by Sue Lyndon
Minnie stared at Rosa and considered her proposal. It wasn’t a bad idea. Actually, it was downright brilliant. Zak would be angry, but at least he wouldn’t be angry about turning blue in front of all of Erta’Aklann. Her finger hovered over the disconnect button on the screen. She smiled at her lifelong friend. “Your plan is so crazy that it might work. Okay, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon, and I’m serious about setting you up with one of Prince Zak’s cousins. The biggest, sternest one of them all.”
Rosa’s expression turned wistful. “My very own Prince Charming. I can’t wait. Good luck, Minniepants.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
Minnie ended the interplanetary call and spun around in her chair. She exited the library with a bounce in her step. She had an illness to fake.
*
“What do you mean you can’t treat my condition?”
The physician paled and avoided Zak’s gaze. “The blue will fade over the next few days, as long as you don’t eat any more lemons. Apologies, Prince Zak. I wish there was something I could give you to return you to normal.”
“I didn’t eat any lemons. I had fried cemma and a handful of raspberries for breakfast.”
“What did you drink?” the physician asked, his bushy gray brows drawing together.
Zak paced beside the massive bed he shared with Minnie. “The usual. A glass of dresman juice. I’ve ingested nothing out of the ordinary.” His frustration escalated. He clenched his fists. The airship was waiting, but his Valentine’s Day surprise for Minnie would have to be postponed. He didn’t want her fretting over his health, or worse—bursting into laughter when she laid eyes on him.
“I will go down to the kitchen and inquire about the lemons. Perhaps an unwitting cook squeezed a bit of lemon into your dresman juice. Do not worry, Prince Zak. We will discover who did this to you.” The normally calm physician appeared outraged on Zak’s behalf.
“Thank you. I will wait here, for obvious reasons.” Disappointment surged alongside his frustration. All his plans had fallen apart this morning, and apparently he had some uninformed kitchen servant to thank.
Once Errtin left, Zak resumed pacing the room. He racked his mind for an answer, unable to accept a servant squeezing a lemon into his drink. The kitchen servants were carefully vetted and required to learn all about Earth cuisine as well as Aklannian cuisine. It didn’t make sense.
Lemons, lemons, lemons. He paused at the window and frowned. Lemons were bright yellow. He found it odd that such a fruit would turn his species such a brilliant shade of blue. Yet he believed the physician’s diagnosis.
His little nieces and nephews ran into the courtyard below, and Zak backed away from the window, not wishing to scare the children. A noise prompted him to turn, and he spotted the physician rushing into his chambers again, an urgent look on his wrinkled face.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s like this, Prince Zak. A lemon slice was placed in Princess Minnie’s water this morning. The servants said they always put a small slice of lemon in her water with each meal. They claim it is an Earth custom.”
“That doesn’t explain how I came to ingest the lemon,” Zak snapped, his ire rising. Someone had turned him blue, and that someone had to pay. He could forgive an accident, he supposed, but if the act were intentional it was a whole different matter.
He replayed breakfast over in his mind, from his arrival in the dining room to his departure. Minnie had tried her best to hide her foul mood. At the end of the meal though, she had stared at his glass of dresman juice with a frightful expression.
No. Minnie wouldn’t have done this to him.
Would she?
He dismissed the physician, wanting to be alone with his mounting suspicions.
Erta. She often acted and spoke without thinking, particularly when upset. Had she been angry enough this morning to taint his dresman juice with lemon?
His blood boiled. As far as she knew, he had to spend all day in Parliament. That she would choose to embarrass him in front of the entire planet didn’t sit well. He removed his uniform jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and strode out into the hallway. Minnie’s bottom was about to become as red as the big hearts she’d placed on the calendar.
*
Minnie peeked into the children’s activity room and smiled at finding it empty. Her nieces and nephews must still be sleeping, or perhaps out for their morning walk with her sister-in-law. She rushed inside and closed the door.
In the far corner at a small table, she spotted the item she’d come for: a box of markers her mother had sent as a Christmas gift for the little princes and princesses. She hurried over and picked up the box. She pulled out a red marker, uncapped it, and set about placing dots all over her arms.
Oh, if only Rosa could see her now. Minnie decided she would definitely set her friend up with one of Zak’s cousins, even if she had to sneak behind her husband’s back to do so.
Once both her arms sported red dots, Minnie lifted her skirts and worked the marker over her legs. Spying the mirror in the dress up area of the room, she scurried over and stared at her reflection. Good, but not good enough. If she wanted to alarm the physician enough for him to contact Zak, she had to go all out.
Please let this work. Careful to space the dots evenly on her face, she started at her forehead and worked her way down. Voices and laughter echoed in the hallway, and Minnie’s hands commenced shaking. She was almost out of time.
She said a quick prayer and put the finishing touches on her look, marking her hands, neck, and chest with red dots. She ran to put the marker away and spun around at the sound of the door flinging open. Feigning weakness, she moaned and clutched a chair. She hadn’t wanted to do this in front of her nieces and nephews, but apparently she didn’t have a choice.
“Oh, someone help! I’ve got the… the…” What was that ancient human disease called? The one she’d studied in her ninth grade history class and had to write a paper about? “Chicken pox!” she yelled, excited to have remembered the ailment. “I must have contracted a serious case of the chicken pox!”
A glance up showed her two nieces and three nephews cowering behind her sister-in-law. “Children,” Princess Genna said, turning, “go to the kitchen and get a snack. Stay there until I come for you.” They all rushed out after casting another wary look at Minnie.
“Don’t worry, Genna.” Minnie winced and clutched at her side. “Aklannians can’t catch the chicken pox.”
Genna remained in the doorway. “How can you be certain?”
“It’s a virus, and most viruses can’t be passed from human to Aklannian.”
“I don’t know. You look very sick, Minnie. I’m going to summon the physician.”
“Please hurry.” Minnie sank to her knees and put a hand on her head. “Oh, the pain! Chicken pox is so horrible!”
Chapter Three
The physician helped keep Minnie upright as she moaned and hobbled down the halls like an invalid.
“Please, you must summon Prince Zak,” she said, wondering how much time remained until he turned blue. She had better do a good job of feigning the chicken pox if she wanted the doctor to call her husband soon. Only certain people with clearance, like the palace physician, had the ability to send him an emergency message, and unfortunately she wasn’t one of them. After all this was over, she planned to demand clearance to contact her husband in Parliament, even if interruptions were highly frowned upon.
“The last I saw Prince Zak, he was in your chambers, which is where I’m taking you right now. The queen will have one of her fainting spells if she glimpses you like this.”
Her mind spun. She paused and clutched the physician’s arm. “What did you say?”
“The queen mustn’t see you.”
“No, before that. Did you say Prince Zak is in our chambers?”
“Yes, princess.” His peered down at her with a guarded expression.
“But he’s supposed to be at Pa
rliament today. He left right after breakfast.” Had he turned blue before he made it out of the palace? She stood up straight and backed away from the doctor.
“I assure you he’s not at Parliament. Now please come, we must get you isolated in your chambers. I’ve never heard of chicken pox in all my studies of human disease, and I am not so certain you cannot pass your illness to an Aklannian. I need to take your vitals and contact my human health liaison on Earth for a treatment plan.”
Minnie sighed and slumped against the wall. She bit her lip and met his worried gaze. Guilt swept through her. “Errtin,” she said, happy to have remembered his name. “I’m not really sick. I’m faking it. Please don’t contact Earth.” She sighed. “Um, you say you’ve seen Prince Zak recently. I was wondering if…”
“If he was blue?”
“Oh God. It didn’t happen in front of Parliament did it?”
Amusement flickered in the physician’s eyes. He shook his head. “No, princess. He never left the palace. I imagine Prince Zak would like to speak with you though. Tell me, what are these spots all over your body, princess?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling like ten times a fool. “Marker. It will wash off. I-I’m sorry I tried to trick you into thinking I was ill, but I needed someone to get an emergency message to Prince Zak at Parliament so he would return to the palace before he turned blue.”
“I see. How much lemon did you squeeze into his drink at breakfast?” A smile tugged at the elderly Aklannian’s lips.
“Just a smidge.”
“He’s rather upset, princess.”
She twisted her fingers together and glanced down the empty hallway. “Is there something you can give him to counteract the effects of the lemon juice?”
“I’m afraid not. He’ll be blue for at least another four days.”
“I figured as much.” The kitchen servant who had eaten lemon had remained blue for almost a week. She cursed her temper and her foolhardiness. “Very well. I will search for my husband now. Good day, Errtin.”
“Good day, princess, and good luck.”
Luck. Oh if only luck were a commodity to be purchased in Traa’s busy market, she might have never gotten into such a predicament in the first place.
Minnie crept through the servants’ corridors, not wishing to run into Queen Terwina. Her mother-in-law gave her a disapproving look if she had a hair out of place. She couldn’t imagine how she would react to see her covered in red spots. Picking up her skirts, she rushed up the winding stairs of the last passage. She flung the door open, preparing to make a mad dash across the hall to her chambers. But after two steps, a large body blocked her path.
A large blue body.
She gasped and her gaze traveled from his muscled blue forearms up to his equally blue face. She had never seen her husband so displeased. Waves of anger radiated from his massive form, and she tried to slink back into the passageway, but he gripped her shoulders and hauled her forward.
“What happened to you, Minnie?” She chanced another glance into his eyes, only to find worry had replaced his anger. He looked her up and down and pressed a button on his wrist communicator.
“No! Don’t call Errtin. He’s already seen me. I’m not sick. It’s just marker.” At his confusion, she clarified. “It’s like paint. I just need a bath. It’s a long story.” She cleared her throat. “You’re, uh, quite blue.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “And you’re in quite a lot of trouble, wife. Let me guess. You made yourself appear ill so Errtin would contact me in Parliament.”
“But I don’t have clearance to—”
“Had I actually gone to Parliament this morning, your efforts would have been too late, and the repercussions would’ve been disastrous.”
Oh, he was right. She imagined the sequence of events that would occur if he’d turned blue in front of all of Erta’Aklann, from investigations to mocking to possible legal trouble for her once she confessed.
“Into our chambers, now.” His sharp command resounded through the spacious hallway.
“Please don’t be angry. Please allow me to explain.”
He held up a hand, cutting her off. “Don’t speak, Minnie. I have had a trying morning, and I’ve about lost my patience with you.”
Her spirits plummeted, and suddenly all her initial doubts about their marriage resurfaced. What if the divide between their cultures was too great? What if he didn’t forgive her for today’s naughtiness? Tears blurred her vision. What if he sent her back to Earth?
She stared at the floor as he guided her toward their ajar chamber door, but before they made it inside, a shrill scream pierced the air. Minnie and Zak spun around.
A pale-faced Queen Terwina pointed at them and emitted a series of screeches Minnie supposed were words, but she couldn’t make out a single one of them.
“Mother,” Zak said, approaching her with slow steps. “There’s nothing to fear. Please calm down.”
The queen wobbled and her eyes rolled back in her head. Zak swooped in to catch her before she hit the floor.
Minnie grimaced under her husband’s accusing glare. She’d upset the queen plenty of times, but never enough to make her faint. The string of trouble she’d caused today seemed to have no end.
*
Zak left his mother in his father’s care in the opulent west wing of the palace. The queen fainted from hysterics on occasion but always made a full recovery, and he wasn’t worried for her health.
The physician arrived and launched into an explanation of Zak’s blueness and Minnie’s red dots, the combination of which had sent the queen into a spin. Grateful that he didn’t have to linger to explain his mother’s condition to his father, Zak took his leave and headed for his chambers.
Erta. For Minnie’s sake, she had better be where he’d left her. He’d ordered her to bathe and remove the red dots before he returned to deal with her misbehavior. The surge of fury he’d felt upon realizing she squeezed the lemon into his dresman juice waned as he navigated the servants’ corridors, and gradually, his remaining anger faded to disappointment.
Her actions this morning were impulsive and childish, and now instead of setting upon their sky cruise, he had a wife to punish. He couldn’t go lightly on her either. If he’d turned blue in front of Parliament and the millions of Aklannians watching around the planet, an investigation would have been opened by royal security forces. Meanwhile, his opponents would have snickered and made rebellious waves behind his back. If it had gotten out that his own wife had slipped lemon juice into his beverage, Parliament members against interspecies marriage would call for Minnie to be charged with treason. Not that he would ever allow any such charges to be brought against the princess—he would pardon her himself if things ever went that far. But he still didn’t wish for her to endure such a frightening and stressful ordeal.
He raked a hand through his hair and entered his chambers. He strolled through each room, scanning for Minnie but finding her nowhere. The bathroom was empty, the large tub dry. He growled as fury returned and burned hot under his skin. She hadn’t obeyed him.
“Minnie!” He marched through the halls, calling her name. He no longer cared who saw him. The workers in the greenhouses made a valiant effort not to stare, and he cursed to discover she hadn’t been seen there in days. Where could she be?
He rushed to her private library, his heavy footfalls echoing through the palace. Big and blue and angry, all those he passed in the hallways gave him a wide berth. He strode into Minnie’s library and slammed the door behind him. A gasp from the corner of the room caught his attention.
“Minnie, I know you are here. Come out from your hiding or this will go so much worse for you.”
She emerged from between two tall bookshelves, her demeanor as subdued as if she’d already been spanked soundly. The red dots still covered every bit of her exposed flesh, though those on her face appeared smudged. His heart panged when he realized her tears had washed them away. He mo
ved to her and clasped her shoulders in a gentle manner.
“Minnie, look at me.”
Her tearful eyes rose to his, and her lower lip trembled. Her body quaked in his hold. The urge to comfort her prevailed, and he wrapped his arms around her and drew her against his chest, petting her hair and rubbing her back.
She sniffled. “I know I did wrong, Zak, and I’m so sorry. Are you going to send me away? Back to Earth?”
Startled by her question, he pulled away from her partially and stared down at her. Where had she gotten such an idea? She could turn him blue permanently and still, he would keep her at his side forever. “I would never send you away, wife. Whatever made you think I’d do so?”
A shudder coursed through her, and fresh tears welled in her pretty blue eyes. She blinked, and he caught the fallen moisture with his thumbs. “I totally screwed up. I’m sorry. All because you forgot Valentine’s Day, which is silly, I know. Now you’ll be blue for days, and I’m sure you have obligations in Parliament you’ll have to cancel. I also scared Princess Genna and the children and made them think I had some kind of horrible disease, and I made your mother scream and faint. I certainly won’t blame you if you want to send me away. I haven’t been a very good wife to you, Zak.”
He cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Minnie…”
“No. Let me finish. I thought I could be sweet and submissive to you, the way Aklannian wives are expected to be for their husbands, but I’ve failed miserably. Surely your parents will wish me to leave Erta’Aklann too.”
He tensed, upset that she could even entertain the thought of leaving him. She was his wife. She belonged to him and he would never let her go.
Unless she wasn’t happy here.
An ache stabbed his heart and his breath came in painful bursts. “We are married, Minnie,” he said, the words coming out harsher than he’d intended. “Come with me. We will finish this discussion in our chambers.”
He guided her back to their wing of the palace, his spirits heavy. What if she wanted to leave? The possessive side of him wanted to keep her, even against her will. But the part of him that loved her couldn’t fathom hurting her. Today hadn’t turned out anything like he’d hoped.