Silence ... (CC ALL, Adult) Part 4 - 07/13/12 [WIP]
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:51 pm
Well here goes the sequel to Whisper, hope you folks enjoy.
Title- Silence Amidst the Blackest Night
Author- PML
Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine. It is owned by Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and Fox. This is for entertainment only and no infringement is intended.
Category- CC ALL
Rating- Adult (Violence and Adult situations.)
Summary- This story starts up soon after the end of A Whisper of a Distant Dawn. In that story is told the tale of Tess’s plans going completely wrong and Liz not Tess sleeping with Max that fateful night. That action set in motion a series of events and revelations that shook our heroes to the core. But mostly they had to deal with their need to go to Antar to save their loved ones and to allow Liz to carry the child to term.
Unfortunately everything has gone wrong. Michael has crashed the Granolith made ship, and Isabel has sunk to the bottom of the sea. Only Max and Liz had seemingly escaped and landed in the Queen Mother’s estate. But she is less than happy to see them. How will they fare in this new and seemingly hostile world?
Meanwhile Alex seemingly flourishes at Malindara’s estates even as he is a test subject in her plan to create a hybrid. Maria was last seen as a slave being tortured to death. Had she truly been saved? Had her mother truly come to save her or was she merely broken and delusional.
This story will detail our heroes lives and travails on Antar as they work their way back together again. But it will not be easy. Antar is a treacherous world in the midst of civil disorder and war. How will they fare in such a different world? And will they find out their true purpose and destiny?
--
Michael-
Michael was having a dream. In it he knew the answers. Both to the questions that he had always wanted to know, and to those he should have asked instead. For a brief moment he actually understood, he knew why he was here, what his purpose was and….
He coughed slightly as a boot kicked him gently in the stomach. Another wave rolled over his bare legs and up to his torso.
A voice said something in some odd language that pulled at him. He should know it. He thought he understood a word or two here and there.
Finally after speaking for a moment the voice changed languages. “So. I assume you are Michael.”
Michael looked up at the man. He looked young, bright blonde hair and large green eyes that seemed so very familiar. But one glance at those eyes told a different story. This man had seen it all. They radiated age and knowledge. His voice should be dry, shouldn’t be able to talk. But Michael heard himself speak loudly and clearly, “Who are you?”
Now that he was awake he could feel his body wake up as if from a long slumber. It should be battered and broken. He should be dead. He knew this.
But he wasn’t. He was healthy and hale. If anything he felt better than normal. As if he could breath deeper and fuller than he ever had. Had the air ever tasted so sweet.
“I am surprised Malindara’s forces didn’t find you. I know they swept the beaches. Certainly with more forces than I was willing to face.” He motioned a hand to someone else. “But for now you need clothes. And I will need answers. But I think we can wait for them.”
Michael kept his mouth shut and stood up. He stood up. Unconsciously he let a ripple of his power run across him and the sand slid off of his bare skin. He looked warily around and saw five other men and women. One of the women looked at him and said something in that foreign language.
All the others laughed. The leader simply smiled. And he said a few words back; the woman blushed and hurried away. But as she walked away she caught his eye and winked.
Did her hips sway a little more as she left?
He shook his head. He gladly accepted the strange clothing he was given and with a little prompting put it on. It was not simple standard cloth. He could feel tiny circuit like weaves going through the material. With a tiny act of will Michael empowered them.
The leader again nodded, “So you have some of your old memories. But not enough. I will teach you.”
Michael looked around. “Um, thanks. But I have some important things to do.”
“Yes. Some of which I will aid you in. Others dealing with your friends I will not. But you will be able to do things I cannot or will not do. Like recover my daughter.”
Michael nodded, “You are Maria’s father then?”
“Yes. I am Dominic Madigan, and I have much to teach you if you are going to be worthy of her hand in marriage.” He shook his head, “I don’t give a damn who you were once on Antar nor who you were affiliated with on Earth. Here I will give you the tools and training to recover her. And if you succeed I will give you my blessing.”
“We should get her now. I know where she is. She is waiting for me.” Michael turned inland. He knew roughly where Maria was. And he wanted her safe in his arms as soon as he could manage.
Dominic laughed. “Knowing where she might be located is easy, retrieving her will be difficult. And for that you will need help. Come with me.”
Michael looked off into the distance. Maria was distant from him. Hundreds of miles probably. He looked over the dunes that turned into a forest at the beaches end. How far would he have to travel. On an alien world. With no supplies.
He looked over at the man who claimed to be Maria’s father. He could follow that gentleman and hope that he wasn’t lying about helping Michael.
And Max and Isabel and Liz? What of them?
Michael sighed and followed Dominic to his ship. They would have to fend for themselves for now.
But he would find them some day. What needed to be done required all of them. He looked out to sea. But how to recover Isabel? There was no way she could have survived her fall. How could they succeed without her?
He would worry about that later. For now he needed to recover Maria.
So he walked into Dominic’s ship and his lessons began.
--
Maria
Maria woke up. “Michael? Where are you, come back! Come back to me!”
She felt a hand on her forehead. “Oh, honey. I am so sorry. I wish I could fix this, wish I could take back some of what I said to him.”
Maria’s eyes blinked open. She saw her mother standing above her. She was wearing some odd sort of dress. And she looked good. Almost as if she had grown younger since she had seen her last.
A memory of suppressed pain rolled through her. Horrible things had happened to her. She knew that. And knew that for now those memories were suppressed. And that was for the best.
Maria said weakly, “Where are we?”
Amy looked away, “Khivar’s palace.”
“What?” Maria sat up abruptly, stopping when she realized she was nude under the bedding. She covered herself rapidly. She looked around for clothing and saw a white dress similar to the one Amy had on.
She absently reached for it and it flew to her.
She sat there stunned holding the dress.
Amy continued, “He saved you. I know everyone says he is dangerous. And that may be true. But he was able to get you out of there.” She turned back, her face white and full of tears, “I have never imagined a scene like that. That something like that could even exist let along that you would suffer it.” She began to sob.
Maria gathered the blankets around her, holding the dress in one hand she moved to hold her mother. She simply let herself relish in the feel of her mother’s touch and something happened.
She knew she shouldn’t be so open and so sure that this was indeed her mother. Alex had been replaced, so had she. Wouldn’t it be possible for someone to mimic her mother.
But Maria KNEW it was Amy. She could feel it. And for just a moment as they held each other there was a brief moment of contact as for a moment their souls were conjoined as they once had been when she had been a babe in the womb.
She would not, could not forget how that soul felt. And with her new senses she could simply tell.
Amy gasped with a mix of surprise and pleasure. “Maria! Thank you. I love you so much.” She turned grim, “And that is why I need to leave you here.” She shook her head, “I think I begin to understand my ex-husband now. Why he wanted you to… well that is neither here nor there. I wanted you to be normal, to be human. To be with me. And he accepted that choice, even if he didn’t agree.”
“You are leaving me here?”
“Yes.” She looked back at her daughter, “I know you always wanted something better than Roswell. Well this my dear is it. You will have more opportunities to grow than you ever would have back home. Moreover you will be safe.” Amy’s voice was worried, “I didn’t realize just how valuable you would be to some people. Khivar will use you too, of that I am sure. But you will be safer here than any other alternative. And you will be able to learn to protect yourself. You could learn much better here than at home. So yes. I want you to stay here and learn as much as you can. And when you can I want you to visit me. I doubt you will want to live on Earth any more than your father did.” She looked at herself, “And I can see why.”
Maria looked at her mother, felt as a part of her rushed into her mother looking for anything that might be wrong with her. And found nothing . Her mother was in perfect health. “What is wrong? You are fine.”
Amy smiled, “I am better than fine. I haven’t felt this good since high school. And I think I have even lost some weight. That damn cellulite is gone and,” Amy began to cry. “My roots are black again. I am young again, Maria. I feel young.” She blushed and then glared at Maria, “And you will be careful. I don’t know that I will ever fully trust that Michael, but these men here are simply looking to use you. And not just for your body. They know you are a protégé of Khivar’s. And Dominic’s daughter.” And she sighed again, “And Michael’s Chosen. You are hot property right now so, try to keep on the straight and narrow.” She blushed again, “As hard as that might be.”
Maria shook her head. Some things would never change.
--
Alex
Alex was practicing when he got the summons.
Lady Malindara sat on her bed. “Come to me Alex. We have scored a great victory today. And I need to celebrate.” She began removing her clothes. “I think today I can do anything.” She chuckled. “Anything at all.”
Alex sighed and began removing his own clothes. It wasn’t that he wasn’t going to enjoy this. He would. But sleeping with Malindara felt wrong. Having sex with Sara had felt wrong too, but in a different way.
With Sara he felt like he was betraying Isabel. With Malindara he felt like he was betraying mankind.
But at the same time, he had grown fond of the woman. How could he not? She was a generous lover, eager to please him as much as she demanded he please her. And each time he slept with her he could feel a part of him grow ever closer to her.
For despite all his fears he was afraid he was falling in love with the devious woman.
And while they slept he felt a familiar echo begin to attach itself to him. Isabel was dead again. And there was no way he could save her. Not now.
His friends had failed.
He couldn’t help the tears for his now dead love. Her spirit rested in his soul, and he would never be alone. But he would never feel her in his arms. Instead it would be Malindara.
And he would simply have to live with that.
For now.
He went back to sleep and dreams filled with his true lover. For in his dreams Isabel was waiting and here at least she was awake.
--
Liz
Liz rubbed her belly. She could almost feel the child growing within her. Which was silly, because even now, even with the faster alien pregnancy the baby was simply too small.
Although she did feel a tiny bulge in her abdomen. She had talked to several of the healers here about her child. They had all been excited at the child’s existence, if horrified at the lengths that had been taken to insure its survival.
The Illiaster battery had been cut from her almost immediately upon notice of its existence. Max had helped heal her.
His Aelowey mother had not come to see them yet. The rest of the staff had been kind but made sure they stayed in their generous rooms and the garden attached.
It was here that the Queen Mother came upon her. Liz was wearing an Aelowey style robe over her human undergarments. She knew the servants were laughing at her because of her prudishness, but not wearing anything other than a robe bothered her.
And the Aelowey were so casual about things. Liz blushed. She had already been propositioned several times. By men and women.
Or rather they had looked almost like men and women. But the Aelowey didn’t look exactly human, but rather an uncanny almost human. The eyes were a little larger and not as deep set. And the extra joints on the hands and toes. Small things. Easily looked over. Even their distribution of hair on their bodies….
Liz shook her head slightly. She had tried to think of what differences there had been in the development of the Aelowey verses Human. They were so close, but you could visibly see there had to be distant developmental differences. She wondered how many teeth they had. She hadn’t been able to count yet.
She looked down at the ring her mother had given her. The Arledal seal. Others here had seen it and had gone silent before simply continuing on with their tasks. It was odd. Having it made some of them fear her and others look at her as if they expected her to go berserk at a drop of a hat.
One grizzled soldier had simply smiled and said, “I don’t know where you are from Miss, but you bring a blood line of honor and glory to this House. It’s about time this bloodline of noble pansies got a dash of fighting spirit again.” He shook his head, “Don’t get me wrong, they have been good for this country, and I would follow Carena anywhere against anything, but a little backbone in the Royal Line won’t hurt.”
Five days. She had been here for five days. And yet the Queen Mother had not shown herself. What were they going to do here?
Had this all been some horrible mistake? Certainly Max was broken over the loss of Isabel. Both of them had felt her die when she had hit the ocean. And Michael. They had felt his loss as well
It was hard on Max. Hard on her too. Because all of this had been done for her. She was the one at fault.
Max didn’t see it that way of course, taking all the blame on himself. They had found some level of peace in each other’s arms but aside from that Max had withdrawn into himself.
She heard a rustle behind her. She turned and saw the Queen Mother, who looked at her strangely.
“So,” The Queen Mother began, “You bear the crest and signet of the House of Arledal. In fact the ring you bear names you as Heir to that Line.”
Liz simply said, “Yes.” She wasn’t about to pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
“Are you aware that Line is supposedly extinct? It’s last member slain or sent off into slavery.”
Liz raised her chin, “Not my mother. Her name is Nancy Parker, but here she was called Demestris Arledal.”
The Queen Mother hissed and moved back. She glared at Liz for a moment and then sighed, “A stupid thing to hold against you. Here I have been arguing against blood fueds my whole life and here I am not above it myself.” She shook her head, “You do know what your mother did?”
“Yes. And I am sorry.” Liz blushed and sighed, “And yet not sorry. I am sorry for your loss, but I would never have met Max if he hadn’t died all those years ago.”
The Queen Mother sighed and stuck out a hand, “This is how you do it right? A hand shake on your world? A gesture of good will?”
Liz grasped her hand and shook it, “Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
The Queen Mother said, “Bah. I will teach you the correct manners when we have say a state dinner, but unless it’s important you can call me Carena. Otherwise we will both be ‘Your Highnessing’ each other all day. I wasn’t born into nobility and find most of it incredibly tedious.”
“I grew up in a democracy. You can call me Liz.”
“Hmm. Well, I must ask a favor of you, Liz.”
“Yes?”
“I want to make sure that the child is indeed the Heir. You see this is entirely unexpected. I had heard that Max held the Seal, but for it to pass naturally to a human. Well, that is somewhat unexpected.” She moved closer to Liz, “If I may?”
Liz nodded. She gasped as she felt the touch of the older Aelowey’s mind. So very powerful. And yet the touch did not harm her.
Carena nodded. “It is true. You do carry the Heir. Fascinating. I wonder how this would have changed things had the plan actually worked.”
“What was your plan if you don’t mind my asking?”
The Queen Mother turned away, “I always wanted to visit Earth. Only three worlds have developed any advanced humanoids, and that is somewhat a loose term for the Hist for all they have changed.” She was silent for a moment. “Or rather there were four. But that fourth world is lost for good, Creator make it so.” She shivered. “And Earth was ruined in the war that destroyed the Forgotten. Most of the survivors came to Antar or settled other worlds. It was always assumed that Earth would heal. It never did. A handful of survivors that were missed or refused transport off world managed to survive in that ravaged world and became the world you know. Your current civilization is in the beginnings of its fall, just as Antar is. I sent the Granolith there to help Earth recover, both from the ancient fall and the more recent one that will strike within the next century or so.”
Liz looked at the alien woman in shock. “What went wrong?”
The Queen Mother simply said, “Everything. Everything went wrong.”
Title- Silence Amidst the Blackest Night
Author- PML
Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine. It is owned by Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and Fox. This is for entertainment only and no infringement is intended.
Category- CC ALL
Rating- Adult (Violence and Adult situations.)
Summary- This story starts up soon after the end of A Whisper of a Distant Dawn. In that story is told the tale of Tess’s plans going completely wrong and Liz not Tess sleeping with Max that fateful night. That action set in motion a series of events and revelations that shook our heroes to the core. But mostly they had to deal with their need to go to Antar to save their loved ones and to allow Liz to carry the child to term.
Unfortunately everything has gone wrong. Michael has crashed the Granolith made ship, and Isabel has sunk to the bottom of the sea. Only Max and Liz had seemingly escaped and landed in the Queen Mother’s estate. But she is less than happy to see them. How will they fare in this new and seemingly hostile world?
Meanwhile Alex seemingly flourishes at Malindara’s estates even as he is a test subject in her plan to create a hybrid. Maria was last seen as a slave being tortured to death. Had she truly been saved? Had her mother truly come to save her or was she merely broken and delusional.
This story will detail our heroes lives and travails on Antar as they work their way back together again. But it will not be easy. Antar is a treacherous world in the midst of civil disorder and war. How will they fare in such a different world? And will they find out their true purpose and destiny?
--
Michael-
Michael was having a dream. In it he knew the answers. Both to the questions that he had always wanted to know, and to those he should have asked instead. For a brief moment he actually understood, he knew why he was here, what his purpose was and….
He coughed slightly as a boot kicked him gently in the stomach. Another wave rolled over his bare legs and up to his torso.
A voice said something in some odd language that pulled at him. He should know it. He thought he understood a word or two here and there.
Finally after speaking for a moment the voice changed languages. “So. I assume you are Michael.”
Michael looked up at the man. He looked young, bright blonde hair and large green eyes that seemed so very familiar. But one glance at those eyes told a different story. This man had seen it all. They radiated age and knowledge. His voice should be dry, shouldn’t be able to talk. But Michael heard himself speak loudly and clearly, “Who are you?”
Now that he was awake he could feel his body wake up as if from a long slumber. It should be battered and broken. He should be dead. He knew this.
But he wasn’t. He was healthy and hale. If anything he felt better than normal. As if he could breath deeper and fuller than he ever had. Had the air ever tasted so sweet.
“I am surprised Malindara’s forces didn’t find you. I know they swept the beaches. Certainly with more forces than I was willing to face.” He motioned a hand to someone else. “But for now you need clothes. And I will need answers. But I think we can wait for them.”
Michael kept his mouth shut and stood up. He stood up. Unconsciously he let a ripple of his power run across him and the sand slid off of his bare skin. He looked warily around and saw five other men and women. One of the women looked at him and said something in that foreign language.
All the others laughed. The leader simply smiled. And he said a few words back; the woman blushed and hurried away. But as she walked away she caught his eye and winked.
Did her hips sway a little more as she left?
He shook his head. He gladly accepted the strange clothing he was given and with a little prompting put it on. It was not simple standard cloth. He could feel tiny circuit like weaves going through the material. With a tiny act of will Michael empowered them.
The leader again nodded, “So you have some of your old memories. But not enough. I will teach you.”
Michael looked around. “Um, thanks. But I have some important things to do.”
“Yes. Some of which I will aid you in. Others dealing with your friends I will not. But you will be able to do things I cannot or will not do. Like recover my daughter.”
Michael nodded, “You are Maria’s father then?”
“Yes. I am Dominic Madigan, and I have much to teach you if you are going to be worthy of her hand in marriage.” He shook his head, “I don’t give a damn who you were once on Antar nor who you were affiliated with on Earth. Here I will give you the tools and training to recover her. And if you succeed I will give you my blessing.”
“We should get her now. I know where she is. She is waiting for me.” Michael turned inland. He knew roughly where Maria was. And he wanted her safe in his arms as soon as he could manage.
Dominic laughed. “Knowing where she might be located is easy, retrieving her will be difficult. And for that you will need help. Come with me.”
Michael looked off into the distance. Maria was distant from him. Hundreds of miles probably. He looked over the dunes that turned into a forest at the beaches end. How far would he have to travel. On an alien world. With no supplies.
He looked over at the man who claimed to be Maria’s father. He could follow that gentleman and hope that he wasn’t lying about helping Michael.
And Max and Isabel and Liz? What of them?
Michael sighed and followed Dominic to his ship. They would have to fend for themselves for now.
But he would find them some day. What needed to be done required all of them. He looked out to sea. But how to recover Isabel? There was no way she could have survived her fall. How could they succeed without her?
He would worry about that later. For now he needed to recover Maria.
So he walked into Dominic’s ship and his lessons began.
--
Maria
Maria woke up. “Michael? Where are you, come back! Come back to me!”
She felt a hand on her forehead. “Oh, honey. I am so sorry. I wish I could fix this, wish I could take back some of what I said to him.”
Maria’s eyes blinked open. She saw her mother standing above her. She was wearing some odd sort of dress. And she looked good. Almost as if she had grown younger since she had seen her last.
A memory of suppressed pain rolled through her. Horrible things had happened to her. She knew that. And knew that for now those memories were suppressed. And that was for the best.
Maria said weakly, “Where are we?”
Amy looked away, “Khivar’s palace.”
“What?” Maria sat up abruptly, stopping when she realized she was nude under the bedding. She covered herself rapidly. She looked around for clothing and saw a white dress similar to the one Amy had on.
She absently reached for it and it flew to her.
She sat there stunned holding the dress.
Amy continued, “He saved you. I know everyone says he is dangerous. And that may be true. But he was able to get you out of there.” She turned back, her face white and full of tears, “I have never imagined a scene like that. That something like that could even exist let along that you would suffer it.” She began to sob.
Maria gathered the blankets around her, holding the dress in one hand she moved to hold her mother. She simply let herself relish in the feel of her mother’s touch and something happened.
She knew she shouldn’t be so open and so sure that this was indeed her mother. Alex had been replaced, so had she. Wouldn’t it be possible for someone to mimic her mother.
But Maria KNEW it was Amy. She could feel it. And for just a moment as they held each other there was a brief moment of contact as for a moment their souls were conjoined as they once had been when she had been a babe in the womb.
She would not, could not forget how that soul felt. And with her new senses she could simply tell.
Amy gasped with a mix of surprise and pleasure. “Maria! Thank you. I love you so much.” She turned grim, “And that is why I need to leave you here.” She shook her head, “I think I begin to understand my ex-husband now. Why he wanted you to… well that is neither here nor there. I wanted you to be normal, to be human. To be with me. And he accepted that choice, even if he didn’t agree.”
“You are leaving me here?”
“Yes.” She looked back at her daughter, “I know you always wanted something better than Roswell. Well this my dear is it. You will have more opportunities to grow than you ever would have back home. Moreover you will be safe.” Amy’s voice was worried, “I didn’t realize just how valuable you would be to some people. Khivar will use you too, of that I am sure. But you will be safer here than any other alternative. And you will be able to learn to protect yourself. You could learn much better here than at home. So yes. I want you to stay here and learn as much as you can. And when you can I want you to visit me. I doubt you will want to live on Earth any more than your father did.” She looked at herself, “And I can see why.”
Maria looked at her mother, felt as a part of her rushed into her mother looking for anything that might be wrong with her. And found nothing . Her mother was in perfect health. “What is wrong? You are fine.”
Amy smiled, “I am better than fine. I haven’t felt this good since high school. And I think I have even lost some weight. That damn cellulite is gone and,” Amy began to cry. “My roots are black again. I am young again, Maria. I feel young.” She blushed and then glared at Maria, “And you will be careful. I don’t know that I will ever fully trust that Michael, but these men here are simply looking to use you. And not just for your body. They know you are a protégé of Khivar’s. And Dominic’s daughter.” And she sighed again, “And Michael’s Chosen. You are hot property right now so, try to keep on the straight and narrow.” She blushed again, “As hard as that might be.”
Maria shook her head. Some things would never change.
--
Alex
Alex was practicing when he got the summons.
Lady Malindara sat on her bed. “Come to me Alex. We have scored a great victory today. And I need to celebrate.” She began removing her clothes. “I think today I can do anything.” She chuckled. “Anything at all.”
Alex sighed and began removing his own clothes. It wasn’t that he wasn’t going to enjoy this. He would. But sleeping with Malindara felt wrong. Having sex with Sara had felt wrong too, but in a different way.
With Sara he felt like he was betraying Isabel. With Malindara he felt like he was betraying mankind.
But at the same time, he had grown fond of the woman. How could he not? She was a generous lover, eager to please him as much as she demanded he please her. And each time he slept with her he could feel a part of him grow ever closer to her.
For despite all his fears he was afraid he was falling in love with the devious woman.
And while they slept he felt a familiar echo begin to attach itself to him. Isabel was dead again. And there was no way he could save her. Not now.
His friends had failed.
He couldn’t help the tears for his now dead love. Her spirit rested in his soul, and he would never be alone. But he would never feel her in his arms. Instead it would be Malindara.
And he would simply have to live with that.
For now.
He went back to sleep and dreams filled with his true lover. For in his dreams Isabel was waiting and here at least she was awake.
--
Liz
Liz rubbed her belly. She could almost feel the child growing within her. Which was silly, because even now, even with the faster alien pregnancy the baby was simply too small.
Although she did feel a tiny bulge in her abdomen. She had talked to several of the healers here about her child. They had all been excited at the child’s existence, if horrified at the lengths that had been taken to insure its survival.
The Illiaster battery had been cut from her almost immediately upon notice of its existence. Max had helped heal her.
His Aelowey mother had not come to see them yet. The rest of the staff had been kind but made sure they stayed in their generous rooms and the garden attached.
It was here that the Queen Mother came upon her. Liz was wearing an Aelowey style robe over her human undergarments. She knew the servants were laughing at her because of her prudishness, but not wearing anything other than a robe bothered her.
And the Aelowey were so casual about things. Liz blushed. She had already been propositioned several times. By men and women.
Or rather they had looked almost like men and women. But the Aelowey didn’t look exactly human, but rather an uncanny almost human. The eyes were a little larger and not as deep set. And the extra joints on the hands and toes. Small things. Easily looked over. Even their distribution of hair on their bodies….
Liz shook her head slightly. She had tried to think of what differences there had been in the development of the Aelowey verses Human. They were so close, but you could visibly see there had to be distant developmental differences. She wondered how many teeth they had. She hadn’t been able to count yet.
She looked down at the ring her mother had given her. The Arledal seal. Others here had seen it and had gone silent before simply continuing on with their tasks. It was odd. Having it made some of them fear her and others look at her as if they expected her to go berserk at a drop of a hat.
One grizzled soldier had simply smiled and said, “I don’t know where you are from Miss, but you bring a blood line of honor and glory to this House. It’s about time this bloodline of noble pansies got a dash of fighting spirit again.” He shook his head, “Don’t get me wrong, they have been good for this country, and I would follow Carena anywhere against anything, but a little backbone in the Royal Line won’t hurt.”
Five days. She had been here for five days. And yet the Queen Mother had not shown herself. What were they going to do here?
Had this all been some horrible mistake? Certainly Max was broken over the loss of Isabel. Both of them had felt her die when she had hit the ocean. And Michael. They had felt his loss as well
It was hard on Max. Hard on her too. Because all of this had been done for her. She was the one at fault.
Max didn’t see it that way of course, taking all the blame on himself. They had found some level of peace in each other’s arms but aside from that Max had withdrawn into himself.
She heard a rustle behind her. She turned and saw the Queen Mother, who looked at her strangely.
“So,” The Queen Mother began, “You bear the crest and signet of the House of Arledal. In fact the ring you bear names you as Heir to that Line.”
Liz simply said, “Yes.” She wasn’t about to pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
“Are you aware that Line is supposedly extinct? It’s last member slain or sent off into slavery.”
Liz raised her chin, “Not my mother. Her name is Nancy Parker, but here she was called Demestris Arledal.”
The Queen Mother hissed and moved back. She glared at Liz for a moment and then sighed, “A stupid thing to hold against you. Here I have been arguing against blood fueds my whole life and here I am not above it myself.” She shook her head, “You do know what your mother did?”
“Yes. And I am sorry.” Liz blushed and sighed, “And yet not sorry. I am sorry for your loss, but I would never have met Max if he hadn’t died all those years ago.”
The Queen Mother sighed and stuck out a hand, “This is how you do it right? A hand shake on your world? A gesture of good will?”
Liz grasped her hand and shook it, “Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
The Queen Mother said, “Bah. I will teach you the correct manners when we have say a state dinner, but unless it’s important you can call me Carena. Otherwise we will both be ‘Your Highnessing’ each other all day. I wasn’t born into nobility and find most of it incredibly tedious.”
“I grew up in a democracy. You can call me Liz.”
“Hmm. Well, I must ask a favor of you, Liz.”
“Yes?”
“I want to make sure that the child is indeed the Heir. You see this is entirely unexpected. I had heard that Max held the Seal, but for it to pass naturally to a human. Well, that is somewhat unexpected.” She moved closer to Liz, “If I may?”
Liz nodded. She gasped as she felt the touch of the older Aelowey’s mind. So very powerful. And yet the touch did not harm her.
Carena nodded. “It is true. You do carry the Heir. Fascinating. I wonder how this would have changed things had the plan actually worked.”
“What was your plan if you don’t mind my asking?”
The Queen Mother turned away, “I always wanted to visit Earth. Only three worlds have developed any advanced humanoids, and that is somewhat a loose term for the Hist for all they have changed.” She was silent for a moment. “Or rather there were four. But that fourth world is lost for good, Creator make it so.” She shivered. “And Earth was ruined in the war that destroyed the Forgotten. Most of the survivors came to Antar or settled other worlds. It was always assumed that Earth would heal. It never did. A handful of survivors that were missed or refused transport off world managed to survive in that ravaged world and became the world you know. Your current civilization is in the beginnings of its fall, just as Antar is. I sent the Granolith there to help Earth recover, both from the ancient fall and the more recent one that will strike within the next century or so.”
Liz looked at the alien woman in shock. “What went wrong?”
The Queen Mother simply said, “Everything. Everything went wrong.”