Risteard’s Unwilling Empress

Chapter 2-2

Two hours later, Ristéard stood looking out the window of his office. The shields were holding over the planet, but barely. Soon, massive evacuations of the cities would be necessary and the secondary shields would have to be activated to protect only them.

The Blood Crystals he had returned with would temporarily help his world, but they needed more, much more, if it was to survive. His species could handle a greater amount of radiation than most, but even they could not survive if the levels increased much more. A knock on his office door drew his attention away from the muted sunlight shining through the tinted windows.

“Enter,” he ordered, turning to face the door.

His hand relaxed on the blade at his side when he saw Andras at the door. He nodded and turned back to study the city below him. Life moved on as if there was no concern that it could all end tomorrow.

The image of a delicate face suddenly formed in his mind. The face of a woman with hair the color of the sun, eyes the color of a newborn babe on Elpidios, and skin the color of the night flowers that only bloomed on the double full moons. Was the prophecy true? Was she the one who would save his world? If so, how? How could a woman, especially an alien from another world, save it when she knew nothing about them?

Andras silently walked across the room to stand next to him. For a moment, neither of them said anything as they looked down on the city. They had brought back a brief reprieve. The crystals the Kassisans replicated worked, but they were smaller and weaker than the ones once found in plentiful abundance on the surface of the planet.

Andras sighed heavily before he spoke. “The assassin Harald was after had no new information. All Harald was able to get from the male before he died was that the new leader would emerge on the anniversary of Elpidios Rising, an event that happened only once every two thousand years. It was a time when the third moon moved out of the shadow of its larger siblings and shone full. That is the same thing each of them has said over the past two years,” he stated. “I fear we are no closer to finding out who is behind the attacks now than we were before your father’s death. I say we kill all the council members and be done with it.”

An amused smile curved Ristéard’s lips at Andras’ comment. “You are beginning to sound like me,” he responded.

“Our world is dying,” Andras murmured, staring down at the movement of people far below. “Even with the Kassisan’s help, there is no way to produce enough to keep the shields active for any length of time. Already, there are parts of the planet that are becoming uninhabitable. It would be better to start the evacuation.”

“And what, seal ourselves below ground so we die a slower death?” Ristéard asked harshly. “No, there is one other option.”

Andras looked at Ristéard in surprise. “What option? Do the Kassisans have more crystals they would give us?” he asked with a puzzled frown.

“No, they supposedly have something much more valuable,” Ristéard replied, turning away from the window and walking over to his desk.

Andras glared at Ristéard’s back in frustration. “What do they have?”

Ristéard pressed a button on the tablet on his desk. The image of a female, the one he had been thinking about earlier, appeared. He stared at the pale alien features, surprised at the instant attraction he felt when he gazed at the vivid blue eyes looking back at him with just a touch of irritation in them. His lips curved upward as he remembered her low, furious words to him a few weeks before.

“The fabled Empress of Elpidios, my mythical bride,” Ristéard replied, looking up at Andras’ shocked face. “The prophecy states she will save our world. I suggest we put it to the test.”

Andras glanced from the holographic image of the woman to Ristéard and back again. His mouth opened and closed twice as he tried to think of how this strange, pale creature was supposed to be the prophesied Empress all young Elpidios’ children learned about at bedtime.

Skepticism darkened his features as he stared at his friend and leader. “Do you really believe it? She doesn’t even look like us. She is very… pale,” he added with a grimace. “Besides, everyone knows the legend is just a tale to give hope to young children.”

Ristéard continued to stare at the image, lost in thought. Yes, it was a tale told to give young children hope. Yet, behind all great tales, there is a thread of truth. He thought of one of his commanding officers, Mena Rue, and her passionate insistence that the ancient tablets her parents found spoke of the first sign telling of the coming of the great Empress.

What concerned him was the fact that so far, what had been foretold was actually happening! The battle against the traitorous Kassisan and the three unusual females who had saved the lives of Torak and Jazin Ja Kel Coradon, two of the three ruling members of the House of Kassis, were too much of a coincidence for him to ignore. Not only were there three great warrior women, they had been instrumental in saving the house of Kassis and they had brought back an unusual group of warriors, including a female that looked suspiciously like…

“Instruct Commander Rue that I want to see her immediately,” Ristéard suddenly ordered, looking up at Andras. “I also want any information Dedeis Rue and his bride have deciphered from the ancient tablets they have found.”

Andras bowed his head before he started for the door. He paused as it opened to turn and look at Ristéard with a frown. His eyes moved back to the holographic image.

“How do you propose finding out if she is truly the Empress that will save our world?” Andras asked quietly. “What if she does not agree to help us?”

Ristéard looked up from the image with a scowl. “She will,” he replied arrogantly.

“How do you know?” Andras asked.

“Because she will have no other choice,” Ristéard responded with a determined glint in his eye. “She will help us, even if I have to kidnap her to do it.”

Andras didn’t say anything for a moment before a reluctant grin tugged at his lips. It would appear that things were about to become very interesting… one way or the other. They were either going to discover they had found the prophesied Empress of the Elpidios Rising, or they were going to be at war with the Kassisans. Either way, life for the people of Elpidios, and their Grand Ruler, was about to change.

“I’ll instruct Commander Rue to come immediately and bring any information she might have,” Andras replied. “And, I’ll warn Emyr, Sadao, and Harald to prepare for a covert mission.”

Ristéard nodded in agreement. He slowly sank down into the large chair behind his desk, his eyes glued to the image of Ricki Bailey. For a moment, a sense of indecision washed through him. Pushing it aside, he leaned forward and tapped a command into the console on his desk.

A second image, this time from the ancient tablets Dedeis Rue had discovered, appeared. He wanted to compare the information Commander Rue brought him with what he had already obtained. For her sake, and the sake of her parents, it had better match or be more in depth than what he currently had on file.

“Who are you?” he whispered, carefully studying the two images. “How can this even be possible?”

The images were almost identical. The color on the stone tablet was faded and a portion of it was missing, but the facial features looked as if Ricki Bailey had posed for the etching on the two thousand year old stone. If there was one thing he did not like, it was unanswered questions.

“Enter,” he called when a soft knock sounded at the door.

The slender blue figure of a woman stepped inside, a sultry smile on her face. She was dressed in the traditional gown worn by most women. It wrapped around her figure and folded over one delicate, blue shoulder before being pinned by a large, black broach. He scowled when she closed the door behind her and reached up to unclasp the pin holding the top of her gown.

“I’d heard you had returned,” she whispered. “I am here to pleasure you, my lord Grand Ruler.”