I smile and put my hand on hers. “There are limits to how suspicious I want to be, Darient. We’ll go together.”
We walk over to the booth, causing a great deal of commotion because of the whole crowd of people that has gathered. I smile and wave, then change direction to get closer.
“Let’s keep our distance,” Darient says and grabs my hand.
But I won’t be dissuaded, so I drag her over to the crowd. “Let’s not.”
As I reach the edge of the throng, a sea of outstretched hands eagerly greets me. I reach out, my fingers brushing against rough, calloused palms, cool skin, and strange, textured digits unlike anything I've felt before.
A ripple of astonished gasps and excited murmurs spreads through the crowd. “She’s touching them!”
Then, a roar of cheers erupts, a sound that vibrates through the very ground beneath my feet. “Princess Umbra!” Their faces, upturned and beaming, show a mixture of disbelief and genuine joy that an Imperial princess would willingly stand among them, touching them like equals.
And Iamequal to them, not better in any way.
I’m distantly aware that a great crowd is gathering fast. Tentacles uncoil and wave, children reach out with both hands, parents hold their babies out to me, tiny tendrils uncurling. The energy is electric, a surge of raw excitement that makes my own spirit lift in response. This place isn’t so bad, actually. I can learn to like this.
I stand there like that for a while until both Darient and Sigise firmly grab me and escort me away, through the crowd.
“That’s long enough, Highness,” the colonel growls over the cheers and the calls. “Don’t stay too long in one place as exposed as this.”
They lead me back into the gunship, and Sigise sends her co-pilot to buy food in the booth I wanted.
Outside, the crowd is still keeping a respectful distance, but they’re also calling to me. “We love you, Umbra!”
“That was both very dangerous and extremely graceful,” Darient says. “I would recommend not doing it too much.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I assure her. “I won’t create patterns that are easy for our enemies to use against me. But this seemed harmless enough.”
The duchess grins. “It was fantastic! Nobody’s ever seen an Imperial princess do that. The Empress certainly never goes out among the people.”
I just nod. It may not have been super smart. I’m not going to stay here. According to the plan, in a few days I’ll be on the way back to Earth and they will never see me again. It may not be the time to start getting popular among the general public.
But what if it was? What if these people really need some Earth spirit, some equality?
The co-pilot hands us alien snacks from the booth. They’re small, tasty pies with a sweet filling, piping hot. I have no intention of asking what any of the alien food is actually made of, since I can never know how disgusting the answer might turn out to be. But I don’t think this could be that bad.
The gunship takes off again.
“We’ll fly around at random and maybe land in a safe place,” Darient says as we eat. “Right now, we’re really only trying to pass the time before you have to return to the danger of the Imperial Court.”
I nod. “The city seems safer than the inner palace.”
“Now," Darient says and holds out a red gemstone. “Mareliux told me to make you practice your Syntrix. This is as good a time as any. Try to make this hover in the air…”
32
- Mareliux-
“Where is my love?” I ask as I enter the new apartment I’ve picked at random.
“Right here,” Umbra says and jumps down from the wide windowsill, a bright smile on her face.
I go over and kiss her, then hide both hands behind my back. “Pick a hand.”
She thinks about it. “That better not be a bomb. That one.” She points to my right hand.
I show her my empty hand. “Oh no! You missed the bomb.”
