Chapter 1 - Residence Zabi -
The sky, covered with grey clouds, appeared premonitory of rain.
The rigid temperature, announced the arrive of the coldest season, also preserving the promise of a mild climate, for convention.
The meteorological effects of the Sides were perfectly calibrated, they guaranteed good cultivations and abundant crops, the perfect imitation of the present atmospheric agents on the Earth as the wind, the rains, the fog, avoided to the exiles of the blue Planet the syndrome of adaptation.
Side 3 were the Space Colony more distant from mother Earth, the most populated and the more developed. His clean and spacious roads, the orderly and efficient public services, the attractive and pleasant constructions, some even stately for architecture and forms, represented monuments to the creativeness and the pioneer spirit of the men.
Particularly the Building of Governament of the Principality of Zion founded in the 69 U.C., become Republic in the 53 U.C., was something impressive. The building had been realized in few less than one year, after few months from the installation of Degwin Sodo Zabi Head of the ex Colony.
Side 3 had enjoyed at first of greater autonomy in comparison to the other Colonies; the cultural, political and spiritual movement of Zeon Zum Deykun had made breach in the minds and in the hearts of his citizens and in good part of the intellighentia of the Space, but he was bewared with suspect and fear by the Leaders of the Earth. This had not prevented the dynamic and charismatic Zeon Daykun to fight with tenacity inside the spatial meeting to give credibility to his theories and to diplomatically cut out and pacifically, also with so many difficulties and decelerations, an enviable slice of liberty, so much dear to his people of Spacenoids.
This was in synthesis everything that for which he had worked and in which had firmly believed since the year 52 of the U.C., year of his arrival on Side 3.
His Project was only at the beginnings and preannounced the advent of a new Age.
Unfortunately many dreams had collapsed in the 68 U.C., when, the Federal Government had rejected the motion for Colonies' Autonomy.
The time of Daykun reached by now the end, the youth and diamond scientist was rather suddenly dead in mysterious circumstances. People told that on the deathbed he had designated as successor Degwin Zabi, his supporter and collaborator during the political struggles.
The new leader was different from his predecessor: different the intellectual level and the personal charisma: Zeon was a fascinating orator and a delicious philosopher, as well as a gifted scientist and an aware and diplomatic political man, Degwin was rough and definite, few prone to the dogmatic speculations and the sofismis scientific, strong and imposing, he aroused respect and fear.
The new Building of Government seemed to perfectly be suitable to the style of Degwin Zabi: majecstic, solemn, potentially Gothic mole.
A young woman, with long and silky hair red "Tiziano", and features refined, observed by an enormous window with white contours, the clouds in the artificial sky, fixing in the empty and green spaces of the underlying public gardens, the cryptic Building where the destiny of that humanity was marked.
- Princess, does You desire to haveatea in Your room or in the music saloon? -
One performs lady, middleage, precise in her avion suit with crinoline, proper for the servitude of the high-ranked families, attended impassive in front of the white doors, decorated with gilded friezes. The silver tray supported a teapot and two cups of tea.
- I thank you Maria - the girl answered with formal and severe tone removing by the windows – Hasn't my brother returned? -
- In the guests room, there is the General Dozle with Lady Zenna -
- I didn't ask you of Dozle, I wanted to know about Garma -
The young one sat gracefully in armchair, crossing her long and slender legs. She crossed the arms to the breast, betraying a minimum of nervousness.
Lady Kycilia excuses me - the ruler said upset
- No problem, Maria, except that you wasn't endowed with Esp powers, so you couldn't understand of which of my brothers we're speaking - Kycilia smiling sarcastic
-I apologize again Majesty, but I don't understand- the embarrassed woman answered, with the tray always perfectly firm among her big hands.
Kycilia bursted in an open laughter, confusing anymore the woman but relieving the tension
- You can lean here the tray of the tea, I don't intend to make to bore me in a conversation with Dozle and his wife, neither to listen to the sermons of Gihren…-Kycilia sank in armchair with annoyed air
The ruler leaned with mastery and delicacy the tray on the magnificent little table in wood of oak, decorated with friezes to floral theme of "mother pearl".
- Lady Kycilia, Prince Garma, hasn't returned home last night and His Highness Degwin,too, has looked for him this morning, before we served the breakfast -
- That absurd idea of my father to look for Garma in the first morning. Let's show up us! Even if he had come back in th evening, he would have had breakfast toward the 12.00, as usual. In every case, our father doesn't reproach him and allows him to do anything… of certain he isn't so inflexible with him as he has been with us greater… -
Maria, the ruler, was impassive to listen to that outlet of Kycilia, her face betrayed an expression of serene pity and great tolerance.
Kycilia, the only daughter female of Degwin, was a strong and definite, austere and tenacious girl, perfectly polite and able to hold head to the many men of that house and even to all her brothers. How woman was deeply tied up to her father and probably the envy manifested for the smaller brother, didn't refer to his person, for which she felt great affection, neither to the granted liberty to satisfy him every whim of his, that Degwin favored with indulgence, how much rather the fact that the favorite son, for the hard Degwin, was the young and beautiful Garma. The only living person that succeeded in moving the heart of the elderly parent and that made him betray a sweetness in the ways and in the gestures, grazed his rigid inflexibility and rigor of powerful man. Perhaps because Garma remembered his beautiful wife, dead precociously in to give him to the light, because in him is reflected the whole harmonious gentleness of the features and the happy and solar character of the splendid dead…These were the gossips that circulated among the servitude to explain the anomalous and different attitude of the old one towards the smaller child.
Maria, served the family Zabi from about 20 years, she had come after the marriage of Degwin with the mother of Garma, and she had seen to be born the baby and to die his mother and for a long time she was dealt with Kycilia, above all after the departure of the woman. Her relationship with the girl, was of protection and care, but despite the long time spent together, the mild and respectful character of the woman, heard again of the bream changes of humor of the girl, her sudden angers and her stubbornness. Kycilia, from her song, knew how to hide every weakness of her and she rarely allowed to go before to extraneous; she looked for the self-control and she wanted to maintain to regime every least detail; besides it avoided to surrender to the sentimentalisms.
Maria suffered, she thought that every girl, even if been born in a wealthy and ambitious family, rich of expectations for her future, had the right to some thoughtlessness and to live to full the pleasures, as, to feel the sorrows proper of every age. Of course, thought, the good woman "Prince Garma will succeed in transmitting sooner or later her, some his prone nature to the facetious one, to the fun and the joy." Her liked to see them when as every child, they were lost in skirmishes, they quarreled, they ran after and Garma amused to disarrange her hair, thing that she hated because she taught that the decorum of a woman, is measured also by to always appear under perfect conditions. Maria found the austere hair styles of Miss Kycilia, so unsuitable to her age; the girl had some long and beautiful hair, from the colour and softness that have turned on the imagination of many young boys and that her, persisted out to bring picked and irremediably contained in heavy groups.
- Have we news of my brother Garma, however? Or he is always together with few of good person, and my father is alone deluded thinking that the life of the Academy would have regulated him! - Kycilia spoke while she was pouring the tea in both the cups of the tray
- Pleasee Maria, there's a seat, I wants to offer you a cup of tea - more than an invitation seemed an order that the ruler fell to perform.
-We knew that Prince Garma would have returned for the weekend, to the closing of the second year of course, for this, Excellence thought about finding this morning here -
- My father will be assured that my beloved little brother has gone to spend the weekend in some pleasant place with someone of his notorious companies… - on the face of Kycilia an expression of top disgust stamped .
-His Excellency checks all the people that Your smaller brother frequents! – Maria intervened, then she sipped, discharged, her tea
- All? - Kycilia confirmed - As that self-styled researcher in grass, ill-bred, that brought home one year ago, meaningless; or that under kind of musician with which he wanted to create a musical complex. Poor dad, that has spent money to send him to the Conservatory! - Kycilia seemed to have a good time while Maria was disturbed, she didn't like that the other brothers criticized too much the small Garma, so sensitive and dreamer.
- Ah listens… - continued to rage Kycilia - remember yourself of the tenebrous type and of his strange sister, the clairvoyant …awful …. if the heart attack has not come to dad! Fortune that intervened Dozle who took them both to kicks in the bottom, chasing them from house, we risked to see our brother end in a sect of imbeciles… -
-Majesty, please don't be so severe with the poor guy - Maria was on the point to shed tears - after all, they have been errors of youth and he lost his mother…when he was a baby...! –
- This is the usual justification to his intemperances, according to me he wants to try our nerves and to make to become impatient Gihren; and... this is the only amusing aspect - In the eyes of ignited Kycilia there was a lightning of malice
Maria rose, she clean the table, picking up the cup and putting back with order every thing. Before leaving the room she turned toward the girl
-There have been also some nice and polite friends - the servant said thoughtful, almost speaking among herself - you remember Mylady , that boy of good family, who frequented engineering to the university and had won a scholarship for of the searches in military field, and then that two brothers, the children of Mr. Remington, two perfect gentlemen! - Maria articulated the last sentences with pride
- Maria, Maria, where you see presumed parties that could interest me, you settle the praises of it - Kycilia softly reproached her
-I have never told You, that is owed to marry young - she answered with frown - I only say that some is owed to have a good time and to live the age with thoughtlessness –
Kycilia bursted in a roaring laughter
- But thinks wath recommend me this woman, I would like that had heard you my father or one of my brothers! - the girl started over laughing doing with this to intend that the discourse had absolutely assumed a frivolous and convivial tone.
Maria shook the head and treid to remove the trouble disappearing behind the whitedoor.
Kycilia lifted from the armchair with annoyed air and come behind the great glass windows.
The main House where the Zabi's Family lived was found behind the ducal Building, the metallic building with its sharp roofs that dominated the principal avenue of the Principality.
The attention of the girl was betrayed by the noise of one abrupt braked; Kycilia removed the curtains richly embroidered and looked in the courtyard where there was a sporting car, black shining, with open roof and rumbling motor.
She succeeded in perfectly perceiving to the guide of the car, the thick head of hair from the reflexes periwinkle of the smaller brother. The boy wore some faded jeans and a shirt white mean unbuttoned that put in prominence his slender and sinuous physicist. "Who knows as makes to go crazy the girls!" The greater sister thought with worry, he is so beautiful and solar indeed, although so much capricious.
For an instant she felt apprehension, to the sight of the sporting car, then she herself, thinking that, at least, Garma, had abandoned perhaps the mannerism of the motorbikes of big capacity.
Only then Kycilia made account that Garma was not alone in the car: nearby another youth, that the girl had not seen before, his hair was of a blond stupendous, undulated and soft, he wore some sunglasses and, unlike his little brother, dressed with uninhibited elegance, a perfect clear suit, with so much of shirt and well knotted tie. Other details she didn't succeed in gathering them. "He will have brought us in the house another champion of his" – the girl thought, but who knows because this time, she didn't seem so sure of her severe judgment.
She remained to fix over the glasses the two young people that joked and they smiled, while Garma went down from the car and invited the servants to take the baggages giving orders. The other boy had taken place to the guide of the motorcar and with rapid gestures he had put again her in motion to park it with mastery, in few manoeuvres, exactly in the narrow space that the friend pointed out him.
Instants later, also the blonde boy gone down by car, Kycilia could appreciate the elegance of themanners and his stromg physique, while with boldness, he walked toward the entry of the immense residence.
