Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (16 page)

“Now, Sir Seb’Losh,” she hardened her stare,
“for the foreseeable future, these three guards will be assigned
within my apartments. If they rotate, one guarding me while the
other the entrance, with the third resting, it should meet your
requirements for my safety,” she stated, waiting to respond harshly
to any argument.

“Yes, Your Grace. But if you would just
explain to me what is going on, I may be able to assist,” he
responded, obviously reluctant, but uncharacteristically, letting
her have her way. She decided to provide him a hint as thanks.

“From our exchange on the ferry shuttle, you
seem to be knowledgeable to some extent about catillians. Access
the requirements for completing the permanent bonding ritual. If
you still cannot figure out,
what my problem is
, then I'll
explain it to you in a week!” She turned, glaring at the guard on
duty outside her apartment, who rushed to open the door, allowing
her to storm through, followed by Tiana, her servants, and three
confused Alutia Guards. The door closed silently behind them and
once she verified it was locked, she turned to her head servant,
Gil'Da.

“Gil'Da, could you please go and bring the
others? I do not want to have to repeat this,” the old servant
bowed and started off, before stopping midstride.

“Your Grace, Lady Regalia arrived while you
were away. Would you like me to bring her as well?” Sasha suddenly
recalled her newest lady-in-waiting, whose shuttle was supposed to
rendezvous with the escort fleet sometime today, she having
forgotten during the excitement.

“Yes, of course, that would be for the best,
thank you, Gil'Da.” The servant bowed and hurried off. Sasha
smothered a pointless frown, knowing there was little she could do
about the unusual meeting she was about to have with the 10 year
old, Lady Regalia. She turned to Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil.

“Guard Lieutenant, you have access privileges
for the record monitoring system so you can disable them during
emergencies, correct?” Sasha asked, having realized why Sir
Seb'Losh had given in so easily to her request.

Through the use of the starships security
record system, he was able to monitor every section of the
starship, including her apartments, from within the guard barracks.
When she had first learned this fact, she'd forced him to
permanently lock out access to the ladies bed and bath chambers,
but he was adamant about keeping the rest active...which she
reluctantly allowed.

“Yes, Your Grace,” Guard Lieutenant Lia’Sil
started responding, obviously nervous, “but Knight Captain Seb'Losh
will have my head if I-”

“As much as he might not believe it,” Sasha
interrupted, “he reports to me, and I will handle any complaints
while reminding him of this simple fact. Lock out all record feeds
from my apartment...please.” The guard lieutenant nodded, her
expression going distant. A few seconds later
,
a frown
crept
across her
lips.

“He must have assumed you'd try this, Your
Grace, he's locked my clearance out of the security systems,”

How dare he!
Sasha fumed.

Over the past few days he’d repeatedly
refused to listen to her requests, purposely forgetting the fact
that she was the one in charge, not he. She was livid and had quite
enough of Sir Seb’Losh’s obstinate behavior.

“Open a communication channel to Knight
Captain Seb'Losh please, Guard Lieutenant,” the icy tone of her
request, and the smoldering blaze flickering in her eyes, took
everyone by surprise. Guard Lieutenant Lia’Sil noticed this change
as well, whispering into her wrist PDU without question, before
holding it before Sasha.

“Your Grace, how may I serve you?” Sir
Seb’Losh, voice of pure professionalism, emanated from the wrist
PDU.

“Knight Captain Seb'Losh,” Sasha gritted her
teeth, “you will disable all record monitoring systems within my
apartments until further notice. This is an order,” she commanded
in the same icy tone, hoping it would get through to stubborn
Alutia Guard Captain.

“I am sorry, Your Grace. But I cannot obey
that order. It is my duty to see to your protection and I am
provided the right to disregard orders I believe may keep me from
performing my duty,” the calmness in which he responded grated at
Sasha's every nerve.

It took her only a moment to decide what to
do next;
time to pull the trump card.

“Very well, Guard Captain Seb'Losh,” she
referred to him with his non-noble title purposely, raising her
voice to accentuate the point, “I seem to have forgotten my
favorite hat back on Planet Tidelia. You and Guard Commander
Rok'Lew are hereby commanded to travel to the NHA Super-Capital ABF
Alutia, where you will be provided a shuttle and crew for your
journey back to Planet Tidelia, where you will retrieve my hat.
Once your mission is completed, you will rendezvous with the escort
fleet at Planet Vn'Oco before we depart in a month's time. This
order is classified Alert Level One and is signed by both myself
and Knight Admiral Bhool, commander of the Alutia Battle Fleet,”
Sasha hated the idea of abusing a top level command order to get
Sir Seb'Losh off her back, but she’d had enough.

The silence was deafening, made all the worse
by the oppressive tension that rose from those in her presence. She
was about to order a response when the Lia’Sil’s wrist PDU
cracked.

“Who do I talk to about this hat of yours
when I arrive? Or am I suppose to siege Tidelia Castle and bring
back every hat I find for my tyrannical patron?” Sir Seb’Losh’s
voice seethed with anger, in a way Sasha would have never expected
from his iron mask of composure. She felt her own anger swell at
what she perceived as complete disrespect, and was about to explode
when Lia'Sil pulled her arm back, bringing the wrist PDU to her
lips.

“This is Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil. It is my
duty to remind you, sir, that you are speaking to the Grand Duchess
of Alutia, Her Highness, Princess Sasha. I would recommend you
remove yourself to your mission immediately before you say any
another word you may regret...sir,” Sasha barely heard the click as
the guard lieutenant disabled the PDU, the rushing in her ears
masking all sound.

“Your Grace, please allow me to apologize for
Knight Captain Seb'Losh's careless choice of words. He is only ever
looking out for your best interests,” Lia’Sil bowed, as did the
other two guards, her words touching Sasha's heart, but doing
little to subside her already boiling anger.

“I realize that, Guard Lieutenant, but I am
not a child to be constantly babysat! And the sooner the knight
captain accepts this reality, the less pain we will all go through
in the coming months,” she knew she was being unfair, taking out
her frustrations on these guards who were in no way responsible for
Sir Seb’Losh’s actions, but she couldn’t help herself, “And since
he continually refuses to listen to my pleas for respite, he will
now have to listen to my actions. And if, when he returns, he still
refuses to listen, then I may be forced to take further action!”
Her anger burst forth with a final shout, then began to fade, like
the lowering tide, the words that had been growing within her heart
finally let free. But embarrassment swooped in to take its place
when she noticed the well dressed, golden haired young girl, who
looked like a mastercraft doll, standing behind Gil'Da, peering at
Sasha with noticeable trepidation. Sasha buried her head in her
hands and took a deep, shameful breath, realizing her first meeting
with Lady Regalia, her newest lady-in-waiting, couldn't have come
at a worst time.

The minutes ticked by in silence and Sasha
started to lose her patience.

“Guard Lieutenant, has local command of the
Alutia Guard been transferred to you?” Sasha asked, knowing Guard
Lieutenant Lia'Sil would be the highest ranking Alutia Guard
officer onboard when the Alutia Guard Captain and Guard Commander
departed the ABF Princess One, officially beginning their mission.
Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil's expression went distant, then returned,
her eyes serious.

“Yes, Your Grace...and I have disabled all
record systems in the apartments.” Sasha nodded her thanks, and
then studied the faces of those surrounding her.

Her servants stood stone faced, obviously
frightened, seeing a side of Sasha they had never seen before. The
guards looked uneasy, fidgeting in place, unable...
or more
likely unwilling,
she realized...to make eye contact. Tiana,
the only one who seemed unphased by her outburst, stared at Sasha
curiously, appearing to expect this to be some sort of grand joke.
Lady Regalia, who was still peering around Gil'Da's leg with
obvious apprehension, caused Sasha's heart to drop. She threw her
hands in the air, having had enough, no longer able to take the
feeling of revulsion caused by being forced to hide the reasoning
behind her actions from those around.

“I am so sorry, everyone,” Tears began to
well forth, “I...I did not want to do this, but...but there are
circumstances that required it,” she felt a hysteria she knew
existed, but never wanted to show, appear, born of a time so long
along. “Sir Seb'Losh just...just would not listen...so I discussed
the issue with Knight Admiral Bhool and when she explained to me
about his past, that he was unable to protect my eldest sister, or
stop Valia from vanishing for years at a time. So...so we decided
that he either needed to be broken of his over protectiveness or be
dismissed from his position of captain of the Alutia Guard.” The
three female guards gasped, noticeably dismayed by the news. Sasha
raised her hand to stop the questions before they were voiced. “As
of this moment, and for the foreseeable future, he is still captain
of the Alutia Guard. But his future actions will be watched closely
and any further overzealousness will be dealt with swiftly,” Sasha
sighed again, wiping away a single tear that broke free.

“Now,” she trembled, “to the reason for all
this. Knight Admiral Bhool gifted me a catillian,” the assembled
party stared in wonder as Sasha dropped her doublet to the floor
and started to remove her undergarments, “I know many of you have
little understanding of catillians, as did I, but apparently they
require a specialized bond with their host to survive, which allows
them to feed on the “ energy” created within their bonded partner’s
nervous system. They first form a temporary bond at birth, then
require a permanent bond shortly thereafter. The ritual for the
permanent bond is rather...
unique
,” she blushed as she
finished removing her undergarments, standing nude in front of the
guards, servants, and her ladies. Sasha noticed the apprehensive
gaze of Lady Regalia turn to curiosity as she stared at the hairy
purple lump trying to sleep within Sasha’s now, unrestrained
cleavage. Forgetting herself, she squatted, waving for the young
noble to come closer.

“You can pet it if you like,” Lady Regalia
looked at Sasha suspiciously, then up to Gil'Da, who nodded with a
kindly smile. Slowly, as if she approached a wild animal, Regalia
inched closer. When she was just barely within reach, she stretched
out her hand and lightly caressed the catillian with a single
finger. A giggle escaped her lips as the catillian awoke to
playfully grapple with the young girl's finger, placing its tiny
breathing hole up against the tip, very much like a kiss. Sasha
patted Regalia’s silky smooth, doll-like hair, forcing a smile.

“I'm very sorry you had to see me like this,
Lady Regalia,” she whispered. “Can I explain to you later why it
was necessary?” Startled, Lady Regalia looked up into Sasha's eyes,
her own full of innocence, before nodding, rushing back to Gil'Da's
side, still eyeing the catillian longingly. Sasha stood, gathering
her swirling emotions before continuing.

“The bonding process is quiet simple, really.
The catillian requires unfettered access to every part of my body
during the ritual. This means that I must stay completely
unclothed, for up to seven days, so the catillian can place its
feeding nodes unhindered,” a guffaw escaped from Tiana as she
finally realized what all the secrecy was about.

“I can't believe you! Are you still concerned
about what happened with that bastard Robarto?” Tiana shouted about
what only the two of them knew, in amazement more than annoyance.
Sasha blushed, preparing to scream back, her emotions exploding and
tears bursting forth at the memories.

“What do you expect?” Sasha screamed,
trembling uncontrollably now that the eight year old secret scar
she carried had been exposed. “He...he said he loved me and when we
were alone...he...he stripped me and tied me to that bed and
let...let his friends,” the tears were uncontrollable, gushing
freely as the memory felt as fresh as that day long ago. “I don’t
care that they only took scans! It was horrible! And...and I’ll
never, ever, let that happen again! I don't care what the reason
is...I will not allow any man to humiliate me again! Ever!” She
collapsed to her knees, crying into her hands, lost in a sea of
despair that had only grown larger since that day, eight years ago.
She felt a sudden embrace, followed by another, and another, until
she was surrounded by warmth and understanding whispers.

At the edge of the embrace, barely visible
through Sasha's blurry eyes, Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil's expression
turned distant while whispering what Sasha thought was a single
word....
revenge.

A swirling luminescence of dreamlike purity
appeared at the edge of the darkness that suppressed Trent’s mind.
He cringed as the radiance floated closer, assailing him
relentlessly, forcing back the serene safety of night, beckoning
the harbinger to return the intolerable memories that had fled with
the coming darkness. Instinct told him to retreat, deeper into the
protective darkness, away from the hateful radiance, but he no
longer knew how. Nothing existed but the radiance’s swirling,
revealing light, gradually filling the all encompassing darkness,
to penetrate the last fortifications of his frozen mind.