Princess of Zenina Read online

  “Please be silent,” Marina’s thought requested.

  “Shometimes I think we were more honest when unwanted baby boys would be thrown out with the rubbish and left to be eaten by dogs. Thish brat will grow up to be another uselesh drone!” Marina was holding up the child at arm’s length as he continued to scream.

  “Chilka, you’re soft on children, tell me why I shouldn’t slit its scrawny throat?” She drew her knife and gestured to the howling infant.

  “No, you don’t think so, well take it then!” And so saying she tossed the child to her. Chilka caught the child, soothing it. Ondiella had seen enough and grabbed the child from her arms, running with him to her cabin.

  Father Debenden had excused himself some minutes earlier and missed this pretty scene, but Jessina hurled herself at Marina yelling and beating at her with her fists.

  “You’re cruel! You’re horrible! I hate you!” Marina restrained the child with no difficulty and great gentleness, holding her close whilst she thumped and pummelled at her in rage. Finally, the child broke into sobs as Marina soothed her and held her tight.

  “Jessina, the baby’s all right! He was never in danger; I wouldn’t have hurt him.”

  “But you threw him, he could have fallen and been hurt, you said you wanted to kill him,” Jessina said tearfully, gasping for air.

  “I threw him to Chilka with a force shield surrounding and supporting him the whole time. You’ve seen Kazimira juggle, did she ever drop anything? A baby needs its mother’s love more than anything. Ondiella needed her son, but couldn’t accept him. Now she may hate me, but it will strengthen the love she feels for her baby. She had to protect him if she was to bond with him. A few more days apart, she’d have rejected him forever. Now everything will be all right.”

  “You’re not drunk at all,” said Floren.

  “Of course I’m not. I take over the controls of this ship in half an hour’s time.”

  “But you were drinking; you drank a lot of wine!”

  “Yes I did, didn’t I? Would you youngsters like to try it? Bring a glass here.”

  Marina poured them both a glass of the brilliant burgundy-coloured liquid. They sipped it carefully.

  “It’s not wine, what is it?” Floren said having tasted it.

  “It’s a cherry and brenderberry juice, quite nice, a little sweet for my taste. Why don’t you two finish off the bottle and I’ll show you my skills in juggling.”

  Two of the armchairs lifted off the floor, one with Kazimira seated in it. The chairs twirled complete with Kazimira upside down in hers in a comic dance. Then Marina switched Kazimira from one chair to the other without ruffling her hair as Kazimira and the children giggled appreciatively.

  The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. Chilka visited Ondiella taking the makeshift nappies and clothes they had made and the box lined with furs they were using as a cot. Chilka demonstrated how best to put the nappies on the boy, how to wash him in a hand basin and where to put the soiled clothes. Ondiella accepted her help and advice but she had not forgiven Marina. Chilka explained it had been a ruse to get her to bond with her son, but Ondiella hardened her heart against Marina. Marina stayed away from Ondiella and let her bask in the glow of motherhood alone.

  The children had forgiven Marina completely. After her four hours on the bridge, she played with them, showing them card tricks. She picked the card they asked for from the pack unseen and untouched. They played find the lady, the children taking turns to move five cards back and forth to confuse her. Such simple games occupied the time until the evening meal when Marina excused herself. She went to the bridge closing the door behind her. Ondiella ate with the others, one handed with the baby on her knee. Marina made no appearance. Ondiella retired together with her son straight after the meal. The meal, although no less lavish than the lunch, was a quiet affair. Conversation was desultory. It was as if, without Marina’s presence, there was no party.

  Chapter Eleven – Revelation

  Father Debenden retired after dinner and Chilka hurried the children off to bed. She put Jessina in her own bed to leave Ondiella and her son undisturbed. Letinza and Chilka disappeared with the two former pirates. Some laughter was heard, but after the door shut no further noises reached the main room. Kazimira, feigning tiredness followed soon after.

  Bromarsh had been surprised how eagerly Floren had headed to bed. Then the penny dropped and he laughed at his own naivety. Despite Zenina’s licentiousness, sex with children was considered taboo, but adolescents of opposite sexes could enjoy those around their own age without adult disapproval. Teenage pregnancy was no problem; Zeninan women controlled their own fertility.

  Bromarsh saw food delivered to the bridge. Belabeza and Adelza sat cuddled up together on the opposite side of the room facing the glazed wall. Bromarsh noticed the flicker of moving images but didn’t feel like moving to see what was being displayed. The huge amount of food he had been expected to eat was making him sluggish. The sofa he was slumped into was high at the back and he would have to stand to view the vid. Vlama came and sat with him and they talked in snatches. At length they came to the subject of the space yacht.

  “Marina told me you provisioned this ship?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “I’ve been trying to see how it fits in. This ship despite being brand new, has no character, as if a designer was let loose on it without any customer input. It feels like it was bought off the peg and not tailored to her tastes. I’d had thought a Princess like Marina would have her ship custom-made.”

  “Princess Marina has the royal ability to not care about her surroundings. Eight days ago I went to the shipyard with Marina; she’d heard they’d built something fast. She was impressed with the ship. The company had decorated it for the Florian space show where they hoped to get orders. Ships are sold as a shell or customised for each customer. The show is in just over three months’ time. Marina heard the price and agreed, no haggling. They weren’t happy, because they’d have to get another ready for the show, but Marina pays cash. The company won’t be allowed to advertise the sale, but it’ll soon be general knowledge Princess Marina has one. Their sales will rocket. Her only change was an upgrade of the weapons systems. I heard Marina tell them she was looking for a present for her sister Plavina’s birthday, which is in about six months’ time, and she thought a slightly larger version of the space yacht might do. If this ship handled well, they’d get the order.”

  “That is a huge expense, I can imagine even a smaller yacht than this would cost a huge amount,” Bromarsh admitted, knowing that he could never expect to be that wealthy.

  “Marina said she’d order two, one for Plavina and one for herself, if they built the shells. This ship is a little small for her requirements. She offered to sell it back to them when she took delivery of the two larger craft. I gather the Company have taken on three hundred extra workers to fulfil the order and to get several shells ready for the orders that will flood in whether they get to the Space-show or not. They already have her design specs for the new ships. The company will have no problem reselling this craft, considering the kudos of its previous owner; they’ll make a huge profit.”

  “I can imagine,” Bromarsh remarked trying not to calculate actually how wealthy Marina was.

  Vlama laughed, obviously picking up on his thoughts, “She asked me to provision the ship for a month’s trip and invited me to come on the maiden voyage.”

  “You were instructed to provision the ship for a month’s trip but that was only eight days ago. Did her plans change?” He enquired surprised.

  “Changed, chopped and changed again. First the trip was postponed because her majesty insisted on her attending some court function, then Plavina begged her to take the salute at the graduation parade of the Twelfth Regiment. The date for the pelozia final even got changed. Finally her majesty says she’d like some fresh qumursk for her jubilee banquet which is two nights hence. If the new ship is as fast as the
Company says, then Marina could race to Qu, bag a qumursk for her and bring it back in time for the banquet.”

  “The Queen’s wishes aside, why couldn’t Plavina take the salute for her own Regiment?”

  “Told Marina some hogwash about a clash of official engagements, but I know she wanted to spend time with the Captain of a Kurgian freight-ship who was due to leave the day after the review. Fine figure of a man, but has only clouds between his ears.”

  “Didn’t Marina know her sister was lying to her?”

  “Couldn’t help but know, it is difficult to lie to a golden telepath. Marina is a loyal sister. You’ll never hear a word of criticism from Marina.”

  “You don’t like Plavina then?”

  “She’s likeable enough, but Marina is worth ten of her. If Plavina gets to be Queen, she’ll be a bad one unless Marina makes the decisions. Their mother, Queen Kerina is a good, strong queen. But Plavina is too weak, too lazy, and too indecisive. She chooses to abrogate responsibility to someone else, usually Marina. Marina’s been covering up for Plavina and taking her work-load since they were kids. But Marina is like that, a great collector of lame ducks is Marina.”

  “Like me, for instance?” Bromarsh remarked.

  “Didn’t mean you to take it personally, it may be the attraction. She fixes them up and puts them back on their feet. Some of her men go off their heads when she drops them. Once they know Marina will no longer be a part of their lives, they kill themselves. Most of the sensible ones make new lives for themselves, grateful they had her in their lives at all. I asked Marina if she’d been in love. She told me she’d felt it around her and knew what she was missing. However she’d never been able to throw herself into it.”

  “She is a very special woman, it is sad she has never been in love,” Bromarsh said wistfully thinking back to his own romantic failures.

  “I told her she was too in love with her father to feel anything for any other man. She laughed and told me I could think that if I wish. No man she’s met compares favourably with her father.” Vlama said getting more expansive on her subject. It was easy for Bromarsh to see the affection she had for Marina.

  “What’s her father like?” He asked when she fell quiet.

  “In appearance, Kabaneev is tall, over two metres, very slim and lightly muscled. He wears his light brown hair short and is fastidious about how he looks. He has bright green eyes and an aquiline nose. He is fit and carries himself like a young man, few outsiders would reckon his age above forty, but he’s into his second century now.”

  “Is Kabaneev not Zeninan then? You all have black hair and dark eyes.”

  “We can change our surface pigmentation at will, even our eyes. When together we conform, but on other planets we usually alter our appearance to the local norm. Marina’s father maintains his original body colour and pigmentation. He was Zigan born and came to Zenina as Kerina’s slave over eighty years ago. He’s hardly changed, although he had a very difficult colour change. Golds usually have a hard time changing, not all survive.”

  “What is he like as a person, if Marina holds him in such high esteem, he must be something special?”

  “He is charming, amusing, affectionate and modest. His brain is quite brilliant. He is intellectually one of the highest Gold transitions. Kerina even gave him his own laboratory and staff to amuse him. His work as a geneticist has been outstanding. It’s rare for a man to be a scientist on Zenina. Rare enough for them to work at all, outside of bed.”

  “Easy to understand why Marina is fond of him. It must make it difficult for anyone to measure up,” he commented.

  “He has that quality of vulnerability, which makes him so loveable. Marina’s not the only one who feels like that about him, he has that effect on many people. There was an outcry when he was given his laboratory, but he won most of the Council over. Marina has inherited that quality too.”

  “She certainly encourages loyalty in her friends,” Bromarsh agreed.

  “Marina doesn’t give the impression of vulnerability, she has enemies, but you either love or hate her, no half measures. People want to work for her, want to be near her and want to please her. I’m aware of myself responding to it. Her home is like a Space-junction with the coming and goings and hangers on. She gives them no encouragement; she’s a good picker of friends. When Kerina dies, few want Plavina to rule, but if Marina offered herself as queen, the people would be almost unanimous.”

  “Surely Marina wants to be queen, I find it hard to believe anyone would turn down power of such magnitude.”

  “Not Marina, all she wanted was to be a healer. Everything else she does, she’s pushed into. Like her military service. Her duty was made clear to her, she was told to study for Zeninan officer exams. So she did. But she never does anything by halves. No one would dare dispute her right to be Supreme Commander of the Army. She’s earned it. Although only the Council and those nearest to her are aware of it, Marina rules Zenina. The day to day stuff anyway, Kerina delegates most of it to her. She doesn’t yet make many major policy changes, but when her majesty is otherwise engaged, everyone goes to her for decisions.”

  What Vlama said about Marina did not agree with what she had told him herself. So he decided to compare some of her answers.

  “When I first met you, Marina was wearing a dull gold sash. Does that stand for Field-Marshal?”

  “Yes or perhaps Generalissimo or Commander in Chief would be better translations.”

  “Is Marina just a royal figure-head then, no real power in the army, but decorative for official displays?”

  “Marina has never been a figure-head and Plavina is not even that. Marina is supreme commander of the entire Zeninan Army and fleet. She is a good delegator, but she makes the important decisions.”

  “Does she know we’re talking about her?”

  “Possibly, it’s hard to know unless she joins in. But I haven’t told you anything she doesn’t know I think.”

  “Do you keep slaves yourself, Vlama?”

  “Only one these days, but I’m thinking of selling him.”

  “I thought Zeninans kept huge harems of slaves?”

  “Some do, I don’t see the point. It’s hard to keep more than a handful exercised. If like me you travel through Zenina and the empire for most of the year, you’re just paying them to eat their heads off and somebody else gets the fun out of them. I keep one to come home to, but he’s beginning to bore, I’ll trade him in for a younger model.”

  “How old is he and how long have you had him?”

  “Just over two years and around 30, too young for an old woman like me, I expect you’re thinking?”

  “I don’t think you old, no. You can’t be much older than Marina and she can’t be much more than 20.”

  “Marina is 40 and I’m in the last decade of my second century. Is that old to you?”

  “You’re joking? Marina, I could believe is 40, she has wisdom and maturity but people don’t live that long. Even with spare part surgery, humans don’t live past a hundred and fifty. You’re in fine physical condition. It’s hard to take in.”

  “It’s not rare on Zenina. Our life expectancy is about 350 without surgery. Vellina our oldest survivor is 412, but she’s no longer pretty to look at and she was a beauty. The ultimate in vanity is to not care how one’s appearance offends others.”

  “But if you live that long at what age do you retire?” Bromarsh asked trying to get his head around the idea of such longevity.

  “Most of us never do. Death claims most before infirmity; there are no diseases in Zenina.”

  “Without illnesses, what do you die of?”

  “Violence and suicide, mostly. A few die accidentally. Dangerous sporting activities are the vogue. If you break your back or lop off a limb, within a month you’re regenerated and can do it again. Many die in single combat or by less honourable murder.”

  “That’s appalling, what is your Government doing about it?”

  �
��They punish the murderers, mostly by exile, but if someone dies in a fair fight, what should we do about it? It’s survival of the fittest. As to suicides, if they want to kill themselves that’s their right. It would be wrong for the Government to interfere.”

  They talked on of this and that, but inevitably the conversation got round to Bromarsh talking about his children.

  “I’ve got five children and I miss them dreadfully. My first wife, Chloxena demanded a divorce before I got court martialled. She got custody of our sons, Kendan and Janavime. It would have been difficult to fight for custody when I was fighting to avoid execution at my court martial. Her desertion did not help my case. She has blocked me from seeing the boys since the divorce.”

  “I’ve always wanted a child, but so far my career has got in the way,” Vlama admitted wistfully.

  “It was a relief that Princess Marina believes in my innocence. After the court martial everyone seemed to think I was a monster. My second wife Josie believed in me, she stuck by me as I fought as a mercenary. Unfortunately, she died in an outbreak of cholera which carried off hundreds of soldiers, children and camp followers on both sides of the conflict.”

  “Cholera is a disease which sensible pollution control and vaccinations could have eradicated. These epidemics break out and then Zenina is asked to deal with them, usually too late for many of the sufferers. Conventional medicine and decent drainage could have prevented their deaths,” Vlama said annoyed at the unnecessary waste of human life.

  “That campaign got bogged down. No-one expected it to go on so long, but the leadership on both sides should have been more aware of the health issues. Josie and I’d had three children together and they all got ill, but amazingly they survived. Ruka hung close to death for many days. I nursed her until she finally pulled through. I had to tell her of her mother’s death when she got better. I waited because she was still too weak. When she grew a bit stronger, I broke the news, but she took it badly. Ruka was Josie’s favourite, the youngest and weakest,” he told Vlama sombrely falling silent.