by Juliet Sem
"Have we arrived then?"
"Yes, handmaiden, we have. Is the Princess ready to debark the ship?"
"I believe so, Captain," Keestu said, gesturing for everyone to step back as she heard Rue come up behind her.
"It was a nice flight, Captain," Rue said, smiling at the man. "I'm afraid I had a touch of space lag from all my travel and required a nap, but now I'm refreshed and ready to meet the Prató of Vulo. Fernuin is his name, isn't it?"
"Yes, Crown Princess," the man replied. "But he prefers his title to his given name, especially when being addressed by a woman." He wrung his hands and looked uncomfortable, as though he felt he had said too much.
"Don't worry. I was briefed on Phaet, Captain, and I'll be most formal in my address of my Vuloan host."
Some of the tension left the man's body, and he straightened up, smoothing his satin shirt before he motioned for her to follow him out of the ship.
"The Prató isn't here to greet you at the spaceport, Crown Princess. He's busy managing Vulo's affairs from his country estate, which he uses as his main residence."
"Is it far from here?"
"About a quarter Union hour by flitter."
They stepped off the ship, and Keestu gasped in delight. They were in a large meadow, untouched except for the many concrete landing pads embedded in the grass. In the distance she could see mountains, though the spaceport was surrounded with a forest so thick she could only see a little way down the roads that were cut through it. It reminded her of the alpine areas on her own homeworld, though the flora differed from what she was used to. The trees here were very tall, with Keestu estimating their average height at thirty meters,.
Dinus hurried up to them, taking Rue's hand.
"I trust you were comfortable for your trip?"
"Oh, most comfortable, Dinus, and even if I wasn't, look at this view!"
"Yes, it's quite lovely here," Dinus said. "My family has vacationed here many times, starting when I was very young, and I have always loved the forests of Vulo."
As they were shown to flitters hovering over the grassy meadow, Keestu glanced around, pausing to watch a flitter being loaded with their luggage by Vuloan nobles.
These flitters were small enough that Keestu had to content herself with riding with Tenget and Vahin, while Gontu accompanied Rue and Dinus in the other.
The flitters rose smoothly but maintained a low altitude, flying fifteen meters above the treetops, so Keestu found herself looking out of the windscreen at the view. She saw houses tucked into clearings that had been cut into the forest, and most of them had smoke coming out of chimneys. A large meadow a short distance away from the city surrounding the spaceport was taken up by another cluster of houses. Seeing their humble stature, Keestu was certain they belonged to commoners.
An unoccupied smaller meadow zipped past underneath them, this one filled with a riot of blue, purple, and red flowers lining the trails and creek that snaked through it.
A larger city came into view in the distance as the ground dropped away into a valley. A river wound randomly through it, though Keestu noted several straights white with rapids. Watching the water flowing while flying made her queasy, so Keestu turned her attention to other things.
They flew directly over a small town nestled against the foothills between the valley and mountains, and Keestu saw broad compacted dirt avenues separating the blocks of houses, some of which had thatched roofs, while others had tile. The river flowed closely by one side of this town, separating it from a large stand of trees lining the slopes of the hills behind it. There was a large wooden bridge crossing the river leading off into the forest, making Keestu smile, thinking it would make for a scenic trip by groundcar.
As they left the smaller town behind, Keestu continued looking it over, but she didn't see any sign of motorized vehicles in the area, nor had she seen anyone walking around, which struck her as odd; someone could always be seen afoot from the air in CeCe. However, she wasn't sure if their pilot spoke Unity, so she refrained from asking any questions.
Vahin touched her arm, pointing at a strange vehicle undulating across the landscape. A long bus was traveling from the town they had flown over towards a larger city now visible several kilometers distant. Its multiple segments were joined by flexible tubing. Each section independently hugged the contours of the packed dirt road, giving the vehicle a creeping caterpillar-like appearance. She nodded, grinning at Vahin; the vehicle was different than any transport on Sandar.
They overtook the bus while following the road to the city. Its houses were made of stone, though they were not made of solid blocks. She admired the small gray stones that were packed into colored concrete to form the outer walls of these homey looking domiciles. She wasn't certain what the roofs were covered with. They weren't concrete, they weren't thatched, and they weren't tile. Keestu stared as they passed over one house, realizing it looked like it was roofed with rock that had been split to form shingles.
"Vahin, is that roof made of rock?"
"Yes. I believe it's slate shingles," he responded without hesitation. "Some of the older areas of Sandar used slate for roofing, but it's not something you'll see in CeCe. If cared for properly, a slate roof will last several centuries. They are very heavy as well, and if properly applied will not blow off in most windstorms."
"Those are stone roofs on stone houses?"
"Yes, very durable building materials, if you use the right mortar. Also, they are very resistant to fire, and will not wear down or rot with constant rain such as this area must receive."
They passed over the remainder of the city, traveling two more kilometers into the woods before arriving at another meadow and finding themselves circling a vast palace. Save for a large separate parking garage, there were no other buildings in attendance to this massive structure. They began descending towards the garage, and Keestu saw many large empty parking bays as they landed.
Exiting the flitter, she became aware of a large guard contingent clad in gold awaiting them. Dinus and Rue were standing still next to their flitter as a number of the guards advanced on them. She motioned to Vahin and Tenget and assumed the stance as another group of soldiers converged on their location.
The Vuloans who had exited the flitter behind them were also standing very still, apparently used to such inspection.
Finding Tenget standing slightly forward of them, their humorless guard barked something at him in Phaet. Keestu glanced down at her translator. "Name?"
"Tenget of Sandar," he replied. Checking his list against a known picture, the guard grunted, proceeding to Vahin and repeating his challenge.
When she found herself challenged in similar fashion, Keestu gritted her teeth and gave her cover name. "Lady Rue Soga of Sandar."
"You may pass. Join your companions over there," the guard told them while he proceeded to challenge every Vuloan in the same brusk manner.
Looking askance at her protocol adviser, Keestu complied, finding Rue had lost her distaste for Dinus's familiarity in these strange surroundings. She glanced at Gontu, who was frowning at the mass of guards sent to greet them.
"You'd think we were sent to challenge the Prató and take the palace by force," he muttered through clenched teeth as she moved up beside him.
"We were warned we would encounter differing customs outside the Union, especially here on Vulo," she whispered back.
He nodded curtly to her and continued glaring around at the unfriendly faces.
After several tense and silent seconds, an exterior door opened, and a young man came strolling in. He was dressed in royal blue with a gold stripe, and Keestu relaxed upon seeing his rank badge; this young man was the Praton of Vulo, Fernuin's son.
"See," she whispered to Gontu, "The Praton himself has come to greet us."
On seeing the circular rank badge embroidered on the young man's right breast, Rue relaxed somewhat, though Dinus remained tense next to her. Noting that Dinus's companions had arranged themse
lves around him in a half circle that included Rue leaving Gontu and Tenget free to guard her and Vahin if needed, Keestu's opinion of Dinus went up considerably.
The Praton didn't hesitate. His face lit up, and he moved to greet them with both hands outstretched.
"Welcome to Vulo, Crown Princess Keestu," he said warmly, blithely ignoring Dinus's bristling guards while clasping one of Rue's hands in both of his. "I trust your trip was uneventful? I'm sorry I wasn't in the garage to greet you, for we've been dealing with many issues ever since my father ascended to Prató, not the least of which is the deaths of many family members who could have helped us rule. That leaves much more work for him and me, seeing as I now have no brothers to assist me in the management of an entire planet. But then, I'm certain being royal yourself you understand the exigencies of rule. I'm Pulon, Praton of Vulo. My father, Fernuin, is Prató. My mother's name is Bott, and my sister is Shariel. You'll meet them later. For now, I've been assigned to show you around our home. Please come this way," indicating the Sandarians should follow him, before turning to address Dinus. "I also welcome you and your entourage, Praton of Phaet." Compared to his welcome for them, Pulon's greeting to Dinus was brusk, though not overtly hostile.
"Thank you, Praton of Vulo," Dinus responded just as coldly, holding an his arm to Rue. She took it without hesitation, preferring the company of the prince she knew to the stranger before her. Keestu approved of Rue's choice; Pulon was cordial enough, but there was something about him that made her uneasy.
Now that a royal was present, the guards relaxed, most of them remaining in the garage save for those assigned to carry luggage, and Keestu sighed in relief. She wondered how the Autocracy could function with such high levels of stress between planetary leaders.
Entering the palace, and the first thing that struck Keestu was its size. It was made of quarried stone blocks that were about meter square each. The ground floor exterior wall was a full two blocks thick, and Keestu's eyebrows went up in surprise. She wondered if cannons were still in use on Vulo, for it appeared that this massive wall was built to stop large projectiles.
Passing through tall double doors of hardsteele into a large foyer, Keestu looked up. The first floor was four blocks tall, making the ceiling four meters distant. Far above her head, a massive medium blue crystal chandelier lit the otherwise gloomy entrance, bathing the gray blocks in a cool blue glow. Beneath her feet was a wooden parquet floor consisting of light blue, dark blue, and black stained Vuloan woods. The dominating geometric pattern here was Vulo's planetary symbol--the trapezoid. It was interlocked with rhombuses, which danced visually in the light from the chandelier. Keestu thought that perhaps there was merit to the bold colors and geometric patterns of the Autocracy after seeing this sample of it in practice. She thought the room oversized for a foyer, though she knew planetary rulers were expected to live in ostentatious surroundings.
Exiting the foyer, Keestu observed that the entire first floor was four meters tall, with interior doors to rooms a full two and a half meters in height. She felt like a child, wandering around in these towering surroundings. Looking neither left nor right, Pulon led them directly to a wide staircase at the other end of the entrance hall. Since they were walking swiftly, Keestu only got glimpses of other palace rooms while hurrying to keep up with him.
After climbing the stairs, Pulon turned left, hurrying down a corridor as high as the one below. Glancing down the right-hand corridor, Keestu saw fencing embedded in the wall, blocking off access to that section of the palace. Jogging a little to catch up with Pulon, Keestu turned down a corridor into a different wing of the palace. Striding to the last door on the right, Pulon threw open a set of massive wooden doors, showing them into a large anteroom tastefully furnished with several couches and chairs. In the center of the room sat a built-in bar. The wall beyond the bar had a single massive window revealing the untouched wilderness surrounding the palace, while on either side of the anteroom were more doors.
Moving left, Pulon opened the another set of double doors, showing Rue into her guest quarters, consisting of a large bedroom with two outer walls with large windows looking out towards the city from front and the wilderness from the side. There were two large beds in this room, each covered with satin quilts in royal blue and gold patterned with hexagons surrounding trapezoids. One door leading an adjoining bedroom that did not let out into the outer hall, but had a second door opening into the anteroom. There were also two beds in this room, but their satin quilts were gold and blue and patterned with triangles around trapezoids.
"These beds are reserved for the parents of the Prató or Praté. Since the Prató has no living parents or in-laws, these rooms are at your disposal for the duration of your visit to Vulo. Your handmaiden can be kept close at hand in the adjoining room, or your bodyguard; make sleeping arrangements as you will."
"Thank you," Rue said, looking around the lavishly appointed rooms in appreciation.
They moved aside as their luggage was brought into this large bedroom and deposited on the floor. The guards were dismissed with a flick of Pulon's hand and hurried out without comment.
"Now that your luggage has been delivered, please settle in for a while and refresh yourselves as I see if my father is ready to receive you."
They returned to the anteroom, where Pulon briefly showed them how to operate the bar. It dispensed a variety of liquors, but was also stocked with non-alcoholic fruit drinks, water, ice, and a javene brewer that Keestu eyed with appreciation.
"You," Pulon turned to Dinus and his companions. Dinus frowned for Pulon deliberately failed to address him either by title or name. "You will please wait here with the Crown Princess while I find if my father plans to accommodate you here overnight."
"Actually, Praton," Dinus said with pointed courtesy, "We will be returning to Phaet this evening. My Prató has ordered me to deliver the Crown Princess safely into your keeping and then return directly after. She is here," he said, smiling with no sign of friendliness touching his eyes as he did so, "so we must return to Phaet as soon as possible."
Pulon eyed him back as coolly and responded. "Very well. You may accompany me to the main hall, and I'll have you taken back to the spaceport."
Dinus turned to Rue, taking both her hands in his. "Remember what my mother told you, Crown Princess. I wish the rest of your journey to be a pleasant one. I'll see you in a few weeks upon your return to Phaet." He formally kissed her hand, nodding to the rest of her entourage before motioning for his people to follow him from the room.
Rue dropped into a chair after the door closed behind him. "Well, now that was interesting."
Tenget motioned around the room, indicating they were being monitored, and Rue nodded back gravely.
"I think there is some rivalry between the Pratons because their fathers will soon face each other in the tourney. Each son rooting for his own father, that's good. Speaks of commendable familial loyalty if you ask me."
They moved back to the bedroom where their luggage had been deposited and chose their rooms. Rue took the suite recommended to her, and because there was no door leading to the hallway, Keestu took the adjoining room.
Gontu took the room opposite Rue's, while Tenget and Vahin chose to room together again. This left two rooms on each side of the suite empty.
After choosing her room, Keestu went back to the main room to find Vahin at the bar. He had started a pot of javene brewing, and the scent made Keestu sigh in anticipation. All the travel had taken a toll on her, and she found herself only too happy to sit and accept a cup, which she dressed using sugar and dry creamer from their suitcase of food supplies rather than trying to figure out which condiments of the en suite bar were meant to be used in javene.
Gontu and Tenget joined them, and after a few minutes, Rue came out, smiling as she was offered a cup of javene. She had changed out of Phaet's noble clothing into a black pantsuit and red shirt, and only then did Keestu realize that Dinus had left without retrievin
g his family's clothing.
Rue sat on one of the sofas, bouncing a little to test its firmness, then sank back and relaxed with her cup as well.
"That's an awful lot of travel in a short time," she said, settling her shoulders into the back of the sofa with a sigh. "I think I'll really sleep well tonight despite my nap on the Vuloan ship!"
"Yes," Vahin responded. "It's a good thing we'll have a few days here before we must move on. I'm afraid all the constant travel may harm your judgment during negotiations, but fortunately, they have allowed more than adequate time once we return to Phaet for you to rest up before negotiations are scheduled to begin."
"King Ismer instructed me very well in what we are looking for, and once we have the trade agreement in place, we can leave the details to those underlings better suited to the task," Rue said.
Keestu raised her eyebrows in surprise at Rue's somewhat haughty response, stifling her response by taking another sip of javene.
Changing the subject, Rue looked around smiling. "I have to say after the medium blue and purple of Phaet, it's strange to be surrounded by royal blue and gold."
"Perhaps we should change into our own clothing, too?" Vahin asked, looking discretely at Keestu.
However, they weren't given time, as a perfunctory knock on the outer door preceded its opening by Pulon, who was once again accompanied by a contingent of guards.
"The Prató will see you, Crown Princess. You and your people are to accompany me now, please. His schedule is quite busy, and you arrived sooner than he expected, but he would like to meet you before the formal dinner tonight."
Keestu sighed in resignation. A formal dinner meant heavy foods, lots of strangers, and many formalities to be observed, making for late hours. There went her plans for settling in and relaxing for the evening.
Vahin had finished his javene. Rue finished her cup, grimacing at the haste before placing her cup in the sink. Keestu, who had less to finish, swallowed the last of it while moving, and Gontu and Tenget poured half their cups down the drain.