Pallene threw one of her hands up. “Nonsense; you’re not a burden at all. The princess considers you to be a very important guest here on the Cybele. In fact, she wants to have lunch with you.”
My hands started to tremble. She wants to have lunch with me, her Royal Highness, the second princess of Planet X, wants to have lunch with tiny little insignificant me. “I—I can’t,” I murmured through my shaky hands.
Pallene grabbed me by my shoulders. “Yes, you can! You must! Her Highness will be beyond disappointed if you don’t show up!” I knew that talking to the princess was a part of my plan, but honestly, I was kind of scared. When I was thinking about having a talk with the princess herself, it sounded really simple and easy, but now, not so much. I couldn’t babble on to her about my plans and what I’d discovered. She would probably think I was a complete loon. Most of all, who was I? I was just a nobody girl from a colony on the Moon. I couldn’t sit down and have lunch with royalty like her. Also, what would we talk about? Diplomatic affairs, lipstick, the weather? I couldn’t think of anything right now.
“What’s wrong with you? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine with the princess. You can’t let this moment pass you by!” Pallene pleaded.
She was right. I couldn’t let this pass me by. If I did, I’d probably regret it for the rest of my life. “Okay. I’ll have lunch with her.”
Pallene let go of my shoulders, placed her hand over her chest, and let out a tiny sigh of relief. “Thank the Goddess.” Pallene walked over to a video phone that was attached to the wall next to the entrance. After she pressed three buttons, a Martian with thick orange braids appeared on the screen. “She’s ready,” Pallene spat out before quickly ending the call.
Before I could ask what was going on and who she had called, a fleet of young Martian women marched through the doorway and into the room. One of them came in with a wheelchair. They all looked like they were around Pallene’s age; most likely in their early twenties, with their bright orange hair swept up into neat updos with golden leaf pins holding them together. Pallene turned toward me. “Ladies, this is Cosmic Callisto Caprica and I need you all to prep her for her lunch date with the princess.” Pallene clapped her hands twice; two Martian women pulled me up from out of my bed, then they placed me into the wheelchair that the other Martian woman had brought into the room. The young Martian women looked down at me and smiled. One of them said. “Don’t worry; we’re going to take good care of you.”
The treatment I received from Pallene’s team of caretakers was something I’d never forget
for the rest of my days. After we traveled down a lengthy corridor and through the blue sliding doors, I was dropped off at the bathroom. I mean, this was a literal bathroom; a large bath with steaming hot water took up a vast majority of the space in this room. Several large blue columns with shimmering golden vines wrapped around them were on the edge of the bath itself.
Carvings of Martian women holding onto vases were attached to the sides of the columns and more steaming hot water was pouring from out of the marble vases. I had the entire bath to myself. After I had scrubbed down every inch of myself, I climbed out of the large bath, and one of my caretakers handed me a light blue silk bathrobe. Then I was escorted down yet another long corridor and into a dressing room. Inside of the dressing room were three gigantic wall-sized mirrors; one on each side and one directly in front of me. Directly in the center of the room was a runway with bright lights attached to the edge of it. At the end of the runway was a golden chair and a matching table with what had to be every single shade of eye shadow, lipstick, and blush that there was, along with an assortment of perfumes and hair care products.
I glanced over my shoulder. The runway stopped in front of the wall behind me, which had a golden curtain in the center of it. Several of the young women who were taking care of me disappeared and then reappeared from behind the curtain with traditional Martian-style dresses draped across their arms. Dresses with four-foot-long creamy capes, dresses beaded with tiny jewels that sparkled like stars; one even had a cluster of jagged-looking crystals on top of the shoulder pads. Each dress was more glamorous than the last and all I could do was shake my head and say no to each one. These dresses were way too fancy for me. I didn’t want to sound like I was being ungrateful or anything, but I felt like I wasn’t good enough to wear such dresses. After I said no to a white mermaid-style dress that also had a shimmering veil, I noticed the look on one of the girls’ faces. Her lips were tightly pressed together, helping to form this incredibly forced smile; her fingernails were digging into the fabric of the dress. She was sick of me and my indecisiveness. I was sure everyone else was probably ready for me to make some sort of a decision so they could stop parading back and forth with these dresses. I sucked my bottom lip in; that was it, the next dress that they brought, that was what I’d wear.
I didn’t care if it had a fifty-foot-long train with eight clusters of jewels on it! I was going to wear it. “I think I have something you may like!” I looked up. It was the young lady who promised me that I would be well taken care of. She had her hands tucked behind her back. “Close your eyes.” I did exactly what she said; all the while a bundle of butterflies were swarming around in my stomach because I had no clue what she had for me. “Okay, open your eyes.”
A tiny gasp escaped from out of my mouth. Directly in front of me was an opal-colored dress with a tiny gold braided belt. The dress looked like it would fall right above my feet and the fabric at the bottom was dipped in the same gold color as the belt. A cluster of fabric was neatly gathered together on the left shoulder of the dress. I pinched a piece of the dress between my fingers.
“It’s perfect,” I whispered. After I changed into the opal-colored dress, my team of caretakers proceeded to fix the finger waves that were in my hair and they applied makeup to my face. Once my transformation was complete, I twirled down the runway several times. I couldn’t stop smiling at myself; I’d never felt more gorgeous before in my life.
“Should I tell the princess that you’re ready?” one of my caretakers asked.
I nervously rubbed my hand over my knuckles. “Yes, yes, I’m ready.”
I graciously thanked the ladies who had taken care of me before they left me alone in the banquet hall. I sat by myself at the head of a long table that looked like it could seat at least thirty people. Stationed next to a door that wasn’t far from the table were two guards. Every once in a while, their eyes would drift toward me, then back to end of the room. There were ten other tables just like the one I was sitting at. But my table, which was in the center, was the only table that was fully decorated with sparking gold plates, heavy gold goblets filled with black wine, and an assortment of fine dishes. I tried to look down all the way to the other end of the table, but from what I could see, there was a mixture of both human cuisine and Martian cuisine. Over to my left, next to a plate of deep fried mealworms and beans, was a brown cornucopia packed with gray figs, spiked pink melon, and some speckled grapes. I picked one of the speckled yellow grapes from off of the vine; Wendy loved yellow speckled grapes. Whenever we went over to the Martian section of the grocery store, she always picked up a bag of them for herself. I tried to toss the grape into my mouth, but my hand was shaking far too badly, so I just dropped the grape back into the cornucopia. God, I was so nervous right now. On one hand, I wished the princess would hurry up, but on the other hand, I hoped she would never walk through that door. I glanced over at the door. To my dismay, the door slid open. Immediately, I felt the palm of my hand become slick with warm beads of sweat.
Pallene daintily stepped through the door; she tilted her head back and, in loud voice, said, “Announcing her Royal Highness, the second daughter of King Torran the Second and Queen Dione… Princess Rhea of Planet X.”
I jumped up from out of my seat; it nearly fell over onto the floor. Pallene gracefully stepped over to the right. She bowed her head and placed her hand on top of her heart.
The two guards did the same. My anxiety was getting the best of me; I couldn’t think, so I decided that I would bow my head and put my hand over my chest as well. I decided to keep my eyes fixed on the floor; if I kept my eyes off of her, I was sure my anxiety levels would go back to normal. But sadly, my plan backfired the moment I heard the tap from Princess Rhea’s heels echo through the room. Without thinking, I looked up at the princess. The TV interview I watched at Uncle Sal’s was nothing compared to seeing the princess in real life. She was much taller than what I thought she was; she had to be at least six feet and a few inches. Her gorgeous orange hair was neatly braided on the edge of her head into two chunky braids; both braids collided at the back of her neck and were twisted into a perfect bun. A sparkling crown made out of golden leaves, pine needles, and berries was tucked inside of her braids. Her dress was made out of this dark blue see-through material and the same type of leaves that were on her crown were tastefully tacked onto her dress, covering up the areas of her body that people probably wished they could see for themselves. To both my horror and surprise, the princess’s eyes met mine from across the room.
“Oh, I’m so glad that you’re okay.” Her voice sounded smooth like fine silk. Everyone else in the room still had their heads bowed; I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to say anything at all. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I didn’t notice that the princess was standing right in front of me. She gently cupped the bottom of my chin with her hand and brought my face up toward hers. “Please, you’re my guest. Have a seat.” The princess from Planet X touched my face. I think I’m going to faint right now. As soon as her hand left my chin, I rubbed the very spot her fingers touched, then I took my seat back at the table. The princess started to tap her fingers on the table. I sat in my chair, motionless, with my eyes on the big goblet filled with black wine. “So tell me, Miss Callisto, how are you feeling?”
“Good.” That was the only word I was able to get out of my mouth.
The princess continued to tap her fingers on the table. “I had my chefs prepare as many dishes as possible. I wasn’t sure what you would like.” She waved her hand across the table. “Eat as much as you want. I put this entire lunch together just for you. If you don’t see something that you like, I can have one of my cooks prepare something for else you.”
I looked down at the huge feast before me. I’d better put something down on my plate; if I didn’t, I might offend her Highness. I selected a few speckled grapes and a glazed slice of warm porcus. I couldn’t believe that they roasted an entire porcus pig; they only sliced its midsection, but they left its behind and head with its thick curled ivory tusks untouched. I cut a piece of porcus, then I shoved it into my mouth. “So Pallene told me that you are a guest on the Titan.” She picked up the goblet that was next to her plate and took a sip from it. “I’m so sorry that the event had to be canceled.”
I bit down on my lower lip, then I slowly shook my head. Oh my God, I have to say something. I’m sure the princess probably thinks I’m the rudest girl in the entire galaxy right now. I just didn’t know what to do. “While you’re eating, if you like, I could tell you the story behind The Rings of Saturn. Where the name came from. I feel like it’s the least I could do since the event was canceled.” The princess snapped her fingers, and Pallene disappeared through the door that the princess had come through. She reappeared with a large black book tucked under her arm. She handed the book over to Princess Rhea. She started flipping through the book’s pages. “I was going to read from this book during the ceremony.” I took a tiny sip of the black wine that was in my goblet. “I borrowed this from our library back home. The royal historians have recorded as much information as they could about every piece of jewelry that’s a part of the showcase.”
Her fingers rested on the edge of the book, and a smile flashed across her face, then she turned the book toward me. “Look at this passage; it’s about The Rings of Saturn.” The passage was split in two; on one side were several paragraphs written in Martian language that I couldn’t read, and on the other was a gorgeous watercolor painting. In the center of the painting was a rainbow-colored sphere; the sphere was the size of a baseball, its thin, multicolored lines crisscrossed each other. There were so many that I couldn’t count them. The rainbow sphere was surrounded by seven golden rings; each ring was covered with small rainbow-colored gems that were carved in the shapes of teardrops.
I ran my fingers across the page. “That’s so beautiful. It actually looks like the planet Saturn.” Oh thank God, I was finally able to push some words out of my mouth.
“Before he was crowned king, my grandfather, Torran the First, was madly in love with a woman named Pikria Pikoros. My grandfather loved her so much that he went on a quest into the vast mountains of Planet X to find the largest rainbow rock he could find just for her. He was going to carve out a wedding ring for her. It took my grandfather a long time to find the perfect rainbow rock for her. When he returned back to the palace, all of his friends told him how badly Pikria had been talking about him. So he called their engagement off.”
“That sounds so awful, to be in love with someone only to find out that they have been dragging your name through the mud behind your back,” I said.
The princess continued. “Thankfully, my grandfather met my grandmother Hemera the following year. As a gift for their first anniversary, he carved the rainbow rock into the shape of her favorite planet, Saturn.”
“That’s so romantic,” I said. The princess was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Pallene. I was so captivated by the story the princess was telling me that I didn’t even see Pallene until she was crouched down next to the princess with her hand cupped over the princess’s right ear. She was whispering something into the princess’s ear. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but whatever it was, she didn’t want me to know because she was saying it in the Martian language. I watched as the princess tried to hold on to her calm demeanor while Pallene continued to whisper into her ear. Princess Rhea slammed the black book shut, then she handed the book back over to Pallene. She quickly got up from out of her chair and headed straight for the door near the table. Pallene was right on her heels with the book tucked under her arms. My heart sank into my belly. I wondered where they were going in such a hurry and I wondered if they were going to come back. As I watched both Pallene and Princess Rhea head toward the door, the words Pallene said to me earlier that helped convince me to attend this luncheon with the princess echoed through my mind, that this was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” I might not get the chance to see the princess ever again. I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by me.
“Your Highness, please wait!”
Chapter 16
My voice was much louder than I thought it would be when I called out to the princess. Part of me regretted calling out to her because the moment she turned around to look at me, I felt like my insides were going to bubble up to the surface and spill out of my mouth. It took everything in me to suppress my nervousness, get up from out of my chair, and tell the princess everything—from what happened to Wendy to why I boarded the escape pod. It was a messy, fast-paced explanation. I was sure I probably sounded like a first-class loon, but I couldn’t let her leave without telling her everything. The princess turned away from me and back toward Pallene. She pulled her in close. They shared a few words with each other—in Martian, of course. Pallene’s forehead became covered in a sea of wrinkles; she threw a few quick glances my way. I was sure they were probably deciding what to do with me. I bet they were going to send me back to my room with extra security so they could keep as many eyes on me as possible. Pallene left the princess’s side and started to walk toward me. Immediately, that same feeling I had moments ago where I felt like I was going to throw up every organ in my body returned.
Pallene grabbed hold of my wrist. “Her Highness would like for you to accompany her to a meeting.”
“What kind of meeting?” I stammere
d as Pallene pulled me from the table and closer to the princess, who was standing in the doorway. “Her Highness will explain everything when we reach the boardroom.”
Oh God, I wondered what sort of meeting this was and, more importantly, why did she want me? Pallene and I quietly followed behind Princess Rhea through a long hallway that was connected to the dining hall. The three of us finally sat down in a room that was near the end of the hallway. Inside of the room was a large portscreen that took up eighty percent of the wall that was in front of us. A golden chair that was wrapped in vines and in the shape of a bowl was directly in the center of the room. Stationed beside the chair was a small keyboard on top of a thin pole that was no bigger than a box of tissues.
Princess Rhea sat down in the bowl-shaped chair while Pallene and I stood side by side a few inches away from her. Princess Rhea turned around to face both Pallene and me with her legs crossed and her fingers tightly pressed together. She said, “Miss Caprica, I must say that I’m incredibly intrigued by your story. I’ve been thinking about what you told my solider before he attempted to shoot you down, which can I say again that I’m so sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, your Highness,” I whispered. I couldn’t believe that I was totally dismissing the fact that my life almost came to an end like it was nothing.
The princess continued, “I’m also impressed by your bravery. To come here on your own to deliver such valuable information to me is a very impressive feat.” I tried not to smile, but it was hard not to with the princess of Planet X sitting in front of me showering me with compliments. “As impressed as I am with your bravery and the information that you’ve given me, I’m not too sure if I can truly believe you. For all I know, you could be lying. The truth is you are a young lady that’s on vacation on the Titan. Really, for all I know, you could be a fanatic who just wanted to gain access to my ship for whatever reason.”
Cosmic Callisto Caprica & the Missing Rings of Saturn Page 17