The Tourney

by Juliet Sem

  Keestu saw crates of brightly colored handmade hooked and needled hats, gloves, and socks, all done in the same bold geometric patterns of dyed animal fiber. As cold as Sandarian winters could get, she was certain there'd be a market for those, if the items proved to be as warm as they looked. She looked at Mewa from behind Dinus's back and tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow speculatively to indicate her interest in the winter clothing. Mewa nodded back almost imperceptibly.

  They were shown several large rugs, which were made from a thick and sturdy fiber. The rugs displayed the same bright colors and geometric patterns as the fabric. Keestu glanced back at everything else they had looked at so far. Nowhere in the textiles did she see floral, animal, or humanoid picture patterns, and nowhere were the colors muted; there were items in white and bright silver, but none in ecru or eggshell. She wondered if there was a cultural significance of such coloring and patterning in their work, as she glanced up again at the prince's clothing with its large geometric applique. This was a question that she, posing as handmaiden, couldn't ask.

  After mulling over the choices, Mewa chose two of the brightly colored rugs to display as art in the palace, trading several cases of hirot liqueur for the items and leaving the rest of the bartering for King Ismer to conclude later. Dinus surprised Keestu with a box of individually packaged dice games, complete with instructions on how to play both Throw Three and Throw Six.

  Startled, Keestu stammered awkward thanks, clutching the box tightly to her as she and her mother edged their way back through the crowded lounge and left the ship. Mewa would send servants for the heavy rugs later, but made certain she carried the bolt of fabric from the ship herself.

  Prizes in hand, they took their leave of the prince, who was scheduled to fly over the vast hirot fields in another barony with King Ismer after the midday meal.

  Mewa gestured for Keestu to follow her back into the drawing room and closed the door. Engaging the privacy seal, Mewa turned to her daughter.

  "I could practically see your mind churning with questions, Kee," she said as she carefully set the fabric on the table.

  "Well, mother," Keestu said, "Did you notice that everything is very brightly colored? I saw absolutely no muted shades anywhere, just like their clothing."

  "Yes, I did. Very sharp observation, Kee. What else?"

  "Every pattern was geometric! I saw no solid colors, no floral patterns, no animal patterns, and no humanoid patterns at all. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

  Mewa looked surprised, but nodded agreement. "I wonder what the significance is of the geometric designs? It's frustrating knowing so little about the Autocracy, and we certainly won't find it in the archives. Perhaps you can keep an open ear for why only geometric patterns are used."

  "And how in the world did they create this fabric? I can't see where it's painted on, dyed, woven in, or if the fabric was made using some other technique."

  Mewa stroked the fabric. "Their fabric manufacturing techniques are something I also would very much like to learn more about. If you can tour manufacturing facilities, try and find out how it's made."

  Keestu nodded, and her mother grinned at her.

  "We have a lot to do before dinner," she said. "The color scheme for palace servants tonight is bold red again but formal, so wear a skirt and heels. Rue is to choose what will go with the pearls Korin gave you. I'm sorry, but she must wear them tonight instead of you."

  "I already figured that out. I think the pearls will go well with the new gold headdresses. Okay, I'll go and let you get to your planning."

  Mewa reached out and squeezed her hand affectionately as Keestu picked up her box of dice games and left the drawing room.

  Chapter five

  After dressing for dinner, Keestu was reading the instructions of the new dice games in the third floor drawing room when the infocom chimed. Hemda bounced up and hit the repeat button, turning up the volume so everyone in the room could hear. The announcement of the arrival of the Senators from Shatopa and Chtawlikt with dinner to follow directly after introductions galvanized everyone into action. Princes Kang and Skomer jumped up and ran to their rooms to get their coats, while Hemda grabbed Rue's hand and pulled her urgently towards the royal lift. "C'mon," she urged. "Doan wanna be late ta meet 'n greet."

  Keestu suppressed her smile, but offered, "I'm sure Rue's been here long enough to realize we don't want to be late. But, running to meet and greet is also frowned upon, too, you know."

  Hemda grinned widely and shrewdly, showing the gap in her teeth, " I can still get 'way wiff it on 'count of bein thmall." However, she did reach out and finger her new gold headdress to make sure the two gold beads were still in place.

  The girls laughed out loud as they held the lift for Keestu's brothers, who reappeared still running. Kang was flawlessly buttoned this time, and Skomer as neat as he ever appeared in a militaristic looking suit. Both her brothers had brought along hats, which were decorated with bands showing their Prince's stripes; four stripes alternating light and dark blue.

  The lift let them out, and out of habit they formed an organized rank and entered the dining room en masse, joining King Ismer and Queen Mewa to await the night's dinner guests. As her mother turned to greet them, the light caught on her headdress, the five large gold beads hanging from it sparkling brightly, complimenting the blackstones sitting on top of the prongs.

  Dinus arrived and was announced, followed shortly by the senators, who were entered the formal dining room from the private dining room accompanied by Korin.

  Keestu's eyes were drawn to the alien senators and fixed there. It had been years since she'd seen either species in the flesh.

  The large female insectoid senator of Chtawlikt was just as Keestu remembered her, her round and shiny hard-shelled black body supported on four sturdy legs, her straight thin thorax rising above it with two arms, each bearing a hand with an opposable thumb projecting from both sides of her fingers, the smooth line of her long neck broken only by two holes of unknown function near the top of its length, and above that her head with its vestigial antennae bouncing and quivering over two multi-lensed eyes that presided over her tiny nostril holes located above her most notable feature, large pincer-jaws located on either side of her supple thin-lipped mouth opening. The pincer-jaws showed the only hint of color in the otherwise black senator, bearing bright red diagonal stripes. She rushed across the dining hall towards Dinus, the hard claws on the ends of her toes clacking a staccato rhythm on the stones. She was quickly followed by her entourage of supporters, each of which was half her size or smaller and showed no colored markings on their much smaller and almost non-existent pincer-jaws. Her followers clustered nervously behind her, apparently awaiting an order. For the first time Keestu realized the Chtawlikt didn't wear any clothing.

  Chtawlikt's senator was followed by the slapping splayfooted gait of the jovial senator from Shatopa, a water-going mammalian covered with thick gold spotted yellow fur. His wide bare feet showed webbed toes well suited to his watery homeworld under the long and loose formal dark blue tunic that was his only clothing. The appearance of his body shape was otherwise almost humanoid, though his torso was stout and barrel shaped, as his species had a thick fat layer that kept them warm in Shatopa's frigid oceans. His humanoid hands were betrayed as alien by the presence of fur and webbing between his fingers, and his head had large completely black eyes surrounded by extremely long top and bottom lashes. He had no external ears, though when he turned his head, his ear holes became visible. He had two nose holes centered under his eyes that he could close while swimming, and below that sported long flexible whiskers. His cheeks had thick hairless ridges that started just below his ear holes on the side of his head and proceeded down to just short of the sides of his otherwise soft-looking mouth. His gentle-looking eyes peered benignly around the room as he waited for Korin to join them. Unlike the senator from Chtawlikt, only a single assistant accompanied him.

  Keestu tore her
eyes away from the senators and looked at Prince Dinus. He was dressed in the same satin outfit and remained politely poised, though he appeared to be studying the newcomers intently, particularly the senator of Chtawlikt, who had rushed forward to greet him with her pincer-jaws agape. She had noted that he had moved his feet so they were further apart, and his hands, which had been reaching in greeting, were now held loosely at his sides, his fingers flexing into what looked like nervous fists now and then. His attendants had spread out, and several moved forward, forming a protective semi-circle around him. Chtawlikt's senator had stopped short and was staring back at him, all four of her thumbs twitching her hands into fists as well.

  When Korin and his assistant made his way across the dining hall, the personal introductions began, and Dinus relaxed visibly as he bowed in a stately manner to the senators and they to him.

  Introductions done, they moved to the table. Keestu moved down the table, leaving five chairs open, two each for Korin and Shatopa and their assistants, and one for Rue, as she had checked the seating chart before dinner. Keestu watched as the Chtawlikt senator was seated opposite her, her chair occupying a much larger space due to the need to accommodate her anatomy and that of whichever assistant she chose to sit with her. Keestu noted with interest that only the senator sat at that time, her four legs propelling her so that she could position her body over the backless chair and lower herself gracefully onto its cushioned surface.

  Once everyone was seated, dinner was served. She played the part of taster for Rue again. Seeing that the others had tasters, the senator from Chtawlikt snapped her jaws at her assistants, curtly uttering, "Ukchi kotkah", at which one of her companions struggled up into the seat beside her and hurriedly tasted the first course for her.

  "Chuhcha tuhkwi," the servant announced very softly, passing the dish over. Keestu didn't see where the senator noticed the presence of her servant or heard what he (she? it?) had said in reply to the order, but she began to eat gracefully, her antennae coming to attention as she tasted the dish.

  Keestu heard music and realized Shatopa's taster was talking to him in the language of Shatopa, which was known to resound quite well under water. However, she hadn't known it sounded so musical out of the water, consisting of two, three, or four note varying length syllables sung in a single octave with obvious pauses between words.

  Korin leaned around his taster and looked past Rue at her; he remembered her fondness for hearing about other Union members. Giving the barest of winks, he smiled hugely at her and turned his attention back to the conversation at hand.

  More questions followed for Dinus, which he took with good grace, though he did look on occasion rather nervously down the table at Chtawlikt's senator, seated next to his food taster.

  "Have you a name other than your species?" Dinus finally asked her during a lull in the conversation.

  "Too hard to say in Unity, so address please by 'Senator', 'Senator of Chtawlikt', or just 'Chtawlikt'," she said, punctuating her sentence several times with a gnashing together of her outer pincer-jaws, which produced the distinct clicking noise that accented her speech.

  "Where on your planet are you from? Has it a name?"

  "Shstaw Kwikwo," she replied easily. "Mean in Unity Neutral Ground, where senator of Chtawlikt wins position and lives when home."

  "Staw Kwikwo?" Keestu thought he did a very good approximation of the language, though he lacked the click syllable produced by Chtawlikt pincer-jaws.

  "Shstaw, not staw," the Senator corrected him, but she did not do it in an officious manner, and Dinus didn't react to her correction other than to nod politely. "Chtawlikt hard for human and Shatopa because of your anatomy," she continued. "It's why we vote for and learn Unity."

  Keestu looked at her mother and father, who were paying close attention to the interaction of the two. She wondered if they knew about Chtawlikt's Neutral Ground, or if this was news to them. She looked around and saw her brother Kang was completely absorbed in the conversations while eating with absent neatness. Keestu suppressed a laugh. She doubted Kang even knew what he was eating.

  The rest of the meal was uneventful and ran to discussions of trade goods each planet specialized in, but Keestu tried hard to pay attention, since trading by barter wasn't something she was familiar with.

  She was therefore somewhat surprised when Korin suddenly asked King Ismer to summon the cooking staff to the dining hall.

  Ismer raised his eyebrows at his brother, but summoned them, where they were greeted with effusive applause for the variety of dinner foods prepared with precision for a variety of guests with differing tastes and nutritional requirements.

  Smiling happily, the head chef, Ithan, addressed the tables, but specifically the alien senators. "I'm gratified by your appreciation for our efforts. It's certainly a great pleasure serving in the palace and having access to so many different cultures' foods, and your enjoyment of the food we prepared for you means more than you know."

  Korin spoke next. "Ithan, please tell me your secret to making such wonderful soft breads! You can't find the like on Uriel without them being soggy, as they tend to prefer quick breads that have to be refrigerated after baking to keep them fresh."

  Ithan flushed before responding. "There really isn't a big secret to making these soft dinner rolls Sandarian style. First, you need some sourdough starter. With that, you combine several other flours, light and dark, and mix it into a sticky dough, and let it rise. You must bake them in a rather hot oven for a short period of time in a glass dish since metal dishes encourage the formation of a harder crust. You can also leave out the sourdough starter and use a regular yeast dough with some dark cane sap to make soft rolls."

  Queen Mewa spoke up. "I recall a while back you mentioned wanting to further your culinary education on Uriel for a while, Ithan. Have you made any consolidated plans?"

  "No, Your Grace," Ithan said, "It's difficult to find a position on another planet from a distance. Then, there's the problem of lodging, tuition, scheduling, and the like."

  Korin's face brightened. "Ithan, would you come to Uriel if I gave you a job? Same rate of pay as you have now, plus the usual stipend given to every Sandarian employee who must remain off planet away from their homes for any length of time. My wife Nahtua supervises our very capable cook staff, but with our first baby coming soon, she's going to be busy for quite some time to come. I'm quite willing to work around your schedule; you can prepare menus and some dishes for the deep freeze for the more informal dinners, and if you bring an apprentice, he or she can handle everything else but the meal planning, which will need your experience in handling as I never know how many guests to expect, so short notice will often be given for entertaining. I'll be happy to have you on my staff while you attend school, unless, of course, King Ismer or Queen Mewa object."

  Ismer's eyes crinkled with amusement. Keestu tried not to laugh out loud, but a chuckle went around the table, and so she allowed herself a slight guffaw at Korin's obvious manipulation of the situation.

  "Of course not," King Ismer said, "As long as there's a junior chef here Ithan is certain can manage the kitchen staff for the duration of his absence. How long is the educational program were you hoping to enroll in?"

  "Three years, Your Majesty," Ithan said, his eyes now shining. "I want to attend the experimental one-year culinary school program in addition to the two-year Union culinary program taught on Uriel to get better acquainted with their methods of cooking with non-Sandarian Union foodstuffs. The next course starts in two months."

  "We can spare you that long," Ismer said. "Please never forget if you want to come home early, your position will always be open here, even though I have every confidence in any apprentice you choose to take over while you're away."

  Ithan bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Grace, Senator. When shall I be ready to go?"

  "My consular ship will be returning to Uriel before our guest, Prince Dinus that is, takes his leave of us. Not
more than another several days, I think. Is that enough time for you? I can always arrange later transport if you'd like."

  "Oh, no," Ithan said, "My children want to try managing a house before striking out on their own, and my wife is amenable to staying on Uriel while I'm in school. We can be packed and ready by then."

  "Two months should be sufficient for you to settle in and for us to work out your schedule, then," Korin said with a smile. "As long as there's fresh soft bread in the house, I know I'll be happy with your work. You can even experiment on our taste buds if you're particularly keen to try a new dish."

  Ithan's face was now quite radiant. "I look forward to it, Your Highness, um, Senator."

  Korin smiled kindly at Ithan who looked distressed at his mistake. "Senator is fine when we're on Uriel, Ithan, because that's what I am when we are there. You can call me Senator, Prince Korin, or Your Highness when we're home on Sandar, and no one can say anything about your manners as I hold both titles here at home."

  Keestu saw that Dinus' eyebrows were raised at this revelation. King Ismer leaned forward. "Had I forgotten to mention? Korin is not only Sandar's representative in the Union Senate, but he's also my younger brother as well. Having family in the Senate means he'll be certain to know our wishes, and yet he also answers to his people as their representative as well."

  Ismer dismissed the cooking staff. Keestu smiled as they were murmuring happily amongst themselves as they left, many looking hopeful that they would be chosen to manage the kitchen during the head chef's absence.

  After dinner, both the alien senators gave gifts to Prince Dinus. Shatopa gave him a case of dried shellfish, a delicacy from the oceans of his homeworld, while Chtawlikt presented him with a variety of her world's gitish shell bowls, explaining that while almost thin enough to see through, they were extremely durable and could only be cut with a diamond blade. The bowls were passed around and admired, and Keestu noted that the highly polished interiors shimmered like mother of pearl, white overlaid with delicate shades of blue, which closely matched the color change pearls Korin had brought her from Uriel.