Teela of Kolander, page 17
Juleeta spoke once again to her communicator. “Captain, proceed to the Empire's orbital ship and take command. Get the ship ready for a mad dash to Bardonis. We're coming up shortly.”
Juleeta smiled as she ushered Teela and Mary from the facility. “The soldiers from Ander that were amassed on the border have left Ander for the first time in over a thousand years. They took off in a large number of ships heading for Kolistor and other military sites all over Kolander. They will be here and at the other communication centers in less than half a tenthday. You heard my orders. The Ander troops are all trained psi users but will not harm the citizenry.”
Teela contacted Jarveel and instructed him to prepare the Emperor's shuttle ship for the return trip to Bardonis. She did not tell him that the ship's captain and crew would be replaced by crew from Ander, who may already be taking control of the waiting orbital ship. “Jarveel. I will be returning to Donistor within a few heartbeats. When back on Bardonis, I will assure the Emperor that you are doing an admirable job of managing the palace in absence of a Governor.”
She shook her head as they left for the space docks. “I hated doing that. He's not a bad guy, just completely powerless and he knows it. He does what he can to survive like so many others.”
They took their seats in the lander and Mary leaned over and hugged Teela.
“What was that for?”
“Because you are a good person and are going to be a great Empress. Right Mama J?”
Juleeta didn't respond. She stared straight ahead, lost in thought. Teela could not read her emotions and felt that she was consciously shielding them from her. She registered a little worry about her mother to ponder on later.
Chapter Twenty-Three
-Succession-
For two and a half long Bardonian days, Teela and Mary tried to relax in preparation for the confrontation with Kregus. They had played tortulos as often as possible to occupy their minds, but worry about Kregus and Juleeta often insinuated itself in their play. Juleeta had remained distracted and distant, deepening Teela's fear that her mother's emotional state about seeing Kregus again was not stable.
In the artificial morning of the last day of travel, Mary looked up from the game board at Teela, frowning. Her play had been distracted, a rare lackluster effort. “Teela, what's wrong with Mama J? I'm worried about her.”
“Me too.” Teela placed her last game piece down in a likewise, rare and undeserved victory. Mary, normally, could plan so many more moves ahead than she and almost always won. “It has to be about Kregus. I'm afraid that she may not be in enough control of her emotions to carry out our plan.”
“Makes sense. But time's short. I guess, all we we can do is wait and see.”
Juleeta walked into the observation cabin, calm, and all business. “We'll be landing in a tenthday. Let's review the plans and then go get ready.”
She seemed fine. There was no sign of the emotional fluctuations Teela had noticed earlier. Mary, Juleeta and the two bodyguards dressed as servants this time and while examining them for clothing accuracy, Teela discovered a serious deficiency in their plans. Servant's clothing was specifically designed not to allow for the hiding of weapons, even a thin knife. They would have to enter the palace, relying on the element of surprise and their hidden psi abilities for any confrontations that arose.
Teela worried that if any of them were forced to display their psi talents too early or too obviously, alarms would be set off and they would never even reach Kregus to execute their plan. Then, their whole scheme would fall apart catastrophically.
“Your Majesty, We have been in contact with the palace in Teela's name and will arrive at Donistor in a hundredthday. Please prepare yourself.”
Juleeta looked up and smiled. She directed her guards to assist Teela and Mary, then her and finally themselves. She suddenly seemed almost back to her previous self, including smiles and laughter but the sudden night and day transformation of her emotional state worried Teela even more than before.
They were met at the palace's main entrance by Kregus' personal servant, one of a very few that Kregus trusted in close proximity. Teela remembered him when he announced himself with poorly concealed anger or distrust. “Welcome back Princess Teela. Please pardon the lack of a formal reception. His Majesty is too sick to greet you. You may remember me. I am Torval, the Emperor's CLOSE personal assistant. It is I who watches out for His Majesty ... we have a last meal prepared for you and it will be served within moments in the main dining room but His Highness is too unwell to dine with you. He remains in bed, attended by his physicians. Come with me. I'll take you to him.” His expression changed suddenly into a frown and he added after a long pause, “Your Majesty.”
He spun on his heal and moved down the hall rapidly. Teela and her entourage of servants followed. He stopped outside the entrance to Kregus' private suite and gestured to Teela's four servants. “They may not enter. Where shall I send them.”
“Yes, Torval, I understand your concern.” Teela pointed behind herself. “But Mary has been with me since I returned from Earth, these others were only recently acquired in the local countryside as I felt I needed more servants for my personal care. I wanted to show them off to Father.”
“His Majesty is ill and security requires that no one is allowed close to him except family.” Torval's response to her request was firm and he remained impassive. Teela knew she would never get them into Kregus' suite to execute their plan for a disabling push under these circumstances. The implementation of their strategy would have to await a better time. She nodded in agreement. “Have them sent to the dinning hall to await my arrival at last meal after I see father.”
“Very good.” He opened the door and stood aside for Teela to enter. From the corner of her eye, Teela saw him face Mary, Juleeta and the guards and instruct them. “Please come with me, quickly. I will escort you to the dinning hall before returning to His Majesty.”
He suspects something. I remember him acting strangely when I arrived the first time. Teela drove her doubts and fears aside, putting on a face full of anguish and concern. “Father!” She rushed to his bedside scattering the milling medical staff and knelt before stroking his face. “What has happened to you while I was gone?”
She jumped up and looked at the closest physician. “Who is responsible for his care? What is the matter with him?”
“We are not sure, Your Highness. Torval came to us in a panic right after you left for Kolander. His Majesty was like this at the dinning table and he has not changed for the better or worse.”
“Is it a disease?”
“We think it is mental. He he physically healthy. He is lost in a world of his own making. I'm sorry to say it, Your Majesty, but many of the males of his bloodline suffers from that affliction, a loss of contact with reality. His father and grandfather both succumbed to it before they died, loosing all connection to the real world and thus the ability to rule.”
Teela suddenly realized why Kregus had been so easy to push, and began to see a glimmer of hope for their plan. But first, there were things that only he could do, and he had to be functional to do them. She gently removed her original push, allowing his memory to return, followed quickly by a new gently pushed idea to slightly alter his next few thoughts.
“Father, it's Teela. Please come back to me. Please.” She laid her head on his chest and cried. If Mary could see me now … she would see that I can act too.
“Your Majesty. He is beyond your touch. We wish we could do more, but …”
Kregus jerked twice and sat up suddenly almost knocking Teela from the bed. “Where am I? Where is Torval?” He looked around slowly recognizing his physicians and finally seeing Teela. “Teela. I though you had gone to Kol … wait! … where have you been?”
Teela looked around at the medical staff. “He he recovered. Please leave us and get Torval.”
Kregus swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there staring and breathing deeply. The confusion on his face clearly showed his struggle with his memory while the medical staff gathered their things and cleared the room. On his way out, the chief physician whispered to her. “His recovery may only be temporary. It often happens that way with the men in your family.”
Teela could not believe how convenient Kregus' hereditary disorder had become to her plans. Then she felt dirty for thinking that way. He may be an evil bastard, but he was still a human being. Without thinking about it further, she pushed a small, simple idea into his weakened mind, to abdicate the crown. The Stars Above, what have I become? Have I become just another scheming royal? No! My goals are different ... I hope.
Teela saw Torval at the door, glaring at her. He had observed the last several moments and his expression vacillated between joy at seeing Kregus up again and hatred for Teela. Breaking all protocols, he ran to Kregus' bedside and pushed past Teela. “Your Highness! You are back. Thank the stars above.”
Teela decided to let the breech pass. “Torval. Please assist my father to clean up and dress for the last meal. I will await him there.” Teela left without looking back at Torval, moving as quickly as she could toward the dinning hall. She felt the seething rage Torval was directing toward her. He definitely suspects something. There is something not right about his relationship to Kregus.
Sitting along the wall of the dining hall in the shadows, she saw her mother, Mary, and the two guards, all still fully engaged in their roles as servants. She looked around for security monitors and not knowing if they were truly alone, she walked to them. They stood up as expected and Teela spoke to them. “I will dine soon with His Majesty. Be especially attentive.” Then she whispered. “I have restored Kregus … mostly, and gave him a suggestion that I hope he will act on when he gets here in a few moments for our last meal. If my push worked, we may not need to infiltrate the control centers or engage in any fighting at all.”
As Teela turned toward the table, Juleeta remained standing and Teela saw her face. She froze. Gone was the look of a servant. Gone was any appearance of intelligence. Rage and disappointment now contorted her normally friendly face. “Mother!” She stepped next to her and whispered with force. “What is the matter with you. You haven't been right for days?”
Juleeta's face slowly resumed its servant's mask and she sat back down. “I'm okay. Proceed with your plan.” Her words were appropriate but she still breathed heavily and sweat had begun to appear on her forehead.
Teela wanted her words to be true but she didn't believe her mother and suddenly she had no time to deal with her mother's lack of control. Kregus entered the room and she spun toward the table. Torval entered the room and sat Kregus at the head of the center table and took his accustomed seat along the wall directly behind Kregus. Teela walked slowly forward and retook a seat diagonally across from him at the center table, just as the last time they dined together. He stared at her from under his brows so long she became very uncomfortable. His eyes kept refocusing as if lost in thought and trying to make a decision. Suddenly he spoke over his shoulder at Torval. “Where is my meal, Torval? I am famished. Get your worthless ass up and check on it.”
“Of course, Your Highness, right away.” Torval scurried from the room, his eyes displaying a mixture of hurt and anger.
Kregus turned his gaze back to to Teela, now clear and cunning. “Where were you while I was … while I was ill?” Teela saw conflicted emotions in his eyes as the muscles twitched cross his face and knew she would have to play her part very delicately. He looked at the wall and the seated servants. “And who are your new servants?”
Teela glanced over her shoulder at the wall. They still sat in deep shadow and were not individually recognizable. “Since my memories revealed who I am, I felt that I needed additional servants. So I took some from the local villages … to avoid the issue of needing the elixir.”
He nodded, seemingly accepting her explanation. Then Teela watched him as he slowly and methodically brought two glasses in front of him and poured bloodwine into each. Into one, he dramatically poured a vial of elixir and pushed it toward her. “You may act like a royal princess and acquire all the servants you wish, but if you want to be my heir, you must realize there will be a price. You got to give something to get something.”
Teela sat silent, unsure what to say or do. Better let him talk.
He gently twirled his goblet between his fingers. “I want my bloodline to continue and to continue as rulers of the Empire. But trust is such a delicate and fragile thing despite its importance. I ask again, where were you will I laid ill for the last seven days?”
“Let me begin at the beginning.” Teela said and he nodded as he took a sip of his wine. Teela took a deep breath. “We were dining, right here, and I had asked about my mother. I have almost no memories of her …”
“As it should be, the traitorous bitch was conspiring with Korg. She killed my son! Then she even tried to take you away from me as well.” His face contorted in a mad rage and he half rose from his chair just as Torval re-entered and gently placed his hand on Kegus' shoulder. “Your Highness, you have been ill. Please rest and be calm. The meal will is on the way and be served within moments.”
The rage seemed to dribbled away slowly and he retook his seat. Teela glanced behind her, having heard a strangled cough. Juleeta was loosing what was left of her flimsy control and Mary had moved to sit beside her but Teela had no time to worried about it.
She looked back at Kregus and continued her story. “I wanted to go see my childhood suite at Kolistor and try to recover some of my childhood memories and you arranged for a ship to take me there to do so.”
Teela sensed Kregus' struggle with the idea of sending her the Kolander, an action, that if he had been in his right mind, he would never have done. But he clearly had the memory that he had sent her there. His struggle played across his face and Teela felt she needed to hurry. “I recovered a few toys and remembered some good times in the palace at Kolistor. Then I returned to find you ill. I was very concerned when I saw you.”
Torval had not returned to his seat along the wall but had been standing behind Kregus' chair. He leaned in close to Kregus and whispered over his shoulder, but loudly enough for Teela to hear. “When she arrived, Your Highness, she seemed consumed with emotions and expressed her concern for you, Sire. I saw that it was only her touch, and … her thoughts, that brought you back to us, Your Majesty.”
Torval had spoken plainly but his voice gave hints of another, a hidden conspiratorial message. Teela's slight glimmer of hope that Torval's words might swing Kregus her way was short-lived, as the actual meaning of Torval's message dawned on her and Kregus at the same time.
Kregus' expression darkened and Teela felt a surge of distrust and mounting rage fomenting within him at obviously having been pushed. He refocused his cold gaze on Teela. “As I said, trust is critical to the operation of an empire and within the Royal family. I now sense in you that same ambition to rule at any cost, so drink up. It is a very special elixir that I had created just for you. It will remove any taint of that abominable psi talent you inherited from your slut of a mother. Then you can remain ... alive and my heir … Drink!” He leaned forward, glowering at her.
Teela's mind wheeled. He thinks I am conniving for my own need to rule. She had to think fast. She would loose her talents, but if she didn't take it, he would never trust her long enough for the others to push him. It would all collapse into bloodshed and failure. As she slowly reached for the goblet, she glanced back at her fake servants along the wall. “Leave us. Attend to your duties. I wish to be alone with my father.”
They rose as a group. Mary and the two guards filed calmly by Teela on their way to meet with the Ander spy from the Empire's central command prior to infiltrating and disabling it. From her years at the palace, Juleeta knew Kregus maintained the Empire's command center in the palace to satisfy his paranoia and need for close control and its location.
Teela maintained eye contact with Kregus as they walked by, until she realized that Juleeta had not passed. Panic began as a tiny trickle of energy in her spine. She looked around just in time to see Juleeta walk up beside Kregus' chair, her face contorted with an insane rage. Teela could feel her intent to kill him. It radiated from her in waves and panic began flooding Teela's mind. She had already sent the others away and there would be no help.
Juleeta's servant's status kept her invisible for only a moment, until Kregus became angry at her presence and glared up at her. “Servant! Remove yourself from my …” His face slowly lost its shape, becoming a sagging bag of loose flesh and shock. “Juleeta.” He whispered.
Juleeta pointed her finger at his face, close enough to almost touch his nose. “You stole my innocence, then you stole my daughter and used her in your insane succession plots. I have waited over seven long Bardonian years to kill you.” She closed her eyes in preparation for a killing push.
Kregus fell over sideways in his attempt to get away. As he fell, he reached for the ceremonial long knife he always wore at his belt. Teela jumped up from the table, knocking her mother sideways and breaking her concentration. “Mother! What are you doing?”
“That bastard doesn't deserve to live.”
“But you don't deserve to become a murderer either. Mother Please, find another way.”
Teela and Juleeta both turned back toward Kregus when they heard him growl like a wild animal. He had risen from the floor and stood in a crouch, holding his long knife ready for a strike. His face held no intelligence, only insanity. “You killed my son, my only male heir. You were plotting to kill me but I stopped you before you could turn Teela against me with your witchy powers. You never would take the elixir.”
Juleeta glared at him. “I took that filthy stuff for years until Borander died and you lost your mind. I only stopped when it was obvious that Teela and I were not safe under the same roof as you.”
