RHEN

by Charity Kelly

  Ceceta had covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently behind them.

  Everyone went on alert. They had been doing so well with Rhen, but now it appeared as if they might have lost everything.

  “Rhen, I don’t understand,” Kate said, rising from her chair. “How did I offend you? What did I say?”

  With a look of pure hatred, Rhen turned from Kate. He reached over and gently helped his wife rise to her feet. Together they walked towards the door to leave.

  “Rhen,” Henry called out with concern. “What did Kate say that has upset you so much?” Rhen looked angry enough to kill. Like everyone at the table, Henry was worried that Rhen and his wife would head straight to the portals to return to Surpen.

  When they reached the door, Rhen leaned over to whisper something to Ceceta. She nodded and left. Turning to face Henry, Rhen shook his head with dismay. He couldn’t believe the stupidity of his so called ‘family’. “What the hell’s the matter with you? Don’t you know anything about—” he paused and took a deep breath. After getting control of his anger, Rhen looked back at Henry and said in a matter-of-fact voice, “Te’s son Yfetb was betrothed to Ceceta when they were born. She was deeply in love with him. Unfortunately for Ceceta he decided he was too good for her on their wedding night and he left her… how do you say it… at the altar? The entire town knew of her disgrace, and they took her family’s lands away from them before kicking them out of Ngignik.”

  Rhen could see the confusion on their faces. They had no idea who he was talking about. Turning to rest his forehead on the wooden door that he was holding, Rhen said in a tired voice, “I met Ceceta and her family two days after the incident while her family was at the Neptian Royal Palace asking for new lands.” Rhen glanced over at his parents. “You were there. You don’t remember, do you?” With a shrug, he added, “What else is new? I agreed to marry Ceceta. Since I was your son at the time, the Neptian King returned Ceceta’s family’s lands to them. Although their disgrace was never completely lifted, they at least had a home to live in. Now that they’re dead, I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Rhen didn’t wait for a response but walked out, letting the door swing shut behind him.

  The room was silent as everyone sat looking horrified. “Well, Ceceta it is then,” Charlie remarked with a triumphant smile. “We now know her name.”

  “Charlie!” Lilly yelled.

  “What?” he asked. “Weren’t we trying to figure out her name? Didn’t we just score?”

  “Shut up,” William snapped, smacking him on his arm.

  “Rhen’s marriage was arranged?” Lilly asked her parents. She was surprised they would do such a thing.

  Henry looked bewildered. “It wasn’t. I don’t think… I mean... He insisted on marrying the girl. We were focused on other issues at the time and just went along with it.” Leaning back in his chair, Henry added, “I never knew he did it to help her family.”

  “Of course, he married her for love,” Kate said. “If he hadn’t, he’d be divorced by now. He doesn’t gain anything by staying married to a powerless Neptian girl.” Kate nodded to assure herself that she was correct. “Yes, he was in love.”

  “It’s no wonder they lost him when they arrived on Surpen,” the Fire Elf King whispered to his wife. “They couldn’t even keep track of their youngest son when he was on friendly territory.”

  “Well,” Lilly said. “If he wasn’t in love then, he certainly is now.”

  Chapter 12

  Thestran Royal Palace – Rhen’s Bedroom

  Rhen spent the rest of his morning consoling his distraught wife. By lunch time Ceceta was feeling better, but Rhen was still angry with the Thestrans, so when Ceceta rose to go to the dining room he told her to sit down. Instead of meeting the royal family for lunch Rhen used his powers, visualizing an array of Surpen delicacy’s, until they appeared on the coffee table before them. He wondered briefly why the Thestrans tended to use their hands when they called forth their powers but dismissed it. He’d seen some of the Convention members with powers do the same thing. It had to be an ethnic thing. The Thestrans were also chilled by their powers, but he’d never seen his friends’ get cold from using theirs, then again, he and his friends lived on much warmer planets.

  As they finished their meal, a servant arrived at their door to inform them that it was time to go to the Elfin University. They were expected to meet Charlie at the portal in the Council Chamber. Rhen grunted an affirmative response in Thestran and closed the door, leaning his head against the dark wood. “Are you sure you want to do this? They aren’t going to make it easy for us.”

  “What do you mean?” Ceceta asked from the couch.

  “Surpen is a member of the Convention,” Rhen answered. “We’re their enemies.”

  “But they haven’t treated us as their enemy.”

  “I know Cece,” Rhen replied with tenderness. “They want something from me. I’m not sure what it is yet, but they’ll make it obvious soon enough. Whatever it is that they want, I won’t give it to them, so they’ll either kick us out of the University or they’ll make our lives there so miserable we’ll leave on our own.”

  Ceceta thought for a minute. “Do you have any idea what it is they want?”

  “No.”

  “Couldn’t they just miss you?”

  Rhen gave a short bark of laughter and stepped away from the door. “No,” he told her with certainty. “They don’t miss me. They don’t care about me at all. They want something, and they’ll pester us until they realize they can’t get it. At which point they’ll make our lives hell.”

  Ceceta stood up and straightened her violet robes. She strode over to Rhen’s side and pulled down on his tunic. When his head was close to hers she gave him a peck on the lips and said, “Then it’ll be just like living on Surpen, only not as hot.” Without waiting for a response, she pulled open the door and stepped out into the hallway.

  “Surpen isn’t hell,” she heard Rhen call out as he jogged down the hallway to catch up to her. “It’s our home.”

  “It isn’t hell for you,” she said, pausing before she stepped out into the Grand Hallway. She had to be the appropriate distance behind Rhen or she’d be breaking Surpen etiquette. “But it is for me.” A large group of tourists opened the door beside them and entered the hallway. Ceceta dropped her head down to stare at her shoes as she followed her husband to the Council Chamber. She could tell by his stride that he was angry with her. Fortunately for her he wasn’t going to do anything about it. Thank Themrock Andres had sent her on this trip. It had opened a whole new world for her.

  When they reached the Council Chamber Rhen threw open the door with enough strength that Ceceta could slip into the room without touching it. Rhen had been good about doing things like that for her and she appreciated it.

  They found Kate, Henry and Charlie standing before the portals waiting for them. Kate smiled at them as they approached, so Ceceta smiled back. She knew her husband wasn’t going to respond to Kate, but she didn’t feel there was any need for her to be rude. Ceceta was overjoyed that the Thestrans had found a way for her to escape Surpen. This University idea was fantastic. She couldn’t wait. Perhaps, if things went well, she could extend her four-year stay, maybe even get an advanced degree? Ceceta shook her head. Slow down girl, she thought. One step at a time.

  They stood in front of the Thestrans in silence. It appeared that Kate and Henry wanted to talk, but Rhen wasn’t in the mood. He stared at them with one of his blank expressions that unnerved people. When Kate realized she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, she said, “Alright, shall we go?” Rhen didn’t respond, so Kate turned to the portal and said, “Portal, open to the Elfin University.” The inside of the portal frame flickered as a blue light filled the empty space. A moment later the light faded and they saw a lawn with several institutional buildings in the distance. “After you,” Kate told Rhen.

  Rhen debated taking Ceceta�
�s hand but decided against it. He should do a thorough scan of the University before breaking Surpen protocol. Rhen stepped through the portal, and the others followed. Charlie stumbled as he crossed over. As usual, he had had his celebratory drink that morning before returning to school for the new session.

  In front of them was a modern building made completely out of glass. It was shaped as an octagon and glittered like a gem with the sunlight sparkling off the window panes. There were several brick buildings on either side of the main school. To the right of the school were student dormitories and to its left was the Teachers’ Residence Hall. As Rhen and Ceceta looked past the student dorms, they saw an enormous lake surrounded by rocky cliffs. Turning around, they discovered the Wood Elf Forest behind them. To their left was a sloping hill and behind the main school building were more student dormitories, a stadium and another sloping hill. Everywhere you looked students rushed around the grounds with their families.

  “Normally, the school’s portal is located within the main building,” Henry said. “But on the first day of school, the Headmaster always sets up several portals outside to handle the heavy demand.” As if on cue, students and their families began to emerge from the portals beside them.

  “Not everyone arrives through the portals,” Charlie said, sounding cross. “Many of my friends come in their spacejets.”

  Kate gave Charlie a look. After Charlie had crashed his last spacejet, she had refused to buy him a new one. He had been grounded for two years now.

  “If you want to bring your spacejet to school,” Charlie suggested to Rhen, when it occurred to him that he could use Rhen’s spacejet while Rhen was at school, “I’ll fill out the paperwork for you, so you can have a docking station in the jetport at the back of the school.”

  Rhen frowned. “That won’t be necessary.” He didn’t have a spacejet either. In fact, he’d been banned from flying spacejets for the same reason that Charlie had, but neither of them knew about the other’s situation.

  Charlie looked crestfallen when Rhen declined his offer. He assumed the Surpens had something against spacejets. Spotting some of his friends, he called out to them.

  Charlie was in his last year at the school. Most of his friends had arrived without their parents so he was a little embarrassed to be standing next to his. As his friends walked over towards them, Charlie introduced them to his parents and to his brother and sister-in-law. His friends were surprised to meet Rhen. From their History of the Thestran Royal Family class, they knew Rhen existed, but they hadn’t learned anything about him. As soon as Charlie was finished introducing them, they started to ask Rhen questions: “Why did you choose to live on Surpen?” “When did you get married?” “What’s the Convention like?” “Have you been living at the Surpen boarding school this whole time?”

  Rhen stared at the boy named Stanley who had asked this last question. ‘Had he been living at a Surpen Boarding School?’ What was the kid talking about? Before Rhen could open his mouth to inquire, Charlie ushered his friends away. Over his shoulder, he called out, “See you around little brother.”

  “Come along then,” Kate said. The four of them headed into the glass building. When they reached the top floor, Kate took them to the University’s business office, where they were greeted by a secretary, who directed them into the Headmaster’s office. Rhen watched as a short old man with reddened cheeks and graying brown hair greeted his parents.

  “Well, well, well, to what do I owe this pleasure,” he said, embracing Kate.

  Kate pointed towards Rhen. “I don’t believe you’ve met my youngest son, Rhen. He’ll be enrolling as a freshman this year.”

  The Headmaster’s head jerked backwards as he stared at Rhen, taking in his physical similarities to Henry and his odd clothing. He had never seen Rhen before, and he wondered why Kate wasn’t calling him by his first name, Max. Not wanting to be rude, and knowing he’d be able to grill Kate about the name change later, he smiled and marched over to Rhen with his hand out in greeting.

  Rather than taking the Headmaster’s hand, Rhen performed a Surpen military salute, pounding his left shoulder with his right fist before dropping his right hand to his sword hilt. “Well,” the Headmaster declared, lowering his hand. “I haven’t seen that one before. It’s nice to meet you too. You’ll like our University. For one thing, it was designed for elves. As you know, elves are all very tall, so you’ll find the furniture has been built to accommodate your shape. Also we have a diverse student body. Many of our students are from different solar systems and planets. Our Elfin University seems to have become a favorite with the Kings and Queens abroad. What planet have you been living on?” he asked while looking at Rhen’s green and purple tunic, his tight leather necklace with turquoise stones, his military belt complete with seven daggers and his black military boots.

  “Surpen,” Rhen snapped. The only teachers he’d met in his life were nasty. He assumed the Headmaster would soon turn on him.

  “Ah,” the Headmaster breathed out. “Surpen, a member of the Convention.” He glanced over at Kate and Henry with curiosity as he wondered why they had allowed their son to live on an enemy planet. “That’s one culture we know very little about,” he added. “Come to think of it, you might be our very first Surpen student. Perhaps you’d be kind enough to teach a class on Surpen to students who are interested in learning about Surpen and its language? We give extra credit points to students who help round out our curriculum by teaching others on subjects they know a lot about.”

  Without giving the suggestion any thought, Rhen replied, “No.” He turned away from the Headmaster and studied the room.

  The Headmaster was surprised by his behavior. New students tended to bend over backwards to please him. He lost his train of thought as he regarded Rhen’s back. Before he could remember what he had been talking about, the woman behind Rhen stepped over and nudged Rhen’s arm. Rhen gazed down at her and nodded. Smiling, she turned towards the Headmaster and in a soft voice using broken Thestran said, “Ah touch clz Supen.”

  The Headmaster stepped back to take a better look at the woman. She was dressed in long, violet robes and was carrying a brown leather bag that rested on her back. Although she was dressed like a Surpen woman, it was obvious she wasn’t Surpen. The Headmaster laughed when he saw a wisp of blond hair peeking out from underneath her scarf. Blue skin, blond hair and dark eyes; she was a Neptian.

  “Ah ha, a Neptian,” he declared. “You’re bound to be very clever if you’re Neptian. Yes, we’d love to have you teach our students. I’ll have my scheduler arrange a time.”

  Ceceta bowed to the Headmaster and informed him in Neptian, “The class can only be held between five and six in the morning, while Rhen is exercising and before Surpen prayers. Would that be acceptable?” The Headmaster hesitated. How many students would wake up early for a class on a planet they couldn’t care less about? He wanted to reject her offer, but decided it wouldn’t be polite, so he nodded in agreement. If nothing else, it’d be one more item to add to their school brochure for interested parents.

  “Very well,” the Headmaster agreed. He turned back to Rhen. “As your parents may have mentioned, my name is Professor Dewey. If you need anything, please let me know. In the meantime,” he added, walking back to his desk and picking up some papers, “here is our Code of Conduct and the Rules of the University. We operate just like any other school. If you are found breaking our rules, you’ll be expelled.”

  Professor Dewey walked over to his office door and opened it. He gestured towards Rhen with the papers. “Now, I need to chat with your parents. Why don’t the two of you take a walk around the grounds, and we’ll catch up with you when we’re done.”

  Rhen debated informing the Headmaster that Kate and Henry were not his parents but decided against it. He stepped out of the room as Ceceta took the papers the Headmaster was holding. When Professor Dewey shut the door behind them, they could hear him asking Kate and Henry, “So, would you mind te
lling me what the hell is going on?”

  Rhen smiled at Ceceta and said in Surpen, so the Headmaster’s secretary wouldn’t understand, “Sounds like they’re in trouble.” Ceceta laughed as the two of them left the business office. They wandered down the school’s carpeted passageways, opening doors and inspecting classrooms. One teacher, who was setting up his room, asked them if they were in his class.

  “I don’t know,” Rhen answered.

  “What year are you?” the professor asked.

  “I guess, first year,” Rhen said.

  “Oh, then you’ll be taking Mr. Balot’s History of the Thestran Royal Family. First year students are required to learn about the Thestran Royal Family. Second year students take History of Thestran and her Solar Systems and third year students are assigned History of the Universe. I’ll see you in three years,” he told them, dismissing them with a nod.

  “Right,” Rhen said, stepping out of the classroom.

  After they had walked down the hallway in silence for a few minutes, Rhen asked Ceceta, “Do you think I’m included in the History of the Thestran Royal Family or have they ‘accidentally’ left me out?” Ceceta gave him a sad smile and reached up to touch his face. Rhen took her hand in his and kissed it but winced and rubbed at the back of his head.

  “What is it?” Ceceta asked.

  “Nothing,” he told her. “I just have a headache.” He patted his hair down to make it lay flat.

  They decided to go outside for some fresh air but had to wait ten minutes for a procession of tiny, one-inch high Nosduh students to cross from one side of the hallway to the other.

  “What are they?” Ceceta asked in Surpen, squinting her eyes to see them better.

  “Nosduhs.”

  “They’re cute,” she said.

  “But mean,” Rhen replied. “They have serious issues with height and worked to pass a Universal law that forbade anyone from stepping over them. Doing so is punishable by death.” Ceceta grimaced and stepped back.