The Royal Pursuit Read online

  She blushed, suddenly feeling ashamed for even bringing it up. She had only wanted to help him. “I won’t do it,” she quickly assured him.

  She felt his body relax.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it would be a disgrace.”

  He hugged her. “I know. It’s alright.”

  She hugged him back. It seemed that she would always be learning new things about Razian customs and rules, no matter how strange they seemed to be.

  Chapter Two

  Location: Zeus’ Bedroom in the Ivory Palace

  Planet: Olympia

  Galaxy: Enchanted

  Two nights later, Optima, Xan, and Dour snuck into Zeus’ bedroom while he slept. While they were searching for the stone, Zeus sat up in his bed.

  He opened his mouth to yell at them, but Xan came up from behind and put a rag up to his nose and mouth. Zeus struggled against the intruder to no avail. The fumes from the rag penetrated his lungs and before he knew it, he was unconscious.

  Xan breathed a sigh of relief. “That was a close one,” he whispered. Turning to Dour and Optima, he urged them to hurry up. “This concoction will only work for thirty minutes.”

  Dour nodded his understanding. “Do you have the stone we made?”

  “Yes, Ruler. Right here.” Xan took their stone out of a small brown sack and handed it to him.

  They were careful to keep their voices low, hoping not to wake any of the other gods or goddesses in the palace.

  “I found their Stone of Immortality,” Optima said. She carefully took it out of the white cabinet with gold trim. She set it on the white marble table in front of her. “Navier wrote that all we need to do is place the two stones next to each other and the process of duplication will take over. It should only take a few seconds.”

  They held their breaths expectantly as Xan laid the stone next to the Stone of Immortality. They knew it was a theory, but now they were about to see whether or not it had any validity to it.

  Optima clasped her hands together, hoping for the best and fearing the worst. If this worked, then their problem would be solved. There would be no more death. If this failed, their species would be extinct in a matter of weeks.

  A faint purple glow lit up their stone.

  “Navier said this would happen!” Xan excitedly replied, his hair turning red.

  “Shh…” Dour warned. “We must be quiet.”

  He nodded and turned back to the stones.

  Optima released her breath. Dour was right. They had come too far to get caught at this point. The Stone of Immortality radiated a similar purple shade. Oh please, let this work, Optima silently thought. A sliver of white light shot from the gods’ stone to their stone. In the blink of an eye, the stones resumed their normal appearance.

  “Is that it?” Xan whispered, his eyes shifting from Dour to Optima.

  “I think so,” she replied. “Like I said, it’s not supposed to take long.”

  A faint sound from another room interrupted their conversation.

  Without a word, Optima put the gods’ stone back into the cabinet while Xan threw their stone back into the sack. Dour led them out of Zeus’ bedroom window where Tan drove their only working spaceship to the window. They entered the spaceship through an open door. Dour shut it before Tan took off to leave Olympia.

  Optima breathed a sigh of relief, her yellow hair turning back to its usual white color. “Thank goodness. For a moment there, I thought we were going to get caught.”

  “In a way, we did. Zeus saw us,” Dour said.

  “I knew I should have put that rag up to him sooner.” Xan shook his head. “I can’t believe I waited so long.” His hair was orange due to his embarrassment.

  “I don’t think Olympians are aware of our species,” Dour said. “Tan, are there any probes searching for us?”

  Tan checked the screens in front of him. “None, Ruler Dour. The Olympians seem to be unaware of our departure.”

  “Olympians are self-absorbed by nature. They are only concerned with Raz and, to a lesser extent, Earth. Any other planet or the life on it is of no concern to them,” Dour told his three companions. “Zeus, most likely, will have no idea who we are.”

  “That’s good news,” Xan replied.

  Dour glanced out of one of the windows as they exited Olympia’s atmosphere. Yes, it looked as if they were safe.

  ***

  Location: Throne Room in the Royal Palace

  Planet: Raz

  The next day, Ann sat on her purple throne. She wore a dark blue dress made of velvet. Diamonds were sewn into the fabric, and her hair fell over her shoulders in gentle waves. Her diamond crown rested on her head. Whenever she performed her role as queen in the palace, she made sure she dressed the part.

  And on this particular day, she was in the middle of resolving the conflict between two disgruntled fairies who wanted the rights to the same group of sunflowers.

  “My family reached those sunflowers first,” the golden-haired male fairy said. “We arrived there a few minutes before his family did.”

  “But we called out that we had the rights to them before you did,” the other male golden-haired fairy argued. “The fact that we claimed them first overrides the time of your arrival.”

  Hathor slipped out of the room through the side entrance. She hid her surprise at his action. It wasn’t like him to do that unless there was an emergency. Forcing herself to turn back to the fairies, she pushed aside the sudden unease in her stomach.

  “The book on Razian Laws and Customs gives priority to Sunlight,” she said. “The one who arrives at the flowers first has ownership rights. The book also states it is possible to share the same group of flowers by establishing a dividing line through them. Then each family can have their own section of flowers. Of course, that will be up to you, Sunlight. You can choose whether to make the offer to Ray or not.”

  Sunlight considered her suggestion. “They are beautiful flowers. It would be a shame not to share them with another family who appreciates such beauty.”

  Ray’s eyes lit up with hope.

  “Would you like to take the flowers on the north side?” Sunlight offered.

  “I’d be delighted,” he eagerly replied.

  Ann was glad Sunlight chose to be generous. Not every creature was as gracious as he was. “Sunlight, I will make it so that your flowers will always bloom for you.”

  He beamed with pleasure at her reward. “Thank you, Queen Ann.”

  “Thank you, Queen Ann,” Ray added.

  The two fairies bowed to her.

  Usually, Hathor would lead them out, but since he wasn’t there, she dismissed them and let them leave by themselves.

  She wondered where Hathor had run off to. As if to answer her question, Athen stood outside the Throne Room doors.

  “Permission to enter, Queen Ann.”

  “Permission granted,” she said.

  “I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of your work, but Hathor is speaking to Zeus.”

  Zeus? She rose to her feet and followed Athen down the hallway. Her stomach tensed. Zeus wouldn’t come to Raz unless he needed her help. Since Raz and Olympia had a Special Alliance, she would do anything he requested.

  By the time Athen led her to the palace grounds, Hathor and Zeus were talking at the Olympian spaceship. She could tell by the way Zeus was waving his arms that he was deeply troubled.

  “Athen, will you notify everyone who wants to see me that I will be unable to meet with them today? This is going to take a while.”

  “I will do as requested, Queen Ann.”

  As he left, she walked over to Zeus. Hathor’s stunned expression wasn’t much of a comfort to her. This had to be worse than she could imagine.

  “Greetings, Queen Ann.” Zeus bowed. “Something awful has happened on Olympia. We have lost our immortality.”

  She blinked. “But how…”

  “Someone stole the immortal properties from our Stone of Immortality. There
were three people, but I don’t even know who they were. They came into my bedroom two nights ago, and before I could warn the other gods and goddesses, they drugged me so that I passed out. By the time I regained consciousness, they were gone.”

  “They took your stone?”

  “No. They left the stone. It’s just that the stone doesn’t work anymore. Whatever they did, they made it useless to us. Now we are in the process of dying. Look at me. I’m already aging.”

  She could see that he had aged. He had several gray strands in his hair and a couple of wrinkles lined his usually flawless face.

  “There is a way we can tell who is responsible for this,” Hathor spoke up.

  Interested, she turned to him. “How?”

  “The Great Magician can tell us from his crystal ball,” he said.

  “Great! Let’s go see him.”

  “I need to see if he’s available right now. He may be busy.”

  “This is important,” Ann said.

  “Yes, I know. But we can’t just interrupt him. We need to ask him if we can see him. It’s the way things are done on this planet.”

  She sighed. “Very well. Be sure to stress the urgency of our request.”

  Hathor nodded his consent and ran to find the Great Magician.

  Turning to Zeus, she smiled. “I’m sure the Great Magician will see us.”

  Sometimes she felt helpless. It would be nice if she could just check the magic ball herself and give him the answer he needed instead of having to rely on the Great Magician. She liked the Great Magician. He had been more than helpful to her in the past, but it was discouraging at times to know she was the queen, the most important person on Raz, and yet still dependent on others to help her out. She figured there was a good reason for it, though she didn’t know what it was. Who knew? Maybe it was a balance of powers that prevented her from abusing her authority.

  “I speak on behalf of everyone on Olympia when I say I appreciate you coming to our aid like this,” Zeus said.

  “After all the times you’ve come to my aid, it’s the least I can do.”

  Hathor returned a minute later. “The Great Magician will meet us in the Grand Oak Room.”

  Zeus and Ann followed him to the room behind the Throne Room where the Great Magician bowed before her. “I have been informed of the situation. I will grant your request.”

  Ann watched as he went to his crystal ball and peered into it. His eyes and the ball slowly became the same milky white color. She glanced at Zeus, noting his anxiety. If she was in danger of losing her life and the lives of everyone on her planet, she would be frightened, too.

  The magician’s eyes resumed their normal color as the ball reverted back to its clear appearance.

  They waited for him to speak, but he took his time in saying anything, something that made Ann suspect he relished these dramatic moments.

  “The ones you seek are called Nicals, and they reside on planet Lone in the Mythical Galaxy,” he finally spoke. “There are only thirty-seven of them left.”

  “Nicals,” Hathor whispered. “I don’t know much about them.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. They mainly keep to themselves. They are very reserved and rarely seek outside contact. You say they stole something from your bedroom?” The magician turned to Zeus.

  “They didn’t steal anything,” Zeus replied. “They were looking for something. I have no idea what they wanted. All I know is that today the other gods and I realized we are slowly dying because our Stone of Immortality is empty of its power.”

  “Then they stole that power,” Ann said.

  Zeus shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t know how they did it. I don’t even know what to look for or where to go.”

  “Obviously, they must still have that power with them. It’s just a matter of what is holding that power,” Ann said.

  “That is safe to assume,” the magician agreed.

  “We won’t live for long without that power,” Zeus said. “And every day that passes, we will grow older and weaker.”

  “You won’t be in any shape to get that power back. We will have to do it,” she said. “We were supposed to meet with the Augurs tomorrow, but that can wait. This is an emergency.” After a moment, another idea came to her. “I’m sure we can get the Palers’ help.” She glanced at Hathor. “What do you think?”

  “I think we should do it at once,” Hathor replied.

  “Thank you, Queen Ann.” Zeus bowed. “I wish I could be of some help.”

  “You’ve helped me in the past,” Ann began. “Now it’s my turn to help you. I will notify you of our plan after I am done talking with the Palers and Augurs. For now, it’s best for you to go back to Olympia and rest. It looks like the trip here has aged you more than if you would have stayed there.”

  “Yes. I think ten years has been wiped from me in the travel.”

  She shivered at the thought. “Well, Hathor and I can always use the Book of Spells to go to your home and tell you what our plans are.”

  “Thank you. And come directly to the Ivory Palace doors. I know we usually require our visitors to climb up the mountain to our home, but there isn’t time for that.”

  “We will do that.”

  She watched as he left, feeling sad at the way his shoulders slouched. It was hard to watch him slowly lose his strength like this.

  “Thank you, Great Magician,” she said.

  “You are welcome, Queen Ann.” He bowed. “You may use my crystal ball to contact the Palers and Augurs. They have the technology that will allow you to communicate with them through it.”

  “Like a program you can use on your computer to chat with someone else,” she said.

  Hathor and the Great Magician gave her a questioning look.

  She waved aside their question. “It’s what we had on Earth. Anyway, we’ve got a lot to do. Hathor, tell Naomi to feed the children tonight. We won’t be having dinner with them.”

  Hathor bowed. “I will, my queen.”

  She watched him as he left. She wondered about the Nicals. Why would they steal the immortal powers from the gods and goddesses of Olympia? And how was she going to get it back from them?

  Chapter Three

  Alpha Head I

  Planet: Pale

  Galaxy: Enchanted

  Leader Paff was reviewing the weapons report, making sure the new weapons met the appropriate safety precautions. After several incidents regarding guns that misfired, it was now a priority to protect the guns’ owners. He liked what he’d read so far. It looked as if they had taken care of the problem.

  When his intercom beeped, he turned from the report and answered it.

  “Queen Ann from planet Raz desires to speak with you,” Shast, his secretary, informed him.

  “I will see her,” he said.

  “She is using the crystal ball this time.”

  “Thank you, Shast.” He put the report down and clicked on his 3-D Hologram Communicator. In front of him, an image of Ann’s face appeared before him. “Greetings, Queen Ann.”

  She smiled. “It’s good to see you, Leader Paff. Unfortunately, something serious has happened to the Olympians, and I’d like your help.”

  He listened as she described the Olympians’ predicament.

  “The Olympians are in no shape for combat,” Ann concluded. “They are frail without their stone’s power. I will be going to Lone with Hathor. Would you be willing to send any Palers with with us?”

  He sat back and considered the problem. “There are only thirty-seven Nicals?”

  She nodded. “I know it’s a small number and it seems that Hathor and I should be able to do this without your help, but I would feel better if we had your expertise in these matters.”

  “We will go with you,” he said. “We won’t need to send a large group of Palers like we did three years ago in our conflict on Earth with Omin’s clone.”

  “Yes. I am hoping this will only take a day. Two at the most.”

 
“It shouldn’t be too difficult, but we must plan for great resistance on the Nicals’ part. I am assuming they will be prepared to fight us. There is a reason they felt it was necessary to steal what they did.”

  “Yes. That is something we need to consider. We won’t engage in battle unless it’s necessary.”

  “I can gather up some Palers suitable for this mission in a few hours. Should we plan on arriving on Raz at sunset tonight?”

  She agreed. “Thank you, Leader Paff. I appreciate this.”

  “I owe you one after your help with Omin and his clone.”

  They ended their conversation.

  He called in his First Commander Zak and Second Commander Jaz. It was time to discuss their options in this latest development.

  ***

  Grand Oak Room

  Planet: Raz

  Ann glanced at Hathor. “Well, thankfully the Palers will be helping us,” she said. “Now it’s time to contact the Augurs.”

  She took a deep breath. She hadn’t had any direct contact with them, so she wasn’t sure what to expect. She only knew what Hathor had told her about them, that they were honest, loyal and rigid. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous about actually talking to them. After all, they were the ones who wanted to meet with her, not the other way around.

  “If you want, I can explain it to them,” he offered.

  She smiled at him, grateful for his willingness to help her. He had always been there to support her. “I’d better do it. After all, I’m the queen. It’s my responsibility to take care of this stuff.”

  “You do an excellent job.” He squeezed her shoulder, his very touch calming her nerves.