by Judy Mays
The prelate turned towards them. “Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, Princess Hardan, I present to you the Matriarch of the Aradab.”
A very intimidating gray-headed Aradab woman strode up to the dais where Brianna sat with the rest of the royal family. She leaned over and gently traced the dragon on Brianna’s shoulder. Then she nodded and returned to her seat.
The prelate continued, “Princess Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, I present to you the Patriarch of the Nessians.”
The Patriarch’s skin was so darkly green that it was almost black. Long, snowy white hair cascaded down his back while laugh lines wrinkled the corners of his eyes and mouth. The elderly man took both her hands in his, spread them wide, and lifted her from her chair to stand before him. “Behold,” he said in a surprisingly booming voice, “the journey of the dols and orcs begins and ends with this woman. As was foretold ages past, the flame of the dragon will return our friends and heritage to us. This woman is the flame of our future.”
Kissing Brianna on both cheeks the Patriarch whispered to her, “You carry a fine, strong son, Daughter of my Heart. The stars will hold no boundaries for him.”
Chuckling at the amazed expression on her face, the old man nodded to Findal and turned to leave. Stopping before Bandalardrac, he said in a voice only those on the dais could hear, “Yours are the wings of the Flame’s salvation. Do not fail in this task, for we will all fall with you. Your own happiness lies on her world.”
From where he stood behind Brianna, Char scowled. What did the old man mean by that? He didn’t want Bandalardrac getting any ideas. Brianna was his!
Brianna didn’t have the time to mull over what the Patriarch said, for the Federation ambassadors were being introduced to the new Hardan princess. If Werdarartun don al’ Sundosal of Drakan was surprised by the day’s proceedings, he hid it rather well. Shorter than Char and more stoutly built, the elaborate embroidery on his shoulder identifying his clan was totally unfamiliar to Brianna. While it was certainly some kind of animal, she had no idea what it was. She was fairly certain that Char, Jamiros, or Rodane had warned Werdarartun what to expect at today’s ceremony. However, his eyes widened when he saw Brianna’s dragon.
After staring at it for a few minutes, his eyes met Brianna’s and she recognized the gleam of approval in them. After a word or two welcoming her to both the Hardan family and Alalakan clan, and apologizing for his wife’s absence due to the illness of their youngest daughter, the Drakian stepped aside and Brianna finally got her first good look at the other human members of the Federation.
Tarlus Varnji, the Varcian ambassador, bowed his head and presented his wife Opala. Both were shorter than Drakians and Medirians. Their skin was dark brown, the irises of their eyes were yellow, and except for eyebrows and eyelashes, they were absolutely hairless. A bony ridge that resembled, of all things, an Earth-type Mohawk haircut rose from their foreheads and tapered to the base of their skulls, dyed a very bright yellow. Brianna did not miss the flicker of surprise in Opala’s eyes at the color of her dress, nor the pleased expression that immediately followed it.
After a few words of welcome, the Varcians stepped aside and Qjin, the Deslossian ambassador, was presented next. He was tall, lithe, and albino white, including the hair that flowed down his back. Like Drakians, Qjin had pointed ears. Like Medirians, he was tailless.
The epitome of relaxed dignity, he approached Brianna with a welcoming smile and executed a deep bow from the waist. Then he surprised everyone on the dais by leaning forward and lightly touching the dragon on her shoulder and saying, “A worthy dragon for a worthy woman.”
As he left the dais, Qjin stopped and met the eyes of both the Patriarch of the Nessians and the Matriarch of the Aradabs. A swift, unspoken conversation seemed to pass among the three of them, and then Qjin joined his counterparts from Varce.
Shifting, Brianna squeezed her thighs together and tore her eyes away from Qjin. Damn, but she had to pee. One more ambassador, the Gattan, and she could finally go find a bathroom.
But the Gattan ambassador’s appearance was more of a surprise than she anticipated.
Two inches under six feet in height and stockily built, Brendis Frierson had fierce blue eyes that flashed from beneath bushy white eyebrows. He was not a young man, but he carried his mature years easily. A loosely flowing brown tunic belted with solid gold covered his torso to his thighs, but the sleeves did not conceal the muscular power of his arms. He wore loosely fitting pants tucked into highly polished black boots, Cossack style.
His wife, Gileen Makasdotir, was dressed much as her husband, although her tunic dripped with bright jewels and embroidery. She was as stocky as her husband though not as muscular. Instead of trousers, she wore a dark red, ankle-length skirt. Soft brown boots completed her ensemble.
Both of them had shoulder-length gray hair that was combed behind pointed ears, hair with evenly spaced black stripes running through it. Stripes that did not stop at the hairline, but continued across their faces. Stripes that could be seen extending from the backs of their hands and on up their arms.
Brianna stared. “They look like white tigers,” she said to no one in particular. “Does everyone on Gattan look like them?”
Brendis and his wife stopped before her, refraining from any type of bow, appraising her reaction to them. Sticking out his chin, he scowled. “You are upset by our appearance, Brianna, Princess Hardan. Why is that?”
Everyone in the vast throne room had held his or her breath. The Gattan were an extremely sensitive people who took insult very easily.
Brianna swallowed nervously and said, “Do you have cats on your planet?”
Though he wore a Medirian translator, the ambassador was obviously confused by her question. “Cats? I do not know this word.”
Brianna swallowed. Did I insult him? Have I said something wrong? Taking a deep breath, she continued slowly, hoping desperately she wasn’t going to insult him. “On my planet there are animals we call cats, of many varieties and species. Your coloring is remarkably like a variety of cat we call a tiger.”
Gileen stared at the dragon on Brianna’s shoulder and then locked eyes with the younger woman. “You can provide us with a picture of this animal?”
Brianna turned to Char.
He nodded. “While orbiting Brianna’s planet, we were able to record numerous transmissions from various sources, Gileen Makasdotir. Whether there is a picture of one of these tigers, I don’t know. Brianna hasn’t been able to catalog everything yet.”
Brendis Frierson crossed his arms, planted his feet, and said, “We will see what you have now.”
Findal sighed and signaled a servant. The assembled members and guests of his court tittered and shifted from foot to foot nervously. About five minutes later, the court librarian appeared with the Medirian version of a laptop computer. Nodding uncertainly to the group on the dais, the old librarian went directly to Findal, who waved the nervous man to Brianna.
“My new daughter,” Findal said, “requires pictures of her planet from those Captain Alalakan provided.”
“What is it you wish to see, your highness? We’ve tried to continue your work, but in some cases we are not sure what a particular image represents.”
Despite the obvious seriousness of the situation, Brianna rolled her eye at the title with which the librarian addressed her. “I’d like to see all the animals you have.”
The librarian brightened immediately. “We feel that we have all of those, especially the mammals and birds, identified.”
After a quick scan of the material, Brianna sighed with disappointment. Looking up at the unmoving Gattan in front of her, she’d said, “I’m sorry. There aren’t any tigers. There is a lion, though.”
Turning the screen of the computer to face them, Brianna motioned the Gattan ambassador and his wife forward.
“This ‘cat’ can be found on your planet?” Brendis asked. “There is a ‘cat’ that resembles us?”
“Yes.”
Brianna was not sure exactly what, at this point, the Gattan was thinking.
Two faces slowly broke into wide smiles. Each Gattan took one of her hands and placed their palms against hers.
They have retractable claws!
“Welcome to the new Hardan princess,” Brendis said. “We recognize the Alalakan dragon and its heir.”
Not knowing what to say, Brianna remained silent.
Both Char and Findal rose and stepped forward to stand on either side of her. Taking the Gattans’ hands from hers, each man matched one of his palms to that of the Gattan who faced him.
Then Brianna’s gasp echoed throughout the chamber when Brendis and his wife unsheathed wickedly sharp claws, and before the men could draw their hands away, slashed their palms deeply enough to make blood flow.
Brianna’s eyes flashed as she rose from her chair, unmindful of the computer sliding from her lap to be caught by the still-nervous librarian just before it crashed to the floor. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”
“She rises to their defense like a Gattan, Husband,” Gileen said as she sheathed her claws. “The dragon she carries on her shoulder is warranted.”
Brendis turned his attention back Brianna. “Fear not for your loved ones, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, Princess Hardan. We deem you worthy of your new position and the dragon you carry on your shoulder.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she demanded. “What gives you the right to decide my worthiness?”
Findal’s mother fainted.
Everyone else in the room gasped at her audacity. Even Char paled at her demand. Gattan blood feuds had begun over much less.
Brendis’s deep laugh filled the throne room. Gileen, smiling broadly, went so far as to hug Brianna. “A mate truly worthy of the Alalakan dragon. We meant no disrespect, child. Ours is a warrior race. Allowing us to blood their palms proved to us that your father and husband hold your honor and ours in the highest regard.”
Brianna stood with her hands fisted on her hips. “What’s wrong with my own blood?”
Gileen smiled gently. “You carry a child. No Gattan would ask blood from a pregnant woman.”
“Well, it would be nice if someone explained these things to me before they happened.”
Char, who had wrapped his hand in a towel quickly provided by one of Findal’s servants, used his unwounded hand to exert gentle pressure on Brianna’s shoulder. She sat down—reluctantly.
Shooting a disgruntled look over her shoulder, she grumbled, “Is there anyone on this damn planet who doesn’t know I’m pregnant?”
The Gattans’ laughter followed them from the dais.
Char leaned forward and whispered in his wife’s ear, “Probably not.”
Chapter Eleven
Brianna inhaled deeply as a warm, salt breeze wafted in off the ocean. Loud shouts had her shading her eyes against the sun’s glare off the clear, blue water as Meri’s younger sisters burst out of the water. Both wore skimpy thongs and nothing else. Their brother exploded to the surface and surged after them. His own suit was little more than a small pouch that cupped his genitals.
Meri yelled something and Brianna blushed even more. Meri’s suit covered more of her body. The bottom half anyway. Her breasts were just as bare as her sisters’.
Celene shrieked happily and disappeared beneath the waves that swirled around Meri’s thighs. She didn’t surface.
Brianna shuddered. She’d never get used to them having gills.
A shadow stretched across her legs as Ban squatted beside her chair. “Enjoying your afternoon by the sea?”
Nodding, she pulled her gaze away slowly. If that little bag holding his cock and balls were any tighter, he’d burst the seams. Her lips twitched. That would be an interesting sight! I wonder if I can talk Char into wearing one…just for me that is.
Ban stood and shifted his attention to his cousins.
Brianna took the opportunity to admire him. A flat stomach gave way to six-pack abs. Damn, but he was built. But why was he wearing that short vest over his chest?
Her gaze continued upward.
He was grinning at her. “Aren’t our Medirian suits to your liking, Cousin?” he teased. “I think you’d turn heads even in Drakian’s jaded society if you wore one. Why not display those lovely breasts?”
She pushed herself up off the lounge. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you and Char were brothers, you sound so much alike at times. I’m gong for a swim.” Brianna sauntered away from him towards the waves that lapped the sand. Stopping once, she stooped to pick up a five-sided pink shell. Sighing with delight, she walked into the warm surf.
Meri’s youngest sister Jamilinlalissa was diving not far from shore. She suddenly surfaced next to Brianna and began to splash her. Joining in the fun, Brianna waded into waist-high water and was able to give as good as she got until Jami dove. Lacking gills of her own, Brianna was at a definite disadvantage. So when she felt the hands around her ankles, she took a big breath and prepared herself for the dunking she knew she was about to get.
Ban was standing next to Meri knee deep in the water when Brianna disappeared. When Jami surfaced, he called, “Be careful of your new sister’s temper, Coz. She may not appreciate being dunked.”
Jami flung her long hair back over her shoulder. “I didn’t dunk her, Ban. I was trying to sneak up on you, but water’s too shallow.”
Ban didn’t think. He simply dove, heading for the spot he’d last seen Brianna. Meri grabbed Celene and headed for the beach, calling to her brother as she waded through the surf, “Dav! Run for Father and Char. Something has happened to Brianna!”
As Kavlidardrac sprinted towards the palace, Jami dove and followed Ban. She soon surfaced. “There’s no sign of her,” she sobbed. “Ban streaked by me, but I don’t know if he saw anything or not.”
Holding her struggling daughter in one arm and her crying sister in the other, Meri was unmindful of the tears that streamed down her own face.
Brianna struggled against the strong hands that gripped both her wrists although she was intelligent enough not to fight the breathing apparatus her abductors placed over her face. Without it, she’d be dead. She could tell they were heading for deeper water. The surface kept getting farther and farther above her head. She had to slow them down! Thrashing her legs about, she was able to tangle them with those of one of her abductors.
Then Ban exploded into their midst.
Releasing her wrists, both of her captors quickly unsheathed long, wicked-looking knives. Ignoring her, they began to work in concert, circling Ban like a pair of hungry sharks.
He was definitely at a disadvantage. He’d obviously exerted a great deal of energy to catch them, and he was not carrying any weapons. Jackknifing between them, he grabbed her arm and pushed her up towards the surface.
Moving as quickly as she could, Brianna swam away, but not before she saw a knife slice through Ban’s vest.
Blood followed her upward.
Brianna was still far from the surface when she felt another hand on her ankle. Panicking, she began to struggle as she felt other hands on her waist. Those hands, however, quickly spun her around and she found herself looking into a face very similar to the Patriarch’s. As soon as she made eye contact, the woman who held her released her and pointed to the surface. Looking around and down, Brianna saw at least fifty Nessians, both men and women. Relaxing in the protective circle, she nodded and continued up.
When her head broke the surface of the water, she pulled the plastic bubble from her face. Taking deep breaths, she turned to face the Nessian who had surfaced next to her.
“Bandalardrac Hardan is down there!”
“Others have gone to his aid, Flame of Mediria.”
More Nessian heads broke through the water, among them Ban’s and two strangers she didn’t recognize. The water around Ban was tinted pink. His back was turned towards her so she couldn’t see how bad his cuts were. The Nessians were rubbing some kind of sal
ve into the wound. They also managed to get him to swallow some liquid from a flask, which was reviving him rapidly. Already he was treading water on his own.
The woman touched Brianna’s arm. “Others now come.”
A motor launch neared. Swells surged as it circled their position, and Brianna was swamped. She went under. Supple arms lifted her up.
The water became even choppier as the launch roared to a stop. More water splashed into her face. Before she could protest, she was wrenched into the boat and wrapped in Char’s embrace. His kiss was fierce and demanding—and quick.
Soon Brianna was wrapped in a warm robe and settled into the launch’s spacious cabin.
She’d just accepted a mug of something hot from one of the crewmen when Findal appeared at the base of the companionway. Char, who half carried, half led Ban into the stateroom, followed him. Two Nessians followed them.
“I tell you, I’m fine,” Ban snapped. “I’m not an invalid.”
“Don’t argue with me, Bandalardrac,” Findal commanded. “I want a good luck at those cuts.”
“Only the one on his shoulder will require stitching, O King,” interjected the older of the two Nessian women. “Our salve will heal the others.”
Findal held out a first aid kit. “Are either of you any good with a needle and thread? Embroidery was never one of my strong suits.” Now that both Brianna and Ban were safe, his natural jocularity was returning.
The Nessians both shook their heads.
Brianna stopped blowing on her steaming mug and said, “I’ll do it.” She set the mug on the table and took the kit from Findal. Setting it on the table, she began to sort through its contents. “I’ll try to be as gentle as I can,” she said over her shoulder.
Taking her eyes from the needles she had been threading, she turned her gaze to Ban’s right shoulder to judge the angle and deepness of the cut. What she saw there caused her to stumble over the trailing edges of her robe.
Riding Ban’s shoulder was a blue-green dragon, massive wings straining as it rose from a turbulent ocean.