Golden Change (26 page)

Aiden ducked his head under the water and swam under the wall. Jacob had been counting and nodded for her to go. Kylie closed her eyes and swam under the wall. She felt the sides of the tunnel as she went through. Aiden was waiting for her on the other side. Jacob’s head popped up a few seconds later.

They were in a small pool of water, which had steps up leading up to a different pool. This pool was surrounded by shrubs. The shrubs and trees were so tall and thick you couldn’t see the courtyard or the guest rooms from the oasis. It was completely private.

Unlike most hot tubs she had been in before, this one seemed to be a shallow, curved basin. There were no seats and the water only appeared to be three feet in the middle. Aiden walked up the steps and over the strip of grass which separated the oasis from the pool they were in. Jacob and Kylie looked at each other before following Aiden.

“The whole of the courtyard was built around this pool,” Aiden explained as they waded in. “It is actually a natural mineral-water spring. When they were excavating for the palace, they found this unexplained oasis. The priests of old considered this holy water since it looks like there are golden flecks in it. This is where royal weddings and child blessings would take place.”

“Did you know this?” Kylie asked Jacob.

He shook his head.

“This was close to five hundred years ago. The royals found another spring and it is inside their private courtyards.” Aiden continued.

“I’ve heard of that one,” Jacob said. “I don’t remember any religious significance though.” He looked as if he were trying to recall anything he had heard.

“The palace spring doesn’t, as far as I know,” Aiden said. “Not many people know about this one. Tyler showed it to me when were kids. I don’t think many people other than royals, priests, and employees know about it to be honest.”

The bottom of the pool was sort of spongy. Kylie went to the edge of the pool, leaning back to lie her head on the grass. Water was softly bubbling up all around her.

Jacob slid next to her. Aiden was lying on his stomach next to them, and looked pensive. He started out quietly by saying, “I know I haven’t told either of you much about my family.”

Jacob and Kylie propped themselves on their elbows so they could look at him. “I’ve told you I am estranged from them, which I am.”

“You come from the priestly family, don’t you?” asked Jacob.

“You are from what?” Kylie asked, shocked. Kylie sat up fully then to look at him.

“Before our revolution, a hundred years ago, royals and priests ruled our world,” Aiden explained. “Now we have parliament and the royal family is more of a formality than it is a position of power.”

She propped her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

“When the royals lost their supreme power, so did any power which was associated with the priestly realm,” Aiden said.

Jacob sat up as well.

“My dad was the first of his family line who didn’t become a priest,” Aiden said. “His older brother is a priest.”

“Do they have to be educated? Can they have wives?” Kylie asked. She had been learning about their planet, but had started with modern times and was working her way back. The information she had learned about the revolution hadn’t had much to say about the priests.

“They do have to be educated, but they also must have the heritage of our line,” Aiden answered. “My father was excommunicated when he left the priestly order. They need to have wives to continue the line.”

“My father joined the military. His first mission was to be stationed on one of our diplomatic space stations. That’s where he met my mom. She was living with her parents on a space station with them. Her family was respectable, but they were not connected to the royal family or priestly family. She didn’t realize she was pregnant when they left. En route to the space station, she delivered me. There was a doctor, but he didn’t have all of the supplies he needed that could have saved her. She died in childbirth,” Aiden said. She had known his mother had died, but he really hadn’t said how or when.

“Oh, Aiden,” Kylie said. She moved to comfort him. He got up from his prone position, pulling her onto his lap. Jacob had moved over and put a hand on his thigh.

“My father came back to the planet to request I be brought up in the priestly family, but they refused,” Aiden said. “Instead he hired a nanny for me, and we did the best we could.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “He didn’t want leave me with my mother’s people. The space station can be a lonely place to grow up. He wanted me to have all of the advantages of going to cadets.”

“When I was old enough to attend cadets, he brought me here. He left not long after I was settled in the academy. Something must have gone wrong. I haven’t heard from him since.”

“My family was sorry they had excommunicated him then, and offered that I could go to their school to become a priest, but I refused.” He didn’t look sad, but resolved. “I stayed here during breaks with Tyler for the most part.”

“I’ve been to see my mother’s family a few times. I asked if they were interested in coming, but they declined.” A sad look crossed his face.

“I’m bringing this all up for a couple of reasons. One, my uncle would like to bless us here before the ceremony. Two, it occurred to me that maybe the hostage on Germain isn’t a royal, but a priest. I can’t help but hope it is my father, though there is nothing to suggest it is,” he said.

“I hope so too,” Kylie said.

“What does the blessing involve?” Jacob asked him.

“It used to be the actual marriage ceremony, but this space is too small to accommodate guests.” They looked around. “He will bless our union as well as bless Kylie’s womb and our seed,” Aiden replied.

“I’ve never seen a blessing. Nowadays the priests only bless the royals or people in the priestly line here, so I have no idea what is going to actually happen,” Aiden admitted.

“We probably need to be prepared for anything,” Jacob said with mock grave formality. She saw his hand move from comforting Aiden by patting his thigh to moving higher until he was stroking his now-growing cock.

“He’s right,” Aiden agreed with equal seriousness. “What if there is a position we haven’t tried before?”

She couldn’t contain her smile as she said, “Well, we’d better make sure we are prepared.”

The month raced by as their wedding approached. Tyanna had given birth to a royal prince. Kylie even got to go and meet the baby with Aiden and Jacob when Tyanna was still recovering. Aiden and Kylie got teary eyed when she said she was naming him Tyler after her brother.

Preparations were going well. Victoria and Kylie had a few lunches with Daniel as they finalized their plans. The communications had stopped again from Germain, and there wasn’t much more for Aiden to do at present.

He had started his matrimony leave two weeks before their wedding. Barring any emergency, they had two glorious weeks to spend together before the wedding and two weeks after. They ate in the courtyard restaurant together or in their rooms, depending on their mood. It was almost like a honeymoon before their honeymoon.

A week before their wedding, friends and family of Jacob’s and Aiden’s started showing up and taking rooms in the palace.

The only person Kylie had personally invited was Amanda. Since she wasn’t planning on staying at the palace, she wasn’t going to see her until the wedding day.

Jacob introduced her to his parents, Donald and Abigail. His father looked very frail and was in a mobile chair. Kylie leaned down to let him kiss her cheek when they were introduced.

Jacob had definitely gotten his good looks from his mother, who was strikingly beautiful. He had her raven hair and piercing blue eyes. She looked tired, but was pleasant.

Kylie’s translator chip was a real asset to her as she talked with Jacob’s father. While others seemed to be struggling to understand the words he spoke, she was able to understand him easily. She found out he’d had a series of strokes and the last one had been the most debilitating. She could tell his speech was slower than normal, but her translator perfectly translated his words to her.

They were sitting at a long table for lunch, including Jacob’s parents, grandparents, and a whole slew of his friends. Aiden was talking with the general to his other side when Kylie noticed Donald was basically sitting by himself. His wife was talking with Victoria and all of the boys were talking above each other on the other end of the table. She got off Aiden’s lap and went to sit next to Donald.

“Can I get you anything?” Kylie asked.

“No, dear, I’m afraid I make a mess of myself when I eat,” he said.

While she ate, he told her stories of Jacob growing up and she could imagine the impish boy he had been.

“I was worried, of course, at how my disability would affect Jacob’s chance of a good internship,” Donald confided to her.

“Why?” Kylie asked.

“My ability to communicate with the hosts would have been a problem,” he said.

Kylie nodded as she began to see how hard it would be to negotiate if they couldn’t understand him. “I wish you lived closer, though, so we could see more of you.”

“I do too,” he said. “I so enjoy your company and am so glad Jacob has found someone to love.” He had tears in his eyes.

“I do love him,” Kylie assured him.

The boys had gotten up and were going to play some sports. Jacob invited her, but Kylie declined. Victoria and Abigail were still in deep conversation, as was Aiden and General Ryan. “Did you want a tour of the grounds?” Kylie offered. “Or have you been here before?”

“We have been here on occasion before, but it would be great to see everything from a young person’s eyes,” he said.

Donald was able to maneuver the chair by his brain waves, so he put on his glasses, which also measured his brain waves for him to drive, and they were off. Abigail showed her how to do an automatic shutdown on the chair in the event he lost control. They walked and talked as they explored. He actually knew about all of the flowers and bushes, so it was like getting to see the courtyard in a whole new light.

About a half hour later, Aiden, Ryan, Victoria and Abigail caught up with them. “I think it’s time for a short nap,” Abigail announced. She hugged Kylie tight before they left for their room.

Aiden and Ryan were beaming at her while Victoria was looking at her strangely. “How were you able to understand him?” she asked.

“I think it was my translator,” Kylie replied. “It’s sort of the same way I hear your names. I can hear the actual word, but my mind translates it to a familiar name to me. I could hear his regular speech, but could also understand his words.” She shrugged.

“You have a different name for us in your mind, even though you say our names properly?” Victoria asked.

Kylie nodded.

“What do you call me in your mind?” she asked.

“Vic-tor-i-a,” Kylie sounded out carefully.

“That’s nice, I guess,” she said.

“Well, the translator is a wonderful blessing. I haven’t seen Donald so content in so long. I admit I can’t understand much of what he says,” Victoria said. “I know it means a lot to him for people to hear him.

“I still am always surprised at how well Jacob’s life is unfolding. I admit I at first had my reservations about him being married to both of you, but every day I see how much the three of you make a wonderful family.” She sniffed.

Kylie hugged her and felt tears in her eyes as well. It was so nice to feel so welcome in a family. It was especially important to feel like they were her family since she felt so alone here.

* * * *

The day before their wedding Kylie met Aiden’s Uncle James. He shared a family resemblance with Aiden as he had the same dark blond hair and brown eyes. The facial features were similar as well, but something about the lack of facial expression in James’s face made him look nothing like Aiden at all.

Kylie wasn’t sure she liked him and leaned into Jacob’s arm after they were introduced. Jacob put his arm around her, drawing her in. Aiden had made arrangements to meet with him at dusk. Until then they had other guests who were continuing to arrive, and they mostly sat near the concierge desk greeting guests who were coming to the wedding.

She found out all but a few of the rooms in the palace guest quarters were being filled with their wedding guests. The courtyard and restaurant were filled with people who were there to wish them well. Of course, there were a few of the matrons there as well who had shunned her when she first came. She saw Cheryl and Betsy in particular gossiping in a corner. Both had looked up when she walked by and plastered on fake smiles and wished her well.

Kylie spent a lot of time that day visiting with Jacob’s parents and grandparents, as they had set up in the lounge near the concierge as well. She was wearing a new gown for the occasion. It was sheer creamy beige, with some inlaid lace. It was tight, but a little longer so she could sit and stand without having to pull it down after she got up. From a distance, Aiden said she looked like she was naked.

Kylie whispered to Victoria, “I think this dress is too close to my skin tone. People are giving me funny looks.”