Ontogeny

Chapter 19b

     The entire room was lit by the ruddy red light being emitted by the Princess. Her body, once so slender and graceful, was now swollen and gross, the flesh partially transparent so that the pulsing of arteries could be see through the skin. She had the same eyes, though, the Brigadier noted as he, the King, the Queen and a couple of attendants took their places around her. Kind, compassionate eyes, even though they mostly remained closed in misery. Her body was covered by a heavy blanket of white velvet trimmed with gold, sewn to fit her new body by the palace seamstresses, who had to keep creating new blankets for her as her body continued to change and grow.

     King Leothan took his daughter’s bloated, glowing hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Ardria,” he said gently. “Ardria. It’s your father. Can you hear me, Ardria?”

     The huge fingers closed around his, and her eyes opened a little. The Brigadier’s heart broke at the smile that formed on her wide, distorted face. “Father,” she said weakly.

     “How are you, Ardria? How are you feeling?”

     “Feel strange, like always. I can feel myself changing. I can’t move any more. I used to be able to walk. Now my legs won’t move any more.”

     “You’ll walk again,” the King promised. “You’ll walk through the forests again, like you always loved to do. You’ll ride Dancer again...”

     “We found a cure that will work,” said the Queen, giving the Brigadier a look that told him it had better. “You’ll dance again at your declaration day ball. You’ll be the envy of every other woman. The young men will queue up to dance with you. You’ll be magnificent and beautiful, just like you always were.”

     The Princess’s smile widened, but tears appeared at the corners of her eyes and the Queen began crying in turn, taking a silk handkerchief from her sleeve to dab at her eyes. “Perhaps it would be best if you waited outside,” suggested the King. “You can talk to her on your own afterwards. You can spend the rest of the day with her.” The Queen nodded and weaved her way towards the door, helped by one of her Ladies in Waiting.

     When the door had closed, Leothan looked at the Brigadier, who nodded his encouragement. The King sighed and turned back to the Princess. “Ardria, darling,” he said. “We have to ask you to do something.” The girls eyes turned back to her father. “It’s important. Do you understand?”

     “I can’t do anything,” replied the Princess tearfully. “I can’t even stand up any more.”

     “You don’t have to stand up. I just need you to listen to something. Do you understand?”

     “Listen?”

     “There are Radiants in the city. Floating above the city, looking for people to adopt.”

     “Radiants,” said the girl, smiling. “Beautiful! So beautiful!”

     “Yes,” agreed the King, glancing sideways at the Brigadier. “Beautiful. They talk to each other. Up in the sky, they talk to each other.”

     “Do they?”

     “Yes, and if you listen carefully you can hear them. Can you do that? Can you hear them?”

     The Princess closed her eyes, as if listening. Then she opened them again, smiling in delight. “Yes!” she cried. “I can hear them! They’re talking!”

     “What are they saying?” asked the King. “Can you tell us what they’re saying?”

     “They’re talking about people. Us. They’re talking about who would make the best Radiants. One of them thinks that men are best. As big and strong as possible. It’s looking at a blacksmith. The other one says women are best. It’s above the Henderson estate, looking at one of the cooks, collecting herbs in the garden, but there’s a nurse there as well, looking after the Baron’s adopted bear. It can’t decide which one to take.”