“It’s the least we could do. Welcome, Miss Krys,” he growled in greeting. Then he stepped aside. It was Daughter’s turn. He looked hard at Val, and Val got the message.
“Daughter, please let me introduce my sister, Krys. Krys, this is Daughter.”
Krys turned to Daughter. “Pleased to meet you, Ma’am,” she said. “Whose daughter are you?”
Val coughed into his fist. “Uh . . . “
“It’s okay, Val. I’ll explain,” Daughter said. She motioned Krys to a nearby couch and sat beside her. “I am the Queen’s daughter,” she said simply, a smile on her face.
Krys looked into her eyes, then she turned to Val. She blinked a few times before she found her voice. None of this made sense to her.
“She’s Daughter,” Val said, emphasizing the word.
Krys still didn’t understand. Daughter stood up, saying, “I’m sorry, Krys. I know it’s confusing, and I confess I’m having a little fun at your expense. Please forgive me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t, my dear, though I’m afraid a full explanation will just add to your confusion. How much education did they give you in that place?”
“Some. Not enough, but there are other ways.” She hesitated, then pulled a pad from her pocket.
“I see. It appears that brother and sister are alike in more ways than appearance. You found your own means to learn.”
“As much as I could. Only at night, though. They’d have taken it from me if they knew. I get the feeling that won’t happen here.”
A sad smile met her words. “It will not.” Daughter looked at Otis with troubled eyes. “Something must be done about conditions there,” she said to him.
He nodded. “Yes, My Lady, but it’s a local matter not subject to Imperial direction.”
Krys didn’t miss the ‘My Lady’ or the ‘Imperial’ parts and sat up straighter, if such a thing was possible. Her senses suddenly became very focused. Val, recognizing the body language, went to her and sat by her side, taking one of her hands in his own. Daughter stared at the two of them as they sat together. She could only shake her head.
“You are each other,” she said softly.
“Except for the few pounds I’m missing down here,” Val said pointing to his missing leg. “My Lady,” he added a moment later.
“My Lady,” Krys murmured. Her eyes rose to the woman standing before her. “You’re Daughter,” she said. Then, “You’re the Queen’s daughter.” She received a nod in reply. Krys turned to Val with troubled, piercing eyes. “Who are you?” she asked.
“Just plain old Val,” he said standing up and pulling Krys to her feet. “May I present Daughter?”
Krys stood before the woman. Their gazes locked for a moment, then Krys went to one knee with her head bowed. “My Lady.”
Daughter took Krys’ hands in her own to lift her to her feet. The moment they touched, Krys stiffened. When she started to fall forward, Val knew something was wrong. Daughter went down to one knee to hold her, and Val was by her side in a moment. Her eyes stared blankly into the distance as if in a trance.
His arm went around her waist. “Krys,” he asked softly, “Are you okay?”
She blinked, confused for a moment, then came back into herself. She focused first on Val, then on Daughter. “Oh! I’m so sorry, My Lady. Please forgive me.”
Daughter held her. “What’s wrong, child?”
Krys stared at Daughter for a time, then pulled her hands away, bringing a shaking hand to her forehead. “It’s nothing, My Lady. I’m just . . . overwhelmed. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. It’s I who should ask for your forgiveness.”
“My Lady, for sixteen years I have lived in the orphanage, only rarely allowed to venture outside its walls. All my knowledge of your Realm comes from here,” she said reaching for her pad. “I don’t even know where I am or where we’re going.”
Daughter pulled Krys to her feet. “And I had expected to meet an uneducated waif, someone our system had forced into timidity. In spite of the rags you wear, I am most pleased to find an intelligent young woman instead. After meeting your brother, I probably should have known better. You left us for a moment. Are you ill?”
“I’m fine, My Lady. Just a brief lapse. It’s happened before, but it’s nothing.”
“Have you seen Doctor Storvo?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“There is only one ‘Your Majesty,’ Krys, and I am not her. I’m known as ‘My Lady.’”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“And this was supposed to have been a meeting between long lost brothers and sisters. It’s time for you and Val to have some privacy.”
“Not here,” Val said in alarm.
“No, not here. It will take time for you to be comfortable here. The lounge is perfect. There’s plenty of room for privacy, yet others are usually present. Why don’t you go there?”
He put his arm out, and Krys put her arm through his, still shaky. She leaned into him, but by the time the door closed behind them, she had taken his hand.
* * * * *
The moment the door closed behind them, Krys turned to face him. “What is going on here?” she demanded.
“I’m not sure myself. Who cares? I have a sister!” he exclaimed, shaking his head.
She took his arm possessively. “And I have a brother. After all these years, I have a brother.” Then she looked around at the artwork covering the walls and the understated elegance of the corridor and shook her head. A typical ship of State would, she suspected, be much more plain. The woman really was royalty.
Her gaze hardened. “Who are you really?” she demanded.
“Until two days ago, I was essentially a poor, one-legged beggar. Come on. I’ll tell you all about it. Let’s see, the lounge is . . . that way,” he said pointing to his left. “And two levels up.”
He led her to the lounge without difficulty. Several crewmembers were there, but the two found solitude in a corner of the great room. He seated her on a couch, then asked if she would like anything.
“No. Otis has taken good care of me. I like him. Sit, and tell me what’s going on. Please.”
“Well, we both grew up in the orphanage. I escaped six years ago. Do you remember our parents?”
“No.”
“Nor do I. I survived as a beggar . . .”
She clasped his hands in hers as he told his story. She’d had little experience of life outside the orphanage, and in her mind the life he’d carved out for himself, though a great adventure in some ways, was complex and dangerous, magnifying her lack of knowledge of the outside world. One thing came through clearly: Val was a survivor, and he was proud of his accomplishments. She understood and shared in his pride. His life called to her in much the same way her favorite adventure stories called to her.
Val was glad she had never escaped from the orphanage. They both knew what her life would have been like had she done so. For Val, life had been an adventure, but for her it would have been a horror, a worse horror than the orphanage.
“What’s going to happen to us?” she asked.
Looking around the room, he said, “Some doors have been opened; we have opportunities neither of us ever dreamed of. What would you like to do?”
“School,” she answered instantly. “I want to go to school. Beyond that, I don’t know, but I’ve dreamed of going to school. Do you think they’ll let us?”
“Can you imagine them not letting us?”
“I like her,” Krys said with a smile. “And I like Otis, too. I was afraid of him when I saw him at the orphanage, but I’m not now.”
“He came to the orphanage himself?”
Krys nodded. “She came with him, as well. I didn’t know who they were, though from my reading I recognized him as a Great Cat.”
Val could only stare at her in shock. Daughter and Otis had both taken time from their busy schedules to find her? “Uh, did t
hey make a scene?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I was called to the office. They spent a few minutes with me and gave me a choice, then we left. I didn’t see what went on before that.”
“But you can imagine it.”
She smiled. “I can now. Oh, my! Mrs. Orvidge must have been apoplectic.”
“She’s still there?”
“She’s still there and in charge. I hope to never see her again. How is it we never ran into each other?”
“They’re pretty resourceful at keeping the boys and girls separated. Different buildings and all, and I’ve been gone for six years. I’m not surprised.”
Krys looked around the lounge, and in her mind she considered what she’d seen of the rest of the ship, the small portion she’d seen. The ship, Daughter and Otis, her new-found brother, and the displacement of her life suddenly overwhelmed her again. In a small voice, she said, “You have a plan. I wish I did.”
“You have a pad. What interested you?”
She looked at him shyly and hesitated. “Stories,” she finally said. “Stories about queens and princesses and knights. Adventure.”
“Well, you’re right in the middle of that now. I’m not sure it’s all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Do you think she’d take us to Triton, let us see the Palace?” she breathed.
“Probably. I don’t care where we go as long as it’s together.”
She squeezed his hand, then leaned into him and gave him another hug. “She’s given us such a gift,” she said into his hair.
A smile lit his face, though she couldn’t see it. “She could dump us at her next stop, and I’d not regret it for a moment if we can stay together, Krys.”
She leaned away from him. “And I’m angry that the orphanage never let us know. It’s not right, Val.”
“No, it’s not, and we can never forget. Should we make it our life’s work to change the system?”
“Can we?” she asked. “We’re just two orphans.”
He pursed his lips. “I’m going to be a star pilot, Krys. Will you join me in that?” She paused, and he could tell instantly that such a calling was not high on her list. “Okay,” he said, “that’s not the plan. What works for you?”
“I don’t know!” she said in consternation.
“Then let’s focus on school. You said that’s what you want. I have to go to school somewhere. We can go together.” Thinking of the money key, he asked, “If we could go anywhere you want, where would that be?”
She thought for a time. “I have no idea. It doesn’t matter. Anywhere there’s a school for you, there will be one for me.”
“We’ll find someplace that works for both of us. All I demand is that it not be on Triton. I don’t want her reputation to open doors for us. I want us to open our own doors.”
“That works for me,” she said shyly. “Just, please, take me with you.”
“Then give some thought to what you’d like to do with the rest of your life. We’ll find the right place and make it happen together.”
She squeezed his hand, but a worried look filled her eyes. Neither of them had ever had opportunity, and it frightened her.
They spent the rest of the day together, and to Val’s relief, Daughter excused them from dining with her. They were directed to the staff dining room for dinner where they chose a corner table. To their surprise, several families with small children occupied the far corner of the room. He and Krys had no idea what families were doing on the ship, though as he considered it, Val acknowledged that voyages on the ship might well last for years at a time. Under those conditions, it would make sense to bring families if there was room. And there was room. From his tour of the ship with the AI, he knew the ship was vast, some 200 meters in diameter with nine levels. There would be room for hundreds of people, and surely the crew did not number in the hundreds. He would have to query the AI at his next opportunity.
Val labored with his utensils, practicing what Daughter had taught him over breakfast, and Krys helped.
“You know how to do this?” he asked in surprise.
“The girls were taught basic things, like table manners and how to address people. We were trained to be housekeepers and maids.”
Val just shook his head. “The boys didn’t get any of that.”
“What were you being trained to do?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”
“Maybe you should have,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
He looked at her feet under the table. No shoes! “They didn’t teach you everything. Didn’t they teach you to wear shoes?”
“Only during lessons. I don’t like them. They hurt.”
“I wouldn’t know, but I’ve been instructed to find out. I have a feeling something will show up in your quarters before long.”
They ended up in Val’s room, sitting on the bunk and talking. He was wide awake, but he could tell she was fading fast. “Where’s your room?” he asked.
“I have no idea. I can’t go back there.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never been alone before. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Can I stay here, with you? I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“My sister is not sleeping on the floor,” Val declared. “I’ll take the floor.” He held up a hand to forestall argument. “I’m used to it. I can sleep anywhere, and this floor is a lot nicer than the street. Tuck yourself in, Krys. See you in the morning.”
She was asleep in minutes with a serene look on her face. He, too, felt wonderful and charged up. He’d never been responsible for anyone else in his life, and he liked the feeling. She was smart and outgoing, but she was completely removed from her normal element. So was he, but he would help her find her way. He pulled out his pad and started to work on the physics problem he’d been working on when Bodan’s call interrupted him, but then he changed his mind. Survival came first. He needed to learn more about Daughter and all this royalty stuff. He sent a query out, but the pad did not connect.
He thought for a time, then whispered, “Ship.”
“At your service, Val,” came back a muted reply.
“Can my pad access your files?”
“Some of them. There, it’s done. You now have restricted access.”
He typed a message: HOW RESTRICTED?
The reply formed immediately. YOU HAVE ACCESS TO GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY.
He frowned. HOW AM I GOING TO HAVE MY TESTS GRADED? I BOUGHT THE PROGRAM ON HESPRA III.
THE TESTS ARE IN YOUR PAD?
YES.
I WILL GRADE THEM IF YOU WISH.
Hmm. Was there anything the AI couldn’t do? He sent a request for information on Daughter. His screen instantly filled with long lists of possible suggestions. There was no way he was going to work through all of it. Then he had an idea. >Got any suggestions, Artmis?<
>I was wondering when you’d get around to asking. I could probably save you a lot of time. I’m quite familiar with the Royal Family.<
>Want to give me a briefing?<
>I can, though I sense that you learn best by reading. Why don’t you limit your query?<
He typed a more defining query. JUST SOME GENERAL INFORMATION. YOU DECIDE.
The screen came back with a history of the Royal Family. It scrolled down to the section on Daughter, and he began reading. The reading was difficult since his knowledge of Galactic High Standard, the official language used throughout the Empire, was limited, but he persevered, and Artmis helped him when necessary. The article began with a detailed family tree which he skipped over for the moment. He came to her date of birth, struggled on for several lines, then came back to it. He decided he’d misunderstood and tried to convert the Galactic High Standard date to the date system used on Hespra III. He still didn’t like the answer.
>Artmis?<
>Your calculations are correct, Val.<
>No way. She can’t be that old.<
>She’s se
venty-one years old, Val.<
He sat back in confusion. >She looks like she’s twenty-five.<
>Sorry, Val. Her family has a life expectancy of some 400 years. Something in the genes, I guess.”
>Four hundred years!<
>Did you think the Queen would send a child to resolve disputes?”
>Well . . . no. I guess not.<
>She’s been doing this for many years. What is your own life expectancy?<
>You mean if we don’t get killed first?<
>Barring that, yes.<
>Eighty or so. Maybe a hundred if I lived right, which I haven’t exactly been doing.<
>That’s for sure. I’m fixing things.<
>What?<
>That’s what Riders do, Val. I’m not done yet, but you’re a lot healthier than you were when I came aboard. But we should talk about your own life span. I told you there were benefits to having me, and this is one of them.<
>You’re making me healthier, and I’m going to live longer?<
>A lot longer Val. Probably as long as Daughter. If you don’t get us killed first.<
Chapter Forty-five: The First Vision
>So that’s how it is, Val. All the things that cause aging are something I deal with on a routine basis. We’ll reach a point where I can’t keep up, and we’ll die, but it won’t be a lingering death. I wouldn’t do that to either of us. When it’s our time, we’ll both know.<
Val wasn’t over the shock, and as far as he was concerned, he might never be. >What am I going to do for 400 years, Artmis?<
>You mean, what are we going to do?<
>Well, yes.<
>I’m a Rider, Val. I don’t control. I think it’s up to you. I hope you make it interesting and fun. So far, it’s been all of that. I don’t see it changing. Do you?<
>Not for a while.<
>We should talk about your leg.<
Last of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book One) Page 43