Fate War: Alliance (10 page)

General Crom thought the balance was in Arborea’s favor now with the Alliance solidified. New technology from Perspicia would be at their disposal, but integrating into their defenses would take time. The meeting had ended with all officials present in agreement. The Nakona would be that buffer of time. They would let the tribal people fight and fall in order that the Alliance stand. The Nakona would be obliterated.

“Lord Cole.” He ignored Samantha’s quiet entreat and finished balancing the scale to the perfect weight.

Cole had neither agreed nor protested this decision, although he wanted to vehemently protest. The problem was, and why this stopped him he wasn’t certain, he didn’t have an alternate plan. He should have just told them all how he felt about their feigned superiority and selfishness.

“Lord Cole.”

How could they let an entire race be destroyed or enslaved to give themselves time. Why couldn’t they try again to bring the Nakona into the Alliance? They were warriors and the buffer between the Fate and Arborea. Protecting that buffer would be a strategic move giving them even more time to buttress their defenses.

“LORD COLE!”

“Hmmm?” Cole replied halfheartedly turning his focus back to the experiment. He positioned the crucible of Potassium to slide it gently into the waiting beaker of water.

“STOP!”

From nowhere, Samantha clasped his wrist, her fingers digging in painfully. Completely confused and taken off guard, he simply stared through his goggles at the enigma before him. Her chest heaved in anxious gasps, and her emerald eyes held his. They revealed all. Anger, and it was directed at him. She didn’t move or make an attempt to speak, but her eyes softened to concern. She broke the gaze, and her eyes trailed the length of his arm to the crucible. His eyes followed hers. For a moment more he stood uncomprehending.

“Clinker.” He let out in a whispered breath, and their eyes meet again. Hers only held fear now. She let go of his wrist, her hand trembling.

Cole set the crucible down gently and scanned the textbook pages. When he verified his miscalculations, he turned to find Samantha seated once again on the couch. She was trying diligently to needlepoint, but her hands were shaking so hard it was impossible.

“How did you know?” he demanded, his voice gruff, not out of anger but postponed fear. Samantha reacted as if it was the former, and her eyes glistened with tears. Her breathing was frantic. Cole hadn’t seen her this distressed since their wedding night over a week past. Part of him said to give her space and forget the interaction, yet something deeper said to push, gently, but push.

Cole removed his goggles and gloves and approached the couch. He lowered to one knee before Samantha and placed his hands over the needlework. She continued to stare at his knuckles as if she could still see the muted angular flowers she created. A few tears dripped from her downcast face to his fingers.

“Samantha,” he began softly. “I measured ten times the amount of potassium I was supposed to. If I had gone through with the experiment there would have been an explosion, possibly a fire and most definitely lethal shards of glass propelled across this room.” He waited for a response, but searching her gave no indication of even hearing him. If possible, her shaking was worse. With the least condemning voice as possible he asked her again, “How did you know?”

“I –” she started and finally looked up. What he saw was like a kick in the gut from Octavious. How could she be so frightened of him? She looked like a rabbit in a snare, wide eyed and frozen in terror. Surely he could not have caused this much fear in her from their wedding night. He certainly hadn’t given her any other cause to be so afraid of him. “I didn’t know. I just wanted to ask you a question.” The words began to tumble out now. “I promise, My Lord, to never raise my voice to you again. I swear to never lift a hand to you. Forgive me. I don’t know what came over me. My duty to you and my country is paramount and I will serve you, be the lady you require. Forgive my indiscretion, please.”

“What were you going to ask me?” This time he couldn’t hide the frustration. The look on her face answered the question for him. She stuttered for an answer. She was lying. She knew. She knew from sitting across the room, and not seeing the instructions, that he was about to blow up his study and possibly them with it. Yet here she sat, cowering at his hand, and he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. He left her sputtering and closed the door forcefully as he entered the hallway.

Something wasn’t right. He felt it. He had blamed himself for her distance and fearfulness, but he was sure now that something else, something beyond their experiences together drove her actions. He stormed down the stairs and out the door, headed for the stables. He was going for a ride to clear his head, and no one was going to stop him.

The couple sat in silence on the terrace listening to the faint sounds of the bustling city as they wafted up on the cool evening breeze. The lights from thousands of windows and street lamps created an unusual glow through the smoky haze of industry. Cole watched as Samantha sampled the lamb. As predicted, she took exactly two bites, followed by dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. He had watched her, through the entire meal, follow the exact pattern. Two bites of the oyster soup course, dab. Two bites of the fish course, dab.

She hadn’t spoken to him since his return from riding Octavious, nor he to her. Polite half smiles and nods were the only recognition afforded each other as they sat down to the evening meal. Cole could tell she was nervous, and he could have eased her fears. With a few simple words, the entire incident might have been smoothed over, and life returned to normal. Cole didn’t want things back to normal. Princess Samantha of Perspicia was not who she pretended to be.

Riding always cleared his mind, and today was no different. An hour or so of fresh air and greenery blurring by as Octavious ran at full was enough for Cole to piece some things together. At first his thoughts were dark. Maybe Samantha was an imposter or assassin. He had quickly thrown those ideas out. First, the King and Queen of Perspicia would have to be imposters too, and that was just too grand of a scheme. Second, she had ample opportunities to kill him or the king. Finally, he came to a simple conclusion, and from his studies in the sciences, he had learned well that the simplest conclusions were most likely the correct ones. Armed with this theory, he set up a little experiment, a trap for his beloved bride.

The servants cleared the table of the lamb course. A covered silver serving tray was placed in the middle of the small table. It contained the dessert course Cole asked the cook to prepare specially for tonight.

“Thank you. That will be all this evening.” Cole addressed the server. He dismissed the young man with a wave of his hand before the silver dome could be removed revealing the delicacy within. It was time to enact his plan. One thing he had noticed about his wife, she liked sweets. Where she only took two bites of every other course, three or even four bites were her norm on the dessert course. Once, she had almost eaten half a serving of chocolate custard.

“I ordered something special tonight.” Cole said after the wait staff left their quarters. Her eyes flicked curiously to the serving tray. Cole congratulated himself for not laughing at the little game he was about to play. She was already falling into line with that little longing look at the dessert tray.

“It’s called chocolate mousse. Have you ever had any?” With a flourish he lifted the silver dome and revealed two large dishes of the chocolate delicacy. An intricately carved strawberry and fresh whipped cream decorated the center of each rich dessert. Cole redoubled his efforts to keep a straight face as Samantha’s eyes doubled in size at the revealed tempting confections. He quickly took the goblet closest to him and placed it between the remaining silverware place settings. Selecting the appropriate spoon he took a bite.

“Mmmmmm. This is delicious!” Cole waited for the perfect moment. Samantha reached out a white gloved hand to retrieve her goblet. He intercepted, took the dish and placed it in front of him as well.

“No,” he said without malice. Under the table, his stomach quivered with restrained laughter at Samantha’s reaction. It was a cross between hurt and a pout. She was so cute right then. He’d like to nibble that pouting lip. His quivering gut turned warm, and a new plan formed with a completely different ending from the original.

“I’m sorry,” she said looking over the twinkling city and replacing a stray curl the light breeze had blown across her face. He needed to pull it together or he was going to mess this one up. He needed to go back to Plan A.

“No.” he said again blandly.

“No, what?” she asked, furrowing her brow in confusion, but still not meeting his eyes.

“No, I don’t accept your apology because there is nothing for you to apologize for, and no you can’t have a bite of your mousse…” he paused dramatically, “…unless you answer a question.”

She eyed him warily, but finally answered, “Okay”, in suspicious tones.

Making a show of getting the perfect scoop of mousse, whipped cream and strawberry, he held the spoonful temptingly in front of Samantha.

“What did you learn at finishing school?” Visible relief rolled from her shoulders as she registered the innocuous question.

“Oh, well, quite a bit. I mastered all that was needed to be an efficient Lady of the Manor and future queen. There were the customary etiquette classes of course. Meal planning, party planning, management of servants and household budgets were of utmost importance. Then there were lessons in posture and fashion. I took several electives in arts and crafts for the home.” She looked at him expectantly. He nodded his approval, and she reached for the heavily laden spoon.

“Uh uh.” Cole chastised with a wag of his finger. “Open up.” Samantha looked affronted and a little afraid. He couldn’t contain his laughter any more. “Come on. Open up.” He teased, chuckling. She hesitantly complied, and he chivalrously fed her the mousse. Embarrassed, she covered her mouth quickly with her napkin as she couldn’t help smiling around her full mouth.

“That really is good,” she said with a hint of humor and eyed the goblets covertly.

“Do you want another bite?” Cole asked with what he knew was his most charming smile, and Samantha nodded enthusiastically. He repeated the exaggerated spooning of the mousse and held it before her again. Samantha licked her lips unconsciously, and he unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. She frowned at him, so he cleared his throat and continued.

“Okay. What did you learn about obedience to your husband at the finishing school?” Her response was immediate and mechanical.

“A lady will obey her husband in all ways. She shall defer to his judgment in all things. His will, his desires, his need, his thoughts supersede her own.” Cole stared, dumfounded. He wondered if what he just saw was a trick of the light or his imagination. During her recitation, her pupils appeared to grow and almost completely consume the emerald green. When she was done, they were completely normal again.

Eyebrows raised, she looked expectantly at the spoonful of mousse. Brushing the incident aside, he donned a smile and playfully tapped the spoon on her nose leaving a dollop of cream.

“Cole!” she wined, exasperated and quickly wiped it with her napkin.

“You called me Cole,” he said with a surprised chuckle.

“I’m sorry. Lord Cole.” Suddenly serious, she corrected herself, head bowed in supplication.

“No,” he teased.

“Prince Cole?” She was getting anxious again, and he needed to keep things light.

“No. Just call me Cole. I like it. Now open up. I promise to be good.” He fed her the bite, then placed the dish of chocolate before her. He erased his smile and locked Samantha in a serious gaze.

“Eat it all.”

“But…I…that’s…” Samantha stammered. He could see the battle waging inside. Cole leaned forward in all seriousness.

“Your school says you must obey me, yes?”

“Yes, Lord Cole.” She caught herself. “I mean Cole.”

“Did the school instruct you how to eat?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper.

“What’s more important? Obeying your husband or eating as you were told by the school?”

“Obedience to you, of course.” She hadn’t hesitated. His plan might work after all.

“Then finish it.” He smiled encouragingly. “I’ll help you, okay?”

She nodded cautiously, but a slow smile appeared. He moved his chair to her side of the table. Samantha’s first bites were tentative, but after some encouragement, she ate with enthusiasm, relishing each creamy bite. They ate in silence filled with the sound of happy companionship for the first time in their short marriage. The dessert was heavenly, but Samantha’s genuine air of delight was divine. Chocolate worked every time.

****

The intoxicating scents of lavender and rose saturated the small washroom. Tendrils of steam rose from the bathwater, then clung to Samantha’s coiled hair. Tiny beads of fragrant moisture collected on her serene brow and formed rivulets that trickled and streaked her once perfect make up. With a contented sigh, she allowed the warm water and herbs to leach the tension from her taut muscles. She hadn’t realized how wound up she was.