The girl crossed her arms in front of her and shivered. “I was scared,” she whispered.
“You had good reason to be scared,” Aisling told her. “You were in a very dangerous situation.”
The girl shook her head slightly and dropped her eyes. “I did not fight him as I should have.”
“From the look of your face you fought some,” Aisling observed.
“Not as I should have,” the girl insisted.
“You could not have fought all of them,” Aisling said. “If you had tried, they might have killed you, and your father would never know the joy of his daughter being returned to him.”
“My father?” the girl asked, raising her eyes to Aisling’s. “Is he angry with me?”
“No, of course not,” Aisling said. “He is out of his mind with fear for your life, but he is not angry.”
“My brother will think I am a fool,” Kapia said, dropping her eyes again.
“I think it’s safe to say that your brother is not a sixteen year old girl abducted by fifteen grown men,” Aisling pointed out. “If he loves you, he will only be glad that you are safe.”
“I killed him,” the girl said softly.
“Excuse me?” Aisling asked, certain she had misheard.
“I killed him,” the girl said again. “I was going to kill myself as soon as my hands were released. It is not possible to live with honor after...,” she broke off, swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I had to kill myself, or him. You rescued me before he could do what he threatened, so I killed him instead of myself.”
Aisling frowned as she glanced up at Urwin who was now standing next to his speeder glaring at Olaf.
“How did you kill him?” Aisling asked.
“Sting of the Naja,” the girl replied. She glanced quickly at Urwin, then away. “It will not be much longer.”
Aisling thought a moment, remembering Kapia’s hand pressed against Urwin’s back, his hiss as he jerked away from her.
“May I see your hand?”
Kapia nodded and held up her right hand. The ring was in the form of a golden asp wrapped around the base of her forefinger with glittering green stones for eyes. Aisling knew what the girl had done, and she didn’t blame her for it.
She patted Kapia’s hand gently and lowered it back into her lap.
“Will you be all right here for a moment?” Aisling asked.
“Yes, I think so,” Kapia said.
Aisling gave the girl a hug, then got up and walked back to where Urwin now stood beside the speeder, trying to pretend that Olaf wasn’t there.
“You’re a dead man,” she said to Urwin.
“What, you’re going to kill me?” Urwin asked arrogantly. “You don’t have the guts. I’m the only family you have left.”
Olaf growled and his eyes began to glow. Urwin took a step backward and stumbled against the speeder. When he regained his balance he lifted his chin and puffed out his chest.
“Family or not, you are a rabid dog that needs to be put down,” Aisling said calmly.
“Maybe, but if you kill me, you’ll never get your father’s research, and I know that’s what you really want,” Urwin said.
“Oh, so you are planning to hand it over to me in exchange for your life?” Aisling asked.
Urwin looked at Olaf, then Rand and Rudy. He glanced at the dozen men he’d hired as they sat in the sand, beaten. Then he looked back at Aisling. “I “Yes,” he said finally. “But only after I have your word that neither you, nor your goons, will lay a finger on me after I give it to you. You’ll let me get on this speeder and leave.”
Aisling frowned as though seriously considering Urwin’s offer. After a long moment, she shook her head. “Sorry, no deal,” she said.
“What do you mean no deal?” Urwin sputtered in shock, his face going bright red. “I know you want that crystal. If you don’t make a deal with me, you’ll never get it back.”
“For one thing, promises won’t help you because, as I said, you’re already dead,” Aisling said with a smile. “And second, you just told me that you have the data on you, so why would I make any kind of deal with you?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Urwin said, his face going from angry red to terrified white in seconds..
Aisling shrugged and turned her attention to Olaf, dismissing Urwin from her mind.
“What shall we do with the rest of these men?” she asked him.
“I’m not quite sure yet,” Olaf said. “Is the Princess unharmed?”
“Not exactly, no,” Aisling replied. “But I think she’ll be all right.”
Urwin gasped suddenly and bent over, both hands clasping his head. Olaf immediately moved so that he was standing between Aisling and Urwin, unsure what the human male had in mind, but not trusting him at all.
Urwin gasped once more, then crumpled to the sand in a heap.
“Well, that’s that then,” Aisling said, stepping around Olaf and gazing down at Urwin.
“That’s what?” Olaf asked, puzzled. For no readily apparent reason, the man appeared to be dead.
Aisling knelt down, placed one hand at Urwin’s throat for a few moments, then nodded. “Yep, he’s dead all right.”
“How?” Olaf asked, watching as she reached down to Urwin’s belt and unbuckled it, then turned the buckle over and released the catch holding it to the belt.
“Sting of the Naja,” Aisling said, turning the buckle over in her hands. Olaf stared at her in complete confusion.
“Poison ring,” she explained. “Kapia’s choice was to either kill herself, or Urwin. I think she made the right decision.”
“Ahh,” Olaf said. “Yes, I would agree that she made the correct choice.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t understand what was happening,” Aisling said. “I just assumed that with your hearing, you would have heard what she said to me.”
“I did hear it,” Olaf said. “I just didn’t understand it.”
“Why not?”
“Because whatever language you were speaking is not one that is known to me,” Olaf said.
“I was speaking another language? Not Standard?” Aisling asked in surprise.
“Yes, you were,” Olaf said.
“It’s the strangest thing,” Aisling said. “I wish there was a way for me to know when I start spouting off in a language that I don’t even know.”
“We’ll work on that,” Olaf said. “Is that black stone on the buckle the memory crystal?”
“Yes,” Aisling said. “It’s not really black of course. “It’s got some sort of coating on it. Hopefully it hasn’t harmed the crystal’s integrity.”
“Might I suggest that we leave it as it is and give it to Elder Vulpiran?” Olaf asked.
“Yes, that’s just what I was thinking,” Aisling replied. “If anyone can salvage this, it’s Elder Vulpiran.”
“How did you know where to find it?” Olaf asked curiously.
“When he offered to hand over the data in exchange for his freedom, he covered the buckle with his hand,” Aisling replied. “I don’t think he was even aware he did it.”
“You are very clever,” Olaf said, smiling with pride. “I saw the movement as well, but thought only that he was considering reaching for a weapon.”
“I know Urwin,” Aisling said with a shrug. She glanced down at the man that had once been her Uncle. “Correction. I knew Urwin.”
“What shall we do with the rest of these fellows,” Olaf asked.
Aisling turned to look at the men who had accompanied Urwin. Of those remaining, four appeared to be natives while the remaining men were obviously off-worlders. It was too bad that Urwin had dragged locals into his plot, but that didn’t excuse them. Several innocent people had lost their lives and Princess Kapia had suffered a trauma she might well never recover from.
“I think that we should destroy the speeders,` or remove them from this world altogether,” Aisling said. “We should also find Urwin�
�s yacht and remove that as well.”
“That is a task that the Welfare ship is equipped, and chartered, to handle,” Olaf said. “It is one of their directives to protect the indigenous populations of Class D worlds from unauthorized technology.”
“Good,” Aisling said, relieved that Captain Singer would handle that problem.
“My understanding of the relevant treaties is that all of these men are subject to the laws and customs of this world,” she continued. “Therefore, we should take them back to the King and turn them over to him.”
“You can’t do that,” one of the men said. “We’re from Earth. You can’t leave us here on this primitive planet. They know nothing about our rights and due process.”
“You should have thought of that before you decided to come here, uninvited, and commit murder and kidnapping,” Rudy said.
“It was Urwin’s idea, we just worked for him,” the man argued.
Rudy looked at the man with surprise, then shook his head in disgust.
“The King’s men that we spotted earlier move very quickly over this terrain, but it will take them hours to reach us,” Olaf said.
“We need to bury the speeders before they get here, just to be on the safe side,” Aisling suggested. Olaf nodded in agreement and a moment later Rand and Rudy had opened shallow pits beneath each of the remaining speeders, then covered them all over. When they were finished there was no sign that the speeders had ever existed aside from the flat tracks across the sand leading to them.
Aisling went back to where Kapia still waited and sat down beside her. “You look better,” she said as she studied the girl carefully. She no longer looked grey, and her soft brown eyes were no longer filled with fear, but the bruises were darker.
“Yes,” Kapia replied. “I thank you for finding me before it was too late.”
“I have been chasing that man for years now,” Aisling said. “It is a relief to have him gone from the plane of the living.”
“Why have you chased him for so long?” Kapia asked.
“He murdered my mother and father,” Aisling replied. “When I was just a bit older than you are now.”
Princess Kapia pressed her palms together in an attitude of prayer and bowed her head. “I apologize for claiming his life when you had the greater right to it,” she said.
Aisling quickly considered and discarded several possible responses. She could not tell this girl that she would never have outright killed Urwin unless she was forced to do so in self-defense. Nor could she tell her that she didn’t care that Kapia had killed him. She would not understand that, and would quite possibly take it as an insult. Or a sign of weakness.
“You had clear death-rights against him, and had no way of knowing of my own,” she said finally. “I hold no anger toward you, Princess Kapia.”
Kapia lowered her hands as she studied Aisling’s face for a long moment. “I thank you, for your understanding, and your forgiveness, Aisling,” she said.
Aisling smiled at the girl, relieved that was settled. “Princess Kapia, your Father’s men are on their way, but will not arrive for hours. We will leave these men here for them, so that they can be returned to the King for justice.”
Kapia nodded solemnly, but Aisling saw her eyes darken with a touch of fear. “You are concerned about something?”
“My brother will be leading the Hunters,” Kapia said. “I fear his disappointment in me.”
Aisling frowned. This was the second time Kapia had expressed concern about her brother’s reaction. Having never met the man, and knowing nothing about him, Aisling was worried. After what Kapia had already been through, she did not need to face the fury of a loved one who would blame her for being a victim.
“As it will be some time before the Hunters arrive, I have an idea,” Aisling said. “I know that you were behind Urwin on the speeder, but were you able to see the winged animal that landed in front of the speeders before they stopped?”
“Yes, I did,” Kapia replied. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
`“Yes, it was me,” Aisling replied, surprised by Kapia’s calm acceptance. “You are familiar with shifters?”
“Only the...,” Kapia snapped her mouth shut, her face flushed red, then paled alarmingly. “There are things I am not supposed to speak of,” she said, looking at Aisling with an expression of desperate pleading.
“Then it is a good thing you didn’t say a single word about them,” Aisling said, patting the girl’s hand reassuringly.
Kapia breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you,” she said.
“I am also glad that we did not frighten you,” Aisling added.
“I am of the First Knowledge, so I know that you are from another world.”
“That helps,” Aisling said. “Will all of the Hunters with your brother be of the First Knowledge?”
“Yes,” Kapia replied. “All Hunters are of the First Knowledge.”
“In that case, I think we should go and tell your brother that you are safe, and where to find these men,” Aisling said. “If you will consent to ride on the back of my gryphon, we can go to your brother, then fly you home to your Father.”
Kapia’s eyes widened momentarily, but that was the only sign of her surprise. Aisling remained silent, allowing the girl to consider her offer without pressure. The girl was quick. It didn’t take long for her to understand the full implications of the proposal. She turned to Aisling with a smile.
“I would be honored to accompany you as you suggest,” Kapia replied.
“Excellent,” Aisling replied, returning her smile. “Give me a moment to speak with my Rami.”
“Rami?” Kapia asked.
Aisling stood up and brushed away the sand that was clinging to her while she considered her answer. “My mates,” she said. “Those three men are my mates.”
Kapia glanced over at Olaf, then Rand and Rudy, then back to Aisling. “You are a very lucky woman,” she said softly. “And a strong one as well, I think.”
Aisling cleared her throat to hide her grin. This young woman was only sixteen. Far too young for this subject, to Aisling’s mind.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. Kapia nodded, then stood up to brush the sand off of herself. As she had been out fishing with her maids at the time of the attack, she had been dressed much as they had been, in a long skirt tied up into a sort of loose trouser and a short jacket of plain fabric. Unfortunately, her simple attire had done nothing to disguise her identity among her maids since her long black hair marked her as clearly as a sign around her neck would have done. She used her fingers to comb some of the snarls from her hair, then began braiding it with practiced fingers. She wanted to appear as serene and undisturbed by her ordeal as possible when she faced her brother.
Olaf listened to Aisling’s plan with some surprise. He had never before carried anyone on his back. It wasn’t that he had an aversion to it. He had simply never thought of it. He agreed that Aisling’s plan was a good one, with one exception.
“It would be best if I carry the Princess,” he said. “You have only just begun flying, and it is more difficult to carry extra weight than you might imagine.”
Aisling started to argue, but changed her mind. What Olaf said made sense. “All right, but if she refuses to ride on one of you, I’ll take the chance.”
“We shall see,” Olaf said, Aisling smiled, then leaned up to kiss her favorite spot on his jaw. “Stubborn male,” she whispered.
“Stubborn female,” he replied, kissing her back. “Rudy will stay here to keep an eye on these...males...until the King’s men arrive. Then he will rejoin us.”
“All right,” Aisling said. She turned and gestured to Kapia who hurried toward her.
“Princess Kapia,” she said, “this is Olaf Gryphon, my Rami. He suggests that it would be wiser for him to carry you as his gryphon is more experienced at flying than my own. Will that be all right with you?”
“Of course,” Kapia replied, ignoring the leap
of fear in her stomach. “As you trust him, so shall I.”
“She will trust you,” Aisling said to Olaf.
Olaf turned to Princess Kapia and bowed solemnly. Then he stepped away and called his gryphon.
Aisling smiled as she watched Kapia watch Olaf transform. She remembered her own reaction the first time she’d seen Rand shift from his humanoid form to that of the huge, half lion half eagle beast and thought that, all things considered, Kapia controlled her reaction quite well.
Olaf turned his gigantic eagle head with it’s curved, razor sharp beak toward them, and slowly blinked one round green eye. Then he extended one of his wings, the tip just touching the sand in front of them.
Kapia took a long, deep breath and glanced at Aisling for reassurance. Aisling smiled. “It’s all right, I promise,” she said. “Climb up the wing, then straddle his back, just below the neck and above the wings. Get a good strong grip on the green ruff around his neck and don’t let go, all right?”
Kapia nodded, hesitated, then swallowed hard. “What if I fall off?” she whispered softly so that only Aisling could hear.
“Don’t worry,” Aisling said. “Olaf will be very careful and make no sudden moves. Hold tight to his fur. You will not cause him pain. If there is anything you need, I will fly close enough to hear you. I can then communicate with him. All right?”
Aisling studied Kapia’s expression and saw that she was truly nervous. “If you would rather not do this, we can wait for your brother to arrive,” she offered.
Kapia shook her head quickly and straightened her shoulders. “No, I will do this. I am not afraid.” She glanced at Aisling and lowered her eyes. “I should not lie to you,” she said. “I owe you better than that after all you have done for me. The truth is that I am afraid, but I am determined to conquer my fear.”
“Conquering one’s fear is the sign of true courage,” Aisling said. “You are worthy of the title Princess.”
Kapia smiled hesitantly, then gathered her courage and stepped onto Olaf’s wing. The wing did not move the tiniest bit beneath her weight, which gave her confidence. She took another step, then another. Her foot slipped a little on the smooth, glossy feathers so she bent down and dug her fingers in to keep herself from sliding off.
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