Here's Chapter 3. Read on!

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Chapter 3: An Encounter with the Sultan

1:56 PM

Sultan's Palace

Sonora

Sharuru squinted in the bright light. The 'servants' were spared this pain because their heads were inclined towards the ground. Kilili handed Sharuru a pair of sunglasses and murmured, "Put them on after we meet the Sultan, sir."

Nodding, Sharuru put the sunglasses into a pocket of the suitcase that he had brought with him. The suitcase had been loaded onto the jet before they had boarded, so no one else had seen it. The four Keronians proceeded to hop down the stairs, stepping onto the thick grass when they ran out of stairs. Behind them, the stairs folded back up and the door of the jet slid shut. The jet turned around and hovered up to a height far above the oasis. It disappeared in a flash of light, a boom echoing in the distance. The boom was a signal that it had broken the sound barrier.

A group of five Sonorans, six counting the Sultan, stood before them. Sharuru stared at them.

Before we continue the story, you should have some description of Sonorans and what they are. Sonorans look like Earthlings, except their skin is an inky black. Their eyes range in color from red to deep violet, and their hair shares the same spectrum of colors. Every Sonoran has a jewel set into their forehead that they are born, and each jewel is a different hue. These gems are commonly referred to as soul jewels. The jewel can be onyx, ruby, sapphire, diamond, amethyst, emerald, or any gemstone you can think of! It is said that the type of jewel a Sonoran has relates to their personality. Sonoran customs are wide and varied, and you will find examples of their customs scattered throughout this work.

Female Sonorans typically wear wraps of any color that are tied with a sash, and they also wear slippers. A semi-transparent veil covers their face and shoulders. Male Sonorans wear tunics of any color with leggings underneath. Males, too, wear sashes around their tunics. They usually wear slippers, as well. Their heads are covered with headdresses that have a white cloth extending from it down to their shoulders. A way to distinguish classes from each other for both genders is by clothes, so clothes are very important to Sonorans. Normally, the longer a veil or headdress cloth, the richer that Sonoran is. Also, if a Sonoran's clothing has golden swirls embroidered on it, it is another sign that they are rich.

And now you have a brief description of Sonorans. Back to our story!

The Sultan was a tall, imposing man with an air of wealth and power hanging around him like his tunic. His tunic was a clean white color with golden swirls and his personal emblem, the arrow, embellishing the edges. A bright red sash held this all in place, and red leggings covered his legs. The slippers that he was wearing were made of the finest silk on Sonora, and had swirls and arrows on them, as well. The headdress that he was wearing had a cloth that extended down to his feet and had the same symbols on it. He carried a staff of oak wood that had a glowing white orb fixed on the top. The orb was covered with silver and gold netting and had various jewels that looked suspiciously like the soul jewels of Sonorans hanging from it. The Sultan's own soul jewel was a fiery, glittering garnet. The garnet flashed with an intense red glow as he surveyed the Keronians standing before him.

The Keronians suddenly felt very small in front of this powerful, large Sonoran.

The Sultan walked away from the group and stared down at Sharuru. Sharuru gulped and started, "Greetings, Sultan-dono. I am Sharuru, the ambassador from Planet Keron. The three that you see behind me are my servants that have accompanied me here." Finished with his explanation, Sharuru waited for the Sultan's response.

To his surprise, the Sultan started to laugh, chortling, "Welcome to Sonora, most dignified Keronian delegation! I am Sultan Mwatara, also known affectionately as the Sultan of Laughs amongst my people." He bowed low, sweeping his headdress off and holding it in the same hand that he held his staff with. "It is honor to be able to welcome you to our humble planet of Sonora."

"Thank you, Sultan-dono," Sharuru answered, looking bewildered by this sudden switch from serious and imposing to laughing uncontrollably. "I hope that we and our planets will become good friends by the time our delegation leaves."

The Sultan straightened up and said, "Please, call me Mwatara. I feel much more comfortable when people call me by my name."

"Very well then, Mwatara-dono," Sharuru nodded.

"And who may your servants be?" Mwatara questioned as he peered at Kilili, Zoruru, and Zeroro.

Sharuru motioned to each as he said their name. Mwatara took their names in and bobbed his head up and down. "Good. Now, I must have you meet my companions. Sylwa, my wife." He waved at a female Sonoran that was dressed equally as splendidly as he was. She had a deep blue sapphire soul jewel. "Taribo, my son." Taribo was dressed well, like his father and mother, with a purple soul jewel. "Kerah, my daughter." She had a bright pink soul jewel. "Balisha-san, the healer." Balisha was dressed rather plainly, but had silver embellishments on her clothes that deemed her as a healer. Her soul jewel was a luminous moonstone. "And my good friend Ubuko, the palace chef." He wore an apron splattered with globs of food and sauce over his other clothes, which were equally as stained. His soul gem was a glowing orange.

"Now that you've met everyone," Mwatara declared, clapping his staff and his other hand together, "Sylwa will show you to your quarters. Feel free to roam around the palace. I have declared that no one should try to harm any of you, so it is safe . . ."

'I'm not so sure that it's safe,' Kilili thought to Zeroro. 'I sense deceit and malice here.'

'Me, too,' Zeroro replied. 'There's probably someone in the palace that wishes us ill.'

". . . and there's a map of the palace in each of your rooms—" Mwatara continued until he was cut off by a piercing cry.

"UWAAAAAAAHHHHH!! THE FIRE WILL BURN YOU, KERONIAN SCUM!!" a wild-eyed Sonoran screamed as he ran into the courtyard, a hand clutching a fireball.

"Get down, Sharuru-dono!" Zeroro shouted, pinning Sharuru down. Kilili darted forth, and moved her wide-spread arms back.

"Water art! Rip current!" she whispered as she twisted her hands.

The serene spring that had been bubbling nearby roared up in rage as a huge current of water was dragged out of it. The spiral of water wrapped around their attacker, instantly extinguishing the fireball. Soon, the Sonoran was trapped in a tall pillar of water that extended far above the courtyard. The water receded to let his head out into the air as Kilili lowered her palm. She balled her hand into a fist, and the water froze into a pillar of sparkling ice that was shining in the courtyard, with spirals of ice and frozen foam shooting out from it. Small jets of water were frozen in place as they circled around the ice pillar. The Sonoran that had tried to burn Sharuru struggled to get his body to move, but it was locked in on all sides with hard ice.

"What is this? You have magic, too?!" the renegade Sonoran gasped. "But—you're a barbarian!"

Kilili leaped up to stand in front of his head. "I don't think you're in a good position to be making insults, scumbag," she hissed. He cowered, trying to shrink into the ice. "But it's not my place to punish you." She jumped down from the top of the pillar, landing softly on the ground before the Sultan. Her head bowed, she said, "I would suggest that you deal with him quickly, because the ice will melt soon, Mwatara-dono."

Mwatara looked at her, his gaze filled with respect and curiosity. "You are more than you appear to be," he pondered.

"My companions Zoruru and Zeroro also have the same kind of abilities," she replied in a clipped tone.

Mwatara glanced at Zeroro and Zoruru before returning his gaze to Kilili. "Sylwa!" he called. "Please escort our guests to their rooms."

"Yes, honey," Sylwa responded in a soft feminine voice. "Please follow me, Sharuru-dono and companions."

Kilili dashed over to join them as they strolled after Sylwa into the palace as Mwatara rested his chin on his staff. 'I think I understand why he brought them here now,' Mwatara thought as the group walked out of sight.

Sylwa and the Keronians walked in silence. "Sylwa-dono? May I ask a question," Kilili inquired.

"You may," Sylwa answered.

"Why does Ubuko-dono wear his apron if his clothes are going to get dirty anyway?" Kilili asked.

Sylwa smiled at Kilili and giggled, "I don't think he's ever thought of that. But Ubuko is Ubuko, and that's just the way he is."

Kilili smiled at the floor, since she wasn't allowed to look Sylwa in the eyes for fear of being considered rude. 'Why did you ask her that question?' Zeroro thought to Kilili.

'The silence was making me feel uncomfortable,' Kilili thought back. Zeroro shook his head again as they continued down the long, marble-floored corridor. Their footsteps were quiet as they proceeded, due to Sylwa's slippers and the Keronians' tiny feet. They passed by large, ornate double doors several times until they felt like they were walking in circles. When they walked past yet another elaborate, gold leaf-painted set of double doors, Sharuru remarked, "This is a very large palace you have here."

Sylwa nodded. "If you don't know your way around, you could easily get lost. I actually got lost many times in these hallways when I first moved in. It's a good thing this place is usually filled with servants or members of the court."

A few more minutes of walking through seemingly endless gilded, marble chambers, they arrived in a spacious dome. The ceiling was made of glass that shimmered with a silver light in the assassins' vision. It ended when it met the wall, which was made of pink marble. Four doors were set into the walls. They were made of a light tan wood with knobs of gold. "Is that real gold?" Sharuru asked, staring.

"Why would you ask a silly question like that?" Sylwa laughed. "Of course it's gold! What else would it be, brass? I shudder at the thought."

"Sonora is a very wealthy planet," Sharuru commented.

"My husband has always had an expensive taste in décor," she replied.

After showing each to their rooms, Sylwa told them, "Dinner will be served at 6:30 PM. We will be dining in the main dining hall, which we only use for special events such as Sharuru-dono's visit. My husband feels the need for a feast in your honor. Oh yes, if you don't think that you can find your way to the hall, just pull the golden tassel hanging from the ceiling beside your bed, and a servant will come and show you there. I hope you have a lovely stay on Sonora."

They went into their respective rooms, finding that the ceilings of these rooms were also made of the same glass as the ceiling in the antechamber. All the furniture was miniaturized to fit a Keronian's proportions. Kilili looked up at it, imagining a clear blue sky tainted by only a few clouds. An image of a nearly cloudless sky materialized onto the glass, and the clouds even drifted past lazily. Smiling in delight, she imagined the house where Pururu and she had lived. It appeared on the screen, replacing the sky. "This must be the same kind of glass that Mwatara-dono has in his Illusion Chambers!" she exclaimed, thinking of a volcano now. Fiery lava hissed on the ceiling, but didn't drip down as chunks of rock and ash flew off the top of the volcano.

She entertained herself with the glass for an hour, even imagining a picture of her sister on the ceiling. Kilili looked at Pururu with a wistful look. 'I haven't seen Pururu ever since I joined the Keron Forces,' she realized. 'Perhaps I'll buy a souvenir for her here and visit her when I come back.' The screen displaying Pururu lingered for a few more seconds before being replaced by an image of Zoruru.

'Zoruru's a bit strange, and he and Zeroro are always fighting, but he's a good friend. I'm critical of his assassin skills, but he's really a talented assassin, no matter what I say. Maybe I should compliment him sometime instead of pushing him to work on some aspect of his abilities.' Zeroro flashed onto the glass next.

'Zeroro's always been an excellent friend. He's loyal, trustworthy, and kind. A bit shy at times, but he's a good person and an amazing assassin to boot. I've only seen him angry a few times because he usually keeps his calm.'

Kilili hopped over to the window that had been thrust wide open. The thin silver curtains were fluttering gently in the light breeze that blew in. Since the wall was quite thick, she was able to perch herself on the windowsill with ease. She looked out at the clay city before her. From here, the Sonoran capital of Barleri looked like a child's clay sculpture, with rectangular prism-like lumps for buildings and holes for windows. The dirt paths were no match for the grand Main Street that was paved with asphalt. Small stalls lined Main Street, with bright flags and banners hanging from their sides. She felt an itch to go shopping.

A pair of sliding doors on the wall caught her eye next. Lowering herself down from the windowsill, Kilili strolled over to them and pushed them open to reveal a closet that had to be as big as her room. Her mouth dropped to the floor as her eyes took in a rainbow of colors hanging from the coat racks. Wraps, sashes, veils, and dresses of all colors hung on every hanger. Tiny slippers of satin or silk were lined up on the floor underneath the cloths, begging to be tried on. An open cabinet in the back of the closet displayed a show of fine jewelry, including chains with gems hanging from the ends.

She spotted a note attached to the inside of the door and pulled it off, reading:

I was informed that there would be a woman accompanying the ambassador, and so I had all this made in a size appropriate for one of your kind. I hope you like it.

Queen Sylwa

Kilili stared at the note, then back up at the clothes. A grin lit up her face as she started tugging clothes off their racks.

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Yes, I just had to end the chapter there. The story will continue in Chapter 4, so watch for it! Please review.