Alchemist (25 page)

Terry wore a
similar garment to his robes, but instead of finishing like a
jacket, herd ended in a brilliant white skirt. She wore her hair
high, tied back by a simple white feather.

“Do you like it?”
she asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.

“You look
beautiful.” He muttered, crossing to her.

She smiled.

“You look like
your mother.”

Terry looked away,
suddenly feeling sad.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not
that.” She looked back at him with teary eyes. “I just miss
her.”

Fallo embraced
her, resting his head on top of hers. “I know.” He whispered,
soothing her.

Fallo was left
distraught by what happened; the memories had remained crystallized
in his mind even after so many years.

Terry’s
mother had died during childbirth attempting to bring their twelve
daughters into the world. The trauma had been too much for her
body. Most alchemist mothers delivered many more and survived, but
the royal family’s lineage and a normal Alchemist was a dangerous
mix. History had recorded the deaths of at least seven previous
queens. But what had been unusual was the loss of so many infants.
Terry was the only one who survived. Doctors had later told the
King that it had been no miracle that she had. Terry was the only
child to be carrying the
Alpha
gene – or
royal blood as their people called it – the single genetic sequence
which made the King the leader of their race; what gave him his
superior strength and rank. His perished children had his lineage,
but they lacked that one thing that would one day make Terry queen.
It had been mere strength, despite her small size, that had saved
her.

Fallo remembered
lifting her, pining for his lost mate and infants. He thought that
she too had died, having lied so still like the others with her
eyes shut. Grief stricken, he had closed his eyes and wept. When he
opened them again he found two, big, round, amber eyes staring back
at him. For the longest time she simply lay there in his arms,
blinking curiously. He hummed deeply and nuzzled her, but she still
did not make a sound. Newborn Alchemists were usually loud and
noisy, screaming like most animals do after the sudden trauma of
being dragged into the world.

She only began to
move once Fallo’s probes had gathered to check her, but that had
been out of wariness to the strange, spider-like metallic
creatures. Taking a dislike to one of them that was shining a light
in her eyes she shrieked and took a swipe at the thing. Despite
only being a few minutes old she had a strong right hook. The probe
fell to the floor, prompting the rest of the dispatch to beat a
hasty retreat.

Then it happened,
the sweetest noise Fallo ever heard in his life. She opened her
mouth and called out to him, it was little more than a squeak but
it was the call she would use the rest of her life to find him.
Fallo called back and her antennae went up. She squeaked in
content.

Fallo came out of
his reverie as Terry moved away, holding his hands in her own. She
smiled.

He smiled back,
though his heart ached.

An aide appeared
at the door. He bowed but remained in the doorway until such a time
as he was summoned, as etiquette demanded. Turning his attention to
the young man, Fallo waved him in.

He approached,
before bowing again. “My Lord, the guard of Troqueer and his guests
have arrived.”

“Thank you.” The
King said, turning to his daughter. The aide bowed and slinked
away.

“Are you ready my
dear?” he asked her.

“Not really.”

He gave her a
look.

“Dad, I’m joking!
Lighten up.”

He forced a smile
and held out his elbow to her, which she took.

Laughter rang
through the King’s dining hall. The entire table seemed to be
enjoying themselves, with exception of Terry and Lyle, who
exchanged bored glances. Terry’s cousin Ninu, who was sitting on
her left, picked up on the exchange.

She looked Terry
up and down disapprovingly. “So what was it like living with
humans?” she asked, feigning interest.

Terry looked round
to her. Ninu made a display of sipping her drink, with exaggerated
elegance before looking down her nose at her older cousin. There
was no love lost between the pair. The two of them had always hated
one another.

“You’d have liked
them.”

“Really?” Ninu
asked, disinterested. “I heard they are ignorant, noisy, boorish
cockroaches.” She looked to her younger sister who smirked.

“Yeah,
they’re like you, which is
exactly why you would have
liked them.”

Lyle faked a
cough, poorly concealing his amusement at the quip. Ninu picked up
on this. She glowered at Terry.

“You know,” she
said, flicking back her long blonde hair, “Some of us were talking
earlier. We were wondering why the King would allow someone who had
been gone so long to become his successor again.”

Terry
smirked as she sat her cup down. “At
least
I am actually related to the
King.”

Ninu and her
sister were adopted; which had always been a thorn in the older
sibling’s side.

Ninu
stiffened but held her poise. “At
least
my mother was not a whore.”

Terry laughed,
lifting the decanter to pour a drink, only to swing it and strike
Ninu across the head. The hall fell silent as it clanged off her
metal-lined skull. The blow was enough to send her falling to the
floor.

Launching to her
feet she hissed and lunged for the princess. Terry rolled off the
other side of her chair, narrowly avoiding the receiving end of a
metal blade her cousin had extended from her wrist. The overreach
left Ninu exposed, giving Terry, the faster of the two; enough time
to lift the chair and strike her cousin full-on with the piece of
wooden furniture. Broken legs and framing scattered as Ninu
returned to the floor with a heavy fall. She shrieked, louder than
before; angrier.

Terry did not hang
about to find out the repercussions. She was up and over the table
and making her way for the exit in an instant. Amid the calls for
order from Ninu’s father and the babbling of everyone else, Ninu
emerged from behind the table, her dress shed, and in full
Alchemist armour.

She sailed over
the table, landing a few feet behind Terry in an elegant crouch.
Her heavy impact reverberated throughout the hall. Terry stopped
and slowly turned round.

Ninu held out both
arms and the pointed topside plate on her forearms slid forward to
create makeshift swords.

“Is that really
all you’ve got?” Terry asked unfazed.

Ninu hissed
and ran at her, swinging the blades in two outward sweeping
motions. Terry leant back, dodging the tips of both. She stood up
again inside her cousin’s arms and delivered a bone-cracking punch
to Ninu’s jaw. Ducking free, Ninu spat blood as she shrieked and
swung blindly. Once she had overreached, Terry grabbed her by both
wrists and twisted hard. A sickening
crack
made Lyle winch as a bone snapped
somewhere. Ninu shrieked in agony. The tone was
deafening.

“Terrifallo!”
screamed Ninu’s father, his face contorted with rage and horror.
Terry let go of Ninu and stood back. But the teenager, pride
wounded, lunged at her once more. Terry stepped back as a blade
sliced through the air where she had stood, a move she repeated as
her cousin frantically tried to reach her.

“Ninu! Ninu! Stop
this now!” commanded her father. Ignoring his cries, she dove for
the princess once more.

Terry casually
stepped round her in one fluid motion. She peered across to her
father whose steely gaze bore into hers. He nodded.

The next time Ninu
took a swipe Terry grabbed her by the wrist and twisted it back.
Arm in hand Terry stepped closer so that they were face-to-face.
“Night, night.” With a head butt Ninu crumpled to the floor.

“Sire!” Kila
cried, desperate for justice. Fallo glared at him and he shrunk
back into his chair.

“Daughter!” The
aides jumped. Looking at each other nervously, they all hurried off
as the King stormed into the family quarters tailed by Lyle.
“Terrifallo!” He stormed into her room, flinging the thirty-foot
oaken doors open. They smashed against the rocky walls beyond,
groaning in protest.

Terry stood up.
Fallo stopped, glaring at her across the expanse. “Leave us.” He
commanded. Reluctantly, Lyle obeyed, his worried gaze falling upon
his niece as he closed the doors behind him.

Silence prevailed
in the ancient halls. Feeling self conscious under his gaze, Terry
looked away.

“Your mother was
not a whore.”

Terry looked at
him, surprised. She thought she had misheard. “Sorry?” she asked
her voice little more than a whisper.

Fallo approached
her, raising his voice. “I said your mother was not a whore.”

Terry stared at
him, unsure what to say. “I...I’m...sorry...”

“Do not be.” He
said, waving the apology away.

“I don’t
understand...”

He met her
gaze. “I am not deaf daughter. I could hear every conversation in
that hall. Your
cousin
got
what she deserved.” He said, pointing a finger at her.

“I thought you
were angry at me when you came in just there.”

He was surprised
by the question. “Well, you could have picked a more suitable time
and place to give her a beating. In front of your uncle, his family
and officials is a little bit embarrassing.” He smiled. “Still, at
least it means you have reaffirmed your authority to anyone who is
stupid enough to question you. And it was nice to see that you can
still move like an Alchemist. Your instincts certainly haven’t
deserted you.”

She smiled. “You
enjoyed that didn’t you?”

His smile
broadened into a devilish grin but he did not say anything.

“I’m glad. I
thought you were annoyed with me again.”

His smile vanished
as quickly as an extinguished flame. “I am still a little annoyed.”
He slowly turned away, surveying the strewn clothes Terry had left
lying about everywhere.

The room felt
awkwardly silent until Fallo asked, rather abruptly, “You have been
home three days and your quarters are already in a mess.” He turned
back round to her, puzzled. “How did that happen in such a short
space of time?”

She shrugged,
suddenly embarrassed. “I was going to tidy up, I was trying to find
the right thing to wear... I’ve never seen any of these dresses
before tonight, the servants kept bringing them in. There must be
more than fifty here.” She shook her head at a loss. “I didn’t know
where they kept coming from.”

“Me.”

Terry’s jaw
hung open. “
Oh
...” she turned
away, mouthing a swear word to herself, convince she had offended
him.

Fallo smirked.
“They were a gift you can do with them as you please.”

She turned back to
him, stunned. “You got all these just for me?”

“You make it sound
like you don’t deserve them.”

“No, I’m just
overwhelmed by the gesture.”

Fallo positively
beamed at this. “If I had asked I know you would have refused.” He
looked at the white and gold dress she wore. “Did someone tell you
what I was wearing?”

“No, I just ended
up picking this one.” She said, looking at the elegant sleeves that
chased her arms. “Isn’t it weird though? We both picked more or
less the exact same thing?”

He plucked at his
collar. “You must get it from me.” He winked.

“I must do.” Terry
paused, getting a strange metallic taste in her mouth.

“What’s the
matter?”

Terry looked at
him. “Have you got a funny taste in your mouth right now?”

“Slightly,
why?”

Terry’s eyes
widened. “Oh no.” Picking up her skirts she hurried to the doors.
“Lyle!” she shouted as she hurried through them. Fallo followed
after her, frowning curiously.

“Lyle!” Terry
turned to the two guards who stood on either side of the doors.
“Where did he go?”

“That way Your
Highness.” One of them pointed.

“What is it?”
asked her father, catching up with her as she began struggling her
way down the eastern wing with her long skirts tangling about her
feet.“It might be nothing.” She said, stopping. Giving up, she
reached for the back of her neck and found the zip to her dress.
She started pulling.

Her father averted
his eyes. The guards, who were equally as shocked by their
sovereign’s sudden orthodox action, also quickly turned away.

“
Daughter!
Change in your rooms!” Fallo commanded, pointing in the general
direction of her rooms whilst still looking away.

“For goodness
sake...” Terry sighed as the armour plates ripped through her naked
flesh, forming into a perfect suit. “I just didn’t want to ruin the
dress.” She said, gently kicking it to one side. “Come on!” she
shouted and she was off on fast feet.

“Daughter!” Her
father called. He gave chase, leaving the guards exchanging baffled
looks.

Terry and Lyle
almost collided into one another as she rounded a blind corner in
the tunnel. “Where are you going?” He asked, grabbing her.

“I was looking for
you!”

Connor and the
others appeared, having been left behind in Lyle’s haste.

He nodded. “I was
just on my way to fin you myself. I get it you tasted it?”

“Yes. But where is
it?”

Lyle led the way.
“I think the surface.” He spied his brother catching up but he did
not have time for the courtesies. Pretending he had not seen him,
he turned away, hurrying on fast feet. Terry and the others swiftly
followed.