Chapter Seven – A Most Excellent Empress

"Aiyana...wake up."

Aiyana opened her eyes to see Masaya's gray-blue eyes staring into her own. She felt her heart flutter and immediately sat up to avoid the icy gaze. "I'm awake."

"Good. You need some exercise."

"Exercise?" Aiyana squeaked.

"Yes. You've been laying here in this bed for nearly three weeks. You're almost three months pregnant; you and that baby need some exercise." He watched as she sat up. "Look at how pale you are."

"I'm always pale," Aiyana said with a faint smile. "That's my complexion."

"Yes--but look!" He held Aiyana's arm up to the light. Her skin was fairly transparent. "That's too pale, Aiyana. You're malnourished and you need some exercise; that's a bad combination. Look, I brought you some breakfast."

Aiyana looked down to see what Masaya brought. "What is this?"

"Cold cereal. Lucky Charms. You need a burst of sugar this morning. We're going to take a run around the palace."

"You think they'll let me?"

"Aiyana, you've been here for three weeks and you've only attempted to murder three people--"

"Three?"

"The queen, the king, and me."

"You?" Aiyana laughed. "Masaya, if I had wanted to kill you, I would have. You and I would both be dead."

Masaya swallowed audibly and Aiyana laughed again. Her laugh sounded cold this morning, but that might have only been because she was still just waking up. I guess this is one of those cranky days, he thought with a sigh.

"You still have a little scar, right there," she said, pointing. She reached forward and touched it. Masaya felt a warm, buzzing feeling wash over him, and Aiyana drew back her finger. "There, it's gone."

Masaya felt his neck. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. I put it there."

Masaya laughed. "Eat your cereal, girl, then tell me to get out so you can get dressed."

Aiyana hungrily ate the cereal. "Wow, you worked up an appetite all of a sudden."

"It's not me, it's her," Aiyana said, pointing to her stomach. "Or him."

"Excuses, excuses. You like cold potato salad?"

"What does it do?"

"It's food. We had some for dinner last night and there was a lot left over. We had too much. You could have it for lunch if you like."

"Did you make it?"

Masaya smiled. "So you liked my quiche?"

"Yes, very much. It was very good; I'd never had anything like it before."

"Thanks. But I didn't make the potato salad. My aunt Mako and my uncle Ieyasu did."

"Ami is your aunt, too?"

"Well, I call her my aunt. But she really isn't, anymore than Mako is my aunt or Ieyasu is my uncle. They're just close to my family."

Aiyana stared down at her food. "I don't have any family."

"I'm sure you do somewhere. Where do you think you came from?"

"I don't have a family," Aiyana said. "Anymore. They're both dead. My parents, I mean."

"Oh." Masaya looked at Aiyana intently. Her eyes were cast down now.

"You can get out now," she added, smiling faintly.

Masaya obliged and waited patiently outside the door as Aiyana dressed into the clothes he'd brought her. They were a loose pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt. Masaya had gotten them from Ami, who was only a bit bigger than Aiyana, although shorter--by about five inches. But Aiyana was a very tall girl; she was about five feet seven inches.

"You can come back in." When he did, he looked her up and down. She was standing, although leaning unsteadily against the night table.

"You're so damn skinny," he said, chuckling to let her know he was only kidding, and wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. "Look at you, you can barely walk. I'm going to walk a few feet with you, but I'm going to let you go. Your muscles must have atrophied for some strange reason. Weren't you active in the empire?"

"Very active. We always had outside training. I have no explanation for why I'm so wobbly now."

"Neither do I, but for the reason that you're pregnant and you have been sitting in that little white hospital bed for three weeks."

Aiyana giggled, half from her next statement and half from the fact that Masaya's arm was around her waist. "Little is right. I haven't slept in a twin bed in a long time."

Masaya laughed. "You mean your barracks didn't have twin beds?"

"Well..." Aiyana turned red. "In my barracks, only the First Delta got their own bed. So up until I was promoted..."

"You were sleeping with men?!!" Masaya forgot that he was supposed to be steadying Aiyana, and whipped around, turning to look at her. "Someone who looks like you was sharing a bed with men in the dark?!!"

Aiyana tried to keep her wobbly balance for as long as possible. "Well, it wasn't my fault..." She finally went crashing to the floor.

"Oops, I'm sorry," Masaya apologized, but instead of helping her up he sat down besides her. "Are you okay? I wasn't angry at you, don't get me wrong; I knew it wasn't any of your fault. I mean, it was so dumb! They were already angry at you, didn't they think? And besides...Aiyana, that was dumb, on their part."

"Masaya," Aiyana said with a smile, "it's over. I'm not there anymore, remember?"

"You know what you need?" Masaya said with a faint smile. "A good lawyer. You can apply for asylum here in the Moon Kingdom. That's when someone gets to live here without going through naturalization because they could be harmed if they went home. I mean, you could seriously be hurt going back there. Aiyana--" Masaya sighed. "I wouldn't want you to go back to your empire. You could lose your baby, Aiyana."

"I wouldn't want to do that," Aiyana said thoughtfully. "But I could never stay here. Your people would never accept me, Masaya. I'm three hundred times different. Besides, I tried to kill your rulers! I don't think the people here would be very comfortable with that idea."

"You're no different than any of us," Masaya argued. "Besides the fact that your skin is a bit paler and your eyes are a little different--they're so large and intense, they're gorgeous--you look enough like a human. And in time, the assassination attempt will fade from people's minds."

"But where would I live, Masaya? How would I eat? Where would I work? I'm only seventeen, and on your planet I believe that makes me a minor."

"You could go to school. You could live in the palace."

Aiyana laughed, a hard, cold, bitter laugh. "You overestimate the kindness of your people. Not everyone is like you, Masaya, so ready to forgive and so eager to make friends. I would get death threats every day. People would try to hurt me; they'd jeer at me when they saw me and persecute me. I know that just from living with those who didn't like me even though I never did anything; what would they do to someone they didn't like who did do something?"

"Humans are different from those--those barbaric people up there, Aiyana. They're different; they're forgiving, they're scrupulous--"

"Are you trying to say the people I lived with weren't?!" Aiyana exploded. "They were just like your people, Masaya. The ones I lived with were a world apart. The people there were wonderful, just like they are here! They had morals and values, just like humans! They just found themselves crushed, opressed by a horrible system of rulers who enslaved them at work camps and their unbearable military camps. Some of them loved it, but most hated it! The work was too hard; they had sixteen and seventeen hour days. Conditions in the cities went from okay to worse; things went horrible--"

Suddenly, Aiyana's eyes went dull; her shoulders slumped, and she dropped to the ground.

"Aiyana?" Masaya felt instant remorse for his harsh words. He peered over Aiyana's face and gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Whoa," said Aiyana. "I--kind of lost myself--a little. I've...never felt so..." She drooped back into Masaya's arms.

"Come on, let's get you into some fresh air," Masaya groaned, helping her up and supporting her outside.

"Tamashiiro, how many times do I have to ask you before you give me a satisfactory answer?"

"As many as you want, Otou-sama. I already told you that I didn't know where she disappeared to."

Emperor Omega gave his son a cool look. He'd asked him a million times where the beautiful young female Delta was, but he kept insisting he hadn't heard from her.

"You were the Deltas' leader. You're telling me that you didn't know where she was? She's been gone for two ikkagetsu, three jidai, and sixteen jikoku."

Emperor Omega had it down to the jikoku? That, plus the impatient and annoyed tapping of the Emperor's pen against the desk, was making Tamashiiro very nervous. What would his father say if he knew that he had...

Tamashiiro gave a loud, audible gulp. His father would kill him if he knew he had raped the canon of the military. That might be why Aiyana hadn't come back. Was she afraid of him? Or was she really dead?

Tamashiiro shifted uncomfortably as another thought entered his brain, the one that had haunted him for the longest time. What if...his seed...inside Aiyana...when the dark thought had been entered into his mind, he hadn't thought of any consequences. He had just quickly done what he was told. His mind was too clouded with malicious thoughts to put a condom on or shove a contraceptive down her throat. Now he might regret it.

He didn't want a child! That would only expose his deed to the entire empire. He might...he might be severely punished. Even moved out of his coveted position as prince. Or worse...his father might make him marry Aiyana.

That might not be too bad, Tamashiiro thought. At least he'd have control over that immeasurable power. And her. His haunting visions wouldn't come back anymore, because he'd have her as his own. She even...she even felt good to him. Her skin was so soft, and she was so tiny and fragile- feeling...while he was...he couldn't help but have the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he should kiss away her pain and apologize a thousand times over, comforting her in a close embrace.

He violently shook his head. Masaka! He would never...but if his father made him, would he? He would. Embarrassedly, he remembered the pleasure he had felt...

It made him feel sick inside. He was so dirty! How could he have been so cruel?

The very thought of remorse made him incensed again. If Aiyana were back, he'd do it again.

No, he wouldn't. He'd make sure it were consensual...

"Tamashiiro, what is wrong with you?" His father was staring at him in confusion and anger. The emperor was actually a lot nicer than most would think, but he was strict and got angry when things were done inefficiently.

"Sorry, Otou-sama."

"She is an Andromedan, isn't she?" When Tamashiiro nodded, the emperor smiled. "It's hard to imagine those people could produce such a beautiful warrior, isn't it? But most of them are very intelligent, as she is. She looks different from them, somehow. What is her name again?"

"Aiyana Khalidah."

"That's right. It's like music. She would make a most excellent empress." The emperor turned back to his son and smiled faintly. "An excellent wife."

Tamashiiro said nothing, just stared at his father reproachfully, and he laughed.

"The look on your face is priceless," Emperor Omega said. "She is very quiet, isn't she?"

"Hai."

"Why is she so quiet, Tamashiiro?"

"I don't know!"

"Hmm, I wonder. You Deltas accepted her rather smoothly. Maybe she went through some things when she was younger? But she was certainly warrior material. She was...efficient. Quick. I've seen her fight. Have you?"

"Yes. She is very quick, and witty, and strong. She saved my life," he said with a wry smile. He'd never expected to tell his father this.

"Really?"

"Yes. At Epsilon level I almost fell into a gorge and snapped my ankle. She caught me, pulled me back up, and set and splinted the bone." Perhaps his father would be satisfied with his story and change the subject.

"Jesus, how did she do that? With help, right?"

"No. Single-handedly."

"Sheez." Emperor Omega. "I want her found." Emperor Omega's face took on a teasing look. "And married to you," he added, half-seriously.

"That shouldn't be very hard, father...you see, when the scientists took her in in Andromeda, they placed a tracking unit inside her. She shouldn't be very hard to find once we get close enough to Earth."

King Endymion took a deep breath and sat in front of his desk, pulling out a quill pen and a piece of paper. He was emotionally exhausted but he absolutely had to write this letter.

He and his wife were taking a stroll around the palace grounds when he had seen Dr. Koikokoro Masaya taking the young assassin on a jog. She looked much more healthy than she looked before, and she was actually...laughing. And smiling. King Endymion doubted she had any illnesses...something Ami was doing was prolonging any trial and conviction, but King Endymion was glad that it had been prolonged.

That girl...she was the one. He was almost positive of that. She had the same eyes as he, but she looked almost exactly like her in every other respect. She was the chosen one...and she was his...

He quickly took out a bottle of ink and dipped his pen. Then he began to write, quickly and frantically.

I believe...I have found her. She has appeared at our palace almost as a miracle. She is beautiful...she looks very much like you. Just as you predicted. But she has my eyes.

She tried to kill the two of us. She was sent as an assassin, either by some focal organization or some crazy impulse in her mind. But she is here, and she is living in the hospital at this moment. I think that she has quite a crush on Masaya, Minako's son.

She looks almost exactly like the pictures you have sent me of her...I cannot believe it. Perhaps she did not run away, but was kidnapped...and the people who kidnapped her may have forced her to do this deed. It's very strange, how things work out. It is probably destiny she is back here, and now things will come out. I already cannot help looking at her with love in my eyes.

She is mine...she is beautiful, and I cannot believe I am seeing her in person, with my own two eyes! It's been a long seventeen years, but here she is. Even my guardians are saying that she is very attractive. This is why I am worried...I suspect that Masaya likes her, too. But they are treating her very well, although Minako is raising all hell trying to get her on trial and executed. Ami is staying very quiet--she is her doctor, but she is not saying anything. Makoto, I believe, is not sure what to do, and although Rei is usually inclined to go with Minako, I don't believe she is very active in with this.

What scares me the most, however,, is what your comrades are doing: Haruka and Michiru. Haruka is very murderous towards her, and Michiru is beginning to feel things and piece them together...she might remember, and she will certainly confront me.

Please write me back as soon as you read this letter. It is very important. I have no idea what to do--but I must save Keiko's life.

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