Chapter 3
Her nerves were tingling as her parents walked her into the receiving hall where Amyr and his parents were already waiting. Many important men who lived on the moon where her father governed in the emperor's name also waited to bear witness to her oath although she had heard her father complain that Meridon refused to attend and had sent his son, Darlac, in his place. The dark-clad, swarthy male stood in a group of men who were quietly talking among themselves, but the room fell silent as she entered. Taeron stood with Stryfe who would record every detail of the ceremony for the official archive, and Quynn noticed that Prince Staefyn was not in attendance. He had probably returned to the surface to help with preparations for the ceremony on the morrow. She felt even more nervous as all eyes were on her, but her panicked gaze sought and found Amyr, and his smile of encouragement calmed her.
When they reached the first imperial couple, the emperor spoke. "I think we know why we are here." He looked at Quynn and she felt a little bit of fear as he looked into her eyes, his dark green gaze intense. "You have not changed your mind?"
"I have not, my lord," she forced herself to say although she knew he surely expected a different answer. Knowing what was expected of her, she disengaged from her parent's arms and held out her hands to Amyr, and when he took them and squeezed gently, she said, "I vow on the honor of my father's house to join in marriage with you, Amyr of house Trey."
She noticed that that his hands were warm and moist, and when Amyr took a step closer to her, she felt heat rolling off him and that he was flushed. Quynn was afraid that he was sick and that he would not be able to give his oath, but he took a breath and said, "I vow on the honor of my father's house to accept you in marriage and to honor you always, Quynn of house Maxwell." He leaned forward to kiss her and she was surprised when he slipped an arm around her waist and dragged her against him. But his lips barely brushed hers before her father pulled her away from him.
Quynn knew by the disgruntled rumble that rolled through the hall that Amyr had done something wrong. She certainly didn't need to see the glare her father shot at the crown prince or hear the sound of disgust made by the emperor. Taeron had quickly reached for his sword, but she didn't know if it was to protect Amyr from what had suddenly become a hostile atmosphere or to avenge her honor of a kiss that was considerably more chaste than what he had interrupted in the corridor that afternoon.
Before escorting her to the head banquet table, Duo stopped to say to Amyr, "You have dishonored my house."
Trey put a hand on Duo's arm. "I am as appalled as you are Duo, but there is little we can do now. If you think of some recompense I can make for my son's behavior, I will be grateful to be given the chance to make amends."
She heard Amyr's mother whispering to him furiously, "You just can't control yourself, can you? Do you have any idea what you have done? Do you even care? Lord Duo has every right to punish you and don't imagine for a minute that there won't be a dearth of champions in this room that wouldn't jump at the chance to cut off the parts of you that seem to matter the most!"
Quynn did not understand their outrage or the malevolent glares the chieftains were sending their way. She expected, like the wife of the emperor, that they would be delighted if her father made further issue over the kiss. Fortunately, after a tense moment that did not seem to faze Amyr in the slightest, they took their places for the banquet. Quynn found herself seated between the emperor and his son. Her mother was on the other side of Amyr, so she hoped the women could provide a buffer between him and her father. Quynn knew her father was supposed to have been seated beside Amyr, but he was slighting the crown prince by deferring his place of honor to his wife. Quynn was starting to feel her headache returning. This was a bad start to what was supposed to be the happiest time of her life.
Before the meal began, the emperor invoked the blessing of the gods on the bounty which they had been provided and asked for their blessing on the marriage of his son to the daughter of his dear friend. There was little response at the conclusion of his prayer and she did not want to think that meant even the gods were against their union.
Beneath the table, Quynn suddenly felt Amyr touching the hands she had clasped in her lap during the prayer and he drew one hand away to lace his fingers with hers. Although Quynn did not look at him, she felt his eyes on her and she wondered if he listened to his father's prayer. There was no organized religion on Calabria, but they had a strong belief that higher powers approved or disapproved of their actions, the proof of which they saw in what happened to them in their daily lives. She had never known her father to be anything but a strong believer in the will of the gods, but she had been surprised to learn that her mother had joined in his beliefs. Amyr did not seem worried about how the gods might perceive his irreverence towards the prayer.
As soon as the emperor's invocation came to an end, the serving women hurried through the hall to lay platters of food and to dish up the meal.
"I would appreciate seeing your hands above the table," ordered Duo, speaking over his wife's head.
The girl serving Quynn giggled.
Quynn frowned at her father whose steady gaze ensured she had no choice but to obey. She wasn't a flirty adolescent but an adult woman! "We are practically married," snapped Quynn as she jerked her hands away from Amyr and picked up a fork. Her stomach felt as if it were twisted in knots and she hoped she would be able to eat.
"You will be married tomorrow," stated the emperor as he looked across Quynn straight at his son. "I hope you understand the ramifications of your little show."
"Of course I do, father." Amyr turned his attention to his food, dismissing his father and circumventing further conversation by taking a mouthful of food.
"It was just a kiss," remarked Quynn to herself although she realized that she had not seen men and women on Calabria do in public what was commonplace on Earth.
Her father seemed to be reading her mind. "Such displays of affection are not proper on Calabria," he informed her. "His action has marked you as his woman. If something prevented you from sharing the bonding cup with him, no other man will ever have you now."
Although she fully expected to marry Amyr the following day, she was still more than a little disturbed by what he had done now that she understood the reason for her father's anger. They didn't need to tell her that the men dining in the hall now probably thought she and Amyr had already been intimate. Such a thing wouldn't have bothered her if she were back in the Cinq Kingdom, but here on Calabria, she suddenly felt soiled.
She looked at Amyr from under her lashes. He had finished his plate of food and was grinning as he called the serving girl back to fill it again. As she did, she giggled and made some remark about his appetite when Amyr attacked his food with gusto. Quynn's nerves were on edge but she didn't say anything as she pushed the food around on her plate.
The emperor leaned toward her and whispered in her ear, "I will be proud to welcome you to my house tomorrow."
She was glad he had said that because she felt close to tears. "Thank you, my lord."
"I know how difficult the transition will be for you," he said aloud. "The culture from which you come is very different than ours, but your mother has managed to adapt, and so shall you." He paused for a moment as his narrowed gaze rested briefly on her mother and she wondered what he was thinking. Quynn knew that they often butted heads over what her mother deemed his boorish dictates and he made no secret of his resentment over the twenty year separation between her and his beloved imperial guard for which he blamed her.
Then he said, "Duo has every reason to be as proud and protective of you as he is. If he had been given a chance, he would have raised you in our ways and he would have been a good father. He is a good father."
"When I have married your son, I am not going to be hidden away, am I?" she asked with a glance towards the clanswomen who sat together away from the men, careful to remain hidden as they ate. "I was given to understand that I would continue to train pilots on the hyper-space craft."
"Imperial women have many rights and responsibilities," he told her when he followed her gaze. "And you should not be fooled by the zenoite clanswomen. They are very strong females." The emperor grinned at her. "Besides, you are the only person on Calabria who has the slightest clue how to pilot the hyper-space craft and I look forward to receiving the transports using the same technology from Earth. Staefyn's trip to and from Teralon took several weeks, so I am glad that the craft can be used to bring Chaela home for a visit with my new grandson. I am very excited for the future of my people now that we will have the means to travel further."
Since the emperor had treaties with the worlds bordering the frontier, Varoonya and Teralon, Quynn suspected he wanted to expand his reach even further to the frontier worlds were slavery was still practiced. "The king wanted me to remind you that your travel should be in a direction opposite the Cinq Kingdom."
Emperor Trey chuckled. "He has no reason to fear us. My men fight with their swords." Quynn had seen the imperial warriors training, had witnessed Taeron's prowess and knew the king had good reason to fear. "Many of the planets and kingdoms in this system join us in a disdain for the use of anything but the quality of metal they hold in their hands to prove strength."
"Strange words coming from a man who piloted a rather nasty gundam," she commented.
Trey raised a brow. "I didn't kill any Calabrians with it."
He had a point.
Quynn turned to see Amyr rising to his feet and she noticed again that he was flushed and that his skin was glistening. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I just need a little air."
Before she could offer to accompany him even though she was sure her father would refuse to allow her to go, he sauntered away with Taeron following at a discreet distance.
"Rudeness is among his many shortcomings," remarked the emperor. "Perhaps you will teach him manners."
Quynn stared down at her plate. She recognized a few beetles that had been seasoned to make them palatable, and as she popped them in her mouth she mused that she would rather have a steak and some thick cut fries and wash it down with a cold beer. She would not refuse to eat as they did on Calabria and had managed to get used to their unusual fare. Draining her cup of water, she looked for the serving woman and did not see her, and since Amyr's plate had been refilled, she probably would not see the young woman any time soon.
Glancing around the banquet hall now, she noted that many of the men were sharing conversations, heads bent together with furtive glances towards the doorway where Amyr had exited the hall. Suddenly she became very worried about his safety. Although she doubted any would wish to test Taeron, she would feel more at ease if she knew Amyr were not in danger, so after several moments had passed and Amyr did not return, Quynn decided to find out where he had gone.
When she rose and tried to leave, her mother caught her arm. "You should stay to finish your meal."
"I need to excuse myself," she said with a meaningful glance although her mother did not release her and she was unpleasantly reminded of the many times she had been unable to lie to her mother with any success.
"The food doesn't seem to agree with you or Amyr," remarked her father. By the look on his face he suspected they planned an assignation. "I would rather you didn't spend time alone with him until after you have made your vows on Calabria and performed the bonding ceremony. In light of his earlier behavior, I should think you understand my concern."
"It was just a kiss," she grumbled. When he didn't seem to be willing to bend, she reminded him, "Taeron is with him. I'm sure he is just as capable of protecting my honor as he is of protecting Amyr." Mention of his Calabrian son seemed to mollify her father who grunted and turned back to his meal.
Her mother released her. "Do not be long." She might not trust her, but she trusted Taeron as well. Taeron would never shirk his duty. She and Amyr knew that better than anyone.
Quynn hurried out a side door before Duo could override his wife and stop her. She didn't know where to look for Amyr, so she stopped one of the serving women hurrying from the kitchen to ask if she had seen him. The woman told her that the crown prince had gone through the kitchen. That room was bustling with activity, and although everyone seemed too busy to pay her any attention, one of the servants washing dishes said that he noticed the prince and his imperial guard go out the back door.
Sidestepping the busy women, Quynn managed to make it to the door then pushed it open to enter the herb garden that lead to another garden in which her mother grew medicinal plants. Further on there was a well-maintained flower garden where Calabrian blooms similar to roses vied for space with the thistles and Earth roses that her father had imported for his wife. Trees blocked out some of the light shining from the first moon, Dagmaeus, as well as the much larger illuminated planet around which the two moons revolved. All in all, it was a romantic place to be, so she hoped that she could find Amyr and spend a few moments with him even if it meant having Taeron watch over them.
She peered through the dim light and when she was about to return to the hall, she saw a movement further down the path. Thinking it might be Amyr, she hurried forward, but she suddenly stopped when she heard a woman's husky, soft laugh.
"I found you, my lord prince!"
"So you did," she heard Amyr's deep voice reply.
Quynn moved forward silently, holding her breath until she saw the two forms and she was surprised to recognize the young woman who had been serving at her table.
"You should be on your knees before your prince," she heard Amyr tease the female.
"My lord prince, you know that is my favorite place to be."
Quynn couldn't move as she watched the woman drop to her knees and as she ran her hands up his legs and beneath his tunic, Amyr smiled and shoved his fingers in her hair. "You know very well how to please your prince."
Quynn felt such deep fury that for a moment she was disoriented. If she acted, she knew she would try to kill them – both of them. But the anger was quickly replaced with humiliation. She could do nothing but watch as another woman touched him as only she should.
Disgusted by Amyr, ashamed of her own stupidity in trusting him, Quynn turned on her heel and ran back towards the receiving hall and the banquet, oblivious to the thorns slapping at her as she brushed against the roses.
When she passed a tree, she discerned a movement, and she turned her head to find herself looking at Taeron's face. Quynn realized that when she had come into the garden, he had been standing there watching her, knowing what she would find and he must have moved on purpose to guide her to Amyr. Why would he do such a thing? What could she gain? Amyr had disgraced her in the eyes of her father's people and soon enough rumors about her and Amyr would reach Calabria where she would be ruined in the eyes of the sanctimonious imperial nobility. Quynn was trapped. Amyr had made a vow to her and only moments later he was dallying in the garden with another woman. Amyr had no intention of honoring vows to her, and she had been too blind with her feelings for him to see him for the selfish Calabrian pig that he really was.
Quynn couldn't go back into the hall! She could not bear to have her shame exposed before all those people! They had all been right about Amyr and she had been so wrong. What could she do? Where could she go to get away from him?
Pressing a fist to her mouth to muffle her sob, she hurried away into the darkness.