Part 6: A Fugitive's Plea
Clover leaned back in her window seat as the plane began to arc toward the desert country of Lyrobia, watching the ground approach through the thick glass underneath the full moon that still hung overhead. She wished Mandy were with her, a condition that she at first found to be comparable to contracting The Plague, but in truth she'd enjoyed her last day with Mandy. Why was it that tense and undesirable situations brought people closer together? Well, Mandy had shown some fairly admirable qualities in the airport.
"Attention passengers, we will begin landing shortly. Please return your seats to their upright positions and fasten your seat belts. Thank you." The flight attendant's voice cautioned the passengers. Clover stared out the window as the plane neared the round, skidding onto the runway that seemed to be the only pavement in this sea of sand.
They came to a stop and Clover obediently shuffled out of the plane with the rest of the passengers, spilling out into the lobby of an extremely small airport that only seemed to consist of one room. A yawn crept from her throat as she walked to the door, staring out into the calm desert night. She was exhausted... she didn't even know how long she'd been awake since this whole thing started, and sleep hadn't been possible in the uncomfortable airline seats.
She turned and walked over to the small desk that was just about the only piece of furniture in the tiny lobby. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where to find a good hotel around here would you?" She asked. She was tired, dirty, and fairly hungry. The in-flight meal hasn't been very filling.
"Wow, did you come to the wrong country." The clerk smirked and shook his dark skinned head. "Sorry girl, closest hotel is thirty miles away, in the capital of Lyrobia." The capital was so close to here? That was where she wanted to go anyway. But thirty miles was quite a bit on foot...
"Which way is it? And you got any modes of transportation I could use?" Clover asked hopefully.
"That a way." The clerk jerked his thumb toward the north. "And we've got a camel to buy for 'bout three hundred bucks American." The clerk replied. Clover grinned sheepishly.
"I don't suppose you'll take a credit card..."
"Good guess." The clerk smirked. Clover sighed and waved him away with one hand, turning to plop down on one of the chairs in the lobby to think. Trapped in an airport, tired, hungry, and with no means of getting to her destination. She could always fly somewhere else she supposed, but flying around aimlessly wouldn't get her anywhere with her investigation.
She pulled the pendant she'd gotten from Jerry out of the front of her shirt, letting it rest in the palm of her hand while she stared down at it. What would Jerry do? Probably order a WOOHP jet to come pick them up and take them across the desert. Or bid them 'good luck' and go drink his damn tea.
"Excuse me." Clover looked up when she heard a voice over her. One of the men from the plane was looking down at her with his hands jammed into his pockets. "I couldn't help but notice a beautiful young girl like yourself sitting here looking all mopey."
"And what's it to you?" Clover asked.
"Well, I could help you out with your ride..." He trailed off, staring down at her meaningfully. "If you had something to trade for it." His gaze slid down from her face to her hand, which was still holding the gold and silver pendant.
Clover closed her fist around it to drop it back into her shirt. "It's not for sale."
"Hey, suit yourself. I just thought it's a big desert out there to get across on foot, especially if you're planning on traveling through it during the daytime." The man shrugged and turned away from her, obviously baiting her to stop him and change her mind. Clover bit her lip, not wanting to play into his hands or give up Jerry's pendant, but she was in a bit of a bind.
"Hold on." Clover jumped to her feet. The man looked back at her expectantly with a victorious smirk on his face. "Where is this ride you're talking about?"
"Only the best in this country. Come on." The man gestured for her to follow him outside. There under the full moon was what could only be described as a modified snowmobile. The windshield was larger than your average snowmobile to provide extra protection against dust storms. The man looked over at her. "So what do you say? Will you take my offer?"
"Yeah... I'll take it. But only because I have no choice, I'm not a bad person." Clover said. The man stared at her blankly until her leg snapped up, slamming the heel of her foot into his neck. He stumbled back against the wall of the airport, gasping for breath while Clover leapt on the sandmobile and started it up with a roar. "Again, sorry!"
Clover took off across the sand dunes in the sandmobile, underneath the light of the full moon flanked by a sea of stars that someone more poetic might have observed to be more numerous than the grains of sand in the desert. Realistically, that was complete crap as the sand flew over her body, clinging to her already dirty skin and clothing.
A massive yawn escaped from her lips again, and she might have fallen asleep if she hadn't jumped off an exceptionally large sand dune. She took her foot off the gas, letting the sandmobile come to a stop. It wouldn't do any good to keep going if she passed out and killed herself in a crash halfway there. She climbed off the vehicle and plopped down onto the sand on her stomach. She reached up and pulled the brown contacts lenses out, dropping them to the sand. It was good to not have them irritating her anymore.
The sand felt strangely good. It didn't give much, but it molded itself to her body as she wriggled down into it, closing her eyes wearily. It didn't take long for her to drift off into a light slumber, still feeling the wind blow sand across her body. She awoke again when she felt piercing light cut through her eyelids.
The sun... in just a short time this sand would become like a thousand tiny burning embers. She couldn't afford to sleep anymore. So she rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up, knocking off the sand that had collected on top of her during her nap.
She looked up in surprise when a thick black boot landed on the sand in front of her. Looking up, she saw the man whose sandmobile she'd taken the night before glaring down at her angrily. "Uh... hey... just took it for a test drive, smooth ride..."
The man grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her to her feet easily. This was no businessman, he had some muscle on him. "You tried to steal my property you little bitch." He scowled.
"Steal is such a harsh word... and I'm really not a bad person, I just have bad judgment sometimes." Clover defended herself.
"Shut up!" The man snapped back, letting her drop to the sand with a heavy thud. "I don't care what your reasoning is you little thief." The man stomped toward the sandmobile, climbing onto it.
"Hey... what're you doing!? You can't just leave me out here!" Clover exclaimed.
"You're obviously resourceful enough to take what you need, find a way to survive." The man pushed the gas as hard as he could, sending the vehicle flying down the sand dunes away from her.
"Waaaaaiiiit!" Clover screamed, waving after him. "I'll give you my pendant! I'll give you a freaking blowjob! Just don't leave me out heeeeere!" She let her arms sink to her sides, watching the sandmobile vanish into the distance. Fantastic... her own stupidity had stranded her in the middle of the desert. If she'd just refused his offer she'd be somewhat cool in the airport lobby but nnnooooo she had to be the adventurous super spy and try to steal it.
With a sigh she turned to march toward the north, straightening her back. She didn't know how far she was from the Lyrobian palace. It could be over the next sand dune, or another twenty-five miles away. The sun was searing into her pale skin painfully, slowly tanning her to a deep bronze as the sun moved higher and higher.
The sand around her seemed to turn white, yet another source of heat, as if she really needed one. Her shoulders were already slumping down by now, and she was desperately trying to fan herself with one hand. She could smell herself reeking worse and worse with the sweat pouring down her body, dripping to the sand as she passed over it.
And she'd thought crossing this desert on a camel had been Hell a few months ago. Crossing on foot was far worse; she could practically feel her skin beginning to shrivel up like a dry prune. In her mind she thought of what she would look like tomorrow, a haggard wrinkly little bag of bones who couldn't date a corpse.
Okay, maybe it was an exaggeration, but it was enough incentive to force her legs to keep moving despite the growling in her stomach and the sweat pouring down her body. What little hair she had left after Mandy butchered it was matted to her head, and her clothes stuck to her well-toned and formed frame like she'd been sprayed with a fire hose.
Finally she came to the top of a sand dune, staring in shock down the other side. A blissfully familiar palace sat in front of her, the crimson rays of the by now setting sun making it look like a shining beacon in the middle of the sandy sea. "Thank you!" Clover thrust her arms into the air and let herself fall forward, rolling down the side of the sand dune. She came to a stop in front of the palace gates, pushing herself up to her feet and brushing some sand off of her sticky wet skin.
She approached the palace guards, who were staring at her with strange expressions on their faces. "Hey, you may not remember me, but I'm a friend of the queen. So could I, like, come in and talk to her?" Clover gave them her best innocent girl smile.
"The queen is occupied with more pressing issues than speaking to you." One of the guards sneered darkly.
"Well, why don't you go tell her that Clover is here, and we'll see what she says, 'kay?" Clover asked in a bright, cheery, unbelievably fake voice. The guards exchanged a glance before the grumpy one turned to walk into the palace. Clover stood in the sand, looking around aimlessly. She noticed the guard staring at her body several times. "In your dreams buddy."
The guard growled and blushed slightly, but his partner returned in time to save him from having to respond. "The queen will see you." The guard looked like he would rather eat a pile of horse manure than say those words. Clover stuck her tongue out at him and marched inside, though he grabbed her arm to roughly lead her through the palace.
"Hey, not so tight Brutus." Clover snapped. "This isn't the way to the throne room. I was here before ya know."
"The queen isn't in her throne room." The guard squeezed her arm tighter until he pushed open a pair of large double doors when he finally let her go. Clover stepped into the room, looking around in surprise. It was the biggest indoor pool she'd ever seen, but there were small candles set around the outside. Expensive looking drapes hanging from the ceiling and covered skylights that let the fading sunlight filter into the room.
"Clover, welcome." Clover looked away from the expensive drapery to see Queen Tassara herself sitting in the water, leaning against the side of the pool with her arms resting on the edge. Strangely, she didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath the water, though it was difficult to tell in the low lighting. "It's been a long time. I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever have the pleasure of greeting our heroes again."
Clover shot the surprised guard a victorious look and pushed him away, walking up to the edge of the pool. "Yeah, it's good to see you too your highness." Clover bowed gracefully, not wanting to piss her off. If Tassara sent her away, she would not only have no one to help her, but might die in the desert.
"You look like you've had a rough journey here." The queen commented.
"Yeah... something like that. I had to walk most of the way through the desert and... well..." Clover trailed off, not sure where to begin telling her story. If she wasn't careful, she could make Tassara think she'd committed some crime too.
"Well, perhaps you should get rested before we discuss your reason for coming." The queen suggested with a gentle smile. Clover smiled back gratefully and nodded. She could use some clean clothes and food in her stomach. "Please, join me." She gestured to the water.
"Huh? Oh I didn't bring my bathing suit..." Clover replied sheepishly.
"You should clean yourself, you'll feel better." The queen replied. Clover looked down at the water in surprise. This wasn't a pool... it was a bath. A bath the size of the pool they had at Bev High. Suddenly her interest in being a queen was piqued again after being dormant thanks to the Arnold fiasco.
"Uh... sure, thanks." Clover stood up and turned away from the queen to undress herself. She wasn't shy of her body, but she wasn't used to the idea of bathing with anyone except her love of the week. She tried to convince herself it was just like showering after a long workout with the girls at school. But it didn't change the fact that eventually she had to turn around to climb into the tub.
The queen wasn't affected by her body at all. She supposed the rules of modesty were different out here than they were in America. "Relax, you're among friends here." Tassara smiled warmly.
"Thanks, your majesty." Clover nodded, trying to relax the rather tense muscles in her arm as she leaned against the opposite end of the tub. The warm, still water was pretty soothing to her sun-baked, dry skin. "Look... I think I really should explain what's going on as soon as possible."
"I'm listening." Tassara replied. Clover ran through the story of the last few days with her, but omitted the unnecessary details about Mandy. When she was finished the queen was staring at her steadily, tapping her chin with one hand. "And you're here to procure my help in finding out who framed you, and for what?"
"Exactly." Clover said. Tassara nodded gravely.
"If we were discovered harboring an American fugitive, it could have dramatic ramifications for my entire country." She stated, staring at Clover. "Yet if someone is capable of framing a person in your position, the American government must already be compromised. This is a very serious matter..." She fixed Clover with a piercing gaze that made the younger girl's skin crawl.
"I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't..." Clover squeaked. She was a confident girl, but this royal woman's gaze was enough to beat her into submission.
"I can't in good conscience turn you away. I still owe you a debt for helping to give us the peace we now live under with Kenyopia." Tassara nodded. "You have my full support Clover, and all of the resources our small but proud country has to offer." Clover smiled broadly, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thank you your majesty..." Clover bowed again, almost putting her head under the water.
"Please, call me Tassara." The queen replied.
"Sure, Tassara..." Clover nodded. "Now if only we have some way to tap into WOOHP's computer systems or something... maybe I could find out what they're hunting me for."
"Hmm... perhaps we do." Tassara stood up to her full height, pushing herself out of the water. Clover blinked, staring at her beautifully bronzed skin and perfectly formed figure. The queen climbed out of the water and held her arms out while a female servant approached with a thick silken robe, slipping it over her shoulders. She looked down at Clover. "Come, you should see something."
Clover was suddenly feeling self conscious about revealing herself right after the bronze queen. Still she climbed out of the water and hastily took the robe that the servant offered her, wrapping it around herself and tying it off at the waist. Tassara gestured for her to follow as she left the room, leaving Clover to rush after her.
They made their way through the almost labyrinthine palace, flanked by Tassara's handmaidens until they approached a very out-of-place steel door set deep underneath the palace. Tassara placed her hand against a small hand-shaped pad, and the doors slid back into the walls. Clover gasped in surprise as they entered, looking around.
This room made Jerry's office at WOOHP look sparse as far as electronics went. Computers and servers were lined up against the far wall, where a few men were tapping away at the keyboards with quick sure strokes. It was like walking from Ancient Egypt to the Starship Enterprise.
Tassara chuckled, watching her expression with some amusement. "We're a small country and we choose to maintain our heritage in our lifestyle... but we are not a backwater country that refuses to use modern advantages." She approached one of the computers against the wall, gesturing to the seat and looking back at Clover. "If you know how to access WOOHP's systems from here?"
"M... maybe..." Clover looked around in amazement at the lines of machines as she made her way to the proffered computer, pulling up in the rolling chair. "This is really more Sam's specialty, but I can give it a shot." She took a deep breath and started tapping away at the keyboard, keeping her eyes on the screen. She knew WOOHP's passwords, they needed them to access the network with their compowders. But if they'd changed the password since Clover left...
Clover and Tassara both breathed a sigh of relief as the WOOHP logo flashed across the screen. "Okay, now to find out what I 'did'." She typed her name into one of the WOOHP search engines that Jerry had used so frequently. Her picture in full WOOHP uniform and a profile came up.
Tassara leaned down, staring over her shoulder to read the text on the screen. "Age 16. Hair blonde. Eyes blue. Height 5'4. Weight 104 pounds..."
"Puh, that's a total lie." Clover growled. Tassara smirked and gripped her shoulder to calm her down so she could continue reading.
"Formerly one of WOOHP's top agents, now currently wanted for the assassination of the WOOHP director Jerry Lewis." Tassara trailed off, looking down at Clover. Clover was sneering darkly, clenching her fists in front of her. They suspected her of murdering Jerry? How could they possibly think that? She loved Jerry, she didn't even wring his neck for messing up her hair all those times.
"They think I killed Jerry..." Clover growled. She remembered them mentioning an assassination at Mandy's place... but Jerry? Who in their right mind would think she would ever harm Jerry? Yet Sam and Alex seemed to believe it, or they wouldn't have hunted her through Beverly Hills...
Tassara placed her hands on Clover's shoulders comfortingly. "Come Clover, you should rest. You've been traveling for some time it seems, and we can continue our search for answers after you're at full strength." Clover looked back at her, then sighed and closed her eyes, nodding up at the kindly queen. It wouldn't do her any good to get worked up like this and let her body break down from hunger and sleep deprivation. She would have to rest for a while in the palace and try to get more information later...
TO BE CONTINUED
Clover leaned back in her window seat as the plane began to arc toward the desert country of Lyrobia, watching the ground approach through the thick glass underneath the full moon that still hung overhead. She wished Mandy were with her, a condition that she at first found to be comparable to contracting The Plague, but in truth she'd enjoyed her last day with Mandy. Why was it that tense and undesirable situations brought people closer together? Well, Mandy had shown some fairly admirable qualities in the airport.
"Attention passengers, we will begin landing shortly. Please return your seats to their upright positions and fasten your seat belts. Thank you." The flight attendant's voice cautioned the passengers. Clover stared out the window as the plane neared the round, skidding onto the runway that seemed to be the only pavement in this sea of sand.
They came to a stop and Clover obediently shuffled out of the plane with the rest of the passengers, spilling out into the lobby of an extremely small airport that only seemed to consist of one room. A yawn crept from her throat as she walked to the door, staring out into the calm desert night. She was exhausted... she didn't even know how long she'd been awake since this whole thing started, and sleep hadn't been possible in the uncomfortable airline seats.
She turned and walked over to the small desk that was just about the only piece of furniture in the tiny lobby. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where to find a good hotel around here would you?" She asked. She was tired, dirty, and fairly hungry. The in-flight meal hasn't been very filling.
"Wow, did you come to the wrong country." The clerk smirked and shook his dark skinned head. "Sorry girl, closest hotel is thirty miles away, in the capital of Lyrobia." The capital was so close to here? That was where she wanted to go anyway. But thirty miles was quite a bit on foot...
"Which way is it? And you got any modes of transportation I could use?" Clover asked hopefully.
"That a way." The clerk jerked his thumb toward the north. "And we've got a camel to buy for 'bout three hundred bucks American." The clerk replied. Clover grinned sheepishly.
"I don't suppose you'll take a credit card..."
"Good guess." The clerk smirked. Clover sighed and waved him away with one hand, turning to plop down on one of the chairs in the lobby to think. Trapped in an airport, tired, hungry, and with no means of getting to her destination. She could always fly somewhere else she supposed, but flying around aimlessly wouldn't get her anywhere with her investigation.
She pulled the pendant she'd gotten from Jerry out of the front of her shirt, letting it rest in the palm of her hand while she stared down at it. What would Jerry do? Probably order a WOOHP jet to come pick them up and take them across the desert. Or bid them 'good luck' and go drink his damn tea.
"Excuse me." Clover looked up when she heard a voice over her. One of the men from the plane was looking down at her with his hands jammed into his pockets. "I couldn't help but notice a beautiful young girl like yourself sitting here looking all mopey."
"And what's it to you?" Clover asked.
"Well, I could help you out with your ride..." He trailed off, staring down at her meaningfully. "If you had something to trade for it." His gaze slid down from her face to her hand, which was still holding the gold and silver pendant.
Clover closed her fist around it to drop it back into her shirt. "It's not for sale."
"Hey, suit yourself. I just thought it's a big desert out there to get across on foot, especially if you're planning on traveling through it during the daytime." The man shrugged and turned away from her, obviously baiting her to stop him and change her mind. Clover bit her lip, not wanting to play into his hands or give up Jerry's pendant, but she was in a bit of a bind.
"Hold on." Clover jumped to her feet. The man looked back at her expectantly with a victorious smirk on his face. "Where is this ride you're talking about?"
"Only the best in this country. Come on." The man gestured for her to follow him outside. There under the full moon was what could only be described as a modified snowmobile. The windshield was larger than your average snowmobile to provide extra protection against dust storms. The man looked over at her. "So what do you say? Will you take my offer?"
"Yeah... I'll take it. But only because I have no choice, I'm not a bad person." Clover said. The man stared at her blankly until her leg snapped up, slamming the heel of her foot into his neck. He stumbled back against the wall of the airport, gasping for breath while Clover leapt on the sandmobile and started it up with a roar. "Again, sorry!"
Clover took off across the sand dunes in the sandmobile, underneath the light of the full moon flanked by a sea of stars that someone more poetic might have observed to be more numerous than the grains of sand in the desert. Realistically, that was complete crap as the sand flew over her body, clinging to her already dirty skin and clothing.
A massive yawn escaped from her lips again, and she might have fallen asleep if she hadn't jumped off an exceptionally large sand dune. She took her foot off the gas, letting the sandmobile come to a stop. It wouldn't do any good to keep going if she passed out and killed herself in a crash halfway there. She climbed off the vehicle and plopped down onto the sand on her stomach. She reached up and pulled the brown contacts lenses out, dropping them to the sand. It was good to not have them irritating her anymore.
The sand felt strangely good. It didn't give much, but it molded itself to her body as she wriggled down into it, closing her eyes wearily. It didn't take long for her to drift off into a light slumber, still feeling the wind blow sand across her body. She awoke again when she felt piercing light cut through her eyelids.
The sun... in just a short time this sand would become like a thousand tiny burning embers. She couldn't afford to sleep anymore. So she rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up, knocking off the sand that had collected on top of her during her nap.
She looked up in surprise when a thick black boot landed on the sand in front of her. Looking up, she saw the man whose sandmobile she'd taken the night before glaring down at her angrily. "Uh... hey... just took it for a test drive, smooth ride..."
The man grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her to her feet easily. This was no businessman, he had some muscle on him. "You tried to steal my property you little bitch." He scowled.
"Steal is such a harsh word... and I'm really not a bad person, I just have bad judgment sometimes." Clover defended herself.
"Shut up!" The man snapped back, letting her drop to the sand with a heavy thud. "I don't care what your reasoning is you little thief." The man stomped toward the sandmobile, climbing onto it.
"Hey... what're you doing!? You can't just leave me out here!" Clover exclaimed.
"You're obviously resourceful enough to take what you need, find a way to survive." The man pushed the gas as hard as he could, sending the vehicle flying down the sand dunes away from her.
"Waaaaaiiiit!" Clover screamed, waving after him. "I'll give you my pendant! I'll give you a freaking blowjob! Just don't leave me out heeeeere!" She let her arms sink to her sides, watching the sandmobile vanish into the distance. Fantastic... her own stupidity had stranded her in the middle of the desert. If she'd just refused his offer she'd be somewhat cool in the airport lobby but nnnooooo she had to be the adventurous super spy and try to steal it.
With a sigh she turned to march toward the north, straightening her back. She didn't know how far she was from the Lyrobian palace. It could be over the next sand dune, or another twenty-five miles away. The sun was searing into her pale skin painfully, slowly tanning her to a deep bronze as the sun moved higher and higher.
The sand around her seemed to turn white, yet another source of heat, as if she really needed one. Her shoulders were already slumping down by now, and she was desperately trying to fan herself with one hand. She could smell herself reeking worse and worse with the sweat pouring down her body, dripping to the sand as she passed over it.
And she'd thought crossing this desert on a camel had been Hell a few months ago. Crossing on foot was far worse; she could practically feel her skin beginning to shrivel up like a dry prune. In her mind she thought of what she would look like tomorrow, a haggard wrinkly little bag of bones who couldn't date a corpse.
Okay, maybe it was an exaggeration, but it was enough incentive to force her legs to keep moving despite the growling in her stomach and the sweat pouring down her body. What little hair she had left after Mandy butchered it was matted to her head, and her clothes stuck to her well-toned and formed frame like she'd been sprayed with a fire hose.
Finally she came to the top of a sand dune, staring in shock down the other side. A blissfully familiar palace sat in front of her, the crimson rays of the by now setting sun making it look like a shining beacon in the middle of the sandy sea. "Thank you!" Clover thrust her arms into the air and let herself fall forward, rolling down the side of the sand dune. She came to a stop in front of the palace gates, pushing herself up to her feet and brushing some sand off of her sticky wet skin.
She approached the palace guards, who were staring at her with strange expressions on their faces. "Hey, you may not remember me, but I'm a friend of the queen. So could I, like, come in and talk to her?" Clover gave them her best innocent girl smile.
"The queen is occupied with more pressing issues than speaking to you." One of the guards sneered darkly.
"Well, why don't you go tell her that Clover is here, and we'll see what she says, 'kay?" Clover asked in a bright, cheery, unbelievably fake voice. The guards exchanged a glance before the grumpy one turned to walk into the palace. Clover stood in the sand, looking around aimlessly. She noticed the guard staring at her body several times. "In your dreams buddy."
The guard growled and blushed slightly, but his partner returned in time to save him from having to respond. "The queen will see you." The guard looked like he would rather eat a pile of horse manure than say those words. Clover stuck her tongue out at him and marched inside, though he grabbed her arm to roughly lead her through the palace.
"Hey, not so tight Brutus." Clover snapped. "This isn't the way to the throne room. I was here before ya know."
"The queen isn't in her throne room." The guard squeezed her arm tighter until he pushed open a pair of large double doors when he finally let her go. Clover stepped into the room, looking around in surprise. It was the biggest indoor pool she'd ever seen, but there were small candles set around the outside. Expensive looking drapes hanging from the ceiling and covered skylights that let the fading sunlight filter into the room.
"Clover, welcome." Clover looked away from the expensive drapery to see Queen Tassara herself sitting in the water, leaning against the side of the pool with her arms resting on the edge. Strangely, she didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath the water, though it was difficult to tell in the low lighting. "It's been a long time. I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever have the pleasure of greeting our heroes again."
Clover shot the surprised guard a victorious look and pushed him away, walking up to the edge of the pool. "Yeah, it's good to see you too your highness." Clover bowed gracefully, not wanting to piss her off. If Tassara sent her away, she would not only have no one to help her, but might die in the desert.
"You look like you've had a rough journey here." The queen commented.
"Yeah... something like that. I had to walk most of the way through the desert and... well..." Clover trailed off, not sure where to begin telling her story. If she wasn't careful, she could make Tassara think she'd committed some crime too.
"Well, perhaps you should get rested before we discuss your reason for coming." The queen suggested with a gentle smile. Clover smiled back gratefully and nodded. She could use some clean clothes and food in her stomach. "Please, join me." She gestured to the water.
"Huh? Oh I didn't bring my bathing suit..." Clover replied sheepishly.
"You should clean yourself, you'll feel better." The queen replied. Clover looked down at the water in surprise. This wasn't a pool... it was a bath. A bath the size of the pool they had at Bev High. Suddenly her interest in being a queen was piqued again after being dormant thanks to the Arnold fiasco.
"Uh... sure, thanks." Clover stood up and turned away from the queen to undress herself. She wasn't shy of her body, but she wasn't used to the idea of bathing with anyone except her love of the week. She tried to convince herself it was just like showering after a long workout with the girls at school. But it didn't change the fact that eventually she had to turn around to climb into the tub.
The queen wasn't affected by her body at all. She supposed the rules of modesty were different out here than they were in America. "Relax, you're among friends here." Tassara smiled warmly.
"Thanks, your majesty." Clover nodded, trying to relax the rather tense muscles in her arm as she leaned against the opposite end of the tub. The warm, still water was pretty soothing to her sun-baked, dry skin. "Look... I think I really should explain what's going on as soon as possible."
"I'm listening." Tassara replied. Clover ran through the story of the last few days with her, but omitted the unnecessary details about Mandy. When she was finished the queen was staring at her steadily, tapping her chin with one hand. "And you're here to procure my help in finding out who framed you, and for what?"
"Exactly." Clover said. Tassara nodded gravely.
"If we were discovered harboring an American fugitive, it could have dramatic ramifications for my entire country." She stated, staring at Clover. "Yet if someone is capable of framing a person in your position, the American government must already be compromised. This is a very serious matter..." She fixed Clover with a piercing gaze that made the younger girl's skin crawl.
"I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't..." Clover squeaked. She was a confident girl, but this royal woman's gaze was enough to beat her into submission.
"I can't in good conscience turn you away. I still owe you a debt for helping to give us the peace we now live under with Kenyopia." Tassara nodded. "You have my full support Clover, and all of the resources our small but proud country has to offer." Clover smiled broadly, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thank you your majesty..." Clover bowed again, almost putting her head under the water.
"Please, call me Tassara." The queen replied.
"Sure, Tassara..." Clover nodded. "Now if only we have some way to tap into WOOHP's computer systems or something... maybe I could find out what they're hunting me for."
"Hmm... perhaps we do." Tassara stood up to her full height, pushing herself out of the water. Clover blinked, staring at her beautifully bronzed skin and perfectly formed figure. The queen climbed out of the water and held her arms out while a female servant approached with a thick silken robe, slipping it over her shoulders. She looked down at Clover. "Come, you should see something."
Clover was suddenly feeling self conscious about revealing herself right after the bronze queen. Still she climbed out of the water and hastily took the robe that the servant offered her, wrapping it around herself and tying it off at the waist. Tassara gestured for her to follow as she left the room, leaving Clover to rush after her.
They made their way through the almost labyrinthine palace, flanked by Tassara's handmaidens until they approached a very out-of-place steel door set deep underneath the palace. Tassara placed her hand against a small hand-shaped pad, and the doors slid back into the walls. Clover gasped in surprise as they entered, looking around.
This room made Jerry's office at WOOHP look sparse as far as electronics went. Computers and servers were lined up against the far wall, where a few men were tapping away at the keyboards with quick sure strokes. It was like walking from Ancient Egypt to the Starship Enterprise.
Tassara chuckled, watching her expression with some amusement. "We're a small country and we choose to maintain our heritage in our lifestyle... but we are not a backwater country that refuses to use modern advantages." She approached one of the computers against the wall, gesturing to the seat and looking back at Clover. "If you know how to access WOOHP's systems from here?"
"M... maybe..." Clover looked around in amazement at the lines of machines as she made her way to the proffered computer, pulling up in the rolling chair. "This is really more Sam's specialty, but I can give it a shot." She took a deep breath and started tapping away at the keyboard, keeping her eyes on the screen. She knew WOOHP's passwords, they needed them to access the network with their compowders. But if they'd changed the password since Clover left...
Clover and Tassara both breathed a sigh of relief as the WOOHP logo flashed across the screen. "Okay, now to find out what I 'did'." She typed her name into one of the WOOHP search engines that Jerry had used so frequently. Her picture in full WOOHP uniform and a profile came up.
Tassara leaned down, staring over her shoulder to read the text on the screen. "Age 16. Hair blonde. Eyes blue. Height 5'4. Weight 104 pounds..."
"Puh, that's a total lie." Clover growled. Tassara smirked and gripped her shoulder to calm her down so she could continue reading.
"Formerly one of WOOHP's top agents, now currently wanted for the assassination of the WOOHP director Jerry Lewis." Tassara trailed off, looking down at Clover. Clover was sneering darkly, clenching her fists in front of her. They suspected her of murdering Jerry? How could they possibly think that? She loved Jerry, she didn't even wring his neck for messing up her hair all those times.
"They think I killed Jerry..." Clover growled. She remembered them mentioning an assassination at Mandy's place... but Jerry? Who in their right mind would think she would ever harm Jerry? Yet Sam and Alex seemed to believe it, or they wouldn't have hunted her through Beverly Hills...
Tassara placed her hands on Clover's shoulders comfortingly. "Come Clover, you should rest. You've been traveling for some time it seems, and we can continue our search for answers after you're at full strength." Clover looked back at her, then sighed and closed her eyes, nodding up at the kindly queen. It wouldn't do her any good to get worked up like this and let her body break down from hunger and sleep deprivation. She would have to rest for a while in the palace and try to get more information later...
TO BE CONTINUED