The Time Voyager's Obsession

Fall- II

“Might we speak in private, my Queen?” Sano Var queried with a charming smile. “I have traveled far, and there is much for us to speak on.”

Hana gaped at him, recalling the emaciated man that Sano had been on their last encounter. Her mind flashed to his frail image, forever burned within her mind’s eye. His body had been sprawled out in death on the hard floor of her cell, a red current flowing down the drain they had once spoken through. Within her despair, Sano had provided her with the means to escape the confines of Mala Fide. Yet instead of gratitude, all she could feel for the man was a deep sense of betrayal. To him, Hana’s life had been nothing. Had she not been gifted with the ability of voyaging, he would just as soon have seen her dead.

The robust man before her was far from the broken remnant she had left behind in her cell at Mala Fide. His physicality was undoubtedly equal to that of Tiberius’s, and yet to Hana’s eyes, the men were not the same. Sano bore no sign of the trauma of his losses, while Tiberius wore his anguish like a weight. Perhaps to Sano Var, Tahlia’s death was not real, but a mere temporary state until he could reclaim his lost love. It seemed to fill him with a dark drive, a reckless intent to reclaim what was his by any means necessary. Where Tiberius’s eyes were a stormy blue, a window into the man’s tortured soul, Sano’s appeared almost clear. His lips readily bore a smile, whereas his counterpart seemed physically marked by his dark and brooding nature. Within Sano, Hana saw no sign of suffering. He was a man unencumbered by the guilt of his crimes, drunk off of a seemingly endless power.

“Absolutely not!” Tiberius roared from the dais, bringing Hana back to the present. He sprang to life with a feral roar, his hand moving to rest upon the hilt of his sword. “You stand in the presence of Tahlia Dariana Reginus, Queen of Naphus, first of her name. You will explain your presence here-”

“Of course, Sano Var.” Tahlia smiled at him seductively, undercutting Tiberius with a wave of her ringed hand. “See that my quarters are made ready to receive our honored guest,” she directed a nearby servant, sending him scurrying.

“My Queen,” Tiberius knelt before the throne, his face a vision of defeat. Tahlia had made him look like a fool in the eyes of her court, diminishing her own competence in the process. “We know nothing of this man, only that he bears a resemblance to myself. Do not assume that his intentions are as honorable as that of my own. He may intend you harm, perhaps meaning to disarm you by taking on my semblance. If you will allow-”

“I will not allow you to speak another word, Captain,” Tahlia smiled cruelly, running a finger along Tiberius’s jaw. “As you so eloquently stated, I am your Queen. If you cannot control yourself, then leave. I have endured enough of your disagreeable nature. If my eyes do not deceive me, it appears that the universe has seen fit to replace you.” Her gaze settled upon Sano Var, and Tiberius’s eyes followed with acute horror.

“I am still your captain,” he snarled, snatching at what little control remained to him.

“In name only,” Tahlia hissed under her breath. “Our arrangement has been at an end for some time now, and your presence is wearing on my patience.”

“All hells, Tahlia! I did not become a captain to bed you. I am trying to save you from destroying yourself, despite all your better attempts to do so!” In a burst of passion, Tiberius grasped Tahlia’s hands within his own, demanding that she submit to him. Her gaze ignited at the slight, and the Queen shook him off in disgust, rising to stare down at his knelt position with unconcealed loathing.

“The man before me is a traitor to the crown of Naphus. He has placed his unworthy hands on the royal blood, and brought shame to his glorified position! Who here will defend my honor?” Tahlia cried out to the crowd of onlookers. “Who here is still royal to the divine name of Dariana?”

The throne room seemed to take a collective breath inward, the spectators shifting and murmuring amongst themselves in discomfort. Hana realized with growing awe that none among them wished to challenge Tiberius. Whether it was out of respect or fear, she could not discern, but whatever the reason, Tahlia’s call went unanswered.

“I will defend you, my Queen! There is still one amongst your guard willing to defend the true blood of Naphus!” a voice called out at Tahlia’s back, and Hana turned to see a youthful Gnoab striding forward to kneel before the Queen. “Let me silence this traitor forever, Your Divine Eminence,” he spat, shooting a vengeful glare at Tiberius. A pit took form in Hana’s stomach as she came to the full realization that her faith had been placed in the wrong man. Gnoab no longer seemed a victim of chance, but a skilled manipulator bent on winning Tahlia’s favor.

Hana looked on with foreboding as the Queen’s lips twisted into a frown. Her internal struggle was evident by the look of annoyance registering across her familiar features. Though she favored Gnoab, she did not think he could withstand Tiberius’s brute strength and years of experience on the guard. Hana’s eyes shifted their focus to Sano, her brow furrowing as he sauntered forward behind the youth. Placing a hand on his shoulder he addressed the Queen.

“Allow me to fight in his stead, Your Divine Eminence. It is my arrival that has so unnerved your captain, so it is I who should rise to challenge him,” Sano offered with an indulgent smile, unphased by Tiberius’s murderous countenance. Gnoab also turned the ire of his gaze on Sano Var, angered by the stranger's unwanted intervention. Tahlia, on the other hand, returned his smile, obviously enthused at the prospect of seeing her former lover fight his double.

“I award you with this honor, Sano Var. I advise that you take this opportunity to prove your worth to me,” her gaze spoke the words that her lips did not utter. It was her clear intention for Sano to rid her of Tiberius Var.

“I will endeavor to please you, my Queen.” Sano Var gave a deep bow before turning his mocking grin towards Tiberius. The captain stalked forward, ready to answer the intruder’s challenge with blood.

“Captain Var,” a member of the guard stepped forward. Hana’s eyes widened in recognition as she realized Jael stood before her, a decade younger and his jaw still intact. “Your sword, Sir,” he said respectfully, handing a shell-shocked Tiberius his weapon. In a quieter tone, he leaned in towards his superior and murmured, “You do not have to do this. As our acting captain, it is not an outsider’s place to challenge you. Disputes of power within the guard are handled internally. With all due respect, it is not up to our illustrious Queen to decide your fate. The guard stands behind you, Captain.” Tahlia, hearing the younger man’s words, shot him a black look, her hazel eyes flashing. The nature of Jael and Tiberius’s complicated relationship was becoming clearer, with each piece of the Voyager’s puzzle slowly fitting into place.

“Thank you, Jael,” Tiberius replied calmly, the man’s support seeming only to cement his resolve, “but I must do this for Naphus. I cannot allow a stranger to hold sway over our Queen. There is too much at stake.” With that he turned, readying himself for a fight with his mysterious counterpart.

Hana could hardly stand to watch the impending violence, while Tahlia looked on with eager anticipation. Her lips were twisted into an expression of savage pleasure, her curvaceous figure reclined regally against the settee. Hana longed to reach out and smack her, disgusted by the Queen’s cruel indifference towards a man who had shown her nothing but loyalty. As the men readied for battle, the crowd parted way, revealing a circle, etched at the center of the throne room.

“Since you are new to our world, Sano Var, allow me to explain our dueling customs. The rules are simple, you will fight within the bounds of the ring. If a competitor steps outside of its limits, the match is lost to him. Opponents will battle on until one forfeits by leaving the ring, or is otherwise rendered incapacitated. Competitors, take your places within the circle. You will begin on my word,” Tahlia instructed imperiously, her eyes flitting to Tiberius with a look of disdain. When the men were in position, Tahlia raised her bejeweled fingers, dropping them as she commanded, “Begin.”

Before Hana could blink, the resounding clash of steel on steel echoed throughout the hall. Sano was on the immediate offensive, his fighting strategy marked by a barrage of savage strikes, forcing Tiberius closer to the circle’s edge with every blow. Tiberius maneuvered around him defensively, his footwork a single step faster than that of his counterpart. Hana cringed with each s***h, anticipating Tiberius’s fall even before it came. Tahlia appeared just the opposite, her face elated, body perched on the edge of the settee in rapt attention.

As Hana watched, the predatory dance seemed to take on a new, dangerous cadence. It snaked through the crowded hall like an undercurrent, eating away at Hana’s nerves with gnawing teeth. For every five of Tiberius’s maneuvers, Sano made only one, and the captain was beginning to tire. Sweat dripped down his brow as he circled, and his chest heaved from exertion. Sano, on the other hand, was hardly winded, his narrowed eyes observing the captain like a viper ready to strike. Hana realized with dismay that Tiberius’s opponent had begun to anticipate his movements before he made them. Sano must have relived such a sequence of events countless times during the long search for his Voyager Queen. In accepting his challenge, Tiberius had lost the fight before it had even begun.

Her suspicion became reality when Tiberius lunged forward only to be dealt a sharp kick to the stomach by Sano. The force of it sent him reeling backwards, landing mere inches from the circle’s perimeter. Before he could regain his footing, Sano was on him. With a cruel gleam in his eye, his boot pinned Tiberius’s sword arm, another ramming the side of his face into the cold stone.

“What say you, my Queen?” Sano called triumphantly, a wide grin flashing over his handsome features. “Shall we show him the crown’s mercy?”

Tahlia raised a brow, regarding Tiberius’s entrapment with obscene pleasure. “The crown has no mercy for traitors. Kill him, Sano Var. Congratulations on your promotion, Captain.”

“If I might make a suggestion, my Queen? Perhaps the life of a banished traitor would be a far worse sentence for our disgraced captain. Let us leave him with a reminder of your benevolence, so that he might always know himself, and that of his failure,” Sano replied thoughtfully, staring down at his mirror image with a bemused expression. Hana looked away, her guts heaving, as Sano Var lifted his sword to carve a deep gouge down Tiberius’s face. The cries of his pain and fury echoed against the cold stone, and Hana feared that her heart might break bearing witness to his suffering.

Tahlia’s lips curled as she turned to regard Tiberius’s horrified men, “Let this be a warning to you all. This is the fate that awaits a traitor to the crown. Tiberius Var, you are hereby stripped of your title as acting captain, and banished from your homeworld of Naphus. May you wander on without rest. May there be no safe ports to welcome you home. I give you the sentence of life, Tiberius, may the fates see fit to punish you in accordance with the severity of your crimes.”