Chapter 7: Mauve Mind
Yamora stood alone in the expansive living room of his house, gazing out the bay window at the setting sky. He grinned maliciously as he swirled the red wine in his glass around some and took a sip. He held the glass up in front of him as he quietly laughed, but this soft laugh would turn even the most courageous of soldiers' hearts to fear. "You will be mine, Kari, or no one's at all," he promised to the air, throwing the wine glass into the fire. As the glass shattered on the logs, the fiery flames grew and began licking around the outer edge of the fireplace, as if searching for something to grab hold of and consume.
Walking over to the plush, maroon colored chair by the fireplace, Yamora sat down and placed his elbows on his knees. He drew his clasped hands up to his face and sat staring into the roaring flames, concentrating not on the present but consumed instead in remembering the glory of days long ago: the days when his father, Zenshi, was Tsunia`s strongest ruler and he, Yamora, was the heir to the fiercest race of beings in the universe.
Many people envisioned Tsunia as a planet of war and chaos, with people senselessly attacking one another in front of a backdrop of rampant arson fires, when in fact it was very organized. Sure, every once in a while the ruler was assassinated by some unhappy subject, but that pattern of government changed when Zenshi came to power.
He forced the colonies of Tsunia to unite using his great military power and gift persuasion, and devised a plan capable of bringing down the most arrogant, most bombastic race in the galaxy: the Arquinians. The plan was executed to a tee: a small amount of the Tsunian army was dispatched and ordered to attack a town a great distance from the capital on the day of the eldest princess's ninth birthday. Not one of those peace-loving fools had been expecting an attack, but when it came, that idiotic leader of the Arquinians sent nearly their entire army to crush the invading Tsunian troops.
He had done exactly as Zenshi predicted he would, the baka. And it cost it him dearly.
After the troops were far enough away from the ruling city, the rest of the Tsunian army attacked the city, destroying all the nearby villages and the royal household. They attacked the spaceport, where they had gotten word that the royal family was trying to escape there by way of space pods, and blew that miserable family off the face of the planet. Unfortunately, the king and queen, as well as their eldest daughter, had escaped before the explosion. That wasn't any matter for Zenshi, however, because he had a back-up plan: he would lie in wait just outside the atmosphere and blow the remaining members of the royal family from the sky, should they escape the planet.
As was expected, the remaining members of the family exited the atmosphere, just in time for his father to blow away the king and queen. During this victory, however, a minor setback occurred: the princess's shields were activated automatically after the exit from the atmosphere, making it impossible for her ship to be destroyed. The Arquinians may have been gullible but they weren't dumb, Yamora had to give them that. His father thought the incident with princess of no consequence; he knew where she was going and would send someone later to kill her. Right then he had a war to win.
"How foolish you were, Otousan. You didn't expect the Arquinians to rally together so quickly," Yamora muttered to himself. The dancing flames cast glowing shadows across his face as he remembered the humiliating defeat that followed such a glorious victory.
Zenshi hadn't planned on the Arquinian troops being able to fight without a leader to hold them together, but fight they did. After a day of battles, the Arquinians' superior skills were realized and the remaining Tsunian army was ordered to retreat. The enemy troops hadn't manage to kill his father, however, so the remaining colonies of Arquinia banded together in order to draw protection from numbers. The royal family was lost, except for the eldest princess, and a large portion of the Arquinian troops had been destroyed. But they had not met defeat before driving out the Tsunians.
How humiliating for his father...
When the Tsunians returned to their home planet, Zenshi had to strain all of his resources and remaining troops in order to keep the people from revolting against him. He had promised them victory and the chance to rule the universe; instead he had brought home defeat and the stench of death. He did, however, manage to keep the planet from overthrowing him by using his unprecedented power of persuasion, convincing the people that this was not the last battle to be fought against the Arquinians: victory would be theirs next time. After re-uniting the people of Tsunia, Zenshi returned home to his two sons: Yamora and Komoto. Yamora was the eldest of the two, he was about nine at the time of his father's return, and had been very disappointed at his father's defeat, for he loved battle as much as his father did despite his young age.
When their father fell ill some years later, he made his sons promise that the Tsunians would emerge victorious from their impending war with Arquinia, and that they would honor him after his death. Yamora and Komoto had sworn to do so, eagerly awaiting the chance to bring honor to their father through victory. After Zenshi's death, they had devised a plan that would ensure the victory of the Tsunians without the army having to raise a finger.
They would go to Earth and find the Arquinian princess, make her Yamora's mate by choice or by force, and she would bear his child, thereby securing the Tsunians' rule to the Arquinian throne through the bloodline. If she refused to comply with their demands, they would simply kill her and conquer Arquinia by force. It was a Win-Win situation, at least how they saw it, and nothing could stop them; not even the powerful princess. For she was very powerful, but, they thought, nothing they couldn't handle with their superior training.
Yamora had been about twenty-three when he had left Tsunia for Earth, leaving his brother in charge of gathering the armies and devising battle tactics, should their first plan fail. He had finally located Kari and began his mission: to make her his mate. He had a time limit of four years before Komoto would assume he had failed and attack Arquinia; they could not wait forever. Yamora must have pushed her into too much too quickly, however, because she broke it off with him and refused to speak or even look at him after that. But, luckily, she had no idea of his true identity and that provided him with another opportunity to succeed.
"It doesn't matter, really. I don't need her consent to make her mine. And if she refuses further, I'll simply kill her, though I'd hate to waste such a beautiful woman," Yamora quietly reasoned. "But in any case, the time to act is now. Komoto will be getting worried..." He lifted himself out of the chair and called in one of his men. He had not left Tsunia alone.
"Go find Princess Kari and bring her to me. I don't care how you do it, I don't care if she comes along peacefully or kills you, just get her here. The time for our victory is nearing, and I want to take her back with me to Tsunia as soon as possible," he commanded. It had already been a little over three years.
"Yes, sir," the man replied rather unsteadily, saluting Yamora and then turning to leave.
"Oh, and, one more thing. If she refuses and makes a break for it, chase after her but do not harm her. A frightened, unscathed deer is much more fun to trap than a dead one."
"Yes, sir," the man replied once again, leaving to gather the others and retrieve Kari.
Yamora watched him leave, then turned around and strode over to the fire. He took a picture of Kari from the mantle and gazed intensely at it, closing his eyes and remembering the smell of her hair and the touch of her skin. "You will be mine, Kari, whether you desire to be or not. However, my patience wears thin, and if you continue to refuse me...."
He took the picture and flung it into the fire, smiling icily as it the hungry flames consumed it.
Yamora stood alone in the expansive living room of his house, gazing out the bay window at the setting sky. He grinned maliciously as he swirled the red wine in his glass around some and took a sip. He held the glass up in front of him as he quietly laughed, but this soft laugh would turn even the most courageous of soldiers' hearts to fear. "You will be mine, Kari, or no one's at all," he promised to the air, throwing the wine glass into the fire. As the glass shattered on the logs, the fiery flames grew and began licking around the outer edge of the fireplace, as if searching for something to grab hold of and consume.
Walking over to the plush, maroon colored chair by the fireplace, Yamora sat down and placed his elbows on his knees. He drew his clasped hands up to his face and sat staring into the roaring flames, concentrating not on the present but consumed instead in remembering the glory of days long ago: the days when his father, Zenshi, was Tsunia`s strongest ruler and he, Yamora, was the heir to the fiercest race of beings in the universe.
Many people envisioned Tsunia as a planet of war and chaos, with people senselessly attacking one another in front of a backdrop of rampant arson fires, when in fact it was very organized. Sure, every once in a while the ruler was assassinated by some unhappy subject, but that pattern of government changed when Zenshi came to power.
He forced the colonies of Tsunia to unite using his great military power and gift persuasion, and devised a plan capable of bringing down the most arrogant, most bombastic race in the galaxy: the Arquinians. The plan was executed to a tee: a small amount of the Tsunian army was dispatched and ordered to attack a town a great distance from the capital on the day of the eldest princess's ninth birthday. Not one of those peace-loving fools had been expecting an attack, but when it came, that idiotic leader of the Arquinians sent nearly their entire army to crush the invading Tsunian troops.
He had done exactly as Zenshi predicted he would, the baka. And it cost it him dearly.
After the troops were far enough away from the ruling city, the rest of the Tsunian army attacked the city, destroying all the nearby villages and the royal household. They attacked the spaceport, where they had gotten word that the royal family was trying to escape there by way of space pods, and blew that miserable family off the face of the planet. Unfortunately, the king and queen, as well as their eldest daughter, had escaped before the explosion. That wasn't any matter for Zenshi, however, because he had a back-up plan: he would lie in wait just outside the atmosphere and blow the remaining members of the royal family from the sky, should they escape the planet.
As was expected, the remaining members of the family exited the atmosphere, just in time for his father to blow away the king and queen. During this victory, however, a minor setback occurred: the princess's shields were activated automatically after the exit from the atmosphere, making it impossible for her ship to be destroyed. The Arquinians may have been gullible but they weren't dumb, Yamora had to give them that. His father thought the incident with princess of no consequence; he knew where she was going and would send someone later to kill her. Right then he had a war to win.
"How foolish you were, Otousan. You didn't expect the Arquinians to rally together so quickly," Yamora muttered to himself. The dancing flames cast glowing shadows across his face as he remembered the humiliating defeat that followed such a glorious victory.
Zenshi hadn't planned on the Arquinian troops being able to fight without a leader to hold them together, but fight they did. After a day of battles, the Arquinians' superior skills were realized and the remaining Tsunian army was ordered to retreat. The enemy troops hadn't manage to kill his father, however, so the remaining colonies of Arquinia banded together in order to draw protection from numbers. The royal family was lost, except for the eldest princess, and a large portion of the Arquinian troops had been destroyed. But they had not met defeat before driving out the Tsunians.
How humiliating for his father...
When the Tsunians returned to their home planet, Zenshi had to strain all of his resources and remaining troops in order to keep the people from revolting against him. He had promised them victory and the chance to rule the universe; instead he had brought home defeat and the stench of death. He did, however, manage to keep the planet from overthrowing him by using his unprecedented power of persuasion, convincing the people that this was not the last battle to be fought against the Arquinians: victory would be theirs next time. After re-uniting the people of Tsunia, Zenshi returned home to his two sons: Yamora and Komoto. Yamora was the eldest of the two, he was about nine at the time of his father's return, and had been very disappointed at his father's defeat, for he loved battle as much as his father did despite his young age.
When their father fell ill some years later, he made his sons promise that the Tsunians would emerge victorious from their impending war with Arquinia, and that they would honor him after his death. Yamora and Komoto had sworn to do so, eagerly awaiting the chance to bring honor to their father through victory. After Zenshi's death, they had devised a plan that would ensure the victory of the Tsunians without the army having to raise a finger.
They would go to Earth and find the Arquinian princess, make her Yamora's mate by choice or by force, and she would bear his child, thereby securing the Tsunians' rule to the Arquinian throne through the bloodline. If she refused to comply with their demands, they would simply kill her and conquer Arquinia by force. It was a Win-Win situation, at least how they saw it, and nothing could stop them; not even the powerful princess. For she was very powerful, but, they thought, nothing they couldn't handle with their superior training.
Yamora had been about twenty-three when he had left Tsunia for Earth, leaving his brother in charge of gathering the armies and devising battle tactics, should their first plan fail. He had finally located Kari and began his mission: to make her his mate. He had a time limit of four years before Komoto would assume he had failed and attack Arquinia; they could not wait forever. Yamora must have pushed her into too much too quickly, however, because she broke it off with him and refused to speak or even look at him after that. But, luckily, she had no idea of his true identity and that provided him with another opportunity to succeed.
"It doesn't matter, really. I don't need her consent to make her mine. And if she refuses further, I'll simply kill her, though I'd hate to waste such a beautiful woman," Yamora quietly reasoned. "But in any case, the time to act is now. Komoto will be getting worried..." He lifted himself out of the chair and called in one of his men. He had not left Tsunia alone.
"Go find Princess Kari and bring her to me. I don't care how you do it, I don't care if she comes along peacefully or kills you, just get her here. The time for our victory is nearing, and I want to take her back with me to Tsunia as soon as possible," he commanded. It had already been a little over three years.
"Yes, sir," the man replied rather unsteadily, saluting Yamora and then turning to leave.
"Oh, and, one more thing. If she refuses and makes a break for it, chase after her but do not harm her. A frightened, unscathed deer is much more fun to trap than a dead one."
"Yes, sir," the man replied once again, leaving to gather the others and retrieve Kari.
Yamora watched him leave, then turned around and strode over to the fire. He took a picture of Kari from the mantle and gazed intensely at it, closing his eyes and remembering the smell of her hair and the touch of her skin. "You will be mine, Kari, whether you desire to be or not. However, my patience wears thin, and if you continue to refuse me...."
He took the picture and flung it into the fire, smiling icily as it the hungry flames consumed it.