Neutral (2 page)

The captain had not been kidding. When she left her quarters, she had guards with her, when she ate in the galley, when she sat in the observation deck. It didn’t matter where she went in the ship, they followed her without complaint.

There was a small space where she could exercise, and she did it, trying to ignore her guards. Well, she ignored them on one level and memorized what she could about them so that she could recognize them on sight.

The scar on one hand, the missing nail on one pinky finger. One held his shoulders lower than the other and the tilt of the head made one look like he was always listening.

Having a scribe kidnapped was not a thing, but killing one to delay negotiations was not unheard of. On at least one occasion, the assassin had been disguised as a bodyguard.

She worked out as she had become accustomed to doing when she needed to think, and when she was done, she mopped off the sweat, cleansed the machines and returned to her quarters without a word being spoken to the guards.

They walked her back through the halls and she hardly knew they were there until Lord Dremal blocked her path. One guard moved to her side and another moved to get between her and Dremal.

“Out of my way. I wish to speak to the scribe.”

“Your assignment is complete, you are not authorized to speak with her.” The guard was calm but direct.

“I have already spoken to her. Why is this different?”

“You confirmed her as the Imperial Scribe. You know that you do not have access to the Imperial Scribe. Her location has no bearing on this fact.”

His lordship blinked. “I am in need of a bed companion.”

The move was so fast that Ari didn’t even see it. One moment Lord Dremal was posing in the hallway, and the next, he was up against the wall, held high and choking with the deep green hand around his throat tightening.

“Scribe, please come with me.” Her other guard led her away, and he tucked her back in her room. “Good night, Scribe.”

The dismissal was clear. She headed for the shower and peeled her workout suit off as she went. It was tucked carefully inside the refresher for the night, and she stepped into the sonic shower. With her tattoos, solar was out of the question.

She unbraided her hair and combed it straight before braiding it up again. A plain shift was her nightgown, and she tucked herself into bed with a tablet, reading up on her new home. Ari had another full day in the ship and tomorrow was script practice.

Hredu formal script was complicated, but she managed to work for seven hours straight before taking a break. She set her pen and ink aside, rubbing her hands together in a brisk massage to stretch the tendons she had just cramped up.

She put cream on her hands, rubbing it in with practiced motions before wiping her hands on the neatly folded linen towel at the edge of her workstation.

Her stomach rumbled and she got to her feet, heading for the door. Her guards were standing there, and she announced, “Time for a meal.”

They nodded imperceptibly, and she led the way to the galley where a meal was summoned on a ceramic plate with an elegant trim. She wasn’t really hungry, but her body was telling her that she was an idiot, so she ate, drank some water and took a pot of tea back to her room on a tray.

Once she was back in her quarters, she analyzed her work under a magnifying lens. The works of Shakespeare written in Hredu were lovely if a little stilted. It was her favourite practice medium. She could spot an error in the script right away.

Her first few pages of Hamlet were stilted, but by the time she got to his famous soliloquy, she was on track.

Ari folded up her practice work for destruction in a fire and scrawled the word
Practice
across it. She filed them in her kit and put her tools away. When she woke up, she would be on Hredu and her actual job would begin.

She curled up on her bed and read a book about the history of the Imperium scribes. It was a fascinating read with scandal on every other page. Salaciousness was not something that the scribes regularly dabbled in, but when they did, they went big.

Ari set her evening reading aside and pulled the covers over her. Tomorrow, her new life started with all its formality along for the ride.

She kept herself from laughing when Lord Dremal was denied access to the imperial transport, and her honour guard kept him from boarding when he tried to push in.

The six men surrounded her as they slid through the city on a magnetic rail system. Ari kept her box of tools touching her feet and her bag in her lap. When they approached the palace, the captain handed her a mask.

“From this point forward, only the emperor can see your face in public. Your guard surrounds you and we know you now. Should one of us be transferred or fall in service, you will meet the replacement when and if it is necessary.”

She licked her lips. “I would like to see you without helmets if possible. I can draw a better picture if I can see the whole image first.”

The six men pulled off their helmets, and there wasn’t a pink hair on any head; in fact, all six were completely bald except for silvery eyebrows.

She looked over their faces and nodded. “Thank you.”

With fingers that fumbled a little in their gloves, she tied her mask on as they replaced their helmets.

The transport that they were in split from the regular line and was diverted through security gates that scanned them as they passed.

Ari smiled at the odd sensation of being in a private train car with the imperial crest of a raptor’s claw against an eclipsed sun.

They were waved through a number of checkpoints until the transport stopped inside a building. Her guards rose, and Ari picked up her kit after settling her bag over her shoulder. It had been checked on the ship for any restricted materials, and she had been given a clear seal for her possessions.

“This way, Scribe Longway. You are going to meet the emperor.”

They surrounded her, and their group moved through the ornate hallways painted with murals of battles fought throughout Hredu history.

Ari didn’t ask questions. There was no place for questions in public. Silence was her only defence when she didn’t understand what was going on. It was strange to live with such restrictions, but this was her life now until the end of her contract. When her contract was over, she would have a new band of tattoos on her fingers to indicate her service to the Hredu Imperium and she would go on to her next job.

Her guard walked her through the halls, but aside from a few glimpses of colour, all she could see was their soot black and bronze armour.

Another set of guards was waiting in the hallway. Captain Kredik stood stiffly.

“We have brought Scribe Longway for her meeting with the emperor.”

“He is in his office. Please go through.”

Ari blinked. She thought she was supposed to meet him formally. If he was in his office, she was going to have to remember all of her protocol briefings. She wasn’t sure that she remembered how to meet an emperor.

The double doors opened and more guards met them inside. A man to the right of the door touched his helmet and spoke softly. He nodded to whatever he heard through the com unit and opened the door.

“Please proceed, Scribe Longway.”

She wasn’t asked to leave her bag or her kit, so she took them with her through the door that was held open and closed when she passed.

The man at the desk had a central crest of silky black hair, and the same dark green skin as most of her guard. She could not make out any other features because he was bent over his screen and focusing on what he read.

Ari walked forward and bowed when she was ten feet from the desk. She waited in that position until he spoke to her.

“Rise, Scribe Longway.” His voice was low and calm.

She slowly straightened and flicked a quick glance at him. His bright gold eyes reminded her of the hawks and eagles of Earth.

“Take off the mask. You arrived late so the formal greeting will have to be skipped. You will go to your chambers, get into your evening clothing and attend the state dinner this evening, no gloves.” He tapped his fingers on the desk.

She set her kit down and reached up to undo her mask. When it was dangling from her fingers, she looked at him again.

He was surprised, but he covered it well. “You are aware that eye contact with the emperor is not allowed.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “I am aware, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“And yet, I can clearly see the deep blue colour of your eyes. Are you always so pale?”

She blushed.

He chuckled. “Apparently not. Well, I am having a busy afternoon, so please show me your hands.”

Blinking, she stripped her gloves off and tucked them in her belt. She hesitated.

“Come close. I don’t bite.”

She shifted her bag so it settled against her back and stepped forward, extending her hands to him, palms down.

His fingers were warm as he turned her hands over and examined the detail. “The design is lovely.”

She blushed. It was a scribe’s duty to design their first tattoos. The artist filled in the necessary formalities, but the initial designs representing the Terran animals were hers.

He looked up with a smile. “I look forward to seeing the Hredu black and gold added on in a year.”

She blinked in surprise. “A year?”

“Yes, we go through scribes so frequently that we mark them annually. The more double bands you will have, the longer you will have been here.”

She nodded. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

He wrinkled his nose. “If you must address me by my title, call me Emperor Usorn.”

Ari cocked her head, “Aren’t you Emperor Usorn Lukarik?”

He grinned. “You have my planet’s prosperity in these slender hands. You may call me Usorn.”

She blushed again. He wasn’t flirting. He couldn’t be flirting. He didn’t let go of her hands, even when she tried to tug them back. “Thank you, Emperor Usorn.”

He grinned and let her go, sitting back. “You may go and get into your assigned clothing, though I may make a few alterations given your grace and beauty.”

She swallowed and backed up to retrieve her kit. “Yes, Emperor Usorn.”

She bowed again and waited.

He let out a blast of a sigh and he said, “Dismissed, Scribe Longway. Do not forget that I am expecting you at dinner in full regalia.”

“Yes, Emperor Usorn.”

She backed to the door before turning and pulling it open. When it closed behind her, she let out a loud exhalation and she heard a bark of laughter from the office. She winced and her guards formed up around her, a few were grinning. Her mask went back on and they led her out of the reception area with smooth steps that made no noise on the hard floor.

She had made an impression on them, and she had learned something she didn’t know before. All the emperor’s guards had open coms at all times. He heard what they heard.

Ari was just happy that she hadn’t burped.

Nexica was her bather, dresser and makeup artist. When she found out Ari was expected for the court dinner, the guards were kicked out and Ari was stripped before she could say a word.

Being bullied through an apartment while naked was a new experience, but Nexica was calm about it, unravelling Ari’s braid as they walked.

“I cannot believe that they have summoned you this early to an event. It is unheard of to have to attend a dinner on the day you arrive.”

The bathroom was the size of Ari’s first apartment. A huge tub was filling from the pouring churn of three wide taps. Soft curls of steam were rising, and Ari was prodded into the tub via the steps that led into it.

To her shock, Nexica plunged into the water next to her and started to soap and scrub her.

“I can bathe myself.”

“Can, but won’t. I am your bather, in service to the empire. There is no chance that you will conceal poison or illness. That is what the bather is here to check.”

Nexica was a jade green, and her eyes were a brilliant pumpkin orange. Her brisk fingers did not miss a spot.

Ari tried to defend herself at first, but Nexica just pushed her hands away and tripped her into dropping beneath the water to wet her hair. When she spluttered up, her hair was soaped and she was dunked again. When she was clean from head to the spaces between her toes, Nexica finally let her out of the water.

Ari stepped out of the tub with the feeling that she had just gotten caught in a washing machine. She was dried, seated and her hair combed with long, smooth strokes until it was dry. She then waited as the hair was pinned and finally couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.

“How did you learn to do all this?”

“I worked for the emperor’s mistress for two years until she made a political move that did not sit well. I was dismissed from her service and taken on to attend the ladies who arrive at court.”

Ari watched the woman coil and pin her hair with practiced skill. “Is this a step down for you?”

Nexica paused and smiled in the mirror. “No, it is a promotion. I do not have to worry about sudden visits from the emperor and getting you into appropriate lingerie. I will dress you for work and for events like this evening. Working for the scribe is not an opportunity I thought I would have. We have not had a female for centuries. Will you take many lovers?”

Ari blinked. “I am here to work. Sex has not been considered so far.”

“Fair enough.”

Her hair was up in a series of twists.

Nexica held out a robe. “Now for the makeup. You are fortunate. You are being allowed makeup in lieu of the mask that would normally be required. I have the design at the makeup table.”

Ari slipped her arms into the robe and followed her maid into the large bedroom, and she took a seat at the makeup table, across from Nexica. There was no mirror, just a stand. She simply leaned forward and the makeup was applied in the prescribed pattern.

Nexica smiled. “I have to say I am excited to use these colours. They are not normally allowed on aliens.”