It only reminded him how much he had lost.
The following evening, Sephana and Erfi seemed unusually excited about their soon-to-arrive guest. Jasno found himself baffled by their behavior. Meeting with other merchants was hardly an unusual occurrence for them, though most were not as attractive as this one was rumored to be. Since Sephana and Erfi would have no interest in a male, he could only assume they were planning to push a match between this mysterious visitor and him. Though he hated to disappoint them, he had no intention of getting pulled into their misguided scheme to cheer him up.
Finally, the time for the much-anticipated appointment arrived, and there was no sign of their expected guest. It struck Jasno that he had been so intent on avoiding the topic altogether that he had not even asked the man’s name.
“Oh, that isn’t important,” Sephana said with a barely-concealed smirk. “I don’t quite recall it at the moment. You’ll hear it soon enough, when he gets here.”
“I think it would be better if I went to my room,” Jasno said. “I would only be a burden during your business negotiations, anyway.”
“Nonsense,” Erfi said. “We’ve always wanted to teach you the business. You won’t be staying with us forever, after all. It would be useful for you to pick up another skill besides foodsynth so you can make your own way in the world.”
Her words struck Jasno dumb for a moment. Were they planning to throw him off the ship? Or worse—had they somehow arranged for this new friend of theirs to purchase his services—and him? He could hardly believe they would do such a thing to him, but he could think of no other reason for Erfi’s words.
At last, their visitor’s travel pod appeared on their viewscreens and requested entry into their cargo bay. Sephana, confident and at ease at the control panel, punched in the necessary codes but made no move to leave her seat.
“Jasno, go and see to our guest. I think it would be best if you greeted him on our behalf.”
As his mouth dropped open in astonishment, Jasno decided it was time he put his foot down about their strange behavior and his willingness to loan himself out to some stranger as a combined cook and plaything.
“Now wait a moment! I do not think that would be best at all! In fact, I think this is one of the worst ideas you two have ever come up with! If you want me to leave your service, fine, though I’m sorely disappointed you couldn’t just come to me directly. I’ll be happy to pack my things and move off the ship, but I refuse to go with a total stranger just to advance your business prospects!”
“I think that is a very sensible approach,” Erfi said, nodding. “I don’t blame you a bit. Nonetheless, we must ask you to do this one favor for us. Go to the cargo bay and greet our guest.” Again, she seemed to be barely containing a laugh. What was going on here?
“Very well,” he said through clenched teeth. “I will do this one thing for you. But I hope you will never ask me to undertake so embarrassing a task again.”
“Deal,” Sepaha said. This time she actually did chuckle.
Shaking his head, Jasno made his way down the corridor to the cargo bay in a huff. Honestly, he could not imagine what Sephana and Erfi had been thinking to set him up this way! He also wondered if their idea of “cute” and “handsome” would square with his. For all he knew, he might be on his way to meet a four-armed tentacle-headed amphibioid in a loincloth. Not that some might not enjoy that, but it wasn’t for him.
When the bay door slid open, he was relieved to see a humanoid standing there, wearing a cloak pulled up over his supposedly attractive face. When he glanced at the pod itself, he paused. Something about it looked familiar, though he could not say exactly what.
“Sephana and Erfi sent me to greet you,” Jasno said, keeping his voice barely polite. Better not to give this fellow the wrong idea, no matter what they might have misled him into believing. “If you’ll come with me, I will take them to you directly. I believe they have some refreshments planned.”
“That sounds appealing,” the man said, reaching up to pull down his hood. “I understand they have engaged the services of a most accomplished chef.”
The use of the word made Jasno freeze, even before the dropping of the hood revealed the visitor’s head. He saw then that Sephana and Erfi had not lied. This was indeed the most handsome face in the galaxy.
“Your Highness,” he whispered. Automatically he offered a bow, which he could hardly execute because his limbs were shaking so hard.
“I have asked you not to call me that,” Tergus said, though his voice sounded sad instead of angry. “We were friends, remember? Although perhaps I am mistaken about that, along with other things. I confess I am not quite sure what happened between us.”
“How did you find me?”
“I have spies, as you well know. At one time I used them to keep track of Darex. This time, I used them to find you.”
“Darex.” Jasno repeated the name as he exhaled a heavy breath. It always came back to Darex. Nothing would ever change in that respect, he feared. He decided it was time to be frank. After all, Tergus could hardly haul him off to the brig in someone else’s ship. Sephana and Erfi didn’t even have a brig, now that he thought about it. “I’m sorry I left the way I did,” he said softly, avoiding Tergus’s eyes. “I knew I would do nothing but get in the way of your destined future. As much as I enjoyed being part of your household, and as honored as I was to serve you, I couldn’t stay under those conditions. I hope you and Prince Darex will be happy together, but it won’t be with me around.”
“Darex? That’s what all of this is about?” Tergus snorted. “I sent Darex back to his home planet within an hour of discovering that you had disappeared. It’s over between us—permanently, this time.”
Jasno could hardly believe his ears. “What?”
Tergus shook his head. “Did you not know that Odu Gillius soundly defeated Mal Jar in the royal tournament? As our wager called for, Darex presented himself to me after the match, though he was sorely displeased at having to do so.” He paused, grinding his teeth as he recalled an obviously unpleasant memory.
“And?” Jasno prompted.
“And, once he did so, I realized that the terms of our wager no longer interested me. In fact, they repulsed me. When he asked me what I would like him to do as his first act of obedience to me, I told him I wished him to leave Despina and never return.”
Jasno gasped. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined such an outcome. And he had missed it all!
Tergus held out a hand. “I also know what he said—and did—to you. I am deeply sorry that he made you feel you had to flee. I hope you will forget all of that, and come back with me now. I have already discussed it with Sephana and Erfi. They approve.”
“How did you found out about ... what he did?”
“Avo told me he had observed Darex following me through the corridor and making note of the location of your quarters. Later, when I confronted Darex, he admitted his threats to you—bragged about them, in fact.”
Tergus’s cheeks colored faintly. Jasno had no doubt Darex had been as explicit as possible, simply to shame him. He pitied Tergus at having to find out the truth about Darex’s character in such a brutal fashion.
However, Jasno also realized that he could not simply jump into Tergus’s pod and sail away with him as if nothing had happened. He had changed in the time they’d been apart. In some ways he felt like a completely different person than the one who had served the clients of Port Equinox. “Still, your Hi—er, Tergus. There are other factors keeping me from you. I cannot be your servant any longer. My feelings for you are too strong. I would rather keep my memories than return with you and slowly begin to resent my position.”
“I understand. Once Darex was off my mind, I realized for the first time what a complete fool I had been where you were concerned. All along, the feelings affecting me so strongly were not for him—they were actually for you. Once again, I must ask your forgiveness. And I am also offer
ing to promote you if you will come home with me. You will no longer be my servant, but my household steward—the highest rank I can offer anyone in my household. And we will always work and be together.”
“But what of Prince Darex? What if he decides to return?”
Tergus made a cutting motion in the air. “Mal Jar and Darex can stay with one another and nurse each other’s bruised pride. Both are losers this time around. I fear at the rate they are going, they will remain so.”
He held out his hand, the fingers open and inviting. Slowly, Jasno rested his own palm on top of his. Tergus’ strong grip closed around it, drawing Jasno steadily forward until their lips met in a kiss.
“Well?” he asked, after they broke apart after a few intense moments, breathing hard and sweating a bit. “How does my proposition sound to you?”
Jasno smiled and licked his lips. “Delicious, my lord.”
The Prince and the Programmer Page 8