Page 86 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
I have no intention of doing any of those things, but I think the Empress needs to get scared.
“That’s ridiculous,” she scoffs. “You would only force them to kill you as a traitor. Leave, Mareliux. We shall speak more later.”
The Calanians come closer and form a wall of armor and weapons between me and my stepfather.
He slowly stops coughing. “Perhaps there is some truth in—” The coughing starts again, worse than before.
I bow to him and walk out, closely followed by six Calanian Guards.
As I get to the door, I turn, and what I see chills me to the core. Juriniel is reaching up to casually caress the tentacles of the Throne. They seem to seek her out, while completely avoiding the Emperor. He looks at me with fear and defeat in his eyes, a shell of a man completely under someone else’s control.
- - -
I’ve picked a random room in the palace for the gifts to be displayed. It turns out to be a locker room for some of the Emperor’s servants, which causes a good amount of annoyance when they have to move their things out of there. But I’m determined that Umbra and I don’t give any assassins a predictable pattern to follow.
All the lockers have been hurriedly removed, and the gifts are presented as well as they can be in an empty chamber so old that there’s a fireplace along one wall.
As I enter the room with Umbra, I idly wonder how many centuries it has been since it has contained an actual fire. More than fifteen, I determine.
“All these things have been carefully checked,” I state. “There should be no bombs or other possible traps among them or inside them.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Umbra says, clinging to my arm. Her voice echoes from the bare brick walls. “It’s all very wonderful and impressive.”
The gifts are what one would expect courtiers and random subjects to give to their future emperor and empress. Small notes state who gave them, which means rich people have given flashy, expensive gifts and less wealthy individuals have focused on quality. There are stacks of glittering fabrics in unfamiliartextures and colors, intricately crafted sculptures of flora and fauna made from iridescent minerals, and caskets filled with rare, shimmering foodstuffs and potent, oddly-scented distillations. Some larger items include levitating display platforms for personal items and intricate works of art. There’s a fair amount of glitter and shiny objects, as well as conveyances and military equipment. Six rifles are lined up against one wall, as well as about twenty edged weapons of various sizes, mounted in racks.
There’s even an antique ray gun the size of a room, its blued metal surface betraying its immense age. There’s no note on it, and I can’t help but wonder who would give us something as completely useless and at the same time immensely stylish as that.
“These are only the things that have been cleared for us to look at,” I explain. “There’s another storage hall with more gifts, probably a hundred times this heap.”
Umbra’s eyes widen. “Really? That much?”
I shrug. “It’s a big empire. Everyone wants our attention.”
“Well, you have mine;” comes a voice from behind.
I whirl around, drawing Bellatriz halfway out of her sheath. “Nerox! What are you doing here?”
My brother saunters into the room, his cape doing the usual flourish. Behind him comes two young women of the giggly type, skimpily dressed in the way I remember daughters from noble families think will impress princes. It never worked on me, but I suppose Nerox is more impressionable.
“Oh, I can’t miss this.” He has a merry smile on his face, eyes focused only on Umbra. “You’re both so hard to pin down! Do you like the ray gun, Umbra?”
Umbra draws closer to me. “It’s very fine. It must be powerful.”
Nerox goes over to the gun and reaches up to slide his hand along the bulbous end of the barrel. “For its time, yes. Now, your new little knife gun could probably cause more destruction.”
Umbra looks up at me, her hand going to her belt where the knife hangs innocently. “Oh.”
I feel my eyes go narrow. How could he spot her knife that quickly? Has he changed and become observant?
“To a barbarian like you, this must seem like a weapon from the far future,” my brother goes on.
I grab Bellatriz again, ready to draw her fully and chase the scoundrel out. “Nerox, if you?—”
“It’s fine, my love,” Umbra says and squeezes my hand. “Yes, we don’t have anything like that where I come from, Prince Nerox. But we have two things more powerful than any gun. They are called ‘courtesy’ and ‘manners’. I know you have heard of neither. Perhaps one day I shall teach you about them. Would you like that?”
My brother laughs. “She’s not easy to vex, Mareliux! Perhaps she is precisely what you need. You don’t recognize the gun, then? It was part of my own collection. It took me years to find. It’s the very gun Huriak the Heavy fired to start the battle of Darpu. His unbroken line of victories started with this. He was the first famous warrior of our casHuriak line.”
“It’s a fine gift,” I growl, impressed despite myself. “Thank you. Now could you leave my wife and me alone? I’m nervous with you this close and rifles just a few paces away.” I glance over at the girls. They’re barely inside the room, staying quiet and not posing any kind of danger, seemingly awestruck by Umbra.
