by J. Naomi Ay
“She hates space travel.”
“She hasn't been on one of our spaceplanes. It's not like the kind Mom and Dad took when they went on their honeymoon trip to Mars. Maybe we'll even go back in a starship. At the rate people are joining us here, we'll need one to get us all back.”
“I'll think about it,” he said. “I'll discuss it with Stella and Mom. How big is your place in…uh…Mishnah?”
I laughed. “It’s big. Trust me, there’s room for everybody. I just wish dad could have seen it.”
“I bet he would have liked to.” Allen looked away for a moment. “He was always so proud of you. I know you tried to come see him. He knew it too.”
“Thanks Allen,” I said and looked at the lake, at my Dad’s old sailboat that sat forlornly unused and unloved at the dock.
“So what are you really doing here?”
“It's complicated,” I replied.
“How long are you going to stay?”
“That too is complicated.”
“Okay.” He stood up. “I'll let you know what Stella says.”
“Why don't you bring her to dinner and we can talk about it more. Luci loves to brag about palace life.” I smiled at him. “Of course, she's not under house arrest like me.” I rattled my bracelets.
“Why?” He pointed at my wrists.
“In lieu of locking me in a tower, I suppose. The Emperor got pissed off when I dissed him and ran away.”
“This is your husband, the brain surgeon, right?”
“Right,” I nodded. “One and the same.”
“Did you know when you got married about all this?” He waved his hands at the sky.
“I knew about Rehnor. I didn't know that Rehnor would come to mean half the galaxy.”
“You know, Katie, there's a good divorce attorney in dad's old office. Maybe you want to talk to her?”
“Ha,” I coughed. “Divorcing a king is a lot more difficult than standing in front of judge and complaining that he is a dickhead. It’s not going to happen, Allen, unless he wants it to. He writes the laws.”
“So you'll stay here,” my big brother decided.
“For a while and then I'll go back.”
“Why Kate?”
“My son's there,” I shrugged, “And even though my husband turned into the Evil Emperor, I still love him.”
Chapter 17
Tuman
“Hello,” I said to the boy sitting on a rock. He had a long branch in his hand, too long for his small body, and was using a too small blade to clean off the bark. “What are you doing?”
“I am making a spear,” he replied. “I'm going to kill something and bring it to my mother for dinner.”
“That's a very good idea.” I set down my satchel. After nearly thirty years, I had only this one bag of belongings. “Have you a spearhead?”
“I will,” he said. “My brother, Lot says he will give me one if I do this first.”
“Ah,” I nodded. “May I show you how to hold the blade a little better so you will not cut your fingers?”
“I won't cut my fingers!”
“Ay yah, of course you won't. But if you put your thumb here instead it will be easier. Yes?”
“Ok,” he agreed and continued to work. I sat down beside him and watched his careful cuts.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Pedah de Kudisha,” he replied, not looking up from his ministrations. “I am cousin to the MaKennah, the Great Emperor.”
“Ah,” I nodded again. “How fortunate for you. Have you met the MaKennah?”
“No, but I have seen him. I have met Shika. Shika and Tuman said they will take me riding next time they come to visit.”
“Who is Tuman?”
“He is my eldest brother but his mom is Letitia and my mom is Seesi. Tuman is at the University now.”
“I see.” Rekah had been very busy.
“Who are you?” The boy looked up now and studied me curiously. He had the same quizzical look of my brother Pedah. He even had the same cowlick on the back of his head. The look of him filled my heart with joy.
“Who do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. Are you a chief?
“No.”
“Are you a prince?”
“I suppose I am.”
“Hmmph.” He snorted and went back to work.
“I am your grandfather and my name is also Tuman.”
He glanced up at me warily.
“Are you certain?”
“Mhm,” I replied. “Positive.”
“Does grandmother know you are here?” He raised an eyebrow at me so like my brother Pedah would do.
“Not yet,” I said. “Do you think I should tell her?”
He furrowed his brow and appeared to consider it. “Maybe you shouldn't tell her,” he advised.
I laughed at the words of this funny child.
“May I kiss and hug you, grandson?” I asked.
He thought for a moment.
“Ok.” He inclined his head to me, and I was allowed to kiss the top of his fine black hair and put an arm briefly around his shoulders.
“Are you going to stay here now?” he inquired.
“For a few weeks. Then I must go to Rozari with the MaKennah. When I return, I will stay forever.”
“Ok.”
I rose to continue my journey toward the village.
“Do you know where I might find your father?”
“He and Uncle are shoeing horses today,” the boy replied, once again absorbed in his work.
I walked across the meadow rather than the village for fear of encountering my wife whose wrath would undoubtedly be severe for having been gone for so very long. It was a beautiful day, and the valley looked as I had always remembered her. I was glad to be here again. The wind and the water sang a welcome song to me. The horses in the meadow nickered their greetings. A pair of eagles flew overhead, and it was as if they too were welcoming me home.
Heading to the horse barn in search of my family, I discovered there a tall, strong man who could only be my son. He was speaking sharply to a horse who did not wish to hold still. The horse was a magnificent stallion, easily nineteen or twenty hands with a coat black as night. My brother's grey head emerged from the withers of this beast and he scolded my son for not holding him tight.
Since when did my brother ever shoe a horse? He never dirtied his fingers in the work of the Karupatani in all the years that I knew him.
“Why we ever let Tirikla breed is beyond my understanding,” my son said. “How many more mad horses must we reckon with?”
“Is this Tirikla’s son or grandson?” I asked, leaning upon the fence post.
“Grandson,” my son replied, hardly glancing at me. “But the second Tirikla was just as terrible as the first.
“And does this one belong to the MaKennah as well?”
“Ay yah,” my brother replied, having successfully attached a shoe. “A crazy horse for a crazy man. This one has not been ridden by him yet. He has no time or interest in horses these days so this one will wile away in the pasture, causing all sorts of havoc and breeding yet more just like him.”
“At least he will have shoes,” I remarked. “Does the MaKennah wear shoes now too?”
“Less often than this horse,” my brother laughed. He wiped his hands on his apron and came to stand by the fence. The horse kicked up his heels and bolted out into the pasture, grateful for having been released.
“What will you do now?” my brother asked me, his eyes upon the horse and the Blue Mountains in the distance.
“I have been ordered by Madame to accompany HIM to Rozari,” I replied to which my son looked upon my face with a puzzled expression.
My brother smiled and nodded. “It is good,” he said. “And how is my daughter?”
“As crazy as HIM,” I responded. “And the horse.”
“My father?” my son gasped. “And you know the MaKani? You’ve spoken to her?”
“Did she come back with you?” my brother asked.
“She went on to meet with the rulers of the Alliance and the planet Rozari. From there, she would go to Earth to visit with her mother.”
My brother grasped a blade of straw and placed it between his teeth. He rolled his eyes as if in thought. “Her mother? Her place is not with her mother but with her husband.” He chewed upon the straw and then spat it out.
“You are welcome to tell her this,” I said. “Perhaps you will find yourself commanded to Rozari along with me.”
“Ay yah,” my brother snorted while my son stared at us with wide eyes and open mouth. “Better you than me, brother.” Sorkan clapped me about the back. “And better you now deal with that shrew of a wife which is yours.” He pointed at the woman trouncing across the meadow heading straight toward us.
Ah, my Garinka. Not quite the beauty she was thirty years ago, but then neither was I.
“There you are,” she announced, and all of three of us were uncertain as to whom she spoke. “And when is my roof going to be patched? How many more days must I deal with the constant drip drip drip of water falling into my bedroom? Here, it has not even rained for more than a month and what am I to do when the autumn comes, and the rain will be every day? Surely, my roof will fall in because you are too lazy to spend a few moments repairing it? Who shall I move in with then, hmm?” She looked squarely at me as if she was not entirely certain who I was. Then her eyebrows rose. “Well now, you can fix it can't you? And when you are finished with that, the door to Rekah's old bedroom is squeaky and needs oil. The stove pipe in the kitchen has gone rusty, and there is too much smoke when I turn it on so perhaps it has a hole.”
“I need to go to Rozari with the MaKennah in three weeks,” I interrupted.
“Then you have three weeks to fix everything,” she replied. “Always the MaKennah. Your whole life has been dedicated to his son,” she pointed accusingly at my brother, “When your own son is left to produce eighteen children and seeks yet more women to satisfy him. Had you been home he would understand what a marriage is and just because he is another one of you de Kudisha princes doesn't mean all women of Karupatani are his to enjoy. It is about time your brother dealt with his son and you with your own and your many, many grandsons who no doubt will grow up to be just like the lot of you. At least Lookah was raised right, thanks be to me of course.”
“I will return as soon as I am able.” I tried to get a word in while she took a breath.
“You had better,” she said, taking my arm and pulling me toward the village. “And where is that little Rozarian woman? Why does she not deal with him? Why must you accompany him to Rozari when she is from there?”
“She's not Rozarian, Mother,” my son called after us. “She's Human from Earth.”
“Still, why does she not tend to him? She is certainly capable of tending to everything else. She could even patch my roof I believe. Have you met her, Tuman? What did you think?”
“I…”
My wife continued sharing her thoughts, and I wisely chose to close my mouth and let her.
In three weeks’ time, I was aboard an Imperial spaceplane again, and this one was taking me to a starship. My wife cried when I left, so I held her and reminded her, I would be back soon.
“Did you not say that last time?” she protested. “And here you are gone nearly thirty years?”
“I didn't say that last time,” I insisted. “I didn’t say anything. This time, however, I promise I shall be back soon.” I kissed her, and we were as if thirty years had not passed.
On the starship, I was met by Taner. He bowed to me and then I was surprised because he hugged me, as well.
“Welcome home, Prince,” he said.
“Tuman,” I replied as I did last time we met. “I am simply Tuman, and you have no need to bow to me as your title out ranks my own now.”
He laughed. “I shall kiss your feet if you can accomplish that which none of us has been able to do.” We walked toward the stateroom in which I would stay during our short journey.
“That being?”
“Turn the Evil Emperor back into our friend Senya.” He smiled as if this were a joke though we both knew it was not.
Chapter 18
Sorkan
I had taken to meeting with my son every so often just before dawn. I came to his office around 3AM and let myself in. Often, he was at his desk busily working, though sometimes he was already out on the terrace smoking a cigarette and pacing in his awkward gait. Usually, he was alone. This night he was on the terrace leaning against the balustrade. It was a dark night with the moons in their descent and the clouds obscuring the stars and satellites that would otherwise light the sky.
“Hello Senya,” I said as I took my usual place on the step. “How are you feeling this night?”
“Sorkan,” he replied. He smoked one cigarette and as soon as it was finished, he lit another.
This was one habit I had never acquired. I did not like the taste of these Mishnese cigarettes, and the drug that was in them did nothing for my body. My son had told me, he had smoked these things since he was six years old, since the time he came to live on the streets of Old Mishnah. I wish I had known he was living there then. I wish I had put down my bottle and went to find him. I wish I had brought him back to Karupatani and raised him there with me.
“You will go to Rozari tomorrow with Tuman,” I stated. “Would you like me to come with you as well?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Tuman will do.”
“Will he?” I asked and watched his face in the shadows of the night. I knew him well. I was not telepathic as he, but somehow, I could feel his thoughts. He turned away from me. “Tell me Senya, will he save you from yourself?”
He didn’t answer. It started to rain lightly and soon my clothing was damp on my skin.
“I want to leave,” he said, speaking so softly I could barely hear his words. “I want to fly away.”
“Then go,” I replied. “What stops you?”
“I can't.”
“Are you afraid of what you might do to yourself? You alone have chosen to make your life unbearable, my son. You alone can choose to be at peace again.”
“You don’t understand. I cannot be at peace until I am free.”
“In this lifetime, Sehron, you will not be free. Come now. I grow weary of your petulance. I grow weary of your melancholy. I pray you will find the peace you seek in the Temple of Karupatani with my brother to aid you.”
“Perhaps.”
“Tell me, what are your intentions for Rozari?” It began to rain harder now. I would have liked to go inside.
“Rozari will join the Empire,” my son replied. He stood up straight and moved back toward the door. “Some will flee, some will fight, most will accept this and in six months’ time they will rejoice at their new found prosperity and forget that they had ever lived within the Alliance.”
I nodded. “Rozari is the Mother Planet. Rozari should be in the Empire. We are all brothers.”
“Indeed. Rozari has become green and healthy again. The air, water and soil are clean. The ecosystem has been restored. I have atoned for the destruction wrought by my ancestors. Perhaps now…” He limped back toward his desk.
“Stop it,” I cried with dismay. “I will hear nothing more of this. Go to the Temple and make your amends to the Holy One and when you are finished, come back and make your amends to your family and friends who despite your cruel treatment of them, still love you.”
“Who loves me?” he muttered scornfully, falling into his chair and burying his head in his arms upon his desk. “No one. Everyone hates me.”
“Everyone loves you, you bloody fool. Your lovely wife, your son, your cousins, Rekah and Berkan, your uncles, Tuman and Loman, Taner, your whatever he is, and your father, me.”
“Ay yah. I hear how they love me in their though
ts. My wife runs rampant around a forest, dirties her hands and feet like a slave or hides half way across the galaxy in her mother’s house because she loves me so. Everyone else stands before me in fear and trepidation, trembling uncontrollably should I summon them to my presence. They walk out of here hoping I will successfully kill myself before their next audience. Only you are fool enough to come before me unguarded, expect to leave entirely whole, and plan to visit me again on another night.”
“I am the bigger fool,” I agreed. “And I will take my chances in your presence. I will bid you goodnight my son and hope you will find that which you seek in the Ancient Temple and may return to us ready and able to love us again as well.”
“Goodnight, my father,” he replied, his voice muffled by his desk. As I departed his presence, it occurred to me that he had never before called me by other than my name. For the first time, on this night, he had called me father.
Chapter 19
Katie
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
“Sorry Madame, you need to get in the car.” Telix pulled my arm. Luci had already climbed in and was waving anxiously for me to follow.
“What about my mother and Allen and his family?”
“My orders are only to see you safely aboard the spaceplane.” Telix slammed the door firmly in my face.
“I want my mother to come,” I told Lanaka who was driving. “We can't leave without her!”
“We'll send another team for her right away,” Reggie said. He was sitting shotgun while Telix had climbed in opposite Luci. The mobile command center had already taken off.
“Get her in the second limo,” I practically screamed. Lanaka had already lifted off. In two more minutes, we would be in orbit. I bolted forward and wrapped my arm around Lanaka’s neck, pulling back as tight as I could.
“Listen to me, Telix. Order whoever in the hell is still down there to get my mother in the second limo or poor Lanaka is going to crash this one.”
“Madame!” Luci cried.
Lanaka was struggling, but I had him in a chokehold. He'd have to break my arm at the elbow to escape.