41. Luncheon at the Chosian
They were just sitting down to their midday meal when a harried-looking Cadet Purrina, weighed down by the day's mail, handed Pawlette a small pile of letters with instructions to deliver them. Thus empowered,she went through the stack one at a time, calling out names, displaying them as she went and conjecturing on the contents of each envelope before dealing them out across the table.
"Avocato – another tailoring bill. Kedi – death threat, death threat, challenge to duel to the death." She held the next one up to the light, then sniffed it. "Felice – blackmail, ammunition bill. Me – fan mail. More fan mail. FannFee – perfume bill, love letter, monthly extortion payment. Toshi – notification of medical malpractice, insurance bill. Nikos – letter bomb, death threat, bill, ah!" She held up a now-familiar yellow envelope, waving it teasingly. "And a love letter!"
Nikos snatched it out of her hand and stashed it in his tunic pocket in a trice. They laughed and opened their letters from home, relaxing into the end of their day. For a few moments all were silent at the table, and then they began sharing bits of news about family and friends. Avocato sat quietly, waiting for his chance and rereading the note from his mother. It wasn't until FannFee decided he was looking far too smug and pleased with himself that she leaned close and prodded,
"Cato?"
At the quiet prompt, they all zeroed in on him, well aware that something was up. With a little smile, Avocato rose, tapping his knife against his water glass for their attention and looking around each of them as he said, "Cadets, it's my great pleasure to inform all of you that you are now engaged for our very first day of liberty in Ventrex City."
"Engaged? I already live with Toshi," quipped Felice. "I'm not marrying him, too."
Toshi huffed. "With that attitude, I wouldn't marry you, either."
"That's not the kind of engaged he's talking about, genius," grumbled Pawlette, her engineering mind ever literal.
"Can we really be sure, considering the source?" Felice countered, gesturing at their Blue Imperial.
"He did threaten to marry me," said Nikos.
"You can cook and I can't," Avocato insisted, and everyone laughed.
They were all looking forward to their first chance to leave the academy grounds on their own, as cadets. One of the privileges of having survived their initial two years at the academy was that starting in the second semester, they were allowed a day of liberty once a month. Their first opportunity was coming up in three days, and they were all planning on getting out and about, shopping and dining and exploring and just being somewhere removed from drill instructors for a day.
Until now.
"Mind telling us what we're doing, Avocato?" asked FannFee, her green eyes narrowed.
Avocato lifted the note with a smile. "We've all been invited to luncheon with Imperial Princess MewMew of Hiis at the Chosian Foundation headquarters here in Ventrex City. She wants to meet my friends and she's looking forward to spending an afternoon with Nikos and Kedi again," he said with a significant look in their direction.
They stared at him in open-mouthed astonishment, and then FannFee, who had neither recovered from nor forgiven herself for missing Catomar's wedding, stood up and pointed threateningly, saying, "We. Are. Going. All of us."
"And you'll be debriefing us after?" wondered Kedi.
"Absolutely! I missed my chance last time. That's not happening twice."
"Your mother?" Toshi confirmed. He looked flummoxed. "But . . . she's a princess!"
"Yes," said Avocato, completely missing the point.
"What's he trying to say, Cato, is comparatively speaking, we're a pack of barbarians," Felice provided.
"Well, I know you know how to eat," Avocato said. "That and a few pleasant words are all you'll need."
"Says the cadet who still thinks he needs three forks for lunch and five for dinner."
"And what he's saying is teach us how to eat, Avocato," said Pawlette, cutting to the chase. "We don't want to embarrass you - or ourselves."
"Or your mother," finished Toshi.
"Fine," said Avocato. "Toshi, Pawlette, Felice - hand over your forks. Nikos, give me your knife. Kedi, Fann - spoons. Kedi, eat your dessert and give me the plate. Toshi, I'm stealing your glass. Someone get a clean napkin. Now."
Desperate for instruction, they scrambled to obey.
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"Now what are they up to?"
By Tibbit's tone of voice, Leoni and Cataloupe knew exactly who they were. The colonels and the commodore watched in bemusement as across the dining hall, Avocato stood and carefully arranged a place setting, stacking plates and lifting utensils one at a time as if explaining their use, pointing at plates and glasses arrayed around him like he was planning a military campaign. It was obvious the Blue Imperial was giving a lesson in dining etiquette, though why this was the case, none of them wanted to find out. His friends watched him intently, as did a few nosy cadets from nearby tables. Avocato had Cadet Pawlette come sit in his seat, and he demonstrated the correct method of pushing a lady's chair in before gesturing Nikos over to try.
Leoni shook her head. "Oh, to be at that table right now."
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It wasn't until FannFee reported in on the Chosian Foundation that panic set in - hers, mostly, but she managed to spread the infection a little.
". . . we've all heard of it," she insisted. They had piled into Nikos and Avocato's room, waiting for Avocato to return from tutoring so they could ambush him and share their alarm. Not that he would get uptight over seeing his mother, but they were, and needed assurance. "Well, maybe not Nikos or Kedi, but remember the vids we'd watch as children, about animals and history and exotic places around Ventrexia? We watched them in school, too. That Chosian Foundation. Apparently, a few hundred years ago, one of the princes or princesses of Hiis was a founding member, and they've stayed active in it ever since. Princess MewMew is a trustee."
"I loved those vids," Toshi said.
"Who didn't, if they showed them during school?" Felice asked.
"I have seen several of their vids," Kedi announced. "They were very good."
Pawlette looked down at her uniform. "I feel underdressed to even talk about them." To Nikos she said, "You met Avocato's mother. Will she hate us?"
He scoffed and said, "Princess MewMew was incredibly charming and welcoming to me and Kedi. They all were. Well, I didn't really meet Catomar all the times I was at the estate. But still, they all went out of their way to make us feel welcome."
"We all need to wear our best uniforms," insisted FannFee needlessly, pacing. Petite as she was, she could only take four or five steps before having to turn in the limited space. "Check your buttons. Boots polished. Toshi, tame that mop. Everyone cleaned and brushed and - oh! What if his mother brings his father?"
"Distinctly possible," was Kedi's thoroughly unhelpful response.
"Then we take luncheon with a grand lord as well as an imperial princess," Nikos said. "If I survived the combined onslaught of Houses Cato, Hiis, and Turvan, not to mention the royal family, I promise you'll have no problem with Avocato's parents."
"For the love of Ventrex, just none of you bow," begged Avocato, dropping his heavy bag of books and padds as he entered. It was nothing unusual to have a crowd in his room, and neither he nor Nikos cared which bed they ended up in each night. Without ceremony he flopped face-first onto Nikos' bed, which had fewer bodies occupying it.
"Why not?" wondered Toshi.
Nikos, having been schooled in this branch of etiquette, had a ready answer for him. "Because getting it wrong is a lot worse than not doing it at all. Right, Cato?"
Avocato flailed a paw in feeble agreement.
"Rough night tutoring?" surmised Kedi, leaning back against him.
"Why do they let such stupid people into the royal academy?" groaned Avocato, his voice muffled.
"I hear most of them just showed up," Felice replied, and Avocato screamed into the pillow.
"There, there. Get it out. Cheer up, Cato," said Kedi, petting the back of his head as he waved everyone out of the room. "After tomorrow, you can tell your lady mother all about the stupid."
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"My lady."
His hands pressed over his heart, Avocato bowed deeply to his mother. As he had gotten taller, he had to stand further and further away from MewMew to formally greet her. She now had to take two steps forward to reach him, he realized, but she closed the distance and reached up to cup his face in her hands, smiling with undisguised pleasure.
"I'm so happy to see you," she said, drawing him in to press her forehead to his. "Your father and brothers send their love."
"Return it for me, lady. I hope all are well at home."
"Thriving, little one. Now introduce me to your friends."
He offered his arm and escorted her to where his fellow cadets waited in a tight and nervous cluster. Their adventure today had started at the main entrance of the academy, when the Chosian Foundation's elaborate, antique transport had arrived to pick them up. The sleek old vehicle had made quite an impression on all the cadets at liberty, not just MewMew's guests. Pawlette had insisted in riding in the front seat, where she touched everything and asked endless questions of the thoroughly unflappable driver. Kedi had to physically stop her from crawling under its hood once they arrived.
The foundation was housed in what had once been an arch lord's country estate, and was a veritable monument to ages past. The exterior was elaborately carved stone, with gates and a courtyard set amidst perfect gardens, while inside all was centuries-old polished wood and stained glass, plush carpets, priceless art, and ancient artifacts. Used as he was to such settings, Avocato noted that his mother had dressed very simply, but elegantly, probably in an attempt not to intimidate his friends any more than they already were. She was wearing the dunefly pin he had sent her from Piarcynka, and the gray icewater pearls he had bought her in the Far Reaches.
"Lady, allow me to present Cadet Lady FannFee of House Fannf, Cadet Pawlette, Cadet Toshi, Cadet Felice, and of course, Cadets Nikos and Kedi you already know. Cadets, my mother, Grand Lady Cato, Princess MewMew of Hiis."
Delighted, she clasped her hands. "Thank you for coming. I'm so happy to meet you all, and to see Nikos and Kedi again." She smiled. "I have lovely surprises for you two, and for you, Avocato. Now come, my dears! I'm sure you're all hungry and we want to hear all about your classes."
"We?" whispered FannFee, and let out a tiny squeak of panic.
"Fall in, all of you," Avocato teased, herding them along.
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"Cord - I mean, L-Lady Cordell!"
"Dear Lady Clawdia! My beauty!"
Nikos and Kedi stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of MewMew's other guests, and almost immediately Felice and Toshi plowed into them from behind. Kedi deftly righted Nikos before he could be knocked flying. Excited and beaming and absolutely thrilled to be out from Cordata's sharp eye for a day, the two young ladies hurried over to their chosen cadets as the men untangled themselves from their friends.
"I have a surprise for you, too, Little Cato," MewMew quietly said to Avocato, drawing him further into the dining hall. "One of your cousins is staying for a few weeks, so of course I had to bring her."
MewMew gestured. There was an elaborate fireplace filling the far end of the room, and standing beside it was a tall and willowy woman. She turned to Avocato with a smile, and he let out a happy exclamation.
"Nedjem! Cousin!"
His face aglow with delight, Avocato rushed forward to greet her, taking her hands in his as they looked one another over. It had been several years since he had last seen her, and only now he realized how much he had missed her. Nedjem was ten years his senior, and easily one of the most beautiful women in the whole royal court. Sweet, intelligent, and highly accomplished, she was also a Blue Imperial. Her fur was a few shades lighter than Avocato's, and she was solid teal, with large, green eyes. Though she was dressed in the height of fashion, the flowing dress could not hide the fact that she was several months pregnant.
"You're going to be a mother?" Avocato asked, beaming. Then he turned her hands to see the matching bracelets on her wrists. They were wide, elegant bands of gold set with green jewels and pearls. For a courtesan, twin bracelets meant she was the recognized mistress of a noble – a very substantial noble, too, given her status and the very costly jewelry.
Nedjem almost purred with pleasure. "Yes! Since I became a First Lady of the Chamber last year, I've been contracted to Grand Lord Gaton." She placed a possessive hand on her belly. "This will be his first heir. We're very excited."
"That's wonderful! Congratulations!"
"And you, Little Cato! First in your class! I'm not surprised, but I am proud of you. Gaton's brother, Major Gatito, dined with us the other evening. He told us a Blue Imperial at the royal academy was causing quite a stir throughout the whole fleet, and I knew it had to be you."
Avocato laughed, though the notion of all Ventrexia's military knowing he existed was unnerving. "Cousin, I am just trying to survive the next three years."
Smiling her understanding, she gave his fingers an affectionate squeeze before slipping her arm through his. "Gaton is off planet on business for a few weeks, so I decided to go visiting. I'm so glad for this chance to see you! Come, introduce me to your friends. Cordell and Clawdia spoke a great deal about your Nikos and Kedi. I must needs meet these marvels for myself."
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Their few days of practicing proper table manners served them well, and once the cadets started to relax, it was a merry, spirited afternoon. By the end of the second course, Toshi and Felice were hopelessly in love with Clawdia, Cordell, and Nedjem, and they wanted to be adopted by MewMew. FannFee was thrilled to be seated next to Nedjem, who kept well informed on court gossip and was perfectly willing to share. MewMew indulged Pawlette and let the cadet talk on about the foundation's antique transport, even though MewMew had ridden in it many times.
"You must visit the estate in Alfitrix, my dear," said MewMew. "We own any number of antique vehicles you can examine. Plus, Grand Lord Catomaran II had a passion for timepieces of all sorts, and there are four clock towers and a carillon on the estate dating back six hundred years, and a sun dial bigger than this room."
"The clocks are still working?" breathed Pawlette, dazzled.
"Oh, yes. They take a great deal of maintenance. I can have our mechanic give you a tour of them."
"I would love that!"
Nikos, in the meantime, rather drunk with Cordell's presence and quietly thrilled to see she had silver-white frost lizard feathers decorating her headpiece, finally found the courage to bring up a topic that had been nagging him for ages.
"Next year, toward the end of the fourth year, I mean, the academy holds a formal dance. I know it's a long ways away, and plans might change, but, I was wondering if -"
"Yes," said Cordell before he could finish the thought. She was clearly not going to risk him backing off. "Will you be in uniform?"
Caught completely off guard, having expected her to say she'd think about it, Nikos stammered, "Y-yes, Lady."
"Cordell," she corrected, giving him permission to drop her title. A slow smile lit up her features. "I'll have to find something that coordinates nicely with teal and gray. Write to me and let me know the date."
Relief and happiness flooded into him, and Nikos clearly wanted to dance around and let out a whoop. Instead he returned the smile and managed to say, "As soon as I get back to the academy."
Avocato, seated at the foot of the table, applied himself to annoying Kedi and entertaining Clawdia with tales of their misadventures in the Far Reaches.
". . . so Kedi gets out of the transport, takes two steps, and woof! Disappears, ears, whiskers, rifle, and all, into a snow trip. Gone. All of him. Apparently the hill we landed on had a drop-off of a few meters the scanner hadn't caught, but Kedi certainly did."
Kedi let out a good-natured grumble. Clawdia giggled. "What did you do?"
"Oh, Nikos and I panicked, of course," said Avocato, laying it on thick. "Screamed like hungry kittens. We didn't dare go after him at first. And of course, a whole, huge flock of snow cloud flickers - hundreds of them, each about yea big - appeared just then. They landed everywhere - the ship, us, Kedi. Apparently they're very curious birds, and they make a noise like guh-koo, guh-koo when they get agitated. They were all agitated and talking at once, and they were so loud that we couldn't hear what Kedi was saying. Luckily, he wasn't buried too deeply. And just as luckily, Nikos weighs less than this plate and he could walk on top of the drift without a problem. We found a line, hauled Kedi out of his burrow, scared off our dinner, and swore oaths never to tell anyone, ever."
"Liar!" Clawdia swatted at him playfully. "You're telling me."
"You're not just anyone, cousin."
Kedi rolled his eyes at this outrageous flirtation, but even he had to laugh at the memory.
They lingered over tea and pastries taken in the attached sitting room, talking and enjoying the company. It was a cozy setting, warm and intimate, and MewMew, standing off to the side between Felice and Toshi, let out a happy sigh. Both cadets followed her line of vision to where Avocato stood by the fireplace, talking and laughing with Nedjem.
"Remember this sight, my dears," MewMew said, drawing the attention of the rest of her guests. "You will probably never see such a thing again."
"What do you mean, Lady Cato?" asked FannFee.
The princess smiled, not looking away from her son as she said, "To see them together is the rarest treat. Did you know my Avocato is only the third male Blue Imperial ever recorded?"
That stunned the cadets. They looked in shock at their friend.
"How many Blue Imperials are there?" wondered Felice.
Her smile widened and she gestured. "This is the first time in history two Blue Imperials have been alive at the same time." MewMew looked up at Felice. "They are the only ones in all the universe."
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"You never told us how rare your coloring is, Cato," Nikos said as they walked back to their dormitory. Despite having spent most of the afternoon eating, the boys, at least, had opted to get dinner in the mess hall, if only to make the day last a bit longer.
Avocato shrugged. "There's enough fuss surrounding teal fur. I didn't want more."
"Still – only the third male? That's remarkable."
This time, he snorted. "Something you should know about Blue Imperials, Nikos. We are all a complete mess of recessive genes. You've seen it - the tail, the lack of whiskers, the danger glands. Wait until you see how I react to a bug bite. I wasn't kidding when I told you I got all the genetic backwash from both sides of my family. And I really don't have two sides of my family since my parents are cousins. Which is also why I'm a Blue Imperial."
"You are a mess," teased Toshi.
"Our mess," Kedi said, pulling him in for a one-armed hug.
