Imperialist: The Voyage

Chapter Nine; Runaway

Sahelia sat on the balcony of the pearly white Rozaic palace, her legs resting on a stool and looked out over the courtyard as her troops did their drills. She'd been in Bremon for three weeks now and still couldn't quite get used to the harsh glare from the sun reflecting off the white surroundings into her eyes.

Squinting, she plucked an apple out from the basket the cook had delivered next to her and examined her unit. Out of all the Sumoso troops, she was especially close to three of them. Rayne was the oldest and most grounded of them all. It was to her that they went when they wanted life advice. Particularly advise on boys. Yes, she was well qualified on that topic. Like Sahelia, she could also control natural elements.

Pathrice, meanwhile, was one year younger than Sahelia and even more lithe. Despite her small size, she was by far the loudest of the three. While she wasn't a healer, her ability to teleport was an equally rare and coveted Sumoso ability. It made her invaluable as a spy and deadly in tactical situations, though she used it sparingly. Having seen what she could do many times over though, Sahelia knew how important it was not to get on Pathrice's bad side.

Then there was Sheryn, whose sumoso abilities allowed her the power of a seer. By touching someone's skin, she could decipher their innermost thoughts. On rare occasions she could even see that person's future. This made her a very uncomfortable person to be around and outside of Rayne, Pathrice and Sahelia, Sheryn had virtually no friends in their unit or the wider imperial army. Her isolation exacerbated her shyness.

"Hey, your majesty!" Pathrice cupped her mouth and bawled up. "Can you save some for us and not scarf down all our lunch, small as it is!"

She took aim and threw the core of the apple. Pathrice easily ducked out of the way, snorting with laughter.

Sahelia sighed. Who was she kidding? She was scoping her friends to see which one of them had what it takes to replace her as commander of the Sumoso unit. She was sick and tired of Bremon, with the heat, their hostile tribes, their insolent elders, their archaic laws.

Just yesterday, Sahelia had been forced as military governor to spare an old man from being whipped for blasphemy. Or at least, that's what the man's son had alleged he did. The entire palace had demanded he be whipped, in keeping with their laws. But Sahelia had known that frail as he was, the beating would have killed him.

She had sent the man away. The Bremonians had not been pleased about that. Then too, she had no wish to be left behind to the mercy of her big sister, who would have the entire power of the empire in her hands and the malice to use it when the emperor was gone.

While Sheryn was an efficient enough fighter and Sahelia had a tender spot for her, Sheryn tended to let her emotions get in the way. Plus, she was not assertive enough to be a leader. That left Pathrice or Rayne in the race. She sighed again. Information from the capital said that Emperor Moutassim would sail in just two days. She'd have to pick her successor quickly.

She heard running behind her and quickly turned, hand on the dagger in her belt. The door was pushed open and a wide-eyed Bremonian boy, no more than eleven, stumbled out. He started when he saw her, but then he closed the door and backed away with a look of fear on his dirt-stained face. She heard footsteps on the other side of the door... run past.

"What have you done, who are you hiding from?" Sahelia demanded.

"Please, your highness," the fear and look of pleading on his face was haunting. "Please don't tell him where I am!"

"I will if you don't answer my questions." She got up, her face stern.

"I stole an apple from the cook. I'm sorry. I haven't eaten in two days and I am an orphan. My father died in the battle of Bremon," he looked down, but then he looked up, his big eyes seemingly begging her for understanding. "If they catch me I'll lose a hand for sure! Please!"