My Enemy's Son (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 2) (23 page)

“I gave my word to King Merakoma and the
MaKennah,” the King sighed heavily.  “If he waited a year, if he thought long
and hard about it and after this time still wanted her, then I would not stand
in his way.  He agreed to wait but he also made it plainly clear that he would
take no others.”

“Yokaa.”  I beseeched him from my knees. 
“My beloved husband.  What king would want only one wife?  Look how many lovers
you have taken over the years, who have served you as wife, some better than
I.  Perhaps he is blinded by love right now.  It would be foolish for him to
commit himself so.”

“Merakoma, the Karupatani King, had only
one wife and even after her death stays true to her.”

“These Karuts are overly romantic,” I
replied scornfully.  “My husband, you must think of Mishnah and the future. 
What if he were to take a Mishnese wife whom he need not even consort with?  He
need merely impregnate her, leave her here with us to care for and raise the
child and then we will have another true son of the Saint in line for the
throne instead of the child of a strange alien woman.”

My husband thought upon this.

“The alien woman's son may rule Karupatani
for all I care,” I said and stroked my husband's knee.  “But not Mishnah.  Or-”
I had yet a more brilliant idea.  “The MaKennah may stay on Rozari and you may
make Akan the Regent until the child earns his majority and may rule.”

“Have you a Mishnese girl in mind?”  The
King stroked his chin thoughtfully.  He enjoyed how I caressed his leg and I
thought he liked my ideas.

“My cousin's daughter,” I suggested.  “She
is of the same age and as of yet unmarried.  She is fair enough and of good
breeding.  Lady Mariya, she is called.”

“You know, Wife,” the King said, as my
hand tempted him more.  “This is a good idea.  Summon the girl to the Palace. 
When the MaKennah returns to be wed to the alien, we will present him with the
Lady Mariya as well.  Hopefully she shall be fertile on this day and he may do
his duty and then he and the alien may be on their way.”

“It was the MaKennah himself who did kill
her father, my cousin’s husband.  It would be a fitting recompense to the
family, to offer them a future king in exchange, would it not?”

My husband, the King, nodded.  “It would
indeed.”

They came to the Palace.  It was to be a
grand affair, a monumental occasion and all were curious to see the alien
woman.  The King had decided he would receive them in the throne room and had
invited the Parliament, the Council and all the Lords to fill the galleries. 

I took my seat behind my husband's throne
and noted the horrid Lightie and his family were seated first in the front row
of the closest pew.  The Lightie's son had married a Mishnese girl with hair
the color of an orange and she was heavy from having recently given birth to a
child.  I thought this child should look very strange with his parent's odd
coloring and this tickled me as I waited that day. 

Outside the sky was grey and the sea was
stormy.  There were huge windows that surrounded our thrones so I turned my
gaze from the orange woman to the sea and recalled my own daughter's wedding to
the Karut's father and how sickened I was on that day.  I was not sickened now,
in fact I was feeling liberated.  Perhaps, we would finally be rid of the
Karut.  Perhaps I, Moira, Queen of Mishnah, had resolved the issue of the succession
with my brilliant idea and had set everything back to the way it should have
been.

The room hushed as the great doors at the
back of the hall opened.  The Karut entered, dressed in finery that eclipsed
even the King's.  Indeed, there was a beauty to him in his striking coloration
and elegant uniform.  He was tall and strongly built and his presence was that
of a king.  There was indeed a glow about him, an aura, and it awed those in
the chamber and brought many to their knees even though as a prince, he was not
yet deserving of their homage.  My breath unexpectedly caught in my throat for
it had been many years since I had laid eyes upon him and I was surprised by
this unfamiliar swell of emotion. 

I forced my gaze away from him and instead
looked upon the alien woman.  She too was dressed richer than even I though she
wore no crown.  She was fair, pleasant even, and in a small way, she reminded
me of my daughter.  She was about the same size as my Lydia had been, although
her figure was clearly that of a woman, not a girl.  Her hair like my
daughter's was blonde and curled but the alien’s eyes were a striking deep
blue.  She had a stern yet curious expression upon her face, glancing
cautiously about the chamber.

My husband was smiling at them, beaming
with pride.  “She doesn't look alien at all,” he whispered back to me, though
his voice was loud enough that surely the Karut had heard.  “She is quite
pretty really, a bit like Lydia.”

They came before the dais and the Karut
made obeisance on his knees.  The alien regarded him as he did this and then
for a moment looked at my husband, the King, and then at me.  She and I held
each other's gaze.  I smiled regally and lifted my chin.  The people of Mishnah
would never love her as they loved me, I decided.  She would never wear my
crown.

At the back of the chamber, the doors
opened again and now it was my son Prince Akan, Lord Phylyp and the Lady Mariya
who entered.  Mariya was wearing the white gown of a virgin, a veil covering
her face and an elaborate tiara taken from the Crown Jewels.  I glanced at the
alien again who wore neither white nor veil nor tiara, and I covered my mouth
as I laughed at her.  Clearly, she was neither a princess nor a virgin.  She
turned to gaze upon my son and a shadow passed across her face as if she now
remembered him.  I chuckled softly to myself again, recalling Akan’s bravery
and how he bested the Karut by stealing this woman.

The trio mounted the dais and stood before
the King and I.  The Lady Mariya stepped next to the Karut, an awestruck
expression upon her face as she gazed at him.  Truly, she looked pleased to be
suffering this fate.  I recalled how my own daughter had wept for days when
sentenced to the same destiny with the Karut’s father.  My husband smiled and
cleared his throat.  He began to speak.

“One year ago,” the King said.  “I agreed
to allow His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, to marry this Human woman
providing he met our conditions.  King Merakoma has assured me that such
conditions have been met and he has wedded them according to the laws of
Karupatani.  I will do the same according to the laws of Mishnah however, after
further consideration; I have added an additional condition.”

“Lady Mariya,” my husband continued. 
“Cousin to Queen Moira and of noble blood, you have been deemed the most
eligible and you have been determined to be fertile now so you too shall be
wedded to the Crown Prince.  This shall ensure the succession of a Mishnese
prince.  Therefore, I, Yokaa Kalila, King of Mishnah do declare...”

“No,” the Karut interrupted, causing a
stir in the gallery.  “I will not have it.”

My husband cleared his throat again. 
“Now, Sehron, I have decided that…”

“No,” the Karut declared louder.  “You
have violated your word.”

“Now, Sehron,” the King said again, waving
his hands placatingly.  “Let us get on with the ceremony and then I will
explain how it is we shall proceed.  Therefore, I do declare…”

“No.”  The Karut’s eyes grew bright, shining
that strange silver light across the dais.  He shook his head and began to sway
upon his feet.  “No, no,” he mumbled.  The alien woman reached for his arm as
if to steady him.  The Lightie and his son, both rose to their feet.  “No,” the
Karut cried, as an explosion sounded right above me, above the throne. 

A crystal chandelier shattered and came
crashing down just inches from where I sat.  Crystal and glass flew at me,
cutting my dress and my hands and face.  I screamed but my voice was lost in
the clamor of explosions as the chandeliers throughout the room came plummeting
down upon the dais, the galleries, the walkways, and the people.  Then the
great windows began to implode, sending shards of glass flying about like
knives, hitting walls and pews and then shattering into tiny pieces. 

The chamber, for a time, was a cacophony
of noise, my own voice gone hoarse as I cried in fear at the carnage of glass
raining down around me.  A moment later, it was silent, save the whisper of the
wind that blew in upon us from what had been the windows.

The Lightie ran towards my husband, the
glass crunching under his feet.  A fresh draught of cold wind and rain gusted
through the chamber, picking up glass in swirls, serenading us with ghostly
noise.  The Karut stood amidst this all and spoke imperiously in the Noble
Mishnese to my husband, who sat shocked upon his throne, his face pale and his
body trembling.

“Do as you have been bid to do, Yokaa
Kalila,” the Karut commanded.

My husband slumped forward.  I saw now he
too bled from his face and hands.  The Lightie stood beside him, his hand upon
my husband's shoulder.

“Say it,” the Karut ordered.

“I, Yokaa Kalila, King of Mishnah,” my
husband rasped.  “Do declare His Royal Highness, Sehron de Kudisha, the
MaKennah ka Rehnor, wedded to the Human woman.”

“Katelina Anne Golden,” the Karut
dictated.  “Who shall hence forth be known as Her Royal Highness, Katelina de
Kudisha, MaKani ka Rehnor and be accorded all rights and privileges of the
Crown Princess and future Queen.”

“It is done as you say,” my husband
whispered.

I was trembling.  My face and hands hurt
from where they had been cut but I could not move from my seat.  My arms and
legs were as if paralyzed. 

The Lightie came and knelt beside me,
asking if I was wounded, offering me a kerchief.  I let him tend to me, wiping
my blood as I watched the discourse between my husband and the Karut.  I felt
as if I was in a different place and time, as if I was watching this happening
from far away. 

When the Karut was satisfied that he had
humbled my husband and gotten as he desired, he turned to leave.  The alien
woman, the MaKani, the Crown Princess of my beloved Mishnah, would not go.  She
ran across the dais to Lady Mariya.  My cousin had fallen across the steps, her
tiara lay upon the floor near her outstretched hand.  There was glass on her
veil.  The alien knelt before her and touched her wrist, gasping as Mariya’s
veil of lace turned red before our eyes.  The alien pushed off the glass and
lifted the veil and then quickly she turned away.

“Senya!” she yelled and pointed at
Mariya. 

She spoke words in her language but he did
not respond.  He stood as if cut from stone, watching her, watching us with his
wicked silver eyes. 

The Lightie left me and joined the alien
next to Mariya.  He too looked beneath the veil and then just as quickly turned
away. 

Now, my son was screaming.  My addled
brain thought it was for Mariya that he wept, but it was not.  It was my dear
Phylyp, my second son, who lay upon the floor, blood pooling beneath him, a
giant glass dagger piercing his body, severing his heart, killing his soul.

“Why must you do this?” Akan wept.  He
cradled Phylyp's lifeless head.  “Why must you destroy everyone and everything
in your path?  He is the Infidel!  Can you not see that, Father?”  Akan turned
and yelled to the galleries.  “Can you not see what he is and yet you will make
him your king?”

The Karut held out his hand and his silver
gaze illuminated my son.

“No!” The alien woman screamed and bolting
from the floor, she grabbed his arm and pulled it, knocking him off balance. 
The Karut's eyes lit upon her and for a moment he looked lost.  He blinked
rapidly and shook his head, pressing his thumbs into his temples. 

The Lightie stood and faced the Karut. 
“What have you done, Senya?”

“I'm sorry, Loman,” the Karut replied,
rubbing his eyes.  “I broke things and killed people again.”

“Bring them back,” the Lightie shouted. 
“Bring them back!”

“I can't,” the Karut, shook his head. 
"Not this time." 

He took the alien woman’s hand and pulled
her down from the dais.  The girl nearly tripped on her feet.  She, like I, was
horror struck.  She looked to me and once again we locked eyes but there was no
challenge this time. 

I could not help her.  I, like her, was at
the mercy of men, be they good or evil. 

The Karut grew impatient and spoke to her
harshly, urging her along.  When still she stumbled upon her feet, he picked
her up and carried her from the chamber.

It was now dark in this room where the
chandeliers had been destroyed.  The wind blew through us, chilling our frozen
souls and the rain pelted us in our seats.  Slowly, almost silently, the people
began to leave.  My husband sat upon his throne and wept.  My son keened.  Even
the Lightie wiped away tears. 

I did not weep.  I could not cry. 
Instead, I prayed to the Blessed Saint that this evil creature would never rule
my beloved Mishnah.  If my prayers failed as they had done so many times in my
life, I prayed that he would learn to control the powers within him, that he
would be patient with the people who were simple and lesser than he and that he
would always be blinded by love for that alien woman.  She saved the life of my
son today.  I feared she would need to save many more lives in the future.