Tagan's Child (48 page)

Ahran’s father
gave a slight nod of his head and took my proffered hand in a bone
crushing handshake. “So you’re the daring human aunt who pitted
herself against Queen Bazeera of Morana.” He spoke a little louder
than was ordinarily acceptable in company and managed to make what
should have been a compliment sound more like an insult.

I withdrew my
hand, flexing my fingers just to check I still had the use of all
digits.

“It’s lovely to
meet you,” said Ahran’s mother, shaking my hand warmly. “Ahran
tells us you had a lucky escape from Bazeera’s island.”

“Yes, it was a
little hair-raising to say the least,” I replied.

“Thank goodness
you found Toby and all got away safely, it must have been
terrifying.”

“It’s not an
experience I wish to repeat,” I confirmed.

“And how is
Toby since his rescue?”

Belayne Elessar
was ingenuous and gracious. I had to wonder what on earth she was
doing with a man like Ahran’s father. “He seems to be coping
remarkably well. Meeting his grandparents and learning about his
newfound heritage has helped to take his mind off it,” I
answered.

Toby had
started to make his way over to us.

“Have you met
your great-nephew yet?” I asked.

“No we
haven’t.”

Toby approached
me and was about to say something when I interrupted him. “Toby,
this is your great aunt and uncle, Ahran’s mother and father.”

He turned to
face them. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” he said politely. It
didn’t sound like it was the first time he’d said it that
evening.

Toby put his
hand out to shake Mr Elessar’s hand. For a moment I thought Ahran’s
father was about to ignore his outstretched hand. I relaxed a
little when he eventually shook it with a hint of a smile on his
face as if Toby’s confidence amused him.

“Ahran tells us
you showed great courage during your ordeal,” he said.

“I didn’t
really do very much,” Toby replied, clearly wondering what all the
fuss was about.

“I think
perhaps you are being modest.”

“What does that
mean?”

“It means, it
was probably worse than you are making out,” Ahran’s father
explained.

Toby thought
about this for a moment and just shrugged. Toby was far less
intimidated by Driscan Elessar than I was.

“You are a
brave boy indeed, the King is very proud of you,” Mrs Elessar
added.

“Um, thanks.”
He then said what he had really come over to say. “Auntie Sophie, I
have just met one of my cousins, his name is Salom and he said he
would show me a new game he’s got on his Gamewhizz, can I go with
him and have a look at it?”

I looked over
to where Toby was pointing. Standing there was a dark haired boy of
a similar age and he was looking in our direction expectantly. I
searched the room for the King who was talking to a small group of
people.

“Yes, but don’t
go too far away, I expect we’ll be eating soon.”

“I won’t,” he
said, nodding and putting his thumbs up at Salom. “Bye!” And with
that he made a hasty exit.

“Sorry. I’m
afraid to an eight year old, computer games are far more alluring
than talking to a bunch of adults,” I said.

“Don’t
apologise, it’s good he has found someone his own age,” Mrs Elessar
replied and sipped her drink.

“Sophie runs
her own business on Earth,” Ahran interjected.

His father’s
attention turned to me. “What business are you in?”

“I run my own
coffee shop.”

He looked
distinctly unimpressed.

“I’ve managed
to attract a commuter market for the first time and the business is
going from strength to strength.” I was damned if I was going to
let him belittle my achievements.

He nodded but
didn’t say anything.

“That must keep
you very busy,” Ahran’s mother said. She was making much more of an
effort than her husband was and I warmed to her.

“Yes, it does.
I try to offer organic food and source things locally as much as I
can.”

“That’s very
good. We hear reports that locally sourced organic food is still a
novelty on earth. I find that bewildering,” she said.

“I think more
people would buy it if it wasn’t so expensive. Unfortunately, we
have large supermarkets offering poor quality food as cheaply as
possible and this is squeezing out those of us who are trying to do
what’s right. Regrettably people are too seduced by a bargain.”

Ahran’s father
seemed more interested in this turn of the conversation.

“It’s been
reported that there are many countries on Earth experiencing a
crippling economic downturn. Is it as bad as they are suggesting?”
he asked.

It felt
somewhat strange and more than a little creepy that an alien world
should have such intimate knowledge of our economic climate and yet
nobody on Earth even knew this world and its people existed.

“Things are
pretty bad. The banks have been irresponsible, largely driven by
greed and it has fallen on the shoulders of the taxpayer to bail
them out. Of course, the knock on effect is that the banks are now
cautious about lending money and this has had a negative effect on
the housing market and employment levels.” Wow! I impressed myself
and I’d managed to snag the interest of Mr Elessar senior. “Some of
our smaller countries are even facing economic collapse.” It gave
me a certain sense of satisfaction to be able to talk knowledgeably
to him about something he knew very little about. Bennie was always
teasing me for listening to Radio 4. I knew listening to it would
pay off someday.

“It sounds very
serious indeed,” Ahran’s father said. “And how do your governments
plan to solve the problems?”

“Well, it’s a
case of everyone having to tighten their belts. There have been
massive cuts in public budgets and interest rates are at an
all-time low to try and encourage people to start spending again.
The trouble is people haven’t got the money to spend, so
forecasters say it could be years before we begin to see any kind
of economic improvement.”

“I’m surprised
your governments have allowed it to happen.”

“That’s what
many people think, but I suppose governments have enjoyed the boom
years as much as everybody else, they were prepared to turn a blind
eye to malpractice as long as they were making money. Widespread
greed brought a good degree of short-sightedness in many arenas and
we are now all paying for it.” I glanced up at Ahran. He was
smiling at me.

Suddenly, a
shrill sound pierced the conversation in the room. It was a servant
tapping a spoon against a glass. The King, Leylana and Toby were
stood in the middle of the room and the King was waiting to address
the gathering. Once everyone was quiet the King spoke in English.
“Firstly, I want to thank you for all coming this evening. It gives
the Queen and me great pleasure to share our one hundredth wedding
anniversary with you all.” He raised his glass and a cheer erupted
around the room. The King smiled. “Not only have we invited you to
celebrate our many happy years of marriage but it seems the ideal
opportunity to introduce you to a very important person.” He
glanced down at Toby and smiled. “We are extremely sad Tagan is not
here with us tonight to be part of this occasion but I know he
would have been a very proud man indeed.” Everyone raised their
glasses in respect. The King acknowledged their gesture with a bow
of his head. “For a long time we were unaware of Toby’s existence
so you can imagine our surprise and delight when we found out Tagan
had a son, particularly in the light of his untimely death.” He
paused for a moment as emotion flickered across his face.
“Tragically, Toby also lost his mother a year ago and has been
cared for by his Aunt Sophie since her death.

Tears stung my
eyes.

The King took a
deep breath. “It is with much regret that Toby went through a
terrible ordeal before we were finally able to meet him and I want
to take this opportunity to apologise for not being more vigilant
and protecting him.” Halsan placed a hand on Toby’s shoulder. “I
pledge, in front of everyone who is gathered here tonight, that we
will do everything in our power to keep you safe from now on.”

I appreciated
the public apology. I glanced up at Ahran who had a troubled
expression on his face.

The King raised
his glass to Toby who was looking like he’d rather be anywhere else
but here.

“We shall be
forever indebted to Elaya, Ahran, Lieutenant Vanhallen and of
course Sophie, who put themselves in great danger to bring Toby
back safely.”

The King raised
his glass, in mine and Ahran’s direction and towards Elaya, who I
hadn’t realised was here.

“Hatcheena!”
Everyone called out together.

“So, it is with
great pleasure that I present to you my grandson and future king of
Dinara, Toby Prince of Saleth.” The King raised his glass and bowed
towards Toby. I stiffened at Halsan’s presumption that Toby’s
future as king was definite.

“Hatcheena!
Hatcheena! Hatcheena!” The guests said more loudly this time.

It was all
rather overwhelming and by the look on Toby’s face he wasn’t quite
sure what to make of it all either.

“Please take a
seat, we will be eating shortly and I hope you enjoy the rest of
this evenings’ celebrations.”

The room
erupted again and then people started to make their way over to the
tables.

Ahran’s parents
had begun to talk to a striking looking gentleman nearby but Ahran
was still stood next to me. “Well, that was all a bit
overwhelming,” I remarked.

He shrugged
apologetically.

“Poor Toby,” I
said. “He looked as if he wanted the ground to open up beneath him.
He’s quite a shy boy by nature.”

“He’ll get used
to it.”

I wasn’t sure I
wanted him to get used to it.

“Why don’t you
go and find our seats, I’ve just seen an old college friend of mine
who I haven’t seen for years. I’ll come and join you in a
minute.”

“Okay.”

Elaya caught my
eye and came over. We kissed each other on the cheek.

“Well, that was
a first,” I said.

“You mean to
say your nephew has never been made a prince before?” she
laughed.

“Funnily
enough, no, not even a Lord.”

“What kind of
place is Earth?!”

“I know, we
don’t have nearly enough ‘prince-ing’ ceremonies.”

We both
laughed.

“Are you going
to sit down?” Elaya asked.

“I was about to
but I have no idea where I’m sitting.”

“I’ll find
out,” she said leaving me to go and look at one of the seating
plans positioned at the entrance of the room.

“Sophie, how
lovely to see you,” a vaguely familiar voice said from behind
me.

I turned to see
who had just spoken and came face to face with Talina.

What the hell
was she doing here? I had been too worried about meeting Ahran’s
parents to have given any thought as to whether she would be
attending. I’d assumed that after Ahran had broken off their
engagement she wouldn’t be invited.

“Haven’t you
endeared yourself to the King, executing such a brave rescue of his
grandson?” The thin film of venom lubricating her words made me
bristle. She was cruising for a fight. “But he’s not the only
person you’ve endeared yourself to, is he?” she said pointedly.

The hairs on
the back of my neck stood up. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said,
looking into her seething eyes.

“No, of course
you don’t because you are totally innocent,” she said her voice
dripping with sarcasm. Everything about her was predatory. She wore
a skin tight black dress, killer red heels and bright red nails to
match. “Stay. Away. From. My. Fiancé,” she spat in my ear.

What had Ahran
said to her? And how dare she start issuing threats! “As far as I
was aware Ahran no longer has a fiancé.” I said, knowing I
shouldn’t have said anything to inflame the situation but I
couldn’t help myself.

“Well, thanks
to you, Ahran seems to have forgotten we have been betrothed since
childhood. Our parents will never let him rescind our engagement,”
she warned. She leant in closer. “Oh yes, I meant to ask you
Sophie, how do you feel about the fact that Ahran murdered your
sister?”

“What?”
Suddenly, my whole attention was focused on her. The crazy bitch
had lost it.

“He hasn’t told
you, has he?” she drawled, a cruel smile creeping across her face,
“I didn’t think he had, because finding out that your lover killed
your sister is not the most ideal foundation for a new
relationship.”

What on earth
was she talking about? The thought was absurd. He didn’t know Toby
or I existed until a few weeks ago. “I don’t know what vindictive
little game you are playing, but that is ridiculous. Ahran only
found out that Tagan had a son recently and Katie died a year ago,”
I said, more to rationalise it to myself than to correct her.

“Is that what
he told you? Oh poor Sophie, how you have been deceived.”

I tried to
wrack my brains. What had he told me? Had he even mentioned when he
had found out about Toby?

To my relief,
Ahran was walking towards us. “Talina, what are you doing here?” he
asked through gritted teeth.

I knew he would
put a stop to her ridiculous accusations.

“Oh Ahran, its
good of you to join us. I have just learnt you haven’t been
entirely honest with Little Miss Earthling here.”

“What have you
been saying?” he hissed, looking like he was about to strangle
her.

“Not much
really, just that you murdered her sister.” All signs of evil
playfulness had vanished leaving only bitter hatred in its
place.

I looked at him
and noticed the blood drain from his face. He didn’t attempt to
deny her allegation.