Right now, she would rather be in her chambers, 'fiddling with her trinkets' as the Matron called it, and yet, here she was, on her way to play intermediary between two parties of a proposed arranged marriage, so that the Dragon King's genes could be donated to a satisfactory gene pool.
She giggled to herself. It really was more like a breeding program than a marriage.
"You spoke, Ambassador Ria?" the strange, raspy voice of an Onoatiga reached her ears. She jumped slightly, forgetting that she was not alone in the ship's recreational lounge.
"Oh, no, just thinking out loud," she said. There was no wisdom in sharing her most recent thoughts with this individual, since he was part of the group of bizarre individuals who, from Ria's point of view, were nothing more than puppeteers somehow managing to get the king to march unquestioningly to the beat of their mysterious drum.
He didn't seem to fear them, but he had some sort of misplaced faith in them, and everyone else in his kingdom feared them. You did not dare speak to an Onoatiga unless they initiated the exchange - on pain of death. And Ria knew from experience it would not be a humane death.
Nobody could really tell her what they were. Some thought a rare alien race from a distant galaxy. Some believed they were the original inhabitants of this galaxy and saw them almost as gods. Still, others thought they were some kind of hybrid cyborg, sent by some clandestine mastermind to be puppets of his will, themselves.
The smooth, glass-like, convex masks that covered their faces from ear to ear, if they had faces, made Ria place her bet on the last option. That, and the way they moved. It was too calculated, too precise and choppy.
At least everyone agreed on one thing: They were a creepy bunch, although nobody would ever dare say so out loud. Thankfully they didn't mingle much with the common people, only the king and his Ministers. Even the Ambassadors' Office didn't get to see much of them.
Ria didn't share her theories with anyone. You never could tell where any one person stood on the matter, and better to be seen as the quirky, harmless Earthling than to be identified as a threat to anybody's political agenda. No, she would just have to fulfil her role as required, and not make any waves.
"Ah, Ambassador Ria, here you are." The king's voice broke in on her musings. "I need to discuss something with you before we land on Haut."
"Of course, your Highness."
"Come with me." He led her to a private lounge and motioned to her to take a seat. His scales were glowing and for a moment she worried he might do something diplomatically scandalous right there in the lounge. But his excitation was caused by something of a different nature.
He cleared his throat. "I need to know what it is that you will say to the Princess in order to woo her, since you shall be my mouthpiece in that capacity."
The awkwardness of the situation was slowly beginning to dawn on Ria. Up to now she had been only vaguely irritated by the idea of playing love letter postman to her captor and his bride-to-be.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? This arranged marriage?" It was more blind than any blind date she had ever seen. Literally, he wasn't even allowed to see his prospective bride, but had to court her through a liaison.
"I have come this far, have I not? We land in three hours."
"But, you'll be marrying a complete stranger and then you're stuck with her for life."
He indicated the painting of the Princess still clasped in Ria's hand, "At least she is beautiful, and I've heard she is highly intelligent."
Ria had to agree to the first statement. Her humanoid form resembled that of Catherine Zeta-Jones, and her scales were a rich bronze that would offset well against her suitor's gold ones.
A barely perceptible niggle of jealousy quivered in Ria's belly, but she thrust it down emphatically. She was not going to become another obsessed, envy-ridden concubine like Narsia.
"Okay, then, what is it you need to know?"
"What will you say to her?"
Ria stared at him blankly, "Forgive my obtuseness, but I thought you were going to tell me what to say to her, Highness?"
"Ah, yes, that would make the most sense, I guess." He turned away, obviously in deep thought. Long seconds ticked by, made even longer by the hormonal, emotional and moral war going on inside Ria as she watched him.
"What kind of things does one say to woo a mate?" King Xagrun's eyes were earnest and guileless as he turned back to face her. He truly didn't know.
"Well, things that will make them feel good about themselves and hopeful about your proposed union," Ria hedged, not wanting to give an actual example. After all, he was the one marrying the woman, he would have to come up with the actual words, surely?
"I see. Well then, perhaps you could say I can't wait to bed her and produce exceptional offspring?"
Ria looked down and rubbed her forehead with one hand covering her face. It was all she could do to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter. "A little too forward," she advised, carefully, not wanting to offend him. "A woman likes to know she is more than just a baby making machine."
King Xagrun looked thoughtful, "Yes, I suppose you're right. Hmmm..." He scratched his chin.
"Okay, how does this sound, 'Your intelligence will produce the wisest princes any kingdom has ever seen.'"
"Better, but still leaning towards the baby making machine thing..."
"Argh!" the Dragon King threw up his hands in exasperation, "I've been breaking my head over this for the last twenty hours! I'm just no good at this fancy-schmancy word stuff!"
Ria could attest to that from first-hand experience, she thought grimly. He had never had to make a woman feel like a precious treasure in order to get close to her. He had never had to treat her like a princess to win her heart.
He had always had women provided for his physical needs and they were all expected to obey his every whim or lose their heads. She figured it wasn't really his fault. Clearly, his breeding program managers, the Onoatiga, hadn't thought of that little detail. She blamed them.
"Very well, your Highness," Ria relented, "Give me an hour and I'll come up with something. Then you can hear it and approve or alter it, as you wish, your Highness. We wouldn't want to start an inter-galaxy war because you insulted the Hautian Crown Princess."
"A magnificent idea. Get on with it."
Ria wished she could teach him the simple niceties of please and thank you, but this was neither the place nor the time.
King Xagrun left the room and Ria tapped her bracelet, the one the king had given her soon after she had received her ambassador's robe. It had seemed almost like a sacred, intimate moment when he had placed it on her wrist himself.
"You must never remove this. With it, you will be able to buy and sell on an account which I will make sure is always well stocked. It will also throw out a hologram screen whenever you need to access a document for diplomatic purposes or need to jot down some information."
His hand had lingered on hers, and she had hoped that perhaps there was a flicker of something more than diplomatic regard or physical lust. Disillusionment had quickly followed.
She dragged her thoughts back to the job at hand, which was, ironically, the composition of a love letter. Tapping a code on the smooth stone bracelet lined with soft leather, she began to speak, "New note. King Xagrun's Love Letter to Princess Venna of Haut."
She paused as the words appeared on the hologram screen hovering in front of her. That had been the easy part. Her memories flicked back to cheesy love poems passed from desk to desk, or down the lines at school assemblies.
Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you.
And unexpected ache filled her. Not for King Xagrun, not for Brian, not for any of the boyfriends who had written her that silly rhyme in various shapes and forms, but for an innocence lost. A beautiful, childlike faith in the motives and intentions of other beings; in love and trust and promises of forever; in a simplicity that she could hardly recall but longed to savour
again.
"Dear Princess Venna," she began, "We do not know each other, and our circumstances dictate that we may not meet, face to face, for now. But I look forward to the day when I may take your hand, look into your eyes, and let you see the man that I am. The real Xagrun, who will promise to stand by you for eternity and beyond if you will have me.
"What is more, I look forward, with great anticipation, to the amazing journey that waits for me, as I uncover not only your outward beauty, but the inner beauty of who you are, what you believe, and your deepest passions and dreams."
Ria stopped, her heart pounding. This was nothing like the badly written poetry and awkward prose she had composed during her dating days on Earth. Not even for Brian, the only man she had ever cherished dreams of marrying.
Deep down, though, she knew where these words were coming from. They were the words she wanted to hear. From whom, she did not know, but her need to hear them was as real as the single tear now rolling down her cheek.
Leaning back into the great, plush armchair that enveloped her like a bear hug, she took a deep breath and plunged in again.
"I know I am not a perfect king. No, not even a perfect man, but I know that with your support and your love, I can build a perfect life with you. Not perfect in the sense of flawlessness, but perfect in the sense that we fit each other like a hand in a glove.
"I want to take this chance that we have been given and give it my all to make it a success. For the sake of posterity, yes, that is part of our calling as royalty and our integrity demands that we fulfil it, but also because you are worth it. You are a treasure worth sacrificing for. Princess, will you go on this adventure with me?"
Ria closed her eyes, forgetting all her combat training and allowing the emotion of the words she had just dictated to permeate her being. Sudden applause from a single pair of hands broke out.
"I do believe that is the best love declaration I have ever heard."
Ria's eyes flew open, a scowl gathering between her eyebrows. Instant irritation gripped her at her private moment being so rudely intruded upon.
It was Xagrun, apparently anxious to hear what she had come up with because it had most certainly not been an hour since he had left.
"You startled me, your Highness," Ria said, rising from her seat and bowing in apology for her negative facial reaction.
"I love it!" he responded, ignoring her excuse. "Read it to me again."
"Forgive my boldness, Highness, but I thought it might be a nice experiment for your Highness to read it yourself?"
"Ah! Splendid! Yes, indeed!"
She rubbed over the bracelet, turning the screen so the words were easily readable from where he stood. The Dragon King with Orlando Bloom's face read the words Ria's heart ached to hear. He put the emphases in all the wrong places and the only emotion in his voice was smug satisfaction, but still, those words found their mark.
Ria closed her eyes again and felt herself being drawn to him once more, but this time it was not the magnetic power of his physical dominance, it was a projected image of something that did not exist. Just like the hologram it was written on.
She suddenly realised he was no longer reading but speaking to her. "It sounded better when you said it, so it's just as well I won't be seeing her. Speaking of which, Ria, the Princess will be wearing a thick veil when you meet with her, so you won't see her in the true sense of the word. The veil is to hide her beauty from common eyes lest they feast upon it and draw it from her.
"That is why we were given a painting of her and not an electronic image. They intentionally paint their princesses less beautiful than they really are so that people have at least something to look at but cannot know their true beauty."
Ria felt her irritation with this superstitious, pedantic race rising up again. Then Xagrun said something that made her blood run cold.
"And if anyone does look upon her face, their eyes are removed immediately."
Chapter 6: Venna of Haut
Ria felt as though she was walking into a scene out of The Snow Queen. From a distance, the palace which was home to the illustrious Venna of Haut looked like it had been carved from ice, but as they neared the edifice covered with towering spires and multiple balconies, it became clear that the entire building was constructed from the purest white marble that Ria had ever seen.
It was almost transparent and seemed to absorb the rays of the three suns that blazed, in a perfect triangle, across the turquoise sky. The palace shimmered like a man-made moon on the hilltop, surrounded by lush vegetation and rampant bird life.
There were so many birds it seemed almost like a plague. Everything from chirping finch-like birds to strutting peacock-like specimens, cawing and warbling their hearts out in a raucous cacophony that had Ria holding her ears with her fingers.
They stood before the palace, Ria, King Xagrun, and two of the Onoatiga who escorted them. Standing on the marble porch, they waited, motionless, while blue laser lights scanned them from top to bottom, and then back up again. A detached voice exuded from seemingly all around them.
"You have been searched and cleansed. You may now enter."
Ria wondered how long ago this race had lost the face-to-face element of interaction, and what had caused them to lose it, assuming they had ever had it. The doors, which strangely also seemed to be made of the same pure white marble, swung open of their own accord and the four visitors stepped into the cool, minimalist interior.
All outside sound seemed to be muffled. It felt like they were underwater in an igloo. There were no lamps or lights of any kind, but the marble allowed light through from the outside, bathing the interior in a soft, ethereal glow.
A small lizard humanoid who looked remarkably like the butler at the harem, except he had no hat and he was as jittery as a cat on a hot stove plate, emerged from a shadowy doorway, bowing compulsively.
The visiting party all bowed back to him, and then the ridiculous ritual began.
Three bows, alternately, then a hand to the heart. "I mean you no harm," the butler said.
"We mean you no harm," the visitors replied.
"You are welcome here," the butler said.
"We are grateful to be here," the visitors replied.
"May your stay be pleasant and fruitful," the butler said.
"May our presence here bring your lives value," the visitors replied.
Then the visitors lifted their arms into the air and turned around slowly - this part made Ria think of being frisked at Dallas International Airport - before clasping their hands in front of them, going into a deep squat and then coming up immediately into a bow. It took all she had to swallow her giggles when it came to this last move.
The inhabitants of Haut followed this ritual every single time they met with someone. And hopefully no one defeats the purpose and lies through their teeth, Ria thought, grateful for the memory chip implanted in her brain which meant that she hadn't needed to memorise the whole rigmarole.
"You are most welcome to the Kingdom of Haut! King Xagrun, esteemed Onoatiga, you may follow me," the butler announced once the formalities were over, "The new Ambassador may wait here for the Princess' aide."
Ria wondered how the Princess would adapt to the culture, or lack of it, on her prospective husband's planet. These people certainly had much better manners than any she had seen on Dragona, even if they were a little over the top.
As promised, a lizard, but more lavishly dressed than the other butler, and apparently female, appeared from the same doorway and bowed to Ria as the rest of the visitors left. The whole procedure was repeated before she said, "Follow me, please, Ambassador Ria. The Princess will see you now."
The room was bright, filled with the same ethereal glow, only more intense, as the walls appeared to be thinner. The princess sat in an elaborately gilded chair, clothed in shimmering garments that had a distinctly Thai flavour.
Over her face hung what looked like a shorter version of a burka. Made from the sam
e shimmery material as her dress, it covered her entire face and head, and had a rectangle of silvery, lacy netting sown in over the area that covered her eyes. She could see out, but nobody could see in.
Ria felt the irritation rise in her, but then the Princess spoke the first line of the ritual and Ria thought she picked up a tremor of nervousness and perhaps even sadness in her voice. Perhaps a little more compassion was in order, considering the circumstances.
Once the tiresome formalities were dispensed with, the courtship conversation could begin in earnest. Ria cleared her throat, feeling decidedly awkward under the steady and expectant gaze of this strange princess and the lizard who turned out to be her aide.
"Princess Venna, the great King Xagrun of Dragona wishes that I should read this letter to you." Ria prided herself on the fact that she never lied. And this was no lie either. She hadn't mentioned who had written it, and the king had, literally asked her to read it to Princess Venna.
She tapped on her bracelet, and the hologram screen appeared. As the words flowed from her lips, Ria read with all the passion of longing she felt to hear those words being said to her. Princess Venna listened silently.
Ria felt certain she would be moved by what she heard. After all, a woman is a woman, whatever planet she happens to come from, surely? Ria thought as she sounded the last syllable.
She looked expectantly at the masked face of the princess, awaiting her response. She knew suddenly what it must feel like for a guy to pop the question. The silence grew and enveloped them like the smoke from a runaway fire.
"I..." Princess Venna faltered, "It's... very nice."
Nice? Ria thought, that’s all she can come up with? Nice?
Venna's aide, looking fidgety, whispered something where her ear should be. Venna nodded, her head bowed. Taking a shuddering breath, she raised her chin again, "I, Venna of Haut, wish you, Ambassador Ria, to inform King Xagrun of Dragona that I..."
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