by C.L. Mozena
*****
“What would you like to do today, Orion?” Tanya asked as they made their way through the palace halls after dinner. Empress Anita and Rick had shown up two days before, and hadn’t left Orion alone with Tanya for more than a couple of minutes at a time. They endlessly pestered him for details after Orion told them about how he thought someone had snuck into his bedroom two nights before. Although by now, he wondered if he hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. After all, the bit of movement he thought he saw could have been Star. Alex had searched all of Orion’s rooms up and down several times and couldn’t find anything unusual.
“Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t you choose?” Orion said, leaning back in his wheel chair as Tanya pushed him along. He had refused any help getting around the first few weeks after he found out he was paralyzed. He eventually swallowed his pride and allowed Tanya to push his chair through the halls.
“How about we go down to the courtyard?” Tanya suggested, “I can push you,” she teased. He looked up at her and smiled. She reached down and gave him a quick kiss.
“I’d like that,” he smiled. She pushed him through the halls and down to the courtyard, where the bright flowers were in bloom. The cobblestone pathways made a bumpy ride, but Orion didn’t really care. He hadn’t been outside since the day he broke his back. He sighed, taking in the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of the courtyard.
There were flowers, bright orange, yellow, violet, and red, swaying in the cool breeze. They passed under a large maple tree, the wind rustling it’s leaves. Orion heard birds twittering off in the distance. The fragrance from a hundred flowers floated over him, just to be replaced by a new wave of fragrance from the forest beyond the palace wall as the breeze drifted by. Orion also noted the guards stationed every few feet along the palace wall. The guard had been doubled ever since the ATA had attacked.
“Have you ever heard the legend of the Irdisae , Orion?” Tanya asked, gazing at the lazy clouds drifting in and out of the sun.
“No. What’s an er, er-dis-aye?” Orion looked up at her.
“It’s a legend,” she said, looking straight ahead, “My mother used to tell me the story when I was little. She says that the Irdisae was the very first jisbae. The Irdisae was all powerful, and brought peace with him wherever he went,” she paused, looking down at Orion, “Supposedly, the planet Olhoe never knew what peace was until Irdisae brought it with him.”
“Where did he come from?”
“I don’t know,” Tanya gazed out in front of them again. “Mother says that nobody knows where he came from or why, just that he came.”
“What did he look like?”
“He was what is known as a silver-hair jisbae. Silver-hairs were more powerful than other jisbae. Naturally, his hair was silver. He’s said to have a silver tail and white wings, too.”
“What about his eyes?”
“I don’t know what color his eyes or his aura was. I asked around the spaceship, and no one knows. Although one version of the story says that Irdisae didn’t have any eyes.”
“Huh? What do you mean he didn’t have eyes?” Orion glanced up at her. She didn’t meet his gaze.
“That version of the legend says that Irdisae traded his eyes for peace, long before he came to Olhoe. No one knows if that’s true, but it would explain why no one knows what color his eyes were, and where he got the peace he carried with him everywhere he went.”
“I suppose,” Orion fell silent, trying to imagine what a person would look like without eyes. He remembered looking at himself in a mirror without his eyepatch on. His right eye socket was empty, thanks to the lunimorf that attacked him when he was little. His empty socket, combined with the scars on his face, had given him nightmares. He shuddered and tried to think of something else. “So what happened to him?”
“Well, like I said, he brought peace to the planet and began the jisbae race. He was named king. Some people say that he eventually grew old and died, while others believe that he was so powerful, he could travel through time. They say that once he began the jisbae race, he disappeared into the future, although he hasn’t appeared yet.” Tanya shrugged, “Anyway, to this day, ‘Irdisae’ means king in our ancient language. That’s why, on the ship, we’ve never named anyone king. We believe that, when he’s ready, Irdisae will come back and name a new king to rule over us.”
“You mean like an heir?” Orion asked, twisting his ring around his finger. Tanya nodded. “How? How will he come back if he’s dead?”
“Well, that’s why some people don’t believe he died. They believe that he traveled through time, and will appear in the present and either name a new king, or rule us himself.”
“What do you believe?” Orion whispered.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t believe in time travel. I want to believe that he will give us a new king, but I don’t know how he’d do it if he died a long time ago.”
“Yea, that would be tough,” Orion chuckled. “Maybe he left a legacy somewhere on this planet, and the one who finds it will be the new king?”
“That must be it, Orion. How’d you think of that?” Tanya glanced down at him.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Orion thought about his private room and his journals where he kept all of his secrets. “Why don’t we go to the stables? I could show you the horses,” he said hopefully, leaning back and looking up at her.
“Yea, okay,” Tanya steered him around towards the stables. “So, do you think you’ll go looking for Irdisae’s legacy?”
“Eh,” Orion shrugged, “I’m going to be king in two years, with or without Irdisae’s permission. That way,” he said, pointing around the back. “My father gave me a horse for my seventeenth birthday. But,” he sighed, “I never got a chance to ride him.”
“Well, maybe once you’re done with your physical therapy with Prince Joshua, you can ride your horse. What do you think?” Tanya looked hopefully at Orion.
“Yea, right,” Lee said as he stepped out from behind a corner. “Physical therapy, indeed. Didn’t you know that once someone’s paralyzed, there’s nothing that can be done about it, Tanya?” Lee glanced from Tanya to Orion. “The great prince Orion will never walk again!” Lee’s expression turned menacing, “He’s never going to be worth anything as a cripple. You’d be a fool to think he could ever be anything now, Tanya.” Both Orion and Tanya were too stunned to speak. Lee turned to go. “That includes children, Tanya. He will never be able to be a father as a cripple.”
“I don’t’ care about that, Lee!” Tanya argued back. “Crippled or not, Orion is ten times the man you’ll ever be!” Tears began welling up in her eyes.
“You say that now, Tanya,” Lee smirked, “but what about five years down the road? Ten years? As soon as the want for a child hits you, you’ll dump that cripple and come running back to me, begging me to take you back. Best to come back to me now, before I find someone better than you.”
“Shut up, Lee!” Tanya started to cry, “Just shut up!” Lee smirked before strutting away. Tanya struggled to control her emotions. She and Lee had grown up together, and Lee knew every one of her deepest secrets, including how much she had been looking forward to becoming a woman and having her first child. “Stupid Lee,” Tanya whispered, sniffing.
“He’s right, Tanya,” Orion had remained silent during the brief argument. “I’ll never be able to have kids,” Orion took a deep breath, “but that doesn’t mean I’m completely worthless!” he yelled after Lee. “Besides, what does any of that have to do with you and I being friends? He’s such a selfish moron! Uh, no offence, Tanya,” he glanced up at her. “I didn’t mean to say anything bad about your fiancé, I just don’t like him.”
“None taken,” she sighed. “I know Lee can be a pain in the neck when he wants to, but, deep down, he’s really sweet. I think the pressure of both his parents dying in the crash is getting to him.”
“But
that was a long time ago. Isn’t he over it by now?”
“I think he was a little more focused on adjusting to our new life here to understand that he was on his own,” she said, “but now that he’s getting used to this place, he’s coming to terms with his loss.”
“Maybe so,” Orion huffed, but that’s no excuse for treating me like dirt. I’m a prince, and I’ll be king soon. You’d think he’d want to be friends so that I don’t pay him back one day.”
“I don’t think that’s it at all, Orion,” she giggled, “I think he’s jealous that we’re spending so much time together now. On the ship, there weren’t any other boys my age, so he had me all to himself. But now...” she glanced down. Orion chuckled. He wasn’t about to let thoughts of Tanya’s fiancé or what he said ruin his time with her.