Wray (28 page)

“And for this, the Emperor removed you from
his Guard?” Reeve couldn’t believe it. Fala and Gyula had done
nothing wrong.

“Yes, my Lord.” Fala said.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The mood of Vesta’s ruling chamber was tense
when Wray entered. Fala and Gyula stood before an angry Lord Reeve,
who sat in the Lord’s chair. He rose when Wray and his Guard
entered the room, reluctantly stepping aside so the Emperor could
take control of the room.

Veron moved to stand at his Emperor’s side,
his hand on the hilt of his sword as his eyes scanned the room
searching for possible threats. He knew the word had spread that
the Emperor had removed them from his guard and they were angry at
the insult to their House. Finding no immediate threat from the
guards that stared back at him, Veron’s eyes came to rest on the
reason for this meeting.

Fala and Gyula.

“Majesty
,
I am
confused.” Reeve spoke first.

“What confuses you
,
Lord Reeve?” Wray asked coldly.

“I have spoken with Warrior Fala and Warrior
Gyula and can find no reason, from the statements they have given,
for you to have them removed not only from your Guard but to return
them to Vesta in disgrace.”

“You feel that
you
, Lord Reeve, have a
say on who
I
chose for
my
Guard?”

“Of course not
,
Majesty
,
but for them to be removed in
such a manner reflects badly on
my
House.”

“I care not for how it
reflects
on
your House
,
Lord Reeve. I will have no
warrior serving House Vasteri that
I
deem
unfit
and
unworthy
!”

“Unfit?!! Reeve couldn’t hide his shock.
“Unworthy?!! Sire! What could possibly have caused you to believe
such a blatant untruth about two of the finest warriors ever
trained on Vesta?”

Fala and Gyula’s chests puffed up at their
Lord’s compliment.

“If these two are your finest
,
Lord Reeve
,
then perhaps I
have the wrong Lord ruling Vesta!”

Reeve’s mouth dropped open at the implied
threat from the Emperor. The Emperor couldn’t have him removed not
without the full agreement from the Assembly and Bertos would never
allow that to happen but for him to speak of it... Here... In front
of Reeve’s own Guard. It would cast doubt in ever
y
warrior’s mind, if they should serve him.

Wray knew the affect his words were going to
have on Reeve’s warriors. Vesta was an important planet, rich in
resources. It was a place where a Warrior who served his Lord well,
could acquire the means to attract a female. For the Emperor to
threaten to remove the Lord meant they would be removed too.

“Two warriors trained here. By you. Attacked
a female they
knew
was under my protection.” Wray let that
statement hang in the air and saw every male in the room stiffen,
their eyes flying to Fala and Gyula.

“What!” Reeve spun around enraged that Fala
and Gyula had not informed him of this.

“My Lord!” Fala stepped forward to plead his
case before his Lord. “She wasn’t Tornian! We were not informed she
was under the Emperor’s protection!”

“Tell me
,
Fala,”
Wray said in a deceptively even voice. “What orders were you given
that placed you on Pontus?”

“We were to search for you after your shuttle
went down.”

“Just me?”

“You, Warrior Damir and the female you found
on the Ganglian ship.” Fala replied.

“And why was I taking her there?”

“For further treatment.”

“So I rescued a female, was
personally
taking her back to the Searcher for treatment and that wasn’t
enough for you to know she was under my protection?”

“No
,
majesty.” Fala
admitted.

“Are you stupid then?” Wray asked then looked
at Reeve. “Is ignorance and lack of basic thought process something
you teach here on Vesta
,
Lord Reeve?” Wray
ignored the dark flush that crossed Reeve’s cheeks at his insult.
“
All
females traveling with any male is under his
protection!”

“But she had no male with her!” Gyula
protested.

“You are saying that even though you
knew
she was traveling with me, that because I was not right
at her side, it gave you the right to abuse her!”

“Sire
,
she is not
Tornian. The Law clearly states that a male may satisfy his needs
with any non-Tornian female without consequence.” Reeve spoke,
defending his warriors.

“The
Law
states that the male has no
responsibility for the
offspring
that comes from the
consensual
Joining with a non-Tornian female! It doesn’t not
give you permission to
abuse
a female!”

“Sire, the Law has been interpreted this way
for years.” Reeve retorted angrily.

“Which I have only just discovered. For any
male,” Wray stood, his eyes traveling across the room making sure
all understood him. “to use a Law that was meant to
protect,
in such a way goes against everything the Tornian Empire stands
for, and it will not be tolerated. It will be corrected
w
hen I return to Tornian.”

“That may be
,
majesty.” Reeve spoke, refusing to back down. He wanted this insult
removed from his House. “Warrior Fala and Warrior Gyula have
committed no crime under the current understanding of the Law and
therefore should
not
be removed from your
Guard, especially because of a non-Tornian female.”

“One whose smell revealed she was willing to
Join with
any
male.” Gyula smirked.

“What?” Wray growled lowly.

“She was covered with Ganglian stink.” Gyula
looked to his Lord and saw him nod that he understood what he
meant. “There was no reason for us not to use one that would allow
them to touch her.”

“
Allow
!” Wray surged forward and had
Gyula by the throat before anyone knew what was happening.

“She was
captured
by the Ganglians!”
Wray squeezed Gyula’s throat until his eyes began to bulge.

“She
survived
massive abuse!” Wray
lifted him off his feet.

“She is my
chosen
Empress, and you
will give her your respect or you will die!” Wray roared and threw
Gyula across the room.

“Any male,” Wray declared his chest heaving,
“who does not respect her will suffer my wrath!”

Absolute silence reigned in the chamber after
the Emperor’s declaration. Lord Reeve’s guard were staring at each
other in shocked confusion. Would the Emperor actually kill a
Tornian male because of his treatment of a non-Tornian female?

The Emperor’s guard didn’t share their
confusion. They had witnessed their new Empress’ compassion and her
caring for one of their own. They had witnessed how she actually
interacted with the Emperor. The Emperor had declared her his
Empress and that was enough for them to defend her; that Fala and
Gyula didn’t understand that only proved that the Emperor was
correct in removing them from his guard.

“Majesty!” Reeve began.

“Silence
,
Lord
Reeve! Fala and Gyula live
only
because the Law
does
protect them, but I will have
no
male serving
me
or
the
Empire
who has proven by his words and deeds that he
does not value a female! It matters not what species she is! It
matters not if she can present fit offspring! Females are the most
precious gift the Goddess could ever give us and we will treat them
as such!”

By the time the Emperor was finished there
wasn’t a male there that doubted the Emperor’s rage. Or what would
happen to the next male who did such as Fala and Gyula. Nervously
they watched the Emperor stride out of the room.

Caitir immediately stood and bowed her head
when Wray came striding into the room. She wasn’t sure what had
angered him, but she wanted to do nothing to have it directed at
her. Finding her not only
sitting
with his Empress, but
talking
to her could enrage him further.

Kim frowned at Caitir. Why had she suddenly
jumped up? They had been talking about her coverings. Caitir had
been informing her of the many different materials that would be
available to her once she arrived on Tornian, explaining which ones
would best suit her. Wray’s arrival had suddenly ended the
conversation.

“Wray?" Rising Kim went to his side and
placed a hand on his arm. "Is something wrong?”

“No
,
my Kim.” Wray
said, taking a deep, calming breath. He would not allow his anger
at Reeve, Fala and Gyula to touch the most precious thing in his
life. “Just a disagreement during a meeting.”

“Oh. Is it anything I can help with?” She
asked.

“I believe I have it under control, but thank
you.” Wray raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Now tell me
what you have been doing while I’ve been gone.”

“Oh
,
Wray," Kim
smiled up at him, her eyes full of excitement. "Caitir and I have
been having the most wonderful conversation about coverings while
she hemmed this one.” She stepped back so he could see that it no
longer dragged along on the floor. “And she was just telling me
about all the wonderful materials that will be available to me on
Tornian, which ones will be best for each season.”

Wray looked to the Auyangian female who stood
silently before him, her head bowed and Wray had a startling, and
not flatter
ing
realization. Had it not
been for Kim, and the way Fala and Gyula had treated
her
,
he never would have understood
Caitir’s fear of being away from Jael. In all honesty, he wouldn’t
have considered her at all because she wasn’t Tornian. It seemed
Reeve’s warriors weren’t the only ones who needed to readjust how
they viewed non-Tornian females.

“I thank you
,
Caitir
,
for staying with my Empress and
helping her understand what she will need.” An idea suddenly struck
that had him cocking his head to the side. “Are you and Jael
currently serving any females here on Vesta, Caitir?”

Caitir’s head shot up and her eyes flew to
the Emperor not only because he had thanked her, which was unheard
of but because of his question.

“I… no sire… since Lady Estee left. We only
work on male coverings now.”

“Would you like to become the Empress’
clothier?”

“What!” Caitir took a stumbling step back,
unable to hide her shock.

“Along with Jael of course." Wray quickly
reassured her. "You both are talented clothiers and…” Wray looked
at Kim’s beaming face and knew he was making the right choice. “My
Kim enjoys spending time with you. Her species is very social and I
know how hard it has been for her to have no females to talk
to.”

“I…” Caitir couldn’t believe it. Everything
she thought would upset the Emperor, her speaking to the Empress,
her sitting next to her and talking to her are what he
wanted
her to do?

“Sire.” Veron stepped into the room.
“Clothier Jael has returned for Caitir.”

“Show him in
,
Captain.” Wray ordered.

“Yes
,
majesty.”
Bowing Veron backed out of the room.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Jael tried to conceal his worry when he
didn't find Caitir in the outer chamber. Where could she be? Why
wasn't she here?

“The Emperor wishes for you to join him in
the resting chamber.” Veron informed Jael, his expression revealing
nothing.

Nodding jerkily, Jail followed the Emperor’s
Captain into the resting chamber concerned at what he was about to
find.

“Clothier Jael, please, come in.” The Emperor
gestured to a chair as he entered but Jael's eyes immediately went
to Caitir who was sitting on the couch next to the Empress. “Sit.”
The Emperor ordered.

Slowly Jael did as the Emperor commanded, but
his eyes remained on Caitir searching for the slightest sign that
she had been harmed. What he found confused him. Caitir’s eyes were
full of tears… but threw them shined… hope.

“Clothier Jael, I would like you and…” Wray
paused, wondering what he should call Caitir.

“Lady Caitir.” Kim supplied for him.

“What?” Wray turned shocked eyes to her.

“On Earth a female who serves a Queen is
called a Lady in Waiting."

“Kim, here, a Lady is always the female
Joined with a Lord.” Wray informed her.

“And who’s to say Caitir won’t one day be?”
Kim argued back.

“That would never happen
,
Empress
,
for no worthy male
would Join with me.” Caitir said quietly.

“Then they are fools
,
Caitir
." Kim snapped. "F
or
you are more than worthy.”

“You don’t understand majesty…” Caitir
started.

“Yes
,
I do,
Lady
Caitir, and the ability for a female to produce
offspring should
never
be the deciding factor in her
worthiness. Should it
,
Wray?” Kim
questioned, turning hard eyes to him.

“No
,
my Kim, it
should never be.” He agreed shocking the other two males in the
room. “So
,
Clothier Jael.” Wray eyes
returned to Jael and the subject at hand. “Would you and Lady
Caitir be willing to travel to Tornian as the Empress’ personal
clothier?”

“I… Majesty
,
I would
be in your debt!” Jael stuttered his mind whirling. To be the
clothier to the
Empress!
Such an honor had never been given
to an Auyangian before.