I couldn't leave this weekend where it was, and this chapter was partially completed previously, so I thought I'd give finishing it up tonight a shot. It's short, but I think it serves this scene very well.
Chapter Twenty Five: Once Upon a Nightmare
The Empress Tantai and her son, the Crowned Princess entered the council chamber which also served as Daibazaal Zarkon's throne room. As expected, the gathered council and soldiers parted, half bowing in their presence, but for the first time since she could remember, Zarkon himself did not rise in the presence of his wife or his son.
The look from above was bothersome to the crowned prince, but ignored by the Empress. To show a reaction to the lack of respect shown by her husband could cause a war between the Drule and Galran Empires, and she herself wouldn't allow that if at all possible.
Of course the departure of Yurak's fleet as they arrived told her that something more was going on with the blue planet in the Diamond Star Galaxy's Azure Quadrant than Zarkon wanted anyone to know. It wouldn't be long before the word of battles on Arus would reach the ears of the farthest reaches of both empires that were now ruled by a single Emperor.
Reaching the base of the dais, the Empress dropped to her knees and sat back on her heels. "Beloved Emperor and husband," she said before bowing forward.
They all knew that her show in subservience was only done to appease the man, but not out of belief she was anything more than his equal.
Beside her, as a man and their son, Lotor simply bowed slightly at the waist offering a curt, "sire" as his greeting.
The Emperor did not rise, nor did he acknowledge his wife.
Tantai knew that this did not bode well for her or her son. Whispering softly between them, so only her son could hear, she told him to always remember who he was and that while Zarkon was his father, she would always be his mother.
Her son only let out a sharp huff of air that would have gone unnoticed by anyone that was not beside him.
"It seems that we have a traitor in our midst," he called down angrily. "Do you know who that traitor could be, empress?"
"No, my lord Emperor," she answered, her voice strong and clear.
"How is it that a senator from the Terran system could possibly know of my son's six chambered heart!"
Tantai paled. "My lord, we reported directly to you that he had survived battle but was in need of medical care. We temporarily took over an Alliance ship in order to make use of their surgeon."
"Surgeon," Zarkon hissed, rising to his feet. "Surgeon! That surgeon was the youngest welp of the Afor! You dared to allow an Arusian witch to touch my son!"
Tantai paled. The girl was a princess of Arus? Swallowing back the growing lump of fear that threatened to rise out of her throat she remained bowed. "My husband, the only unspoiled woman female surgeon within a dozen star systems fell into my lap. I would not allow your legacy to die."
"And as sure as my legacy lives, so does the bitch of Arus!"
Lotor flinched. The woman was a princess of the world his father wanted to conquer? That would bode well for him. Perhaps he could place himself as a savior in her eyes in order to coerce her to surrender.
"My husband, I knew not of her identity. Only that she was a surgeon," Tantai said, her voice sounding meek, but her legs were shaking beneath her. If she was standing, she would have fallen.
"How could you not know! She had been outed quite purposefully. You, my dearest wife, should have known what you had in your grasp. And not only did that bitch have her hands inside of my son, you let her go! Do you know how we prevent the repayment of a life debt, my wife?"
She rose up, once again sitting upon her heels. "No, my beloved king."
He strode purposefully down the gold lined carpet to stand before her. Up on the dais, Zarkon's own mother was cackling from behind the hood of her robes. It was no secret that the mother of the conqueror who usurped the last emperor in hand to hand combat to take the throne had no care for the empress. Hagar had always seen her as a means to an end that never fulfilled her means. While an heir was provided, a legitimate heir, Tantai and Zarkon had never been able to conceive a second viable fetus due to the differences in their genetic make up.
He stood before her and tipped up her chin.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her son step forward in an attempt to move between them.
"I will always love you, my son," she whispered just before Zarkon lashed out, a dagger slicing her throat.
Her mouth gaped as she tried to force air down into her lungs but it was impossible. Instead she choked on on her own blood and darkness carried her soul away before her body hit the floor.
"Know this, my son," Zarkon hissed in warning. "Even you are replaceable."