The Siege Of Drakkon: Book Three Of The Drakkon Series

Chapter Eight

Alessandra Drakkon

Queen of the Drakkon Empire

"Unseal the Cryo-pod." It was the day after my dinner with Lady Siccin and I was finally ready for my mother to get taken out of her cryo-sleep. I watch as Yanu messes with the controls to open the cryo-pod up, it hisses as it opens, and billows of cold air fall out of it. I wait eagerly, wondering how it will be to see my mother awake in person rather than through the mind meld, though a small part of me was afraid it would go similar to how my meeting with my father went, him being a completely different person than the A.I. had led me to believe.

I knew my thoughts were unfounded, after all I hadn't been talking to a computer with my mother's memories in the mind meld, I had been talking to her conscious mind, her body was merely a shell it filled with life. My mother's body takes in a sudden starling gasp and then sits up, her eyes flashing open, her pupils narrowed to slits on her amber eyes as she looks around wildly for threats. Her hair was out of the braids and twists I had normally seen her in when visiting her during the mind meld, it flared around her like liquid fire, though the red gave it more of a spilling blood appeal, the fierceness on her face made my mind think of red fire, like what I could do with my Solveig gifts if I so chose.

All of her scars had been healed even the aged ones across her face, there wasn't even a mark on her neck anymore, she looked like she had never almost died. Her eyes flare slightly, the yellow amber color turning dark to a burnished gold, over my guards in the room, though there were only the two right now, Yanu and Tanza eyed her warily in returning, their hands lingering near the concealed weapons I know they had on them. Finally, though my mother spots me in her scan of the room, her entire form freezes, and she looks me over and then her face breaks out into a smile. "Daughter, this is not a mind meld is it? It feels different, more real." She runs her hand along the soft surface of the cryo-pod, seeming to marvel at the feel of her fingers running over it.

"Yes, this is real, mother. You're finally healed enough to live your life again." She closes her eyes and takes a deep inhale, her mind processing the scents she was detecting.

"We're no longer on my planet, are we? It smells different, less wild, the air is drier." Already her warrior mind was processing the new environment she was in, evaluating possible threats. Her stomach rumbles and she glances down at it in surprise, as if not recognizing the sound at first. "I haven't felt hungry in so long, I almost forgot that one needs to eat in the real world." Tanza quickly brings up her sheeve to request food to be brought here, it was late morning after all, the perfect time for breakfast. "It is strange to feel objects so solid underneath me, to not be able to manipulate my surroundings with a mere thought anymore." I bite my bottom lip, unsure if healing her had been the right idea, maybe in the end she had just wanted to die and stay in peace. "I can feel your stare, daughter. Fear not, it is wonderful to be awake again, it's just strange, it will take me a while to get used to it again." I release my lip immediately, not knowing how she knew what I was feeling without even having to look at me.

"We call your planet, Solveig now, named after the clan who lives there, not very original I know, but it seems to work well. I've sent cruisers to retrieve the rest of our people as well as give them much needed supplies, because in the end, quite a few of them decided to stay." She nods, like she understood this immediately.

"Of course, Alessandra for many of us that is our home, and while we might be willing to leave it for a little bit, to explore all the new places around our little planet, we will always return home eventually." She tilts her head to the side as if listening to something extremely quiet. "I will have to return soon as well, I can feel my Ikari, though our bond is weak from disuse, she misses me." I open my mouth to protest, not wanting her to leave so soon after I had just gotten her back, when I feel my own Ikari nudge our bond and stop myself, she too missed me, I had been neglecting her in favor of my duties, she sends me images of tall trees and hot rocks to bask on. I had always intended to adapt the royal forest to something more favorable to Ikari, but I had gotten sidetracked by the coup against me.