Princess Rescue Inc (125 page)

“Are
you coming?” he asked them after a moment.

“Um
no,” Ryans gave his wife a look. She gave a firm shake of her head. He rolled
his eyes a little. “We've got a prior appointment or I'd gladly help,” he said
pointedly. He nodded to Zara. “I'm glad you're getting a look though princess,
it should help you later in life,” he smiled to her. She nodded and murmured
thanks.

“All
right you grimy lot, let’s get cleaned up a bit then go get some lunch, then
we've got a turbine to put together,” Scooter waved to the outdoor sinks
nearby. Ryans waved as he turned with Deidra and left.

“Interesting,”
he murmured.

“Is
she interested in the mechanical contraptions or the company?” Deidra asked
amused. Her lips puckered in a not quite smile.

“Probably
a bit of both,” he answered, glancing back to see her cleaning up. The boys
were glancing her way. She was one of only three girls in the group. He caught Deidra
peeking as well. “But probably a bit more of the company right now,” he
chuckled, catching Zara's smile and girlish giggle as a boy rubbed at her hand.
Good, he thought, the girl was settling in and seemed more... relaxed around
men. And to think she actually liked a kid from Duluth after what happened to
her? He thought with a mental shake of his head. He felt Deidra poke him. “Huh?
Oh sorry, woolgathering again,” he said smiling politely at his spouse. “Where
next?” he asked.

  <==={}------------>

They
looked out across the crowd. They were near the entrance to Market Street, one
of four markets in the capital. Obviously they weren't the only ones out
enjoying the freakishly warm spell. It was a balmy seventy, nice enough for
midday but in a couple of hours, when the suns went down it would cool fast.
“Why is it that you didn't fight my lord? My lady?” a voice in the crowd asked.
Ryans sighed.

“This
again? Can we get off this broken record?” he grumbled. Deidra touched his hand
with hers while her unseen foot stamped on his toe.

“Ow!
Oh ah...” He sighed. “Look part of it was sound military strategy, the second
part was orders.” He shrugged.

“Orders?”
Duke Pryor rumbled, coming through the parting crowd.

Deidra
sighed and then straightened, jutting her chin out. “Mother's. As ruling Queen
she ruled that we were too important to risk. She ordered us to remain out of
the battle.”

“It's
luck that Deidra is trained to obey. She's quite the warrior woman and I know
she was disappointed at not being in the thick of things until the end,” Ryans
teased. They both knew very well she had been in the thick of things.

“And
you? You were not her subject. You could have disobeyed,” Duke Pryor asked.
Apparently he wasn't quite ready to let this go just yet. “Were you not called
to battle?”

“Of
course. But the order made sense. And besides, I had another reason.
Strategic,” Ryans explained and then he shrugged. “I needed to be where I could
see the battle to help direct it. Perry, the general...” He nodded to the
general standing near, seemingly bartering for something. “And I had to be
where we could see as much as possible. It's nice to have a map and reports...
but well, the human experience is defined in what we see and experience
ourselves... we had to see it for ourselves.”

“In
other words you had to see it for yourself to believe it?” Pryor asked amused.

“Exactly,”
Ryans chuckled. “I've played war games since I was a child. I know about
disconnect in strategic and tactical applications and I wanted to minimize
that,” he shrugged. “It worked, we're here.” He waved to them all.

Duchess
Pryor nodded. “Indeed we are. Now as to more important matters, I believe we
were discussing the upcoming trade delegation with the grand Duke?”

“Actually,
no, we were shopping, but if you want to talk a bit as we go...” Ryans said
smiling politely. The Duke nodded, joining them.

  <==={}------------>

It
took a while, but finally the Duke had got his fill of discussing the grand
Duke's visit and then politely made his excuses and departed.  The royal
couple walked through the market hand in hand, smiling and nodding politely to
those who saw and bowed to them. They moved on quickly, pausing once in a while
to look at an interesting trinket. Today was a day to be treasured, a rare, brief
warm spell, the last gasp before winter, the cold hard winter. Apparently the
weather played tricks on them, Ryans wasn't certain if the gas giant had
anything to do with it, reflecting light onto the moon to warm it.

He
enjoyed the sights around them. The trees planted in rows along the walk and
around the perimeter of the park were quite beautiful, the leaves and needles
were startling shades of blues and purples along with the usual browns, reds,
and yellows. The leaves were falling with every gusty windstorm now. Apparently
the serfs collected them for kindling and fire starting material.

In
their discussion with the Duke Zara had somehow found her way to them. He was
amused by it, though Deidra seemed a little put out by the third wheel her
sister represented.

Ryans
paused near a pet stall, watching with amusement as Zara looked at each of them
and Deidra looked amused but more interested in the jewels next door. She
looked them over, eyes gleaming a little. He heard a giggle and turned to what
Zara was looking at.

The
cages hanging from the top door were wire and wood, with different alien
critters in them. A pair of them held cowering creatures. Zara was fascinated.

She
squeaked when she felt something tug at her skirt. looking down she saw a wide
eyed critter pawing at her. She petted it and then went back to looking up into
the cages above.

“What's
in there?” Ryans asked, and then froze as a tiny hand grasped the cage bar. It
had an opposable thumb he thought dumbly as the seller came over.

“
Ympes
great Dominus,” the seller said, bowing. His jowls danced as his chin quivered
in anxiety.

Ryans
puzzled over that word for a moment. He looked it up with a fast search on his
phone. It came back as a Scandinavian word meaning young tree or imp. “It
translates to Imp,” he said looking up.

Zara's
fingers traced the imp’s tiny fingers on the bars. She turned to the seller
with a glare. “Father banned them. No one in the Kingdom is supposed to have
them as pets.”

The
seller squirmed. “Ah... I realize that my lady...But they were orphaned and I
couldn't just leave them...”

“Princess...”
a lady said quietly, coming over to her. Zara nodded politely to her. The
seller's eyes were wide. He went pale.

“Can
we get a better look at them?” Ryans asked.

Zara
frowned. “They live in the trees in the royal forests and much prefer heights.
A few in the hills live in dens.” She turned to glare at the hapless seller.

Sensing
a tiff and the lack of her husband's presence, Deidra stopped window shopping
and came over to see what was going on. Zara pointed to the cages wordlessly.
Deidra tried to look, standing on her tip toes but couldn't.

“Nate
I need you in the market,” Ryans said quietly, turning to the side for a little
semblance of privacy as he tapped the radio network.

“I've
got a lot of cataloging...” Nate said as he picked up. “We're leaving soon
and...”

“Nate,
arboreals. With thumbs,” Ryans replied, hiding his exasperation. He turned back
to see the seller had used a hook to get one of the cages down. A trio of hand sized
creatures peered out in terror from under a rag. Their eyes shone. One plucked
at the cloth. Another chittered. The third curled up into a ball, eyes and ears
closed. It shivered in misery.

Zara
felt the tug on her skirt and looked down once again. Her eyes widened as she
saw the hand. “And these two were orphaned I suppose?” she accused, touching
the bare hand.

“I...
ah...” The man's hand shook. Deidra caught the cage before it fell. The imps
chittered at her. One came to the bars and then caressed her hand. It plucked
at the ring on her finger. “They like shiny things my lady,” the dealer said.

“Magpies,”
a guard said with a sniff. “Trouble in a cage. Best get rid of them quick my
liege; if they get loose they'll cause no end of trouble.”

“You
know of them?” Ryans asked still ignoring Nate's incoherent sputters from the
radio net.

“Yes
my lord. Some call the ones that become nuisances’ gremlins. Women who cannot
bear children or who are spinsters have them. They call them mannequins or
changelings. Cute when they're young, but a terror as they get older. Smart
too,” he explained and then grimaced. “Some of the pickpockets have trained
them to steal... not that it was that hard. They all love shiny things,” he
said and then grimaced once more. “A few oldsters have trained them to fetch
and do things for them when their hands go bad but they usually turn on their
owners after a time.” He shook his head. “Trouble, pure and simple.”

“Can
they use tools?” Ryans asked, eyes intent. He looked at each of the creatures.
They were bipedal; their upper four arms were... he paused. “Are they wearing
diapers?” he asked looking to the shopkeeper.

The
man gulped. “Ah. Yes my lord. They tend to fling their... unpleasantness at
passers when disturbed.” He watched as one licked Deidra's finger. “Careful my
lady, they have sharp teeth.”

“I
should think so. This one is still a pup,” she said stroking it with a finger.
The animal cooed. It plucked at her ring on her finger then stroked it. It went
to the back of the cage and picked up a twig and then came back. Carefully it
tried to pry the ring off. Deidra giggled.

“Nate.
Nate,” Ryans sighed. “Earth to Doctor Billings...”

“I
really can't...”

“
Tool
users
Nate.”

“...”
The pause of stunned silence made him smile. “Did you just say...? I'll be
there, ah...”

“Third
row, fourth stall if you’re coming from the direction of the palace. Near the
center of the market.”

“Right.
I'm...” Ryans winced as he heard a crash and groan. “I'll...”

“Just
don't kill yourself getting here.” He smiled shaking his head as the signal
terminated with a click.

“You
know the law,” Deidra said icily as she turned her eyes to the shopkeeper. The
man gulped and fell to his knees. His head was on the ground.

“Please
your majesty, have mercy...”

Zara
was bent down, petting another of the creatures. This one had short brown and
white speckled fur. Like the arboreals it had long pointed ears and a long
tail. The one she was petting was larger, wearing a jeweled collar it tugged at
with its upper arms. The collar had a tiny lock and chain attaching it to the
back of a cage.

“I'd
say that you’re in deep pucky,” Ryans sighed, noting his wife in a temper. “I
take it imps are a protected species?” he asked. She nodded, eyes on him then
on the shopkeeper. He was surprised by that, surprised someone would think of
protecting species in this culture. Every day he learned something new.

“I
didn't know, I didn't know!” the shopkeeper gibbered.

“Won’t
wash, you already admitted you did,” Ryans sighed shaking his head. “I'd say
you lost your products...and you’re going to get punished.” He gave his wife a
look. Her lips pursed.

Nate
came up at a run, guards with him. Ryans shook his head. “Calmly Nate, don't
spook them,” he called motioning him to slow. Nate slowed down and nodded. The
market crowd was turning toward them, noting a scene. Ryans frowned. “Perhaps
we should wrap this up and get moving soon, we're making a scene and drawing a
crowd,” he said. A nearby guard looked over and nodded.

  <==={}------------>

Later
an ecstatic Nate presented his findings. “I saw some mention of them in the
library scrolls but the … Oh it was so conflicting and disjointed!” He threw
his hands up. “I thought it was an old wives tale and dismissed it for a while,
and then I ran across the Andreas decree from a few years ago... that made it
more real. Then this...” He waved. The imps were in a chamber without a window.
There was a wooden post within, tattered leather strips hung from rings on the
ceiling and bars.

“It's
called the
Ymp
room,” Nate explained to Ryans. He watched the imps
capering around the room. A few had gone to the deepest darkest recesses and
hidden there. Others were exploring their new surroundings... The groundlings
were rolling in the rags on the floor. A few were industriously digging at the
stone floor and not getting anywhere. Their cages were stacked near the door.
None now wore diapers or chains.

“Tool
users?” Ryans asked to be certain. They watched a winged imp bounce across the
hard stone floor to a wooden tree shape and then climb with greater agility up
it. One of the imps had a pebble and was using it on another rock, banging it
overhand with both hands. It paused to look up at them and then cheeped before
getting back to more serious business.

“Oh
yes. I'd say above chimps too!” Nate grinned. “I'm just getting a preliminary
look. I'd like to get scans of them of course. And more video.” He hefted his
camera. “For a being so small they're so intelligent!” He watched as one
plucked at his pant hem. “They're mammalian. But they're omnivores,” Nate said.
He shook his head.