yes, we loved our co-wives, but deep down inside we were all pleased as our rivals became fewer.”
“Yes, it’s true. But we still sacrificed for the greater good. And as far as what we did to Cato goes, I do believe we paid a high price for that. And in the end it was all for nothing anyway! Some of these little new nations, the Barratians among them, wouldn’t even be around now if we hadn’t done that. Those mistakes will not be repeated. Bella and Bal will share. King Roc will swallow his hate and make peace! The Mavie and Barratian issue will be brought to a close before it becomes an empire-wide issue!”
“Agreed,” said Gorgo. Then she looked at Bellasaris and said. “Bellasaris, what I said about being relieved that our rivals were becoming fewer. I do not feel the same about you. I would not wish to live now without you or Cato. You and he are…are…Well we three make a whole. And you and I…we’ve…”
“I know, Sister.” I know,” said Bellasaris. “I feel the same. We all really have been through so much together. Two thousand years is a long time, but damn we’ve had some fun!”
“Indeed!” said Gorgo. “We even enjoyed chasing Cato all over this continent too!”
“Yes, we did, didn’t we?” agreed Bellasaris. “And when we finally caught up to his ass…” Both women burst out laughing at this.
“Well, this is just another chapter in our history,” said Gorgo. “The empress will probably look back at this time in a century or two and find the drama between her daughter and the others equally amusing, but not now. You’ve had your fun, but we must walk seriously and carefully now. Roc is dangerous. He might do something rash if…”
“I know,” said Bellasaris. “We will have to keep an eye on him. His eldest son is still back in Barratia. He may bear watching as well. What kind of boy is he?”
“The Mavie are terrified of him,” said Gorgo seriously. “He is quite powerful and has a good head for war and administration.”
Bellasaris nodded and replied, “Oh he’s capable, no doubt, no doubt. He wouldn’t be sitting in his father’s stead if he were not, but what of his personal character? That is what’s really important here.”
“He is rumored to be a fair and agreeable boy, among his own people,” said Gorgo. “He is very close to his younger siblings, especially this prince. However, he does not trust women. This mentality seems to be instilled in boys from an early age in that land, and justified by their enemies the Mavie on more than one occasion, but it is known that he is very fond of his sister.”
“So there is a daughter?” said Bellasaris.
“Yes, but little is known of her,” said Gorgo. “Women do not figure as prominently in that society as males, but if her brothers are any indication of the family stock, she is most assuredly beautiful and powerful.”
Bellasaris thought on this a moment. “Hmmm, I’ll keep that in mind, but we’ll concentrate on the players we already have on the board for now.” Then she stopped and said, “Although…that brother does interest me now. Beral III has a daughter and a granddaughter of breeding age, yes?”
“Her eldest son, Trevor, has a mate and a daughter, yes,” said Gorgo smiling, “but the princess has bonded with a Futarian Prince and conceived by him.”
“Eww,” said Bellasaris, “kinky!”
Gorgo laughed and said, “No, the boy is not androgynous, but his parents are. Trevor and his wife have become very close with them. Indeed, they, the parents, are very, very close. Now that’s kinky!”
Bellasaris giggled and said, “I wonder how they all…Never mind, that’s not important now. What of the other princess?”
Gorgo chuckled and said, “Princess Miko is two years younger than Bella and has no mate,” said Gorgo smiling. “They say she takes after her mother in every way…physically. She is a bit taller though.”
“So why doesn’t she have a mate?” said Bellasaris surprised. Men hungered for her mother on sight.
“Like I said”, Gorgo chuckled, “she takes after her mother in every way. A male has not been found among the great houses strong enough to mate with her, at least not one that wasn’t too closely related or she found of interest. She’s lucky. Once, girls like her would have to suffer through the hunger until a suitable mate was found. Thank the goddess for the suppressive drugs we have now. I guess those silly Akkadians finally did something right. Then again, leave it to those prudes to find a way to throw water on a Bellasarian woman’s sexual fire. Anyway, she’s just too strong for her own good.”
“Hmmm, how strong is this elder son of King Roc?” said Bellasaris, her mind already working.
Gorgo’s smile widened into a grin. “You’re too late. The empress has already sent the girl there to report to the prince personally that his family is well and enjoying themselves. The rest we’ll leave in the goddess’s hands.”
“Damn! She’s more cunning than I thought!” said Bellasaris. “I wonder what else this sneaky little…The humans! That’s why she reopened relations with the Earth realm! With our miserable cousins from the homeworld in the mix she could use them as a…Damn! A risky gambit, but…I underestimated that little bitch! HAHAHAHAH!!”
******
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SERIOUS BUSINESS
“Empress, I find your empire to be an extremely beautiful country,” said President Chambers. “I only wish I could travel in one or two regions more extensively, before moving on to the next nation.”
“I quite understand, Lady President,” said Beral III. “In Illyria alone you would have found many, many things that impress and inspire awe. But time is limited and you have so many other places to see and people to meet. The empire is large and is more of a federation of, if you’ll excuse the expression, ‘United States’ rather than an empire as many think of it. Every queen and king has real power in his or her land, with their own lower council of elders and bylaws. They are very influential in negotiations of this level.”
President Chambers nodded. She had realized this and wrote about it early on and Beral knew it. The empress’s meaning though was lost on none of the Earth leaders and ambassadors. If the other queens (and now kings) and their councils were offended, enough of them at least, they could see to it that things would progress in a negative way for the Earthlings. The empress would have to bow to the will of her vassal queens, most of whom seemed related to her one way or the other anyway.
The empress had arrived in Melmoria by teleport earlier during the day and had been meeting with various leaders and representatives from Earth. Beverly envied the convenience of the mutant teleportation technology. Beral III’s palace in Illyria was a great distance away. It was like being able to travel from Georgia to Connecticut in minutes. Indeed…seconds. This made acquiring even the supervised use of such technology all the more imperative to her and the other V.I.P’s.
“We quite understand,” said President Chambers. “I fear we may have lingered in Queen Tabitha’s country too long as it is. No offense to you, Your Highness,” said the president to the Melmorian queen. “But your land is so beautiful and there were those who expressed a desire to visit one of your holy places.” Queen Tabitha smiled and nodded. Personally, she couldn’t wait for the humans to be gone from her land and they knew it.
“Empress,” said the Akkadian President. “Since time is an issue, I suggest that our friends from the homeworld limit their stops to the major nations of the empire and to Akkadia. After all, there will be plenty of opportunities to visit other lands later.”
“Yes, President Kaminski. I too had come to this conclusion. It will also allow the Earth people to see more of their host nation’s lands and what they have to offer. Of the imperial states, I suggest Tabon and the Great Forest Kingdom. Is this acceptable to you?” said the Empress to the Earth people. After some quick discussion they unanimously agreed.
******
“So, how do you think we’re doing with the mutants so far?” asked Shannon Cain
“It’s difficult to say,” said the UK ambassador, David Reid. “Certain leaders and diplomats have already requested that they end their tour of Bellasaria and go to the Akkadian Republic, President Kaminski’s country. I believe one was the woman who was so incensed at the feast at Queen Tabitha’s palace and other such…”
“I see,” said President Chambers. “They’ll regret doing that. They’ve just given Empress Beral III and the other Bellasarians a slap in the face and doomed any chances of trade with them. Furthermore, they may also have derailed the rest of us as far as trade and mining rights go.”
“Yes, but they may be able to secure formal agreements with the Akkadians,” said an aide. “They are not subject to the empire and…” The aide’s voice died away as the diplomats laughed.
“And what does that mean?” said President Chambers. “They could make all the promises and trade agreements with those people they want and it still won’t amount to shit in the end.
“They don’t have the teleportation technology, young man,” laughed an ambassador. “If the Bellasarians reclaimed Bain from our realm and closed off all relations with Earth again those fools will be wiping their asses with those treaty papers, because that’s all they’d be good for.”
“Well, we will just have to make up for it and make sure we make a good impression on the people who do matter. Don’t get me wrong, good-relations with the Akkadian Republic are important too, and we will be going there as well, but we all know the reality now, don’t we? In order to make any deals with them worthwhile we need to have a presence here to begin with. And THAT will only happen if we do right by the Bellasarian Empire.”
“Yes, yes, we understand,” said the U.K ambassador. “But I have to tell you, if I never see another naked mutant again after this trip it will be too soon!”
“Speak for yourself,” laughed a woman. “I only wish I could take one of these boys home with me!” There was laughter at this. “With all respect to your wife, I’ve seen the way you and the others have looked at the women too.”
“Well, let me rephrase that,” said the Englishman with a smile. “If I never saw another naked mutant man again it would be too soon.”
After the laughter had died down a bit President Chambers raised her hands for quiet.
“Our next stop will be the country of Tabon. I understand they are not as traditional as the Melmorians, so we will not be seeing as much nudity there as here, but there will be some. The people are not as shameless as the Melmorians, but not as modest as the Illyrians either. We will just have to either endure it or enjoy it, but for God’s sake, don’t express any negative opinions or judgments of or to these people about their cultural habits. If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything. They probably know what your issues are anyway since telepaths are everywhere, but that can’t be helped.”
“Personally, I think we can just forget any sort of support from the Melmorian people and their queen,” said Luther dryly. “They are traditionalist to the extreme; such people generally don’t like contact or interaction with outsiders. They fear cultural pollution. I’m not surprised really. From what I know of our own history, and what was tried here centuries ago, it would only be a matter of time before annoying well-meaning folk from Earth would be trying to ruin everyone’s fun and bring the same guilt and hypocrisy we have at home to the natives for indulging in anything enjoyable.”
“Oh, we understand that this would distress you to no end. Indeed, you are well-liked everywhere we go, Luther,” said a young American aide. “I know why, too. I think I’ve even seen a mutant woman or two eying you and your over active part at these parties. Are you sure you’re not a mutant?”
“Ms. Manson,” said Luther, “I have only been to two great feasts where…well, you know. But I have been interacting with these people on a much closer level than the rest of you in other areas. Of course, the only way that has happened was because I made friends with the natives and didn’t pass judgment. By the way, are you jealous?”
Linda Manson blushed red (confirming this suspicion) and angrily declared just the opposite. Although several of the other aides and delegates thought this was amusing, the president did not.
“That will be enough of that! What Mr. Jeffries said is true. He has indeed been embraced by these people, mutant and human alike. With my permission, he has been able to go places and meet people we have not been able to. Now you will share with everyone what you have learned of the people of this land, the common people that is. How do they perceive us? Would they welcome close contact with Earth and their cousins?”
“Well,” said Luther, clearing his throat, “they’re just as apprehensive as their rulers. They know that they have everything we want, but we have little they need. The humans are especially afraid that people from the homeworld with alien values and outdated mentalities towards mutants, will stir up trouble again now that they are finally becoming outdated among most of the people here. The people like their culture. They like their simple religious beliefs. They especially like the benefits of mutual cooperation and peace between humans and metahumans. They are more worried that we will misuse their technology and destroy ourselves if they trade any of it with us, than the lords even.”
President Chambers looked around herself and nodded. “So far, we’ve been wined, dined and…entertained most graciously by our hosts,” she said. “We had both humorous and embarrassing moments here. Most of these things we’ll laugh about later. Some of us are laughing about them now. But this is serious business ladies and gentlemen. The quality of life on our planet could jump exponentially with their technology and medical advancements. We have mutants at home with untapped abilities that could be trained to levels beyond their present capacities. They could bring the same benefits to us that the people here enjoy. If only we can prove that at least most of the people on Earth are responsible and ada
ptable. The outburst by that diplomat at Queen Tabitha’s party and how Queen Tabitha responded, waving our own hypocrisy in our faces because of it, was a prime example of what I mean. That woman played right into the opposition’s hands and made us look like fools in the bargain. We can’t afford anymore fools like her.”
******
“Beloved kin, friends and vassals,” said Beral III, “how have you been enjoying the company of the Earth people?”
“Empress, I find these people flaky, judgmental and prudish,” said a human noble. “Some of them show promise, but not many.”
“I agree, Your Highness,” said a mutant queen. “Our telepaths and empaths have informed us that many of them have less than noble ambitions. Or at least their masters do.”
“Some do wish nothing but trade and mining rights. They have no military agendas, but they are still motivated by greed,” said retired Queen Melmore. “While many were struck with the unspoiled beauty of our lands, others could only think of cutting everything down and developing the land for profit!” There was angry assent to this from many of the gathered nobles and vassal rulers.
“And what say you to this, President Kaminski?” said Beral III. “You seem to be getting along well with these people. Indeed, your values and ways of thinking are almost the same.”
The Mutant World Page 30