-3 years B.C.

CHAPTER I

"How glorious it is--and also how painful--to be an exception."
-Alfred de Musset

Sandar awaited anxiously at the doorstep of his house, pacing about like an impatient child. The last time anybody had ever seen Ari was years ago, before she left for the high ape seminary, a boarding school located in a jungle many miles from Ape City.

She was finally coming home today.

The senator had been waiting there for nearly twenty minutes--his daughter was suppose to arrive within the next ten. The welcoming party hadn't been very large; it only consisted of himself and his two new human servants.

It wasn't before long when he could hear the sound of hooves pounding furiously against the soft grounds. He knew who it was.

The three horses carrying apes came to a full stop. His daughter was atop the chestnut mare. His personal ape servant, Talos, leapt off his black stallion and held out a hand to Ari.

As she stepped off her horse, Sandar took the time for observation. How lovely she has grown the last four years, he mused, a near likeness of her mother in almost every sense. Like most ape children, she had been physically awkward at a young age, though she had beautiful eyes. Now, this fragile flower had suddenly bloomed into a rare and exotic figure. It is somewhat depressing how fast time flies by... How old is she now? Twenty? Twenty-one?

Ari casually brushed off the dirt on her arms; she really disliked riding horses at times. When she lifted her gaze to see her father, her eyes immediately brightened and a wide smile appeared on her face. She walked up to him.

"Father," she acknowledged.

Sandar gently placed his hands upon her shoulders and said nothing for a moment, simply gazing at her in a loving manner. He then pulled her into an embrace. "Ari... how much you've grown. It is good to see you again after so long."

Ari held her father tight, and replied, "I've missed you, too... Nothing has been the same without you." She pulled herself from Sandar's arms and noticed the human servants, who now had their heads bowed, for the first time. "Hello..."

"What are you waiting for?" Sandar demanded them and pointed his finger toward her bags. "Take them to her room."

As the humans quickly snapped to attention, Ari was quick to defend them and snatched the bags into her own hands. Talos gaped at her, as the two humans looked at their empty hands and suddenly looked lost. "Your service is not necessary, thank you," Ari gently informed them. She turned her attention to her father, who, like his servant, stared at her with wide eyes. "Let's go inside. I have so much to tell you about the seminary!"

Ari wasted no time and went into the house with arms full; the two servants immediately followed her. Talos glanced at his master. "Sir?"

Sandar sighed wistfully. "Perhaps not all things change."

Even after the many years which passed, the same colorful trinkets of human treasures neatly adorned her wooden desktop, giving the room a rather bright appearance.

Ari looked around her room; nothing really changed. Her father did not seem to bother rearranging anything, to her satisfaction, as much as he disapproved of the way she organized it. Besides clothing, her bag was filled with even more human valuables to decorate her room with. She randomly picked up a beautiful human hairpiece made by the natives whom she befriended while she attended the seminary. The dried flowers gave off a slight fragrance which had not been unpleasing to the senses. If only she could carry more like these back home...

"I see you still have the tendency to pick up whatever human rubbish you can find on the grounds."

Gently as she could Ari placed the hair ornament upon her dresser so the fragile flowers would not be damaged. "They are not rubbish, Father; they are works of art. I ask that you please be careful when handling them."

The senator scoffed at his daughter's remarks. "How you fondle them as if they were pets."

"Speaking of pets, where are Orsa and Kale?" Ari asked as she started unpacking her things from her handcrafted tapa bags.

"Hmm?" Sandar gave no indication he even heard the question.

"Orsa and Kale." The female chimp turned toward her father, who was now holding up one of her souvenirs from the seminary, a human tool of some kind which helped them cut meat. He curiously sniffed at it, and turned it over for further examination, obviously not paying attention to any word she said. Ari cleared her throat loudly. "My pets?"

Sandar woke from his reverie with a start. He suddenly looked confused as confused can be. "Your... pets?"

Ari sighed. "Remember I took in two stray human cubs all those years ago, the ones who lost their mother? Altair was about to put them into slavery, young as they were, the poor things, and I saved them before he could do so. I entrusted you to take care of them while I was gone, remember?"

"Ah, yes, yes... Eh... What about them?"

"Well? Where are they?" his daughter insistently demanded.

The aging senator merely stood there for a while, trying to reach back into his memory. Ari waited anxiously for his answer, fearing the worst. His eyes widened once he remembered: "Your pets... right." A pause. "I let them go."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Ari, but I could not keep them in the house any further. They've reached an age where controlling them is no longer possible for an old crone like myself... Even Talos couldn't keep watch over them."

Ari slumped into the nearest chair. So. Her father got rid of the pets she adored as a child without even caring whether she would approve of his decision. No wonder he seemed to ignore her questions about them everytime they wrote to each other. So what happened to the two humans, then? Hopefully they were all right now, unless...

"You didn't sell them to Limbo, did you?"

"No," Sandar answered to her relief. "I knew you wouldn't approve if I've done so. I let Talos release them into the wild during the middle of the night."

Thank goodness for that, at least.

At that moment, Talos arrived at the door.

"Sir," the servant addressed as he bowed, "Commander Altair and the captain are here to see you. They have just arrived by horse."

Sandar placed the human knife in his daughter's hands and hurried toward the living room. "Thank you, Talos. Please tend to our guests; I will receive them shortly."

As the two older apes hurried out of the room, Ari was left alone to her own thoughts once again--though not for long. The human servant -Bon, so she heard her father briefly mention- entered her room quietly, meek as a mouse, with a tray of water and fruit in her hands. The female ape took the time to observe her human. The woman was dressed rather conservatively, unlike the primitives of the city outskirts and the grounds nearby the seminary. Her facial features and hair coloring were peculiar--it was apparent she was not native to this land. Her movements were rather catlike and graceful... quite interesting to watch.

When eye contact was made, Bon was the first to instantly turned her face away from her mistress. "My apologies," she softly muttered, not sparing a minute to head towards the bedroom door once she accomplished her duty.

Ari frowned. "Apologies for what?"

"For showing disrespect, miss," Bon said, her eyes still facing downward.

"But you haven't done anything to--"

Talos's harsh and deep voice interrupted her. "Human! Come out here and help clean the kitchens." Before Ari could stop her, Bon was already gone. Soon another voice followed suite.

"Ari!" Sandar shouted for his daughter. "Come into the drawing room. I would like you to say hello to the commander and the captain of the army."

Ari rolled her eyes at the thought of seeing Altair again. The last time she saw him he had been jeering at her idea that humans could eventually learn to live with apes in society if given the chance. She respected him as a leader, but Altair was the sort of ape she could never become friendly with. As for the captain... who was he? Last she remembered the position had been empty--it had been for a while. There was never any need for one, since war did not break out very often, if at all. Now...

Well. Obviously it was time to find out.

"Coming, Father."

She quickly groomed herself and resolved to make the greeting brief.

In the living room, a gentle chuckle came from the massive form of Commander Altair, who sat besides Senators Sandar and Nado. He was fifty-two now, his sleek and shiny black fur turning into a pale gray, which blended in with the silver fur already on his back. The chimp captain, Thade (who was bestowed a promotion four years ago), stood besides his mentor. "I wonder, my friend," Altair mentioned to his host, "whether your daughter still retains her... delightful personality."

Sandar winced at his comment. Did he mean that sarcastically? "You will find out soon enough..."

Nado proceeded to help himself with the ripe guava from Talos's serving tray. It was his turn to speak: "I sincerely hope young Ari's interests in humans have changed at least. Quite bizarre for an ape to be so concerned for their kind."

I doubt her interests changed at all, a depressed Sandar thought. If anything, Ari's been even more radical in her opinions about humans ever since she's returned. It was impossible to even try and change her back into the little human-fearing ape she had been many seasons ago.

"It is not bizarre, Senator, but shameful," Thade coldly remarked, disdain coating his voice. He turned to look at Sandar specifically, which made the old ape feel uneasy. "Apes should not be bothered with the affairs of other creatures, especially humans."

Altair nodded profoundly. "Well said, captain, I couldn't have stated it any better." He smiled proudly at Thade. "You have learned well from your teacher." The silverback gorilla leaned forward towards the two politicians and servant opposite of him. "Ari is too naive and sightless in her ways. It is apparent your daughter should understand it is not in her position to care so much for vermin, and--"

"And it is apparent that you should understand, Commander, that all apes are entitled to his or her own opinion..." His speech was suddenly cut off by a slight figure which just recently appeared. "...whether or not it agrees with the universal view." Ari, hidden by the shadows, folded her arms across her chest and reclined casually against the wall in a comfortable position. Her piercing eyes were directed at the gorilla only, and she took no notice of anyone else in the room. "Commander Altair," she politely addressed. A slight smile formed on the corner of her mouth. "After all these years you remain the condescending chauvinist you were years ago."

The commander flared his nostrils in a menacing manner toward the concealed ape, while Sandar looked as if he was about to suffer a massive stroke. Though Altair, for a moment, seemed as if he were ready to tear somebody apart, he somehow managed to regain his composure and bitterly grinned. "Ari. After all these years, you still keep your... distinct charm about you." Altair snorted and leaned back into his seat.

"Father," Ari hotly spoke, never taking her eyes off Altair, "if the commander is here to further insult me then I will ask to be excused. I do not wish to be welcomed in such a manner."

When Sandar was about to reply to his daughter, Altair interrupted, "I apologize, my dear, for speaking of you in such a distasteful way. I promise not to be offensive again." He paused. "Come out into the light so we can better see you."

Ari was about to publicly defy the commander and ignore his command, but she thought better of the decision. She did not want to embarass her father any further.

When the warm light of the candles casted its glow upon her face, she stopped to see everybody more clearly. They all looked considerably older, though her father's colleague, Nado, looked about the same as he did years ago. Thade appeared to have grown slightly taller, while, if possible, Altair seemed to have lost some considerable weight. When she was done studying them, she stood back and noticed they were still staring. Apparently the group hadn't been finished with her yet, namely Altair and Nado, who wore shocked expressions. The captain looked a bit startled, but only for a short while, and quickly returned to his indifferent self as usual.

Nado was the first to recover. "Only four years," he muttered, "and look what you've become. You are the splitting image of your mother when she had been younger."

It was only minutes ago when there had been tension bubbling between the commander and the senator's daughter--now Altair's face softened, as did his voice. "Your daughter is quite lovely, Sandar, now that she has grown."

Ari drew back, startled as well as the rest of them--she had not been prepared to receive such praises. Surely she could not have changed so much, especially within the short time period in which she had been gone? "Thank you," she quietly said. Unsure what to do next (as the guests were still staring at her even after all this time) the female chimp sat herself in the nearest available chair.

Suddenly at the next second everyone seemed to have recovered. Sandar was the first to break the silence.

"Any word about the human problem, commander?"

Altair let out a gentle snarl and frowned. "I'm afraid it grows worse by the hour. I regret to say that I am displeased with General Krull's lack of attention dealing with this delicate issue. Lately I have been starting to question his leadership skills..."

"Yes," Nado offered, "but Krull has been a general for many years, even longer than you have been as a commander. I don't believe he will fail us now..."

"That is true. However, there are too many wild humans about the city. It isn't safe--"

"What sort of problem are you talking about?" Ari quickly interjected.

The commander glared at the young chimp sitting across from him, apparently annoyed that she had rudely interrupted his speech. "Each day there seems to be more and more of those savages moving into the city. For the last several weeks there have been many reports of theft coming from the borderlines, and we can only guess who the bandits are."

"Are you sure it was the humans?"

"Who else?"

Leaning forward to Altair, Ari demanded intensely, "Must you always judge them so quickly? At least acquire some proof before you reach your verdict."

"There were footprints found near the sites," Thade added. "Human footprints."

"Yes, but their footprints are all over the city. There are slaves and domestics everywhere, even surrounding us right now. How can you possibly tell it was a human that did it and not an ape?"

"Only humans are capable of such deviousness."

Ari rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Oh, and I suppose this is yet another ridiculous decree of the government: Blame the humans for everything terrible that happens."

When she heard a low growling sound coming from Thade's throat, Ari knew she had reached her limits and shrunk back from the conversation. Such a pity... it was perhaps their fourth meeting ever, yet she still haven't managed to gain his respect, or Altair's, for the matter. She remembered having a crush on him at one point in her life, but that was insignificant given her age at the time; now, she didn't know what to feel about Thade. All the females at her school never passed a day without gossiping about potential mates, and at least half of them were more than interested in the Commander's student, now the captain of the ape army, who seemed to be the highest ranking available male. Ari was different in this sort of respect--she didn't like to gossip at all. It was all hot air, in her opinion... It was that, aside from her soft spot for humans, which totally separated Sandar's daughter from the other girls. Sometimes when she walked by a certain group they would snicker and point at her, saying that she would wind up with a human as a husband one day. When Ari pretended she didn't hear them, they would resume talking about their appearances, seminary teachers, and Thade.

But he is quite a catch, she somewhat agreed--his bloodlines is history in itself and his potential for power is unquestionable... not to mention his family is quite wealthy, as well. What female wouldn't want a chance to court him? Even her father, many years ago, vaguely hinted his interest for her to pursue the captain in the future. "He would make a fine husband one day, my dear."

Ari scoffed at the remark. What makes him think the captain would give her the time of day? They were, by far, much too different to even hope for a friendly relationship, nevermind romantic.

No, it would never work out between them--it was a laughable suggestion to even think so.

She took a fresh piece of leaf from Talos's serving tray and started to nibble on it absent-mindedly. Still, there were times when she wanted him to glance at her, just for the sake of making her feel secure. Most classmates she knew were already being courted by males from another nearby seminary and the army training camps...

She immediately thought of her only childhood friend. "Father, may I visit Leeta? I haven't seen her for so long and I want to see how she is."

Sandar looked at his daughter. "Will you be long?"

"I promise I will be back well before nightfall..."

"Very well. Be careful out there!"

Ari wasted no time leaving the stuffy room -- at least she would enjoy herself in the presence of more interesting company.