Chapter 13. Flower

The queen paced in her chambers. Because of the recent news from her husband, Flower was now at a crossroads. She knew that her people in the Capitol needed her, but this boy, this Axel was possibly the last of his family. He was young, too young to be without a family. It was far too dangerous to leave him alone, even more so with the Aztecs on the war path.

But Flower had her own family, possibly even her position, to worry about. If she spared and sheltered Axel of House Zappa, his sister could possibly after the war fight for a claim to her throne and there Axel would be leading her armies if his sister was still unmarried. As queen, Flower had any and all right to vanquish anyone she saw as a threat to either herself or her family. As of now the boy was innocent, and she didn't need to make Natasha her enemy. Not now at least. Granted the girl was practically a child herself, but if she chose to fight to avenge her dead brother, the Young Ones would rally to her side long before Flower's. And for good reason: Doug was engaged to the girl after all. Right now though Douglas and his sister were valuable allies alongside the Commandos, and Flower truly did want to help the Zappa siblings.

Their parents hadn't been honorable, far from it actually. Houdini, the Lord of the House, was a lusty scoundrel. He had even tried to bed her legitimate heir, her daughter Rocket Dog. The girl had enough sense to see the trick but still…Houdini had been one bold son of a bitch.

Punk was pretty much self explanatory. She overthrew her sister Lola after a near decade long reign. And by unfair means to add to the controversy. Lola had been bitten by a cobra while on a hunting trip with her husband and kids. Punk, ever the opportunist, decided to lead the group back to their home, leaving Lola to face the desert alone with her snake bite. When she finally arrived home that evening, exhausted from the painful trip, she got a nasty surprise in the form of her sister. Punk beat her sister nearly within an inch of her life before the poor woman was finally given antivenin. Lola thankfully survived the ordeal but never again could she fight her sister to get control over her House back. A short time later, Houdini returned from a roving trip and gave his brother, Lola's husband Frank, a very similar beating. Houdini and Punk were married that afternoon.

Flower had not been House Zappa's biggest fan, and to be honest she wasn't as upset about their demise as one would think. She did however feel bad for the kids, who had lost their entire family to her bastardized daughter. In a way, Flower felt responsible for their misfortune and was hellbent on making things right again by any and all means. And if that meant sheltering a possible future enemy, so be it.

Flower had never dipped her hands in the blood of the innocent. She was never like Big Si, the king before her, that she helped to overthrow. Thinking of those bloody times nearly brought her to tears. Big Si had been the last Lord of House Lazuli, now the third most powerful family in Kalahari, after the Whiskers and Commandos. While out on a hunting trip with Zaphod, Maybelline, and young Mozart, a group of Lazuli bannermen, led by Big Si, the king himself, attacked the Whisker's territory. Shakespeare, Flower and Zaphod's oldest son, was watching his brothers Rufus and Mitch that particular morning. When the Lazuli attacked, Shakespeare protected his brothers with his life, and Big Si himself had dealt the killing blow.

Rufus had managed to run with baby Mitch in his arms. Flower would never forget looking upon the dead body of her oldest son upon returning home. His death inspired her and Zaphod to finally fight back against the now known Murderous King. The Whiskers and Lazuli went to war in what became known as the Whiskers Rebellion. The Lazuli fought hard but in the end, Zaphod himself executed Big Si and Flower, as the new queen, overthrew and later banished Cazana, Big Si's queen, and Flower's own sister in law. Yossarian had never forgiven them for their betrayal of his beloved sister.

"So what's the verdict?" a voice, Rocket Dog's, pulled Flower from her reverie.
"We'll shelter him. We need allies, and he very well could be the last Zappa standing after all this" Flower answered.
"How long will it take for him to get here?" the princess asked.
"I'm not sure, two or three weeks give or take" Flower poured herself a small glass of wine.

Rocket Dog, Rocket for short, was a very beautiful young lady with a nice trim figure. There was an air of mystery about her, no doubt from her father's Lazuli blood. She was a brunette, like Flower's father, Argon, had been. Unlike her sister, Mozart, Rocket had green eyes rather than blue, a Whisker's trait. Through and through, Rocket was a true Whisker.

"I see you're worried about dad again" she said.
"Can I be blamed? He's now having to face the Commandos by himself".
"Hannibal's not that unreasonable. He'd do anything for his family".
"And Nikita?"
"Don't even get me started on her, mom. She's the most hated woman in Kalahari and she doesn't care".
"Exactly. So therefore she could care less about what happens to her, as long as her son is safe".
"And her daughter?"
Flower smiled knowingly. "I think the truth will be out before anyone can say oops".
"You always seem to bring that up whenever Nikita's talked about. Why is that?"
"Rocket, someday when you're queen, you'll have to make decisions for people, decisions that not everyone will be able to forgive you for. I'm in your uncle's bad books and I'm in Nikita's, both for very good reason, but in the end it is, or has been for the greater good".
"What decision?" Rocket wondered.
"Many years ago, a little while before you were born, a case was brought to my attention. A lord and lady of a particular house had no daughters, only two sons. One of which was killed by us when they tried to overthrow us".

Rocket nodded intrigued now.

"About two years after this fight, the Lord of the House came to me with a request. You see, his wife had left him to die in the desert alone, but someone, a woman, had rescued him. He fell in love with this woman and had even fathered an illegitimate child with her".
"A bastard" Rocket muttered.
"Yes a bastard" Flower agreed, "But he had no daughter with his legal wife, and so begged me to legitimize this child, as his wife would not".
"But the law states that unclaimed bastards have to be killed".
"Not always, and the child wasn't unclaimed. Her father…Oh I don't think I've ever seen a man more devoted to a baby girl except for your father. I admired the man for his devotion and the love he showed to this child, and so, I granted his request. The girl would become the next lady of their house. But on one condition".
"What was it?"
"He was never to have a girl with his wife or she would be bastardized again and gain nothing from her family".
"And…has he kept true?"
Flower smiled. "I believe he has…"
"Mother…who is she? The girl you spared?"

Flower contemplated this for a moment before answering. "Her father named her…Nike".