AN: Well, I was slightly quicker with this update... I feel like it's super unpolished but it's reached the stage where I'm just staring at it now. (・A・)
Thanks to PoorQ and Lamb for their input over the next couple of chapters and to Obsessive66 for noticing strange formatting issues.
The view afforded her was magnificent. Shi'Kahr spread as far as she could see, all wide avenues and tall towers that swooped and merged into one another, blending into cliffs, rocky outcroppings and the ground itself. There were no sharp angles, everything was softened with curves that drew the eye in a pleasing manner and all was finished in complimentary desert tones. The Vulcan sun – Alam'ak or Nevasa they called it – hung low over the horizon, staining the greenish sky with the reds and yellows of dusk. The great curve of T'Khut hung off to one side, the two other stars of the Vulcan system, Czar'ak and Behr'ak, hidden behind it.
It was an entrancing sight.
Amanda had not expected to find Vulcan so lovely - the grace and beauty of the capital of the Empire was greatly at odds with its rulers.
The Prince had bade her bring Winona with her to Vulcan, but even in her confused state, Amanda had been cognizant enough to refuse. She remained safe with Amanda's father. With Amanda gone, she was all that remained of his family. In place of her cousin and her maids, Sarek had given her Vulcan handmaidens, human servants and Andorian slaves to serve her. The Andorians had shocked her slightly when she first encountered them – her father had not kept alien slaves, there were Terrans enough wanting to serve the King and the Empire, and she'd never been up close to an Andorian before.
Their blue skin was unnerving and their antennae distracting, but their faces were quite human as were their voices, and she found herself adjusting to their presence easily enough. They also had quite lovely hair. Silvery-grey or gleaming white. It looked very soft. It was the fact that they were slaves that made her uncomfortable around them.
Her own life had been privileged, but she had recent first-hand knowledge of what it meant to have your freedom taken. Now that she had an inkling of what they suffered, she could not dismiss the slaves she saw around the palace and in the streets below as easily as she might once have.
Even worse was the fact that the Andorians who served her seemed grateful for their positions. The prospect of life on a labour colony made bowing and scraping before the Empress' Court seem appealing she supposed.
Their presence caused her endless discomfort. She did not wish for slaves to serve her, but she knew if she sent them away they'd just end up serving someone different and that person might treat them cruelly. It seemed a pitiful thing, but she did attempt to make their existence more tolerable where she was able. Her small improvements were met with confusion by her human servants and Vulcan handmaidens however.
By custom slaves slept on the floor in the same ragged robes they wore all day, and being as ill-suited to the harsh Vulcan climate as she, they had a distinct odour. When she'd bade them be given new clothing she'd had to pretend it was because the sight and smell of them offended her, not because she pitied them. Her Vulcan handmaidens treated the slaves as if they were invisible, concern over their comfort was not something they understood, and the human servants seemed to enjoy having someone lower than them on the social ladder to order about. When she'd thought to have the slaves wear the same simple robes marked with the Prince's household sigil that her servants wore, the humans had been deeply offended.
In the end she'd had to have new, even plainer robes made for her slaves and finer ones for her servants just to calm them all. It was worth it though. It was much easier for her to pretend the silent Andorians that cleaned her rooms were servants not slaves with them dressed in neat tidy clothing. There was little else she could do with them save ensure they received adequate food and weren't beaten. Her Vulcan Handmaidens had observed the entire process in curious mystification. They agreed that the slaves were infinitely more tolerable in clean robes, but it was obvious they would not have considered the changes Amanda implemented of their own accord.
'Reldai Amanda.'
Amanda blinked and turned away from the long window and her internal reflections.
Her younger of her two handmaidens, T'Fon, stared back at her curiously across the little wooden table between them.
'It is your turn.' the Vulcan woman prompted her.
Amanda nodded and returned her attention to the game board. T'Fon was teaching her a game popular at the Empress's court. The variant they were currently playing was modelled after a siege. Amanda was playing as the attacker, her pieces outnumbering T'Fon's two-to-one, but T'Fon's starting position in the centre of the board included a defensible fortress position etched into the wood. Since T'Fon's objective was to get her Emperor piece to the side of the board and 'escape' this advantage was not entirely helpful.
As it was they'd been playing over an hour and Amanda had chased T'Fon across the board several times already. She regarded the carved pieces and tried to remember how they'd been positioned before T'Fon's turn. She twisted her bottom lip and tapped one of her pieces. The little figure was quite hideously carved. It had four arms and a snarling face. In contrast T'Fon's defensive pieces were valiant looking Vulcan warriors.
She shifted her piece, smacking it down in a vacant position at random, too impatient to give any real thought to strategy.
T'Fon smiled a little and quickly moved one of her warriors to clear a path for her emperor that Amanda hadn't considered. 'Yut!' she exclaimed.
Amanda sighed and moved a piece to block off the escape route. T'Fon's smile widened and she moved another piece, clearly having anticipated the move. 'Dah-yut!' she said gleefully.
T'Fon's emperor now had two clear paths off the board and Amanda could only block one. Her handmaiden had won. The game was over. 'Congratulations T'Fon, I concede defeat.' she said.
The handmaiden smiled. 'For a novice your game is not so poor, though you were clearly distracted towards the end.'
Amanda nodded. Wiggling a little she adjusted her position upon the flat cushion she knelt on. It was impossible to get comfortable and she was tired. She glanced towards the door to her bedchamber. She was always tired. The heat and gravity of Vulcan was exhausting. Her feet ached from bearing the extra weight and the dry heat stole what little energy she had and left her listless. T'Fon sensed her exhaustion and rose gracefully to her feet. Amanda stood far more slowly, encumbered by her elaborate robes. Even after several weeks on the planet she still felt awkward, her limbs heavy and strange.
'Do you wish to bathe Reldai?' T'Fon enquired.
Amanda shook her head. 'No, I'll just lay down for a little while.'
T'Fon nodded her head in acceptance.
Sarek usually called for her in the evenings, so it had become a habit of Amanda's to nap in the afternoon.
She dismissed the woman and retreated to her private bedroom. She pulled off her heavy outer robes haphazardly, uncaring where they landed, and stripped down to her light slip before collapsing on her bed. She tugged the biggest jewels and clips from her hair but left it twisted atop her head. There were still pins in the braided lengths, but she was too tired to remove them and ignored the discomfort. She fell into an exhausted sleep near instantly.
It was full dark and Shi'Kahr glittered with golden lights outside her bedroom window when she awoke. For a moment she glanced around the shadowy room in confusion, seeking what had disturbed her, but then she realised it wasn't anything in the room, but rather something in her mind. Sarek was calling her. She felt the pull of it.
'T'Sai!' she called vaguely, uncertain who of her handmaiden's might be awaiting her. T'Fon appeared in the arched doorway, two human servants silent and bowed behind her. Maybe it wasn't as late as she thought if T'Fon was still in her chambers.
'You require me Reldai Amanda?' she asked.
'Yes T'Fon. I must dress…' she trailed off. She should probably bathe beforehand - she felt clammy and unclean… But the compulsion to hurry tugged at her.
'I will lay out robes while you wash.' T'Fon stated, making the decision for her.
'Yes, thank you.' Amanda replied and wandered into bathroom. One of the human women followed her and helped her pin up her hair anew whilst the other turned on the shower to its coldest setting. Amanda scrubbed at her skin briskly and emerged a minute lately feeling slightly better.
The servants wrapped her in a layered Vulcan court dress and robes, braided her hair up neatly and pinned various jewels all over her person until she was deemed presentable by T'Fon. Just the ordeal of dressing had left Amanda feeling hot and sticky once more.
She hated the heat. Hated the ridiculous Vulcan robes she had to wear. The seemingly endless yards of fabric were not only stifling, the weight of them pulled at her oppressively. And the jewellery. Vulcan jewels were big and ornate - gaudy Amanda thought snidely - by any standard and under Vulcan gravity, (1.4 times that of her native Earth), the headdresses and circlets she was made to wear gave her constant headaches. Just her hair weighed too much. Fully dressed and primped in all her… Vulcan… concubine finery - she just wanted to sink to the floor in a puddle of silk and cotton and pointy jewellery and never move again. She sighed balefully and let her feet led her dutifully out of her apartment to wait upon her prince.
T'Fon accompanied her, knowing better than to ask where they were going. Amanda didn't actually know, she just knew... where. It was like a compass in her head or a magnet in her chest drawing her inescapably towards Sarek. Her telsu. Even after several weeks to get used to it, having a strange telepathic bond to him still did not seem quite real. For a human it was utterly alien – inexplicable and something like magic or witchcraft.
And she was not the only one that had difficultly coming to terms with the bond. It was a fact widely gossiped upon. Whilst keeping a mistress or paramour was common enough, it was unusual for a Vulcan to actually bond with any save their official bondmate – the spouse selected for them by their parents in childhood. From the whispering Amanda had overheard it was acceptable for royalty to have a bonded concubine – Sarek's father Skon had two over the course of his marriage to T'Pau - and Emperor Solkar was said to have kept half a dozen bonded 'companions' all at once in his youth.
So the fact that Sarek had a favourite and had bonded to her was not in of itself the issue, but that she was human most certainly was. A complete scandal in fact. As Sarek had told her - to be the Crown Princes's bonded concubine was a position of great honour. Usually the women in such a position were T'Sai or Reldai – Vulcans of rank. She was not even a Vulcan, let alone a high-born one.
Her presence at the Empress's court seemed to have thrown it into uproar. She'd seen ample evidence that Sarek was certainly not the only Vulcan with an… interest… in humans, but other Vulcans just 'dabbled' with them for amusement, they did not keep them as lovers. Opinion over her was greatly divided.
Dark eyes followed her in curiosity, amusement and open hostility as she let her feet guide her towards Sarek without conscious thought. Most S'haile and T'Sai seemed to find it entertaining that the Prince was so enamoured of a little human, but others were openly disgusted. Amanda for her own part was beyond caring. Sarek wanted her at court, so there she was. She did not leave her rooms unless he asked her to and for the most part was simply too busy being hot, uncomfortable and irritated to fear gossiping Vulcans.
A small part of her was pleased though – took pride in having ruined Sarek's reputation as it were. He'd certainly ripped her's to shreds. Amanda wasn't an idiot however, she didn't draw attention to herself – she didn't embarrass the Prince or make a spectacle of herself. The last thing she wanted was for the Empress to take notice of her. It was highly unlikely that Empress T'Pau was one of those who found her involvement with Prince Sarek 'amusing'.
They walked much further than usual. After five minutes traversing wide hallways and several turbolift rides they were in a part of the sprawling Imperial Palace that Amanda had never visited. The lavish halls were more or less empty save the occasionally servant or guard. T'Fon looked slightly nervous, her posture rigid.
'Where are we?' Amanda quietly asked her in an aside.
The Vulcan woman licked her lips and almost whispered her response. 'The Imperial residences.'
Amanda froze and T'Fon faltered beside her. Sarek had never summoned her to such a place before. Concubines weren't meant to roam the private rooms of the Imperial family. Especially 19 year old human ones. She looked around nervously. Sarek had dozens of cousins. She was quite certain most of them weren't pleased with her presence at court. One Vulcan Prince was plenty, she had no desire to make the acquaintance of any more. Or Princesses for that matter.
Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. 'Reldai T'Rea…' she hissed in a panic to T'Fon, 'Where are her chambers?'
'Not in this wing, Gidaas be praised.' T'Pon replied twisting her left hand in to a gesture to ward off bad luck.
Amanda swallowed. She still felt the mental compulsion to continue on but she hesitated. 'He would not call me if he did not wish me to attend him.' she remarked more to reassure herself than T'Fon.
'That is true.' her handmaiden agreed.
They continued warily, both nervous and watchful for any stray members of House S'chn T'gai. Mercifully they passed through the private residence unscathed save a few sharp looks from wandering attendants and servants. Amanda came to a halt. A dozen guards stood arrayed near a large carved door. She felt each and every eye on her.
She took care to dress in the manner of a Vulcan, and her handmaidens always ensured she looked presentable, but her humanity was obvious. Vulcan ladies did not cover their hair indoors, and the elaborate hairstyles they favoured left her curved ears exposed. The dress and robes covered a body much the same as a Vulcan woman's, but she was much smaller and her figure curved rather more obviously. Vulcan woman tended to be tall and athletic, Amanda in contrast had often been told she was 'doll-like'. She was a pale, fragile, pathetic little thing compared to the tall, regal, golden-skinned T'Sai she saw gliding along the halls.
The tall, regal, golden-skinned, (if slightly nervous), T'Sai beside her spoke imperiously. 'Greetings Osasu. I bring the Princess Amanda at the behest of Prince Sarek.' T'Fon intoned formally.
The attendant she addressed, a Vulcan she did not recognise, turned from T'Fon and stared at Amanda very hard for several long seconds, his eyes flicking up and down over her in a way that made her want to cross her arms and glare at him.
'The Prince spoke not of this.' he replied at length.
'He called her.' T'Fon explained shortly.
The Vulcan nodded slightly in acceptance. 'I shall inform the Prince of her presence.'
Amanda and T'Fon stood facing the silent guards for what felt like an eternity. Sarek's call pulled at her the entire time and she fidgeted, restraining the urge to simply shove her way into the room. Her feet ached. Her soft slippers did little to cushion her feet from the hard stone beneath her. The balls of her feet would be especially bruised. She wanted nothing more than to return to her nice soft bed and the blessed oblivion of sleep.
Finally the attendant returned and indicated that they should enter with a dismissive wave of his hand. Irritated, Amanda favoured him with a full-blown glare as she passed and took small pleasure in the scandalised widening of his eyes.
She ignored her surroundings and crossed through the enfilade suite towards where she felt him. There were many Vulcans present. Petitioners to see Sarek she vaguely assumed. Apart from the fact that they were all tall pinch-faced Vulcans, the rooms could well have been her father's state apartments. The aligned doors connecting the rooms were all open save the last which was watched over by two guards in ceremonial armour. Heads turned to watch as the two women made their way towards them. Amanda had a lot of practice feigning regal indifference, she was a princess, albeit a lowly human one, after all and she managed to exude an air of absolute calm verging on boredom despite the unpleasant attention. When she approached the closed doors the guard unexpectedly crossed their spears with a clang, causing her to flinch and loose her composure slightly.
Amanda reached the end of her patience. She had been summoned, (woken up from her much needed sleep in fact), she was not some petitioner come to beg the Prince's time without invitation. The guards would have been told to let her enter when Sarek was informed of her arrival by the attendant – they were just trying to insult her.
'Open!' she snapped. Yelled. Loudly ordered.
The stupid gleaming spears remained crossed over the door. Amanda managed to restrain the urge to scream or stamp her foot. She knew her behaviour was unbecoming of a Princess – unbecoming of a grown woman in general – but she was so frustrated and irritated. It was too hot. Her feet, her back and her neck ached. She couldn't breathe properly because Vulcan had a stupidly thin atmosphere - her brain was probably half suffocated - and her ridiculous robes were doing their best to drag her to the floor with their sheer weight.
And not only that - Sarek's summons had given her a headache. She felt as if hooks were digging into her brain, dragging her towards the doorway, towards him. She didn't particularly want to go, but she had to. Tears of impotent anger burnt her eyes and she clenched her fists.
'I said open!' she managed in a slightly more calm if still very tense voice.
'Identify yourself human.' the guard on the left, the one with the bigger hat, said.
'You know exactly who I am! Open the door!' Amanda screeched.
'Reldai Amanda was summoned by the Prince.' T'Fon informed them in a rather more mild tone.
Amanda took two steps forward, Sarek's call beginning to overwhelm her. She wondered if she'd just barrel into the door like a blind woman if the guards continued to act like bastards. Why didn't Sarek open the door? He must feel how close she was, and how angry she was. She certainly felt it when he was in one of his flaming Vulcan fits of rage.
He probably found it amusing, maybe he'd summoned her purely so she'd half to walk half-way across the whole damned palace and then humiliate herself like a dog scratching at his door. T'Fon and the guards were snapping at each other and those hooks were dragging into her skull, tearing and throbbing. In frustration, Amanda grabbed at them at pulled.
There was a sense of huge weight, like she was trying to pull a brick with a string of spider's silk, and then the dragging pull of the hooks snapped. Amanda gasped at the sudden relief to her aching head and then the doors blew open with an echoing crack, knocking the guards to the floor. The long row of rooms was suddenly completely silent, Amanda's breathing heavy.
Prince Sarek stood several meters beyond her in a small but grandly appointed room, a PADD in hand, looking out of the doorway with his head tilted to one side and an eyebrow raised.
'You've broken my door little reldai.' he informed her mildly.
Amanda suddenly felt very drained. The rage of moments ago evaporated entirely. She thought she might faint.
Sarek lowered the PADD and gestured to her with his other hand. 'Come.'
Amanda hovered between sleep and consciousness. She was comfortable. Nothing ached. The air around her was cool and she didn't feel the need to pant just to get breath into her lungs.
A deep voice rumbled from somewhere above her head. 'I have been remiss little princess.'
Sarek.
Yes. Sarek. She felt a very warm body stretched out beside her and felt strong arms wrapped around her. His presence was soothing. Perhaps because of the bond, perhaps because she was an idiot and actually fond of him…
She sighed and let sleep pull at her once more. 'I did not realise how intolerable Vulcan is for a human not raised here.' he murmured.
Intolerable. That was right. Terrible place. Hot. impossible to breath. Body felt like brittle lead, heavy and prone to break.
'I will see to it you are more comfortable.' he promised. Amanda thought he was telling the truth, felt it through the thing that joined their minds, but she couldn't trust him. He lied and lied and lied….
