by L M Lacee
TEN:
The aristocrats of Patamoglian society were becoming restless, unused to being kept waiting even in their Emperor’s court. The talk became a little louder and the glances at Peyton and her people not so covert.
Suddenly the door to the palace opened and Peyton watched the Royal family enter and everyone stand and bow. She had only herself to blame for being here, her rashness and yes she admitted her arrogance is what got her to this position. When she issued the decree that if either account was paid in full, she would visit and discuss the return of the Warriors, she had convinced herself that it would never happen. Grimacing, she berated herself, this is what being arrogant got her.
When the new Ambassador had implored her to attend court this morn, she had demurred until he had sworn the new Emperor would address the wrong perpetuated against her Warriors.
As she looked down at the Emperor and his brothers, she thought that perhaps the Ambassador was not lying the Emperor looked as though he chewed metal for meals. His brothers looked just as hard and unyielding as him perhaps it was family trait. All four males were tall, well-muscled, with short military haircuts. She noted the males were as handsome as the Emperor’s daughters were beautiful. Peyton was surprised, the pics she had studied of the sisters the night before had not shown these elegant females. In fact, she had been hard pressed to see they were female, dressed as they had been in dirt covered clothes.
She passed her eyes over the Empress and her children; they were of no importance and truthfully they made Peyton feel… Well, she did not know how she felt about the female and her children. She thought perhaps the feeling she was looking for was sadness.
Finally, she allowed herself to look again at the twenty-four females who stood in court and without realizing it she glowed with her feelings. These females had whipped her Willian, beaten him so much they had left barely any skin on his back and what had remained scarred horribly. She would wager these females never gave him another thought over the yentas. Not once would they have remembered the male whose innocence was lost that night, whose dignity was stolen. These were the females who stripped her Willian of his confidence, leaving in its place the hesitantly emotionally battered young Warrior he was now. Slow to trust, slow to believe in the kindness and goodness of people. Only with her and a few select others was he comfortable enough to let his guard down a fraction.
She felt Darby’s hand grab hers and the whispered words. ‘I hate them so much. I know I should be more intellectual about this, but I want each one of them dead.’
Peyton whispered. ‘What do you wish to do, you can leave? I have a feeling this will get worse before it gets better.’ She looked up at Jarrod and asked softly. ‘Jarrod, could you shield us please?’
He gave a nod, and instantly everyone felt a tingle over their skin. To the people within the court it appeared as though they were still sitting in their respective seats, with all fifty Warriors lined up around them. Marlo said to Dinas. ‘Handy male to have around.’
Dinas agreed, and Jarrod permitted himself a small smile. The four sisters moved to surround and enfold Darby in the middle of their group as Harm, Marlo, Jarrod, and Dinas surrounded them.
‘Darby,’ Peyton stated again, ‘you can leave.’
‘I did not know it would be so bad, did you Peyton?’
Darby was referring to the vid of Willian’s torture they all had witnessed before coming down to the planet. She shook her head. ‘No, I did not. I suspected, but I don’t think anybody other than Willian and the Warriors who were stationed here did.’
Melody asked. ‘What about Hawk?’
‘No, he would have killed them all.’ Dinas assured them.
‘Are you sure about that?’ Darby asked, and she could not keep the bitterness from her voice. ‘It may have jeopardized the other Warriors?’
Dinas looked away, deciding if he should break Hawk’s confidence and tell them what he had done. He remembered the tortured look on his brother’s face as he told him about Willian, and decided if his brother wanted them to know, he would tell them. It was not his guilt he had to make peace with, instead he said. ‘He would have, I know him better than he knows himself. He would have avenged him.’
Darby opened her mouth to retort and then sighed. ‘Yeah, he would have. He is that type of male.’
Dinas relaxed, she gave him a slight smile as she reassured him. ‘It’s okay Dinas, I just never realized I would ever witness violence like that. It is a product of being sheltered all my life. I am on a learning curve here and lashing out. Hawk is a caring, honorable, loving brother, I know that, we all do.’
The words were torn from him as he said. ‘He stopped them doing it again. He threatened the Emperor enough for him to never allow another Warrior to be hurt.’
‘How?’ Melody demanded, fear for what may have happened to Hawk in her voice.
Netta asked. ‘Did the Emperor of Jenersar find out?’
Dinas shook his head. ‘How, is his story to tell and no I think the old Emperor was too scared to tell anyone.’
‘Oh wow, I love that male.’ Darby said with a small sad smile as she confessed. ‘I wish he had not had to do it though, the vid was…’
‘It was horrible. I want to kill every one of them and take this world and have it expunged from the Universe.’ Peyton raged as the building shook. She took a breath and shoved her emotions deep inside herself, making her cold, so very cold.
Marlo placed his hand on her shoulder, the warmth shocking her into awareness. ‘As do we, but we will not.’ They all looked at him as he said. ‘Because we are better than that, better than those that hurt Willian. We are not mindless Raiders with revenge in our hearts. We are people of Maikonia, which means something. It has to or what we are hoping to do for our Universe is for nothing. We are Maikonians!’
They echoed his words with feeling. Peyton gave a brief nod of her head and squeezed his hand, signaling she had herself under control. He gave her shoulder one last squeeze and let her go.
Melody held her hand out as she said. ‘We can do this. We can.’ She said at their doubtful looks. ‘All for one… one for all. Remember, that is what we swore. So we will do this for our Willian.’
They all placed their hands on hers and each other’s as many as could reach. Netta was last as she stated.
‘Willian needs us to do this for him, because we stand for each other, it is what we do.’
Peyton asked Darby. ‘We okay here?’
She took in a breath, squared her shoulders, raised her chin and said. ‘For Willian.’
Still cold, Peyton agreed as they all pumped their hands up and down once, then returned to their seats. Netta stood with Marlo behind Peyton. Dinas and Melody stood either side of Darby, as Harm, and Jarrod stood either side of Heather. Peyton gave the signal, and Jarrod dropped the illusion. An angry line of Maikonians faced the court.
ELEVEN:
The Emperor and the royal family stared out at the filled court and the twenty-four females who stood with their parents facing the raised dais.
Iirtha saw that someone had made sure her family were seated in the front three rows. Her mother, father and brother sat in the center of her family, exactly where she could not help but see their stunned expressions. She wondered if that was Phantor’s reminder to keep her inline. She saw her mother’s enquiring look and shook her head, letting her know she had not persuaded Phantor yet. Then she made the sign for calm and fortress, hoping she would understand that was where she planned for them to be sent.
Fox, a member of Harm’s family, silently slid next to Peyton, causing Marlo and Dinas to snarl and curse.
Dinas growled. ‘Don’t do that. You could end up dead.’
Fox winked at him. ‘You’d have to see me to do so. Greetings, Star Daughter.’
‘Greetings Fox. How are you, ready to come home?’
‘Very much so, these Patamoglian’s give me an itch.’
‘Probably because
they recognize a fox in their house.’ Marlo murmured to Dinas, who grunted agreement.
Fox whispered to Peyton. ‘Don’t tell him, he is probably right.’
‘Now Fox, what can you tell me?’
‘Not much to add to my report, Star Daughter, except the Emperor arrived home this morn, and all hayda broke loose. The Empress and her family will go on trial as soon as your business is dealt with, along with the heirs apparent. All of them are being tried for treason. I have it on good authority they will not survive. Betrayal is not forgiven on Patamoglian.’
Peyton whispered. ‘Oh my, so the Ambassador made contact before he got here?’
‘Looks that way.’ He replied. ‘You talked to his eldest brother, Parkern the new Ambassador.’
‘Yes, he was nice.’
‘They all are, their father was not very well liked, different male altogether. He was a hard ruler, and it is reported he loved the entitlements that being Emperor brought. Especially the females. I was told he was tightfisted with a credit and demanded compliance from all his people, his sons included. It is rumored he would have had his son, the new Emperor, killed for his opposition to his policies, except he was the heir. So banished him instead with the help of his wife, then he kept the brothers alive to keep him in line. The old Emperor liked controversy, liked when one house went against another. He thrived, so they say on the cut throat, back stabbing and gain wealth by any means possible mentality of the upper houses. If that meant killing each other he turned a blind eye to it. Not like this Emperor and his daughters, they think differently, they have ethics, a code they live by. Mind you, the brothers were not banished and they think the same way. So maybe they are just good Royals. The people I have spoken too, say he and his brothers are as honest as his daughters are. They helped the outlanders, made their lives better, and worked side by side with common people.
Anyway, his dearle wife stayed with her family and the two youngest children who were deemed heirs. The old Emperor finally died two luneras ago, which is why the new Emperor was at the Capital. Since the old Emperor’s been gone and the new Emperor was away the Empress and her family have been indulging their tastes in the better life. There was a plan to kill the Emperor and his brothers as well as his daughters, which sadly was thwarted.’ He looked at Peyton and said. ‘For what it’s worth, I like them. They are honorable people.’
Peyton met his brown eyes which usually held a glimmer of laughter in their depths, and nodded. ‘I will take that into account. Never doubt your opinion carries weight.’
Fox preened a little at her praise. ‘Anyway, when he arrived home this morn, he dropped the hammer on them all.’
Peyton raised her eyebrows. ‘Really, hammer?’
He gave a quick grin. ‘Yep, my Lady Heather told me about the hammer. I like the saying, it says it all.’
Peyton said. ‘Alright, so the hammer.’
‘Yes, no one gets away with threatening his family, especially not his daughters. Now Star Daughter, be prepared for the punishment, it will commence shortly.’ He raised his head and looked at all the females who were listening to him. ‘You will need to hold tight to yourselves ladies, what will happen is not going to be pleasant. In fact, it is going to be downright terrible.’
He looked at the faces of the females and saw the knowledge in their eyes of what they had seen on the vid. He had viewed some of it before handing it over.
‘This is going to make the vid seem tame.’
Not one of them seemed surprised or deterred. Even Darby just closed her eyes but remained in her seat.
Peyton swallowed, then nodded. ‘Will you be coming with us?’
He shook his head. ‘I have one or two things to see to after this and then I will board the Warbird.’
‘We will wait for you Fox. If you are not back by this eve, we will come for you?’
He raised her hand, kissing the back of it. ‘Madam, I never doubted that for a moment.’
‘Exactly Fox, never forget we are family. Now go and greet Harm and Heather, they look worried.’
As they looked at the two people in question, Harm raised a sardonic eyebrow while Heather looked apprehensively back.
Fox said solemnly with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I can see that.’
He took his leave of her and crept along the row until he was standing beside Harm and the sitting Heather. Jarrod nodded to him and returned his attention to the court even though he listened. As Fox talked, Heather became more uneasy.
Peyton heard Marlo tell Dinas. ‘I researched foxes from Earth, he has the look of them.’
‘Really, can you show me when we get back?’
‘Sure can, pardner.’
Peyton almost grinned, Marlo was peppering his speech more and more with words he picked up from the western vids he indulged in with Melody and Netta.
TWELVE:
The Emperor finally stood and moved to the front of the raised stage, where he prepared to address the gathered audience. Phantor faced his people and drew in a breath releasing it slowly. He knew this day would be entered into the histories of his world so with that thought uppermost in his mind, he began the speech that would define his rule.
‘We of Patamoglian are here today in the presence of the Star Daughter long awaited.’ Every one of his people stood and bowed to Peyton, as did all his family, even the stone-faced Empress. Peyton returned the salute with a small nod.
Once everyone was re-seated, he continued. ‘You may wonder why I have convened this court. Some of you from the great jewel houses are under the impression you and your houses have been chosen and in a way you have.’ He gave them all a mocking smile, then his voice turned hard and unyielding. ‘Look at you all dressed in your court finery, vying for a place in my affections, now that my father has passed into the house of our Originals. Did you all think or perhaps you hoped I would have forgotten the distaste you had for myself and my daughters? Or perhaps you believed I was dead as some of you have hoped. I know without a doubt some of you believed I was undeserving of the title heir and am sure you also believe I am not worthy of the title Emperor. It has not surprised me to learn you think I do not know of the disrespect and contempt you showed toward my brothers and cousins loyal to me. But that is for another time and place. The question I have asked myself and now am asking this court. Where were you, you pathetic creatures when my daughters and I were exiled from our home and this very court?’
Peyton looked over the crowd and saw some shamed faces, but mostly boredom prevailed and as she looked at the Emperor, she knew he saw the same.
His voice thundered out as he sneered. ‘Where were you then, you groveling, pathetic excuses for houses?’
There was no boredom now as he held his hand up while the murmur of shocked voices rose. Peyton’s Warriors tensed, and she watched the eyes of the Emperor’s brothers and daughters as they watched the crowd. She saw the younger daughter, Ipeara flick her eyes to her and her people and away, then lean over to her sister Peneria and say a few words. Whereby, she also moved her eyes over Peyton and her people, nodded her head and relaxed back in her chair. These two females were different, there was something special about each of them.
Emperor Phantor roared. ‘Silence!’
Startled, Iirtha clasped her hands over her hearts. She never thought Phantor would raise his voice like this in court, no one ever raised their voice in court.
Stunned silence fell over the crowd as he said. ‘I will tell you what you were doing. You were playing for my father, while politically advancing your houses as you gathered wealth by undercutting your competition. Exploiting and abusing those in your power. As I look around my world, I see that in the time I was exiled you have put nothing back into our society. You have wasted your valueless lives doing nothing but grabbing for any position of power available. In the last two luneras all your petitions to me and my brothers have been for me to right a wrong to your houses. Nothing about our world or those in your care.’
‘We have been wronged, our houses have been wronged.’ Called out Lord Pentamogyte.
The Emperor raised his brows and swept his hand up and around to include Peyton and her people. In a benevolent voice he asked. ‘Please, Lord Pentamogyte tell us all, how the great houses of Patamoglian have been wronged.’
The plump Lord stated. ‘We have been denied Warriors.’
Peyton heard growls from her Warriors and surprisingly Darby and knew the sound traveled when she saw people flinch. Instantly every eye in the court along with the eyes of the Empress and her children looked toward her people.
Realizing he held the court in the palm of his hand. Lord Pentamogyte with a curt bow to the Emperor, rushed into speech. Deciding to bring forth all the houses grievances and in doing so, cast himself as the new speaker for the families. Thereby cementing his place in the histories as the only male that stood up to the Emperor and Star Daughter. With a superior look toward Peyton, he paced two steps in front of his wife and daughter as he stated.
‘The Warriors were recalled to some unknown world, and nothing was done to prevent it. I have lost shipments, lost retainers which are hard to find, honest ones at least.’ He grumbled and there were many who agreed with the sentiment, as they murmured loudly to their neighbor or spouse.
Bolder now, he paced away from his family as people made way for him. A short, pompous fawn colored male, in clothes too tight for his girth and adorned with large multicolored jewels. He slammed one hand into the other as he complained.
‘My house has suffered as many houses have. I am not the only one to amass losses. Raiders congregate outside our borders, and nothing is done. We pay our tithe to the Royal House for protection and have nothing to show for it. We will be bankrupt before too long or overrun from the scum of the Universe. You are the Emperor, you need to do something. She...’ He stopped his pacing and turned with the same expression of superiority on his face and pointed at Peyton, who glowed as everyone looked at her.