The Third Nature -Book One of the Triad
Voyager fantasies by Lt Taya 17 Janeway
falling into nothingness, with both eyes shut
By the time Nayrn had reached the holding cells she was thoroughly sorry that Janeway and herself were on opposite sides of the war. With simple suggestion spells she'd managed to get the woman to relax fully against herself, soft and yielding. Because of her small size, she was in the perfect position to rest her head on Nayrn's shoulder, and Nayrn kept prodding her to she if she would do so. If only there was some way Nayrn could have spared her life. If she hadn't wiped out half of her available fleet she most certainly would have. But it was too late now. Unbeknownst to her, the seeds of destruction had already been sown in her mind. It wouldn't take much to trigger it off.
The holding cells were situated in the depths of the residential aerie, and she led Janeway downwards, away from the natural light of day. It was chillier down below, a carefully maintained environment to maintain maximum discomfort. Nayrn was pleased to see that even the wolfchild was shivering slightly, more from trepidation than cold. The corridors grew dark and dank, made of cold gray stone, lit at regular intervals by torchglobes. The burning balls of cold blue fire brought no heat to the area, only glacial light. Janeway, perhaps in response to the cold or discomfort, finally pillowed her head on Nayrn's shoulder. Nayrn smiled tightly. The closer, the better for her to Cast her influence.
Finally they arrived at the holding cells where the prisoners of war were incarcerated. It was literally a dark cavern, with multiple stories, each of them lined with rows of cells, protected by a glowing blue forcefield. The small entourage stood on a ledge overlooking the whole area, like some twisted overhanging promenade. The lighting was dim, and the sculpted rocks always gave the impression that they hid something amongst their dark crevices. Nayrn liked it that way.
Jackelyn was coming up the set of steps from the upper platform down to the lowest tier of cells, and paused when she saw them.
A pleased smile twisted Nayrn's features. She knew that the girl frequented the area to… make use of the prisoners. She wasn't seventeen yet, but there were spells to get around the metaphysical aspects of joining. Nayrn had used them the first time she'd joined, when she was thirteen. The girl was slightly flushed, but otherwise looked presentable. Her diaphanous dress clung slightly to her damp skin as she bowed to them. "Greetings," she said softly.
Nayrn gestured grandly to the girl. "This is my youngest daughter, Princess Jackelyn Maldor. Jackelyn, this is Kathryn Janeway of Starfleet."
"My pleasure," said Jackelyn, playing the part of polite princess-in-training perfectly.
"Jackelyn, while I'm engaged with Kathryn, I want you to man the throne room," she told her daughter. "Entertain visitors, if there are any."
"Yes, m'lady," said Jackelyn, and she sauntered away, presumably to change. As she swept past Nayrn she let a tendril of excitement brush her mother's mind. So it worked, didn't it?
Yes, it did. You are marvelous, little one.
Janeway gazed after Jackelyn's retreating back for a moment, then turned back to her. "I want to see the boy," she said.
Nayrn smiled. She had no intention of giving up the boy, of course. She'd come up with some excuse to prevent her ever getting her hands on the boy. He was a useful manipulating tool; she was going to hold on to him as long as she could. "Stay here and wait. I'll fetch him." Then she started down the steps, leaving Janeway with her attendants.
Janeway stood watching the Empress gracefully make her way down to the lowest level. She didn't know why, but she was glad for this distance between them. Physical contact with the woman had left her feeling cold and tired as if energy was somehow being sucked from her. Perhaps this was what Myriam meant when she told her that Maldor Casted with Ice.
With a sudden movement, the tiger-striped child had leaped in front of her, fangs bared. "Give it back, human woman," she snarled.
Janeway glanced at her, then realized what she was talking about. "The Empress gave me the cat. I can't just give it back. She would take offense."
"I don't care what she thinks. I want that cat back."
Janeway looked at the white cub snuggled in her arms, then back at the young girl. "I'm afraid I can't return it to you."
"Let her have it, wolfchild," said Calista in a placating fashion. "She'll be much happier in the Daer-on-Naiad anyway."
The girl narrowed her eyes. "Then who's going to teach her to Cast?"
"My mother, of course," said Calista in exasperation. "Unlike the Empress she doesn't discriminate against non-sentient Mage."
Non-sentient Mage. Janeway gave the sleeping cub another once-over. "You mean this tiger is Mage?"
"The strongest in the litter," said the wolfchild. "She was supposed to be my friend."
"I'm sorry," said Janeway contritely. "I'll take good care of her. Maybe you can find new friends."
The girl snorted. "I don't make many, human woman. None of them will associate with me."
Janeway tilted her head. "Why not?"
"Can't you see I'm a pariah here? Nobody talks to me, much less tries to be my friend. I don't even have a name. They-" she gestured to the cub and Calista- "are about all the friends I have in the world. I don't have a father, and I don't have a mother either."
"An orphan?" Janeway asked her.
"No. I was taken away from my father, and my mother abandoned me."
"The Empress is her mother," said Calista softly. "But she doesn't acknowledge her at all, because she's part wolf-kind, and she Casts with fire."
"She thinks it's shameful to be a half-breed," said the wolfchild snarled softly, her eyes narrowed. "She wants nothing to do with me."
Janeway tilted her head slightly. The bitter tone of the girl reminded her of a certain young, angry half-Klingon she'd known a few years back. Were things the same all over the world? Embittered little girls ostracized by their mixed heritage? "Shameful? She was the one who went to bed with someone from another species in the first place! There's nothing wrong in being of mixed descent."
The wolfchild thought it over. "You're right," she said finally. "But even so, it makes no difference to my life." She shrugged, and in her face Janeway could see that she had already resigned herself to the dregs of society. She wished she could say something consoling to the child, but there seemed to be a weight on her heart and she couldn't think of something appropriate to say.
Calista grabbed her arm urgently to catch her straying attention. "You shouldn't be here," she told Janeway. "I haven't contacted my mom in days; how did you know about Perron?"
"I didn't know about him until your mother told me. She must have figured it out herself," Janeway told her. "Your mother's been worried sick about you. Why didn't you contact us?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know if I could filter out all my thoughts in the bewitched corridor, so I thought it safest to keep you all in the dark until the danger was over." She frowned. "I was about to send a message by mail to ask if I could try any other means of communication. You weren't supposed to find out about Perron, you see."
"Why can't I find out about Perron?"
"It's a trap they've set for you," whispered Calista urgently. "I don't know what they will do…" She threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure the Empress wasn't there, then said, "Listen. Do you have a communications device of any sort?"
Janeway retrieved her commbadge. Calista took it and gave it to Bryanna. "If she starts acting weird, you have to get her back to Voyager as fast as possible."
"You mean, like she's been spelled?" Bryanna clutched the commbadge tight. "I'd better keep it somewhere safe then."
"Give it to me," said Josh. "I'll keep it."
Bryanna refused to relinquish the badge. "Boys know nothing about magic," she scoffed. "You wouldn't know when a person gets spelled."
"You're right, I wouldn't, but I do know that if you drop that badge we're all done for. Give it to me." So saying, he pried the badge from Bryanna's hand.
"Heyyyyy!" Bryanna protested, trying to snatch it back. Josh held it high out of reach. "Kathy-"
"Shh. Stop bickering." Janeway held one hand up. "What are they going to do to me?" she asked Calista. But before the girl could answer, the Empress came dashing up the stairs.
"Something terrible had happened," she said, her face flushed and sweaty. "The boy was killed in an altercation last night." Her eyes grew moist and round. "I'm so, so sorry… Was he your son?"
"What? He was my consort," whispered Bryanna softly, eyes disbelieving. "He got taken away."
"Oh!" The Empress bent down to touch Bryanna's cheek. "You poor, poor child. I lost my consort too, when I was young. But you can have another."
A tear spilled down Bryanna's cheek. "But he was my friend."
The Empress gave Bryanna a hug. "I'm so sorry." Then she stood up, and gave Janeway a hug. "It's such a pity. He died so young."
Calista glanced at Janeway with glazed, disbelieving eyes. She never meant to give him to you. She's killed him already.
Guilt threatened to eat its way through Janeway. The boy had died because she was stupid enough not to figure out that this whole thing had been a trap. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She saw it now; it was all so obvious. I shouldn't have come. As a result of my stupidity, Perron has died, and the wolfchild has lost a valuable friend. Bryanna will never have a consort, and the tiger cub will grow up sad and lonely-
She hadn't realized the Empress was asking her a question. Replacements? She didn't feel like doing any diplomacy anymore. The world felt like a dead weight around her, and all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed and sleep it all away. She stammered some lame excuse. "I'll retire to my ship to think about it," she said. "May I contact you tomorrow?"
The Empress nodded sadly. "By all means." She gave Janeway another hug. "I'm sorry."
The hug somehow made Janeway feel worse. She didn't know how or why, but in a few minutes she'd gone from being clear-headed and in control to lost and dejected as the world crashed around her. She wanted to die. Quickly she backed out of the oppressive holding rooms, wanting only the eternal comfort and privacy of her shuttle.
Nayrn watched her go, and shook her head sadly. What a pity. "Good night, Kathryn," she said softly.