Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Kapia’s eyes widened when Karma referred to her bruises as battle signs. Suddenly, the shame she’d felt since seeing the bruises in the mirror faded, replaced by a wholly unfamiliar sense of pride.

  “Thank you for your kind words, Lady Techu,” she said. “But I would still like to learn to defend myself.”

  “I know exactly how you feel,” Karma said. “Please understand, Kapia, that Aisling’s skills are exceptional. I’m afraid I do not share that gift with her.”

  Once again Kapia’s face fell in utter disappointment.

  “I do have some skill with one weapon,” Karma continued. “I’d be happy to teach you that, if you like.”

  “Really?” Kapia asked eagerly.

  “Don’t get too excited,’ Karma cautioned with a smile. “It’s only a staff.”

  “Anything at all would be most appreciated,” Kapia said. “I will be forever in your debt, Lady Techu.”

  “Karma,” Karma corrected.

  “Karma,” Kapia repeated.

  “As for debt, I ask only one thing of you,” Karma said. Kapia nodded quickly, fully prepared to agree to anything Karma wanted. “You must promise me that you will practice every day. If you decide you no longer wish to learn the staff, you must tell me. I have no desire to spend my time teaching an unwilling pupil.”

  “I promise,” Kapia said at once. “I will work hard, Karma, really I will.”

  Karma smiled, satisfied that Kapia meant what she said. “Will we need to keep these lessons secret?” Karma asked. Kapia’s smile slipped, but Karma had to ask the question. If the king hadn’t hired teachers because he forbade her to learn weapons, she needed to know ahead of time.

  “I do not think that my father would mind,” Kapia said, her eyes back on the table. “My brother may object, though.”

  “Why would he?”

  “He does not believe I am old enough, or competent enough to handle a weapon,” Kapia said, her voice so soft it was nearly a whisper.

  Not old enough? Karma wondered. The girl was sixteen, not six. More than old enough to learn to protect herself. “Are you required to obey your brother?”

  Kapia looked up and tilted her head slightly as she thought about that. “Out of respect for him, as both my elder brother and the future King, I obey him. But if I defy him there is little he can do about it without my father’s consent.”

  “Good,” Karma said. “Then we will not hide.”

  Kapia swallowed nervously, but as Karma watched she saw the girl lift her head and straighten her shoulders, determination gleaming in her light brown eyes. “Very well,” she agreed.

  “We will need to find a staff for you, and a practice area,” Karma said.

  “That is easy enough,” Kapia replied. “Thank you so much, Karma. You have been most kind to me, but I should leave you now. It grows late.”

  “All right,” Karma said, rising along with Kapia. “Since I don’t know my way around, can you meet me here in the morning? We can have our first lesson before breakfast.”

  “I will be here,” Kapia promised happily.

  After the Princess left, Karma wandered back to the balcony where Nikura lay sleeping on the wall where she’d left him.

  “Excuse me, Lady Techu, your bath is ready at your convenience,” Lashi said from yet another doorway.

  “Thank you, Lashi,” Karma said. She hesitated a moment, then decided she didn’t need to question Nikura any more tonight. A hot bath and bed sounded too good to resist.

  Chapter 3

  By the time Princess Kapia came to get her the next morning, Karma was up, dressed and ready to go. She wore soft blue jeans, her favorite pair of brown leather boots with low, chunky heels and a light, stretchy top that would allow easy movement. She knew that her clothing marked her as an outsider since she hadn’t seen anyone wearing anything that remotely resembled jeans, but she didn’t own anything that was going to help her blend in here.

  “Good morning, Lady Techu,” Kapia said, pressing her hands together and bowing her head after Lashi showed her in.

  “Good morning, Princess Kapia,” Karma replied, copying the Princess exactly, though she held her bow a bit longer in deference to the Princess’s higher rank.

  “That was almost perfect,” Kapia said. “But your rank is higher than mine, so you should not hold your bow so long. That bow would be perfect for you to use to King Rhobar, though you should never bow more than your head.”

  “My rank is higher than yours?” Karma asked in surprise. “How?”

  “You are Lady Techu,” Kapia answered simply. “Shall we go?”

  “Yes,” Karma said as she looked down at her clothes, then at Kapia’s. Kapia was wearing a long, full gauzy skirt and short, sleeveless top in a light spring green with intricate beading at the hems, and a pair of soft leather sandals.

  “I think I’m going to need some clothing that doesn’t make me stand out quite so much,” she said.

  “Hasn’t your attendant seen to that yet?” Kapia asked with a frown.

  Karma looked up as Lashi bowed from the open doorway. “Yes, Lashi?

  “I beg your pardon, Lady Techu,” she said, “I wish only to inform you that I have seen to your clothing. There will be several outfits ready for you to choose from by this afternoon. Once your preferences and sizes are more accurately determined from those, a wardrobe will be completed in a few days.”

  “Thank you, Lashi,” Karma said, relieved. She didn’t mind standing out, but she didn’t want it to be because she was dressed in such a distinctly foreign manner. Besides, since the only people on Rathira who were even aware of the Thousand Worlds were here in the palace, she couldn’t very well go around wearing off-world, mass produced clothing.

  “Let’s go, shall we?” she said, turning to look for Nikura.

  “Perhaps this would be a good time to test how far we can travel from one another,” Nikura suggested as he climbed off the end of her bed where he’d been sleeping and stretched before joining her at the door.

  “All right,” Karma agreed. “Will you stay in here?”

  “I will step into the hall and wait,” Nikura said.

  “Okay,” Karma said. She turned back to Kapia, and saw the startled look on her face.

  “You really can speak to the Sphin, can’t you?” she asked softly.

  “Yep, lucky me,” Karma replied, rolling her eyes toward Nikura and smiling. “Come on.”

  Kapia nodded, gave Nikura one more look, then turned and followed Karma out of the room and into the ante-room, an area for guests to wait in before being ushered into her rooms. Lashi opened the door for them and they stepped into the corridor.

  Karma glanced at Nikura, then walked down the hall with Kapia. “Kapia,” she said as they walked, “Nikura and I are performing a test.”

  “A test?” Kapia asked, looking back over her shoulder, surprised to see Nikura still standing before Karma’s door.

  “Yes,” Karma said. “Evidently we are connected in some way. Nikura says that if we become separated for too long, or by too much distance, it could be bad. We’re testing to see how far we can get from each other.”

  “I see,” Kapia said, fascinated. “How bad?”

  “He said it could kill me, and cause him great harm.”

  “Yes,” Kapia agreed, her face paling, “that’s bad.”

  As they walked Karma noticed that the further away from Nikura she got, the slower her step became. She had to force herself to walk more quickly to keep up with Kapia. They reached the end of the long corridor and turned a corner, but she barely noticed in her efforts to continue moving. As soon as she was out of Nikura’s sight she felt as though she had to push against a heavy wall to take each step until, finally, she came to a jerky stop. Her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

  “Karma, are you all right?” Kapia asked anxiously.

  Karma shook her head, unable to speak, fighting to breathe throu
gh the deep, dull pain that began in her chest.

  “Nikura!” Kapia called. “Hurry!”

  A moment later Karma’s breathing began to slow and the pain in her chest lessened, though she did not begin to feel normal until she felt Nikura’s head nudge her hip. She looked down into his big blue eyes and nodded. “That’s not too far,” she panted.

  “No, it isn’t,” he agreed. “I think that being out of each other’s sight made it worse than it otherwise would have been.”

  “Let’s not test that right now,” Karma said.

  “No, not now,” Nikura agreed. “I do think that, in time, it will become easier. For now we must be careful.”

  “Yes, I agree,” Karma said.

  “Karma, shall we return to your rooms?” Kapia asked, frowning with worry.

  “No, that’s not necessary,” Karma said, forcing a smile. “I’m perfectly fine now.”

  “Are you sure?” Kapia asked. She noted that Karma’s color had returned to normal, and she was no longer panting, but she was still concerned.

  “I’m positive,” Karma said. “So long as Nikura and I don’t get very far from each other, we’re both fine.”

  “That was frightening,” Kapia said as they resumed their walk through the palace.

  “Yes, it was,” Karma said. “I don’t want to do it again, that’s for sure.”

  “Thank you, Nikura, for coming so quickly when I called,” Kapia said, addressing the Sphin directly.

  Nikura looked at the Princess in mild surprise, then raised and lowered his head in a slow nod as he walked beside Karma, his shoulder brushing her leg.

  “Did you have difficulty with that as well?” Karma asked him, fairly sure of his answer. This was the first time he had walked close enough to actually touch her, and she admitted to herself that she found it comforting.

  “It was decidedly unpleasant,” Nikura replied. “I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.”

  “Agreed,” Karma replied as they turned another corner.

  Kapia made a tiny noise, almost too soft to hear, but it caught Karma’s attention at once. She glanced at Kapia, then followed her gaze to see a woman walking toward them from the other end of the corridor. The woman walked slowly, as though she had all the time in the world, which gave Karma a chance to study her.

  She looked to be about Karma’s age, twenty-five, with long, curly black hair pulled forward over her shoulder with a loose ribbon around it. She wore an outfit much like Kapia’s; long full skirt, sleeveless, fitted top that bared the midriff and soft sandals. Karma had noticed that all of the women she’d seen wore the same basic style of clothing, the differences being quality and color of fabric and embellishment. Even Lashi wore much the same thing, except that rather than a fitted top, she wore a tunic style top over a long skirt, and the fabric was rougher, heavier, always dark gray and with no embellishment.

  The woman approaching them wore clothing that was so heavily embroidered, beaded and bejeweled that it was difficult to see the color of the fabric beneath. She wore several golden chains about her neck, large jeweled hoops in her ears, and at least a dozen enameled bangles on each wrist.

  No wonder the woman moved so slowly, Karma thought. Between the weight of the beading on her clothes, and her jewelry, it was a surprise she could walk at all.

  The most striking thing about the woman, in spite of her jewels and embellishments, was her beauty. Her skin was so smooth, her features so perfect, that she could have been carved from alabaster. Large eyes, full lips, high cheekbones, delicate brows, long, graceful neck and a figure that no man, or woman, could help but admire.

  But there was something about the set of those perfect lips, and the gleam in her large, brown eyes that set Karma’s teeth on edge. Somehow she knew, before the woman opened her mouth, that her outer beauty did not reach beneath the surface of her flawless skin.

  The woman paused a few feet before them and bowed gracefully to Princess Kapia who returned her bow with a nod. So, Karma thought, she is not of high rank, no matter how she dresses.

  “Greetings, Hara Marene,” Kapia said.

  “Greetings, Princess Kapia,” the woman replied, flicking a scornful glance at Karma.

  “Have you had the honor of meeting Lady Techu?” Kapia asked, a trace of nervousness in her voice that confused Karma.

  Marene’s dark brown eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed as she looked Karma up and down in a very rude manner before turning back to Kapia.

  “No, Princess, I have not had that honor,” Marene said pointedly.

  Karma laughed, earning a glare from Marene.

  Kapia was both horrified and embarrassed by Marene’s rudeness. The importance of Lady Techu to their world could not be measured. Marene had no right to treat her with so little respect.

  “Marene, this is Lady Techu,” she repeated emphatically.

  Marene flushed angrily at the warning in Kapia’s tone, but turned to Karma and bowed stiffly. Karma barely nodded, refusing to offer the woman any politeness at all after her behavior. The woman turned even redder.

  “If you’ll excuse us,” Karma said,. “Kapia and I have matters to tend to.”

  She looked at Kapia and smiled, ignoring Marene’s startled gasp at her casual use of the Princess’s name. She stepped around Marene without looking at her again and kept walking, Nikura at her side, chuckling softly in her mind. Kapia hurried to catch up with her a moment later.

  “That was...she was...,” Kapia whispered, unable to come up with the right word.

  “Rude?” Karma suggested. “Arrogant? Offensive?”

  “Yes! I cannot believe how discourteous she was,” Kapia exclaimed. “I must apologize on her behalf.”

  “Do not apologize for her,” Karma said. “She does not deserve that courtesy from you. And don’t worry, I will not allow her behavior to taint my impression of Rathira.”

  “Thank you, Karma,” Kapia said with some relief. She smiled. “I am hardly able to credit how perfectly you handled it though.”

  “You think so?” Karma asked.

  “Oh yes,” Kapia said, nodding her head rapidly. “You put her in her place without half trying, and did not let her make you angry. I don’t know how you did it. Did you notice her hair? She doesn’t even try to hide it.”

  “What about her hair?” Karma asked, absently rubbing Nikura’s ears as they walked. His deep, rumbling purr made her smile.

  “Only women in the royal family are allowed to wear their hair uncut and unfettered,” Kapia said. “That means that I can wear my hair to my waist and loose, because I’m a Princess. Servants must wear their hair very short, as you’ve seen I’m sure. Other women, such as Marene, may wear their hair long if they wish, but in public it must be braided or bound. If worn loose, it must be no longer than their shoulders.”

  “Why?” Karma asked, thinking that was rather strange.

  “It’s a very old custom,” Kapia said. “It becomes very hot here in the desert during the summer. Keeping cool is very important.”

  “Yes, I noticed that the architecture, your clothing and fabrics, everything is geared toward resisting heat,” Karma said.

  “Yes,” Kapia replied. “One way to keep cool is to have no hair, or very short hair. At one time, long ago, it was a sign of wealth or high rank to have long hair, indicating that one is able to afford other means to keep cool. To have hair that is very long and not held up or worn in a braid, is the sign of the highest rank, and wealth no longer has anything to do with it. At this time, I am the only female in Isiben who is not only allowed, but required, to wear my hair long and loose.” She eyed Karma for a moment, and smiled. “I must correct myself. You may wear your hair however you please, and none will gainsay you.”

  “Why?” Karma asked.

  “Because you are Lady Techu,” Kapia said. “Remember?”

  “I remember,” Karma said. “So, Marene is flaunting tradition by wearing her hair longer than she should, and loose.�
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  “Actually, it is more than tradition,” Kapia said. “It is law. But as she has a ribbon around it, though barely, she is not quite breaking that law.”

  “She is certainly skirting close to the edge though,” Karma said. “Why do you think she takes such a risk?”

  “Because she plans to marry Zakiel and be Queen one day,” Kapia said artlessly. “I cannot think of a worse fate for my brother, and I pray every day that he will see her as she is before it is too late.”

  From what she’d seen of both Zakiel and Marene, Karma wasn’t sure that they didn’t deserve each other. But she wasn’t going to say that to Kapia.

  “Prince Zakiel strikes me as an intelligent man,” Karma said. “Somehow, I don’t think that he will allow himself to become so blinded by a woman’s beauty and wealth that he will not see her for who she truly is. Unless he wants to, of course. Either way, Kapia, you must know that you can do nothing about it. Your brother will marry whomever he chooses. You cannot control the lives of others, no matter how much you love them.”

  “Well, I wish she at least behaved as though she actually cared about Zakiel,” Kapia said with a sigh. “Instead she acts as though he is a prize that she has already won, but has yet to claim.”

  Karma reached over and patted Kapia gently on the arm. “As I said, your brother is a smart man. Whatever choice he makes will surely be made with a full understanding of what he does.”

  “I know,” Kapia said. “I just don’t like it very much.”

  They walked in silence for a few moments before Kapia turned to her once more. “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?” Karma asked.

  “You always seem so calm and in control of yourself,” Kapia replied “It must be difficult to be on a world you are unfamiliar with, not knowing anyone here. I would be terrified, I’m sure. You make it look easy.”