Cress

Chapter 6

            Moving on to the dinner service. Her Lunar Majesty did approve the tra-
             ditional eight-course feast following the ceremony since last we spoke.
             For that, I suggest we begin with a quartet of sashimi, followed by a light
              soup. Perhaps imitation shark's fin soup, which I think would strike a
              nice balance between old traditions and modern sensibilities." "The wed-
              ding planner paused. When neither Kai, who was laid out on his office's
             sofa with one arm draped across his eyes, nor his chief adviser, Konn
             Torin, offered any objections, she cleared her throat and continued, "For
              our third course, I thought a nice braised pork belly with green mango
              relish. That would then lead into our vegetarian entree, for which I rec-
              ommended potol with poppy seeds on a bed of banana leaves. For the
              fifth course I was going to talk to the caterers about some sort of shell-
                fish curry, maybe with a vibrant coconut-lime sauce.Does Your Majesty
                have any preference on lobster, prawns, or scallops?"
             Kai peeled his arm off his face, just enough to peer at the wedding
            coordinator through his fingers. Tashmi Priya must have been well into
           her forties and yet she had the sort of skin that hadn't aged a day past
            twenty-nine. Her hair, on the other hand, was making a slow transition
           into gray, and he thought it might have accelerated over the past week,
          as she was the one person in charge of communicating the bride's wishes
          to the rest of the wedding coordinators. He didn't for a moment underes-
          timate the stress she was under to be working with Queen Levana.
            Luckily, it seemed to him that she was very, very good at her job.
             She'd accepted the role of planning the royal wedding without a mo-
      ment's hesitation, and hadn't balked once at Levana's demands. Her pro-
                   fessional perfectionism was evident in every decision she made, even
     in how she presented herself, with deceptively subtle makeup and not
                  a hair astray.  This simplicity was set again a wardrobe of traditional
   Indian saris, lush silk shot through with jewel tones and complicated
  embroidery. The combination gave Priya a regal air that Kai knew, at that
moment, he was lacking.
"Scallops, lobster...," he murmured, struggling to pay attention. Giv-
  ing up, he covered his eyes again. "No, I have no preference. Whatever
Levana wants."
    A brief silence before he heard the click of fingernails against her
portscreen. "Perhaps we'll come back to the feast menu later. As for the
ceremony, do you approve of the queen's choice of Africa's Prime Minis-
ter Kamin as your officiant?"
"I can think of no more suitable."
  "Excellent. And have you given any thought to your wedding vows?"
  Kai snorted. "Delete anything that has to do with love, respect, or joy,
  and I'll sign on the dotted line."
  "Your Majesty," Sid Torin, in that way he had of making the title of
respect sound like a chastisement.
   Sighing, Kai sat up, Torin was in the seat opposite Priya, his hand
wrapped around a short glass filled with nothing but ice cubes. He was
not normally one to imbibe, which reminded Kai that these were trying
  times for everyone.
He slid his attention back to Priya, whose expression was profession-
     ally impassive. "What do you suggest, for the vows?"
  Her eyelids crinkled at the corners, almost apologetically, and he de-
           texted something horrible about to come his way. "Her Lunar Majesty
   has suggested that you write your own vows, Your Majesty."

  
            "Oh, stars." He fell back down into the cushions. "Please, anything but
           that." A hesitation. "Would you like me to write them for you,  Your
    Majesty?"
   "Is that in your job description?"
       "Ensuring that this wedding goes smoothly is my job description."
         He peered up at the ornate tasseled chandeliers that lined the ceiling.
            After a complete sweep of the office that had taken his security team
    a week to complete they had found a single recording device, smaller
     than his fingernail, embedded in one of those chandeliers. It was the
    only device they had found. There was no question that it was Lunar,
     and that Kai had been right all along—levant was spying on him.
     His personal quarters had also been swept, though had been
   discovered there. To date, these were the only rooms where he allowed.
    himself to speak freely about his betrothed, though there was always
   missed anything.
   "Thank you, Tashmj-jie. I'll think on it."
   With a nod, Priya stood. "I have an appointment with the caterer this
afternoon. I'll see if he has any input on the remaining courses."
        Kai forced himself to stand, though the action was surprisingly diffi-
       cult. The stress of the past weeks, had caused him to lose a few pounds,
and yet he felt heavier than ever, as if the weight of every person in the
     Commonwealth are pressing down on him.
   "Thank you for everything," he said, bowing while she gathered her
color swatches and fabric samples.
She returned his bow. "We will speak again in the morning, before
Thaumaturge Park's arrival."
   He groaned. "Is that tomorrow already?"
   Torin cleared his throat.
   "I mean—fantastic! He was such a joy to have around the first time."
   Priya smile was fleeting as she slipped out the door.
   Restraining a melodramatic sigh, Kai crumpled back onto the sofa. He
       Knew he as being childish but he felt he had the right to lash out occa-
sionally, especially here in the privacy of his own office. Everywhere else
  he was expected to smile and proclaim how much he was looking for-
  ward to the wedding. How beneficial this alliance would be for the Com-
   monwealth. How he had no doubt that his marriage to Queen Levana
          would serve to unite the people of earth and Luna in a way that hadn't
        been seen for centuries and would no doubt lead to greater appreciation
and understanding of each other's cultures. It was the first step toward
doing away with years of hatred and ignorance and who on Earth did he
think he was fooling, anyway?
        He hated Levana. He hated himself for giving in to her. He hated that
  his father had managed to keep her and her threats of war at bay for
years and years, and within weeks of Kai taking the throne, he'd let every-
  thing fall apart.
He hated that she was going to win.
The ice in Torin's glass clacked and popped as he leaned forward. "You
   look pale, Your Majesty. Is there anything I can assist you with? Any-
   thing you would like to discuss?"
   Kai used his bangs off his forehead. "Be honest, Torin. Do you think
  I'm making a mistake?"
   Torin considered the question for a long moment, before setting the
glass aside. "Sixteen thousand earthen were killed when Luna attacked
us. Sixteen thousand deaths in only a few hours. That was eleven days
ago. I cannot fathom how many lives were spared because of the com-
       promise you made with Queen Levana." He steepled his fingers over his
lap. "And we cannot forget how many lives will be saved once we have ac-
cess to her letumosis antidote.
      Kai bit the inside of his cheek. These were the same arguments he'd
     been repeating to himself. He was doing the right thing. He was saving
      lives. He was protecting his people.
     "I know the sacrifice you're making, Your Majesty."