Calabrian Imperial Palace

Although Arora feared the greeting she would receive upon arriving at the palace, as her guard came to a stop in the courtyard and Wattan helped her to dismount, she saw only curious glances from the servants who then went about their routine activities. Wattan escorted her into the palace and was leading her to the emperor's receiving hall, but before they reached it, Lady Xuxa stepped from the shadows and Wattan was forced to acknowledge her.

"Where are you taking her?" she asked, her eyes shifting from him to Arora.

"My business is with the emperor. Step aside, woman."

Xuxa narrowed her eyes.

Wattan seemed to realize his mistake in treating her with disrespect because until Zeno said otherwise, she was a female of his house. "I am sorry, my lady. His Excellency demanded that I bring imperial guard Arora to him."

"He is not here," she told them and looking at Arora again she added, "Even so, she is not fit to be in his presence."

Not only was Arora filthy and sweaty from the long ride through the Wastelands, her clothing was torn and her hair was wind-swept into tangles. And Shamara was in desperate need of changing, her ripe swaddling now befouling the air. Xuxa was looking at her as if she were a pitiful animal, so Arora turned to Wattan. "Perhaps I should make myself presentable."

Wattan turned her slightly away from Xuxa and forced Arora to walk a few steps with him. "Are you going into that she-wolf's lair? Her primary concern is her cub, and she will do what she can, has proven she will defy anyone, to give him what he wants," he whispered furiously in her ear. "I do not believe for a moment that Zeno is not here."

"He may have gone out to meet Lady Virineia," suggested Arora although she didn't believe Lady Xuxa either.

The imperial guard of the emperor sighed and looked past her to the waiting Lady Xuxa as he spoke to Arora. "You go with her against my judgment, my lady."

"I really don't have a choice," she reminded him before turning back to the emperor's concubine. "I will go with you and make myself presentable for the emperor."

Before they left, Wattan warned, "Do not forget, Lady Xuxa, that Zeno himself has demanded the presence of Lady Arora."

Lady Xuxa said nothing as she left the hall, and Arora followed her. Shamara was sleeping peacefully in the sling. Fortunately, during the day-long ride to the imperial city, Shamara had made few demands on Arora, and now Arora would be glad to bathe her daughter as well as herself.

When they entered the women's chambers, all activity ceased and conversations came to an abrupt end, the usual occurrence when Lady Xuxa entered, so Arora did not attribute it to her arrival.

Lady Xuxa turned to Arora and she noticed Larya lurking behind her. "I will leave Larya here to help you. After you have bathed and changed your clothing, she will bring you to my rooms where you may rest until the emperor calls for you."

Arora nodded, and after a brief stare, Lady Xuxa left the large chamber. The women began to talk again, but this time they were openly watching Arora and talking excitedly. Shamara squirmed and let out a hungry wail. As Arora sat on a bench and helped her child to nurse, the other women in the steamy room cautiously approached her. Even Larya looked on with curiosity as she fed her baby.

Finally one of the women was brave enough to speak. "Is that the child of the pretender?"

"He is not a pretender," Arora told them through gritted teeth. "He is Prince Trey."

"Are you truly a Guerani sorceress?" asked another.

"I am not a sorceress," said Arora.

Several women stepped back from her and Larya commented, "We have heard that you killed Dax the Demon, your own father."

"I did not kill him," she said angrily.

"There are tales of a great dragon coming from within you."

"That was not me!" cried Arora. "My father was Guerani. He used his powers for evil purposes, and tried to kill me and Prince Trey."

The women stared at her with disbelief, and Arora knew she could be unable to convince them even though some of them had the occasion to suffer the Demon's attentions. "I do not use my powers to destroy."

"No," said Larya with a sly smile. "You use your powers to convince innocent men to do your bidding."

Arora glared at her. "What are you implying? The man you refer to as the pretender is Prince Trey. You will see so yourself when he comes to take back his right as crowned prince."

"I saw the pretender in your camp, and I was not convinced." Larya tossed back her white hair. "Perhaps if I could be alone with him, I might find a more interesting way to test him. I knew the real Prince Trey as no other had, including you, imperial guard Arora."

The other women giggled and Arora felt as if the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. Trey had been intimate with Larya? He had denied it, but Arora now had doubts especially given his behavior after she left him at the colony with the humans. Perhaps she was foolish to think he hadn't taken advantage of his rank to have any woman he wanted. And yet, he had seemed so sincere when he claimed no interest in women other than her before Dax had sent him away. Arora could easily find out the truth, but she would use her powers only as a last resort.

Instead she glared at Xuxa's servant. "You are a liar. I know it."

Larya picked up a lock of Arora's filthy hair and twirled it around her fingers. "You didn't think Prince Trey was getting lessons only in sword technique, did you?" She leaned closer and looked Arora in the eye. "If he is a good lover, you have me to thank."

More than a little jealous, Arora seized the other woman's hand and jerked it away, not caring that she pulled out her own hair. In touching her, she did ascertain that Larya was lying, so she summoned just enough of her power to intimidate the other woman. When Larya saw the light jump into Arora's eyes, she turned on her heel and quickly left the bathing chamber, headed straight for Lady Xuxa's apartments.

Arora laughed and turned her attention to Shamara, ignoring the other woman who watched her with a mixture of awe and fear. After she burped the baby, one of the women hurried to find her cloth to change her, and some of the women watched curiously as she went about cleaning her baby.

"Is she Guerani too?"

Arora looked at the women brave enough to stay near her. "As I told you, we do not use our powers for evil."

"May I hold the princess?" asked one of them shyly.

Arora hesitated, then handed over Shamara. When Shamara did not protest, Arora knew the child would be safe, so she left her with the women and went to the warm pool to bathe. After she finished, she found that clean clothing was brought to her, so she dressed in the fine robes and was about to rescue her daughter from the attentions of the women, but Larya returned.

"Leave the child and follow me. Lady Xuxa wishes to speak to you."

Arora didn't leave until one of the women offered to take care of Shamara and vowed to protect her with her life. Arora didn't have a choice but to leave Shamara with the women but she did suspect there would be a bloody battle if anyone tried to take the first imperial princess away from the women of Zeno's house.

She followed Larya to Lady Xuxa's apartment where the woman was lounging on a padded bench waving an ornate fan to cool her. She did little more than glance at Arora when she entered. "Good, you no longer offend me with your filth."

"I was on the road…" she started to explain, but Lady Xuxa waved her hand impatiently to stop her from speaking.

"I am not interested in your adventures." She swung her legs over the edge and stood, but she ordered Larya to leave and she waited until her servant had gone before she spoke. "I need to know about Dax."

"What do you need to know?" asked Arora. She sensed the other woman was fearful, and after so many years of living under her thumb as had all women in the imperial palace, she was enjoying the older woman's anxiety.

Lady Xuxa stared at her silently for several moments, and Arora returned the stare. Finally the emperor's concubine made a sound of disgust. "What did Dax tell you before he died?"

"Everything." Arora glared at her. "You have dishonored the emperor's house."

"Zeno will never believe you," said Lady Xuxa with a laugh. "You killed your own father and you have given yourself to his enemy. You who were left in the Wastelands to die are no better than the whores that service the men here."

"I am the wife of Prince Trey," declared Arora angrily. "I am an imperial guard of the emperor. He will believe what I have to say."

"He will never accept your word about the pretender."

"He will accept the word of Lady Virineia."

Mention of her rival made Lady Xuxa clench her fists. "I cannot believe that fool did not kill her as I asked him! That greedy bastard Dax!" She swung around and paced away. "I should never have gotten involved with him! But Zeno didn't want me! And when he finally did, it was too late! That beast already had his claws in me, and then Dax rejected me for that Guerani bitch."

"My father was also Guerani," Arora informed her.

Lady Xuxa's eyes widened. "You are lying!"

Before they could discuss any further, Larya re-entered. "Prince Dilan is headed this way."

Arora started toward the women's chamber, but Larya blocked her way, and she heard Lady Xuxa laugh. Only a moment passed before Dilan strode into his mother's apartments. His eyes fell on Arora immediately, but before he could make a step toward her, his mother went forward and grabbed his arm.

"Did you bring that woman to the palace?"

He tore his eyes from her face and Arora forced herself not to flee. She wasn't a coward. "Of course I did. The emperor demanded it. Even now she is with him now, and you had better be prepared to live with a demotion in status, dear mother, because Zeno greeted her quite warmly. Lady Virineia has but to snap her fingers and Zeno would level the mountains for her. Removing a faithless whore from his house will be no trouble for her. And when he does discover everything you have done – Dax, Lady Virineia's disappearance, Prince Trey's murder – Zeno will kill you with his own hands."

"You are rather smug for someone who has much to lose," snapped his mother.

Dilan laughed. "I cannot help the accident of my birth. I had no part in that. And I knew nothing of Lady Virineia's disappearance, as I was just a child."

"And Trey? You had no hand in Trey's death?"

"Trey is not dead, my dear mother!" Dilan folded his arms. "Word has reached Zeno that many of his imperial guards are defecting to the pretender, and with Lady Virineia claiming that he is her son, Zeno has no choice but to acknowledge him. The pretender himself has surrendered to the Edgeland Fortress and will reach the imperial city at any time now, no doubt in honorable escort and not under arrest."

"I wish I could kill Dax myself! This is his fault! He planned this all from the start!" Lady Xuxa glared at Arora. "Maybe I will satisfy myself by spilling your blood."

"I am the wife of Prince Trey," she reminded her.

"Not for long, my dear Arora." Dilan was smirking at her. "Once my mother's perfidy becomes known, I can take my place at the head of our house, and I will nullify your union with Trey."

"You would not dare!"

"I would dare anything to have you," he took a step toward her. "If I must kill Trey to have you, I will."

"You will have to kill me too!" Arora would rather die than let him touch her again.

Before Dilan could respond, Larya stepped into the apartments. "My lady, the emperor…"

She was shoved aside and Wattan strode into the apartments accompanied by several imperial guards. Lady Xuxa looked about wildly as if searching for a way to escape, and then her eyes rested briefly on Arora before a calm seemed to descend over her. Arora wished she knew what thoughts were spinning in her ruthless mind.

Lady Xuxa turned her haughty gaze on the men. "How dare you intrude upon my private apartments! The emperor will hear about this!"

"The emperor demands your presence and that of Prince Dilan." Wattan held out his hand to Arora. "You are also to accompany my, my lady."

"You call her lady?" spat Lady Xuxa.

Wattan glared at her. "She is more deserving than you, Xuxa."

"You will regret this," she snarled before moving to Dilan and curling her arm around his. "My son shall escort me." Dilan didn't seem pleased to be associated with her, but he did not refuse.

Wattan allowed Arora to check on Shamara, and seeing that she was asleep and surrounded by women gazing adoringly upon her, Arora went with the guards. During the long walk to the receiving hall Lady Xuxa did not cease threatening the guards that did not show her proper respect. Arora guessed that most if not all the imperial court had already learned of Lady Xuxa's disgrace.

Instead of taking them to the emperor's throne room as Arora expected, they were escorted to his private chambers. Arora had been here once, but by the wide-eyed look on Xuxa's face, she guessed that in all the years she had been in his house, she had never been here. The opulence of the room was even more awe-inspiring than Arora remembered and she felt awe-struck to be in Zeno's presence again.

Upon entering the room, the guards formed a wall behind them, and Xuxa hesitated at first.

Zeno himself was standing across the room near a window, and with him, Lady Virineia. They stood so closely, eyes only for each other, that Arora felt they were intruding on a very private moment. Lady Virineia swayed toward him, and Zeno bent his head and buried his face in her neck.

Xuxa stepped forward and through gritted teeth announced their presence. "You have sent for us?"

Zeno reluctantly drew back from Lady Virineia, and putting his hand intimately around her waist to draw her forward with him. "I hope you have prepared yourself for this day, Xuxa."

"I don't know what you are talking about!" She straightened her back and looked with contempt upon Lady Virineia. "So, she has returned! And you have forgiven this human whore for what she has done?"

Zeno raised a brow. Arora could sense the fury seething beneath the surface of the calm restraint they saw. "We are not here to discuss my beloved Virineia's foolish mistakes, but yours, Xuxa."

"Mistakes! I have done nothing within my own power of which I am ashamed."

"Dax told us about you," said Virineia. As the wife of the emperor, she had the right to accuse Xuxa. "You have dishonored the house of Zeno."

"I? I am innocent!" Xuxa threw herself at Zeno's feet, and Arora thought her sobbing sounded quite authentic. Then again, the woman knew she was likely to die soon. "I was but a pawn in Dax's revenge against you, my lord! He used me to humiliate you and to get to Valerya! I was powerless against his Guerani magic!"

Zeno looked down at the sobbing woman impassively. "Not once in all these years did you seek help against his powers?"

There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she raised her face to look at him. "I was under his spell!"

"The only spell you have been under is that of your own selfish ambition and lust. Dax was able to take advantage of that, just as he took advantage of my love of Virineia to avenge himself on my father. Neither of us were under any spell." Zeno laughed bitterly. "How Dax must have laughed that he had no need of his powers to destroy the house of my father and my own. He has avenged himself. Because of your greed and my foolish cowardice, I have claimed a son not my own and allowed my own to be cast out."

"Your son is dead!" cried Xuxa, jumping to her feet. "Dax killed him!" She spun to look at Dilan. "Tell him! You saw him do it!"

Dilan shook his head. "I did not see Prince Trey die." He turned to speak to the emperor. "My lord, his plan all along was to see me succeed you. When you chose Trey over me, he became desperate. I begged Dax to spare your son."

Arora burned in silent anger in hearing his lies, but Zeno spoke before she could tell what she knew.

"Dilan, you are as faithless a son to Dax as you were to me."

"I speak the truth, my lord. By the time I realized his intentions, it was too late."

Xuxa glared at him. "You have always known his intentions! Dax was more a father to you than Zeno. He never once let you believe otherwise."

"You would say anything to save yourself!"

Zeno sighed. "I have heard enough lies. Xuxa, you will be returned to your clan in disgrace."

"No!" Xuxa backed away in horror. "My brother will kill me!"

"Your fate is in his hands." He nodded to Wattan who instructed his guards to remove Xuxa. The woman left kicking and screaming ignobly.

"As for you…" Zeno looked at Dilan. "I have made the mistake of claiming you as my son and crowning you my heir. That is a mistake I must live with. But Trey may not be as forgiving, especially given the circumstances surrounding his exile from Calabria. I do not believe for a moment that you are innocent, and yet I think Dax used you callously in his need for vengeance. Go enjoy yourself until the time Trey comes to end your life."

Dilan was visibly relieved that Zeno didn't slay him on the spot, and when he turned to go, he reached for Arora. "Come with me."

"What do you think you are doing?" asked Wattan, stepping forward to stop him.

"She is a female of my house," declared Dilan. He spun to look at Zeno. "Do you deny it, my lord?"

"Of course not," said Zeno. "You are not my son, and since you acknowledge Dax as your father and he acknowledged such to you, you are now the head of her house, with right of her disposal. But I have been told that she is the wife of my son."

"I do not consent to a union with Trey. Nor did Dax."

"You are wrong," spoke of Virineia. "I think Dax wished Arora to join with either Apolo or Trey." She looked at Zeno. "I do not know what madness possessed him to desire Arora and Apolo to create a Guerani who would overpower Calabria, but I know that Valerya wished to join your houses in a gesture of peace. I am sure that Dax must have been in agreement. That is why he never allowed Dilan to take Arora as his concubine."

"We do not have his word on this!" Dilan turned to Arora. "Did our father acknowledge Prince Trey as your husband?"

Arora could not lie. "No."

"She is my female!" Dilan was triumphant as he seized Arora's arm.

Virineia reached out to Zeno. "My lord! You must do something!"

"We all know the law. Arora belongs to the males of her house until they find a use for her." Zeno looked down into Virineia's eyes. "Some things cannot be changed."

Virineia's hand fell away from him, the fire in her eyes dying.

Dilan laughed and dragged Arora close to him. She was disgusted by his touch, but she was powerless now that Zeno himself declared her to be in his power. "I have a use for you," he whispered in her ear. "When I am through with you, you will not even remember Trey. You will beg for my touch."

"The only thing I will beg for will be my death," she whispered furiously back.

"Arora," spoke up Zeno. "You have brought me something?"

Dilan reluctantly released her, and Arora turned to Wattan who handed her the sword that Zeno had placed in her hands many months earlier. Arora walked to him and dropping to her knees before him, she raised the sword.

Zeno took it from her. "You have served me well, Arora, child of Dax. I think you have also served the gods in their ultimate plan."

She looked up at him and their eyes met. "My lord, was this my destiny, to return your son to you? Was this the fate you saw in my eyes when you spared my infant life?"

Virineia gasped and Arora realized too late that she still did not know the truth. "You…you…"

Zeno looked from Arora to his wife. "I cannot ask you to forgive me, Virineia. I will never claim to have spared our own female child, because the moment I placed her in Dax's hands, I sealed her fate. Dax used my weakness to his gain. He needed his female to live, and he knew I would be unable abandon her, especially once she bonded to me with her Guerani power."

Virineia stared at him silently with tears in her eyes before she moved away. Zeno watched her with sadness and regret before turning his attention back to Arora. "You have yet to fulfill your destiny, Arora. For now I must release you from my service. You belong to Dilan's house."

Arora bowed her head and she tried to stop her tears. "What of my child?"

"The female?" Zeno stood silently pondering her question, then said, "There has never been a female of imperial blood in the emperor's house." Not one that had been allowed to live.

Virineia came to him. "There is a female in your house now! Do not dare consider putting Shamara in the Wastelands!" The look in Virineia's eyes warned him of the consequences.

Zeno stood silently for several moments, then he repeated, "Shamara." Zeno chuckled. "So that is the female's name. Trey is clever to have chosen such a name. Very well, she shall be welcomed into my house."

Both Arora and Virineia let out the breath they had been holding awaiting his decision.

Dax came forward. "Thank you, my lord, for taking a female off my hands."

Zeno raised a brow. "I would be willing to take this female also."

"Your son has dishonored my house! I will not hand her over to him." Dilan grabbed Arora's shoulders and jerked her to her feet. "She is mine!"

The doors swung open and several guards filed in. When they parted, Arora was relieved to see Trey enter accompanied by Duo and Heero. Trey was dressed in very fine robes proclaiming his station. No one who saw him enter with his confident stride, his hand on the hilt of his imperial sword, would believe he was anybody but Trey, son of Zeno, crowned prince of Calabria.

"I have come to demand my rights," stated Trey as he came to a stop several feet from Zeno. He was surprised his voice carried conviction and no hint of the fear he felt at confronting his father. Seeing Arora handled by Dilan gave him strength.

Zeno crossed his arms over his chest. "So you are the pretender."

"I am no pretender. I am Trey, your son." Trey looked at the two women for whom he felt responsible. Both had tear-streaked faces. "You have not harmed my women?"

"Your women?" Zeno raised a brow. "This woman is my wife. She belongs to me. As for Arora," Zeno gave a disinterested shrug. "She belongs to Dilan's house."

Trey swung to look at Dilan. The bastard was grinning as he pulled Arora even closer to him. For touching her, Trey would kill him. "Arora is my wife."

"She belongs to my house," Dilan told him with malicious delight. "I have a use for her."

Trey frowned wondering what had happened in this chamber before he had entered. They had passed the snarling, wailing, and screaming Lady Xuxa. The woman was doubtless destined for the Wastelands. She was so thoroughly disgraced that Zeno was not even bothering to put her there himself. Now Trey looked back at his father who stood watching with a faint smile. The heartless bastard was enjoying the show. Virineia did not betray her thoughts, but she did not seem in any danger as she stood near Zeno. Had she tied the loose ends of her life now?

"Arora belongs to the house of Dax," Trey reminded Zeno. "Apolo is head of the house."

"I am the head of that house," declared Dilan.

Trey continued to stare at his father who raised his brows. The Butcher was forcing Trey to do his dirty work yet again. "Is that true?" When Zeno nodded, Trey knew he had no choice. He drew his sword and turned towards Dax. "You have dishonored my father's house!"

Dax shoved Arora aside, and she hurried to stand with Heero and Duo. Trey heard her ask about Apolo, but no one could answer her questions. Apolo had been separated from them when Trey turned himself in at the Edgeland Fortress. Trey was more worried about Apolo now than he was for himself.

"You do not have the right to challenge me, pretender," scoffed Dilan, but he brought forth his sword. He wasn't so certain after all.

Trey knew he spoke the truth. Unless Zeno said differently, Trey was naught but a pretender under arrest.

Zeno raised a brow. "He has every right as my son." He held out his hand to Virineia. "Come my dear, we shall watch Trey dispose of the bastard from a safe distance."

She put her hand in his and they retreated several yards away.

The confident smile faded from Dilan's face. Trey flexed his arms and swung his sword. Dilan should be afraid. While Trey trained hard to take his father's place, Dilan had amused himself at the expense of others, plotting and planning with Dax to take what did not belong to him. Trey would show him what it really meant to be the crowned prince.

"Today is a good day to kill you once and for all," snarled Dilan as he tossed aside the sheath and brandished his sword. "You have dishonored a female of my father's house. She is mine now, and I will insure that you never touch her again."

"Your misdeeds are too numerous to mention now," said Trey. He didn't really feel like going through the customary preamble before the fight. Trey wanted to get it over with, so he raised his sword.

Their swords crossed, and immediately Dilan went on the offensive. Trey had not expected him to be as strong as he was, so he concluded that Dilan must have trained while Trey had been exiled to another galaxy with no memory. Although he had caught him off guard, Dilan was still no match for Trey. Dilan was even foolish enough to use his strongest moves at the beginning of the duel, no doubt hoping to end it quickly, but Trey easily countered his attack and was able to draw blood each time. When Dilan's sword crossed Trey's, he tried to throw him back, but Trey stood his ground and struck his face with his backhanded fist. Trey heard some grumbling about what might be considered a dishonorable move, but Trey didn't think Dilan deserved an honorable fight. He was a dog who would be treated as one.

Dilan fell to the floor and rolled away barely in time to avoid the tip of Trey's sword. Trey had never felt such an overwhelming desire to kill anyone before, but now he would not be satisfied until Dilan lay dead at his feet. Trey took the offensive, slashing at Dilan who barely managed to avoid the deathblow each time while taking cuts that slashed his clothing and sliced his flesh. Finally Dilan slipped on his own blood and fell on his back, his sword knocked from his hand.

Trey stood over him, the tip of his sword against Dilan's chest. Trey could feel the erratic beats of his heart up through the blade.

"You don't have the guts to kill me," goaded Dilan. "You couldn't kill Zeno, you couldn't dispose of the female, and you can't dispose of me. You are a weak human, not fit to rule our people. There is no Calabrian in you!"

"There is enough Calabrian in me to do what needs to be done." Trey shoved the sword down with both hands, and Dilan's body jerked as the blade slid through his heart. Trey felt a wave of satisfying triumph as Dilan stared up at him in surprise; crimson spreading over his chest as his pierced heart bathed his blade in blood with its final beats. Dilan used the last of his strength to turn his head to look at Arora before the life faded from his eyes.

Trey stumbled away from the body, forcing back the nausea that now rolled through him. Virineia started toward him, but Zeno grabbed her arm. "You will make him weak."

"I am not weak!" Trey took a deep breath and went to stand before his father. They stared at each other in silence. Trey remembered his father being bigger than him, but now they stood eye to eye.

"Are you challenging me now?" asked the emperor, his eyes straying to the bloodied sword Trey held in his hand.

"I want only what is mine."

"You shall have what is yours." Zeno looked past him to Wattan. "See that a feast is prepared and that the city celebrates the return of Prince Trey."

Zeno turned his attention back to Trey. "I suppose you are steadfast in your resolve to make Arora your wife."

"She is already my wife."

"Then there may be war with Bayman." Zeno chuckled and reached out to snatch Virineia's hand. "After all you have done, my beloved wife, I would not set you in the Wastelands so that I can have an alliance with those dogs."

"How very noble of you," she said under her breath, but he heard her and smiled.

"Do you think this settles everything between us?" demanded Trey. "There are questions I still need answered."

Zeno sighed and looked away from Virineia. "What more can you want, Trey? I allow you the woman you desire although it means preparing our people for a long and difficult war. I have acknowledged you as my only son. Is there more?"

"I want to know what happened that night!" Trey clenched his sword tightly. "Dax took it from my memory! You are the only one who can tell me now!"

"Clever Dax." Zeno laughed bitterly. "All the while he was my closest friend, he plotted my destruction and the downfall of my house. He bred my concubine, abused my wife and forever tied my house with his when he placed that insignificant little female in my arms."

"I want the truth from you." Trey pointed to Zeno's sword. "He has locked my memories into that blade somehow."

Zeno looked at the sword, then back to Trey. "Perhaps you shall never know, Trey. But one day, I am sure your memories will return. Until that time, set aside the past and live to make a future."

"Your father is right," said Virineia softly, reaching out to touch his cheek. "We must all go on. Together we can re-make Calabria. You have already begun with Shamara."

Trey could see the hope in his mother's eyes. But Trey knew what she suggested was impossible. Zeno could not be trusted any more than Dax or Xuxa or Dilan. He was a Calabrian with no morals. How Virineia could forgive him when he had failed to protect her, Trey did not understand.

He brushed her hand away from his face. "I vow, my lord father, that one day I will remember, and you will regret that Dax did not allow Dilan to murder me."

Zeno nodded, and Trey saw that he was proud of him. Trey felt disgusted that his approval pleased him. Dilan's bloodstained the floor, and Trey didn't care how many had to die so that he could have Arora. Perhaps he had become Zeno's son in all ways when he ended Dilan's life. Would he be as ruthless as the Butcher?

"You shall accompany me to the receiving hall where we will inform Ryana of Bayman of our decision." Zeno walked past him, stepping over Dilan's body, and then he paused at the door flanked by Wattan and another guard.

Trey looked at Dilan's body again then ignored the soft plea in his mother's eyes. He couldn't be the son she wanted. But Trey couldn't be the son Zeno wanted either. The human and Calabrian in him warred for control, and he was afraid the latter was winning. One look at Arora and he knew it couldn't be true. No Calabrian would do as much for a female.

"You are unharmed," he said as he came upon her. There was a faint bruise on her face that he lightly caressed. Trey feared what else Dilan might have done to her.

She nodded and reached out to touch his cheek. The warmth from her hand was comforting. "I am sorry, Trey."

He took her hand and kissed the palm. "None of this is your doing, Arora. Is Shamara safe?"

When she nodded, he said, "Then wait for me in my room."

"Where is Apolo?" she asked, her brows drawn together in concern.

"I do not know. The commander at the Edgeland Fortress took him from us. Now that I have been reinstated, I am sure that he will return with several females purchased in the Imperial City marketplace."

"Prince Trey." Wattan had come to them, and Trey saw that his father had gone ahead. "The emperor…"

"I know!" he snapped.

He looked at Heero and Duo and didn't know what he saw in their eyes. They had all killed men and women in their gundams, but what he had done was far different. Trey had looked Dilan in the eye as he died and felt pleasure at his death.

"I will join you later. Arora will see to your accommodation."

"I just want to get to the pirate satellite," said Duo. "Looks like you don't need us anymore, and I'm a little worried about the Bayman problem. Newt says they have technology to rival our own."

"Although I agree with Duo, I am not sure I am ready to leave just yet. I don't think everything is wrapped up tightly," commented Heero. " You have some dangling threads that need to be tied up."

"You heard Zeno. I may never be able to tie them." Trey kissed Arora's forehead, then moved passed them to join Wattan. He would have to be deaf not to hear one or two of the guards snort derisively over his display of affection toward his female. The road to change on this planet would be long and difficult to travel.

They walked for several moments in silence, Wattan a few feet behind him in the position usually held by Apolo. Trey wondered if he should trust the imperial guard of his father whom he still suspected of betrayal. For all he knew, Zeno had given him instructions to put a dagger in his back.

"My lord prince," Wattan spoke up. "I want to assure you that Lady Arora was not harmed by Dilan, son of the Demon. He meant to dishonor her, and even if you hear otherwise, I arrived before he could do so. I accompanied her to this palace."

Trey felt relief, not because of his male pride, but because Arora did not need more shame in her life. If Dilan had done anything to her, she would be unable to put it behind her. "I thank you, Wattan."

"I want you to know, also, my lord prince, that there are three thousand imperial soldiers who are willing to lay down their lives for you should you ever need them. They will gather outside the city tomorrow to show their support of you."

"They may need to fight the forces from Bayman," Trey told him.

"They are very willing to die for you, Lady Arora and the princess, Shamara."

Trey turned to look at him. "They would risk their lives for females?"

"Lady Arora has trained harder than any man in the imperial guard, and although it is not her destiny to remain among us; we respect her above many men. She is a worthy wife for the emperor of Calabria, mother of the next."

"Are you so sure that I will succeed my father?" asked Trey dryly.

"In our eyes, you already have."

They did not speak again as they came to the receiving room. The emperor was seated on his throne facing Ryana of Bayman who was flanked by a man wearing Bayman garb and Lady Une. Lady Une sneered at him, but Trey ignored her. The woman didn't seem to realize how low her position was in this society and to whom she showed her contempt.

"My son has finally arrived!" Zeno waved a hand to beckon him forward. "I believe he has already rejected you, Ryana, and I now add my voice to his. I do not wish for him to join with you, nor can I as I already have a wife. Perhaps Trey would take you as a concubine, as I will not."

Ryana spun angrily away from the emperor and glared at Trey. "Do you still hold by your ridiculous vow made amongst murders and thieves? If all I must be is your concubine, then I will do so."

Trey raised a brow. "I believe I made myself quite clear. The only females in my house will be my wife and those of our making."

Ryana turned back to the emperor. "My father will be displeased. I trust you will allow me to return to Bayman unharmed."

Zeno nodded. "Give my regards to your father."

"Your people will starve!" warned Ryana. "You cannot grow anything on this barren planet."

"We will survive," predicted Trey. "There has been rain in the Wastelands twice. The curse of the Guerani has been lifted. Soon crops will grow and we will have no need of trade with Bayman at all."

The Bayman representative looked concerned. "My lord," he pleaded to Zeno. "Our king does not wish for this incident to come between us."

"How dare you speak for my father!" shouted Ryana angrily.

The man ignored her. "Indeed, he wished only to be rid of this woman. Her behavior has caused great embarrassment to the king. He has already recognized his son, Dagan, as his successor."

"That is not true!" Ryana launched herself at the man from her planet, pounding at him with her fists. "You are a liar! He would not recognize that boy!"

Both Zeno and Trey watched her for a moment until finally the man struck her and she collapsed whining on the floor. "I will take her back to Bayman."

"You will treat her with the respect of her station," spoke up Trey. He felt sorry for the princess.

She raised her head and he saw venom in her eyes. "Do not worry about me, Trey of Calabria. Worry about yourself. One day I will avenge myself on you and your house."

Zeno made a sound of disgust and tossed a dagger to Trey. "Kill her now."

Trey dropped the dagger at his father's feet. "That is your way, not mine."

Zeno looked at him. "She will cause you and your family harm. Have you not been warned how strong one's vengeance can be?"

But Trey was adamant. "I demand she be returned to Bayman with an honorable escort."

Ryana dragged herself to her feet and started to leave with the ambassador, but she paused when she was face to face with Trey. "You should have allowed them to kill me." Then she walked out.

"I am afraid she is right," commented Zeno as he rose from the chair. "There are those who do not appreciate a reprieve."

"I do not want to have anything to do with her death, even indirectly." Trey looked at Lady Une. "What are your plans?"

She shrugged.

"You may do with her as you please," stated Zeno. "She tried to persuade me that you are not my son. For that alone I should slit her throat."

"My lord, how could I have known that he is actually your son?" She was far too much like Xuxa.

Zeno waved his hand dismissively. "I have no use for you. You belong to Trey now."

When the emperor walked out, Une spun to face Trey. "You think I will bow to your dictates?"

Trey seized her wrist when she would have struck him. "You gave information to the enemy when the Calabrians struck L3. My friends will take you back to L10, and from there I am sure you will be transported back to the colonies to face charges of insurrection. Many innocent people lost their lives in your futile battles. For that you will be punished."

"You won't be able to take me back!" she sneered.

"Wattan!" he shouted for the imperial guard who quickly appeared. "Lock this woman away. When my friends leave Calabria, tie her and place her in a crate if necessary so that they may be able to return her to face their justice."

He started to leave, but Une taunted, "You are too soft for these people, Trowa Barton. You should have killed the princess and you should kill me. Leaving your enemies alive is an invitation for them to strike again."

Trey didn't look at her. "I am quite certain I will never see you again."

Wanting nothing more than to find his chambers so that he could be with his wife and child, he was annoyed to encounter his mother. She was waiting for him in the corridor just before he reached the apartments that had been his own.

"I want to talk to you, Trey."

"I assumed that is why you have ambushed me."

Virineia frowned. "Don't take that tone with me."

"You are going to stay with him?" Trey folded his arms over his chest. "After all he has done, you would trust him? You are a fool, Virineia."

"He is a Calabrian. I cannot change him, but I have to believe that can. I love him. Surely you understand that."

"I do understand." Trey softened and drew her into his arms. "You will tell me if he mistreats you."

"He will not," she said confidently. His mother hugged him, then stepped back. "Zeno is a hard man, but he is forgiving me. Dax did not use his powers to force me to leave. I merely listened to him and followed his advice, and I deeply regret my foolishness. Zeno understands why I left."

"Can you forgive him?"

Virineia put her hand to her heart and he saw tears in her eyes. "I can never forgive him for what he did to our daughter. But I have to hope that his remorse is punishment enough."

"I doubt the man knows what remorse is."

Trey left her standing in the corridor and went straight to his room. Finding that Arora was not there, he stepped back into the hall and stopped a female servant who informed him that Lady Arora was in the women's quarters. Assuming that his wife was asserting her new position amongst them and cleaning out Xuxa's suite, Trey decided to find his friends. Heero and Duo had been placed in a well-furnished guestroom, and Duo was busy enjoying a meal the size of a banquet as Heero stood at an open window watching the second sun setting.

"Well?" asked Heero, turning to look at him. "Will you be fighting Bayman?"

"Unlikely. Seems the king was hoping to unload Ryana on some unsuspecting Calabrian. Given her contempt for her brother, he probably considered her a danger to his heir. Given our sense of honor and the way in which we Calabrians treat females, Seighen probably knew she wouldn't last long."

"I'm surprised she wasn't already dumped in the Wasteland," commented Duo with a mouthful of food.

"I am quite sure she left Dilan because he had no interest in her," said Trey.

"The poor fool was obsessed with Arora." Heero sighed. "I guess we are all fools when it comes to women."

"I second that," said Duo.

Trey laughed. "I think you know how foolish I am."

"Hey, are you going to stay and eat with us? Not too many more chances, you know." Duo grinned at him, his cheeks stuffed with food.

Duo was right, so Trey did stay with his friends, and as they shared the meal – what they could get away from Duo – they talked of their adventures together. Trey would miss his friends when they left, but they could not stay on Calabria. Heero had a promising career on L10, and Duo's destiny was with Trynity. He would miss these men who had become his family and taught him to be human.

Late into the night, he left them and returned to his rooms, marveling that he remembered every twist in the palace that brought him to his apartments. As he entered his room, he found it bathed in light from the moons. In the years since he had been gone, the suite had not changed. He looked toward the bed and saw that it was rumpled as if it had been slept in, but now it was empty. At first glance, he thought Arora was still in it, but it was just an illusion of the shadowy light. He wondered if she had chosen to stay in the women's quarters as females did unless they were called to serve a man. Trey didn't like the idea of sending for her as if she were his slave. But when his gaze fell upon the mat where she had slept as his imperial guard, he was surprised to see her sleeping, her back pressed against the wall, her head nodded forward. Her sword was by her hand, ready to seize should she need to protect him. That was a habit he would have to break her of. Trey could imagine her feeling uncomfortable in his bed. Since the time she had come into his suite, she had slept in that spot on the floor. Apolo's mat was several feet away, strategically placed to protect, but he was not there.

The scene was eerily disquieting. Trey would feel more at ease if Apolo were there, but he couldn't worry about him because if he did, Apolo would infuriate him by arriving after spending days in the arms of beautiful females.

Quietly, Trey set aside his sword and drew off his clothing. The bed was inviting after the many days spent on the hard ground in the Wastelands, but as he contemplated Arora, he remembered with a smile the nights he had lain awake in that bed, wishing Arora could join him. His youthful fantasies could now become true. In the past Apolo had been there to prevent him from acting on them. Apolo wasn't there now, so Trey could act on all manner of fantasies with his wife.

Still smiling to himself, he crossed the room silently, then knelt beside her. She stirred in her sleep when he slowly untied her robe. A fine guard she made! He was pushing open her robes, and she did no more than yawn and stretch before sliding down the wall until she was lying on her back.

He leaned forward so that his lips were above hers. "It is a good thing you are my wife, Arora, because you are a sorry excuse for a guard."

Arora's lips curved in a smile and she stretched up to touch her body to his. "I could have killed you several times, my lord prince. You awoke me when you entered the room."

"Your Guerani sense?" He pushed off her clothing.

"The door creaks."

Trey hadn't noticed, but then again, he wasn't charged with protecting anyone. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was hoping for this." She slid her arms around his neck and brought him down to her. "Many nights I have dreamed of this."

"Then I shall try to make reality as good as your dreams."

"It is already better."

They didn't waste any more time talking, and Arora was right. Reality was better than every fantasy he had about his imperial guard, although he did realize they were living her fantasy and not his. Trey was sure she wouldn't mind reciprocating later.

The room was just beginning to lighten with the first rays of the first sun, when they dozed off, too tired to leave the mat on the floor for the comfort of the bed. Arora's head was resting on his chest, but suddenly she raised it slightly, and Trey heard a creak.

He started to rise, but Arora pushed him back and reached for her sword as a shadowy form slipped in through the now open door. Arora quickly pulled on her robe, then moved away from Trey. He sat up and shoved his back against the wall where he would be in the shadows, and he watched as the form approached the bed.

"This is for my lady Xuxa!" A blade flashed, and Trey saw the form attack the lumps in the bed. Arora sprang into action with her own blade, and he heard it cross with the weapon of the woman attacking his empty bed. She tried to seize her arm, but the woman hacked wildly at the bed until she realized in her frenzy that she had failed in her attack. Now she turned on Arora who easily blocked her blade, and finally knocked it from her hands.

Trey left his place by the wall and lighted the room. He was surprised to see Larya panting wildly, trapped with Arora's blade at her neck.

"Shall I kill her?" asked Arora.

"You are not my imperial guard," Trey reminded her, pulling her away from Larya. "You are in every bit as danger as I."

The other woman remained where she was, but now tears rolled down her cheeks. "What is to become of me? Are you going to put me in the Wastelands?"

"I could easily have you put to death in public for what you have just done," Trey told her.

Larya burst into uncontrollable sobbing. Trey watched her impassively for a moment before leaving her to find his clothing. Arora had retrieved her dagger from the floor.

"My lord," cried the beautiful servant when he had returned to her. "I will do anything for you! I beg your forgiveness."

"If I had been in that bed, you would have killed me. We wouldn't be discussing forgiveness then, would we?"

Larya dived from the bed to the floor at his feet. "I don't' know what got into me!" She threw her arms around his legs. "Whatever you desire, I can do for you!" She started to slide up his body. He mused that to kill her would waste a very beautiful female. Unlike many Calabrian women, she had spirit and tenacity, and so much nerve that she was trying to seduce him in front of his wife, a wife even men feared. Larya wasn't meant to perish in the Wasteland or under a headman's ax.

He glanced at Arora who was clenching the dagger. "Can you think of a use for this woman?"

"None whatsoever." She raised a challenging brow. "Can you, my lord prince?"

Trey almost laughed as he realized Arora was feeling jealous. "Perhaps we should send her to the pirate satellite. I'm sure they can think of some use for her." She couldn't stay on Calabria, not with the look Arora was giving her.

Larya opened her mouth to protest, closed it for a moment, then said, "You are merciful, my lord prince."

"You may not think so when you are there."

The beautiful woman stiffened her back as she stood. "If Lady Virineia can survive, then so can I."

"I will make arrangements for you to leave. Do not leave the women's quarters until then."

"Thank you, my lord prince." She crossed the room, then paused at the door. "Are you sure, my lord, than I cannot find another way to please you?"

A dagger buried in the wall near the door. Larya raised a brow, then walked out, and Trey heard her laughter as she walked away.

Trey turned his head to look at Arora.

Arora glared at him with her arms folded over her chest. "You are too soft! I don't think we have heard the last from that bitch."

"Probably not."

Arora sighed, probably realizing the futility of arguing with him. Shamara was the result of his soft heart.

She pointed to the bed. "Look what she was done." There were feathers everywhere, and the bed was destroyed. "I was looking forward to sleeping there."

Trey laughed. "We can still sleep there." Before she could escape, he seized her around the waist, and she was giggling when he tossed her on the bed. Feathers flew everywhere, and she was laughing when he tossed aside his hastily donned robe and joined her.

Pounding at the door awoke them many hours later, and Trey reluctantly rolled from the feathery nest, brushing them away as he pulled on his robe and strode to the door. Jerking it open, he found Heero and Duo.

"What the hell were you doing?" asked Duo.

A feather floated between them and Arora came forward. She looked utterly ridiculous with feathers buried in her hair. She sneezed as one drifted down to her nose.

Duo snickered. "Whatever it was, it looks like it was fun."

Trey laughed. "You might want to try it with Miss Stryfe."

Duo rubbed his hands. "I'll put that on my list."

Heero made a sound of disgust. "We came to find you because we overheard some guards talking in the courtyard. Apolo is under arrest."

"Arrest!" cried Arora. "For what?"

"Seems Zeno is unwilling to forgive the insurrection of the Warlord."

Trey was not surprised that Zeno would do such a thing, yet he was shocked that he would show bad faith so soon after his return. He surely knew how much Trey cared about Apolo.

"What are we going to do?" Arora was beside herself with worry. "Zeno put a price on his head dead or alive. He execute him as a warning to others!"

"I will not allow that to happen," Trey assured her.

"The execution of the Warlord is to be the main event in the celebration of your return," Heero told him.

"Bastard! I have no choice but to challenge him now!"

If Trey did not, his father would not hesitate to execute Apolo for his rebellion.