Taran
Prince Vannos sent some trays of food up to Larz’s room, after none of us went down for midday meal. I was pretty happy about that because I was starving, and I’d wanted to go eat, but Janos had insisted he wasn’t hungry. Then Larz wouldn’t leave him.
I stayed, out of solidarity, but I didn’t really think starving ourselves was absolutely necessary.
Anyway, I was really glad when Prince Vannos seemed to agree and had his servants bring us up some bread and a variety of cheeses and some kind of hot soup with some long noodles in it that I didn’t eat, but that Larz seemed to like. I figured it must be a Tygerian dish because of the weird smell.
Janos ate a little cheese and fruit, which was about all he ever ate, to be honest, unless Larz pushed him to eat more. He didn’t this time though, because Janos already seemed stressed out. I guess he was dreading the coming confrontation with the king of Tygeria and his son. Personally, I was kind of looking forward to it.
Anyway, I stuffed my face with bread and cheese and drank a little wine too. Larz had told me to put more clothes on underthe coat, so I had pulled on a pair of tight pants that Vannos’s son, Bryos, had loaned me. I’d spoken with him several times now, as he always seemed to be coming down the hall as I opened my door. He’d offered to help me learn to ride the arrizes. He had also loaned me one of his shirts. It was too big, and I had to roll up the sleeves, but it was warm at least. And it was cold in that old palace; I was glad of Luc’s heavy old Alliance coat. I had finally located my missing boots before we left—in another guard’s locker, where he said he put them for safekeeping. Yeah, right. Anyway, I wore them too and thought I looked pretty good for the meeting we were about to attend. After we all finished eating, we headed downstairs.
In the big entrance hall, we saw that Luc and about ten members of our Royal Guard had arrived and were waiting for us. Luc and Larz spoke quietly for a few minutes and then they fell in behind us, so we could all enter the conference room together.
The storm outside was still going strong, and the rain had begun beating at the windows. I heard Luc telling Larz that the trip down to the planet’s surface been rough, and the captain had told them the airspace would be closing right after they landed. It wouldn’t be open again until this bad weather had moved through, though that might be several days. Thunder was crashing overhead, echoing down the chasm in front of the palace with an ominous, rumbling sound. The lightning flashed regularly with an eerie effect.
Almost everyone seemed to already be there, some standing around the huge fireplace inside the conference room, while others already sat at the table. Blake and Ryan stood up and came over to greet us right away as we came in, giving each member of our family a hug or squeezing our hands warmly. Davos and Mikos turned to face us from across the room, and Larz bowed to them. They returned his greeting, and I thoughtI saw Davos’s shoulders relax a little. From what Blake had told me, Davos and Larz had once been really close, and Larz had followed him around as a child, saying he wanted to be just like his father when he grew up. Seeing as how Larz was a celebrated war hero on Laltana, from the war between Herkos and Athelon, I guess he got at least some of his wish.
It wasn’t a good sign that neither the king nor the crown prince came over to speak to us as we arrived, though. In fact, maybe Larz was a little too much like Davos, as proud and stubborn as the king was for sure. That just made this estrangement between them even sadder, and I hoped that at least for Larz’s sake they could work out some kind of truce that we could all live with. I knew Larz cared deeply for his father and his brother too, though at the same time, he was furious—mostly at Prince Mikos, but there was plenty of animosity left over to pass around. Unfortunately, I thought the feeling with Mikos was mutual. The prince’s face was set and hard and cold when he looked at Larz. He didn’t even glance at Janos.
Stationed around the room and by the double doors checking everyone who came in, were the Imperial soldiers, standing at attention and remaining absolutely silent and alert. They seemed to be very well disciplined, and I thought our Royal Guard could take a few notes on that. Our guards were leaning and lounging against the wall, talking in soft voices to each other and looking bored.
I didn’t see General Vargarra among the Imperials, and I wondered where he was. I didn’t have long to wonder, though, as I saw Prince Mikos glance at the entrance and saw Vargarra coming in and going directly over to speak to the prince. He didn’t look at me at all, and I found I didn’t like that much. He had to have seen me standing right there with Larz and Janos, yet never so much as glanced in my direction.
I wondered if Mikos was getting an update on the storm from the general. It seemed to be getting worse outside if the loud thunder and lightning directly overhead of us now were any indication. It had gotten much darker too, like it was late in the evening, instead of early afternoon. The lights in the room were flickering wildly as the wind whistled and moaned and beat against the windows.
“Perhaps we should get started before this storm gets any worse,” King Davos said, having to raise his voice above the sound of the peals of rolling thunder. He held his hand out to his consort, Blake, who quickly came back across the room to take it. They sat down beside each other at the head of the table, with Prince Mikos and his consort taking their seats to the left of them. King Stefan and Prince Vannos took seats to their right, so that left the other side of the table open for us to sit down. Larz sat down on one side of Janos, with me on the other.
Also in the room with us were Stefan’s servants, who had come in with long tapers to light the candles in the sconces on the walls, just in case the lights went out. The guards were all there as well. Our Royal Guard stood behind our chairs. They were looking around the room now with wide eyes, like they’d never seen a king before, and it was a little embarrassing. Of course, it was the first time off planet for most of them and their first time to actually be in the same room as King Davos. Most of them had gotten at least a glimpse of Mikos when he famously landed his shuttle right in the middle of the king’s courtyard and stormed out to rescue his brother years ago. It had been quite a sight and an occasion that the people of Laltana still talked about.
“Larz, I don’t suppose there’s any need for your adopted son to be here at the table,” King Davos said by way of an opening, and he was looking straight at me. “I told Vannos not to allow my grandsons either. We have serious matters to discuss.”
I could feel my face turning red at this dismissal and unwanted attention from such a powerful king. He more or less reeked of influence and control, and I couldn’t help being impressed by him, yet I didn’t like being singled out in front of everyone. Davos was a big, handsome, imposing man and still fairly young for a Tygerian. He was at the height of his power at this stage of his life, and he was an intimidating figure.
“Perhaps he could go and find Vannos’s boys and see what they’re doing, if he likes,” he said. “In fact, none of the consorts need to be in attendance either. This will no doubt be boring for them. I think we can sort this out among ourselves.”
Blake gave his husband a look that would have made a lesser man quake. “Nice try, but if you think I’m going anywhere, then you can think again, Davos. As for Taran, he’s Larz’s adopted son, and a grown man. He has every right to be here.” He glanced over at me and nodded. “He can decide for himself.”
The king gave him an exasperated look and snapped back at him. “I never said he didn’t have a right to be here, Blake, but that there wasn’t any need.”
Larz put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I disagree. Taran is my son. He has shown bravery and intelligence over the years, and I rely on his counsel. He’s also an officer in my Royal Guard. To tell you the truth, I’d find it hard to do without him and his opinions. I consider him to be my right hand, as omak would say, much the way I know you think of Mikos. If Taran goes, then perhaps Mikos should leave as well, since they basically occupy the same kind of position.”
His saying that filled me with pride, even though I knew this was mostly, as Luc would say, simply “a pissing contest” between Davos and Larz and a way to insult Mikos. I wasn’t completely sure what that phrase meant, but I thought it was a kind of one-upmanship, and it had sounded funny when I’d first heard it. I’ddecided then and there I might adopt that phrase for my own use.
Mikos gave Larz a look that should have peeled the skin off his face and a silence dropped over the proceedings. Mikos’s consort laid a hand on his forearm and leaned over to murmur something in his ear.
Blake cleared his throat nervously. “Okay then, why don’t we just stop all this and get started? We’re all family here, and this is an informal meeting, surely. What does it matter who’s here and who’s not? Davos, please don’t be silly about this.”
Only Blake would have the temerity to call the king “silly.” The sidelong look Davos gave him spoke volumes.
“Larz, darling,” Blake blithely continued, “why don’t you start by simply telling your father why you left Laltana, when he specifically asked you to stay and act as his agent there?”
Larz bristled a little. “He didn’taskme anything, Omak. That’s not his style. Fatherorderedme to disband the Royal Guard immediately, no matter what my thoughts were on the subject and said that he was sending in the Imperials to take over. That seemed to make me irrelevant. Furthermore, he knows how my consort and I both feel about having Tygerian soldiers not only occupying Laltana but living and working inside the palace.”
Mikos made a disgusted noise. “Larz, in case you hadn’t noticed, the war has been over for almost twenty years, and here’s an update for you—Tygeria won, which gives us the right to govern any fucking planet that we conquered, any fucking way we see fit.”
Blake frowned at him. “Mikos, all that cursing isn’t necessary. Let’s keep this civil. We came to reconcile things with Larz and Janos, not escalate tensions.”
“Omak, I appreciate that, but planets that were once in the Alliance and our sworn enemies don’t get to keep a standingarmy. That’s what Laltana calls its “royal guard,” but it serves no purpose except to escalate the hostilities between us. And by the way, brother, there are plenty of people who still have trauma left over from the war. Not just your friend there beside you. But it’s time to move on from that, after all these years, don’t you think? Or else seek mental counseling for it.”
