Unfathomable Chance

by K T Munson

  Dimar’s jaw tightened and he leaned forward. “I’ll protect you,” he said quietly.

  “What do you mean?” Melanie asked.

  Smiling through her fear, she managed to say, “Archie liked his chocolates.”

  “Back already?” Kal Zed asked.

  “Told you it would be short.” Diana let her hand brush against Dimar’s as she walked arm in arm with Melanie towards Stella’s room. “Time to set a course for our new home.”

  Chapter 37

  Melanie stood in Diana’s closet on her great ship above the planet. Her face was split in such a wide grin Diana thought it might get stuck as she caressed the clothes that Diana had presented her.

  “They’re all so nice,” she whispered.

  “I had your size pulled up from storage before I left,” Diana said.

  Melanie’s eyes were wide open and her mouth in a shocked ‘O.’ “These are all mine?”

  “All of them,” Diana confirmed.

  Melanie went from surprised to excited as she hugged them off the hangers and dumped them onto bed. “I’m going to spend a whole day just trying them on, and no one can stop me,” she declared.

  Kal Zed cleared his throat. “We have a group council meeting to help with the arrangements for the Dance of the Stars.”

  As astonishing as it was, Melanie seemed to have adjusted to the entire idea of aliens. Unfortunately, she hadn’t stopped asking Diana what was going on, but Diana didn’t think it was safe for anyone to know she was probably being hunted by the same people who had figured out how to kill the last empress. Maura had been put in charge of Stella during her recovery, and Diana had Adom watching Melanie closely. It was unlikely they would go after Melanie. It would be too obvious. Honestly she couldn’t risk being wrong.

  “You’re such a killjoy.” Melanie said to Kal Zed, sorting through a few dresses. “I’ll go change.”

  When Melanie ran off, Diana shifted her attention to Kal Zed. “You’re keeping an eye on her?”

  “Is there something you are worried about?” Kal Zed asked, watching her closely. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

  “I don’t trust the people here,” Diana admitted. “I don’t know them, and I will not have Melanie caught in the crossfire of something happening in the shadows.”

  He gave her an appraising look that was also indifferent, something only cats can manage. For such a small creature, Kal Zed had become an invaluable part of her life. Perhaps because he was her guardian, she hesitated to part with him. If she were honest with herself it was because he reminded her of home; even her own reflection no longer did that.

  “You are wiser than I thought.” Kal Zed responded vaguely as Melanie emerged.

  “I feel like a runway model,” Melanie said as she came out in something abstract.

  “That is a Gitarian mating costume,” Kal Zed said, unamused.

  Diana sucked her lips in to keep from laughing as Melanie posed. “Any Gitarian around?” Melanie asked.

  “Not presently,” Kal Zed admitted.

  “Nothing to worry about then,” Melanie pointed out as they began to leave her room.

  “Some will think it shows your ignorance,” the cat pointed out.

  “Good,” Melanie said, her eyes sparkling as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I want to be underestimated.”

  Adom stopped leaning against the wall in the hallway when they came through the door. Melanie gave him a little wave, which caused him to glance between them, confused. Diana gave him a great big smile, and Melanie already had one in place, so he grinned and waved back in the same manner.

  Melanie leaned into Diana and muttered, “He’s like a puppy dog.”

  “There is a species that is similar to dogs,” Diana countered as Adom fell in line beside them. “Be careful what you say.”

  “Noooo!” Melanie said.

  “Good morning, Adom,” Diana said with a smile. “Emperor Himond’s advisors are likely waiting to meet Melanie. Could you please show her the way?”

  He nodded before leading the way with Kal Zed right behind him. Melanie blew her a kiss over her shoulder. “For aliens, these men are gorgeous,” she said out of the side of her mouth.

  “Run along!” she called as she spotted Dimar walking towards them.

  “I do NOT run after men,” Melanie informed her, frowning as Adom and Kal Zed waited to lead the way. “But if they all look like Dimar, I might powerwalk,” she said with a wink at Diana, likely trying to cheer her up.

  Diana sent her a look that said, Oh really?

  Melanie nodded her head with pursed lips before going after Adom and the cat. Diana kept her face carefully serene as she waved after her friend. Dimar came up next to her.

  “I’ll need to make a trip to the ship with Omiriant,” Diana said before facing him.

  “Today?”

  “Preferably,” Diana responded just as professionally. “We need to make final preparations for the Dance of the Stars.”

  “Nihal and Grim will be returning with their families sometime tomorrow,” Dimar said. “Could we make the trip tomorrow?”

  “I am happy they are returning. I’ve missed them.” Her voice took on sadness and excitement at the same time. “Tomorrow will be sufficient.”

  She turned away from him, intending to leave.

  “Diana,” Dimar said softly, and she turned back to him questioningly.

  She blinked a few times. “Yes?”

  “I don’t know how to handle this correctly,” Dimar began. Her human emotions, it seemed, continued to baffle him.

  Diana laughed, and he looked startled. “I’m a big girl, Dimar. You only need to protect me, not my emotions, which I’ve since gotten in check. I understand you can’t be a friend to me while serving as my protection.”

  He nodded. “I’ll arrange for tomorrow’s transport.”

  “Excellent,” Diana said and began to walk towards her study, where she had a scheduled meeting. She paused at the door. “And Dimar?”

  “Yes?” He paused to look back at her.

  “This subject of our relationship is closed so long as I am the Bearer,” she said carefully before entering the room.

  Chapter 38

  It was strange to be back on the ship after such a short time on the planet. Making sure to take time to visit to see Stella, after which Maura had listed all the different things Stella had promised her if only she would release her—from money to jewelry to other items she did not wish to repeat. When that failed, she had name-called and sworn and cursed. By now, though, she had lost most of her fire and was spending most of her days crying.

  According to all the experts, the less she saw other people, the faster would be her recovery. Left only to her thoughts, Stella would sort herself out eventually. Apparently it likely wouldn’t be in time for the Dance of the Stars, though. With every day they drew closer to Diana’s opening the floodgates for suitors and still Diana’s research had led to almost nothing. She had read every file she could on Empress Katali and had been able to locate where her room had been located on the ship. As soon as she could, Diana intended to get a closer look.

  “Bearer?” Omiriant’s voice broke into her thoughts.

  “I apologize,” Diana said, returning to reality. “I was distracted. What were you saying?”

  “Floral arrangement,” she reiterated, but set the device that had a picture of an arrangement down. “Shall we pause?”

  “I think we should,” Diana agreed, standing. “Thank you, Omiriant. Let’s reconvene in an hour.”

  Diana left the room and headed straight down the hall. Once she was out of earshot, her feet started to move double time towards Empress Katali’s room. There was no time like the present. Covering the room opening the door she rushed inside before closing it behind her carefully. When she turned around a gasp escaped her lips at the reds and golds from ceiling to floor.

  Diana could remember seeing this room as a child when she had fi
rst found the bracelet. It had felt more like a dream to her at the time than reality. Even as she took a step into the room now, it was strange. To the right was the vanity, the one from which she had picked up the bracelet all those years ago. She would have expected it to be dusty or even have cobwebs, but it was perfectly preserved.

  Her fingers danced over the jewelry that had sat there unused for over a decade. To be honest she didn’t know what she expected to find there, but she needed to see it. Her attention was drawn from the vanity to the balcony. It was unnerving to think that she had walked in and taken the bracelet as Empress Katali had drifted out into space.

  Mindlessly she walked towards the balcony, but froze when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes scanned the dark but saw nothing. Part of her wished she had waited for Dimar to return before going off on her own, though she knew the bracelet would protect her better than he could.

  “Lost?” a male voice said from the shadows.

  Squinting with her teeth on edge, she tried to figure out who he was. “No.”

  “Fire?” he asked, and a figure pushed away from the wall, coming into view. “The little lost bird has fire.”

  “Who are you?” Diana demanded, trying to hide her fear.

  “Kichard,” he said softly as his features came into view. He was a Dracoon. “What are you doing in my mother’s rooms?”

  Diana sucked in a worried breath. “Oldest of the House Lith.”

  “A smart bird,” he said regarding her before his eyes shot to her wrist. “Powerful as well. Now I know why my brother favors you with his time.”

  She eyed him carefully. “What are you doing here?”

  “Remembering,” he answered.

  “Were you here when it happened?” Diana asked. “I heard she died.”

  “Killed herself, actually,” Kichard said, pursing his lips. He idly pushed a small, strange-looking metal device around on the side table. It was the size of a baseball and had strange markings across it.

  “How sad.” Diana tried to look saddened. Honestly she was, but she really wanted to know what he knew and was afraid she looked too eager.

  Kitchard studied her closely before speaking again. “Why are you here?”

  “I hoped to learn something about the last Empress,” Diana said, her eyes drawn to the vanity. “To make sense of everything.”

  “What did you find?”

  She smiled. “A nosy mama’s boy,” she answered coyly.

  Kichard threw back his head and laughed. “I had thought pursuing a simple human would be boring. Now I am reconsidering my initial decision.” He started towards her.

  Shifting she put a hand out as he neared. “What are you doing?”

  He gave her a smile that reminded her of Dimar’s, but with more seriousness than playfulness mixed with the mischievousness. Swallowing heavily she felt for a moment as though she were a rabbit being hunted by a wolf. A very dangerous wolf.

  “Reevaluating,” he reminded her as he took a deep breath and stopped. “Untouched?”

  Her face burned red instantly because she knew what his word implied. “It came to me as a child.”

  “The fire inside you burns red and hot,” he purred as she backed into a wall and started creeping along it to get away from him. “Your passion would be great.”

  “Fire also scalds,” she reminded him with not as much bite as she wanted.

  He was noticeably amused and leaned towards her to whisper, “I know you favor my brother, but why not have the better version?”

  Freezing she glared up at him, burying her fear. “Narcissist. What makes you think you are the better version?”

  Before she could react he caught her chin in his hand and red light exploded off her. He flew backwards and crashed into the bed as she watched wide eyed. His hair was disheveled when he sat up, and she couldn’t help but burst into laugh.

  “Better version indeed,” Diana said, as she held her stomach. “You should know better than to touch a Bearer.”

  “The last was my mother,” he reminded her sharply. “She had no reason to fear me.”

  Diana’s laugher died in her throat as an epiphany hit her. The bracelet wouldn’t have known something was going to lead to Empress Katali death unless she feared it. If she made a decision to do something without apprehension she would have left the bracelet in the dark. Empress Katali could have jumped because of something that wasn’t a threat to her—something that was her choice. Diana had just found a weakness in the bracelet’s defenses.

  “Diana?” Dimar said as he opened the door. “There you are.”

  Her eyes darted towards the bed, but Kichard was gone. Surprised, she blinked a few times before regaining her composure and smiling. Diana couldn’t let anyone know what she had discovered or that someone was after her just like she suspected they had been after Empress Katali.

  “Sorry,” Diana responded, trying to look apologetic. “I needed a break and didn’t want to wait.”

  “Omiriant is back and waiting for you. Maura also came looking for you because Stella escaped,” Dimar said, glancing around the room but seeming unwilling to come all the way into it.

  “Is she all right?” Diana asked as she hurried toward the door.

  “Lost for a short time only,” Dimar told her. “Why did you come here?”

  “I was hoping to discover something,” she said, shaking the bracelet on her arm. “Or figure something out.”

  “Did you?” he asked hopefully, stepping back from the doorway to let her pass.

  Diana hesitated only a moment. “No,” she said as she brushed past him.

  Chapter 39

  Kal Zed’s tail swished as Diana was carefully assembled in her dress. It was apparently tradition to wear a specific dress to the Dance of the Stars. It just happened to be huge and complicated to put on. Omiriant said that is what made it special; Diana just found it annoying. She held her arms out as they pulled and wrapped and clipped the white dress to her.

  “Beautiful,” Omiriant said as she stepped back. “Turn.”

  Diana smiled and twirled. The edge of the dress turned dark blue closer to the floor, slowly working its way up her dress, and the gems shone like stars as the fabric darkened into a beautiful night sky with every spin. The women around her gasped as she stopped and the material slowly returned to white. Her fingers ran over the fabric and she could feel a gentle heat from it.

  “Your headdress,” Omiriant called. The strange crown was brought forward.

  When it was put in place it didn’t change again, but sat twinkling at everyone. Diana took a few steps and realized the dress was heavier than she even imagined a wedding dress being. Walking on her tippy toes to get into the shoes so that the dress didn’t drag across the floor, she tried not to react when the half-organic material attached itself to her, forming like socks around her feet. It was easy to make peace with them once she got past that, as they were the softest and most comfortable shoes she had ever worn.

  “Well?” Diana said as she turned around and faced Kal Zed. “Up to your standards?”

  “Omiriant,” he said abruptly, “you have outdone yourself.”

  Diana’s smile broadened as she turned one way and another. There was a knock on the door, and Melanie stuck her head in. Her hair was already done, and she looked ready for anything. Diana had never seen her so dolled up before.

  “Most of the ambassadors have arrived and the—holy cow!” Melanie said, coming into the room. “Your dress changes color!”

  Diana glanced down and saw that the edge of the dress was fading back to white. “It is a dress perfect for Dance of the Stars,” Omiriant explained.

  “It looks like starlight,” Melanie agreed.

  “It is both a single star and, when moving, a universe,” Omiriant explained, adjusting the back of the dress.

  “It feels like I’m carrying a universe!” Diana said as she headed toward the door.

  “Well, I can t
ell you it looks awesome and is, therefore, worth it,” Melanie said, pushing both doors open for her. “Ready?”

  “Almost,” Diana declared, turning to face Omiriant. “I order you, as Bearer of the Cosmos, to take the rest of the night off. Your invaluable assistance has made tonight flawless.”

  Omiriant’s mouth opened and then closed before she nodded. Her leathery skin went taut as she grinned back at the other women, almost moved to tears. Diana lifted her head as she went towards what she expected to be the longest night of her life with a grin plastered on her face.

  After a moment, Melanie whispered, “You look terrified.”

  Diana glanced back at Kal Zed before she sighed and stopped to face Melanie. “It’s been a whirlwind, and now I’m going to be paraded about like a fine mare to a bunch of stallions. I’m not prepared for this part.”

  A flicker of sadness played over her face before she confessed, “My mother arranged a marriage for me once.”

  “What?” Diana exclaimed.

  “It was right before she passed away,” Melanie explained. “Since she was a single mom, she wanted me to be taken care of. I was seventeen, not even done with high school, and she wanted me to marry some thirty-year-old. I was terrified, but in the end he rejected the match. Just remember, you never know what is going to happen until you get there.”

  “Thanks.” Diana’s voice shook a little and then she braced herself again for the coming evening. “Let’s go rock this.”

  “Diana,” Kal Zed said, trotting over. “I wanted to say that it has been an honor to serve you.”

  Diana smiled and had to swallow a lump in her throat. “You will always be my first guardian. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

  Fearful she wouldn’t be able to keep her emotions in check Diana hurried up to the double doors, where two Matzili were waiting to open them. She shook the dress out, took a few deep breaths, and nodded her head. This was a moment she might not be able to take back. If she wasn’t able to keep her side of the bargain and discover the truth about her predecessor’s death, she might just find herself stuck being Empress of the Universe.