Galactic Gale

Epilogue

Nona – now Queen Galtionie, like her mother had been before her – tried not to sigh at the prospect of the long walk back to the palace. But as much as she wanted to hail a shuttle-cab, there would be no summoning of a transport.

She could not risk anyone finding what she had kept in the apartment just off main street in the eastern portion of the city. She could not even risk so much as a whisper about her presence here reaching anyone aside from the handful of individuals who knew her secret.

Rust from the doorhandle fell onto her silk gloves as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. She tried not to let her disgust show.

There was nothing remotely interesting about the apartment. She made sure it remained that way, and that her guards kept themselves well hidden.

"Are you sure about this?" Traen said. At her elbow, he looked dashing in his new tunic of white and grey, although she would never admit so aloud of fear of making him cringe.

"I have to be." Nona looked up at him. "You're having doubts?"

"I'm used to doing things that need to be done."

The comment struck Nona as uncharacteristically cold for Traen, but she clamped her tongue between her teeth.

Nodding to one of the armed warriors on watch in the hallway, she made her way to the last room in the single-story dwelling. It was a filthy place, really, and she would have ripped every inch of the patterned paper from the walls if she planned on using the apartment herself.

As it was, she could not care less if there was a gaping hole in the roof.

Where there had once been windows, there was now a cluster of metal boards pinned to the walls to stop the outside city seeing into the depths of the house. The carpets had been stripped back by the previous owner and never replaced, and the bathroom was beyond outdated.

The floorboards creaked as she stepped into the room. There was a single chair in the centre. Slumped onto the feature was a worn old man, his only leg tucked under him. His prosthetic leg had been repaired and return to him, but Hershyl had decided not to wear it.

Nona wondered if he was comfortable, then decided it did not matter. The man was responsible for countless deaths. He had encouraged Lezorith and Kallhan to make their weapons of mass destruction, and no doubt would have done much worse if she hadn't caught him.

Her entrance brought no reaction from the guards standing in each corner of the room, nor did they move when she walked right up to Hershyl and stopped a hair's length away. "Good morning," she said, perhaps a bit too stiffly. "It's the end of the week. I gave my word that I'd come to see you."

Hershyl only blinked at her.

If there was one thing Nona despised, it was holding people hostage. She had been there herself and knew all the horrors of being trapped and desperate. But while the Sorii had lacked greatly in their hospitality, she had made sure Hershyl had an apartment of his own, a good supply of food and water, and even a small television set.

A generous queen, the Assembly of Nor had called her. They didn't know the half of it.

"I don't enjoy coming to see you. This isn't a social visit," she added curtly. If Hershyl refused to act - well, then she saw no point of playing her role politely.

He spat at her feet.

In the doorway, Traen tensed. Nona was quick to signal she was unbothered by Hershyl's attack upon her boots. It had been a repulsive move, but he had missed her feet by a few inches.

"Krome. I want the location of their headquarters, and I want it now."

Again, he said nothing.

Nona waved a hand, and a chair was brought forward for her. She brushed the seat clean before sitting. "We made a deal."

"You haven't done anything to honour your half. Why, then, do you expect me to honour my end?" Hershyl finally shifted his gaze to her.

A chill ran up Nona's spine and she distracted herself from his icy eyes by organising the folds of her crimson dress. "Someone has to play the first card. You're a guest in my city, so the way I see it that person has to be you."

"Once I tell you, you can simply throw me off the edge of your city. There would be no one to stop you. So, my dear, you'll just have to be the one to make the first move. I see no sense in showing you all my cards before we've really gotten started."

Nona fought a sigh. She pushed the chair back as she stood. She made sure she gave Hershyl the meanest look she could muster as she glared at him down her nose. "Pity. I find no reason in presenting any of my cards when it's not crystal clear my fellow player plans on using his at all."

"Until next week, then."

She said no goodbyes as she swept out, Traen on her heels and no doubt checking Hershyl wasn't about to spring an attack.

Eventually he would give in. He would have to.

But until then Nona had work of her own to do, and it was the kind of work that no queen ought to do with her own hands.