Chapter Seven- The Value of Children
Proverbs 17:6- "… children are a crown to the aged…"
King Partini returned to Hidon with a heavy heart. His wife met his private shuttle on his private launchpad. The two spent a day together, talking and planning. Partini told Shari of what had happened on Fareari; Shari told Partini of what had happened on Hidon and of Tielle's acceptance to Kall's proposal.
King Partini then met with his military leaders and received an update on the search for his daughers. "We have searched every parsec from here to Fareari," Admiral Tynsworth gravely informed the King, "and even with the help of Ziex and Shansire's militaries there is no sign of either princess or any spacecraft, except for faint energy-pulses near Fareari."
King Partini frowned. Energy-pulses were generated by large spacecraft, much larger than shuttles, and were used to track ships. Sensors could pick up on energy-pulses in a particular place sometimes days after the ship had actually been there. "Were the energy-pulses in a place that spacecraft would normally travel through?"
The admiral shook his balding head. "No. That is why I mentioned them. It is the only thing that we have found out of place. I believe that it is our best lead."
"Are there any distinct frequencies coming from the pulses?"
"No. There is no way of telling who might have been there. The trail is too old."
"But if, as you said, it is the best lead we have, then use it and keep searching. Keep trying until we know who has stolen my daughters or where they have been taken."
Hristen watched the arrogant princess descend the long staircase, her head held high and proud. She had dressed in her best, a pitiful show of pride for the helpless prisoner.
She sat down, glaring at him with those bright green eyes. Together with her fiery red hair, those eyes were tantalizing. She was really quite beautiful, and had she not been Hidonian and his prisoner, Hristen would have enjoyed getting to know her. Unfortunately, she was Hidonian, and a very willful one at that.
"Tielle," Hristen greeted her, purposely not using her title. "How kind of you to join us."
Hatred radiated off of her like light off of the sun as she glared at him. Chayden sent disapproving waves at Hristen.
Hristen turned to his brother, not caring if Chayden didn't like his goading. This was a Hidonian, after all. She deserved to be put in her place.
"I watched some news-holos today," Hristen mentioned casually, and he felt her curiosity and desire. She wanted to know what was happening to her planet, but she didn't want him to know that she did. He grinned. "There's no point in thinking that you can hide what you're feeling, you know. I can sense your hatred even as you sit here."
She looked up at him with a look of disbelief in her eyes. "A blind and deaf man could sense my hatred. It's not that hidden."
"It's strange how you hate us so much when your sister fears us instead," Chayden spoke, taking a sip from his glass. "Why is that?"
The girl seemed to be eager for an actual conversation and replied, "Arilana is only fourteen. She is young and relatively defenseless. The only reaction that would make sense for her is fear. But I am older, and more set in my ways." That was an understatement, Hristen thought. "Plus I have to be the strong one for both of us. I can't waste my time on fear or panic. And as the future Queen of Hidon, I don't think that fear is a useful emotion."
Future Queen of Hidon! She was dreaming.
"And you are not defenseless, as your sister is?" Hristen smirked. The girl had only her bare hands.
She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Get me a laser and I'll show you how defenseless I am," she replied coolly, confidence oozing out of her. Hristen made a mental note to make sure that she would never get a laser.
After lunch Tielle and Chayden went outside once again. Tielle had "acted out of order" at lunch, according to Hristen, (although Tielle thought that she had been fairly civil) and so Arilana had not been allowed to come with them for reasons that Tielle couldn't figure out. Again, she just attributed it to Farearian senselessness.
This time Tielle brought Proverbs and the Prophets with her, since Arilana wouldn't be there to talk with. Tielle felt a pang of remorse that Arilana was being forced to stay inside for something that she had done.
Chayden once again led her to the small pond. Tielle sat down by the banks and began to read her books while the prince skipped stones along the smooth water, causing ripples. Tielle realized that she was watching him and not reading and quickly turned back to her book, only to lose concentration again.
Prince Chayden was, well...handsome. He was tall and blond with a muscular build, more so than Hristen. He glanced at her, and she noted his square jaw and sparkling blue eyes.
She could endure the silence no longer and blurted, "Where are the rest of the guards?"
He looked at her, probably surprised that she was speaking to him. "I didn't think I'd need them. You are only one person, and I thought you'd be cooperative and wouldn't try to escape with your sister still in the manor. And if you did try-" he shrugged and touched the laser at his hip. "I too am I very good shot." Laughter danced in his eyes, and Tielle had the uneasy feeling that she was being made fun of.
"So why did I get to come out here and not Arilana? I'm the one who was supposedly being bad," Tielle took a stone and skipped it across the small pond.
"Well, I thought that it would be a bigger punishment if Arilana was punished instead. I doubt you'd care if you had to stay inside, but you seem to care for your sister very much."
Tielle felt her cheeks heat up. How could this stranger read her so well? He was gene-altered, but so was Hristen, and he hadn't caught on that Arilana meant so much to her. Tielle had become more protective of Arilana ever since Erete, Matani and Thoena had died. Arilana was all she had left of her siblings, and, here on Fareari, her only link to her family.
"How many siblings do you have?" She asked impulsively, more to change the course of her thoughts than anything.
Chayden skipped a stone. "Me? Twelve."
Tielle gaped at him. "You're not serious."
"Very. In Farearian society, children are valued, and the more children you have, the more prestigious you are. In fact, Farearian royals must wed by twenty and have children of their own by twenty-one."
"Or else what?"
"Or else we're disowned."
"Disowned?" That seemed pretty harsh to Tielle. On Hidon, the only law regarding royals and matrimony was that both the father and the daughter or son had to agree on the daughter or son's spouse.
Chayden nodded. "Yes. Or we get disowned."
Tielle frowned. "How old is Hristen?"
"Twenty. He's already married, but his wife is in Citaege right now." Chayden looked at Tielle. "You know, the capital of Fareari?"
"Yes, I know what Citaege is," Tielle snapped impatiently, looking out at the pond. She glanced back and Chayden and wondered how old he was. She then wondered why she even cared.
In Chapter Eight- The Death of Pride, an evil plot that is carried out crushes Tielle and leaves her broken…
Proverbs 17:6- "… children are a crown to the aged…"
King Partini returned to Hidon with a heavy heart. His wife met his private shuttle on his private launchpad. The two spent a day together, talking and planning. Partini told Shari of what had happened on Fareari; Shari told Partini of what had happened on Hidon and of Tielle's acceptance to Kall's proposal.
King Partini then met with his military leaders and received an update on the search for his daughers. "We have searched every parsec from here to Fareari," Admiral Tynsworth gravely informed the King, "and even with the help of Ziex and Shansire's militaries there is no sign of either princess or any spacecraft, except for faint energy-pulses near Fareari."
King Partini frowned. Energy-pulses were generated by large spacecraft, much larger than shuttles, and were used to track ships. Sensors could pick up on energy-pulses in a particular place sometimes days after the ship had actually been there. "Were the energy-pulses in a place that spacecraft would normally travel through?"
The admiral shook his balding head. "No. That is why I mentioned them. It is the only thing that we have found out of place. I believe that it is our best lead."
"Are there any distinct frequencies coming from the pulses?"
"No. There is no way of telling who might have been there. The trail is too old."
"But if, as you said, it is the best lead we have, then use it and keep searching. Keep trying until we know who has stolen my daughters or where they have been taken."
Hristen watched the arrogant princess descend the long staircase, her head held high and proud. She had dressed in her best, a pitiful show of pride for the helpless prisoner.
She sat down, glaring at him with those bright green eyes. Together with her fiery red hair, those eyes were tantalizing. She was really quite beautiful, and had she not been Hidonian and his prisoner, Hristen would have enjoyed getting to know her. Unfortunately, she was Hidonian, and a very willful one at that.
"Tielle," Hristen greeted her, purposely not using her title. "How kind of you to join us."
Hatred radiated off of her like light off of the sun as she glared at him. Chayden sent disapproving waves at Hristen.
Hristen turned to his brother, not caring if Chayden didn't like his goading. This was a Hidonian, after all. She deserved to be put in her place.
"I watched some news-holos today," Hristen mentioned casually, and he felt her curiosity and desire. She wanted to know what was happening to her planet, but she didn't want him to know that she did. He grinned. "There's no point in thinking that you can hide what you're feeling, you know. I can sense your hatred even as you sit here."
She looked up at him with a look of disbelief in her eyes. "A blind and deaf man could sense my hatred. It's not that hidden."
"It's strange how you hate us so much when your sister fears us instead," Chayden spoke, taking a sip from his glass. "Why is that?"
The girl seemed to be eager for an actual conversation and replied, "Arilana is only fourteen. She is young and relatively defenseless. The only reaction that would make sense for her is fear. But I am older, and more set in my ways." That was an understatement, Hristen thought. "Plus I have to be the strong one for both of us. I can't waste my time on fear or panic. And as the future Queen of Hidon, I don't think that fear is a useful emotion."
Future Queen of Hidon! She was dreaming.
"And you are not defenseless, as your sister is?" Hristen smirked. The girl had only her bare hands.
She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Get me a laser and I'll show you how defenseless I am," she replied coolly, confidence oozing out of her. Hristen made a mental note to make sure that she would never get a laser.
After lunch Tielle and Chayden went outside once again. Tielle had "acted out of order" at lunch, according to Hristen, (although Tielle thought that she had been fairly civil) and so Arilana had not been allowed to come with them for reasons that Tielle couldn't figure out. Again, she just attributed it to Farearian senselessness.
This time Tielle brought Proverbs and the Prophets with her, since Arilana wouldn't be there to talk with. Tielle felt a pang of remorse that Arilana was being forced to stay inside for something that she had done.
Chayden once again led her to the small pond. Tielle sat down by the banks and began to read her books while the prince skipped stones along the smooth water, causing ripples. Tielle realized that she was watching him and not reading and quickly turned back to her book, only to lose concentration again.
Prince Chayden was, well...handsome. He was tall and blond with a muscular build, more so than Hristen. He glanced at her, and she noted his square jaw and sparkling blue eyes.
She could endure the silence no longer and blurted, "Where are the rest of the guards?"
He looked at her, probably surprised that she was speaking to him. "I didn't think I'd need them. You are only one person, and I thought you'd be cooperative and wouldn't try to escape with your sister still in the manor. And if you did try-" he shrugged and touched the laser at his hip. "I too am I very good shot." Laughter danced in his eyes, and Tielle had the uneasy feeling that she was being made fun of.
"So why did I get to come out here and not Arilana? I'm the one who was supposedly being bad," Tielle took a stone and skipped it across the small pond.
"Well, I thought that it would be a bigger punishment if Arilana was punished instead. I doubt you'd care if you had to stay inside, but you seem to care for your sister very much."
Tielle felt her cheeks heat up. How could this stranger read her so well? He was gene-altered, but so was Hristen, and he hadn't caught on that Arilana meant so much to her. Tielle had become more protective of Arilana ever since Erete, Matani and Thoena had died. Arilana was all she had left of her siblings, and, here on Fareari, her only link to her family.
"How many siblings do you have?" She asked impulsively, more to change the course of her thoughts than anything.
Chayden skipped a stone. "Me? Twelve."
Tielle gaped at him. "You're not serious."
"Very. In Farearian society, children are valued, and the more children you have, the more prestigious you are. In fact, Farearian royals must wed by twenty and have children of their own by twenty-one."
"Or else what?"
"Or else we're disowned."
"Disowned?" That seemed pretty harsh to Tielle. On Hidon, the only law regarding royals and matrimony was that both the father and the daughter or son had to agree on the daughter or son's spouse.
Chayden nodded. "Yes. Or we get disowned."
Tielle frowned. "How old is Hristen?"
"Twenty. He's already married, but his wife is in Citaege right now." Chayden looked at Tielle. "You know, the capital of Fareari?"
"Yes, I know what Citaege is," Tielle snapped impatiently, looking out at the pond. She glanced back and Chayden and wondered how old he was. She then wondered why she even cared.
In Chapter Eight- The Death of Pride, an evil plot that is carried out crushes Tielle and leaves her broken…
