Okay, so, I made this. Instead of working on my other WIPs. Oops.
And the title isn't from a Starset song, so a little break in character on my part, I guess.
Enjoy!
One Time Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect. I just like to suffer.
…
Sara knew it was a privilege to be born into royalty. It meant a full belly and a roof over her head. Clothes and books and want for nothing material.
But, like all things, that sort of security came at a price.
Her life was dictated by one immutable fact: that her freedom, her life, could be made forfeit in the name of protecting the people.
It wasn't something to be met with fear, but with a sense of honor. It was an honor to serve, to lead.
This applied to both her and Scott, but to her especially.
She was the first-born. It was random chance that she was born before her brother, the first twin, making her heir apparent and him second in line.
It had been a relief to the politicians who orbited and leeched off of the crown, the ones who the people elected and connived in their towering headquarters.
The King and Queen of Hyperion had two children.
Scott was an extraneous part in their eyes, in case Sara had died before she could ascend the throne, in case Sara ran errant and was forced to abdicate.
An ugly thing to say, often whispered between the fawning bureaucrats, honeyed tones turned to poison as soon as they were out of earshot. It was one of the many reasons Alec kept his children as far away from the Citadel and its bureaucrats as possible.
She was Princess Sara. She was to be queen, one day.
Her life was meant to be of sacrifice, for the good of the people. It meant countless sleepless nights, the burden of millions of souls.
It meant dealing with the threat of war. It meant looking to the future, both of her family and families she would never meet.
This was her fate. And she accepted that.
Sacrifices had to be made for the good of the people. It was a given, something drilled into her head the moment she was old enough to comprehend it.
She already lost plenty of sleep over the people her family was charged with protecting.
…
Sam found her tucked in a remote corner of the palace, one hand fiddling with the hem of her slacks and the other holding up a datapad.
She had missed out on a Prothean dig in Leusinia's mountains the days before, but Peebee had sent her files of their findings. Sara dug through them with envy, mentally comparing what they had found to what she had found in previous sites.
The set of files came with a short message: Come on, Princess. Shed those palace digs and join me at this dig!
And really, Sara would have and should have gone, taken her required security detail with her, and gotten her hands dirty. But Alec had tightened her leash recently, virtually forbidding her to leave Hyperion.
She just had to hope something interesting showed up in Hyperion so she could leave and actually do something.
She wasn't holding her breath. When humans were given their share of land and kingdom on Nexus many centuries ago, they were—likely unintentionally—shoved into the most boring archaeology-wise part of the planet.
It was enough for her to publish three academic papers—under pseudonym of course—but if she lived in Leusinia, she would've had enough for ten.
Damn it, why did the asari get to have all the fun?
"Your Highness."
Sara started and almost rolled her eyes at the sound of Sam's voice. Sara had known Sam as long as she had been alive, more of a father to her than her own father. Yet, he still used all the proper titles, hardly ever used her name.
"Yeah?" she sighed.
She looked to him as he rose from a bow. Another formality that he clung to.
Yeah, thanks Sam, she got it. She was royalty. It meant she had few friends and way more responsibilities than some would predict.
"Your father requests your presence in his office."
She cocked a brow, interest piqued.
There were very few things that would merit her father calling her into his office. It was almost always to inform her of something important. Like an attack or a military engagement or the signing of an important treaty.
And when it wasn't, it was an occasion he took to reprimand her on something she did wrong. That happened more often than not. She liked looking for artifacts, talking with real people, and experiencing life outside the palace walls, so what?
She, of course, tried to avoid scandal and drawing attention to herself but if there was a situation that needed mediating, of course she stuck her nose in it. What was the point of having influence if you can't throw it around on occasion?
"Alright. Thanks, Sam. By the way, you are allowed to call me Sara, you know that."
He nodded, a wry smirk twisting his features.
"Of course, Your Royal Highness, Princess Sara."
She actually rolled her eyes at that.
"Thanks Sam. Walk with me."
Sam nodded again, this time with more of a smile.
"Of course."
They walked through the halls of her home, their home, really, side-by-side.
They got respectful nods and salutes from the people they passed, most of them directed at her and not at Sam. While not royalty—to be honest, Sara didn't know where Sam actually came from or how he came into her father's service—Sam was respected by most. Belittled and mistrusted by a few, since being at the king's ear drew ire from politicians who desired a similar position.
The man was striking: dark skin, electric-blue eyes, and hair white as snow. He was also probably the smartest human alive. It probably helped Sam's case in being her father's right hand, his eyes and ears.
Put Sam and her father in a room, and there was little they couldn't do.
Sara spoke up after a moment of quiet. "Any idea what my dad wants to talk about? Or has he told you to keep your mouth shut?"
She glanced over at Sam. His face was a careful blank, as usual.
"I was made aware of the topic before I was sent to get you. But he wishes to tell you himself. So, I will, as you say, keep my mouth shut."
Sara sighed. Of course. Right. Leave it to her dad to be secretive. She wanted to know what was so important that he sent Sam to fetch her personally, as soon as possible.
"Does this only involve me? Or is Scott in trouble too?"
"No, this has nothing to do with your brother."
Okay, that narrowed things down a little bit. Not a lot, but a little.
Finally, they stopped in front of two ornate doors.
Sam murmured, "He wished to speak with you privately. So, I will take my leave."
Sara nodded.
"Okay. See you later, Sam."
He held the door open for her, nodding. She stepped into the room and the door closed softly behind her.
Deathly silence in the room, not even the soft murmur of music.
"Dad," Sara said, in a way of announcing her presence. Her voice was strong and steady and she internally high-fived herself for not sounding like a guilty child.
Alec was seated in his desk chair, turned so his back was to her. He didn't move to acknowledge her, didn't say a word. Sara thought about calling out his name, but instead took the opportunity to look around a bit.
There were bookshelves and models and maps on every wall—not unlike the inside of her room—except for the one right behind the desk.
Behind his chair was a large painting.
Her father, stern as always, but also younger, a little happier and a little less tired, stood stiff, staring forward. The Hyperion crowd sat on a head of hair that had more brown than grey. Her mother sat on a stool next to him, regal, kind, a small smile curling at the edges of her mouth. Her tiara was delicate, dress simple. Scientist and gentlewoman, the love of Hyperion's king.
Sara sat on a slightly shorter stool next to Ellen, Scott standing behind Sara.
The artist had taken liberties on her and Scott's appearances. This was painted when they were teenagers, soft and gangly and awkward, before they grew into their bodies.
It was a happier time. A picture of blue and green and white and gold.
Now, Ellen was dead, had been for a while. Alec was distant and solemn, worn down to the bone and turning grey. And Sara and Scott had matured and struggled to find their places in the world.
Finally, Alec turned in his chair.
"Sara," he greeted.
She bowed her head slightly in deference. Though he was her father, he was still king. And it meant that everyone treated him with respect, even his own children.
"Dad. Is something wrong?"
Another question she could've asked was 'Did I do something wrong?' She couldn't think of any recent issues that would've required a summons.
Alec's mouth twitched sardonically and a pit of dread formed in Sara's stomach.
Crap, something was definitely wrong. She didn't know what, but she knew enough about her dad to know that something was at least not-good.
"Come," Alec said, gesturing to the empty space next to him behind his desk.
Sara obeyed with little hesitation. She slowly rounded the large desk and stood next to him.
This was how it could have been. If Alec hadn't been wrapped up in his duties and set out to keep his children at arms' length, they could actually have a relationship that couldn't be boiled down to because-we're-family-we-love-each-other-just-by-virtue-of-being-family.
"What do you see?" He gestured to the holographic image of a planet, a familiar one.
This felt like a test. She didn't know what kind of test it was, but she wasn't in a position to not humor Alec in whatever he had planned.
"Heleus, our sister planet," Sara said.
War-torn, a fifth of its land occupied. Reports came in daily of attacks on villages and towns at the borders, a dozen, a few dozen, dying at a time.
The kett hadn't come to Nexus yet, but Nexus peoples have died when they attacked shipping transports and trade hubs on Heleus.
Mere weeks earlier was the 10-year anniversary of a massacre that killed a thousand people in a trading market on Heleus, many of whom were Nexus citizens.
Sara remembered the mass funerals for the human victims. She was young, but not so young that the tragedy was hidden from her. She stood behind the podium with her brother and mother as Alec gave a speech.
He gave condolences, asked for vigilance, asked that the Nexus didn't cut off Heleus in reflex to the attack.
"Their pain is our pain and our pain is their pain. Their war is our war," he had said.
The isolationists hissed and gnashed their teeth in the face of the idea, but they were a minority. Cooperation with Heleus continued, albeit cautious and strained.
Sara blinked as she came back into focus to Alec speaking. "—the kett have plenty to gain from taking over Heleus: slave labor, mining resources, cutting off trade routes."
He pointed at spots in Heleus where there were known kett bases and hotspots of fighting. Sara's eyes followed his finger, not really catching the gist of why he called her in the first place.
He continued, "That would make a subsequent strike against Nexus more in their favor. We have our armies, arguably just as strong as the kett. But we are almost entirely reliant on imports of ores from Heleus to make weapons. If the trading stops, eventually there won't be enough guns, enough ammo, to go around."
This war started before she was born, before her father was born. That was a lot of time, a lot of suffering. The angara were strong, were able to keep kett gains to a minimum over the decades, containing them, but never defeating them.
And there had been whispers of a Heleus-Nexus summit in order to better deal with this shared threat. Nobody confirmed anything to her, for security reasons.
But why was Alec telling her this? She could pull up the same records without her father's help and look for herself.
"You're beating around the bush, Dad. What's going on?"
Alec glared at her and before she could think to apologize for her outburst, he sighed.
"Dowager Queen Sahuna Ama Darav of Havarl, a large territory in Heleus, made contact with the Nexus heads of state with an offer."
"What kind of offer?"
They were getting to the part where it was pertinent to her. If the grit of Alec's teeth was anything to go by, the offer was not a happy one.
"She offered her son, Jaal, in a political marriage with one of the Nexus royal families."
Sara blinked at that information.
"I—"
Alec barreled on as if she didn't speak. "Asari and humans are the only ones who can have children with the angara. Leusinia's queen and council have already refused the offer."
The reason Alec called her quickly fell into place in her mind.
"But you haven't," Sara said slowly.
Alec sighed and turned in his chair to face her directly.
"Nexus needs a tangible connection to Heleus and the angara outside of trade and military alliances. It will give people hope that there will be a future. It will also improve Hyperion's standing amongst the Nexus kingdoms."
The other shoe dropped. And she knew he wasn't referring to Scott to be the one to marry this…Jaal.
Sara said, "So, you want me to marry him?"
For a moment, she thought Alec would burst out laughing, telling her it was a joke, like he, after the twenty-two years she knew him, suddenly grew a sense of humor. Instead, he nodded.
Fuck.
"Jaal and a host of angara representatives will be in Hyperion in four days. You and Jaal will be introduced. You can...talk, get to know each other."
He made it sound like the decision had already been made. It probably was. Knowing her father, he answered 'yes' the moment the offer landed on his desk.
It was almost funny to see how the whole idea of this was uncomfortable for him. He never asked about her romantic life. Now, he made himself the architect of it.
Marriage to a man she didn't know and didn't love. Expected as a symbol of unity. Expected to bear a child, maybe several children, as tangible proof of a Nexus-Heleus alliance.
Scott was going to have a heart attack when she told him.
Alec continued, "And if he proposes and you accept, well, we will work on it from there."
Sara chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"Did you talk to Tann and the rest of the Citadel? Do they approve of this?"
The four kingdoms had power, considerable power, but they all answered to the Citadel, a group of elected representatives. Surely, they had to have a say in this. A politically arranged marriage between humans and the angara would not only affect Hyperion but the rest of Nexus as well.
Alec crossed his arms, looking utterly defiant.
"Tann and the Citadel don't know about this, yet. They will soon. They will have enough on their hands with negotiations with the other angara representatives. I don't need their approval when it comes to my family."
Sara blinked at the acid Alec seemed to spit at the idea of answering to the Citadel regarding this.
It was no secret he had next to no respect for Tann or Addison. There were few Citadel leadership he tolerated, much less respected.
Alec sighed again.
"I know I am asking much of you. You are my daughter and my heir and strength runs in our family."
She wished she could take him on his word. She wished he could take that as an expression of his fatherly love and pride for her and leave it like that.
She wasn't fooled, knew most of it was in an attempt to persuade her. An appeal to her pride or something.
But she knew, and she was pretty sure he knew, what her answer was after he gave her this offer.
"I will do it, Dad." The words were out of her mouth, in the open. She was waving the white flag of surrender in a face of a potential conflict she wasn't willing to fight. "It's—it's my duty, right? For the people?"
For the people. That was where it started and ended, wasn't it? Do it for the people?
He nodded, relaxing slightly. Maybe he expected her to fight him on it. Demand that it wasn't fair.
Well, it really wasn't fair. She just wasn't going to argue that point. Life wasn't fair.
She made the right answer. There wasn't a choice. She knew that.
She glanced away and up at their family portrait, to four faces. She didn't want to look at the living man in the chair.
The world was complicated back then and nothing had changed.
Arranged marriages were supposed to be things in storybooks, things that happened centuries ago, especially when humans were trying to keep and maintain a foothold of power on Nexus.
"You know, your mother probably wouldn't have approved of this," Alec mused, following her gaze, sounding self-deprecating.
Sara exhaled a laugh. "Probably not. She wanted me and Scott to fall in love, like you and her did."
Ellen's deathbed request, as the last of her life began to leak away.
She turned back to Alec. He looked sad. It was a hollow victory to see some sort of emotion that wasn't either anger or detachment on his face.
Sara knew that part of Alec died the moment Ellen died. The loss had broken his heart, as it did Sara's and Scott's.
"We don't all have that luxury," Alec said. "I wish I could have given it to you and your brother."
Alec drummed his fingers on his desk before pulling up another file, this one looking more like a person's profile.
The somber mood was forced away. Back to professionalism, father and daughter only in name and in blood.
"I don't know the details of what will happen after the wedding," Alec said. "It is likely you will live half the time here and half the time in Havarl. We will iron out the details later."
She nodded, could hear the forced attempt at a light tone in his voice.
She couldn't smile at him.
"Okay. Tell me more about my future husband."
…
So, yeah. This is happening.
All feedback is appreciated! 3
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Cheers!
~Tiara of Sapphires