Chapter Forty-two: Tayla's Upheaval
The Calmagian Palace, Two Days Later
Tayla was walking in the courtyard, accompanied by Lelina and Veal.
Both of her best friends were pressing Tayla for details about her dinner last
night with Ridikar. Unlike the boys, they envied Tayla and thought her
fortunate to have such a handsome, older boy pay attention to her. Lelina
thought that Ridikar was attractive, and Veal thought that he was charming.
They wanted to know everything, from what Tayla had worn to whether or not
Ridikar had kissed her.
"He kissed me on the hand," Tayla told them softly. "I could sense
that he wanted to do more, but Dirkan was chaperoning me the entire night. He
doesn't like Ridikar too much, even though he had dinner with us. The roasted
duck with apple and pear sauce was scrumptious, and Ridikar even offered me
champagne, but Dirkan told him no."
"My father let me taste champagne when I was about nine," Veal said.
"It tasted light and bubbly, but Mummy got mad at him for allowing me to try
it. She said that champagne was not for children, not even a taste."
"Alcohol is forbidden by our laws anyway," Lelina added, "but you
know, I think that I would have liked to try some, just once. Did you want to
try any of the champagne, Tayla?"
"I did wish I could for once," Tayla admitted, "but I know that it's
wrong, so I won't do it."
"What do Astorians find so bad about alcohol anyway?" Veal wondered.
Alcohol had been a regular part of meals on planet Meat, and children were
allowed to drink it once they turned fourteen.
"Our people consider it to be the root of much evil," Lelina
replied. "It is addictive, and it can cause people to do many awful things,
such as hurt others or stop caring about things. It also inhibits a fighter's
ability to perform fully as a warrior or a healior. Actually, the ban on
alcohol was put in place right after our people took Astoria back from the
Saiyans. The Saiyans used to drink alcohol there all of the time, and when they
were drunk, they would either kill innocent men or rape our women. A drunken
Saiyan was one of our people's worst fears back then."
Veal ran a thin hand through her lavender hair. "Meatians don't
believe in abusing alcohol, but drinking it in moderation is considered to be
okay. I am sorry for what your people had to endure; at least your race was
able to fight back." She sighed sadly, wistfully. "I'm going to be
alone for the rest of my life."
Lelina and Tayla were shocked by this declaration. "Why do you say such a
thing?" Tayla asked, startled by Veal's sudden declaration.
Veal sighed. "I am a Meatian, and even though Meatians are
mating-compatible with Astorians, it is unlikely that anyone would want to marry
me. Humanoids usually prefer marrying other humanoids, and I am mostly
mammalian. Boys treat me as a friend, but no one wants to court me, like they
do you and Lelina. By the time we return to Astoria, you and Lelina will be
allowed to have suitors, and you both will have flocks of them chasing after
you. I am of marriageable age, according to Meatian law and standards; most
girls my age would have been married by now. I know that you and the others
don't like the idea of arranged marriages, Tayla, but at least that way, no girl
is left without a husband. Every girl on my planet, no matter how ugly or
pretty they were was always married before age sixteen. On Astoria, I won't
have a chance at all. I wish my father was able to arrange a marriage for me."
Tayla noticed tears welling up in Veal's lavender eyes, and she put
an arm around her friend. "Don't give up, Veal, you're only fourteen. Someone
will surely come along to love you for whom you are. When that time comes, it
won't matter to him whether you're humanoid or mammalian; he'll love you just
because you're Veal. There's no reason why a male wouldn't love you, Veal.
It's not the end of the universe; there will be someone for you."
"And arranged marriages aren't all that good, Veal," Lelina told her
practically. "Look what Caline is going through with Alberm."
"Poor Caline," Veal sighed sadly, forgetting about her own worries
for the moment. "I feel sorry for her. She is such a sweet girl, and she
deserves better than Alberm. Her father did poorly when he arranged Caline's
marriage to him; even Meatian fathers won't marry their daughters to someone who
would abuse them or treat them badly."
Lelina turned towards Tayla, her long red-brown hair flowing in the
gentle Calmagian breeze. "Tayla, Ridikar is Caline's brother, isn't he? He's
going to rule Calmag someday; isn't there anything that he can do to help his
sister?"
Tayla spoke softly, with a niggling doubt that was pounding against
the walls of her heart about to take the form of words, "I've tried to talk to
Ridikar about Caline, but when I told him about how Alberm was treating her,
Ridikar changed the subject to how well Alberm had done in bringing the
Astorian-Calmagian alliance about. Come to think of it, whenever I tried to
bring the subject of Caline up, he always seemed to want to talk about something
else. That worries me, I admit. I like him so much, but how can I like someone
who doesn't seem to want to help his sister."
"Maybe he didn't want to say anything with Dirkan there," Lelina
suggested quietly. "Someone has to make Ridikar understand how serious Caline's
situation is. Does Dirkan know now?"
"Yes, he does," Tayla told her, toying with a strand of her dark
hair, "and he told me he and Nama will see what can be done for Caline. I hope
they can get her out of that awful marriage. Alberm is worse than a Saiyan!"
"I agree," Veal told her. "I don't think that even Saiyans treat
their own mates that badly."
They heard the sound of a whirring engine behind them and a small
puff of smoke enveloped them. Ridikar pulled up on a hover bike in front of
them. The three girls were impressed with the vehicle, for it was silver and
green with gold engines and smooth and sleek.
"Hello, ladies," Ridikar greeted them with a smile. He flashed
Tayla a more private smile and said to her, "Hey, Tayla, do you want to go
riding with me on my new hover bike for about half an hour?"
Tayla looked at Veal and Lelina anxiously, wanting to go with
Ridikar, but feeling bad about leaving her friends behind. Veal and Lelina
smiled gently at her. "If you want to go with Ridikar, it's fine with us," Veal
assured her.
Lelina was about to agree, but then she remembered that Dirkan and
Great-Nama probably would not approve of Tayla being without a chaperone. The
Astorians usually did not like their young ladies under age seventeen to be
alone with a young man without a chaperone until they were engaged to someone.
"Are you sure that's going to be okay with Great-Nama and Dirkan?"
Lelina asked her.
"It should," Tayla reassured her. "Nama and Dirkan are at a meeting
with Uncle Kitchator and Aunt Kildara, and they won't be back anytime soon. I'm
only to go riding with him for half an hour like he said. I need to talk to him
anyway. I'll be all right; I know him. If anyone asks, I've gone riding with
him."
Tayla climbed on the back of the hover bike, wrapping her slender
arms around Ridikar's waist. She unwound them briefly when Ridikar gave her a
helmet to put on. After fastening the helmet to her head, with Ridikar's help,
she put her arms around Ridikar's waist again, and Ridikar turned on the hover
bike. Tayla waved farewell to her friends, and before Lelina and Veal knew it,
Tayla and Ridikar were in the sky under the dome, no more than part of a green
and silver blur. That hover bike was so fast that Lelina shuddered; she hoped
that Tayla would not fall off of the hover bike.
Tayla was enjoying herself now, once she had recovered from the
shock of the hover bike's immense speed. Ridikar continued flying through the
air on the hover bike, thoroughly appreciating Tayla's company. He knew of a
cave, a cave that he liked to camp out at on a cliff. Ridikar considered that
cave a home away from home, and he had many supplies and gadgets in there,
enough to sustain two people for weeks on end.
Finally, he would get to be alone with Tayla, like he always wanted.
He enjoyed her arms embracing him as they sped off together, trying not to
notice the polluted Calmagian sky above the dome.
At least the air under the dome was pure and clean, mostly.
At last, they reached the cozy cave on the cliff. Tayla tried to
talk to Ridikar as they went along in the air, but they were going so fast, and
the wind was so loud that Tayla was unable to carry a good conversation with
him. Ridikar landed gracefully in front of his private cave, and he lifted
Tayla off of his bike gently. When he got off the bike himself, he put his
hands on Tayla's tiny waist.
"You'll like it here," Ridikar assured her, flashing a private smile
at her.
He escorted Tayla into his cave, and Tayla was impressed. The young Princess of
Chloe noticed the space-age gadgets and machines, including refrigerators and a
stove. The modern machines provided a striking contrast against the walls of
the caves and the stalagmites and stalactites, most of which had been cleared
away. Tayla also noticed a gold bed in a faraway corner, covered in blue and
green silks.
"I like your cave," she told him shyly. "It's beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," Ridikar assured her smoothly, wrapping an
arm around her waist, as he led her further inside.
She blushed. "Thanks."
Ridikar chuckled wickedly, leading her to a comfortable, stuffed
chair that he had brought from his own suite. He settled Tayla into the chair,
and he himself plopped down into another stuffed chair besides her. The chairs
were red, velvety and bouncy; she had not sat in anything so comfortable in a
while since she had left Astoria.
"Ridikar," she spoke finally. "May I talk to you about something?"
Ridikar watched her with his sleepy eyes. "Sure, you can talk to me
about anything!"
"It's about Caline," Tayla said finally, determined not to put this
subject off any longer. "Caline's husband, Alberm, hits her, Ridikar. He yells
at her and puts her down, treating her as if she's no more than a discarded
toenail."
"What do you expect me to do about it?" Ridikar asked her quietly,
not thinking seriously about Alberm's treatment of his sister. "I can't
necessarily intervene, Tayla; Caline is Alberm's property now. She's his wife."
"Caline is no one's property!" Tayla nearly screamed. She took a
deep breath when she realized how loud her voice had suddenly become. "Caline
is a person, a good person, a good, sweet girl who deserves much better than
Alberm. Something has to be done, Ridikar; someone has to help her," she told
him in a somewhat calmer tone.
"He is harsh on her once in a while," Ridikar admitted, "but she
often disobeys him, and she can be stubborn and difficult. A wife should be
submissive and obedient to her husband at all times. Alberm gave our father
last night a less than flattering picture of Caline, and our father is not
pleased with her. Caline is refusing to sleep with him, so Alberm has to force
her to lie with him-"
"You mean rape her?" Tayla cried in horror.
"In a Calmagian marriage, there is no such thing as rape," Ridikar
asserted firmly. "A wife is supposed to lie with her husband whenever he
desires her, unless she is very sick, or is recovering from childbirth. Alberm
is not happy that Caline will not make love with him; he wants a child with her,
but she will not lie with him unless he forces himself on her. Caline is being
very disobedient, and it is Alberm's duty as a husband now to keep her in line.
Perhaps he is being hard on Caline, but I myself would be furious if my wife
would refuse to sleep with me, if she wasn't sick or recovering from childbirth.
Alberm was talking to my father and I, and he says that Caline screams and
cries and begs him not to touch her. What kind of wife does that make Caline?
What kind of honor can she bring her husband, her husband's family, and our
family when she behaves like she does?"
"Caline is scared of him," Tayla persisted. "That is probably why
she will not sleep with him. You have to help her, Ridikar, please! If not for
her, then at least for me! I would be very thankful and grateful, if I knew
that Caline was safe and happy, and she can't be like that with Alberm. Caline
would be much happier, and I would be too. Do something to help her. Please?"
Her chocolate saucer eyes pleaded with Ridikar, and Ridikar was moved.
"For you, I will," Ridikar told her firmly. "I will see what I can
do to help my sister. I will speak to Father, and possibly Alberm myself.
Don't worry, Tayla, I'll take care of it."
Tayla was relieved; for a few minutes, she didn't think that Ridikar
cared anything about his sister. She had some suspicions, but her normally
forgiving nature overcame them. She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you,
Ridikar, for I greatly appreciate this."
"No problem," Ridikar told her easily. He rose from his chair and
pulled Tayla out of hers with his large hands. He pulled her closer to him and
whispered, "You're an unusual girl, Tayla, but I like you! I'll think that
you'll make a good wife someday!" He wrapped on arm around her waist, and then
he moved his other hand up to her hair.
Tayla noticed him touching her hair, and she gently pulled his hand
away. "I'm not ready to let you do that just yet," she told him kindly.
"Why not? I'm just touching your hair," he told her softly.
"You're not supposed to touch my hair, or any other special places
until I give you permission," Tayla stated firmly.
Ridikar chuckled wickedly at her. "Well, Princess Tayla of Astoria,
may I touch your hair?"
Tayla thought about it for a few seconds, and then an impish smile
crossed her face. "Yes, you may," she whispered. Ridikar's hand slid up into
her dark hair, stroking it. He then brought his lips to hers, kissing her
gently. Tayla was enjoying his kiss, not thinking at all about the time that
Prince Vegeta had kissed her. She began to press her rosebud lips against his.
She was lost in his kiss, as his free hand slid down toward her
bottom. Startled by this, she broke from their kiss and gasped, "Ridikar-"
"Calm yourself," he whispered soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt
you, my sweet. I would never do anything to hurt you or compromise your honor."
He kissed her again, like an experienced male, a male too experienced for
someone as young as Tayla. He began rubbing circles on Tayla's slender back,
and this helped her to relax. Ridikar's lips moved from her lips to her chin,
down to the hollow of her throat.
Tayla was enjoying this, as confused as she was; she was only twelve
years old, and she wasn't certain if she should be allowing Ridikar to do being
doing this with her. She liked it, and yet she felt a tiny bit guilty.
Would Nama and Dirkan have approved of this? Tayla wondered, as
Ridikar lifted her up into his arms and started carrying her towards his bed.
He sat her down on his bed and sat besides her. He pressed his lips to hers
again and pulled her close when a loud voice, all too familiar to Tayla, came
booming into the cave.
"YOUNG MAN! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER NOW!"
"Dirkan?" Tayla gasped, breaking away from Ridikar's embrace.
Ridikar's thoughts were full of curses.
Another voice, as loud and furious, came after the first.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD! GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER! SHE'S JUST A CHILD!
I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK BEFORE I'LL ALLOW YOU NEAR HER AGAIN!"
"Who was that?" Ridikar asked Tayla, but before Tayla could identify
which of her brothers had yelled like that, Bajal and Dirkan dashed swiftly
further into the cave like a couple of angry lions. Bajal swiftly seized
Ridikar by his collar and flung him against the wall of the cave. Dirkan
punched Ridikar hard in the ribs.
"Stop!" Tayla screamed at them in terror. "You're hurting him!"
"Good!" Bajal roared, more at Ridikar than at his baby sister.
Bendros, Arlon and Lukan were correct about this little son of a whore. Bajal
himself had not liked the boy from the moment he heard of Ridikar's too obvious
interest in his youngest sister. Cletos had agreed with him, and even Raakon,
normally the first person to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, instantly
detested the heir to the Calmagian throne when he had noticed him paying court
to Tayla.
Dirkan and Bajal had come to the palace courtyard looking for Tayla
to take her to her grandmother when he noticed that she was not with her
friends. When Veal and Lelina were questioned, Lelina shamefacedly confessed
that Tayla had gone off riding with Prince Ridikar, and no, he did not say where
they were going.
Dirkan turned from Ridikar and Bajal a moment to speak to Tayla.
"Tayla, are you alright? He began to notice Tayla's eyes darkening with anger.
Tayla's full fury was about to be unleashed. "Yes, I'm alright!" Tayla told him
angrily, in such a harsh tone that even Dirkan, who normally didn't fear anyone
with a lower ki level than him, was taken aback. Tayla had never spoken to him
so icily before. "At least I was until you two came barging in and attacking
him for no good reason! He did nothing to you two! You both ought to be
ashamed of yourselves!" She was near tears now, and the tears were about to
fall when Cletos, Lektron, and Raakon came dashing into the cave.
Lektron was the first to notice Tayla's tears, and he misinterpreted
the source as something that Ridikar had done to hurt Tayla. "Tayla, are you
okay? Tell me what that bastard did to you, and I'll take care of him quick.
No boy is going to molest my wife's little sister!"
"He didn't molest me!" Tayla screamed at him furiously. "We were
just kissing! And you're not going to care of him, Lektron! I won't allow it!
Bajal and Dirkan already did more than enough damage for one day!"
Bajal was still holding Ridikar's collar. "Now tell me, you little
sleaze: what exactly did you do to my sister? We all know the real reason you
brought her to this cave! If I catch you near her again, I'll fix your anatomy
so that you won't even be able to pee, understand?"
"Let me go!" Ridikar hissed at Tayla's angry oldest brother. "I did
nothing to her! She's right; we were doing nothing but kissing!"
Tayla threw herself past Dirkan and at Bajal. "Let him go, Bajal!
I mean it! He's done nothing to you! He did nothing wrong!" She turned to
Dirkan, as she tried to pull Bajal's arms off of Ridikar and almost succeeding.
"Dirkan, make my brother let him go!"
"For what?" Dirkan roared. "So he can try something on you again?
He's not going near you again, Tayla! And you will not see him anymore, your
grandmother and I will see to that!"
"No, you won't," Tayla told him defiantly, looking directly in his
eyes. "And you won't get Nama involved either."
The cave became silent, so silent that a tiny pebble could be heard
falling. All the men in the cave stared at Tayla in shock, their mouths agape.
None of them would have ever ordered Dirkan like that, not even Bajal, the most
arrogant and brash of them all. Dirkan himself was startled by Tayla's angry
declaration. If anyone else had told him off like that, he would have been
infuriated. He would have expected such a response from Bajal or Lektron, but
not his little Tayla, his favorite, his darling.
He tried to keep his voice low and even, for this was the first time
that Tayla had ever directly defied him like this. He said sternly, "Tayla, I
am your guardian, and you must obey me. When I say that you will not see this
boy again, I mean it. Your grandmother will back me up. That is final."
Tayla's eyes and new glare darkened, for Dirkan had never pulled rank on her
like this before.
"You can't stop her from seeing me!" Ridikar declared angrily,
encouraged by Tayla's stance. "She is of marriageable age, and I plan to make
her my bride." Bajal angrily threw Ridikar to the ground, but Ridikar scurried
towards Tayla before Dirkan or Bajal could catch him. He could have paralyzed
them, but he was too shaken by fear now to do so. He grabbed Tayla's hands and
pulled her close to him. He looked down into her cocoa eyes. "Princess Tayla
Chloe of Chloe, Astoria, will you marry me?"
All of the men in the room gasped in shock and horror, and Lektron
and Cletos instinctively reached for their swords. Raakon quickly put himself
in their path.
"No," he told them sternly. "A blade is not the way to solve this."
Cletos kept his voice even. "This little cretin plans to wed my
little sister, and he is not worthy of her! I will do whatever it takes to
protect and guide our sister, whether it is by word or blade. Now out of my
way!" he ordered his younger brother.
"Protect and guide me?" Tayla shouted at him, her temper still in
full swing. She said contemptuously to her older brother, "Why are you so
worried about me? Shouldn't you be worrying about your own children? Do
Petalia and Dedron still know that you care for them, if you do at all? When's
the last time you spent any time with either one of them?"
Cletos was taken aback now; his small sister really had a way of taking the wind
out of anyone's sails. "Tayla," he told her stiffly. "My affairs are none of
your concern."
"Well, then how come I can't know your business, but you can know
mine?" Tayla demanded to know.
"You are underage, unmarried, and our youngest sister," Cletos told
her firmly. "It is my job as an older sibling to look after you and protect
you, even if you do not approve. That goes the same for the rest of your
siblings, even Gorna."
"If you are protecting and looking after me," Tayla told him
sharply, "then who is protecting and looking after your children? Dedron almost
hates you, and he's mean to everyone, and Petalia thinks that you don't love her
anymore! You are hurting them; it's not their fault Farla left! They think
that it's their fault, and you haven't convinced them otherwise!" Tayla was
over exaggerating a bit now, for only Petalia blamed herself for her mother's
departure; Dedron put the full blame on their mother.
Tears came to Cletos' eyes, which were as brown as his sister's; he
had their mother's red hair, however. He was afraid to say another word to his
defiant sister, for fear of crying. He pushed past Lektron and Raakon and
hurried quickly out of the cave, deeply ashamed and embarrassed. Tayla's words
had stung him to the core.
Tayla watch him run out of the cave, and her heart broke for him;
she now felt awful, so awful that she couldn't look Ridikar in his eyes. The
others felt bad for Cletos, but they also thought that Tayla was right in this
matter; perhaps Cletos did need a good dressing-down for his actions concerning
his children.
Ridikar interrupted their sadness for Cletos with his imperative
question, "Tayla, will you marry me, please?" He had a poor sense of timing,
and Dirkan and Bajal pounced on it immediately.
"Fine time you've picked to ask her?" Bajal growled at his sister's
suitor. "She isn't marrying you now or ever!"
"I agree," Dirkan declared vociferously. "After we leave his cave,
you will not be allowed anywhere near Tayla, Ridikar! You better be thankful
that you are still alive! You are a disreputable boy and completely unworthy of
her! No such marriage will be allowed; her grandmother and I will see to that!
Tayla is only twelve, and she will not marry at such a young age!"
"She will, if my father and grandfather permits it!" Ridikar hissed
rebelliously at the Namek warrior. "She is old enough by our laws to be
married! My father and grandfather approve of my plans to marry her. They
think that she will be a good Queen of Calmag, and so do I!"
Dirkan snarled, hating the boy's defiance, "She will never marry
you, even if she lives to be as old as I am! If I have to cripple you to
prevent it from happening, then I will!"
"And I'll help him!" Bajal added heatedly.
"No, you two won't," said a still, soft voice, the dulcet-toned
voice that Dirkan usually enjoyed hearing, except when it carried this note of
anger and disobedience.
"Tayla Chloe, what in Orchida's name are you saying?" Dirkan hissed.
Tayla turned from him and towards Ridikar, angered and hurt by
Dirkan and Bajal's actions. How could they do this to her? How could Cletos,
Lektron, and Raakon allow this to happen? Tears welled up in her brown sugar
eyes, as she stood proudly and bravely before Ridikar.
Completely unaware at this time of what she was truly agreeing to,
she looked right up into Ridikar's eyes and said six words that would shatter
the Clan of Chloe's peace for some time:
"Yes, Ridikar, I will marry you."
The Calmagian Palace, Two Days Later
Tayla was walking in the courtyard, accompanied by Lelina and Veal.
Both of her best friends were pressing Tayla for details about her dinner last
night with Ridikar. Unlike the boys, they envied Tayla and thought her
fortunate to have such a handsome, older boy pay attention to her. Lelina
thought that Ridikar was attractive, and Veal thought that he was charming.
They wanted to know everything, from what Tayla had worn to whether or not
Ridikar had kissed her.
"He kissed me on the hand," Tayla told them softly. "I could sense
that he wanted to do more, but Dirkan was chaperoning me the entire night. He
doesn't like Ridikar too much, even though he had dinner with us. The roasted
duck with apple and pear sauce was scrumptious, and Ridikar even offered me
champagne, but Dirkan told him no."
"My father let me taste champagne when I was about nine," Veal said.
"It tasted light and bubbly, but Mummy got mad at him for allowing me to try
it. She said that champagne was not for children, not even a taste."
"Alcohol is forbidden by our laws anyway," Lelina added, "but you
know, I think that I would have liked to try some, just once. Did you want to
try any of the champagne, Tayla?"
"I did wish I could for once," Tayla admitted, "but I know that it's
wrong, so I won't do it."
"What do Astorians find so bad about alcohol anyway?" Veal wondered.
Alcohol had been a regular part of meals on planet Meat, and children were
allowed to drink it once they turned fourteen.
"Our people consider it to be the root of much evil," Lelina
replied. "It is addictive, and it can cause people to do many awful things,
such as hurt others or stop caring about things. It also inhibits a fighter's
ability to perform fully as a warrior or a healior. Actually, the ban on
alcohol was put in place right after our people took Astoria back from the
Saiyans. The Saiyans used to drink alcohol there all of the time, and when they
were drunk, they would either kill innocent men or rape our women. A drunken
Saiyan was one of our people's worst fears back then."
Veal ran a thin hand through her lavender hair. "Meatians don't
believe in abusing alcohol, but drinking it in moderation is considered to be
okay. I am sorry for what your people had to endure; at least your race was
able to fight back." She sighed sadly, wistfully. "I'm going to be
alone for the rest of my life."
Lelina and Tayla were shocked by this declaration. "Why do you say such a
thing?" Tayla asked, startled by Veal's sudden declaration.
Veal sighed. "I am a Meatian, and even though Meatians are
mating-compatible with Astorians, it is unlikely that anyone would want to marry
me. Humanoids usually prefer marrying other humanoids, and I am mostly
mammalian. Boys treat me as a friend, but no one wants to court me, like they
do you and Lelina. By the time we return to Astoria, you and Lelina will be
allowed to have suitors, and you both will have flocks of them chasing after
you. I am of marriageable age, according to Meatian law and standards; most
girls my age would have been married by now. I know that you and the others
don't like the idea of arranged marriages, Tayla, but at least that way, no girl
is left without a husband. Every girl on my planet, no matter how ugly or
pretty they were was always married before age sixteen. On Astoria, I won't
have a chance at all. I wish my father was able to arrange a marriage for me."
Tayla noticed tears welling up in Veal's lavender eyes, and she put
an arm around her friend. "Don't give up, Veal, you're only fourteen. Someone
will surely come along to love you for whom you are. When that time comes, it
won't matter to him whether you're humanoid or mammalian; he'll love you just
because you're Veal. There's no reason why a male wouldn't love you, Veal.
It's not the end of the universe; there will be someone for you."
"And arranged marriages aren't all that good, Veal," Lelina told her
practically. "Look what Caline is going through with Alberm."
"Poor Caline," Veal sighed sadly, forgetting about her own worries
for the moment. "I feel sorry for her. She is such a sweet girl, and she
deserves better than Alberm. Her father did poorly when he arranged Caline's
marriage to him; even Meatian fathers won't marry their daughters to someone who
would abuse them or treat them badly."
Lelina turned towards Tayla, her long red-brown hair flowing in the
gentle Calmagian breeze. "Tayla, Ridikar is Caline's brother, isn't he? He's
going to rule Calmag someday; isn't there anything that he can do to help his
sister?"
Tayla spoke softly, with a niggling doubt that was pounding against
the walls of her heart about to take the form of words, "I've tried to talk to
Ridikar about Caline, but when I told him about how Alberm was treating her,
Ridikar changed the subject to how well Alberm had done in bringing the
Astorian-Calmagian alliance about. Come to think of it, whenever I tried to
bring the subject of Caline up, he always seemed to want to talk about something
else. That worries me, I admit. I like him so much, but how can I like someone
who doesn't seem to want to help his sister."
"Maybe he didn't want to say anything with Dirkan there," Lelina
suggested quietly. "Someone has to make Ridikar understand how serious Caline's
situation is. Does Dirkan know now?"
"Yes, he does," Tayla told her, toying with a strand of her dark
hair, "and he told me he and Nama will see what can be done for Caline. I hope
they can get her out of that awful marriage. Alberm is worse than a Saiyan!"
"I agree," Veal told her. "I don't think that even Saiyans treat
their own mates that badly."
They heard the sound of a whirring engine behind them and a small
puff of smoke enveloped them. Ridikar pulled up on a hover bike in front of
them. The three girls were impressed with the vehicle, for it was silver and
green with gold engines and smooth and sleek.
"Hello, ladies," Ridikar greeted them with a smile. He flashed
Tayla a more private smile and said to her, "Hey, Tayla, do you want to go
riding with me on my new hover bike for about half an hour?"
Tayla looked at Veal and Lelina anxiously, wanting to go with
Ridikar, but feeling bad about leaving her friends behind. Veal and Lelina
smiled gently at her. "If you want to go with Ridikar, it's fine with us," Veal
assured her.
Lelina was about to agree, but then she remembered that Dirkan and
Great-Nama probably would not approve of Tayla being without a chaperone. The
Astorians usually did not like their young ladies under age seventeen to be
alone with a young man without a chaperone until they were engaged to someone.
"Are you sure that's going to be okay with Great-Nama and Dirkan?"
Lelina asked her.
"It should," Tayla reassured her. "Nama and Dirkan are at a meeting
with Uncle Kitchator and Aunt Kildara, and they won't be back anytime soon. I'm
only to go riding with him for half an hour like he said. I need to talk to him
anyway. I'll be all right; I know him. If anyone asks, I've gone riding with
him."
Tayla climbed on the back of the hover bike, wrapping her slender
arms around Ridikar's waist. She unwound them briefly when Ridikar gave her a
helmet to put on. After fastening the helmet to her head, with Ridikar's help,
she put her arms around Ridikar's waist again, and Ridikar turned on the hover
bike. Tayla waved farewell to her friends, and before Lelina and Veal knew it,
Tayla and Ridikar were in the sky under the dome, no more than part of a green
and silver blur. That hover bike was so fast that Lelina shuddered; she hoped
that Tayla would not fall off of the hover bike.
Tayla was enjoying herself now, once she had recovered from the
shock of the hover bike's immense speed. Ridikar continued flying through the
air on the hover bike, thoroughly appreciating Tayla's company. He knew of a
cave, a cave that he liked to camp out at on a cliff. Ridikar considered that
cave a home away from home, and he had many supplies and gadgets in there,
enough to sustain two people for weeks on end.
Finally, he would get to be alone with Tayla, like he always wanted.
He enjoyed her arms embracing him as they sped off together, trying not to
notice the polluted Calmagian sky above the dome.
At least the air under the dome was pure and clean, mostly.
At last, they reached the cozy cave on the cliff. Tayla tried to
talk to Ridikar as they went along in the air, but they were going so fast, and
the wind was so loud that Tayla was unable to carry a good conversation with
him. Ridikar landed gracefully in front of his private cave, and he lifted
Tayla off of his bike gently. When he got off the bike himself, he put his
hands on Tayla's tiny waist.
"You'll like it here," Ridikar assured her, flashing a private smile
at her.
He escorted Tayla into his cave, and Tayla was impressed. The young Princess of
Chloe noticed the space-age gadgets and machines, including refrigerators and a
stove. The modern machines provided a striking contrast against the walls of
the caves and the stalagmites and stalactites, most of which had been cleared
away. Tayla also noticed a gold bed in a faraway corner, covered in blue and
green silks.
"I like your cave," she told him shyly. "It's beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," Ridikar assured her smoothly, wrapping an
arm around her waist, as he led her further inside.
She blushed. "Thanks."
Ridikar chuckled wickedly, leading her to a comfortable, stuffed
chair that he had brought from his own suite. He settled Tayla into the chair,
and he himself plopped down into another stuffed chair besides her. The chairs
were red, velvety and bouncy; she had not sat in anything so comfortable in a
while since she had left Astoria.
"Ridikar," she spoke finally. "May I talk to you about something?"
Ridikar watched her with his sleepy eyes. "Sure, you can talk to me
about anything!"
"It's about Caline," Tayla said finally, determined not to put this
subject off any longer. "Caline's husband, Alberm, hits her, Ridikar. He yells
at her and puts her down, treating her as if she's no more than a discarded
toenail."
"What do you expect me to do about it?" Ridikar asked her quietly,
not thinking seriously about Alberm's treatment of his sister. "I can't
necessarily intervene, Tayla; Caline is Alberm's property now. She's his wife."
"Caline is no one's property!" Tayla nearly screamed. She took a
deep breath when she realized how loud her voice had suddenly become. "Caline
is a person, a good person, a good, sweet girl who deserves much better than
Alberm. Something has to be done, Ridikar; someone has to help her," she told
him in a somewhat calmer tone.
"He is harsh on her once in a while," Ridikar admitted, "but she
often disobeys him, and she can be stubborn and difficult. A wife should be
submissive and obedient to her husband at all times. Alberm gave our father
last night a less than flattering picture of Caline, and our father is not
pleased with her. Caline is refusing to sleep with him, so Alberm has to force
her to lie with him-"
"You mean rape her?" Tayla cried in horror.
"In a Calmagian marriage, there is no such thing as rape," Ridikar
asserted firmly. "A wife is supposed to lie with her husband whenever he
desires her, unless she is very sick, or is recovering from childbirth. Alberm
is not happy that Caline will not make love with him; he wants a child with her,
but she will not lie with him unless he forces himself on her. Caline is being
very disobedient, and it is Alberm's duty as a husband now to keep her in line.
Perhaps he is being hard on Caline, but I myself would be furious if my wife
would refuse to sleep with me, if she wasn't sick or recovering from childbirth.
Alberm was talking to my father and I, and he says that Caline screams and
cries and begs him not to touch her. What kind of wife does that make Caline?
What kind of honor can she bring her husband, her husband's family, and our
family when she behaves like she does?"
"Caline is scared of him," Tayla persisted. "That is probably why
she will not sleep with him. You have to help her, Ridikar, please! If not for
her, then at least for me! I would be very thankful and grateful, if I knew
that Caline was safe and happy, and she can't be like that with Alberm. Caline
would be much happier, and I would be too. Do something to help her. Please?"
Her chocolate saucer eyes pleaded with Ridikar, and Ridikar was moved.
"For you, I will," Ridikar told her firmly. "I will see what I can
do to help my sister. I will speak to Father, and possibly Alberm myself.
Don't worry, Tayla, I'll take care of it."
Tayla was relieved; for a few minutes, she didn't think that Ridikar
cared anything about his sister. She had some suspicions, but her normally
forgiving nature overcame them. She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you,
Ridikar, for I greatly appreciate this."
"No problem," Ridikar told her easily. He rose from his chair and
pulled Tayla out of hers with his large hands. He pulled her closer to him and
whispered, "You're an unusual girl, Tayla, but I like you! I'll think that
you'll make a good wife someday!" He wrapped on arm around her waist, and then
he moved his other hand up to her hair.
Tayla noticed him touching her hair, and she gently pulled his hand
away. "I'm not ready to let you do that just yet," she told him kindly.
"Why not? I'm just touching your hair," he told her softly.
"You're not supposed to touch my hair, or any other special places
until I give you permission," Tayla stated firmly.
Ridikar chuckled wickedly at her. "Well, Princess Tayla of Astoria,
may I touch your hair?"
Tayla thought about it for a few seconds, and then an impish smile
crossed her face. "Yes, you may," she whispered. Ridikar's hand slid up into
her dark hair, stroking it. He then brought his lips to hers, kissing her
gently. Tayla was enjoying his kiss, not thinking at all about the time that
Prince Vegeta had kissed her. She began to press her rosebud lips against his.
She was lost in his kiss, as his free hand slid down toward her
bottom. Startled by this, she broke from their kiss and gasped, "Ridikar-"
"Calm yourself," he whispered soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt
you, my sweet. I would never do anything to hurt you or compromise your honor."
He kissed her again, like an experienced male, a male too experienced for
someone as young as Tayla. He began rubbing circles on Tayla's slender back,
and this helped her to relax. Ridikar's lips moved from her lips to her chin,
down to the hollow of her throat.
Tayla was enjoying this, as confused as she was; she was only twelve
years old, and she wasn't certain if she should be allowing Ridikar to do being
doing this with her. She liked it, and yet she felt a tiny bit guilty.
Would Nama and Dirkan have approved of this? Tayla wondered, as
Ridikar lifted her up into his arms and started carrying her towards his bed.
He sat her down on his bed and sat besides her. He pressed his lips to hers
again and pulled her close when a loud voice, all too familiar to Tayla, came
booming into the cave.
"YOUNG MAN! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER NOW!"
"Dirkan?" Tayla gasped, breaking away from Ridikar's embrace.
Ridikar's thoughts were full of curses.
Another voice, as loud and furious, came after the first.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD! GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER! SHE'S JUST A CHILD!
I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK BEFORE I'LL ALLOW YOU NEAR HER AGAIN!"
"Who was that?" Ridikar asked Tayla, but before Tayla could identify
which of her brothers had yelled like that, Bajal and Dirkan dashed swiftly
further into the cave like a couple of angry lions. Bajal swiftly seized
Ridikar by his collar and flung him against the wall of the cave. Dirkan
punched Ridikar hard in the ribs.
"Stop!" Tayla screamed at them in terror. "You're hurting him!"
"Good!" Bajal roared, more at Ridikar than at his baby sister.
Bendros, Arlon and Lukan were correct about this little son of a whore. Bajal
himself had not liked the boy from the moment he heard of Ridikar's too obvious
interest in his youngest sister. Cletos had agreed with him, and even Raakon,
normally the first person to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, instantly
detested the heir to the Calmagian throne when he had noticed him paying court
to Tayla.
Dirkan and Bajal had come to the palace courtyard looking for Tayla
to take her to her grandmother when he noticed that she was not with her
friends. When Veal and Lelina were questioned, Lelina shamefacedly confessed
that Tayla had gone off riding with Prince Ridikar, and no, he did not say where
they were going.
Dirkan turned from Ridikar and Bajal a moment to speak to Tayla.
"Tayla, are you alright? He began to notice Tayla's eyes darkening with anger.
Tayla's full fury was about to be unleashed. "Yes, I'm alright!" Tayla told him
angrily, in such a harsh tone that even Dirkan, who normally didn't fear anyone
with a lower ki level than him, was taken aback. Tayla had never spoken to him
so icily before. "At least I was until you two came barging in and attacking
him for no good reason! He did nothing to you two! You both ought to be
ashamed of yourselves!" She was near tears now, and the tears were about to
fall when Cletos, Lektron, and Raakon came dashing into the cave.
Lektron was the first to notice Tayla's tears, and he misinterpreted
the source as something that Ridikar had done to hurt Tayla. "Tayla, are you
okay? Tell me what that bastard did to you, and I'll take care of him quick.
No boy is going to molest my wife's little sister!"
"He didn't molest me!" Tayla screamed at him furiously. "We were
just kissing! And you're not going to care of him, Lektron! I won't allow it!
Bajal and Dirkan already did more than enough damage for one day!"
Bajal was still holding Ridikar's collar. "Now tell me, you little
sleaze: what exactly did you do to my sister? We all know the real reason you
brought her to this cave! If I catch you near her again, I'll fix your anatomy
so that you won't even be able to pee, understand?"
"Let me go!" Ridikar hissed at Tayla's angry oldest brother. "I did
nothing to her! She's right; we were doing nothing but kissing!"
Tayla threw herself past Dirkan and at Bajal. "Let him go, Bajal!
I mean it! He's done nothing to you! He did nothing wrong!" She turned to
Dirkan, as she tried to pull Bajal's arms off of Ridikar and almost succeeding.
"Dirkan, make my brother let him go!"
"For what?" Dirkan roared. "So he can try something on you again?
He's not going near you again, Tayla! And you will not see him anymore, your
grandmother and I will see to that!"
"No, you won't," Tayla told him defiantly, looking directly in his
eyes. "And you won't get Nama involved either."
The cave became silent, so silent that a tiny pebble could be heard
falling. All the men in the cave stared at Tayla in shock, their mouths agape.
None of them would have ever ordered Dirkan like that, not even Bajal, the most
arrogant and brash of them all. Dirkan himself was startled by Tayla's angry
declaration. If anyone else had told him off like that, he would have been
infuriated. He would have expected such a response from Bajal or Lektron, but
not his little Tayla, his favorite, his darling.
He tried to keep his voice low and even, for this was the first time
that Tayla had ever directly defied him like this. He said sternly, "Tayla, I
am your guardian, and you must obey me. When I say that you will not see this
boy again, I mean it. Your grandmother will back me up. That is final."
Tayla's eyes and new glare darkened, for Dirkan had never pulled rank on her
like this before.
"You can't stop her from seeing me!" Ridikar declared angrily,
encouraged by Tayla's stance. "She is of marriageable age, and I plan to make
her my bride." Bajal angrily threw Ridikar to the ground, but Ridikar scurried
towards Tayla before Dirkan or Bajal could catch him. He could have paralyzed
them, but he was too shaken by fear now to do so. He grabbed Tayla's hands and
pulled her close to him. He looked down into her cocoa eyes. "Princess Tayla
Chloe of Chloe, Astoria, will you marry me?"
All of the men in the room gasped in shock and horror, and Lektron
and Cletos instinctively reached for their swords. Raakon quickly put himself
in their path.
"No," he told them sternly. "A blade is not the way to solve this."
Cletos kept his voice even. "This little cretin plans to wed my
little sister, and he is not worthy of her! I will do whatever it takes to
protect and guide our sister, whether it is by word or blade. Now out of my
way!" he ordered his younger brother.
"Protect and guide me?" Tayla shouted at him, her temper still in
full swing. She said contemptuously to her older brother, "Why are you so
worried about me? Shouldn't you be worrying about your own children? Do
Petalia and Dedron still know that you care for them, if you do at all? When's
the last time you spent any time with either one of them?"
Cletos was taken aback now; his small sister really had a way of taking the wind
out of anyone's sails. "Tayla," he told her stiffly. "My affairs are none of
your concern."
"Well, then how come I can't know your business, but you can know
mine?" Tayla demanded to know.
"You are underage, unmarried, and our youngest sister," Cletos told
her firmly. "It is my job as an older sibling to look after you and protect
you, even if you do not approve. That goes the same for the rest of your
siblings, even Gorna."
"If you are protecting and looking after me," Tayla told him
sharply, "then who is protecting and looking after your children? Dedron almost
hates you, and he's mean to everyone, and Petalia thinks that you don't love her
anymore! You are hurting them; it's not their fault Farla left! They think
that it's their fault, and you haven't convinced them otherwise!" Tayla was
over exaggerating a bit now, for only Petalia blamed herself for her mother's
departure; Dedron put the full blame on their mother.
Tears came to Cletos' eyes, which were as brown as his sister's; he
had their mother's red hair, however. He was afraid to say another word to his
defiant sister, for fear of crying. He pushed past Lektron and Raakon and
hurried quickly out of the cave, deeply ashamed and embarrassed. Tayla's words
had stung him to the core.
Tayla watch him run out of the cave, and her heart broke for him;
she now felt awful, so awful that she couldn't look Ridikar in his eyes. The
others felt bad for Cletos, but they also thought that Tayla was right in this
matter; perhaps Cletos did need a good dressing-down for his actions concerning
his children.
Ridikar interrupted their sadness for Cletos with his imperative
question, "Tayla, will you marry me, please?" He had a poor sense of timing,
and Dirkan and Bajal pounced on it immediately.
"Fine time you've picked to ask her?" Bajal growled at his sister's
suitor. "She isn't marrying you now or ever!"
"I agree," Dirkan declared vociferously. "After we leave his cave,
you will not be allowed anywhere near Tayla, Ridikar! You better be thankful
that you are still alive! You are a disreputable boy and completely unworthy of
her! No such marriage will be allowed; her grandmother and I will see to that!
Tayla is only twelve, and she will not marry at such a young age!"
"She will, if my father and grandfather permits it!" Ridikar hissed
rebelliously at the Namek warrior. "She is old enough by our laws to be
married! My father and grandfather approve of my plans to marry her. They
think that she will be a good Queen of Calmag, and so do I!"
Dirkan snarled, hating the boy's defiance, "She will never marry
you, even if she lives to be as old as I am! If I have to cripple you to
prevent it from happening, then I will!"
"And I'll help him!" Bajal added heatedly.
"No, you two won't," said a still, soft voice, the dulcet-toned
voice that Dirkan usually enjoyed hearing, except when it carried this note of
anger and disobedience.
"Tayla Chloe, what in Orchida's name are you saying?" Dirkan hissed.
Tayla turned from him and towards Ridikar, angered and hurt by
Dirkan and Bajal's actions. How could they do this to her? How could Cletos,
Lektron, and Raakon allow this to happen? Tears welled up in her brown sugar
eyes, as she stood proudly and bravely before Ridikar.
Completely unaware at this time of what she was truly agreeing to,
she looked right up into Ridikar's eyes and said six words that would shatter
the Clan of Chloe's peace for some time:
"Yes, Ridikar, I will marry you."
