Side Trip

by Renee Duke

  The only area not affected by the scandal was the cut-off region of space our parents were stationed in. But once the storms abated and the news got through, it was unlikely any of the planets AUP was negotiating with would be responding favourably to its overtures.

  These reverses in the Association’s fortunes were of little concern to us, however. The interviews Verim let us give after we were rested made us instant celebrities. Choosing to overlook Simon’s initial thievery, Cholarians showered presents and messages of good will on the little heroes credited with bringing the sacred Ring of Beom back to Cholar.

  Trithox and Mr. Skoko’s efforts to restore Taz to his throne were much appreciated too. I doubt the Ralgonian will ever regard the four of us with any real liking, but the public adoration he received went a long way toward compensating him for all he’d endured as our guardian. Professor Vor-Zoag’s agreement to a generous bonus probably helped a lot as well.

  At the palace, servants catered to our every whim, and the Royal Guardsmen let us go wherever we wanted. We were even allowed to visit a recuperating Taz in his living quarters. That was rarely where he was, though. He loathed inactivity and was the despair of his physicians. He seemed to think the preparations for his coronation, the investigation into Drazok’s activities, and everything else that could be even remotely defined as state business had to be attended to by him personally. He scorned his doctors’ advice and politely ignored the pleas and admonitions of his servants and palace officials. It usually took a severe tongue lashing from Vostia or Verim to make him rest as he was supposed to.

  “Verim has me at a disadvantage, you see,” Taz informed Kirsty and me after a concerned servant led Verim to the room where the High Prince was putting considerable strain on his broken arm by going through some boxes of ceremonial regalia. “He has but to look at me in a certain way and I remember—with painful clarity—those occasions on which he took me across his knee as a child, and obey him accordingly.”

  “I thought Cholarians doted on children,” I said, amused.

  “We do, but we do not allow affection to override common sense.” He regarded us solemnly. “Even though children have a right to think and act like children, their thoughts and actions must be subject to responsible adult guidance if they are to eventually become responsible adults themselves. I happen to consider other forms of ‘direction’ more effective than the one Verim favoured, but it, too, occasionally has its place if a child is exceptionally reckless or obdurate.”

  “Of which you were both,” said Verim. “So was Vostia. Thankfully, your daughter appears to be somewhat more biddable. Though she could, of course, just be biding her time and lulling me into a false sense of security.”

  Taz chuckled. “You girls haven’t met either of my little ones yet, have you? Come. Even my most vigilant attendants cannot think I would be overexerting myself by cooing over his basinet and watching her at play.”

  Verim frowned and said that was dependent upon whether Taz really was just going to watch Her Little Highness, or whether he planned to gallop around with her on his back and her brother propped in his less injured arm.

  “Do you really think I would do such a thing?”

  “You would do all manner of idiotic things if I did not restrain you.”

  Taz feigned displeasure. “You are a bully, Verim. No wonder Supreme Rulers must demand the Oath of Loyalty from all who serve them.”

  “I will be no different once I have taken it.”

  “I know,” Taz said contentedly.

  Little Princess Challa, and the baby, Prince Kadian, were in the palace gardens. Since Vostia was there, Verim did not have to worry about Taz doing anything he shouldn’t. Jip and Simon came to join us and we spent a pleasant afternoon with Taz and his family.

  Toward the end of it, Taz brought up the subject of our own families. Jip had already had a message from her parents saying they were on their way to Cholar, and the rest of us were shocked to hear that ours were also en route.

  “But the cosmic storms haven’t lifted,” I said, confounded. “And when they do, the news of what’s been going on here is going to create an awful hullabaloo on those new planets. Our parents won’t be able to just drop their assignments and come running home to us.”

  “They are no longer on assignment,” said Taz. “They returned to their base planet of Yerth or, rather, Yaix, some weeks ago.”

  Kirsty groaned. “Och, crivvens. That means that, by now, someone will have been and told them all aboot oor running off from Mrs. Bromley.”

  Taz looked uncomfortable. “Well, actually, they knew about that anyway. That is why they returned. I advised them of the change in your travel plans after I spoke to you on the Derridus.”

  “You advised them?” I gave him a sharp look. “How? It’s impossible to communicate with that space sector when the storms are on.”

  “Difficult. Not impossible. A diplomatic urgency channel is available if you know the right people. And I do.”

  “But we didn’t tell you we’d run away from our edu-tour group—or even that we’d ever been with one. How did you find out?”

  “Oh, people like to find things out for you when you’re a prince. I knew your names and family backgrounds. It only took the ship’s computer a few minutes to determine where you were supposed to be and what you were supposed to be doing.”

  “So why did you have to go and tell our parents we weren’t?” I asked indignantly.

  Taz smiled. “Simon told me he was picked up by the child welfare authorities on Heltiga after someone told them about him being there on his own. Why did you do that?”

  “We had to. He was too young to travel about by himself.”

  “Or so you thought, being older and wiser than him. Being older and wiser than you, I thought you were too young to travel about by yourselves. I was quite worried until I contacted Professor Vor-Zoag and learned he had arranged to have Mr. Skoko watch over you.”

  “Aye. ’Twould appear the professor didn’t believe a word we told him,” Kirsty said with a sigh.

  “No, he didn’t. Edu-tour groups seldom visit Heltiga. And if one had visited it for the purpose of viewing the treasure exhibit, he knew its pupils would never have been allowed to wander about the capital at their leisure as you were doing.”

  “Why didn’t he report us to the child welfare authorities, then?” I asked. “Or refuse to let Jip come with us?”

  “He wanted her to have friends her own age—something he couldn’t provide her with just then. Besides, he thought your travel plans had merit. Had he been able to get hold of your parents, he would have told them what you were up to and suggested they let you go on with your trip. He believes it’s good to let young people manage on their own.”

  “He didn’t let us manage on our own,” I said, sulkily. “He hired Mr. Skoko.”

  “Ah, but had you not got caught up with Taz and his ring, you would never have known that,” said Vostia. “You would have returned home with many pleasant memories and a justifiable sense of achievement. It was only your heightened awareness of danger that made you notice Mr. Skoko. Under ordinary circumstances, occasional glimpses of him would not have been enough to make you think he was following you. He was not supposed to interfere with your efforts to travel independently, which you were apparently managing quite, ah, resourcefully.”

  Kirsty scowled. “Aye, we were that. So I dinna think it was very nice of you to fetch oor parents home like that, Taz. They’re going to be mightily put oot with us, and we weren’t thinking of having any cozy wee chats with them just yet. Especially since that business with Mrs. Bromley won’t be the only thing they’ll be wanting to discuss. The Directorate’s up in arms aboot having its plans scuttled and it’s oor parents who’ll be blamed for it. Their careers with AUP are probably nigh on ruined.”

  “If so, they should thank you,” Taz said grimly.

  “They won’t,” I replied, equally grimly.

  Jip’
s parents arrived the very next day. Her brother Pakiaduvrishoxen (Paki, to us) was with them. The Vorlan family greeted one another with hugs and relieved smiles before sitting down to a lengthy mental exchange that onlookers had to assume provided mutual comfort and enjoyment.

  The parental MacGregors and Brents got in two days later, accompanied by Neil and Arlyne. As was to be expected, Arlyne was very distressed over what had happened. Her orderly life was in disarray. Neil’s was too, but not just because of us. His own travel experiences had caused him to question his commitment to AUP, and he’d spent much of the trip to Cholar resisting Mr. and Mrs. MacGregor’s efforts to rekindle it.

  Our parents met us cordially enough, and seemed pleased to find us safe, but after a while, our first conversation with them turned, as we knew it would, to the reprisals we could expect for our actions.

  “None of you will ever have careers with AUP now,” said my father. “Even our loyalty has been called into question by some of our superiors, Ramsweir, in particular. Fortunately, he’s in enough trouble with the rest of the Directorate for his opinion to be discounted. All the same, they’ll be looking on us with suspicion for a long time to come. I know High Prince Taziol did you a good turn on that VIP ship, and I don’t fault you for trying to help him, but once you had the Ring of Beom, you should have gone to the Sustran authorities and made them take responsibility for it. You should never have endangered yourselves, or involved AUP”

  “AUP involved itself,” I muttered.

  “Maybe it did, but your added interference has led to disaster. And the whole thing could have been avoided if you hadn’t taken that blasted ring in the first place,” he added, rounding angrily on Simon. “I still can’t believe it. My only son, a common thief.”

  “Oh, don’t blame the child,” said my mother. “It was all that Mrs. Bromley’s fault for shipping them home by themselves. She was being paid to care for them, you know.”

  My father turned to reply, but stopped as Taz came into the room. Even with his arm in a support, he looked very impressive. A jewelled sword clanked at his side, and he was wearing a richly embroidered tunic suit of blue set off with a silver sash and white turban.

  The High Prince bowed to my mother and Mrs. MacGregor before saying, “You have paid many people to care for your children during your numerous forays into the outer regions of space, madam. It is unfortunate you could find no one to care about them.”

  Our parents looked astounded, then indignant. “We care about them,” said Mrs. MacGregor. “We love them. But the nature of our work often takes us far from home.”

  “From your base planet, you mean. The place you stop off at between assignments to relax, attend to all the business that has piled up in your absence, and rebuke or excuse your offspring for any misbehaviour their teachers or guardians might happen to have told you about. Such a lack of personal involvement would appear to belie your claim that you love your children.” He paused. “I expect they love you, though. Every child born has to attach its love to someone. And children instinctively turn that love toward those who feed and clothe them, regardless of how lax they are about other forms of nurturing.”

  At this, our parents bristled anew. Especially Kirsty’s. Neil was only a few years short of being of an age with the young man now criticizing their parenting abilities. “Is that so?” said Mr. MacGregor. “Now see here—”

  He would have said more if my father had not placed a restraining hand on his arm. Adopting his most conciliatory AUP-recruiter tone, he turned back to Taz. “Children have to be provided for, Your Highness. That sometimes requires both children and parents to make sacrifices. AUP demands a lot from its personnel, but we’ve received many benefits from being in its employ.”

  “Have you? I would say it has deprived you of a great deal. But then, I am a Cholarian. Cholarians are a family-oriented people. We cannot comprehend how any society could encourage the alienation of one’s flesh and blood.” Taz lifted his eyebrows and looked directly at my father. “I trust you have heard of the decree I intend to issue?”

  “We have—and I beg you to reconsider.”

  “No!” said Taz harshly. “Cholar will never join your accursed Association. My decree will even forbid any dealings with it.” He looked at all our parents for a moment, and then went on in a quieter tone. “There could, however, be one exception to that. I believe that one of your Directorate’s reasons for wanting unity in this area is the fear it may one day be invaded by ships from some, as yet unknown, sector of space that might prove to have an organization as grasping as its own. Should that occur, and should the marauders appear to be such unpleasant fellows that they pose an even bigger threat to the planets here than the Association itself does, it is possible that Cholar and its allies could be called upon to help repel them. Provided you think the Directorate would be interested in having its affiliation with us limited to a mutual defence treaty, of course,” he added.

  “Oh, it would,” my father assured him, “but…”

  “But you wonder what Cholar wants in return.” Taz looked amused. “Very well. In return, I will ask that you and your colleagues retain your positions with the Association and hold its favour for as long as it pleases you to do so. And in return for that, I want your children to live on Cholar with guardians of my choosing whenever you are absent from Yaix. Your children no longer value the Association, and are therefore of no further value to it. To place them back in one of its educational institutions, or the homes of any of your dedicated fellow AUP employees, would be quite pointless.”

  He smiled kindly. “On your home planet Earth, rulers of long ago bestowed lands and titles upon those who stood by them in times of adversity. Cholar still practices this custom. When they come of age, your children and their friend from Vorla will be people of considerable rank and substance here. It would therefore benefit them to learn something of the Cholarian way of life by making extended visits while they are young.”

  My father considered the offer. “Yes, I suppose it would.”

  “But not unless they want to,” said Mr. MacGregor fiercely. I suppose he didn’t want us to think he regarded servitude to AUP so highly he would do anything to get it a treaty with Cholar.

  “I think you will find them amenable.” Taz turned to smile at Neil, who had stepped forward hesitantly and looked as though he wanted to say something. “You are most welcome here too, Neil. I’ve been told you are now thinking of pursuing a career that does not involve the Association. If so, we have several you might like to consider. This world can put you on a much different path than the one you hitherto expected to follow. And Arlyne as well, should she care to come and learn more about our ways.”

  Neil nodded gratefully. Arlyne said nothing, but looked surprisingly thoughtful. As for the rest of us, we had no doubts whatsoever. Cholar is a beautiful planet. Taz and Vostia were sure to find us guardians to our liking, and living on Cholar would allow us to maintain contact with Jip, whose parents had agreed to let her visit whenever she wanted.

  ***

  All those arrangements were made about three weeks ago, and seem rather unimportant in comparison to what’s going on here today. For today is the coronation day of Supreme Ruler Taziol IV, absolute ruler of the independent planet of Cholar. Cholaris is filled with people, and flags and flowers adorn the streets in honour of the forthcoming festivities.

  The coronation is to take place in a religious edifice similar to one of Earth’s cathedrals, and Taz and Vostia’s carriage is scheduled to lead a procession there in about an hour. All the Sub-Rulers and others of royal blood have arrived at the palace, including Prince Mardis, who went off to document the life cycle of some obscure Cholarian insect as soon as he knew Taz was going to be all right. These personages will be accompanied by Royal Guardsmen, resplendent in full uniform, and less prestigious, but equally well garbed, soldiers will escort other prominent Cholarian citizens, and that prominent citizen-to-be, Trithox, and his family.
Important guests like our parents and Mr. Skoko will also have this type of escort.

  Although it is traditional for certain nobles and officials to perform the various rituals surrounding the coronation of a Supreme Ruler, Kirsty, Jip, Simon and I have been made honorary attendants to the people handling the most important ones. We donned stately garments some time ago and are, at this precise moment, seated in one of the ground- floor rooms of the palace waiting for the procession to begin. The others assure me they are as nervous as I am, but we’ve been so thoroughly instructed in our duties that Verim is sure we will all conduct ourselves with suitable decorum.

  As regards Kirsty, I’m not too sure about that, but I’m not going to say so.

  Even Taz hesitates to contradict Verim.

  The End

  Also by Renee Duke from Books We Love

  The Time Rose Series

  Book 1: The Disappearing Rose

  Book 2: The Mud Rose

  Book 3: The Spirit Rose

  About the Author

  Renee Duke grew up in Ontario/B.C., Canada and Berkshire, England. Due to a treacherous re-drawing of county lines while she was out of the country, her little English market town is now in Oxfordshire, but she’s still a Berkshire girl at heart.

  After qualifying as an Early Childhood Educator, she went on to work with children of all ages in a number of capacities, including a stint in Belize, Central America with World Peace and Development. These days she still does occasional interactive history units with 6-to-12-year-olds at an after-school care centre but is otherwise retired and able to concentrate on writing.

  Mother of one son, and servant to two cats, she resides in Kelowna B.C. with her widowed mother.

  Find Renee on Facebook @

  https://www.facebook.com/renee.duke.author