©2024 SammyC

I peered through the haze of a brumous morning and saw a throng of nearly a thousand people cheering boisterously. The gates of the royal palace had been flung open shortly after the proverbial rooster’s crow. Then came emotional farewells with my parents, the King and Queen, and my immediate family, including my baleful sister, who envied me being the savior of the world on the eve of its impending destruction by The Dagger of Heaven.

When she lifted her head to the sky and said in a voice that could only be heard by those near us, “It’s not fair at all. You’re not even a girl!,” Queen Hortense shot her a stifling glare.

Glad to be wearing a brocaded riding outfit rather than a flowing gown as befits a royal princess, Amos, my bodyguard and boyhood friend, lifted me up onto the saddle of my favorite Rumperdon. Rumperdons are large herbivores similar to the pictures of our home world’s elephants that Merlyn once showed me.

From my seat on the back of this gentle, sometimes comically docile creature, I waved to the sea of Easterners before us, shouting good wishes and prayers. They fervently believed that my wedding to Prince Kelvin would appease the Gods and divert the Dagger from its destructive path.

There were eight Rumperdons in our caravan. Two royal guards, Amos and Vance, armed with broadswords and crossbows, led our cortege, followed by Merlyn and me. The retinue was completed with a lady’s maid, a manservant, and Merlyn’s assistant, a tremulous girl named Luna. The last Rumperdon was weighed down with food, clothing and essential supplies.

We didn’t need to bring a gift with us since, in all honesty, I suppose, I was the gift.

As we moved into the countryside, I thought about the five days of rugged travel ahead of us and, even more poignantly, the uncertain welcome I would receive when either they discovered I was really a boy, or the Dagger didn’t cease its fatal approach. I felt for my own dagger in the folds of my riding jacket and, finding it, my mouth formed a smile that Merlyn misread as a sign of happy anticipation of my nuptials.

“I wish the sun were not obscured by clouds this morning, Merlyn. I’ve never ventured this far outside the city. These rolling hills, spotted with tall trees and vast green pastures… It’s beautiful.”

“But very dangerous,” Merlyn replied. “Only a select few have traversed the continent. We will be following the main trade route between us and The Western Kingdom, what little trade we have. There are large predators that roam these territories—”

“But they can’t eat us. We don’t taste good to them. Nor them to us.”

“Yes, but they can certainly sample us before spitting us out of their maws with disappointment. Also, my child, there are human monsters out and about. Because of the internecine strife that has caused two wars and several uprisings, there are bands of people who eke out a pathetic existence in the wilderness between the two kingdoms. They have been known to rob and murder travelers who are unfortunate enough to encounter them.”

Luna, behind us, gave out a shriek. “Master Merlyn, I’m scared! We are a small group, and these animals are known to flee, not fight. Such large beasts with so little courage—”

I patted the dagger beneath my jacket. “I will protect you, Luna. As will Amos and Vance. No sub-human miscreants stand a chance against their broadswords and crossbows.”

“Let us pray to the Gods we don’t chance upon these ‘miscreants,’ Princess Rani,” Merlyn declared.

“Oh, you don’t fool me, Merlyn. You don’t even believe in the Gods—” I snickered.

“I would have little else to believe in if I didn’t. You shouldn’t allow the callowness of your youth to blind you to the realities of the world. There are forces beyond our meager understanding of the universe, Rani.”

“Then why show me all those books and pictures? You could have left me in the dark like all the others. My mother always wanted me to be a High Priest—”

“I saw something special in you, child. Perhaps you have been chosen to be the one who can change the course of history. The one to ensure that we will have a history after these next few weeks.”

“Who chose me? The Gods?”

The angry clouds in the darkening sky, which had threatened rain all day, suddenly released their bounty and precipitation increased in intensity until the ground beneath us started to dot with puddles.

“There’s a cave a short distance away. We can find shelter there and maybe stay for the night,” announced Amos. “I’ve been through this land more than a few times, and the cave is warm and dry. Traders from both kingdoms often stop there.”

“Are there animals in or near this cave?” Luna asked, her voice trembling.

“If there are, we’ll clear them out, right, Amos?” Vance held out his broadsword and smiled, his eyes gleaming beneath the visor of his helmet.

The cave did turn out to be a warm and dry shelter as the rain continued into the evening. There were signs of intermittent occupation, as Amos had alluded to. We had to clear away some of the litter to find space to place our pallets. A makeshift curtain tricked up with some rope and two large blankets divided the men from the women.

Of course, only Merlyn and Amos knew my true gender. The rest of the traveling party, even my lady’s maid, believed I was a young girl of 16 in the measure of our home world. I remembered to act shy and overly bashful, even in female company.

After our dinner of dried meat and bread, washed down with red wine, we went to our separate corners of the cave to bed down for the night. Amos took the first shift standing guard. I was finding it hard to fall asleep. There were several reasons. First and foremost, there was the annoying, sickly-sweet smell of the burning cornsilk cigarette in Merlyn’s mouth. It was her most obnoxious vice. “It keeps me regular,” was her only excuse.

Secondly, I felt very uncomfortable sleeping in such close quarters with three other women. I mean three women, that is. I’m a boy. Although Merlyn keeps trying to convince me that I’m a girl, deep down. Before I could lose myself in mental circles thinking about that, there was the third reason I couldn’t fall asleep.

As night fell in this wilderness, we extinguished our oil lamps, hoping we would hear nothing more alarming than the chirping of crickets and the rustling of wind through the tall trees. But even as my eyes began to close, the ominous growling of some predatory mammal of the imagination echoed in the darkness outside the cave.

I was frightened more for the poor dumb Rumperdons we left outside, untethered. They spooked easily. We would be in quite a fix if they ran off. Wrapping a robe around myself, I quietly moved to the cave entrance where Amos was standing guard.

“Amos,” I whispered. He turned around slowly with the nonchalance of a seasoned warrior despite his young years.

“Your Highness. What are you doing? Is there a problem inside?”

“Drop the highness stuff, Amos. I’m just Rani. I was worried that those scary growls coming from out there somewhere would spook the Rumperdons. They’re not tethered…”

“Not to worry, Rani. They’re all asleep. You’re hearing their snoring.” He chuckled. “It sounds like you’re more spooked than they are.”

“I’ve spent my whole life practically within the confines of the royal palace. I’m not used to the world outside.”

“I’ll admit it’s a dangerous world. But go back to sleep, Rani. Vance and I are on watch. Nothing’s getting past us.”

I yawned and placed my hand over my open mouth before turning to go back inside.

“Rani?”

I turned to look directly at Amos, his hazel eyes shining in the light of our planet’s two moons. He was always the most handsome boy among all my friends.

“Rani, thank you for doing what you’re doing…to save us all. It must be a huge sacrifice. Having to marry Prince Kelvin. Living far from home and your people—”

“It’s a huge charade, not a sacrifice. How dumb can everyone be that they’ll believe I’m a girl?”

“I guess I’m really dumb, then. I was never really sure you were a boy. Sometimes, I thought your father, the King, wanted a male successor to the throne and made everyone believe you were Prince Rani instead of his youngest daughter. How could I know for sure? You never went to our schools. Merlyn was your tutor. And the only reason I had any contact with you was because my father is the Captain of the Palace Guard.”

He smiled. “We played tether ball in the royal courtyard. I fondly remember that.”

“I’m not a girl, Amos. But, for the sake of all the superstitious people on this stupid planet, I’ll play along. It’s a good thing Prince Kelvin is just 9 years old. But, just in case he or anyone else tries something…” I took the dagger out of my dressing gown and showed it to Amos, the blade glinting in the moonlight.

“Hey, point that somewhere else, Rani.”

I stashed it back beneath my gown. “Anyway, we’ll all die when The Dagger of Heaven strikes us in a few weeks, marriage or no marriage. You know this is all hogwash, don’t you?”

Amos reached out with the hand not holding his sword and brushed my cheek lovingly, I thought.

“Girl or boy, Rani. I don’t know. You’re too pretty to be a boy. You always were. Good night. Sweet dreams.”

In the morning, buoyed by a false sense of security garnered from an uneventful night in the wilderness, I decided to bathe in the nearby brook before having a breakfast of oatmeal cookies and fruit juice.

Merlyn was almost apoplectic. “Dear child, the water is nearly freezing this time of day! What put this ludicrous idea in your head?”

“Cleanliness is next to godliness. Isn’t that from one of your history texts, Merlyn?”

“The things you retain from your studies are quite puzzling, Rani. Oh well, I’ll go with you. At the very least, I can shield you from any roving eyes. Come.”

Before the others awoke, carrying a bar of soap made from animal fat, wood ash, and fresh herbs and my riding outfit, Merlyn and I walked the short distance to a freshwater stream. Once stripped of my dressing gown, Merlyn stood directly in front of me as I stepped into the water until I was up to my shoulders. My teeth chattered as I shivered momentarily. I decided to bathe quickly.

“Come out before you freeze your pretty body, Rani.” She held out a thin blanket for me to wrap myself in to dry.

From the direction of the cave came the loud squeals and whimpers of our Rumperdons. Then we heard Vance shouting, “Hey, what’s the idea? Amos! Amos! Wake up! I need you out here!” As he was saying this, the sound of Rumperdon hooves click-clacking on the ground quickly grew distant. Merlyn and I ran toward the cave. Well, I ran and pulled Merlyn along behind me.

We came upon a frightening scene. The last of our Rumperdons was fading from view. A group of six or seven men in tattered clothing made of rough fabric were throwing rocks at it. Then they turned their attention to Vance and Amos, standing in front of the cave entrance.

“We want whatever valuables you have on you. We’ll round up your Rumperdons later. We can use them. We can do this nicely or…”

“You’ll have to get past my sword, you scumbags!” Vance warned.

Amos saw Merlyn and me running toward him. “Stay back, Your Highness! Stay back!”

As Vance brandished his sword and stepped forward, a scowl on his face, a good-sized rock, hurled by one of the bandits, struck him between the eyes. With a cry of pain, Vance crumpled to the ground. His body stopped moving. Picking up wooden clubs, the bandits emerged from the brush and rushed Amos.

Helpless, Merlyn and I watched as Amos fought bravely, but the numbers were overwhelming and blows from a barrage of clubs brought him to his knees.

Senselessly, I cried out. “Help! Help! Somebody!”

©2025 SammyC

I reached for the dagger I had secreted in the folds of my riding outfit as I rushed toward Amos, knocked down to the ground and surrounded by half a dozen angry, club-wielding men. Merlyn tried to restrain me but I broke free. I was perhaps 20 meters away when a whirring sound sliced through the dawn air. It was a spear, propelled in a perfect spiral. It struck the man whose club was poised above Amos’ head for the killing blow and pierced him through the middle of his back. He fell like timber to the ground just centimeters from Amos’ prone body. The other men turned around to hear a savage high-pitched war cry coming from a tall, leather-clad woman. A crossbow was aimed squarely at them.

“Leave now or I’ll send you all to your makers! Now, I said!”

Dropping their clubs, they ran off into the distance, never looking back even once. The woman, now joined by a dozen or so others, similarly clad in leather and carrying spears and crossbows, came toward me. Some of her companions checked on Amos, trying to revive him, as he moaned in obvious pain.

“Your bodyguard seems okay, although bloodied and bowed, my Lady. The other is beyond help. Sorry.”

“Thank you for coming to our rescue. I am…Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom.”

“I have heard tell of you, though I’ve never been to your kingdom. Our people and yours are not on very good terms. I am Senshi, chieftain of The Two Moons tribe.”

I passed her and ran to Amos, cradling him in my arms. The others moved a discreet distance away as I murmured incoherencies to Amos. I was so scared that he was in worse shape than he seemed. For his part, all Amos could do to reply was moan.

“My brother Malcolm tells me it looks like your guard has two broken arms.” Malcolm stood next to his sister some meters away, his eyes trained on me rather than Amos. He was around my age and seemed half as imposing as Senshi, whose gruff façade perfectly matched her station as chieftain of her tribe. “We can make splints for his arms from some small tree limbs. You’re two days ride from home. It’ll hold him until you get him some proper medical attention.”

“We’re not heading home. We’re on our way to the Western Kingdom. I’m afraid that’s at least another four days ride from here…”

“Western Kingdom? Why? Royal personages usually don’t accompany trading parties. There’s hundreds of clicks of wild and dangerous territory between coasts.”

Merlyn piped up, still breathing heavily after catching up with us, still carrying all my bathing paraphernalia.

“Princess Rani is on a mission to save this planet from destruction by The Dagger of Heaven!”

“And, what, madam, is The Dagger of Heaven?”

“It is a planet-killing object sent by The Gods to exterminate all human society. It is only mere weeks away from striking us. Look up in the sky! It’s coming!”

“Malcolm, have you heard of this Dagger of Heaven? Have you seen it through your telescope?”

“No, Senshi. But the kingdoms have more powerful scopes than I have. Perhaps she is telling the truth.”

“Rubbish. There are no Gods. And if there were, why in the world would they care to exterminate all of humanity? No, this smells of some sort of political subterfuge being played out between kingdoms. Perhaps we will yet witness a third world war. It’s been several generations since the last one.”

“Believe what you will but Princess Rani is traveling to the Western Kingdom to marry Prince Kelvin. Their wedding will appease The Gods and divert the Dagger from its deadly destination. However, without our Rumperdons, our mission is doomed. We can hardly walk our way across the continent…”

“We are on our way back home ourselves. And we are headed due west. Perhaps we can provide you an escort through these hinterlands. It’s a gauntlet of predatory animals and marauding bandits. You’ll want protection. My expeditionary party and I can provide that. Now, as for your Rumperdons, my men can round them up easily. I saw a pair of them straggling back here as we rode by.”

With a nod of her head, Senshi signaled to a pair of her retinue. They quickly leaped onto their Hobnobs, horse-sized giant lizards native to the center of the continent, and with a pull on their bridles, accompanied by low but compliant growls, rode away to herd the Rumperdons back to the cave.

“Meanwhile, we have some food we can share with you if you’re hungry. It’s just some dried meat and beer…”

Merlyn helped me bring Amos back into the cave where the rest of our party was shaking in their boots, so to speak. Senshi’s men busied themselves with several tasks. The pair that rounded up our Rumperdons returned within the half-hour. They seemed no worse for wear and settled down to quietly graze on the rough grass near the cave. Another pair from Senshi’s crew dug a grave and buried poor Vance. Merlyn chanted the appropriate funerary oaths and, with splints wrapped around both arms, Amos bowed his head in honor of his fallen comrade. I cried.

“I’m sorry, Rani. We did a bad job of protecting you. And now Vance is dead…”

I was hand-feeding Amos the dried meat that Senshi had given us. I poured some beer into an earthenware mug and raised it to his lips.

“It’s not your fault, Amos. Drink. It’s beer. You know, it’s the first time I’ve ever tasted beer. And it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I like wine much better. Thank The Gods Senshi and her troop came by in the nick of time. We’ll be able to reach the Western Kingdom just a day or two later than we planned. You and I will save the planet, Amos!”

“Ugghh, this is bitter. How can they drink this stuff? Do you trust this…this Senshi woman? I know she saved my life but I’m wary of her seemingly kind intentions.”

“She is rather brusque in her manner but she is, after all, a chieftain. They say my father, the King, can often be short and gruff with others. He’s just acting the way a monarch is supposed to. With his family, he’s sweet and kind. Always has been…”

“We have no choice but to allow these heathens to escort us,” Merlyn interjected as she grimaced after quaffing more beer. “This is awful but I am parched. I’ll keep my eye on this woman. As Rani knows, I can read people very well. One wrong word or gesture and I’ll know the jig is up—”

“What’s a jig, Merlyn?”

“An old colloquialism, my dear. Don’t bother your pretty head about it. Suffice it to say, she’s not going to pull the wool over my eyes—”

“What’s—”

“She won’t fool me so easily, Rani.”

We formed a caravan across the wilderness. My party rode on our Rumperdons. There was room enough on my Rumperdon to carry myself, Merlyn, and Amos, who was helpless without the use of both arms. For the most part, Amos rested, even slept, as it diminished the pain he felt. We gave him more of the bitter-tasting beer to sedate him. Senshi’s crew rode on Hobnobs. Unlike our Rumperdons that purred as they trod through the forest clearing, the Hobnobs made an incessant clamor with their growling and low grumbling.

During that first day, we passed through groves and forests with green hills in the distance. Thankfully, we were in the midst of the planet’s Autumnal season. My riding outfit was not too heavy and not too thin. Just right for the temperatures we encountered in this week of hard travel. After breaking for a mid-day meal (dried meat and beer, what else?), Senshi sidled up to our Rumperdon and matched strides with her Hobnob.

“Is everything alright, Princess Rani?”

“Yes, fine, thank you again for escorting us. You didn’t have to do this—”

“It’s in our direction home anyway. But you are certainly the most unusual and special person we’ve crossed paths with on our travels. It would certainly be impolite if not downright disrespectful for us to abandon you in the middle of nowhere. As a royal personage yourself, you know we are held to a higher standard of behavior.”

“You seem so young to be chieftain of your tribe, Senshi. May I ask how old you are?”

“Old enough to use this crossbow and spear with unerring accuracy. I will not be bested by any man or woman. I was trained by my parents to be the protector of my people from birth as their first-born heir. But to answer your question, I am 19 years old in the measure of our home world. My father died in battle two years ago. I avenged him by conquering the tribe that was responsible. They are now part of The Two Moons tribe.”

“As slaves?”

“No, they live a better life under our auspices than before. I’m certain they would all tell you so.”

“Do you go around expanding your empire by dint of crossbow and spear?”

“Princess, you are both young and naïve. This is the world in which we live. Those of us banished to live in the hinterlands by your ancestors, both in the Western and Eastern Kingdoms. Your Merlyn hasn’t taught you the history of humanity on this world?”

“I won’t debate you on the history of the planet. I am not a scholar. Nor I’m sure, are you. Whatever. So, tell me, are you wedded or betrothed? At 19, you are of age.”

“No. I am…unattached. And if I were to plight my troth, it would not be to a man. It would be to someone like you, my Lady. Someone of high social standing and wondrous beauty.”

“Oh…I see. And isn’t there someone like that in your tribe? Someone of standing and possessed of transcendent beauty?”

“Not anyone like you.” She pulled on her Hobnob’s bridle strap and galloped away on her steed, smiling when she turned back to nod at me.

Later in the day, Malcolm spent an hour or so just riding his Hobnob beside us. He stared at me for minutes at a time, not saying a word, just nodding his head now and again, a smile plastered on his face. Finally, I was moved to address him.

“Do you have something to ask or say, Malcolm?”

“Oh no, my Lady. Am I disturbing you?”

“No, but it’s disconcerting you just riding along, silently smiling while staring at me.”

“Sorry. I’m just stunned by your beauty. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen—”

“It’s the clothes. These colorful outfits can be very flattering. I’m sure there are girls your age that are prettier than I am at home.”

“Not likely, my Lady. I’m very envious of Prince Kelvin. He’s 9 years old, right? I doubt he can appreciate how lucky he is to have a bride as lovely as you…”

“I don’t know how lucky he’ll feel when he knows the truth about—”

“There’s a river ahead!” Amos had woken from his sleep and was pointing in the near distance. “We can’t cross that. Not with our Rumperdons. I doubt their Hobnobs can cross either.”

“We’re not crossing the river—” Malcolm stated.

Looking around, Amos became agitated. “What’s going on? This is not the usual route we take to the coast. I don’t remember a river of this size. A stream, a brook, yes but not an actual river…”

Senshi rode her Hobnob over to us and tried to calm Amos down. “There’s no reason for alarm, Amos. This is a route that’s quicker than your trade route. We know these lands better than you folks in the coastal kingdoms. And we’re going upriver to a spot where we can cross without touching water. We’re two hours ride away.”

Amos and I looked at Merlyn to get her reaction.

“Well, she does know these lands better. Any route that’ll get us to the Western Kingdom faster is fine with me.”

Two hours later, we came to the most beautiful natural scene I had ever known. At the head of the river, a thunderous but crystal-clear waterfall spanned the width of the river. This was a region of cliffs and rock outcroppings the height and size of the castles in our kingdom. Near the surface of the river, a spray of foaming water moved languorously downstream. I wanted to jump into the river and frolic in it. But I had never learned to swim so held back in awe at the majesty of the setting before my eyes.

“There’s a narrow but manageable path behind the waterfall. We’ll have to proceed in single file. And make sure the animals aren’t spooked. No need to move too quickly. Everyone dismount and stay behind one another,” prompted Senshi as she led her Hobnob toward the roaring waterfall.

She cautiously entered the passageway and beckoned us to follow. Malcolm and his Hobnob maneuvered themselves in front of Merlyn, Amos, and me as we led our Rumperdon along the narrow path. Our docile Rumperdons calmly moved as we lightly pulled on their reins. The Hobnobs were decidedly more disturbed by the noise and proximity of the waterfall. There was nearly an accident or two. But, in the end, we emerged on the other side of the river, all members of the caravan safe and sound.

Once again seated atop our Rumperdon, I glanced back at the waterfall and wondered if I would ever have the opportunity to see that magical sight again.

That night we made camp in a clearing in the woods. Senshi’s troop had erected lean-tos set on wooden posts and covered by stitched-together animal skins. There were two lean-tos for Senshi and her men. One lean-to for my party. Blankets made from some coarse fabric were laid on the ground. We used our own blankets to keep warm in the open air during the cooling night.

I was still wide wake while everyone else was sound asleep, thinking about what had already transpired on this journey to the west and what dangers lay ahead of us.

“My Lady, are you awake?”

“Malcolm? Is there something wrong?”

“No, but I had to speak to you about something. Something very important.”

“If it’s more compliments about my beauty, that can wait until tomorrow—”

“Listen. We’re not headed to the Western Kingdom—”

“But your sister said she knew a faster route—”

“My sister is a monster!” Malcolm covered his mouth and shook his head. “I can’t shout like that. It’ll wake up everyone.”

“Not likely. They all looked dead to the world after all the beer they drank.”

“Yes, I know. I planned it that way. I gave them almost half of our remaining supply of beer just so they’d be dead asleep.”

“Why and what about you? Didn’t they see you not drinking?”

“I pretended to drink. Spilled most of it behind me, out of sight. I wanted them asleep so we could leave without them taking notice.”

“Leave? What are you talking about?”

“My sister is not taking you to the Western Kingdom. She…she wants to barter you and your companions for goods from these people who live underground a day’s ride from here—”

“Barter? You’re scaring me, Malcolm!”

“We’ve done this before. That’s why we were on the road when we came across your party. These people who live underground want people that we abduct and they give us seeds, metal implements, and other goods in return.”

“What…what do these underground people do with your…victims?”

“I’m not sure. My sister knows, I think. She learned from our father. We’ve traded with these people for decades at least.” He lowered his voice and avoided my eyes. “They say they’re cannibals.”

I was in mid-shriek when Malcolm covered my mouth with his hand.

“Shhh! You’ll wake them up. Listen, we can gather up your Rumperdons and ride out of here before they’ll find out we’re gone. The stupid guy who was supposed to guard the animals drank more beer than anyone. Including my sister. She’s snoring up a storm right now. Come on. Roust everyone up and let’s go!”

The End of Chapter Three

©2025 SammyC

Under cover of darkness, while Senshi’s squad luxuriated in the oblivion of inebriation, Malcolm led us some 200 kilometers away. In what direction, only he knew. For my part, I was just glad to escape the clutches of that evil woman. By the time the sun rose in the sky, Malcolm halted the caravan by a shallow stream sequestered in the midst of gently rolling hills. The entire party scrambled down from our mounts to stretch our legs and break our fast with the biscuits we had brought with us and herbal tea we made from boiling some stream water. Malcolm led our Rumperdons and his Hobnob to the stream, where they lapped up water in quiet contentment.

I handed Malcolm a pair of biscuits and a cup of tea when he returned to the spot where our servants had laid down a couple of blankets. In the cool morning, under a cloudless sky, we resembled a party of revelers having a picnic in the wild. But that was far from the truth. We were running for our lives, half a day of riding at most from our pursuers, who were sorely disappointed that we had rejected their hospitality.

“We’ll rest here for two or three hours. Maybe four. The animals have been ridden hard all night—”

“Don’t we risk your sister and her men catching up to us?” asked Merlyn.

“By the time we leave here, they’ll still be a 100 or more clicks away. And our tracks might be hard to find since I made it a point to avoid a route well-traveled and familiar to them—”

Amos gestured to the servant holding the cup of tea to his lips to move it away. “None of the surroundings look familiar to me and I’ve made the journey west several times in the last two years. Now in broad daylight, I can only think we’ve traveled due north. You said that you knew a quicker route to the coast.”

“Amos, Malcolm knows these lands better than any of us, your occasional trips to the west notwithstanding.” I turned to our savior with a thankful smile. “I’m sure he’ll get us to our destination in a timely manner. We owe you our very lives, Malcolm.”

“I would not be human if I didn’t try to help you escape. The thought of my sister placing you in the hands of cannibals is beyond the pale. And, although I’ll have to take your word for it, I couldn’t have you miss your wedding to Prince Kelvin and anger The Gods. You probably think my tribe and people outside of the two kingdoms are uncivilized brutes but, I for one, have always strived to gain spiritual knowledge. Perhaps you could tell me about these Gods you speak of—”

“You’re better off talking to Merlyn. She’s much more conversant with religious matters than I. And she’ll talk your head off if you let her.” I giggled, forgetting myself for a moment, before covering my mouth and regaining a sober demeanor.

“I’d like to ride on your Hobnob, Malcolm. I’ve never had the pleasure. Anyway, the carriage on top of our Rumperdon is stiflingly crowded with all three of us seated in it.” Merlyn looked across at me and Amos. “Your saddle surely has enough room for me, a skinny old woman. I can hang on to your waist for safety. And I can tell you the fundamentals of our religious beliefs and the nature of The Gods as well.”

“Well…I…” Malcolm gave us a beseeching look.

Amos tapped him on the arm with his splint and laughed.

“Boy, you walked right into that one.”

Shortly before mid-day, we resumed our trek through the interior of the continent, still moving due north, as Amos had observed. Although he was still troubled by this, Amos was in no shape to vigorously object. The pain in his two broken arms and his feeling of general helplessness made him sleepy for most of the day’s travel. Now and again, he would lean into me, his snoring sounding more like that of a manchild than a weathered, aged warrior. I let his head nestle into my shoulder and found it hard to refrain from brushing the backs of my fingers across his cheek. I looked around to see if any of our party was watching us. No one glanced our way. On his Hobnob, Malcolm kept his eyes forward while Merlyn seemed to be talking a kilometer a minute, gesturing with her free hand while snaking her other arm around Malcolm’s waist. I should be scandalized for her. After all, the boy was perhaps a quarter of her age! But, then again, who am I to speak? I’m a boy dressed in feminine clothing, on my way to becoming the bride of a boy half my age. The Gods are crazy!

As we headed farther north, the landscape changed dramatically. The rolling hills and vast green pastures that we had traveled through before escaping from Senshi’s attempted abduction was now a vista of mountains and canyons. Between clearings, you had to crane your head to see the parts of the sky that weren’t obscured by craggy mountainsides and the tops of giant trees. High up in the clear blue sky, large birds unlike those I knew from the Eastern Kingdom flew with wide wingspans.

We stopped for an afternoon break by a rivulet in the shade of a line of those giant trees. More biscuits, dried meat and herbal tea. The animals seemed to be in good spirits as they lapped at the bubbling brook. Was it my imagination but were they having quiet conversations amongst themselves? Rumperdons don’t growl like Hobnobs. Merlyn tells me they purr like the feline creatures that humans kept as pets on our home world.

“So, Merlyn, has Malcolm proposed to you yet?” Amos almost choked on his tea as he laughed at the thought.

“Amos, don’t tease Merlyn. I think Malcolm has reawakened her long dormant maternal instincts.” I tried to present a serious expression on my face.

Merlyn blushed and then frowned at us. “You two are such mean children! You need a good spanking!”

“I’m sure Malcolm would enjoy that…from you.” Amos struggled to cradle his teacup between his splints and bring the brim to his lips. I reached across and took a hold of the cup, allowing him to lower his head to drink.

“Enjoy what? From who?” Malcolm sat down in a cross-legged pose. “Crisscross applesauce.”

“What did you say?” Amos sputtered tea as he asked.

“Oh, that’s an ancient colloquialism from our home world.” Merlyn handed Malcolm a biscuit with a slice of dried meat. “They taught it to pre-school age children. They say it every time they’re asked to sit down in a cross-legged position. Children make everything into a game—”

“And I thought it was something our tribe invented generations ago.”

“Child is father to the man,” Merlyn said with a sage shake of her head.

I was about to explain our teasing of Merlyn just before Malcolm returned from seeing to the animals when the sound of Hobnobs trotting toward our location grew louder and more distinct. I stood up foolishly to see who or what was approaching us. Suddenly, Malcolm pulled me down out of sight.

“Stay down. Everyone! Let me go and see what they want.”

Amos spit out an epithet, his useless arms encased in wooden splints. He moved to shield me. In doing so, my head was buried in his sturdy, taut chest. I felt embarrassed but safe at the same time. Malcolm leaped onto his Hobnob and rode out to meet the intruders.

The riders emerged into the clearing about 50 meters in the distance. They stopped when Malcolm approached, waving his arm. It was a group of men, nearly naked except for what looked like ragged, cut-off breeches. Their chests and arms were replete with tattoos. Their faces smeared with war paint. Their heads were shaved. Malcolm dismounted and said something to the man in the lead Hobnob. After Malcolm spoke, the man also dismounted and came forward until there was about a meter between them. Then, surprisingly, he fell to one knee and bowed his head to Malcolm. Malcolm gestured for him to stand up and, pointing in our direction, said some more words that the man nodded excitedly to. He mounted his Hobnob, saluted Malcolm by extending his right arm straight out in front of him, pulled the reins on his Hobnob, turning it around, and rode away, the other riders following close behind.

We waited with breathless anticipation to hear Malcolm’s explanation of the whole incident as he rode back to our campsite.

With only three hours of daylight remaining, Malcolm directed us to mount up and move out. He knew of a safe and secure place to stay overnight we could reach before sundown. As our caravan wound its way through canyons and ravines, I exhorted Malcolm to explain the confrontation he had with those painted warriors on Hobnobs.

“It’s nothing. They’re a local tribe that we’ve traded with often. They recognized me. We exchanged greetings and they went on their way. They were just curious about a group of strangers in their territory, that’s all.”

Amos interjected, “But the lead man bowed to you. That’s more than simply a friendly greeting—”

“Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. Senshi annexed this tribe two summers ago. They have pledged their fealty to The Two Moons Tribe as a gesture of appeasement to us.”

My doubts about the “good intentions” of both Senshi and her brother rose in my mind again. “Are they truly part of your tribe now or actually slaves who you exercise dominion over? Don’t tell me they live better lives under your auspices.”

“You don’t know the ways of the world, my Lady. You’ve been sheltered from life’s realities. For those who don’t have the luxury of living in a royal palace, life is nasty, brutish, and short.”

“Thomas Hobbes!” Merlyn exclaimed.

“Who?” Amos and I asked in unison.

“A 17th Century English philosopher. He wrote that.”

“Really?” Malcolm gave his Hobnob a firm kick to make it move past our Rumperdon. “I thought I came up with that myself.”

Merlyn held tight to Malcolm’s waist as the Hobnob started to gallop, putting some distance between us.

“I have a really bad feeling about this, Rani,” Amos sighed. “I could handle him easily if I had the use of my arms.”

“What do you propose we do, Amos? We’re probably five hundred kilometers off course. We need him to guide us across the continent.”

“No, we don’t. We can head due south and re-connect with the trade route we were supposed to follow in the first place. But there’s no way four women and an old manservant can disarm him. I’ve failed you, Rani.”

I patted the folds of my riding jacket. “You forgot I still have my dagger. If I can get close enough to him…”

“It’s too risky. He’s a grown man. The same age as me. I wouldn’t doubt he could overpower you pretty easily.”

“Why? Just because I’m younger and smaller? I’m wiry strong—”

“No. Because you’re a girl.”

“I’ll have the element of surprise on my side, Amos.”

“No means no, Rani. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”

“Soldier’s pride and duty?”

“I love you, Rani.” He turned away. I wanted to say something but I decided to leave the moment alone.

The safe and secure place Malcolm brought us to was a stone edifice that looked to have been in ruin for centuries if not millennia. Rough-hewn blocks of stone were piled on top of one another, remarkably neatly for the level of technology it belied. After tethering the animals and allowing them to graze on the tall grass nearby, we lit a number of torches and proceeded to inspect the interior of the building.

The large rooms were bare of furnishings, although I suppose most things would’ve disintegrated through the ravages of time. It was eerily empty and silent in there. Luna, Merlyn’s assistant, carrying our blankets, shivered and gave out a small cry.

“What is it, Luna?” I asked.

“My Lady, I’ve heard of this place. My father saw it when he was on one of the Royal Geographer’s survey expeditions, several years ago. They think it’s thousands of years old. The ruins of a race of beings native to this planet. My father told me he felt the presence of these long-dead beings in this place and it scared him within a centimeter of his life.”

“Nonsense!” exclaimed Malcolm. “I see now how superstitious you people are. And you have the audacity to call us heathens.” He shook his head. “Let’s have supper and turn in for the night. We’ll leave at first light in the morning.”

I was looking up at the stars that filled the night sky. Wherever we really were, the sky looked the same as the sky back home. Merlyn had taught me to identify the major constellations. In fact, she claimed that our home world revolved around a star in a specific constellation that the original landing party had named Aphrodite, not because of its shape but its beauty. Beauty because it contained our home solar system. Home sweet home. I often teased Merlyn that she knew the name of the constellation our original solar system was a part of but that the name of our home world itself had been lost to the centuries on this new world.

“My Lady? It’s good you haven’t retired yet. I need to tell you some important things.” He moved closer behind me. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

“What important things?”

“Tomorrow we will reach our destination.”

“Tomorrow? But aren’t we days away from the Western Kingdom?”

“Yes, from the Western Kingdom. But that’s not where I’m taking you.”

I shivered as he placed his hand on my shoulder, gently but intently rubbing. “Wh..where are we going?”

“To the underground people. The ones we barter with. We hand over unfortunate travelers to them and they give us foodstuffs and goods that we can’t produce ourselves, like metal tools and such.”

“But…you said they might be cannibals—”

“I’m not sure. It’s only a rumor. Senshi pretends not to know. I think she knows. But you needn’t worry.”

“What?”

“I’m not handing you over to them. You see, Senshi would’ve handed you over straightaway. She would never let me have you. So I’m doing this myself so I can keep you for myself. The others will be enough to trade.”

“I won’t go with you! Never!”

“I’m saving you from a miserable marriage to a nine-year-old boy! We can be very happy together. And Senshi won’t be chieftain much longer. It is my birthright not hers to lead our tribe. You won’t have to wait too long to be the highest-ranking woman in The Two Moons Tribe.”

“I don’t want to be the highest-ranking woman in your tribe or your bride. You’re insane. You need to leave us. Go back to your nasty, brutish, short life and leave us alone. We can manage to reach the Western Kingdom ourselves. Amos knows the way.”

“Amos? Don’t make me laugh. A man without the use of his arms is of no use at all. Anyway, I won’t take no for an answer from you. You really have no choice, my Lady.”

I was still facing away from him when I felt for the dagger secreted in my jacket. I found it, tightened my grip on the hilt, and, steeling my nerve, turned around to stare into Malcolm’s eyes as my hand moved as quickly as it could.

©2025 SammyC

I turned in the blink of an eye and thrust my dagger toward Malcolm’s abdomen. But he surprised me with his lightning response. He blocked my thrust and, in the same motion, knocked the dagger out of my hand. It fell to the ground, a useless blade of meteoric iron with a pretty, bejeweled hilt. I tried to pick it up off the ground to try again but my hand hurt too much and he had already grabbed me by the waist, pulling me to him. I wasn’t sure he wanted to crush my slim torso or hug me tightly and kiss me. He had a mad expression on his face and burning eyes.

Suddenly, from behind, Amos extended his twin splints and struck Malcom on both sides of his head, dazing him momentarily. Before Amos could strike again, Malcolm blindly rushed him and knocked Amos to the ground. With a warrior-like growl, he menacingly approached Amos, who was just now trying to stand up.

“Don’t move, Malcolm!”

It was Merlyn gripping Malcolm’s crossbow in her hands, aiming it directly between his eyes. Her hands were firm, her right eye unflinchingly sighting her target, and her voice resolute.

“I wouldn’t try it, Malcolm. I’m a deadeye.”

Malcolm stepped back and held his hands up in surrender. I picked up my dagger and stood with Amos as we held him at bay.

“As a warrior, you should know better than to leave your weapons behind, unattended. There are others who can work a crossbow, boy. Even a garrulous old lady.” Merlyn smiled.

“What do you want to do with me?” asked Malcolm, his voice betraying the slightest hint of terror. His eyes grew large as Merlyn continued to aim the crossbow between his eyes.

“Luna! Come here, girl! Get the rope from the saddlebag on Malcolm’s Hobnob. Yes, I took a look at what you carried on your Hobnob.”

The girl ran off in the direction of where the animals were lashed to a row of trees. A quick minute later, she returned with the coil of rope in her hands.

“Help Princess Rani tie Malcolm’s hands together. Make sure it’s tightly tied. March him over to the corner over there. Rani, use your dagger to cut off some of the rope and tie his feet together.”

“Are you just going to leave me here?” Malcolm was discovering I knew how to make a good, strong knot as his struggles to set himself free were in vain.

“Use the crossbow, Merlyn,” urged Amos. “He was going to feed us to those cannibals.”

“And I thought I could trust you.” I gave Malcolm a baleful stare.

“I knew it was strange for any outlander to rescue us back at the cave. No love lost between us and everyone who we banished generations ago, I’m afraid.” Using his splints like giant forceps, Amos raised Malcolm to his feet, facing Merlyn’s crossbow. “Stand like a soldier and meet your makers. Go ahead, Merlyn.”

I rushed to Merlyn’s side. “No, Merlyn. He’s no threat to us now. Just let his sister deal with him when they get here. We’ll be far away from here by then.”

“Now you want to let him live? Just minutes ago, you were trying to skewer him like a fish with your pretty little dagger, “ complained Amos. “Rani, he was going to trade us to a bunch of cannibals for some farm implements.”

“Well, he did say he wasn’t going to trade me. Just all of you…” I shrunk back at my own hubris. I was starting to allow flattery to cloud my thinking. Was I really starting to believe I was a beautiful princess? I turned to Malcolm. “Sorry, Malcolm. Amos is right. It was treachery of the lowest kind. Even if you did it for love—”

“Stop your nonsense, Rani.” Merlyn put the crossbow down. “Leaving him here for his sister to arrive would be just punishment for this manchild. I assume she’ll deal with him in a crueler fashion. And very slowly too.”

“No! Please don’t leave me here!” Malcolm somehow managed to fall to his knees and raise his tied hands in supplication. “Let me guide you to the Western Kingdom. You can have me thrown in a dungeon in chains. It’ll be better than what my sister will do to me. I promise you I’m not trying to deceive you now. You have my weapons. You can keep my hands tied. Just untie my feet. You can use my Hobnob. I’ll walk all the way if you wish. Have mercy! Rani? Please. I really do think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen—”

“Stop groveling, Malcom,” Amos barked. “Merlyn, let’s get this over with. We can head out again in an hour or two.” Turning to Malcolm, he taunted him. “Your sister can collect your body when she gets here by morning.”

“Amos,” I pleaded. “He can be useful to us. He knows the way to the coast better than you or any of us. He’s right. Without his weapons and his hands tied, how can he be a threat to us? And where can he go now? Senshi won’t certainly welcome him back home. I sense she’s pure evil. And bloodthirsty too—”

“You’re falling for him, aren’t you, Rani?” Amos asked in exasperation. “Maybe he’ll think differently of you when I tell him—”

“Children, children! Hush! I’ve made a decision.” Merlyn stepped close to the kneeling figure of Malcolm and looked down on him. “We find ourselves kilometers away from the trade routes we were supposed to follow. Even you Amos aren’t sure of where we really are. This creature can be helpful to us, disarmed and shackled as he is. I’m certain he fears his sister’s wrath more than he fears my arrow at this moment. Alright, Malcolm, your death sentence is provisionally suspended. However, remember. Any further tricks and I will show you how much of a deadeye I am.”

Amos spit on the ground and turned away. “I’ll take ownership of his broadsword just in case your first arrow misses.”

We rode through the night once again, with Malcolm leading the way on his Hobnob. Against Amos’ objections, Merlyn and I decided to allow Malcolm to ride his Hobnob. Even with his hands tied, he could manage the reins of his steed well enough. For good measure, Merlyn continued to sit behind him on the saddle, the crossbow slung over her right shoulder. She lectured him on moral philosophy and religion all the while. Under the light of our planet’s two moons, we could see Merlyn’s animated gestures accompanied by Malcolm’s occasional nods. I laughed at the sight and turned to Amos, sitting with me atop our Rumperdon, but he wasn’t laughing. Instead, he had a look of concern on his face.

“What is it, Amos?”

“I still feel we’re headed in the wrong direction. North instead of west. I can’t help but think we’ve doubled back instead of going forward. We’re still in Malcolm’s hands. And I’m not comfortable with that. I don’t know why you trust him. Of course, he’s never called me the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen—”

“What’s our alternative, Amos? We’ve got Senshi hot on our tail on one side and a wedding date to save the world on the other. If Malcolm can get us there before Senshi catches up to us and feeds us to cannibals—”

The first rays of the morning sun emerged from behind the hills. In front of our caravan, Merlyn raised her crossbow above her head to signal us to stop. She shouted to us that we would camp here, a nearby stream providing the water we would need for a multitude of uses.

The members of our party set about their different tasks. Luna and Daisy, my lady’s maid, fetched water from the stream to boil over the fire Merlyn and Amos had started. Our manservant, Edward, took the animals to a patch of grass for them to graze. They would drink from the stream.

Merlyn came over to the fire to check on the progress Luna and I were making on boiling the water for our herbal tea.

“Almost done, Merlyn. Who’s keeping an eye on Malcolm?”

“Amos. He’s got that broadsword in both hands, pointed at Malcolm. Really, I don’t think he’s going to try to escape, Rani.”

“Yes, I agree. He’s more interested in escaping his sister’s clutches.”

“Oh, that’s not the only reason. He’s smitten with you, Rani. I believe he’d follow you till the end of time.”

“Well, if we don’t get to the Western Kingdom before the Dagger of Heaven strikes, it’ll truly be the end of time…for all of us.”

Merlyn stood up and looked down at me as I dropped the herbs and spices into the pot of water.

“I’m sorry we had to do this to you, Rani. But it’s the only way. Perhaps we can look into a proper annulment after the Dagger is averted.” She started to walk away and stopped. Turning around, she mused, “That is, if you find being called the most beautiful girl anyone’s ever seen too troublesome.” She turned to walk away again.

“Oh, Merlyn. I meant to ask you last night.”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know you could shoot a crossbow.”

“I can’t. Who said I could?”

It was almost mid-day when I opened my eyes. Shielding them from the glare of the sun high up in the cloudless azure sky, I looked around to see everyone in our party staring at me.

“I fell asleep?”

Merlyn kneeled at my side. “Yes, child. You seemed so tired that we thought it best to let you rest for as long as necessary. I hope your little nap has refreshed you. Malcolm says we need to get on the road. He’s sure that his sister and her men started up again at dawn.”

“I’m sorry I’ve delayed everyone—”

“Take my arm…my splint, that is, my Lady,” Amos said, offering his extended left arm. I stood up with his help.

“I must look a royal mess,” I laughed. Daisy rushed to my side holding a hairbrush, ready to untangle my unruly tresses. As she brushed away, I turned to Amos. “Which way are we headed today?”

Amos harrumphed. “Ask Malcolm. He’s got some detour in mind. He swears it’s to pick up some assistance. Of what kind he won’t say. Just remember you’ve got a crossbow and a broadsword pointed at you at all times. No tricks.”

“You’ll see when we get there, Amos. I’m sure you’ll be happy for the ‘assistance’.”

Merlyn waved her crossbow in the air. She ought to be more careful with that thing. I think she really believes she knows how to shoot it.

“Westward ho! Let’s mount up!”

“I won’t even ask, Merlyn.” Daisy finally let go of my head and I unconsciously patted my hair. Malcolm was staring at me. Amos was staring at him. I walked past Amos and tossed my head, hoping my curls wouldn’t slap me in the face.

An hour of hard riding took us to a green valley surrounded on all sides by rolling hills. We looked down into this expanse of green and saw a circular enclosure protected by a 4-meter-high wall of rough, uncut blocks of stone. From our vantage point on nearby hillside, we could see that the interior of the enclosure contained dozens of large circular mud huts with conical, thatched roofs. In the center was a longhouse the size of ten huts. There were people milling around. Amos guessed there were at least 200 people living inside the enclosure.

“309 to be exact,” Malcolm interjected. “This is the tribe we met up with before we arrived at the stone house the other night.”

“The ones you ‘annexed’, right?” Amos sneered.

“My sister did that. Not me.”

“Why bring us here?” I asked.

“My sister is a very good tracker and she drives her men and herself extremely hard. I’m sure they’ve made up several hours on us. She’ll get desperate and ride all day and night if she has to. That’s why we’ll need some help. And these people will gladly offer it us. Or me, to be correct.”

“I sense you’ve made some sort of side deal with this tribe,” Merlyn declared.

“You’re right. As you’ve probably guessed already, I’ve been plotting to dethrone my sister, almost from the day she replaced my father as chieftain. This tribe sees me as their liberator. Once I’ve become chieftain, I’ll grant them independence—”

“That’s what you say,” Amos sneered.

“You don’t trust me, do you, Amos?”

“And I don’t particularly like you either. If my arms weren’t broken, I’d throttle you within a centimeter of your worthless life.”

“Children, children!,” remonstrated Merlyn. “What Malcolm says makes sense. We could use a few extra hands as it were. Poor Vance was our senior guard after all. And the petty squabbles of these outlanders shouldn’t concern us…”

“Petty squabbles? Madam, you’re talking about our very lives. They may be petty to you—”

I interrupted the petty squabble among the three of them. “If Senshi is truly gaining on us then let us not tarry.” I snapped the reins of my Rumperdon and the animal started to gingerly move down the slope of the hill onto the valley below. The others followed. I had just made a royal decree.

We stopped about 100 meters from the gates of the wall and Malcolm turned to us.

“Before we go in, I think it’d be advisable for you to untie my hands. They’ll be alarmed if they think if I’m your prisoner.”

“Well, you still are,” Amos spat out.

“Untie his hands, Luna. Use Rani’s dagger,” instructed Merlyn. Luna took my dagger and sawed away at the rope wrapped around Malcolm’s wrists.

“And if you’ll hand me my broadsword, I might just resemble their liberator instead of the prisoner of a quartet of gentlewomen and a man with two broken arms.”

“No, we can’t do that! Merlyn!,” Amos exclaimed.

“Give him his sword back, Amos. In for a penny, in for a pound,” Merlyn urged.

With his sword held high before him, Malcolm led his Hobnob up to the gate.

“Ho! I am Malcolm of the Two Moons Tribe! I ask for admittance!”

Amos turned to us. In an urgent tone, he told us to “get ready to turn around and whip these animals as fast as they can run.”

The tall gates of the enclosure slowly swung open.

©2025 SammyC

“Oh my Lady, Princess! You’re a boy!” Daisy, my novice lady-in-waiting, exclaimed as Merlyn and Luna helped me undress and lead me into the burbling stream, naked as the day I came into the world.

“Keep your voice down, Daisy,” rebuked Merlyn as she and Luna stood in such a way as to block most viewing angles from beyond the shore. “Here, be of use, child. Hold Princess Rani’s riding outfit. I knew it was a fool’s errand when your father badgered me to appoint you as Rani’s lady-in-waiting for this journey. And stand over there. Yes. There. Any peeping Toms would crouch behind those trees—”

“Toms? Did we meet anyone named Tom in the long house, Merlyn?”

“It’s a figure of speech from our home world, Daisy,” Luna explained as she handed the bar of soap made from tallow and ashes to me.

While the three of them were nattering on, I began to lather my hair with the foul-smelling soap the tribal women had given us. And I closed my eyes, not only to avoid irritating them but to call up images of what had happened to us after the tall gates of the enclosure opened to let our party inside, led by Malcolm, riding ramrod straight in his saddle on his Hobnob, as if he were our escort, not our prisoner.

Dozens of men, women and children watched us as we made our way to the long house in the center of the enclosure. Contrary to what I expected, they seemed healthy, hale and hearty. Wearing simple but colorful clothes made from a combination of woven fabric and leather, they followed our caravan of Rumperdons all the way to the entrance of the long house. The men saluted Malcolm as he passed. The women eyed me with awe and rapt curiosity. Perhaps they’d never seen a teenage boy disguised as a female royal. The children were more fascinated with our Rumperdons. A few even escaped from their mother’s grasp to try to pet them. Did I tell you that Rumperdons are very patient and affectionate with human children?

Finally, Malcolm signaled to us to dismount. Without a word, some men took the reins of our animals and walked them to some location behind the long house. A tall dark-skinned man appeared in the doorway of the long house. He was bare to the waist as were all the men in the tribe we’ve seen, with elaborate tattoos covering almost every inch of skin. I estimated he was middle-aged, perhaps 45 or 50 years old.

“Welcome, Malcolm! Horace told me to expect you yesterday but never mind, you’re here now. Come! Please enter our humble house. The tribal council has already convened awaiting your arrival. You can introduce your guests to everyone.” He waved his hand toward the doorway and bowed his head.

The man, who was named Langston, introduced himself to us as the Governor of his tribe, as a young woman in a floor length sheath dress of what looked like silk dyed blush pink ushered us into seats at a long table. Seated at the head of the table were Langston and four other tribal council persons, two men and two women.

“Please tell us who your eminent travelling companions are and what you need from us, Malcolm.”

Malcolm stood up and faced the council members. He spoke in an authoritative voice I had never heard from him. No one would guess that he was barely a year older than me.

“Friends, comrades. My plans have…ahem…changed since we last spoke. They’ve changed because of my chance meeting with this lovely young woman, Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom.”

Heads turned and surprised gasps filled the room. I became very self-conscious and sank down in my seat, only to have Merlyn raise me back up by my shoulders. “Smile, my Lady,” she whispered. Clumsily I did and quickly waved to the curious council persons.

“On another of my sister’s nefarious patrols of the trade routes, looking for victims to abduct and sell to the underground people in exchange for various goods, they came upon the Princess’ traveling party and captured them. Fortunately, after learning of her high social standing and the importance of her mission to the Western Kingdom, I singlehandedly rescued them from my sister’s evil clutches—”

Amos coughed loudly, interrupting Malcolm’s narrative.

“And I am escorting them to the Western Kingdom so that the Princess can accomplish her mission—”

“What is this mission that requires her to cross the dangerous interior of the continent?” asked Langston.

“She is to wed Prince Kelvin in a royal ceremony that will appease the Gods and stop the Dagger of Heaven from striking our world and ending all life as we know it,” Merlyn announced breathlessly, with a tone evincing the magnitude of the mission and my role in it.

“The Gods? A Dagger of Heaven? These are strange words to us who live outside the two kingdoms. And this Dagger. Is this true, Malcolm?”

“I’m a warrior, Langston, not a wizard of science like Merlyn here. I wouldn’t doubt her knowledge though. For my part, I have made a solemn promise to the Princess to see that she safely reaches the Western Kingdom. I have given her my word and my word, as you know, is bond.”

Amos coughed again. Merlyn must have kicked him under the table because he let out a yelp right afterwards.

“What is it that you need from us, Malcolm?” one of the council women asked.

“My sister is at least a day’s ride behind us but her hobnobs can outrun the Princess’ Rumperdons on flat ground not to mention the rough terrain from here to the coast. On the outside chance they do catch up to us, we’ll need reinforcements to hold them off. Four of your best archers would be perfect.”

Langston stood up from the head of the table, pounded it with his fist, and almost shouted out, “It is done! You will have the best archer from each of our four clans. Do you need to leave now or can we entice you and your company to dine with us tonight? We have prepared quite a feast in anticipation of your visit, Malcolm. We have enough for six more guests…”

“I’m not about to decline your kind invitation, Langston. And my friends and I have had our fill of dried meats, stale beer, tepid tea, and hard-to-chew biscuits since leaving our homes. Of course, we’d be delighted to partake of your feast. Thank you.”

Amos almost bumped heads with Malcolm as he shouted at him. “That’ll give your sister time to catch up to us! Are you insane?”

“Insane? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Listen, Amos, I know what I’m doing. I know my sister’s habits very well. She won’t tax her men or her animals by running them all day and all night. If we depart here after the feast, we’ll be on the road while my sister is camped down overnight. We’ll make up the full day’s lead…”

The young woman who had ushered us to our seats led us to rooms at the far end of the long house, where we could rest until the feast tonight. Amos pulled me and Merlyn aside.

With a stricken look on his face, Amos implored, “Don’t trust him, Rani! From what I see, he’s turned the tables on us. We’re effectively his prisoners now.”

"We have no choice but to trust him, children,” Merlyn whispered. She took my arm to catch up with the rest of the group. “At least we’ll have a decent meal in our bellies if the shit hits the fan.”

I shrugged my shoulders as Amos shook his head. Must be another old home world colloquialism.

Our young escort stopped Merlyn and me just before we crossed the threshold of the room assigned to us.

“My Lady, would you wish to bathe before the feast tonight? I can tell you’ve not had the chance to freshen up after several hard days on the road. You would probably also be more comfortable in one of our finer dresses than that riding outfit you’re wearing. There’s a stream not far from here where you can bathe in total privacy—”

“She must be free from prying eyes, young lady. She is a royal personage and as such must be treated with the utmost respect. Not to be ogled by curious onlookers,” Merlyn insisted.

“Of course. My sisters will take you down to the stream and leave you to bathe in solitude and peace. With your attendants, of course.”

“Merlyn is not my attendant. She’s our Royal Wizard.”

“Excuse me, I did not know.” She turned back toward the center of the long house where two younger women were approaching us, carrying linen towels, bars of tallow and ash soap, and the aforementioned sheath dress. “Girls, please take our guests down to the stream and make sure there are no onlookers before you leave them.”

There were two dozen members of the tribe seated for the feast that night. Each of the four clans had sent their highest ranked people. At the head of the room was Langston and seated to his immediate right was the guest of honor, Malcolm. Refreshed by my bath, my hair still slightly wet but clean, I admit I salivated at the thought of a decent meal and watched as large bowls of a stew-like dish were placed on the three long tables in the middle of the room.

“What is in the bowls they’ve just brought out,” I asked our young escort, whose name was Shanna and turned out to be Langston’s eldest daughter.

“It is our tribal favorite. A stew made from vegetables that we grow in the valley and a game bird native to this region. We call them Blinkbirds because they have a disarming trait of blinking their eyes rapidly when first meeting your gaze. I’m afraid they haven’t had a natural predator in millennia, maybe ever. Even now, they’re easy to capture and raise. Have a taste.”

Merlyn and I ladled the stew onto a bed of cooked grain that stuck to your teeth in a pleasant manner. I was told it was a wild grass that resembled the sorghum known to our ancestors on the home world. They fermented the grass and used it to brew beer. I sneaked a draught of beer from Amos’ cup when Merlyn wasn’t looking. I didn’t like it.

“What is your opinion of the Blinkbird stew, Merlyn?” I could see from the somewhat glazed look in her eyes that she’d had more beer than stew at this point of the feast.

“To me…” She hiccupped. “To me, it tastes like chicken. Everything tastes like chicken.”

“But what does chicken taste like, Merlyn? You know we don’t have chickens on this planet.”

“How do I know? Never had it either. It’s just an old saying—”

“From our home world.” I turned to Amos, who was holding his cup between his two splints, waiting for a servant to pour him some more beer. “Amos, I need you to be alert. If you’re right about not trusting Malcolm, you’re our only hope to get away.”

He dropped his cup onto the table and turned to me, a sober expression on his face. “At your service, my Lady. You can count on me. I’m…I’m…” He nodded off and began to snore.

I had succeeded in rousing Amos from his sleep without resorting to slapping him hard with the flat of my hand. He needed to be awake to listen to Malcolm as he was addressing the room. After exchanging grandiose toasts with Langston, Malcolm had begun to share his conspiratorial plans with the tribe, a part of which, of course, involved me and my party.

“…by delivering Princess Rani safely to The Eastern Kingdom so she can marry Prince Kelvin…of course, it’s a sham wedding, as you must know. The boy is barely out of nappies! So they get hitched and the world is saved from the Dagger of Heaven, What follows is the more interesting part of the story. Both kingdoms would owe me a big favor for securing the continued existence of life on the planet.” He laughed and took a swig of beer before continuing.

“My requests? No, my demands would be that they provide me with a small army to return and unseat my sister from her undeserved position of power. It’s the least they could do after what I’ve done for them. Of course, my friends and comrades…” He raised his cup in a toast again. “I will not forget your loyalty to me and, once I am chieftain of The Two Moons Tribe, I will grant you independence. To allow you all to live in peace and security. I salute you!”

Cups were raised high all around the room with the glaring exception of our little party. Amos knocked his cup across the table with one of his splints. No one noticed as they raised their cups several times and cheered Malcolm.

As the cheers and toasting died down, Malcolm stared in my direction. His clear-eyed gaze demonstrated he knew how to hold his beer.

“And last but certainly not least. My ultimate demand is that the fair Princess, Lady Rani, be my bride. She is truly the only prize I desire for all my efforts. Saving the world, liberating both my own tribe and yours from the evil deeds of my sister, can only claim second place to winning the hand of the most beautiful woman in all the land.”

Cheers resounded and echoed in the room for several minutes. I sat stunned. Amos was beginning to stand up from the table, gripping his broadsword. Suddenly, a young man rushed into the room and whispered something into Langston’s ear. Looking alarmed, Langston stood up and addressed us.

“I have just been told that our lookout on the ramparts has spotted Senshi’s band approaching from the south. He estimates they are an hour away.”

As everyone in the room voiced their dread at the thought of Senshi’s marauding band arriving within the hour, Malcolm shouted above the din to calm us.

“It’s alright. I’ve planned for this. We can hide in the hills to the east of here. When Senshi demands to have you hand us over to her, you can honestly tell her we aren’t here. And you haven’t see me in weeks. She has no way of knowing you’re lying. And I know her. She won’t risk wasting time to scour the enclosure for us. She knows we’re a day’s ride ahead of her. And she’ll need to camp down tonight, losing even more precious time if she stops here for too long. Once the sun goes down, we can go on our merry way. We’ll be behind her while she thinks we’re ahead of her. While her group is asleep, we’ll be adding distance she won’t be able to make up.”

Langston signaled to some guards to take us to our animals. Once mounted up, we would head to the eastern hills. After saying our farewells to Langston and his tribal council, Malcolm led us out of the enclosure, a smirk on his face, laughing at his sister’s false steps.

“Do you think he really had this all thought out?” I asked Merlyn.

“I have a headache. Ohhhh. I hope that stupid Rumperdon doesn’t sway the basket from side to side. I might need to evacuate the stew we just ate from my stomach—”

Exasperated by Merlyn’s non-response, I turned to Amos, who was weaving about, listing to his left side slightly. I started to cry.

I felt Malcolm’s hand on my shoulder. He looked down at me with his warm brown eyes and patted my shoulder.

“Yes, I really had this all thought out.” He smiled. Not very reassuringly.

©2025 SammyC

---

“I’d love to wipe that smug smile off his impudent face!” Amos said loud enough for Malcolm to hear as he paced the rocky edge of the gorge we were hiding in. The gorge was nestled between two low-slung hills Langston’s people had escorted us to after we were warned of the impending arrival of Senshi’s band of highwaymen. We were waiting for word that Senshi and her men had departed, convinced by Langston that we had never made an appearance there.

“The little cuss is so sure of himself. How do we know he hasn’t walked us right into an ambush, whether through deliberate intent or sheer stupidity? Damn my broken arms! At least we have Merlyn’s dead eye with the crossbow to count on if we need to make a hasty escape…”

I leaned close to Amos, raised myself on my tippy-toes, and cupped my mouth as I whispered, “She was bluffing. She’s never shot a crossbow in her life. But Malcolm sure believes she has. I don’t think he’s trying to deceive us…”

Amos didn’t reply. Instead, he took me in his splinted arms and planted a quick kiss on my lips. I blushed crimson red and lowered my eyes. I held my breath momentarily as I tried to stifle a moan. This was embarrassing.

Letting go of my waist, Amos turned partly away from me, avoiding my eyes.

“I’m sorry…my…my Lady. That was disrespectful behavior on my part. It’s just that…damn it! You look so beautiful…as a girl.”

“Well, that’s because she is a girl. Your vision must be deficient for a soldier.” Malcolm laughed. “Didn’t Merlyn say that the two of you grew up together inside the palace walls? Strange, you should only now remark upon Princess Rani’s beauty.”

“She had a long tomboy phase,” Merlyn quickly explained. “Even I had to remind myself sometimes that she was really a girl, not a pretty little urchin who enjoyed playing boy games and eschewed dolls and hair ribbons.”

Malcolm hmphed. “My sister never left her tomboy phase behind. I wager she’d prefer being a man instead of a woman. As for Princess Rani, I’m sure she has no intentions of ever being anything other than what she is…a beautiful young woman of grace and virtue.”

“Here, here! Well said, Malcolm,” Merlyn declared. “Now to the matter at hand. It’s been nearly two hours since we've been hunkered down behind these hills. Shouldn’t we have gotten word that Senshi has left, satisfaction denied?”

The sound of Hobnob hooves scrabbling at the gravelly rocks leading into the gorge diverted our attention away from the uncomfortable discussion of my beauty, grace, and virtue, such as it is, of course.

“Speak of the devil,” Malcolm said with a smirk. It was Horace with three other riders. The four men Langston had promised us. Within ten meters of our group, Horace dismounted first and ran up to Malcolm. After thrusting his right arm in the air in salute, he excitedly made his announcement.

“Malcolm, my liege, Senshi and her band of men have left. Langston was able to convince her that you and your friends have not stopped by here, nor has he heard from you since the time you and your sister picked up our most recent harvest.”

“Good work, Horace. You and your men can stand guard at the entrance to the gorge for the present. We’ll be moving out later tonight.” Malcolm turned to us with a wide smile on his face.

“Am I right or am I right?” He held his hands out, palms up and open.

“You lucked out, friend. Now what’s our next step?” Amos spit on the ground.

“I don’t know about you, but I feel like taking a short nap. That was a rather filling meal we just had. And that beer has a definite kick. I suggest we all get some rest before we do anything else tonight.” Malcolm’s self-satisfaction made him look a little fatuous, I thought.

It didn’t sit well with Amos, and he protested. “You’re either the most infuriating trickster I’ve ever met or an incompetent boob! What kind of plan of action is that? We’re in the middle of nowhere. Are we even headed in the right direction to reach the Western Kingdom? The Princess is expected, according to my reckoning, three days from now. The fate of the world lies in the balance! And you want to take a nap?” Amos spat on the ground twice more for emphasis.

Malcolm was offended, but responded with what might be deceptive mildness. “Listen…my friend…I’ve sworn to deliver the Princess to the Western Kingdom safe and sound and on time to save the planet, despite the nauseating thought of her nuptials with that…that child. And I will be true to my word. Because my word is—”

“Your bond! Yes, yes, you’ve said that innumerable times. But how exactly are we going to accomplish this while you’re asleep?”

Malcolm turned his back to us and walked over to where he had spread a blanket on the ground. Yawning, he slowly seated himself on the blanket. He paused, an exasperated expression on his face, before continuing.

“My word is my bond. As you must realize, I know these lands fairly well, traveling here every two months for the last two years. Now, my sister wants to keep her band of merry men fresh and alert, so they will camp down for the night. She feels her Hobnobs can outpace your Rumperdons by a good margin, making up the time she might lose overnight. There’s a series of caves some ten kilometers from here that they’ll go to tonight. When they’ve settled in for the night, we’ll be riding by, unnoticed. We’ll be able to wave bye-bye to them as we go.” Malcolm laughed and yawned again. “Wake me up in two hours, please.”

There’s a ridge that runs for a dozen or more kilometers south of where Senshi headed to camp down for the night. Malcolm assured us that it was far enough from those caves that Senshi couldn’t spot us moving along on top of the ridge. Both Malcolm and Amos were woodswise enough to keep the crest of the ridge between us and where Senshi and her men were supposed to be.

Nights on our planet are not as black as they are on our home planet, so Merlyn tells me. Of course, she only knows that from her research in the few scattered, half-destroyed books that have survived the centuries. There are quartz data stones that supposedly hold entire libraries of knowledge still in existence, but we don’t have the power to run the machines that were used to read them.

Traveling at night isn’t that daunting. The sunlight that’s reflected by our two moons bathes the sky in a dim glow, especially from the much smaller of the moons. Its surface almost seems metallic; the sheen as the sunlight hits it is remarkable.

You could read by the moonlight…if only we had brought along my copy of Merlyn’s aphorisms. She illustrated it herself and gave it to me on my 13th birthday. Strangely, she said as she handed it to me, “Today, you have become a man.” I laughed at the memory. Loud enough for Malcolm to hear me.

He had been standing almost at the precipice of the ridge, peering through what he called a pair of binoculars. They looked like the toy I loved playing with as a child. I could turn the wheel on its side and see scenes from our home planet. I especially liked the pictures of children my age frolicking at what Merlyn tells me was an amusement park called Disneyland. They were seated in giant teacups and laughing, their faces full of joy and free of care.

“What are you laughing about, my Lady? Come, come over here. Let me show you something.” Malcolm’s warm smile and glistening eyes were an invitation I couldn’t refuse. I jumped down from my Rumperdon and rushed over to him. Amos awkwardly leaped down as well and followed me.

“These binoculars have a range of almost 10 kilometers. On a clear night like tonight, you can see all the way to the horizon. Here…” He took my hands and placed them on the binoculars, bringing the eyepieces up for me to look through. As he did so, he crooked his arm around me and nestled his head against mine, his lips inches away from my left ear.

“Senshi and her crew are in those caves. They’re fast asleep. Don’t worry they can’t see us with only our heads above the crest of the ridge. I’m the only one in our tribe who possesses a pair of binoculars.”

He was silent for a moment. “It was my father’s. Mother gave it to me after he died.” He raised his voice. “She gave it to me, not to Senshi! No, not to her. Never her!” He seemed to be addressing someone kilometers away in a cave. “You have stolen my birthright! I will avenge myself and our tribe!”

“What will your sister do to you if, heaven forbid, she catches up with us?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Boil me in oil, I suppose. Or just trade me along with you and your entourage to the underground people.” I shivered. “But that’s not going to happen. If there truly are Gods, they will see us through to the Western Kingdom. This is what you were born to do, just as I was born to lead my tribe.”

“I’m…I’m afraid.”

“I’ll tell you a secret. Don’t tell your friend Amos. I’m scared as well. But life is a scary proposition. Trust in me, Rani. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

I handed the binoculars back to Malcolm, who offered them immediately to Amos. “Here, look for yourself. I told you they’d be in the arms of Morpheus by the time we reached these caves.”

Taking the binoculars, Amos asked, “Who is Morpheus? And I hope his arms are in better shape than mine.”

“Just another saying I learned from riding with Merlyn. She’s quite a fount of knowledge, I’ve discovered.”

“No sarcasm, Malcolm.” Merlyn raised her crossbow and aimed it at him. “Remember, I’m a deadeye.”

“We’ll move on now. Everyone, mount up!” After Malcolm vaulted onto his saddle, he reached down his left arm to hoist Merlyn up. “Ooof! You’re heavier than you appear, madam.”

“It’s the crossbow, child!”

It was mid-morning of the next day when we stopped to rest and have a late breakfast, safe in our assumption that we were hours ahead of Senshi. We could afford to stop by this ravine with the shallow stream running through it, hidden from the open spaces beyond the hills to the east.

“You’re letting him blind you with his charming repartee and gallant façade,” Amos complained to the cup of tea in his hands. He avoided my eyes as he said it.

“Are you jealous?” To show him I was joking, I laughed. But it came out as a girly giggle.

“After all this is over, you know you will have to go back to being a boy, Rani. Be careful with Malcolm. He’s a savage. An outlander. He wouldn’t forgive you for tricking him—”

“I’m not. Have I returned his declarations of affection? Have I?”

“No but saving the world from the Dagger of Heaven is not his goal in life. He’s infatuated with you because he thinks you’re a beautiful girl—”

“Well, I admit I have my days…”

“It’s not a laughing matter, Rani. If he ever finds out what you really are—”

“Maybe he can tell me what I really am. I’m beginning to wonder myself.”

“You two have to keep your voices down,” Merlyn warned. “Even if Malcolm is out of hearing range, those four outlanders with him now have ears and speak the same language we all do.”

“I’m just trying to talk some sense into Rani. She doesn’t realize how dangerous this situation with Malcolm could be.” Amos spilled the rest of his tea onto the ground. “Damn it! If I had two good arms, I could shoot that crossbow or swing my sword—”

“No use crying over spilt milk, my child.”

Suddenly, we saw Horace running toward us, a look of alarm on his face. He had been standing watch on a high point about a hundred meters from where we were bivouacked. Malcolm had given him his binoculars to use.

“Horace, what’s the matter?” Malcolm had been skipping stones over the stream, singing some tribal tune that sounded like a love ballad. He was such a manchild, part awkward teenage boy, part grizzled warrior.

“Senshi! About five kilometers behind us, coming from the north!”

Malcolm turned and ran to his Hobnob to retrieve his broadsword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. “Men, have your weapons at the ready! We’ve got some action happening!”

On his Hobnob, Malcolm shouted to us, “My Lady, whip your Rumperdons to a frenzy. Move as fast as you can!”

“But which direction, Malcolm?” cried Amos as he hurried, almost dragging me to our Rumperdon.

“Straight down this ravine until you arrive at a clearing. Then due west. Follow the sun! Amos, my friend, if you truly care for Rani, then see that she gets to the Western Kingdom in time to save the world! I entrust her to you. Don’t let me down!”

“But what about you?” I shouted once I was in the basket on top of our Rumperdon.

“I’ll try to give you time to get away clean. My boys and I will meet up with you in a few hours, the Gods willing. Just go! Now!”

I turned to Amos. “What’s he trying to do?”

“If it were me, I’d find a position high up in a hill or a ridge and try to pick off Senshi’s men as they rode by. At the very least, it should delay them in chasing us down.”

“But Senshi has a dozen men with crossbows riding with her. Malcolm has four and no crossbows. Those are bad odds.”

“Yes, they are. Very bad.”

©2025 SammyC

We climbed a ridge, following the late afternoon sun as it led us to the west. Before us was what Amos calculated to be another full three-day ride to reach the outer walls of the Western Kingdom, where I was to marry Prince Kelvin. Our wedding would petition the Gods to spare us from The Dagger of Heaven, headed directly at us and threatening to exterminate all life on our planet.

Behind us, we hoped Senshi’s band of road bandits was many hours and kilometers away. Malcolm and his company of four riders promised to delay Senshi’s pursuit of us. I cannot help but think that’s the last I will ever see him or his men. The five of them against Senshi’s corps of a dozen regulars gave them long odds of surviving a confrontation. Still, after three hours on the run, we stopped to see if there was any sign of Malcolm in the distance.

“He’s a goner, Rani. We should keep running. It was a doomed proposition. 12 against 5.” Amos tried to place his splinted arm around my shoulders but ended up chucking my cheek instead. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that savage?”

“He told me I was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.” I sighed.

Amos fumed and tripped over his intended reply, just spluttering his disgust.

Merlyn and Luna came up alongside us on their Rumperdon.

“Why are we stopping?” Merlyn asked.

“Rani wants to see if her swain has survived Senshi’s arrows,” sniffed Amos.

“I’m afraid we’ve seen the last of Malcolm, child.” Merlyn’s voice took on a sympathetic, maternal tone. “He wasn’t right for you, Rani. There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

“Merlyn, you know I hate seafood—”

“It’s a—”

“While you two natter on about Malcolm’s fate, I’m going to look over the ridge and see if anyone’s gaining on us.” He leaped down off our Rumperdon and walked some ten meters away. “And has everyone forgotten he was planning to hand us over to a bunch of cannibals?”

“He said he wouldn’t trade me…” I muttered to no one in particular. Merlyn gave me a disapproving look and clucked her tongue.

“Your nascent vanity surprises and disappoints me, Rani. As the leader of your people, you should always place the welfare of your subjects above your own.”

“I’m sorry, Merlyn.”

“Even if that savage was very cute.” Merlyn crossed her arms and almost fell off her seat in the basket she shared with Luna, who reached out with both hands just in time.

Amos came running back to us. “Quick, we have to move! Senshi’s band is down in the valley, maybe five kilometers behind us. Twenty minutes tops away.” I helped Amos back up onto the basket on our Rumperdon. “Don’t spare the whips, people!”

“Did you see Malcolm with them?” I cautiously asked.

“They were five clicks in the distance, Rani. They looked like an army of ants. I couldn’t even make out if they had heads and arms. Just forget about him. Please.”

I was about to say something cogent when a sun shower erupted, filling the air with sheets of rain. On this planet, Merlyn tells me, sun showers occur more frequently because of the relatively shallow depth of the atmosphere. Relative to our home planet, of course. Clouds are lower to the ground and the sun can shine through unobstructed. To me, it’s beautiful but aesthetics is not a field of learning I was much interested in, much to Merlyn’s disappointment.

While it was helpful for us to follow the westward progress of the sun, the torrents of rain impeded our own progress as the ground turned muddy and slippery. In addition, we were getting soaked. But there was no shelter in sight. And Senshi’s band was bound to ignore the rain and wet conditions in their desperate pursuit of us.

The sun seemed to be reflecting off an object or structure in the near distance, down in the valley below the ridge. I poked Amos in his left arm, drawing a painful groan.

“Look, down there, up ahead a bit. What’s that?”

“It looks like a mound similar to the ones Luna’s father told us about. The giant mounds left behind thousands of years ago by the race that was native to this planet. But those were made of baked mud and timber. This looks like it’s made of metal. The way the sunlight glimmers off its surface—”

“Let’s go and see what it is. At the very least, it might shield us from the rain,” I pleaded.

“Do you think anyone is inside? Alive, that is?” Amos’ voice betrayed a quaver of fear.

I had already motioned to the others to turn with us and descend from the ridge in the direction of the strange, glimmering mound. “I just made another executive decision.”

When we reached the mound, it turned out to be much larger than it appeared from the vantage of the ridge. It towered above us, taller than our palace at home. And, as Amos had surmised, it was constructed from a sort of very shiny metal, the likes of which no one, even Merlyn, had ever imagined. She was stunned and silent when I asked her if she knew anything about it. Luna was unable to enlighten us either. Apparently, her father, the Assistant Royal Geographer who had disappeared several years ago on his annual expedition trying to map the continent, had never mentioned coming across such a giant metallic mound in his travels.

The rain was still pelting down hard on our little caravan. Instead of continuing to gawk at the structure, I suggested to Amos that we “knock on the door,” though the exterior appeared to be seamless. No entrance presented itself to our eyes.

“Hello!” Amos shouted at the top of his lungs. “Hello! We are travelers in need of shelter! Hello?”

We did not receive a reply. The sound of the wind swirling and rain splattering the ground around us was all that we could hear. Suddenly, as if extruded from the surface of the structure, a flying thing, something mechanical, hovered above us and slowly descended to our eye level. The dark lens of its central eye aimed itself at me for a few seconds, then moved to do the same for each member of our caravan. Its seeming inspection of us finished, it ascended to a height a meter above our heads and remained still in mid-air.

“Please identify yourselves. What is your business here?” We were stunned. The thing had spoken in a deep, feminine voice, authoritative yet non-threatening.

“I am Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom. These are my traveling companions. We are enroute to the Western Kingdom—”

“Thank you for identifying yourselves but how can we be of assistance to you? You seem to have your own means of transportation.”

“At the moment, we would greatly appreciate shelter from the torrential rain. Could we abide within until the storm passes?”

“Torrential rain? It’s a mere sun shower. It should clear in half an hour or less—”

“Please, whomever or whatever I’m speaking to, we promise to leave when the storm ends—”

“Wait a moment.” Seconds passed as we sat in our baskets in the rain shower, our Rumperdons beginning to sink into the muddy ground. “You may enter.”

Another second or two elapsed before a doorway materialized in front of us, tall enough to clear our heads atop the animals and wide enough for us to enter double file. We found ourselves immediately in a cavernous room whose dimensions seemed to perfectly match the height and width of the mound as seen from outside. Placed in neat rows were machines of unknown purpose. Merlyn suggested some of them were vehicles like the ones she had seen pictures of in her collection of old books. But others surpassed our imaginations’ capacity to determine what their uses were.

In the back of the room, a large booth lined in clear glass or some substance like it, emerged from the floor, noiselessly. The doors of the booth opened to either side and a group of people stepped out, walking slowly toward us. We were still seated on our Rumperdons, visibly apprehensive.

One of them stepped forward and raised his hand in greeting. He was dressed in odd clothing. His tunic and pants were made of a smooth, clingy fabric, replete with pockets containing many small objects.

“Hello. Princess Rani? I’m honored and somewhat shocked to make your acquaintance. We don’t get many visitors here. Nor do we wish to receive many. Forgive me. My name is Alvin. These are some of my colleagues. You see, I am a district supervisor—”

“District supervisor?” I asked, interrupting him. “I don’t understand. What is a district, and how do you supervise it?”

“Forgive me. You couldn’t possibly understand, could you? Please dismount. It’s more pleasant speaking on level ground, don’t you think? As for explaining what it is I do, I’ll just tell you that you are now in The Underground City—”

“Oh no, Rani, these are the Underground People!” Amos shouted. “The cannibals that Senshi wanted to trade us to—"

“Oh, is that what Senshi told you about us? Have no fear, we do not eat other human beings. Frankly, there are better sources of protein to cultivate. Anyway, The Two Moons Tribe can’t believe that we would trade farm implements, seeds, and other goods in exchange for the unfortunate travelers they abduct if not to eat them, I suppose. It started a couple of generations ago with Senshi’s grandfather. You’ll see that the abductees are alive and well. Most of them decide to stay with our community here. Come, I’ll explain further after we get you dry clothes to wear. The storm might last through the evening. Don’t worry about your animals. We’ll see that they’re fed and given water.”

We followed Alvin’s group and stepped into the booth, which immediately closed its doors and began to descend beneath the floor. Merlyn held tight to my hand. She was trembling. Under her breath, she kept muttering, “This is marvelous and terrifying. Who are these people?” I shook my head in reply and squeezed her hand. Although it seemed to take an eternity, the booth – Alvin called it an elevator – descended a great distance underground in less than a minute. It came to a soft landing and the doors opened out into a vast space with corridors branching out in all the cardinal points.

“All of this is underground?” I asked.

“A kilometer below the surface.” Alvin ushered us into a tube-like conveyance that seemed to float above the floor. It was also covered in a transparent glass-like material so that, as we moved down one of the corridors, we could see openings into streets lined with units of housing, some several stories high. Finally, we stopped before a unit and entered it, passing some other people dressed in similar outfits to Alvin’s.

We were escorted to separate rooms furnished with beds, cabinets, tables, and chairs. I insisted that Merlyn share my room. They seemed puzzled at first but ultimately acquiesced. On the bed was a selection of outfits that appeared to be variants of what Alvin and his colleagues wore. I liked the pink outfit.

“There’s a shower stall in the room,” Alvin pointed out, pressing the wall momentarily. The wall opened up like an iris, and light illuminated a vertical space enclosed in glass. Alvin reached inside and pointed to two buttons, one green, the other red. He pressed the green one, and water streamed down from a spigot. He pressed the red button, and it stopped.

“Forgive me again. You’ve never taken a shower before, have you? It’s pretty simple, as you can see. Oh, and you don’t need towels to dry off.” He pressed a third button below the other two, and gusts of warm air filled the shower stall. “Someone will come by to collect your wet clothing. We can clean them for you. They’ll be ready for you whenever you choose to leave, although I’m hoping you’ll at least stay the night.”

“Oh no, “ I quickly replied. “We have to be on our way. We’re expected at The Western Kingdom in three days’ time. As you must have guessed, we escaped from Senshi’s clutches and she’s right on our heels—”

“We won’t let them recapture you. Rest assured. You’re safe here. And don’t worry about getting to your destination on time. Meanwhile, as soon as you’ve showered and changed, I’d like to take you to see my mother. I’m sure she’d be very interested in meeting you.” With that, he left us to our ablutions.

“I don’t understand it, Merlyn.”

“What don’t you understand, child?”

“Everyone I meet seems to be infatuated with me. Am I truly that beautiful?” I played around with the buttons in the shower stall and accidentally drenched myself further than I already had. “Oh, the Gods!”

“Curiosity killed the cat. That’s one of my favorite sayings,” Merlyn said, smiling at me.

“Well, why else would Alvin want me to see his mother? I hardly know him. But then again, I am betrothed to someone I’ve never seen.”

©2025 SammyC

We were a kilometer underground in a sprawling, seemingly vast city constructed with unimaginable technology. Merlyn and I were ushered into the tube-shaped conveyor that had stopped in front of our temporary lodgings. Greeting us with a big smile was Alvin. He pointed to two empty seats next to him.

Before we sat down, we noted the members of our traveling party seated in a row behind us. They were all wearing identical “coveralls” (that’s what Alvin called these short-sleeve, one-piece outfits), albeit in a rainbow of different colors. I had chosen pink. Pink was not my favorite color but Merlyn insisted that pink was a feminine hue, appropriate for a princess to wear. As if on a signal, we all burst out in laughter, seeing how odd and silly we looked in these drab clothes.

“What’s so funny,” Alvin asked, bewildered at our raucous outburst.

“Except for the bright colors, this clothing makes us look like the wretched souls who’ve committed heinous crimes that we’ve placed in prisons far away from the general populace.” I giggled but then stopped short when a thought crossed my mind. A very distressing thought. Almost stuttering, I turned to Alvin with pleading eyes.

“Tell me again that you’re not what Malcolm said you were…”

“What? Cannibals?” Alvin laughed. “Princess Rani, perish the thought. We’re not cannibals. It’s merely a convenient fiction we’ve allowed them to believe so that we can rescue their abductees and, at the same time, provide them with some necessary goods, implements, and seeds. It goes back at least to Senshi’s grandfather’s time.”

I leaned into Merlyn’s arms and let out a sigh of relief.

“No, we’re not having you for dinner. We’re taking you to dinner, at my mother’s house. She’s very anxious to meet you all. Especially you, Princess Rani.”

Merlyn stood up and almost fell over me as the tube stopped at a crossing. She remained standing when the tube resumed its progress.

“It’s very courteous of you to introduce us to your mother, Alvin, but I insist.” She raised her voice. “Take us to your leader!”

“My mother IS our leader, Merlyn. She’s been our city’s Mayor since I was a toddler.”

“Oh, well, never mind.” Merlyn sat down. I turned to her and whispered.

“What was that all about?”

“An old—”

“Saying? Sometimes, Merlyn, you embarrass me.”

“Well, at least now you know he’s not going to eat us, and he’s not introducing you to his mother as his intended.”

As I looked away from Merlyn so as not to let her see my smirk, I noticed something that should have been obvious the moment we stepped into the tube.

“Where’s Amos? Did you forget to pick him up?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. We, of course, saw the rather crude splints on his arms and sent him to our medical facilities. By morning, his arms should be as good as new, with no hint that they’ve ever been broken. Don’t worry; our medical staff will take good care of him.”

“This city, your machines, the technology!” Merlyn cried out. “You are not human! You can’t be. Even the science of our home planet had not progressed to such an extent.”

“Perhaps they are the original people of this planet, driven underground by some natural disaster or foreign enemy,” Luna suggested.

“We are humans, the descendants of the colony that arrived here centuries ago, just like you. My mother can explain all of this during dinner. My stepfather has prepared an old family recipe. It’s delicious. You’ll see.”

The tube came to a gentle halt in front of a house that resembled all the other houses we had seen in our short time underground. Nothing gave notice to the passerby that this was the home of the highest-ranking official in the city. No sign with the seal of her office. No family crest. No flags waving in the slight breeze that freshened the air.

Alvin led us into his mother’s house. It seemed as if we had stepped out of the underground city and into a different reality. Alvin’s mother’s home was furnished and decorated in much the same way homes were in the pictures Merlyn had shown me of our home planet—quite a contrast with all the geometrically aligned surfaces around us.

“Very 22nd century modern,” mused Merlyn, just as a woman we assumed was Alvin’s mother walked in.

“Welcome to our city and my home. My name is Georgia. As my son Alvin must have told you, I am the Mayor of the city.” Turning to look directly at me, she said, “And you are Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom. Alvin was quite correct when he spoke rather glowingly of your beauty. Is it true that you are betrothed to Prince Kelvin of the Western Kingdom?”

“Yes, Madam Mayor, we were on the way to the Western Kingdom for the wedding when Senshi and her men tried to abduct us. I must thank you for offering us shelter from both the rain and our rabid pursuers.”

“Please just call me Georgia. Though I have been elected Mayor by our citizens, I am simply an equal among equals. There are only 350 of us in the city. We manage on a first-name basis,” she laughed.

“Mother, dinner is ready to be served.” Alvin waved his hand toward a room behind him. “If everyone will follow me, we can take our seats.”

Once we were seated at the long table in the dining room, with Georgia at the head and Alvin seated to her left, a metal cart with dishes and bowls on three shelves rolled into the room…by itself! It stopped some feet to the right of where Georgia sat. Seconds later, a tall, husky, gray-bearded man of indeterminate middle-age strolled in, a broad smile on his face. Almost in the same instant, three voices filled the dining room.

“Father!” Luna cried.

“Luna!” the man exclaimed.

“Eric!” Merlyn screamed, as if seeing a ghost.

Eric and Luna rushed into each other’s arms.

“Father, can it really be you? But how? We thought you had been—”

“Killed by outlanders? Very nearly, my child. We ran into Senshi’s father on our geographical survey through the hinterlands. We tried to fight them off, but ultimately, only Reynard and I survived. Reynard was badly wounded. My wounds were only superficial. Nevertheless, they traded us to what they called ‘the underground people.’ We were assured by Senshi’s father that the underground people were cannibals. You can imagine our fear—”

“Eric, you were quite surprised and relieved to discover we were not cannibals,” Georgia noted.

“Yes, gladly surprised. Unfortunately, Reynard’s wounds were too severe. He died moments after we entered the city.”

“But, Father, why didn’t you return home? I held out hope for months that you’d walk through our door at home, safe and sound.”

“Luna, dear, your mother had passed two years before and you were already an adult woman. You didn’t need me anymore. No one did.”

Through tears, Luna protested, “Yes, Father, I needed you. You were always my rock. My mentor. My best friend—”

“Nonsense, Luna. I can see Merlyn has guided you well in life since I embarked on that fateful survey. You’ve been chosen to be part of Prince Rani’s traveling party. That’s an important assignment. By the way, why isn’t he here? And who is this lovely girl who favors him so much? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear—”

Lowering her voice, Luna spoke into her father’s ear, trying to appear as if she were overcome with emotion and embracing him.

“Father, I’ll clue you in later. Right now, just play along. It’s Princess Rani. He’s a she now. It’s complicated.”

Clearing his throat, Eric announced, “Dinner is served!”

On command, the metal cart stopped by each diner and two metal arms emerged from its sides to place dishes and bowls in front of them. Another metal cart entered, bringing two large serving platters filled with medallions of some kind of meat and two huge tureens of vegetable soup.

Eric himself placed on the table several carafes filled with wine made from fermented berries that Merlyn says resemble grapes on our home planet.

As we tucked into our sumptuous meal, Eric’s confusing identification of me seemed to have been forgotten, replaced by amiable social banter, mostly between Merlyn and Georgia. Just before Georgia started to explain who the underground people were and how the city came to be, I interrupted their conversation.

“Georgia, this is delicious. What animal is the meat from? It doesn’t taste familiar to me.”

“Oh, I thought Alvin would’ve have told you already—”

“Well, no, Mother. I didn’t think Rani would like what I told her…” Alvin lowered his eyes from my gaze as he spoke.

“Rani, it’s Rumperdon. Slow-roasted with several important spices, it’s marvelous. I’m glad you liked it.”

I had to suppress the urge to regurgitate my dinner. Holding a napkin up to my mouth, my eyes teared up. Alvin lied! They are cannibals! How could they eat Rumperdons? Those docile, gentle giants who genuinely love us while they endure so many heavy and dangerous tasks, all for our sake. Oh, the humanity! As Merlyn would say.

“Almost two hundred years ago, in the midst of the second Great War that divided our colony into the Eastern and Western Kingdoms, my 4th-grandparents and a dozen or so other couples, who were all engineers, doctors, and scientists, decided to escape the internecine and seemingly endless conflict by taking as much high-tech knowledge and instrumentation as we could carry among us and search the continent for a new home and a new start on this planet.”

“Like Moses in the desert after fleeing the Pharaoh, it took us almost 40 years of living like nomads, moving from place to place, never staying anywhere for more than a few years, before we chanced upon this underground city—”

“So you did not build this?” asked Merlyn.

“No, Merlyn, we might have had the knowledge to build something like this but, alas, we had neither the people power nor access to the material resources needed. To be blunt, we lucked into it.”

“So, you see, Rani. We are humans. This underground complex is not of our construction. It’s….”

Georgia interrupted her son. “Alvin! Who’s telling our origin story? You or I?”

“You are, Mother.” Alvin grinned when he turned to me. My stomach was still gurgling and he mistook my dainty burp for a return smile.

“As I was saying. When we came upon the dome that’s on the surface, the doorway was broken, and the detritus of hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, was scattered all about the interior. However, the elevator to the city below miraculously still worked. In fact, there was power in the city. It looked like it had been abandoned just the day before yesterday, for all intents and purposes.”

“Apparently, it was built by an extraterrestrial race that, like us, had come to mine rare earth minerals. It couldn’t have been built by the actual natives of this planet. In my travels across the continent, we never came across anything more advanced than stone structures—” Eric interjected.

“We stayed in one of those stone structures, Father, on our journey here. Malcolm told us he was quite familiar with it,” Luna shared.

“Malcolm? Oh, yes, Senshi’s little brother. Nasty little fellow.” Eric harrumphed for added emphasis.

“Oh, he’s not really evil like his sister. There’s a good side to him,” I declared.

“You like him just because he called you the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. He didn’t think twice about handing the rest of us over to cannibals,” Luna sneered.

How dare Luna upbraid me like that in front of Georgia and Alvin. After all, I’m still royalty. I’m a Princess!

“As Eric was saying,” Georgia continued, “the age of this city is unknown, as is the identity of its builders. What we deduced from the evidence is that they were a race of beings at least a third taller than the average human. The apparent eye level of all the instrument dials, screens, and door windows we found show that. Also, they were built rather wider than us. We had to replace all the chairs with ones that fit our form factors. Although we did find their beds to be delightfully roomy.”

“Over the years, we learned to use their technology…to some extent. There are still some mysteries among their machinery and processes that we might never solve. After all, we’re only human.”

Alvin piped up. “There are some machines that look like educational devices. You know, devices to essentially inject knowledge into our brains—”

“Miracles upon miracles!” Merlyn shouted. “Lead us to them! Now! Perhaps you need a subject with a higher intelligence quotient. I would gladly volunteer—”

Eric placed his hands up like a wrangler trying to stop a stampede of Rumperdons. “Merlyn, the first person who tried to use the device, suffered a stroke and died. No one has figured out how to safely use the device since.”

“Well, it was just a thought,” Merlyn demurred. “Carry on, Georgia.”

The screen behind Georgia lit up, and an earnest-looking young woman’s face appeared. She seemed to be in a large, well-lit room with blinking lights and machinery surrounding her. Several people were moving about behind her.

“Georgia, there’s a group of outlanders in front of the entrance wishing to speak to you. I’ve deployed the drone. I’ll patch you in right now.”

Suddenly, the screen showed Senshi and her dirty dozen riders seated on their Hobnobs. On the ground in front of them was Malcolm! His hands were tied, and a rag stuffed into his mouth. All he could do was shake his head vigorously. A rider on either side of him aimed their crossbows at him.

Georgia spoke loudly and clearly. “Senshi, this is Georgia. What do you want?”

Senshi addressed the drone as if speaking to Georgia. “Your Excellency, we have come to make an exchange with you. I know that you are in possession of the traveling party from the Eastern Kingdom. I must inform you that it was I who secured them in order to make our customary trade. However, my idiot brother tried to make the trade himself and steal my glory. Unfortunately for him, he is now a chip I can trade to you in exchange for Princess Rani. One for one. Fair price, no?”

“No, you can’t do that, Georgia!” Merlyn stated rather too loudly.

“Shhh, Merlyn. I don’t intend to do any such thing.” She turned back to the screen. “Yes, that sounds like a fair trade, but, unfortunately, we can’t make that trade.”

“Princess Rani is such a tiny little thing. My brother would make a much better meal—”

“Sorry, Senshi, we already ate her. And she was quite delicious, even in such small portions. But, since your people and my people have dealt in good faith for so many years, I’ll tell you what I can do.”

“I’m listening, Georgia.” Senshi prodded Malcolm with her spear. “Stay still, you idiot.”

“I will gladly receive Malcolm in exchange for our usual packet of goods, seeds, and implements. Just wait by the eastern ravine, and my truck will bring it to you. In the meantime, before you go, push Malcolm through the opening in the entrance that will appear in just a few seconds. Nice doing business with you again.”

The screen went dark, and Georgia laughed heartily as she turned around to face her guests.

“I must go up there. He’ll need to see a friendly face,” I said, standing up from the table.

“You seem to be smitten with this savage, Princess. A bit of motherly advice. Stay away from men like Malcolm. He’s a schemer and a narcissist. He’ll say anything to you to get his way. End of advice. Now, Alvin will go up with you. We’ll have to find out what Malcolm is really up to.”

---

His hands roughly tied together and the rag still stuffed in his mouth, Malcolm’s eyes grew large when he spotted me coming out of the elevator. He made some noises through the rag.

I wish I had changed back into my riding outfit. These coveralls, a lovely shade of pink though they were, made me look almost like a boy, not the “most beautiful girl” he’d ever seen.

I took the rag out of his mouth as soon as I reached him.

“But they said they’d eaten you already! And why are you dressed so strangely?”

“I guess you don’t think I’m the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen anymore.”

“I didn’t say that!”

©2025 SammyC

She cautiously approached the fence, which barely concealed half of her towering height, when I called her name, Emma. Lowering her massive head, she sniffed at me. After being convinced it was me, Emma licked my face with her leathery tongue and cooed. I like to think she was smiling at me, but Merlyn tells me that Rumperdons don’t have the facial muscles to smile properly. Not like people.

“How are you, girl? Are they feeding you well?” I rubbed her snout, which resulted in more cooing. “I was afraid they were planning to slaughter you for—”

“We’d never do that, Rani,” Alvin, who was standing behind me, objected. “The Rumperdons we had for dinner last night are ones we raise for our own consumption. Just a small fraction of the herds we keep on the ranch in the valley below. Did you really think we would eat…uh…Emma?”

“Well, I suppose not. After all, you and your people have been very nice to us.”

He raised his hand to pledge. “I promise, Princess Rani, not to eat you, your friends, or any of your animals. You have my word.”

I laughed. “You’re silly, Alvin.”

“And you’re beautiful, Rani.” I turned away because I’m sure I was blushing something awful. What is it with these guys?

Yesterday, after Eric, Luna’s father, came up on the elevator, accompanied by two men carrying weapons of some sort, and took Malcolm to what he called a “holding pen,” Alvin advised us that it was too late in the day for us to resume our journey.

“We’re used to traveling at night,” I reminded Alvin. “Haven’t you ever heard the song, ‘By the Light of the Moons’?”

“I don’t think Amos is ready to travel just yet. Our medical staff can do miraculous things, but it takes at least 12 hours for broken bones to be fused correctly. You can check on him first thing tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, you and your troop can get a badly needed night of undisturbed rest.”

“What about Malcolm? What do you plan to do with him?”

“That’ll be up to the Mayor, my mother. There are a good number of people here who were abducted by his tribe and were led to believe they were being fed to cannibals. They can never forget or forgive, I’d wager.”

“But he rescued us from his sister’s evil intent. He risked his life to help us!”

“As I understand it, from what Amos and Luna told me, he was planning to trade them to us, only saving you for himself. I doubt you would have enjoyed being his love slave.”

I was about to reply when Alvin put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes.

“You’ve only known Malcolm for a few days. I remember him being part of the gang that would show up several times a year to trade people they’d abducted on the trail. He must have been only 12 or 13 when I first saw him. And who knows how many victims they killed trying to evade capture? Don’t feel sorry for him, whatever his fate turns out to be.”

We visited Amos in the medical unit, where he assured me that he was champing at the bit to resume our mission to The Western Kingdom, only to be told by the doctors that his arms needed to remain encased in those strange sleeves for at least another day. Alvin ushered me out of Amos’ room, and we waited to board one of their tube conveyors.

“It’ll give us the opportunity to give you and your friends the grand tour of our city, both under and above ground. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished here—”

“Speaking of my friends, where are they? Still asleep? I know Merlyn was still snoring loudly when you came by over an hour ago.”

We sat down in the sparsely occupied tube. A number of passengers smiled at me. I smiled back.

“Do they know who I am?” I asked Alvin.

“Oh, yes, you and your crew were prominently featured in our nightly news program last night. Which reminds me. They’d like to interview you. And your friends as well, of course.”

“Are we speaking the same language, Alvin? I don’t understand a word you just said—”

“To answer your first question, your compatriots are attending the hearing that the Mayor is presiding over to determine Malcolm’s fate. In fact, the hearing is probably halfway finished by now—”

“You’re intentionally distracting me while the hearing is being held! I must get off this thing! Is it being held far from here? Can I walk there?” I started to stand up but felt unsteady on my feet due to the movement of the tube. Alvin caught me before I could fall over.

“Rani, I didn’t think you’d be so concerned about Malcolm’s hearing. Sit down. If you must, I’ll take you there. It’s only two stops farther.”

“I hope we get there in time!”

When I ran, almost breathless, into the hearing room, everyone except Amos, resting comfortably in the medical unit, was seated in the gallery. Alvin caught up to me just as I seated myself next to Merlyn.

Mayor Georgia was seated at the head of a long, rectangular table. At the other end sat Malcolm, his hands encased in a metallic device rather than tied together with Senshi’s rope. Two men and a woman had their weapons aimed at him. Eric, Luna’s father, was in the middle of his argument before the magistrate, Georgia.

“Although I am well aware of The City’s abhorrence of capital punishment, I argue that the defendant’s long history of participation in the abduction and murder of innocent travelers, many of whom owe their very lives to the kindness and mercy displayed by your excellency—”

“Eric, dispense with the honorifics. I’m just an elected official, not royalty.”

“Of course, Madam Mayor, forgive me, but old habits do die hard. As I was saying. I believe the defendant must be punished to the fullest extent for his heinous crimes. I humbly request that Malcolm of the Two Moons Tribe be summarily executed as soon as possible—”

“No! You can’t execute him!” I jumped to my feet and tried to open the gate to the gallery. “He can’t be punished for things his sister and father did!”

Luna tried to push me back onto my seat. “He was part of it all. Every step of the way! Rani, he almost killed my father. He DID kill Reynaldo, father’s assistant!”

I batted her hands away and remained standing. “He was only a child then. How can you hold him responsible? He tried to save us from Senshi!”

Georgia spoke rather curtly. “Sit down, Princess Rani! You have no standing in this hearing. Your defense of Malcolm is colored by your evident infatuation with him—”

I banged my hand on the banister of the gallery. “I’m not infatuated with him! I’m just trying to make you see that he’s not the criminal you’re painting him as. Should he be blamed for being Senshi’s brother? Or his father’s son?”

“Silence!” The din of voices in the hearing room faded away. “I am ready to pronounce judgment,” declared Georgia in a steely tone.

Defeated, I sat back down. Luna glared at me. I looked at poor Malcolm, his face etched in fear and terror.

“Malcolm of the Two Moons Tribe, stand up and receive your sentence.” Two of the guards grabbed him by the arms and lifted him out of his chair. “The City has found you guilty of multiple crimes committed over many years. In view of that, I have no choice but to punish you to the furthest extent of the law.”

Many in the gallery exulted as screams of joy and relief filled the hearing room. My eyes started to tear, and I felt helpless against the tide of their sentiment. So many victims of The Two Moon Tribe had come to see Malcolm brought to heel, and justice finally served. But they were wrong about his culpability.

“However, we in The City do not believe in capital punishment, regardless of the severity of the crime. Fortunately, the incidence of crime in the long history of our community is almost negligible. During my tenure as Mayor, there has only been one homicide. That person is serving a life sentence under house arrest.”

My heart leapt at the thought that they might show Malcolm some mercy and give him a similar sentence. He was so young. Perhaps there is a process here where Malcolm could plead for clemency and have his sentence reduced. If he were released in 20 years, he would still only be less than 40 years old.

“Since you are not a member of our community, I cannot in good conscience ask our citizens to feed, clothe, and otherwise care for you for the rest of your natural life. With that in consideration, I hereby exile you from The City, with the proviso that you never approach within 25 kilometers of these environs. We will provide you with a Hobnob but will not allow you to take away any weapons of any sort. May you never darken our premises again. Guards, please escort Malcolm to the entrance aboveground. This hearing is concluded.”

As they marched Malcolm out of the hearing room, I turned to Alvin, sitting behind me.

“Am I allowed to say goodbye to him?”

“I don’t see why not,” Alvin said in a measured tone. “I’ll go up with you.”

“All in all, it didn’t work out too badly. I was sure they were going to string me up.” Malcolm softly laughed as he stood, an armed guard on either side of him, a few meters away from the entrance. They were waiting for their Hobnobs to be brought around.

“Malcolm, how can you be so nonchalant? You won’t even have a knife on you. How will you survive out in the wilderness?”

“What’s the phrase? Oh, yes. Roughing it? I know my way around the outlands, as you would call them. As long as I have a Hobnob and my mind—”

“Here’s your Hobnobs,” Alvin pointed out as three Hobnobs were led into the dome, saddled and reined. One of them, meant for Malcolm, had an additional saddle bag slung over its hind parts.

“What’s the extra saddle bag for?” asked Alvin of the two guards. They shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders.

“I can answer that,” I said. “Before we came up here, I asked Georgia for a favor. I had them fill a saddlebag with dried meat and some of that wine from last night’s dinner. Your mother is a nice lady.”

“Well, I guess he won’t die from hunger and thirst for at least a couple of days,” Alvin said wryly.

“Thank you, Princess Rani,” Malcolm sincerely interjected as they placed him on his Hobnob. Grabbing the reins, one of the guards led Malcolm’s steed out of the dome.

“Good luck, Malcolm! May the Gods be with you!” I shouted after him.

“We’ll meet again, my Lady! You can count on it!”

I turned to Alvin as we made our way back to the elevator. “I fear that was the last time I will ever see him again, poor boy.”

“I fear it won’t be the last time,” Alvin replied.

Since we wouldn’t be leaving for at least another day, as Amos’ arms completely healed, Alvin eagerly took me on a guided tour of The City. Merlyn spent most of the day learning about the advanced technology that sustains the community from its scientists and engineers. Luna spent the day with her father. I had the feeling she might wish to remain in The City after we leave. I don’t begrudge her one bit. Daisy and Edward, our servants, rested in their rooms.

The best part of the day for me was in the late afternoon when we left the stifling, enclosed spaces underground and emerged into the sunlight and fresh air aboveground. I was surprised to see farmland not far from the dome. Alvin had “driven” us to the fields in a vehicle that he controlled wearing a shiny cap on his head.

There were other similar vehicles dotting the fields and dozens of people wearing coveralls moving about, tending to the crops planted in rows that stretched to the horizon.

“So these are your farmer caste? Are they born to the occupation like the various estates we have in our kingdoms?”

“No, it’s something they enjoy doing. And they don’t work in the fields all the time. They do other things that interest them as well.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled at the thought of such a disorderly society. Why, in my world, you are born to a certain station of life and work. What else could I be but what I was trained from infancy to become?

“My father used to quote from the writings of an old philosopher from our home planet. Nobody remembers what his name was. The gist of his philosophy was that no one should have one exclusive sphere of activity, one job, as it were. Each person should be able to do one thing today and another tomorrow. ‘To hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner…without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.’ Do you understand?”

“Not really. But your father sounds like a man of deep thought. How did he die? Illness?”

“He was killed on one of his archaeological expeditions. We believe he met his end at the hands of one of the outlander tribes. We’ll never know for sure. I guess that’s why Mother fell in love with Eric. He and my father had the same inquisitive sort of mind.”

“And you? Do you have a sweetheart?”

“Rani, you should stay with us. Your life would be so much better here. Your kingdom is just a mean, hard struggle with the natural elements of this planet. It will defeat you in the end. Your society has been in a doom loop for centuries—”

“A what?”

“Things will never change. And for you specifically. They’re forcing you to marry a 9-year-old boy in the name of some superstitious nonsense—”

“It is not nonsense! We must do this in order to save the world from The Dagger of Heaven!”

“It is utter nonsense. Come, I’ll take you to see our Head Astronomer. He knows what The Dagger of Heaven really is.”

©2025 SammyC

Alvin drove his “buggy” back to the underground city, and we took the elevator down to the lowest level. As we hopped into an unoccupied tube conveyor, he explained that this level was the “brain” of the city.

This was where all the administrative, technical, and operational systems were housed and staffed. Like the level above, it was all right angles and shimmery walls. Sections were marked by entranceways and circular windows. I tried to look within and caught glimpses of people in coveralls sitting at what Alvin called “consoles.”

The conveyor stopped in front of one of these entranceways, and we hopped off.

“I called ahead, and Dr. Princeton is expecting us. In fact, I think a number of your compatriots are already here.”

When we entered a vast room with arcane machinery looming above us, seemingly suspended from the high ceiling, I saw Merlyn, Luna, and Amos. Yes, Amos, his arms free of the sleeves they had placed on them in the medical unit. They were standing near a man in a white lab coat , who was, in turn, standing in front of a wall-sized screen that displayed a series of everchanging numerals over what seemed like a picture of the night sky.

“Alvin, please introduce me to your lovely friend. I’ve been told that this beautiful child is a royal personage.”

“Dr. Princeton, this is Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom. Rani, this is our Director of Science, Dr. Preston Princeton.”

Dr. Princeton bowed slightly as he made room for Alvin and me to stand closer to the huge screen behind him.

“The good doctor has been giving us his thoughts on The Dagger of Heaven,” Merlyn stated. “He believes it is neither a threat to our planet nor a weapon of destruction dispatched by The Gods—”

“It’s not a matter of belief, good lady,” corrected Dr. Princeton. “Let me show the Princess what I’ve already shown you.” He reached up and pressed some buttons on the console in front of him. “Darn those aliens for being 2 ½ meters tall! It’s getting harder for me to reach these controls as I get near my hundredth birthday.”

“You’re 99 years old?” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“I know, I know. I don’t look a day over 85.” He shook his head as if he’d heard that compliment too many times.

“Surely, you are joking, Doctor,” Merlyn swore. “I’m one of the oldest people in the world, as far as I know, and I’m not even 70.”

“70? That makes you a young pup, relatively speaking, in our city.” He turned to me and asked, “How old do you think young Alvin here is, Rani?”

Without hesitation, I answered, “He can’t be a day older than 18 or 19.”

“Well,” Dr. Princeton paused, teasing out his reply. “You’re…correct! Actually, he’s 17 years and 218 days old.”

“What’s so unusual about that, Doctor?” I was beginning to think this man was not in his right mind.

“Alvin is the last child born in the city. And it may be another ten years before we allow another birth—”

“How cruel,” Merlyn interjected. “What gives you the authority to meddle with the course of nature?”

“Simply the imperative to survive as a people, my good lady. We cannot sustain a population much above the numbers we currently provide life’s necessities for. With the medical facilities at our disposal in this alien complex and relief from the mortal stresses of internecine war and conflict here in our blessed isolation, our citizens’ average lifespan is now almost 110 years.

About two generations ago, we made the decision to restrict population growth. Our optimal state is 350 to 400 individuals. Alvin’s parents won the lottery to have our most recent child, Alvin here. Mind you, Georgia was, what, almost 60 years old then. As you must have discovered, she is fiercely protective of her…that is, our…only child.”

“That would make your mother close to 80 years old!” Alvin blanched at my stunned exclamation.

“My father is married to an older woman. A much, much older woman!” Luna shook her head in amazement.

“These are the benefits of scientific knowledge, my friends. Now, back to the so-called Dagger of Heaven.” He pointed to the screen and we saw an object come into focus, although still not sharp in resolution.

“Is that The Dagger?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“You call it a dagger due to the poor optical instruments at your disposal. Although, our viewing devices are not up to the standard of what on Earth were observatories or much less orbiting telescopes—”

“On Earth? What is Earth?” I asked quite innocently.

“Earth. Our home planet. The mother planet. Did you not know the name of our home planet?” Dr. Princeton scratched his gray beard in disbelief.

“I thought that was a mythical name…like Shambala or Camelot,” Merlyn said with uncertainty

“What kind of education do you pretend to…oh, I forget, centuries of a cultural doom loop has reduced you all to the intellectual level of the Middle Ages…” Dr. Princeton slapped his temple.

“Are you saying we’re stupid?” Amos asked in a derisive tone.

“Look, everyone, let’s not argue over IQ levels. Doctor, please go on with your summary on The Dagger.” Alvin took a position between the Doctor and us, holding up his hands to calm things down.

“As I was saying. The object is definitely a meteor or small asteroid, certainly not a comet. It’s not even as large as what you believe is a second moon.”

“What do you mean ‘believe’?” Merlyn was getting testy.

“It’s not a moon. Not a natural object. It’s a satellite left behind by the alien race that built this underground complex. Over the years, we’ve tried to communicate with it, but we’ve never received a response. Nobody’s home, I suppose.”

“You speak of strange things I’ve never heard of, Doctor,” Merlyn admitted. “But the Dagger gleams with a halo of light as only a thing made by The Gods would. And its shape—”

“Unusual, yes. But it’s so far away right now that our minds can trick our eyes into seeing a dagger shape. A long blade, quillons jutting out in front of a handle, even a pommel at the rear. But it’s an illusion. As for the halo? The high albedo of the object is probably due to its metallic composition. Iron and nickel.”

“Still, whatever you think it is, it’s headed straight for us!” Amos cried.

“At its present speed, its nearest approach to us will occur…” He picked up a rectangular totem and seemed to be reading something on its surface. “Ah, yes, I calculate it will be here in four days, give or take an hour.”

“Oh, the Gods! We have to leave immediately! It’ll take us three days to reach the Western Kingdom.” Amos reached out to take my hand, but Dr. Princeton hit his wrist with the totem.

“But it won’t hit the planet. It’ll miss us by a good 20,000 kilometers. No need to worry, my friends.”

“You are certain? Absolutely certain?” Merlyn glared at the Doctor.

“Nothing is absolute, my good lady. I’d say it’s within a standard error of 3%. I can show you the regression analysis I’ve done—”

“That 3% error could mean the extinction of all life on this planet,” Merlyn pointed out.

“We’re far enough below the surface to withstand the effects of such an impact. As long as it’s not right on top of us.”

“That’s all well and good for you, but…” Amos swallowed the last part of his sentence.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but I think we have to leave immediately. Amos, can we make it to the coast in three days?” Merlyn asked.

“If we cut down rest periods to a minimum, yes,” Amos replied.

Alvin placed himself in front of us as we moved toward the door.

“Please, you can leave tomorrow morning…if you insist. I told you we have a means of getting you to the Western Kingdom in much less time. A matter of hours rather than days.”

“Another buggy like the one we rode this morning?” I asked dubiously.

“No. There’s an underground railway system that the aliens used to transport the mineral ore that they mined. And it extends to within a few kilometers of the Western Kingdom. We rarely use it, but it works. I’ve been on it a few times just for the experience. My father was an engineer, and he was fascinated by it. I cajoled him into taking me along on his test drives. Mother was apoplectic—”

“Enough! We’ll take the railway, as you call it, tomorrow morning. As early as possible. Who will operate it for us?” Merlyn looked around the room for someone to step forward.

“I’ll drive. I know how to,” Alvin quickly stated. “We can leave at sunrise. I’ll come by and pick you all up. Meanwhile, since that’s all settled, let’s have lunch. I know a place that serves the best Mulligatawny Soup in these parts.”

When we entered the space that Alvin took us to for lunch, I recalled his talk that morning about a society in which people could pursue their interests regardless of what class they were born into. He had said that one could “hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner.” Well, add to that, be the master chef of your own eatery. Luna’s father, Eric, had discovered his true avocation: running his own restaurant.

Since every housing unit had a machine that made meals to order, the art of home cooking had been lost over the years in the underground city. You could just about boil a pot of water in the rudimentary kitchens every household possessed.

Luna had told me that Eric’s favorite hobby was cooking and that, aside from the more serious things she missed about her father, it was the delicious meals he’d make for the family whenever he was at leisure from his geographical duties.

Eric, wearing a chef’s apron over his coveralls, came out to welcome us to his humble establishment, which was packed to the rafters, necessitating we sit at two tables in the rear of the room. When Luna informed him that we had decided to leave in the morning, he was crestfallen. Luna, herself, was close to tears.

I reached across the table to hold her hand and told her, “I will not stand in your way if you wish to stay here with your father.”

“No, Your Highness, I couldn’t abandon my post. I was privileged to be assigned to your traveling party and be Merlyn’s right hand. I just couldn’t…”

Merlyn grabbed her other hand. “Child, there is no shame in choosing family over duty. If I were in your place, I’d stay here. These people seem to enjoy a marvelous life here. And, if the Dagger is not diverted in time, you’ll be safe and sound as well.”

“I’ll think about it.” Luna finally said remorsefully.

After a moment of awkward silence, Eric brandished his totem and announced, in a cheery voice, “The special of the day is Lobster Bisque.”

“What in the name of the Gods is a lobster?” I inquired, tremulously.

Eric placed his totem below my eyes and I saw a picture of this thing called a lobster.

“Why, that’s a giant insect! You can’t expect me to eat that!”

---

Since we were leaving in the morning, Alvin wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon showing me as much of the underground city as he could in a few hours. Most of the time, we rode the tube conveyors in every direction, from end to end, and he pointed out the most interesting units in each district of the city. There was a disturbing sameness to everything and everywhere. I mentioned that to Alvin.

“You’re right, Rani. I’m afraid there’s not much variety in our lives here. The homes we reside in, the places we work in, and even the people we run across in our daily routines all suffer from a sameness that sometimes numbs the senses. We, the people in this city, have done the same things, in the same way, at the same times we have for generations now.

“Sure, we try to figure out the technology that the aliens left behind, but it seems we’ve hit a wall. I’m thinking that the key to all this might be on that satellite up there. But we have no way of leaving the surface of this planet and no likelihood that we ever will.”

I looked into Alvin’s blue eyes instead of the city beyond the transparent sides of the tube conveyor. There was real intelligence there and a restless spirit that sought to experience a greater scope of existence than hunkering down a kilometer below the planet’s surface.

“So, we are really born into our stations in life, after all, even in your perfect society here. You don’t want to stay, yet you cannot leave. We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”

“Things can change, Rani. I’ve been working with Doctor Princeton and some of his colleagues on a plan to expand the city, below and above the surface. I think we can sustain a larger population if we can build aboveground. We have the technology to bring our society forward centuries from the medieval way of life both kingdoms maintain now. Perhaps as far forward as the 20th century on Earth.”

“I don’t know what the 20th century was like on our home planet.”

“If we can recruit people from the kingdoms to join us, we’d have the labor pool to build this vision. A city of 1,000 individuals can accomplish a lot with the resources that the aliens left behind.”

“But. What’s the but?”

“The City Council, led by my mother, is very conservative. They’re solidly against my plan. Despite Dr. Princeton having worked out the math and logistics. We can do it. But they’re afraid of the city collapsing from expanding too quickly and the possibility that the two kingdoms will see us as a threat to their hegemony and attack us.”

“I see. The Eastern Kingdom would never do that, I assure you. But I wouldn’t put it past those power-hungry blackguards in the West.”

“You certainly don’t have a high opinion of them, do you? And yet you’re rushing to marry that baby prince of theirs—”

“He’s not a baby. He’s nine years old.” Alvin snorted and looked away. “Anyway, it’s something I have to do! It’s the only thing that’ll appease the Gods and stop The Dagger from destroying the planet.”

“But it’s not hitting the planet! It’s probably going to miss us by 20,000 kilometers!”

“Says you. But are you absolutely certain? I can’t take the chance that you’re wrong, Alvin.”

“Stay here, Rani. You can help me convince my mother and the others that my plan can work. If you can bring The Eastern Kingdom aboard, we can assuage some of their concerns. And…” He turned away as the tube conveyor reached the endpoint of its route with a soft jolt.

I got up from my seat to exit when he grabbed my arm. I turned to him.

“Rani, there’s no one my age for me to marry or even be friends with. You are so beautiful. I’ve never in my life seen anyone so young and so beautiful. I know I’m not from a royal lineage, and I’m not very attractive…”

“No, I like you, Alvin. You’re nice, smart, and very attractive. But I have a duty to perform. And that duty resumes tomorrow morning.”

Alvin’s mother invited us to have dinner at her home on our last evening in her city. Luna assured me that Rumperdon was not on the menu this time.

“Have you told your mother that you’re driving the train tomorrow?”

“No, I’ll spring it on her during dessert,” Alvin laughed.

“Does the word apoplectic mean anything to you?”

©2025 SammyC

After a convivial farewell dinner in Georgia & Eric’s home, Alvin took his leave, saying he needed to rise early the next morning and get everything ready for our train trip.

We had just had a delicious meal of Blinkbird Fricassee, served over mashed tubers of some kind and a colorful three-bean salad. Eric’s cooking skills far outmatched those of Langston’s tribe, and we suffered from our attempts to stifle satisfying burps. Georgia ushered us into an adjoining room where she served us some fruity tasting wine to help in the digestion of our sweet feast.

The first sign that there was something wrong was a creeping sense of immobility. Initially, I attributed the feeling to the lethargy one normally experiences in such a serene setting after eating perhaps a little too well. But my arms and legs appeared to be anchored to my chair. Swiveling my head around, I saw all of us in similar straits. Merlyn, in particular, was alarmed and opened her mouth, wanting to scream, but no sounds emerged. I tried to speak for all of us and discovered I had been rendered mute.

Georgia stepped into view, standing above me. She peered into the pupils of my eyes. Nodding, she pulled up a chair and sat directly in front of me.

“I know that you won’t remember a word I’m about to say, but in the interest of putting you somewhat at ease, I will tell you what is about to happen. Slowly, perhaps within a handful of minutes, you will lose consciousness. No, it’s no good trying to speak, Rani. At least temporarily, you won’t be able to. None of you will.”

“Rest assured, we will keep our promise of getting you to your destination in time to attend your wedding to Prince Kelvin. However, you must realize that we cannot let you go, possessing the knowledge of who we are and where we live.

We in The City have thrived in isolation from the destructive impulses of both Kingdoms for more than a century and a half. You have seen the marvels we have inherited from the alien race that left behind this underground complex. I’m sorry, Rani, but we cannot allow the descendants of the very people who exiled us into the oblivion of the wilderness to destroy everything we have accomplished against all hope and reason.”

“You might shake your head, but it is the mark of your rapacious people. Ignorance in the pursuit of power. The good of the few above the good of the many. We are only 350 in number. Your thousands would overwhelm us, even with the technology at our disposal. No, as Mayor, I cannot countenance such a disaster.”

“You will be taken to our medical facility, where we have devices that can erase your memory of this city and its citizens. Yes, especially your memory of my son, Alvin. He is the treasure of our people, the future of our society. We will not risk his valuable life to have him become embroiled in the superstitious machinations of primitive minds. He will not accompany you on the train tomorrow.”

“Luna has decided to stay with us, stay with her father, and become a part of our community. She will make a fine companion for Alvin. She is smart, capable, and beautiful. I know that you are all those things as well. But Luna is one thing you are not. You are not a woman.”

My mouth stretched to scream, but only silence resulted. Tears began to roll down my cheeks.

“Yes, Eric told me the truth the first night you were here. Luna did not betray you. So, you see, you can have no future with Alvin. He would discover the lie of your identity soon enough, and it would all end in tears more voluminous than you’re shedding now…”

Despite my anger and frustration at not being able to speak, my eyes were starting to close. Georgia was still pontificating about everything as if lecturing me the way Merlyn did during her tutorials, but her words made less and less sense. Finally, my eyes closed shut. Darkness fell upon my consciousness.

An incessant ringing woke me from my slumber. There was a vibrating buzz in the pocket of the strange clothing I was wearing. I looked around me and saw our entire contingent, except for Luna, seated in hammock-like chairs, facing forward. We appeared to be in a long, narrow chamber. I could sense subtle movement and a sound like rushing water. Except it seemed we, the chamber that is, were inside the water, like a leaf being swept along a river current.

Everyone else was asleep. Instead of trying to wake them, I reached into my pocket to determine what the ringing and vibrating was about. It fit in my hand, and I turned it around to the smooth, glassy side. Suddenly, an image materialized on the object. A young, nice-looking man with piercing blue eyes and a shock of wavy, brown hair immediately began to speak.

“Rani, it’s Alvin—”

I shook off my stunned expression and exclaimed, “Who are you? Are you a god or a demon?”

Alvin laughed. “Of course, they erased your memories of us. It’s not important right now. I didn’t know my mother had planned this. I wouldn’t have left early last night… Hopefully, you will regain your memories someday. I know I will never forget you, Rani.”

“Have I ever met you, my lord?” I asked, hoping not to offend this strange deity.

“Listen, the thing you hold in your hand will allow you to communicate with me wherever you are. It is twinned to mine. All you need to do is speak directly into it, and I will answer. If you need me, I can reach you in a matter of hours. Remember, just speak into it if you need help. I’m signing off now. Don’t lose it. Keep it with you at all times. I…I love you, Rani.”

The thing in my hand went silent and turned the color of a dark stone. I shook it and was about to speak into it when Merlyn shouted, “Hellzapoppin! Where are we?”

Like a row of dominoes, Amos, Daisy, and Edward were startled awake one after the other. There was a din of voices as I tried to calm everyone down, though I was in a state of panic myself.

“Well, well, you’re all finally awake.” We turned around and were stunned to see Malcolm striding toward us. It looked like he’d come through from an adjoining chamber.

“Malcolm! Senshi didn’t kill you!” I jumped out of my seat and ran to Malcolm, stopping a step or two from him as I realized I was showing too much enthusiasm at the sight of him.

“Of course not. She traded me to the underground people. You were all there!”

“What are you talking about?” Amos roughly pulled me away from Malcolm and stood nose to nose with him.

“Hey, your arms! They’re healed. No splints. Look.”

Amos held his arms in front of him and turned them this way and that. “But, how? What strange magic is this? Merlyn?”

Merlyn shrugged her shoulders. “Not me. Medicine is one of the few fields of learning I never mastered.”

Malcolm laughed. “You all act like you don’t remember everything that’s happened the last three days.”

“The last thing I remember is the sudden rainstorm that made us climb down from that ridge,” I explained.

“Look at the clothes you’re wearing. The underground people gave you those. We’re riding on what they call a train that’s taking us to the Western Kingdom.” Malcolm massaged his chin through the sparse beard he sported. “You really don’t remember anything after that? They must have done something to you to forget.”

“Forget what. And who are you talking about?” asked Amos in an angry tone.

Malcolm bristled at Amos’ attitude. “Look, you idiot, you’re the one who’s at a loss about the last few days, not me. And stand a little farther away, will you? Your breath reeks of Blinkbird and beans.”

Amos grabbed Malcolm’s tunic and reared back his healed right arm to strike when a 2-meter-high image blinked into view at the front of the chamber.

---

Merlyn was the first to exclaim. “Luna! Where are you? And where are we?”

“Hello, everyone. Please sit down. There is nothing to be alarmed about. You are safely on your way to the Western Kingdom. You should arrive in four hours.”

“What is this chamber that we are in? There are no windows—” Merlyn waved her arms at both sides of the chamber.

“Merlyn, you are on a train, a mechanical conveyance that moves along a pair of rails in an underground tunnel.”

Amos addressed the image of Luna. “Who’s controlling this machine? Can we stop it if need be? It’s frightening to feel so helpless. To be imprisoned in this moving chamber. And you say we’re underground?”

“It drives itself. My father tells me that its journey is ‘programmed’ into its controls. When you reach the end of the line, the doors to the cars will open and you can retrieve your Rumperdons in the car behind you. A passageway to the surface will light up for you to follow. I’m told the Western Kingdom is an hour’s ride from there.

“So rest easy, my friends. I will leave you now. Farewell. We will probably never see each other again. I’m sure you will be a wonderful queen of our planet, Rani. And Merlyn, thank you for mentoring me. I owe you so much. One more thing. Rani, it was not I who gave away your secret. It was my father. But he had to tell. He is one of them now. As I am, too. Goodbye.” Her image dissipated.

“This is hard to believe. It is like a dream,” Amos said in a soft tone.

“Now do you believe me?” asked Malcolm.

“Believe what exactly?” I replied. I was annoyed more than scared.

“By the way, what secret was she talking about?” Malcolm inquired.

In unison, Merlyn, Amos, and I shouted, “It’s a secret!”

Malcolm shot his hands up in the air and shook his head as if in defeat.

Merlyn mumbled under her breath. “Do you suppose Luna has passed over into the spirit realm? She mentioned her father, Eric, but he’s dead. How could she communicate with him? Unless she too had gone beyond the veil of existence.”

“And you call us primitive savages!” Malcolm sat down in one of the unoccupied chairs. “I’m going to go through this just once, so listen very carefully…”

He told us his story, starting with the moment he left us to try and stop or at least delay Senshi’s pursuit of us. After the riders from Langston’s tribe were picked off one by one by Senshi’s archers, leaving him alone and almost crushed beneath his wounded Hobnob, Senshi came up with the idea of trading him to the underground people in exchange for me. When they arrived at the dome of the underground people, with Malcolm tied and gagged, they were told that an exchange couldn’t be made. They had already eaten me!

“In good faith, considering our history of mutually beneficial trade, the underground people agreed to accept me in exchange for the usual goods and tools. What a shock it was. A pleasant surprise! To see you, wearing that very odd outfit, greeting me inside the dome. They had lied about eating you! There weren’t even any gnaw marks on you…that I could see.” There was a devilish smirk on Malcolm’s lips.

“Anyway, they took me away to solitary confinement, and the guards told me that, instead of eating the lot of you, they treated you like royalty—”

“Well, I am. I’m a Princess,” I said proudly, my chin pointed to the sky.

“The next morning, they had me go through a farce of a trial and summarily convicted me of various crimes—none of which they proved me of committing—and showed me the door. They did give me a Hobnob, and, Rani, you gave me some dried meat and wine to hold me over. I told you we would meet again. And here I am!” His broad smile irked Amos enough to pull his arm back reflexively.

“I don’t remember any of that.” I tried massaging my temples to summon the memories.

“Silly girl, you’ll give yourself a headache doing that,” Merlyn admonished. “Well, some of what Malcolm said must be true. But he wasn’t witness to what happened to us during that time. Perhaps these underground people placed some sort of memory-erasing spell on us.”

Amos didn’t bother to look up when he asked Malcolm, “So if they made you leave, how did you manage to end up on this…this train with us?”

“By now, you should realize that I’m quite resourceful. They had two guards escort me out of that place. As we’re riding along, I suddenly placed their faces. I knew them. A couple of times, they would bring out our packages of goods in what they called a truck. I would strike up a conversation with them. You know, just men stuff. I don’t want to offend your sensibilities, Rani, so I won’t go into detail. Where was I? Oh, yeah, I was smoking some fine dreamweed at the time.”

“What’s that, Malcolm?” I innocently asked.

“Well, they thought I was smoking rolled up cornsilk. I passed it to them to take a puff. Pretty soon they were in seventh heaven—”

“I believe that seventh heaven refers to the highest sphere of spiritual joy in the semitic religions of our home planet,” Merlyn interjected. “Or a 20th century video program.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Malcolm continued. “Every time we came by to make trades. Every three or four months. I’d trade them half a kilo of the stuff for whatever came to mind. So, this time, I exchanged the half a kilo I had on me for information and re-entry into the underground city. They knew you’d be placed on this train in the morning. I got inside with the animals in the next car and waited for you sleepy bobos to wake up.”

“Where did you get this weed you’re talking about?” I admit I was more than a little curious about this.

“Langston’s tribe. It grows wild nearby. They cultivate it to use in some kind of tribal ritual. Since their tribe has been annexed by us, it was a simple thing to requisition a monthly supply of it. Even Senshi’s been known to smoke some of it now and again. Say…”

He patted the pockets of his breeches and, after a bit of a struggle, came up with a couple of thin sticks of compacted dreamweed. “Want to try some? I’ve got these last two left.” He waved them in front of my eyes. They gave off a rather distinct odor.

I tentatively reached out with my hand, but Merlyn slapped it away. She wagged her finger and shook her head.

“No? Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll light up and relax a bit. Luna said we have another four hours aboard this machine.” He sat back on a chair a few meters away from us and took out his flint and steel fire starter kit. Once he sparked a flame, he lit up one of the thin sticks and took a deep puff. He coughed once and then puffed again.

The smoke wafted over to us but before I could inhale, Merlyn used both hands to wave it away from me. This only directed it toward Amos. He stood up and slowly approached Malcolm. They spoke in low tones. With a broad smile, Malcolm handed Amos the other stick of dreamweed. Amos leaned down and his back blocked my view.

I glared at Merlyn. She made a disapproving sound by smacking her lips.

“That’s for men, not you, little girl.”

©2025 SammyC

The blinding sun of midday greeted our eyes when we emerged from the proverbial hole in the ground where our vehicle had seemingly stopped of its own volition. We had been inside what Luna informed us was a “train,” a mechanical conveyance that moved through a tunnel someone or something had carved through the bedrock. Where Luna was now was a mystery, although she spoke cryptically of reuniting with her dead father. Malcolm told us a tall tale of an underground city of god-like denizens, but he’s not a reliable source of truth.

We gathered up our animals. They had been stowed in a chamber behind us. Being simple creatures, they showed no signs of stress or agitation. Someone had provided them with tubs of water. We, on the other hand, had not eaten since…I didn’t know when.

Our small caravan inched up a long ramp leading to a doorway that magically spread itself open like the petals of a blooming flower. Leading the way, Merlyn and I rode Emma, my trusty Rumperdon, through into a vista of green, rolling hills. Behind us, in single file, rode Amos, seated alone on his Rumperdon now that Luna was absent, Daisy and Edward on a third Rumperdon, and, bringing up the rear, Malcolm on his Hobnob, a position Amos had insisted he take.

“I’ve never been this far west, but I figure The Western Kingdom is very nearby. Didn’t Luna say an hour’s ride?” Malcolm shouted from his rear position.

“This looks very much like the trade route we traveled when Vance and I accompanied Father to deliver royal messages to the Prime Minister of The Western Kingdom. Poor Vance. We couldn’t even give him a decent burial....” Amos shouted something into the distance, then moved his Rumperdon in front of us as he pointed toward a thick forest half a kilometer away. “Look, there are creatures as tall as the trees over there!”

“Why are you going toward them, Amos? Shouldn’t we be running away?” I reasoned.

“I’m hungry! We haven’t eaten since…I can’t remember! I need to get closer to get a clear shot with my crossbow…”

With no other choice but to follow, we turned our caravan around. As we approached the strange forest of trees that seemed replete with some sort of unknown fruit, the “creatures” appeared not to be animals but human beings standing on wooden stilts, larger versions of the stilts children strapped on their legs to play tetherball. But here they weren’t trying to hit a swinging ball hanging from the top of a pole but harvesting those odd-looking fruits from the high branches of umbrella-shaped trees.

When Amos realized the truth of the matter, he shouted to them. “Kind sirs, we are escorting Princess Rani of the Eastern Kingdom to your royal court. Can you point us in the direction of the palace?”

One of the men on stilts took off his floppy straw hat and peered at me for a long second. He smiled and then made a whooping sound that hurt my ears.

“Your Highness! Excuse us, we thought you were just traders from the east. It’s not often, but we do get the occasional merchant party passing by.” He bowed, and I was afraid he would fall over, but surprisingly, he kept his balance and very agilely waved his hat in our direction. “If you follow this road for another five kilometers, you’ll see the royal palace shining like a burnished suit of armor behind a wide moat. I’m sure they’ll see you coming and lower the drawbridge for you.”

“What is a drawbridge, Merlyn?” I asked. She shook her head.

“I’ve never been to the Western Kingdom, child. This is the farthest away from home I’ve ever been. I only know Lydia, my counterpart as Royal Wizard, through letters we’ve exchanged over the years.”

“Oh, well, we’re here, so let’s get it over with. The things I have to do just to save the planet from destruction.” I sighed dramatically.

Amos had his arms full of fruits when he returned to our side.

“Those nice fellows gave us some of these. They’re called Jackapples. I’ve already tried one. Not bad.”

I accepted one of the oblong fruits in one hand and passed one to Merlyn.

“You peel it like this.” He snapped the stem off one and stripped it of its skin in one smooth motion. We followed his example and took a small, wary bite.

“Oh, it’s delicious. Juicy yet slightly meaty with a sharp but piquant taste,” I declared in the tone I’d heard my mother, Queen Hortense, use when sampling a new dish prepared by the Royal Chef.

We moved on to find the palace.

As we made our way to the Kingdom’s “burnished suit of armor,” we passed by fields being worked by armies of peasants, many of them pausing from their back-breaking chores to wipe the sweat from their brows with a rag or just a bare hand. There were a number of Hobnob-drawn carts filled with stacks of sorghum, sugarcane, and barrels full of fruits like the Jackapples we had eaten ambling along the road. The peasants turned their ruddy faces to us as our small caravan rode by them. Most of them smiled.

Finally, the moat that the man on stilts had told us about stopped our progress. The Royal Palace rose above the high walls of the Kingdom’s keep, perhaps a few hundred meters beyond it. It did reflect the sun quite brightly. Enough that one had to shield one’s eyes with a hand in order to look at it directly. Amos was ready to bellow out a greeting when the “drawbridge,” which Merlyn had no clue about, began to lower itself and provide us with a dry path into the Kingdom. We moved quickly to enter.

Once inside, six warriors on Hobnobs silently escorted us to the palace. Underneath us, the path consisted of bricks painted gold. On either side of the wide path were rows of trees that had been manicured to resemble giant facsimiles of the spears the warriors were carrying. On the grounds in front of the palace, beautiful birds with rainbow-colored plumes pranced about. Merlyn remarked that they reminded her of the pictures of peacocks she had once seen in a long-lost book about the flora and fauna of our home planet.

An officious man in a knee-length black tunic greeted us after bowing in my direction. Two of the warriors offered to help me dismount from Emma, but Amos waved them away and took my hand as I carefully stepped down the rope ladder that we threw down from the basket. Malcolm was gallant enough to help Merlyn down the ladder.

The officious man took us inside the palace and, at the end of a short corridor, had us stand waiting before entering the main chamber. Shortly thereafter, we heard the blaring sounds of trumpets, and a stentorian herald announced our arrival.

“Your Royal Highnesses and esteemed members of the Royal Court! Princess Rani of The Eastern Kingdom, accompanied by her Royal Entourage!”

The officious man nodded and signaled to us to enter.

Sitting on matching thrones at the far end of the chamber were King Cyrus and Queen Melora, wearing robes of brocade fabric illustrated with mythic beasts from our home planet, lions and tigers. Jewel-encrusted crowns sat cozily on their heads. They wore several large, gleaming rings on their fingers. Standing to the side of Queen Melora’s throne was an aged woman I supposed was Lydia, Merlyn’s Wizard counterpart. She spoke.

“Welcome to our humble kingdom, your Highness. I am Lydia. It is I who has summoned you to undertake this mission of utmost importance. The salvation of our world from the Dagger of Heaven, which at this very moment is rushing to our destruction. It is the wrath of the Gods for our iniquity and faithlessness. The union of Your Highness and Prince Kelvin will serve as a sign to the Gods that our people are united in our fealty to our Supreme Masters, the creators and destroyers of worlds.”

“These are true words, Lydia,” Queen Melora declared, entering the discussion. “Not only will this marriage of pure souls save our world from fiery doom, but it will also bring our two kingdoms back in harmony, as it once was and was forever fated to be. From tomorrow onward, our two peoples will be one. It is a good thing, Praise the Gods!” Everyone in the room applauded. For no reason at all, I bowed to Queen Melora.

“Princess Rani, your beauty surpasses my imagined vision of you. Even in those strange clothes your party is wearing. Are these a uniform of some kind?”

I shook my head. The non-answer didn’t stop her speech.

“This must be the inestimable Merlyn that Lydia has spoken so highly of. Forgive me; I do not know the others. Are they servants?”

I nodded, which seemed to dismay Amos as he sighed audibly.

“But who is this barbarian behind you? Is he a member of your entourage? We do not suffer the presence of outlanders in our kingdom. Past experience has taught us to avoid contact with these primitives. I would advise against you keeping such trash as pets, however entertaining they may be.”

Malcolm stepped forward with angry intent but Amos held him back, shaking his head.

“Oh no, your Highness, this is Malcolm. He is no barbarian. He rescued us from the clutches of the very type of villainy you’ve mentioned. If it were not for his bravery, we would have been sold to cannibals, the underground people!”

“Really, Princess? Well, this is certainly a sign of changing times. Perhaps we can make an exception in the case of your savior Malcolm.” She turned to Malcolm and addressed him directly, slowly enunciating every word. “Malcolm, you are welcome to stay on the assurance of your benefactor, the Princess.”

With a strong hint of indignation, Malcolm answered, “Thank you for your forbearance, your Highness. I will be honored to extend my visit to your kingdom. And my hearing and command of the language is quite satisfactory, despite being a barbarian.”

“Well, very good then. I’m sure you are in want of a proper meal after six days of hard travel. The chamberlain will show you to your rooms, where you can rest until lunch is served. And Princess Rani, you’ll meet Prince Kelvin, your betrothed, then as well.” She clapped her hands twice, and the officious man who had ushered into the palace came forward to lead us to our rooms.

“Your Highness,” I asked, perhaps out of turn, “where is Prince Kelvin right now? Wasn’t he told I had arrived?”

“That young boy is always deep into his books. He can’t be disturbed when he’s in the Royal Library, reading his favorite subjects. But fear not, he’ll emerge to have lunch. Food is his second favorite subject.”

Amos slapped Malcolm on the back. “Count your lucky stars Rani spoke up for you. Otherwise, they’d be making up a pallet in the stables with the Hobnobs for you.” Amos slapped him again and laughed.

“You’re very pretty,” Prince Kelvin stated rather diffidently as he sat next to me at the enormous roundtable we were having lunch on. He was still holding a dog-eared hardback book in his lap as he stabbed at the pieces of blinkbird on his lunch plate.

I drew in his looks as I sat there, not being very enthusiastic about the meal they had prepared for us. Kelvin was definitely a nine-year-old boy. Not a day older. Beneath his wavy locks of auburn hair, his demeanor belied his youth. Normally, one might say he was well-behaved. But, in actuality, he was possessed of a serene self-confidence that no child I’d ever known displayed. It was a little disturbing to see that in someone 30 centimeters shorter than I.

“Of course, pretty is what girls do,” he added.

“What do you mean by that?” I feigned indignity.

“Everyone in society has a role. Just as everyone has a class they’re born into, I mean, I could’ve been born a peasant, working the orchards on stilts or herding Rumperdons. But, by the Gods, I was born into royalty and possess the qualities of someone in that social position. It’s not necessary for me to be nice to look at, but girls, especially girls of royalty, well…”

“You talk strangely for a boy your age, Kelvin. When I was nine years old—” I stopped, pretending to choke on some food. Releasing the book from his left hand, Kelvin handed me a cup of water.

“See what I mean? Girls are stupid.”

“Lydia is a girl. She’s very smart, isn’t she?”

“Just between you and me, I was the one who explained to her what The Dagger of Heaven was. The only time she looks up at the sky is to correct her astrological charts. Bunch of hogwash if you ask me.”

“So The Dagger of Heaven isn’t real?”

“Oh, it’s real enough. But it hasn’t been sent by the Gods. It’s just a rock. An odd-looking rock but a rock all the same. If you’ve read any old books that survived from the original colony, you’ll know it’s a meteor. Do you know what a meteor is?”

I turned to Merlyn on my right and I asked her, “Do I know what a meteor is?”

Merlyn wiped her mouth with a cloth and swallowed. “Yes, yes, of course you do.”

I turned back to Kelvin. “Yes, I do. Now, why go through this wedding with me if you know The Dagger of Heaven is just a made-up story…that you made up?”

Kelvin was silent for a long second before replying. “Because made-up stories have their uses. People who are dumb are open to suggestion. And one can use that to one’s advantage.”

“I don’t follow you,” I admitted.

“Forget about it. Do you like games?”

“That’s funny. I was more than half-expecting to have to play a game of tetherball with you. After all, you are a nine-year-old boy.”

“Tetherball is for children. I prefer games that require mental skill. Do you play chess?”

“I’ve played it before, but the only person I’ve played with is Merlyn and she always beats me. It’s not a lot of fun, if you ask me.”

“The way I play it is fun. I can make all the preparations in half an hour.”

“Preparations? What do you have to do to prepare to play chess?”

“We play in costumes that match the pieces on the board.”

“Well, okay, but what should I wear?”

“You’ll be in costume as The Queen, of course.”

“Of course.”

©2025 SammyC

Half an hour after lunch in the palace, I strolled into the vast courtyard enclosed by tall spear-shaped trees, accompanied by my little entourage of Merlyn, Amos, Daisy, Edward, and, of course, Malcolm. We were all dressed in costumes appropriate to the chess game Prince Kelvin wanted us to participate in. Merlyn was dressed as a bishop, Amos and Malcolm as knights, Daisy and Edward as rooks, and me as The Queen…all in white.

My gown was splendid. A floor-length white tunic with embroidered filigree trim on the shoulders and down the sleeves was bisected by a broad woven fabric belt upon which hollow gold balls hung. On my head was a tiara of gleaming, burnished metal. As I led our tiny procession into the courtyard, I kept my chin up, eyes bright and wide, and took small, measured steps.

The scene before us was dream-like. A chessboard had been laid out on the ground. Each chess piece was impersonated by members of the court and our little band. In white regalia stood Prince Kelvin, his jeweled crown worn at a rakish angle on his small head, holding his hand out to me. On the other side of the board, Kelvin’s parents, King Cyrus and Queen Melora, stood in place all in black, surrounded by royal subjects we had seen at lunch. The King, especially, smiled broadly at me. One of the black bishops was Lydia, an odd grin on her dark visage.

“Your beauty enhances the gown and tiara beyond imagination, dear Rani,” Queen Melora gushed.

“It’s the most beautiful gown I’ve ever worn, your Highness,” I responded, attempting to curtsy gracefully.

“Enjoy it then, Princess. Your wedding dress is the same design but in azure blue. Please wear this to the feast tonight. I’m sure it pleases The Gods more than the odd clothing you wore when you arrived today,” remarked Lydia. “Prince Kelvin, let us commence the game. And remember everything I’ve taught you about winning strategies. Good luck, everyone!”

Kelvin’s opening gambit was the simple advancement of his King’s pawn. King Cyrus answered with a similar move of a pawn, calling out the coordinates on the board. Rows were in numerical order, columns in alphabetical order. Even with my cursory knowledge of the game, I could see the first few moves as perfunctory. It seemed that we were all in for the long-term, cautious strategy followed by both sides. I must admit I was more engrossed in admiring my gown than following the progress of the game. After all, as the most powerful piece on the board, I wouldn’t be needed until the endgame.

I was shocked to feel Kelvin take my right hand and call out “Queen to H5!” I hesitated for a moment but reassured by Kelvin’s smile, I minced my way to the square he had specified. Standing there with a goofy grin on my face, I first looked over at King Cyrus and then Lydia, who was standing to his immediate left. She nodded her head at me, a smile creasing her stern face. It was then that I realized the knight next to Lydia was one move away from taking me out of the game.

I was somewhat shocked to conclude that Kelvin had committed such a faux pas. Even a neophyte like me would know not to lose as crucial a piece as The Queen so unwittingly. As I expected, black’s move was to move his knight to my square. He gently placed a finger on the embroidery on the sleeve of my gown and smiled nervously. My head bowed, I trudged off the board, shooting an accusatory glance at Kelvin, but he was already calling out his next move.

“Bishop to H6.” Merlyn marched to the assigned square and stared down King Cyrus in her diagonal sights. “Checkmate!” Kelvin shouted, the pride of victory resounding in his alto voice.

“Bravo, Kelvin! You’ve made quick work of us…again,” King Cyrus marveled. There was applause from both sides and the throng of spectators in the courtyard. More puzzled than angry, I took Kelvin aside after he shook hands and received congratulations from everyone.

“What was that all about? Was that planned or just a fortuitous mis-step?” I asked.

“Oh no, it’s a classic game played by Gioachino Greco in 1620 on our home planet. Checkmate in 8 moves with the Queen sacrifice as the bait,” Kelvin replied cooly.

Lydia walked by, saying in passing, “It’s a game I reviewed with Kelvin, oddly enough, right after The Dagger of Heaven first appeared in the night sky.”

“I’ve played very little chess, and what I have, I’ve played badly, but isn’t sacrificing your most powerful piece quite risky? Especially against an experienced player?”

“Oh, I wasn’t concerned about that. No one in our kingdom knew how to play chess before Lydia arrived. She was the one who taught the game to us. When I showed an interest in it, she sort of made me her special student. She taught me the Queen Sacrifice just recently, like she said.”

I stepped away to rejoin my fellows and return to our rooms when Kelvin turned back to me and said, with a strange expression on his face, “Sometimes you have to sacrifice even the most precious things to achieve victory. It’s true for a simple game of chess as well as for far, far more important things.”

I followed Lydia’s advice and wore my chess Queen gown to the feast that evening. I even wore the tiara. They escorted me to a seat next to Kelvin at the head of the enormous roundtable. King Cyrus and Queen Melora sat to Kelvin’s right while Lydia flanked me to my left. Merlyn and Amos sat to Lydia’s left. Daisy, Edward, and Malcolm were not invited to the feast. Rather, they ate with the servants in another part of the palace. Malcolm was not very happy about that.

We were served slices from the centerpiece of the table, an enormous rack of Rumperdon ribs, roasted to a fare thee well and garnished with chopped leaves of a plant Lydia informed me was akin to the coriander on our home planet. When I asked if the plant was native to the region, Lydia told me she had brought the original seeds to the Kingdom when she arrived.

“How long ago was that? And where did you come from? One of the outlander tribes?”

“It must be almost 15 years now. And, yes, I’m from one of those extrinsic tribes, as you call them.”

“That’s fascinating,” I said sincerely. “I would like to hear your life story. Perhaps after the wedding, we can sit down with Merlyn and you can tell us all about it.”

“I doubt that—”

“Why?” I smiled, taken aback by her response.

“Oh, I mean you’ll be occupied with other concerns. Your honeymoon will take you on a long journey unlike anything you’ve experienced. The details of my life story will matter little in the scheme of things.”

I was puzzled over her statement, unsure how to continue our conversation. Kelvin pointed at my plate.

“You haven’t touched your food.”

“I don’t know if I can eat this. I’d feel like a cannibal. I’ve never eaten Rumperdon. Just the thought of eating one of Emma’s cousins gives me the shivers.”

“It’s impolite to reject the delicious meal your esteemed hosts have prepared for us,” Merlyn admonished. “Buck up, buttercup. Eat!” She turned to Queen Melora. “Rani is still such a child. She considers her Rumperdon a pet, not a beast of burden.”

“It makes her all the more charming. So beautiful, so innocent,” Queen Melora declared.

“I do believe The Gods are smiling down on us, your Highness. To send us such a virginal vessel of innocence and beauty,” Lydia said, looking up and folding her hands together, shaking them slowly.

Appropriately shamed, I stabbed a rib with my fork and used the knife in my right hand to carve a sliver of meat off the bone. As I brought the morsel of meat to my lips, eyes closed, Queen Melora interrupted my reluctant movements.

“It’s alright to just pick up the rib and chew away. No standing ceremony here. You are among family now or soon will be. And you will need all your energy to go through your big day tomorrow without collapsing. Think of it as the last best day of your life.” She took her husband’s hand in hers. “My wedding day was the best day of my life. I could have died then and there.”

“Well, since you put it that way, I’ll try to eat my fill.” I smiled at the Queen and picked up the rib, opening my mouth as I brought it to my lips.

I don’t know how I was able to consume half a dozen ribs but I did, throwing down the last one on my crowded plate and letting out an unladylike belch. Smiling, I accepted a cup of wine from Kevin.

“Here, wash it down with some wine.”

“Aren’t you too young to drink wine?” I laughed after I swallowed what seemed like a half a liter of liquid.

“You know what they say. You only live once.”

Amos leaned back behind Merlyn and Lydia and whispered to me, “King Cyrus has been staring at you all evening. He looks like a bird of prey ready to jump on a woodland creature.”

“I’ve seen that look on his face before,” Kelvin interjected from behind us.

“What do you mean?” I asked in a tremulous tone.

“It’s called Droit du seigneur. The King has the right to sleep with any female subject, particularly on her wedding night—”

“What?!” I slapped my mouth shut with my hand, fortunate that the cumulative noise of dinner conversation in the room meant that no one except my interlocutors heard me.

“Sometimes the King can enjoy his right before the wedding night. It’s the law.”

“But he can’t. I mean he couldn’t—”

Amos jumped in. “Rani, make sure you bolt the door to your room tonight.”

Kelvin grimaced and whispered, “My father has keys to every room in the palace.”

“Oh, the Gods,” I muttered.

“There’s a simple solution,” Amos declared. “I’ll stand guard in Rani’s room. He won’t get past me.”

“Thank you, Amos,” I sighed.

Kelvin shook his head. “Of course, it might not happen tonight. Father is deep in his wine. It might be an early night for my parents.”

After Queen Melora led a wine-drunk King Cyrus to their chambers, Lydia invited Merlyn, Amos, and me to take in the night air on the balcony that overlooked the courtyard.

“Look, everyone, there! That shiny, lenticular object in the sky to the right of the smaller of our two moons,” Lydia directed our attention excitedly. “The Dagger of Heaven!”

“It’s approaching us at a constant speed,’ noted Kelvin in a subdued tone. “It will be upon us within two days.”

“But it looks like a blurry blob. It doesn’t look like a dagger to me,” I observed.

“It reflects the sunlight. After all it’s metallic,” Merlyn assured us.

“Yes, you’re absolutely correct, Merlyn. Let me take the opportunity to tell you how delightful it is to find someone as intelligent and knowledgeable as you in the Eastern Kingdom. Without your enlightened receptiveness to my warnings about The Dagger of Heaven, we wouldn’t be able to put this plan into motion and save the world.”

Merlyn reached out to stroke Lydia’s arm. “The disrespect for scientific knowledge in both kingdoms is a sad state of affairs. Bless you, for your sense of duty. What we are about to do…no less than saving the world…will bring unity to our peoples after centuries of conflict.”

“I feel the same, Merlyn.” They looked up at the sky in silence for several minutes.

“Does it make me vainglorious to swell with pride for what we are about to do to save our planet?” I asked Kelvin.

Yawning, Kelvin turned away from the blurry spectacle in the night sky. “You may feel pride, but I’m not sure what to feel about my own role in this.”

“You’ll be famous across the planet for your role in this, Kelvin. And someday, when people from our home planet finally rediscover us, your name will be known to humans across ten light years,” I said, excited by my own words.

“I’m sleepy. Let’s all go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day.” Lydia nodded at Kelvin’s suggestion and led us back inside the palace.

I lay in bed, unable to sleep. The anticipation of the day to come filled me with a heightened level of energy. Perhaps it was the half-dozen Rumperdon ribs or the cups of wine. Sitting at the foot of the bed was Amos, his broadsword in hand, acting like a large watchdog, his eyes focused on the bolt on the door that kept it shut. Kelvin had told us that his father had the key to move that bolt and unlock the door.

“Are you awake, Amos?” I whispered.

“Yes, Rani. Go to sleep. It’s just like watch duty for me. Vance and I did a lot of night watches.”

“Can’t sleep. Tomorrow I’m getting married. It’s silly, isn’t it?”

“We all have to do our duty. Your duty is to save the world.”

“Sometimes I wish I were actually a girl. Do you think I would’ve made a presentable girl?”

“You make one now. A beautiful one.”

“The Gods are cruel, Amos. First off, a whole colony from our home planet gets stranded. Centuries pass and the colony splits into multiple factions. Some of us revert to primitive savagery—”

“Like the underground people Malcolm made up stories about?”

“Oh, you think Malcolm was just pulling our legs about that?”

“Everything Malcolm says is dubious,” Amos said with derision.

“But what about the train? How did we get on that? Who put us on it?”

The sound of a key turning the door lock stopped our conversation. Amos jumped up and ran to the door, raising his sword in anticipation of the door opening. The bolt moved to the left and the door slowly opened. Amos’ sword stopped its descent just a few centimeters from the neck of the person who entered the room.

“Kelvin!” Amos and I shouted in unison.

“It’s a good thing I’m half your height, Amos. Otherwise I’d be headless right now.”

“Didn’t you say your father has the only keys?” Amos asked, breathing heavily.

“That’s what they all think but I had a duplicate set made up by the royal locksmith. A few Rumperdon steaks can be very persuasive.”

“Why are you here, Kelvin? Our wedding night is until tomorrow.”

“As if,” Amos muttered, relaxing his grip on the sword, now at his side.

“I had a change of mind. I was all committed to carrying out Lydia’s plan to completion but when you showed up…” He walked up to my bedside. I reflexively covered myself with my hands, although the nightgown they had given me was quite modest. “You’re different from what I expected. You’re nice and respectful of me despite everyone thinking of me as a mere child—”

“Well, you are nine-years-old,” I pointed out.

“But you listened seriously to me. Only Lydia pays any mind to what I think. Even mother treats me like a brainless homunculus—”

“What?”

“Never mind. What I’m telling you is that I’ve come to help you escape—”

“Escape? What are you going on about?” Amos was standing right behind Kelvin.

“We’re not getting married tomorrow. There’s not going to be a wedding.”

“But why am I here? Just come out with it. All of it!”

Kelvin looked at Amos and me in turn, then audibly swallowed before speaking in a rush. “I don’t have time to explain it all. But you have to leave immediately. All of you. They’re going to sacrifice you to The Gods tomorrow! That’s Lydia’s plan all along to divert The Dagger of Heaven. Not a wedding. A sacrifice!”

“Am I having a nightmare, Amos?” I cried, slapping myself to wake up.

“This is real, Rani!” Kelvin ran to the door and peeked outside. “No time to dawdle. I’ve rounded up everyone else. They’re waiting at the stables. I know a spot in the battlements where we can go unnoticed. But we have to hurry.”

“But what about you, Kelvin. Won’t your parents and Lydia be very angry, to say the least?” I whispered as we moved quickly through the palace in the dark.

“I’m coming with you,” Kelvin whispered in response. “We’re still betrothed, you know.”

Stunned by these outrageous developments, I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I concentrated on keeping up with Amos as we ran through the streets of the city toward the stables, my right hand tightly enfolded in Amos’ large left hand.

At the stables, Merlyn stood by Emma’s massive side, her arms beckoning to us.

“Hurry, Rani!”

Amos lifted Kelvin up into the basket. Merlyn had a worried look on her face.

“How could I have trusted Lydia so completely? I’m an old fool, Rani.”

“It’s all right, Merlyn. You’re our old fool.”

©2025 SammyC

Malcolm, who was riding point on his Hobnob, signaled for our small escaping party to stop when we reached some hills several kilometers from the Western Kingdom.

“Why are we stopping?” asked Amos from the rear, in as loud a voice as he dared. Malcolm dismounted and walked uphill a short distance before taking out his binoculars, as he had called it.

Scanning the horizon behind us, Malcolm declared, “No sign that anyone’s noticed we’ve left. That’s curious.”

“No one will come after us until first light. Everyone sleeps very soundly in our kingdom. Especially the guards,” Kelvin informed us, seated between Merlyn and me in the basket atop Emma.

“Even with a few hours head start, they’ll catch up very quickly. Their Hobnobs are big and fast, faster than our Romperdons,” Malcolm forewarned.

“Then we shouldn’t waste time standing still. Let’s ride!” Amos rode his Romperdon to the front of the line and looked down on Malcolm. “I’ll ride point from here on. Malcolm, you’re our rearguard. Look out for our pursuers.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Malcolm announced as he mounted his Hobnob. “The entrance to the underground train that brought us here from The City is only an hour’s ride from here. Rani, hail your friend Alvin on that thing he placed in your pocket. Do you still have it on you?”

I searched the folds of my nightgown and thanked the Gods that I had, perhaps absentmindedly, kept it with me throughout the various changes of clothing during the day.

“Yes! I still have it,” I exclaimed.

“Speak into it. Perhaps he’ll answer you.”

Holding the thing in my right hand, I moved my lips close to it and called out to Alvin. Magically, it seemed, the object started to turn a shade of blue and the face of a handsome young man that I only recall seeing once before appeared on it.

“Rani? It’s 2 hours past midnight. Too excited to sleep before your wedding day?”

“Alvin? I’m sorry, but I don’t remember exactly who you are. Forgive me. But we need your help! As soon as possible!”

“What’s wrong? Something’s wrong?”

“There is no wedding! They wanted to sacrifice me in order to appease the Gods and divert the Dagger of Heaven!”

“What? That’s superstitious nonsense. Are you being held prisoner?”

“No, we managed to escape in the dark of night. Prince Kelvin saved us. But they’ll catch up to us sooner than later when they set out at first light. We need you to bring the train to us, Alvin.”

“It’ll take me at least 4 hours to get to you. Can you hold out until then?”

“One more thing, Alvin. I must know for sure. You…you won’t rescue us just to eat us, will you?” I swallowed audibly, my hand shaking in fear as I waited for his answer.

“We’ll wait for you at the entrance to the train. Where it dropped us off yesterday,” Malcolm told Alvin, shouting from atop his Hobnob.

“I will bring a squad of men with me, armed for action if need be. Signing off now. Stay safe, Rani.”

His image blinked out of existence and the thing in my hand returned to its normal dark color.

I turned to Malcolm and Amos. “You told us they were cannibals.” Malcolm shrugged his shoulders. “Do you think he’ll get to us in time?”

“Probably not, but we don’t have an alternative plan. Let’s hope that Kelvin is right about how deeply his people sleep. Sunrise is about four hours from now. We’ll cut it really close,” Malcolm calculated.

Amos led the way as we headed toward the train entrance as quickly as our Romperdons’ ponderous gait would allow. An hour’s ride later, we reached the half-hidden entrance to the underground train terminus. Centuries if not millennia of overgrowth and debris had ruined its once shiny edifice.

Once we settled into a campsite a short distance from the entrance, hidden from sight by a thicket of tall trees, Daisy and Edward rummaged through the saddlebags of our Romperdons for any liquid refreshment they could find. They came up with some leather water flasks that we passed around, taking care not to empty them by gulping down their entire contents. Since the early morning air was quite chilly, a good three hours before sunrise, Malcolm used his fire-starting kit to provide us with some heat to warm our hands.

“Sorry, Amos, I’m all out of Dreamweed,” smirked Malcolm.

“Good. I’m taking first watch. Hand me your binoculars, Malcolm.”

Malcolm tossed it to him and then lay down in the grass, placing his hands behind his head to make a temporary pillow. “Kelvin, are you really nine years old? I have an uncle who’s a dwarf. Just about your height, too. Of course, he’s got a beard. You don’t…or do you shave every day to keep up the illusion?”

“Malcolm, he’s really a nine-year-old boy. Can’t you tell?” I teased.

“I’m not as sure about him being nine years old as I am that you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

I must have blushed because Malcolm had a wicked smile on his face.

“You’re prettier than any girl in our kingdom, Rani,” Kelvin said breathlessly.

Merlyn sat down in Malcolm’s line of sight and turned to Kelvin. “Child, you never completely explained what this diabolical scheme is all about. And is it really all Lydia’s doing?”

“Oh, yes, it’s all Lydia’s idea. When I told my parents that the new star in the sky was undoubtedly a meteor, they turned to Lydia, and she hesitated before answering. She told them that the matter needed more consultation with her astrological charts and that she’d give them a full report the next day.

“So I approached her the next morning and asked her why she’d been so evasive about it. After all, we had discussed the fact that it was a meteor just the other day. That’s when I first heard her call it The Dagger of Heaven, sent by the Gods to punish the wickedness of humankind.

“Before I could tell my parents about this strange behavior on Lydia’s part, she’d told everyone in the court that the only way to avert the destruction of the world by The Dagger was to marry you, a princess of the Eastern Kingdom, to me, a prince of the Western Kingdom and, by so doing, appease The Gods’ anger at us.”

“Yes, that’s what Lydia told me through a series of letters a month ago. But where did the idea of sacrificing Rani to quench the bloodthirst of The Gods come from? And, knowing what you knew about the very origin of Lydia’s ruse, why did you continue to go along with it?” asked Merlyn.

“She didn’t tell me about the sacrifice until the day before you arrived. She wanted your people to believe the Underground People had abducted you. That would make your kingdom start a war with The City. When they did, our forces would enter the city through an opening she knew about and take it over. It has something to do with revenge on the Underground People. You know she was exiled from there. Anyway, she thought it was a sardonic touch to use that Queen Sacrifice tactic in the chess game—”

“Sardonic?” Malcolm interrupted. “Now I know you’re not nine years old.”

“Go on, Kelvin,” Merlyn urged. “Ignore Malcolm. He’s an illiterate savage.”

“I couldn’t refuse to go along. Lydia had me at a great disadvantage. Like a checkmate in chess.” Kelvin bowed his head in shame.

“What did she hang over your head, child?”

“She…she knew all about the deal I had made with the locksmith. She knew I used the keys to unlock the storeroom and steal candy and treats. Mother and father believed me when I suggested it was done by vermin.”

“Yeah, vermin that looked a lot like a supposedly nine-year-old boy,” snickered Malcolm.

“That’s it? That’s all she had on you?” I screamed. “You would have let them immolate me or put a noose around my neck so that you could get away with stealing candy?”

“There was also some other embarrassing stuff. I…sneaked into the maids’ chambers to look at them while they were asleep. The pretty ones, of course. Mother would tan my hide if she found out.”

Malcolm leapt from the grass and placed his hands around Kelvin’s throat. “You evil dwarf! I’ll appease The Gods by dispatching you right now!”

Merlyn and I pulled as hard as we could to pry his hands away from Kelvin’s neck. “Please, Malcolm, he’s just a child!”

“A demon child!” Malcolm relented and released a wheezing Kelvin from his grip.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think much about sacrificing someone from the Eastern Kingdom to The Gods.” He saw the look of disgust on our faces. “Well, your kingdom killed a lot of my ancestors in the last war. I thought it would be just revenge. But then you finally arrived and…I fell in love with you.”

“What does a nine-year-old boy know about love, for The Gods’ sake!” Malcolm exclaimed.

“I hope this doesn’t mean you won’t marry me, Rani.” Kelvin’s eyes pleaded with me.

“She’s barely old enough to be your nanny, little boy. Just hope I don’t leave you behind when the train arrives. I’d love to see your hide getting tanned real good.” Malcolm lay back down on the grass. “Wake me up when your boyfriend Alvin gets here.”

“Is…Alvin your boyfriend?” Kelvin tremulously asked.

“No, of course not. I don’t even remember ever meeting him. Malcolm told us he’s someone from the Underground City. All I know is that we were transported here by a vehicle that travels underground, making a journey that normally would take days in a matter of hours. I suppose this Alvin person had something to do with that.”

“I guess girls like you would prefer older men. But please bear in mind my royal lineage. People from different social classes make for bad marriages…”

Kelvin went on and on but my eyes were growing tired. I yawned and slowly lay down on the grass. Before my head hit the ground, Daisy placed a folded blanket under it. I mumbled a thank you and shut my eyes.

Vague filigrees of images of broad corridors that faded into the distance, rooms full of strange furniture and light that emanated from panels set in the ceiling, men and women dressed in tight-fitting one-piece suits made of some shiny smooth material, and a young man with a shock of wavy brown hair and a charming smile filled my dreams.

An old man in front of a gigantic picture screen explained that The Dagger of Heaven was merely an oddly shaped meteor. Malcolm was put on trial for unknown crimes against The City. The City? Was that where the underground people lived? I was still puzzled over these dream images when I felt someone shaking me awake by the shoulders.

“Rani, wake up! We have to move!” I opened my eyes and saw the fear in Merlyn’s eyes to match the panic in her voice. Daisy helped Merlyn pull me up off the grass, and I saw Amos leading Emma over to us. Malcolm was already on his Hobnob, his binoculars trained on the horizon.

As Merlyn, Kelvin and I mounted the basket atop Emma, Malcolm turned his Hobnob around and shouted to us as he rode by. “About a dozen riders. Five minutes away at most. I think Alvin’s not going to get here in time. Let’s move!”

We had barely emerged from the thicket of trees when another dozen riders came at us from the opposite direction. We were caught between the two contingents with no path for escape. Behind the wall of Hobnob riders rising like an ocean tide toward us, a wooden coach drawn by six Hobnobs and trailed by an open-top wagon emerged from its wake. A feminine voice ordered us to stand still. Against a dozen men with crossbows, it sounded like good advice.

It was Lydia who stepped out of the coach, an expression of both annoyance and triumph on her face. Reflexively, Amos reached for his broadsword. As futile a gesture as it was, it nevertheless warranted a response from one of Lydia’s warriors. An arrow whizzed by Amos’ left ear, and the archer took aim again, this time between his eyes.

“The jig is up. Right, Merlyn? You all need to come back with us. I abhor violence, so please offer no resistance. I’ve gone to great lengths to conceive and execute this ingenious plot. I will not let trivial pawns such as you spoil my endgame. Now dismount and allow these gentlemen to load you onto the wagon.”

Kelvin climbed out of the basket and descended the rope ladder down Emma’s side. He approached Lydia and seemed encouraged by a slight softening of her expression.

“Lydia, let them go. It’s no use continuing to make everyone believe that The Dagger of Heaven is anything but a strange-looking rock. I’ll even return with you and tell mother and father that they left me behind after they saw they were clear of the valley. I’ll make sure you won’t be blamed. I was just careless being alone with them after hours. They’ll believe me. We’ll tell them that you made new calculations with your charts—”

“Silly little boy. Do you think I care one wit about you? Or your stupid parents? I have a mission to complete. You, Malcolm or whatever your name is, hand your sword over to my man here. Now!”

Malcolm unsheathed his sword and slowly handed it, hilt first, to the man Lydia had indicated. The man handed it in turn to Lydia.

“Come here, Kelvin. Closer. Let me take a good look at you, child. You are truly the miniature version of your mother…that blathering idiot.” As she enunciated that last word, she thrust the sword into Kelvin. The blade went right through the boy, and he crumpled to the ground. Ten seconds later, he wordlessly expired.

“We’ll show his parents the sword that ended his life. Killed by an outlander’s hand before the age of ten. They will have their revenge on you, Malcolm. Justice will be done.”

“You,” she pointed to one of her warriors. “Place the prince’s body in the wagon and put a blanket over him. I’m not without a heart. His friends should accompany his remains all the way back home.”

We could barely hold back our tears, even Malcolm and Amos, as they marched us toward the wagon.

“We need a plan,” Malcolm said, addressing the wind.

“Our plan was Alvin. That’s out the window now,” I replied. “Counting on him, someone we don’t even know, was a mistake.”

Merlyn turned to me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ve killed us all. Why was I such a fool to listen to that madwoman? It’s all my fault!”

It was at that point, just meters away from the wagon, that the entrance to the train terminus opened like a flower bud, and a thundering noise announced the arrival of what I later learned was called a “truck.” From the inside of the truck, beams of intense red light shot out toward Lydia’s warriors, knocking several of them off their Hobnobs. An oddly familiar voice filled the air.

“Rani, it’s me, Alvin. Hit the ground! Now!”

We fell to the dirt immediately as more rays of red light crisscrossed above our heads. In a matter of seconds, the remaining number of Lydia’s warriors scattered, whipping their Hobnobs into a gallop in all four cardinal directions, leaving Lydia crouching against the side of her coach, cowering as the truck stopped by the wagon to pick us up.

Alvin jumped out of the truck, holding one of the red-light shooting weapons in his right hand. He ran over to me and swept me up in his arms. I was happy to be rescued but I still didn’t know anything about this young man except his name, Alvin.

“Is it really you…Alvin?” Lydia asked in a barely audible whisper. When she realized no one had heard her, she repeated in a louder voice, “Is it really you, Alvin?”

Alvin turned to look more closely at Lydia, but he showed no sign of recognition.

“Yes, my name is Alvin. Who are you?”

©2025 SammyC

“He’s alive! This boy’s still breathing—”

We all turned away from the cowering figure of Lydia as she reached out her pleading hands to Alvin, who was pointing his red-light weapon squarely at her chest. One of Alvin’s comrades was calling to us from the wagon where Prince Kelvin’s body had been placed.

“She ran a sword through the boy!” Amos exclaimed to Alvin.

“Can you do something for him?” asked Alvin, still pointing his weapon at Lydia.

“We can give him a shot of adrenaline. If we hook him up to a drip in the med car—”

“Do it! Can he hold out for the four-hour trip back to The City?”

“It’ll be a close call…” Two of Alvin’s men put Kelvin on a stretcher, carried it to their truck and drove away into the train entrance, down to the train below.

“Now, what do we do with her?” Alvin turned our attention back to Lydia.

“Just leave her out here. Maybe she can walk back to the Western Kingdom. It’s 50/50 she doesn’t make it,” Malcolm sneered.

“She doesn’t deserve a chance to survive this,” Merlyn declared. “She’s the mastermind behind this evil scheme. She was going to have us sacrificed to The Gods. The wedding was just a ploy…”

“What say you, Princess Rani? I believe it’s your call.” Alvin betrayed his own opinion by resuming dead aim at Lydia’s chest.

I looked at Lydia’s pitiful, cowering stance, her face etched with fear and a thought based in a belief in the possibility of an evolved human society on this planet of abandoned souls struck me. Yes, justice must be served but we must progress beyond an eye for an eye and blood revenge.

“No, let us take her back to your city and allow the wheels of justice to turn with deliberate and dispassionate reason. I do not know this for a fact, but your people seem to be far more evolved, technologically and morally.”

Lydia stood up and threw her hands up in surrender, nodding toward me. “Princess Rani speaks eloquently and with righteousness. Yes, I will throw myself on the mercy of the court. On the mercy of The Mayor, your esteemed mother Georgia—”

“How do you know my mother’s name?” asked Alvin, astonished that this strange woman seemed so familiar with his city and his mother.

“Put the blaster down, Alvin. I will go peacefully. I know of your mother and the glories of The City because I am originally from The City. Circumstances came up that made it impossible for me to continue living there. After a period of wandering in the wilderness, I was mercifully taken in by The Western Kingdom.

She gestured, perhaps toward the City. “In return for their kindness, I provided them with the benefit of my superior knowledge and skills. I was only doing the bidding of the Royal Couple and their son, Prince Kelvin. I will explain all of this to your mother—”

“Don’t believe a word she says, Alvin. I’d keep a watch on her all the way back to The City,” warned Malcolm.

“Malcolm, you’re aware that you have been banned from our city,” Alvin reminded him.

“Perhaps your mother…Georgia is her name?” I interjected. “Perhaps Georgia can persuade the authorities of your fair city to rescind Malcolm’s sentence. Whatever he’s accused of, I’m sure he was no party to. It was the work of his sister, Senshi.”

“Rani, don’t you remember anything from your time in The City? Alvin’s mother Georgia was the magistrate who sentenced me to banishment,” Malcolm explained.

“When you all return to The City, I’ll ask that your memories be restored,” Alvin said. “I don’t see why my mother would object. You won’t be a security threat to us after we explain our situation to you.”

He nodded, firmly. “Alright, this is how we’ll proceed. Once the truck returns, we’ll drive into the terminal and board the train. I’ll have Lydia here placed in a separate car and two of my men will stand guard over her. Just to be on the safe side.”

I spoke up. “Alvin, we’d like to take our animals with us. As I recall, they were transported with us when we arrived here on the train. I would hate to leave Emma out here in the wild, all alone. She wouldn’t survive.”

“Of course, as you wish, Princess.” The truck reappeared and one of Alvin’s men took Lydia away by the arm. We mounted our Rumperdons and Malcolm vaulted onto his Hobnob. The opening to the train terminal slowly grew in our field of vision and I heard Merlyn breathe a mighty sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe all of that happened and I don’t remember a single thing.”

I looked at Alvin, disbelief showing in my expression. We were sitting in the same hammock-like seats we woke up in the morning before. This time, Alvin was sitting with us, having recapitulated the events that transpired from the moment we entered the dome of The City, a destination we had been told was the home of the Underground People.

Malcolm had led us to believe that the denizens of this underground citadel were cannibals who traded goods to his tribe for human victims. Apparently, he was wrong. His sister Senshi had fed him a convenient myth that served the uses of both parties. That explains the miraculous healing of Amos’ arms. And the mystery of what happened to Luna was solved. If what Alvin is telling us is really true.

“You’ll recall everything when we restore your memories. Especially of the things I said to you about the way I feel toward you.” He bowed his head, embarrassed by what he had just let slip in front of all of us.

“That’s very sweet of you, Alvin, but I am still betrothed to Prince Kelvin…should he survive.”

“You are so literal-minded, child,” Merlyn chided. “Nothing about this whole misadventure was legitimate. We will return home and forget all about this. Now that we know the Dagger of Heaven was just a made-up ruse—”

Alvin cleared his throat. “The meteor is still headed toward us, Merlyn. Dr. Princeton says tonight is its closest approach—"

“I spoke too soon!” exclaimed Merlyn.

“Closest approach,” Alvin reiterated. “It’s going to miss us by thousands of kilometers.”

“Does anybody mind if I smoke?” Malcolm began to take his right boot off. He turned it upside down and a small leather pouch fell out into his hand. Placing the pouch on his lap, he reached into one of the pockets of his breeches and took out his fire-starter kit. From the pouch he pulled a stick of dreamweed and began to light it.

“So you lied about being down to your last stick of dreamweed,” Amos scolded.

“This time I am down to the last stick. The one still in the pouch has your name on it, if you want it.” Malcolm took a puff of the stick in his mouth and held the pouch out to Amos.

“Don’t, Amos. It’s a terrible habit,” Merlyn declared in a maternal tone.

“No, thanks. You had that in your boot, packed against your dirty, smelly foot!”

“It’s time for breakfast anyway,” Alvin remarked. “The robot kitchen on the train is preparing it as we sit right now. Give it another five minutes. I hope you’ll all like Rumperdon strips and Blinkbird eggs with a hot cup of fermented bean decoction to wash it down with—”

“Why do you all like eating Rumperdons? They’re such wonderful pets and fun to ride,” I complained.

“I had a pet Rumperdon when I was a boy. I loved that animal. Rode it everyday through the hills and valleys around our tribal grounds. Then, one day, Father decided to roast it for a holiday feast.” Malcolm took one last long drag on his dreamweed stick. “But, damn, it was delicious.”

I rolled my eyes at that and found Alvin staring at me.

“What?”

“I was just thinking. Tonight, when the meteor passes by us, it’ll make for a spectacular display in the sky. It’ll reflect the sun like our moons but more intensely. It very well may seem like a burning dagger in heaven. But we’ll be safe. We’ll just stare in wonder at the fireworks in the firmament.”

“If Dr. Princeton is correct in his calculations…” I cautioned.

“There’s a platform near the top of our dome that would be the perfect place to watch the spectacle. I will bring you up there tonight and we can take it all in, just the two of us.”

“You’re silly, Alvin. Won’t everyone in the city be there as well? We’ll be two spectators among hundreds.”

“I doubt it. The sky show will be broadcast live on our TV network. Everyone will enjoy it in the comfort of their own homes on their wall screens. Except you and me.”

“I’ve always enjoyed fireworks displays. But I can’t enjoy this alone. Let’s invite Merlyn, Amos, Malcolm, Daisy, and Edward. The whole gang! And maybe Luna too…”

Alvin’s lips formed a tight smile as he slowly nodded his head in defeat.

We stepped out of the train into a dreamworld. A vast underground room enclosed by gently curving walls that radiated warm, glowing light. Standing in front of a line of men bearing blasters was Alvin’s mother Georgia, tall, raven-haired, and still beautiful in middle-age. Contrary to the stern looks on the faces of the armed men, Georgia’s expression displayed the relief felt by a concerned mother upon the safe return of her only child.

“Alvin! I was worried to an inch of my life when I was informed you had gone out in the dead of night on this rescue mission. Thank heavens, you have all returned safe and sound. Our guests from The Eastern Kingdom are always welcome in The City. Though you don’t remember me, Rani, I do you. Very pleasantly, I add—”

“Mother, did you bring the ambulance I asked for? Prince Kelvin of The Western Kingdom has been seriously wounded. He needs to be tended to in our medical center as soon as possible.”

Before Alvin finished asking, two women in coveralls moved Kelvin from his stretcher to a gurney and pushed it toward an ambulance some meters away, carrying the IV stand alongside it.

Georgia rushed forward to hug Alvin and then hug each of us in turn. She stopped when she came to Malcolm.

“You! You are not allowed in The City! Alvin, why did you bring him back with you?”

“Georgia, please reconsider Malcolm’s banishment,” I pleaded. “He’s done nothing but try to protect me since his sister abducted us. Do not punish him for the evil crimes of Senshi—”

Georgia softened her demeanor and took my hand. “Alright, Rani. We’ll think about it. Perhaps we need to investigate his culpability more fully. I make no promises. For the time being, he’s welcome to stay with us.”

“It doesn’t make any difference to me, lady. I don’t expect to get any merit badges from you,” Malcolm said defiantly.

Everyone turned around to see Lydia being brought out of the car she was detained in for the duration of the four-and-a-half-hour trip. She was being held with her hands tied behind her by one of Alvin’s men, his blaster slung over his shoulder. Georgia’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as Merlyn tried to identify her.

“That’s the witch who tried to have us all killed. The one who invented this Dagger of Heaven scam. She ran a sword through Prince Kelvin. The poor boy better make it, or it’ll be a dead bang case of cold-blooded murder.”

“Miranda!!! I thought I’d seen the last of you 17 years ago!” Georgia screamed.

“Miranda? Her name is Lydia,” I stated, confused by Georgia’s reaction.

“Hello, big sister. Long time no see, huh?”

“Mother, I didn’t know you had a sister,” Alvin uttered in surprise.

“The thot plickens,” Merlyn muttered.

“Commander, take this woman to detention. Place her under 24-hour guard. We’ll deal with her long list of crimes at a hearing tomorrow morning. 10AM sharp!”

The commander signaled to two of his men to take Miranda into custody. As they escorted her out, Miranda turned to her sister.

“I look forward to the hearing, Georgia. You know I have a long, sordid story to tell. A story that’ll put you in the worst light, not me. Be careful who you accuse of cold-blooded murder!” She cackled, her laughter dying away as they loaded her into a tube conveyor, headed toward jail.

“Mother, what is she talking about?” asked Alvin.

“She’s insane. Don’t believe a word she says. I hope she doesn’t think I will be showing her any mercy tomorrow. Come, let’s go back to my house. Luna and Eric will be so happy to see you again, safe and sound.”

When we were seated in the next tube conveyor that arrived, Merlyn sighed and turned to me, her hand holding an imaginary item next to her mouth. She chomped down on that something imaginary.

“Just a cotton-picking minute,” she said in a funny accent. “I should’ve taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”

After we reunited with Luna and her father Eric (wasn’t he supposed to be dead?), Georgia sent us to Dr. Princeton’s laboratory to have our memories restored. Malcolm, who decided not to go back with us to Georgia’s house since Eric believed him to have taken part in the atrocities committed by The Two Moons Tribe, was shown his temporary quarters where he proceeded to take an afternoon nap.

The memory restoration process involved sitting in a comfortable chair and having a helmet placed on your head. Dr. Princeton tried to explain that our memories had not been erased but merely removed to a different part of our brain where it could be hidden from our consciousness. The helmet somehow returned those hidden memories to their original place. By the time he had finished explaining the process to us, our memories had been recovered. In a flash, I remembered everything.

When Alvin asked me if the memory restoration was successful, I nodded and smiled. What I remembered most starkly was what Georgia had told me before I lost consciousness on her couch that evening after Eric’s delicious dinner of Blinkbird Fricassee. That she knew I was a boy and that I had no hope of a future with Alvin.

“Something wrong?” Alvin asked when I followed the smile with an unconscious frown.

“No, everything’s fine.”

“Don’t forget the fireworks display after dinner tonight. Dr. Princeton says the meteor will flash across the sky around 10PM. It looks like it’s going to be a clear night too. Two moons and a flaming meteor should be some show!”

True to his word, Alvin and I found ourselves alone on the terrace near the top of the Dome of the underground city at 10PM that evening. In the clear sky above us, a blanket of twinkling stars and two moons, one larger than the other smaller, metallic-seeming one, filled our eyes with awesome beauty. The air was chilly and I shivered in my pink coveralls, my breath coming out as misty water vapor.

Alvin wrapped his arms around me and looked down into my eyes. He pressed his lips against mine. I felt weak at the knees. Luckily, his strong arms held me up as he continued to kiss me. I greedily kissed him back.

I was the first to disengage, holding Alvin at arm’s length.

“You told everyone to decline my invitation, didn’t you,” I chided Alvin.

“They understood. I had to bribe Malcolm though. I traded him our fastest Hobnob for his nag. But it was worth it to be alone with you.”

“You know there’s no future for us, Alvin. I have my role to play in my kingdom. You will probably be elected Mayor when your mother’s term ends.”

“Stay with me, Rani. We can unite your kingdom with my city. We can bring peace and prosperity to our planet if we combine our skills and knowledge.”

“Let’s not argue, Alvin. Is there any word on Prince Kelvin’s condition?”

“They operated on him right after he arrived in the medical center. Now he’s in a medical coma while the nanobots do their thing. That might take a couple of days, but the doctors tell me he’ll completely recover.”

“Oh, that’s so good to hear, although I have no idea what nanobots are. I suppose now that Lydia…I mean Miranda…is out of the way, I wonder if the wedding is off.”

“Rani, you are a riot. Of course it’s off. The bad feelings between the two kingdoms are now worse by a factor of ten!”

A glowing object approached from the East, high up in the sky but below our moons.

“Look! Alvin! There it is! The Dagger!” I cried, jumping up and down, excited yet frightened at the same time.

We held each other tightly and craned our necks to watch the stately progress of the burning, gleaming cylindrical object as it moved from east to west.

“I still can’t see it clearly. It’s like it’s surrounded by an aura,” observed Alvin.

“It’s not like any meteor shower I’ve ever seen. It’s moving much slower across the sky,” I noted.

“You know, I never had as much respect for Dr. Princeton as I have now. He predicted everything to a T. It is going to miss hitting us. Look, it’s just sweeping across the sky from east to west. There’s not going to be an impact,” Alvin exhaled.

After another few minutes, the meteor disappeared over the horizon in the west. Alvin turned back to me, still holding me in his arms.

“Marry me, Rani.”

“I can’t. Look, like your mother told me, you’d find out sooner or later. I’m not a girl. I’m a boy.” I waited for his disgusted reaction, but it didn’t come. He just smiled.

“I know. Mother broke down and told me when I found out she’d spiked your wine and put you all on the train. She didn’t think I’d ever see you again. The joke’s on her. But you didn’t answer me. Will you marry me, Rani?”

“You like boys?”

“No. I’m in love with the girl in my arms.”

©2025 SammyC

Reason overcame impossible emotions and Alvin finally surrendered to the reality of our situation. It took a few more lingering kisses and incremental logical arguments on my part before Alvin agreed that there could never be a romantic future for us. In the morning, my little entourage and I would begin our journey back to The Eastern Kingdom, where I would resume my original identity as Prince Rani, the sole male heir to the crown.

Malcolm begged to return with us and, over the objections of Merlyn and Amos, I granted his wish. Perhaps when he discovers my true gender he will want to turn around on his Hobnob and ride away. But, if he chooses to stay, I know he could become a stalwart in the Royal Guard.

Early the next morning, Luna was shepherding us into the elevator to ascend to the dome where our animals were awaiting us, loaded up with our possessions and enough food to last the three days' travel back home, when her communication device emitted a buzzing sound.

“Rani, Alvin wishes to speak to you.” Luna handed the device to me and I saw Alvin’s smiling face across its flat surface.

“Rani, I don’t want that argument last night to be our last memory of each other—”

“Why? You’ll always be welcome in our Kingdom. My parents would love to meet you—”

“That’s not possible, Rani. My mother has an airtight policy about keeping the existence of The City a mythical legend to the people of both kingdoms. Chances are, if you go away now, we’ll never see each other again. Can you stay at least until after Lydia’s trial this morning? I’m sure my mother would like to say farewell to you as well—”

“Of course, I’ll say goodbye to your mother,” I replied.

“And aren’t you the least bit curious about how Lydia’s trial turns out? After all she put you through?”

“Frankly, Alvin, I’d just as soon forget about everything that’s happened in the last week—”

“Even meeting me?” asked Alvin shyly.

“You’ve been a wonderful friend, Alvin. I’ll never forget you. Never.”

“Come to the courthouse. All of you. The trial will be over quickly. She has no defense for what she did at all. Afterwards, I’d like to give you a farewell gift. Just don’t tell my mother about it.”

We were seated in the front row of the gallery in a packed courtroom. There were at least 50 people in a room meant to hold a maximum of two dozen, including the rarely used jury box that held six seats. Lydia’s trial had attracted the elite of The City. Officials from several departments filled the front rows in front and behind us. Doctor Princeton tapped me on the shoulder and winked at me.

Presently, the doors to the courtroom swung open and Lydia was led in, a marshal securely gripping each arm. She was placed in the docket, facing Georgia, who sat behind a tall desk, pounding her gavel onto its wooden block.

“Order, order in the courtroom!” The din of voices died down abruptly. “Court is in session to try the case of The City versus Miranda, AKA Lydia of the Western Kingdom. Will the Prosecutor General please read the charges against the defendant?”

The Prosecutor General, a young man named Randolph, read aloud the list on his device. “The defendant, Miranda, AKA Lydia, is charged with 1 count of violating their permanent banishment from The City, as ordered 16 years and 3 months from the date of this trial, 6 counts of unlawful imprisonment with intent to commit murder, and 1 count of premeditated, attempted murder.”

Georgia turned to Lydia. “How does the defendant plead to these charges?”

“Dispense with this circus of a trial. I admit to being guilty of each and every one of those charges and many more you aren’t even aware of. Yes, I plead guilty!”

“Then the court will now consider sentencing—”

“If your Honor will allow me. May I cut to the chase and make my statement now?”

“You pled guilty, waiving a defense. What would be the purpose of making a statement at this point?”

“I’m sure everyone here in the room would like to know why I’ve done all these criminal acts, as you call them. And I would like to tell you, especially you, dear sister—”

“Keep your speech to a minimum. I will grant you an opportunity to appease your guilt. Please proceed,” Georgia indicated, a stern expression on her face.

Lydia, as we knew her, not her actual given name of Miranda, straightened up in the docket to her full height, her chest thrust forward with undeniable pride.

“You are all beneath my contempt. This is a planet of lost souls where a privileged elite have devolved into monsters of unbridled lust for cruel self-aggrandizement. My sister is a prime example. As are the so-called royal personages of both kingdoms. Even the leaders of outlander tribes fall into this death spiral of autocracy.

“There was a moment in time when The City was in crisis. Our mastery of the alien technology we had lucked upon had stalled. We had reached the limit of our resources. With the knowledge that we could not sustain any growth in population, we decided, in our wisdom, to limit births to once in a generation for the entire community. A lottery was supposed to impartially select the designated parents of the golden child.

“My older sister, Georgia, used her position as newly elected Mayor to game the lottery—”

A wave of muttered denials swept across the gallery. A few voices were loud enough to be distinct, shouting “You lie! Liar!”

“Ask Doctor Princeton. He was the one who confirmed that my sister was barren, incapable of bearing a child. Yet, my sister prevailed upon him to keep that a secret. Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that Georgia named him Head Scientist shortly thereafter.

“My dear sister came to me and proposed that I bear the golden child for her through in-vitro fertilization using her husband’s sperm. I agreed to do it for various reasons, not least of which was that I loved my sister. It was a well-kept secret. I was secreted away for the duration of my pregnancy in the medical center under the ruse that I had contracted some sort of highly contagious virus. After I gave birth to the child my sister named Alvin—”

Alvin shot up from his seat and shouted, “No! That’s not true! It can’t be! Mother! Please tell me it’s not true!”

Georgia brought her gavel down and told Alvin to sit back down. “Let her weave her fabric of lies and self-deceptions. She is insane.”

“Insane, you say, dear sister? Ask Doctor Princeton. There are a select few who know the truth. After I gave birth, I was shocked and saddened to realize my sister had decided to erase me from her life. She took my baby away from me and concocted a story about how I had threatened to abduct Alvin and foment an insurrection against the government of The City.

“You hopeless automatons believed every word of her screed against me and applauded when she banished me from The City. She left me out there to die. All so she could enjoy unfettered dominion over all of you. A Mayor’s term is four years. She has now been in office for twenty years with every indication that she’ll only relinquish power when she’s rotting in her grave.”

“Are you finished? Marshals, please escort the prisoner to the holding cell to await her sentencing—”

As the marshals came forward to lead Lydia away, half a dozen men and women rose from the gallery and pointed blasters at the marshals and court officials, including Georgia. The blasters they held in their hands looked remarkably similar to communication devices. One of the men shot a streak of intense red light just a few centimeters above Georgia’s head. At the same time, one of the women tossed a blaster to Lydia, who turned around and aimed it directly between Georgia’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Georgia, I’m not going to kill you. Others will do that. You’ll see.” She turned to the gallery. “No one is going to burst through those doors to rescue you. I have partisans all through The City, in every department. They took over control the moment this trial started…as I planned. Yes, this was all planned out. For almost 15 years, since I arrived in The Western Kingdom after more than a year wandering in the wilderness, thanks to the kindness of some tribes you would call savages, I have carefully put the pieces of this plan into place, using the continued loyalty of a few members of The City.

“You gave me nothing, not even a Hobnob, when you pushed me out the door. But someone surreptitiously handed me a communicator. With that I was able to cultivate the resistance that will soon end your reign as despot.”

“Due to my ingenious plot, both kingdoms have sent armies to avenge the crimes they believe you have committed against them. You, dear sister. They will want your head. For the abduction and attempted murder of Prince Kelvin. For the abduction and putative murder of Princess Rani. It was never a good idea to foster the illusion that we were a nation of cannibals. Simple minds will believe that just as they believed there was a Dagger of Heaven hurtling toward the planet, sent by the Gods to eradicate us.”

She looked over at Merlyn, a devilish sneer on her lips. Merlyn covered her face and groaned in agony.

“When those armies converge on The City at sundown tonight, I will emerge from the dome, holding Georgia as my prisoner. I will also present Princess Rani and the recovering Prince Kelvin to the combined multitudes. They will acknowledge me as a hero, saving the lives of their precious progeny. I can only imagine the horrible things they will do to you, dear, dear sister.”

“They won’t believe you. We’ll tell them all about your evil duplicity,” I cried.

“Will you? I doubt that. Not after I’ve had all your memories of the last few days erased.”

At that moment, two more men with blasters entered the room. They approached us in the front row of the gallery and aimed their weapons at us.

“Please follow these gentlemen to Doctor Princeton’s laboratories. Some of my friends are there to administer a refreshing whitewash of your memories. Don’t keep them waiting.”

Twenty minutes later, eight of us – Amos, Merlyn, Malcolm, Luna, Eric, Daisy, Edward, and I – were strapped into chairs. Nets of blinking lights were placed on our heads. Merlyn and Daisy were quietly sobbing while Malcolm and Amos remained stoic and silent. I told Eric and Luna that they wouldn’t feel a thing. They would just regain consciousness with a void where their recent memories should still reside.

Our conversation was cut short by the sound of clicking switches and dials being turned. Gradually, a fog descended upon my consciousness as if I were falling asleep. My eyelids became heavy and a sensation of floating in air came over me.

As if someone snapped their fingers, my eyes opened and a strange scene appeared before me. I was sitting in a cushioned chair. Looking down at myself, I was dressed in the royal garments of The Eastern Kingdom. I was every bit the image of a princess.

I looked around me. I was in a large room that reminded me of the pictures of 22nd century homes Merlyn had shown me. I still remember the names of the things she pointed out: the fireplace, the plush sofa with matching end tables, a burgundy rug that covered the center of the room, drapes that framed windows looking out into a star field that seemed to recede to a vanishing point, and walls lined with bookcases filled with actual printed books. I recognized the name Shakespeare on the spines of a group of the books.

The door to the room opened and a tall man with gray hair and a well-groomed beard walked in. He seemed to me to be at least 70 years old but in good health. He was wearing what Merlyn told me was a three-piece suit. On his feet were thin boots made of white canvas. The soles of his boots made a skidding sound before he stepped onto where the rug started.

“Hello, Rani. Welcome to my home. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Who are you? Where am I? And how do you know my name?”

“All interesting questions. First of all, I will tell you who I am.”

Suddenly, a glass of water materialized in my hand.

“It’s distilled water. Try it. It’ll wet your whistle.”

I sipped cautiously at first. When I tasted the water’s refreshing, slightly metallic tang, I realized how thirsty I was and gulped down the rest.

“I am Percival Randall, the man who sent your ancestors to the stars.”

But that was more than 500 years ago. My lips moved but it took me two tries to ask what seemed an important question.

“Am…am I dead?”

©2025 SammyC

“I am Percival Randall, the man who sent your ancestors to the stars.”

But that was more than 500 years ago. My lips moved but it took me two tries to ask what seemed an important question.

“Am…am I dead?”

“No, my child, you are very much alive…and well. Look,” he pointed to an image that suddenly appeared in the distance between us.

I saw myself strapped into a chair in Dr. Princeton’s laboratory in The City, along with my comrades and fellow travelers. Standing behind us, hands on dials and knobs in a wall of machinery, were several men and women, all dressed in the uniform coveralls of the Underground People.

“But how is that possible? I’m here…with you.”

“Here? This is a space where our minds can meet and interact. It is not a physical location.”

“Also, the image is still. No one and nothing has moved since it first appeared. Not even a blink of an eye,” I noted, confused by my circumstances.

“Our conversation is taking place at a speed many thousands of times faster than normal speech. I could explain why that is but…it’s not important. Let me explain instead who I am and why I have arrived at your planet, which you have named after me. Of that, I feel profoundly honored.

“Finish your water. I made it especially for you. Now, let me see. Yes. 500 years ago, my corporation sent a colony of 100 men and women to the third planet in the Proxima Centauri system, to mine it for precious and rare metals that would make unlimited nuclear fusion energy possible and lift human civilization to another level. Unfortunately, that colony ship was lost. At least, as far as we knew. Well, not me personally. I died midway through the 100 years that it was supposed to take to reach its destination. Before I passed away, as was the fashion at the eve of the 23rd Century, I uploaded my consciousness and had my mind digitally stored. At the time, like the earlier attempts at cryogenic preservation, there was nothing to download it into whenever the opportunity finally arose.”

“You are speaking in riddles, Mr. Randall—”

“Bear with me. Eventually, if my plans come to fruition, you will comprehend everything I’m telling you. Ten years ago, my 10 times granddaughter, Lesley Randall Moncrieff, a Professor Emeritus in 23rd Century History, was doing research on early space colony missions. She decided to converse with my uploaded mind to gather details on what is widely known as ‘The Lost Colony of Proxima Centauri.’

During our discussions, she mentioned it was now possible to download a neural image into a cyborg, something I rejected out of hand. That would be life without living, existence without humanity, being without meaning. She cracked a joke about downloading me into the operating system of a spaceship so I could go looking for my lost colony. The next time she accessed me, I asked her to do just that – download my mind into a superluminal spaceship. A spaceship that uses a warp drive allowing it to travel at multiples of the speed of light.

So, you see, Rani, I am The Dagger of Heaven. But I was not sent by the Gods. I was launched from a spaceport sitting in a Lagrange Point some 1,500,000 kilometers from Earth. It took me these ten years to finally locate you, going from star system to star system in a locus of 8 light years. I had originally planned to rescue you all or what remained of the colony. But I have exhausted nearly all of my fuel reserves. I cannot even leave this system, much less return to Earth. However, as I am responsible for your predicament, I want to help your society attain the technological level it was never able to reach.”

“So what I am seeing is not real? You are not alive?”

“No, the ship is my body, so to speak. Currently, my ‘body’ is submerged in the ocean off your West Coast. It’s fine. I was on the swim team at university. I suppose it would be disconcerting having to converse with a hulking, metallic machine. I trimmed my beard especially for this meeting. Did I do a good job? It’s been centuries since I’ve shaved.”

“How do you propose to help my people?”

“As I approached your planet, I was able to learn the history of the colony from the time of its landing from the digital records kept by the founders of The City. They believed in posterity, despite the dire circumstances of what they presumed was the dissolution of the colony due to internecine conflict. There were also video records kept by what you believe to be a second moon orbiting the planet. In reality, it’s a satellite left by the alien race that originally mined the planet many thousands of years ago. It still functions, monitoring various locations, filing reports to who knows where and whom.”

“I wonder what the alien miners looked like,” I mused.

“I can show you pictures. But, back to my plan. The splintering of the colony into warring factions and the concomitant decline into a medieval state of existence, save for the small group who essentially hide from you all in The City, must be reversed. You are one people, meant to thrive as a united entity. I had envisioned you as pioneers, avatars in a new space age for humanity. But, here you are, mired in a static, feudal civilization, with fading memories of your home planet and its cumulative knowledge.”

“By sundown today, your vision of a united people will be smeared with the blood of a thousand or more partisans from three different kingdoms…”

“I can and will prevent that,” Percival Randall’s image vowed, stroking his well-manicured beard.

“Again, I ask, how?”

“First of all, I can prevent Dr. Princeton’s machines from erasing your memories. A simple electromagnetic pulse aimed at his apparatus will disable it. Then, I ask for your patience. When the forces from the two kingdoms converge upon The City tonight, go along with Lydia’s scheme. Up until the moment The Dagger of Heaven makes its formal entrance.”

“But why are you telling me this? Me. Why did you need to speak to me?”

“Rani, you are my 11 times granddaughter. Your DNA tells me you are the 10 times granddaughter of my eldest daughter, Dr. Rachel Randall Kline, who was the leader of the colony.”

“But I am your grandson, not your granddaughter!” My eyes teared up as my voice died away.

“Yes, I’m aware of that, Rani. Do you want to be a boy or a girl? What is it you really want?”

I did not hesitate in my answer. “A girl, sir. I’d prefer being a girl.”

“We’ll see to that in time, Rani. First, we must ‘form a more perfect union,’ as the preamble to the American Constitution proposes, in this place, on this planet, at this time.”

“Are you telling me I can become a real –”

I opened my eyes to find myself strapped in a chair in Dr. Princeton’s laboratory. My initial confusion passed quickly as I recalled my conversation with Percival Randall that happened…just now. In less than a blink of an eye, my mind had returned to my physical body. I never got to hear Mr. Randall’s answer to my question.

“What’s wrong?” asked Dr. Princeton in a raised voice.

“I don’t know. The controls went dead. Did we have a power outage?” One of the Doctor’s assistants rushed over to the panel and nodded his head.

“That’s strange. Everything else is working. Just this machine.”

“We’ll have to check it out and see if it’ll need a simple repair,” Dr. Princeton announced as Lydia walked into the room.

After Dr. Princeton explained the problem to Lydia, she ordered us returned to the courthouse to await the successful repair of the memory-erasing machine. The eight of us were released from our chairs and two men carrying blasters shepherded us out.

“They won’t be able to repair the memory-erasing machine,” I told Alvin, almost giggling.

We were seated in the gallery of the courtroom, a quartet of armed guards watching our every move.

“Rani, it’s not a laughing matter. They’ll repair the machine in plenty of time before the armies arrive tonight. Then no one will be able to refute Lydia’s lies as she executes my mother in front of them. No one.”

“Do you think she was lying about being your real mother?”

“I can’t even imagine that my mother isn’t my real mother. Or that…that madwoman is.”

“I have a strong feeling that everything’s going to work out in the end, Alvin. I can’t tell you how. You wouldn’t believe me if I did.”

“Whatever happens, even if Lydia succeeds, I have a contingency plan. There are tunnels, even another train that very few people in The City know about. Lydia will never find me.” He turned to look intently in my eyes. “Rani, if it comes to that, will you come with me? We can make it on our own. Remember what I told you about the other tribes out in the wilds? I’ve made friends with some of them. No, not The Two Moons Tribe. Others. Farmers. Cattle herders. We could have a good life on this blasted planet, away from all the madness and hatred.” Alvin grabbed my shoulders. One of the guards looked our way. I shushed Alvin.

“Are you proposing to me, Alvin? Have you forgotten my secret? Did Georgia have your memories erased after last night?” I placed my index finger on his lips. “It will all work out, Alvin. Just be patient. You’ll see.”

“But Rani—”

“And my answer is…yes. I accept. But I don’t intend on being a farmer’s wife. It would be terrible on my nails!”

“I love a bloodless revolution!” Lydia crowed, as she ushered us to the entrance of the dome. Two armed guards grabbed Georgia by her arms and pushed her to the front of the group behind Lydia. Two other guards trained their blasters on the rest of us: Alvin, Amos, Merlyn, Daisy, Edward, Malcolm, Luna, Eric, and me. In a wheelchair sat Kelvin. The little fellow was barely awake, still recovering after having a sword run through him. The pain-killers in his system made him seem slightly inebriated.

“Of course, a little blood will necessarily have to be spilled. Yours, dear sister,” Lydia said with fake regret. “Justice must be served, after all. At least, it’ll be your own blood relative doing the deed and not some anonymous stranger with a crossbow.”

Georgia struggled vainly against the gag in her mouth but her eyes blazed with anger and reproach at her younger sister.

The communicator in Lydia’s hand emitted a buzzing sound and she held it in front of her face.

“Armies approaching from both sides, Lydia. Two minutes away. Right on schedule.”

Lydia replaced the communicator in her pants pocket and ordered the doors to the entrance to be opened. The night streamed in as the iris-like door bloomed. In the near distance, hundreds of hobnobs, their riders holding crossbows in one hand, reins in the other, came galloping toward us. There were banners and torches held aloft and war yelps grew in volume as they approached.

With Georgia held by the guards at her side, Lydia stepped out into the dim light of evening. She raised her hand and shouted above the din of hobnob hooves and battle exhortations.

“Halt! I am Lydia of the Western Kingdom! I have rescued Princess Rani and her entourage and Prince Kelvin from the clutches of our mutual enemy, the diabolical Underground People. This is their leader, the mastermind behind these abductions, Georgia! In the name of justice and on behalf of the good people of both kingdoms, I shall summarily execute Georgia here and now. May the Gods have mercy on your soul!”

Georgia was pushed to her knees before Lydia, who raised the blaster in her right hand and aimed it right between her eyes.

Suddenly a huge dagger-shaped object, its angular sides glinting in the dying light of early evening, settled above our heads, filling the sky. What resembled the sound of a thunder crack accompanied its appearance.

“Look! It’s the Dagger of Heaven!,” cried Merlyn. The thousand or more souls on that plain turned their heads up toward the object and the only sounds I could hear were the wails of terror and awe coming from the warriors on their steeds.

What followed drew more gasps and wails. It was an image of Percival Randall, dressed as I had seen in my dream-like encounter earlier in the day, floating in mid-air, perhaps a hundred times the size of an actual human being. He seemed to look down on all of us as he spoke in a thunderous voice.

“I am Percival Randall, the man who sent your ancestors to the stars five centuries ago. I have come in peace, crossing the vast distances between the stars to guide you, my veritable children, back onto the right path. Lay down your arms. You must learn to live together. Again.”

“No!” Lydia howled at the giant floating image. “This is sorcery! It is your doing, isn’t it, Merlyn?”

A sizzling sound ripped through the air and the blasters held in the hands of Lydia’s guards glowed red-hot. Crying out in pain, they dropped the blasters in unison. Lydia held her empty right hand in front of her eyes and dropped to her knees, looking up at the impassive face of Percival Randall.

©2025 SammyC

I stepped out of the mechanical vehicle Dr. Princeton had informed me was called a van. The sun was at its zenith in the sky and a soft breeze came down from the mountains in the distance. It was cool in these climes but the coveralls the Underground People had given me before I started my mission kept me cozily warm.

Merlyn took my hand as I helped her step off the van. She was wearing her favorite green coveralls, an outfit she had adamantly refused to wear a year ago. Amos and Luna were looking through binoculars, surveying the mountain passages for signs of the emissaries from the tribe of sea-faring fishermen here on the farthest edge of the West Coast. We discovered that the tribe comprised almost a thousand individuals. They had splintered off the original colony after the turn of the first century. They seemed to have carved out a good life for themselves, even as they had ceased contact with every other group on the continent. In fact, without the aid of Percival Randall’s “eye in the sky,” we would never have even known this tribe existed.

It was the last of the twelve outlander tribes we had sought to join our new planet-wide nation. A year of travel, meetings, persuasion, and negotiation had finally knitted the various strands of humanity on Randall’s Planet into one coherent mosaic. It has been my mission, my reason for being, for the better part of a year, dating back to the day Percival Randall appeared above the dome of the Underground City.

The three major factions on our planet -- the Eastern and Western Kingdoms and the Underground City – formed a coalition government under the direction of Mr. Randall. He explained to them that he was not the flesh and blood Percival Randall. That Randall had died almost 500 years ago on our home planet. The spaceship, which we called The Dagger of Heaven in our ignorance, was now his physical body, in which his mind had been downloaded.

It was a concept nearly all of us had trouble reconciling. It was Dr. Princeton and his team of scientists who did a fair job of explaining it to the multitudes. I am not quite sure I grasp what Mr. Randall is now and how he is able to do the things he has done. Yet, I have enjoyed his confidence. Enough so that we often meet in a neural space where our minds can communicate. Many of our people think that I hear voices in my head. They don’t realize how close to the truth they are.

Mr. Randall, who insists that I am his 11th generation grandchild, says it will take several decades before our technology will reach the level of the 23rd century on Earth, the century our colony set out for the stars. When I tell him that I will certainly not live to see that achievement, his image smirks and tells me my mind will be uploaded to the ship to replace his. When I say that his uploaded mind is now eternal, he frowns and intones, “All things must die. It is the natural order.”

Mr. Randall dispensed with some matters at the very beginning, right after the night of his first appearance. As an impartial judge, having collected all the evidence from every source he could uncover, he placed Lydia (Miranda) under rehabilitative, psychiatric care and sentenced Senshi to a prison term of no less than 10 years and her brother Malcolm to a term of 5 years for their reign of terror on travelers along the trade routes.

On a personal note, I have only seen my parents, King Harold and Queen Hortense, twice in the past year. They are very proud of me but wish me to revert to being Prince Rani, their son. It was a difficult thing, trying to make them understand that I preferred being a girl.

As I have mentioned previously, I had accepted Alvin’s marriage proposal before that fateful night. In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Randall’s intervention in our planet’s fate, it became clear that Alvin was the right person to lead the new government. He has a vision of how an ideal society should develop. I have no talent for governing.

So, despite sentiment in some quarters to name me Queen of Randall’s Planet, I advocated for Alvin to be elected President of our new union. He’s done a very good job so far. At least those are the reports I get as I have been on the road throughout. As Mr. Randall sagely said, “It is for the best. Ultimately, you are incompatible.”

To which I replied with self-derision, “Yes, after all, I’m not a woman.”

“Have patience, Rani. First things, first,” was all Mr. Randall would offer.

With Alvin as the leader of an entire planet, Malcolm in prison, and Amos betrothed to Luna, all of my admirers have fallen by the wayside. But I have my work to fill up my days and nights. Perhaps one day…

The emissaries from the sea-faring tribe finally arrived. As they climbed into our van, I stood outside to take one last look at the peaceful, seaside landscape and breathe in the salt air wafting in from the ocean. In the blink of an eye, I found myself in that familiar room with Percival Randall, as he puffed on his briarwood pipe.

“How are you, Rani?”

“Tired, Mr. Randall. Otherwise, I’m fine.”

“We’ve known each other for a year now. You can call me Grandfather if you wish.”

“Grandfather.”

“I’ve noticed you seem out of sorts recently. It’s not boredom. And it’s not exhaustion.” He puffed on his pipe for a long count. “Remember I told you to be patient? That we would deal with your issues in time?”

“I was beginning to think it was an empty promise. I was losing hope that my…my problem would ever be resolved.”

“The time has come. You have done your duties splendidly. The planet is now as united as it was intended to be.”

“Yes, Alvin has done a marvelous job over the past year.”

“Not more marvelous than the job you’ve done, Rani. Tell your comrades that you’ll be remaining behind while they transport the tribal emissaries to the Underground City to meet with Alvin and his staff.”

“What do I tell them?”

“Nothing. Just tell them you’ll rejoin them in a few days.”

“…let’s go, Rani. Stop daydreaming,” Amos shouted to me from above my head. I was back beside our van, my hand moving to shut the door.

“I’m not coming with you. I’ll catch up with you in a couple of days. Go!”

“But, Rani, how?”

“It’s alright, Amos. I will see you all in a few days.”

I watched as the van moved faster and faster away toward the mountain passage and disappeared in the distance. A few minutes later, the giant form of Mr. Randall’s ship blocked the sun as it slowly settled onto the shoreline nearby. Impelled by an unknown force, I walked toward the metallic behemoth. An unseen door suddenly formed and I stepped inside.

I entered a tube that lifted me up several levels of the ship until it stopped and I saw the image of Mr. Randall standing beside a rather prosaic looking bed. He was wearing a strange white outfit that included a white face mask and a white skullcap.

“Come, Rani. Lie down. This is the day you’ve been waiting for.”

As I made myself comfortable in the bed, I looked up at Mr. Randall. He was holding a small metallic cylinder in his right hand.

“This won’t hurt a bit. In fact, you won’t feel a thing.”

“What is it?”

“It’s full of tiny machines that will change the DNA in your cells. Within 72 hours, you will become a woman, as complete as any natural born woman.”

“Truly?”

“You’ll see. Now, just rest. Sleep. I’ll wake you in three days, Rani.”

“But when are you going to use that thing on me?”

“I already have.”

Georgia looked up at me from behind the desk in her office. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

“We thought you had gone and done something unthinkable when a week passed and you hadn’t returned. Like everyone else, I’ve noticed you’ve seemed unhappy or at least very distracted for weeks.”

“Well, I’m here. Healthy and hearty.” I did a semi-twirl for her. “Never felt better.”

“What happened out there? Alvin tried contacting you on your communicator but there was no response. He left with a squad of men to look for you 3 days ago. Why didn’t you answer any of his calls?”

“I’ll tell you all about it…when the time comes. But, right now, let’s call Alvin and tell him I’ve returned safe and sound.”

“I’m doing that right now,” Georgia said, her communicator in her hand. “It’ll be at least two days before he’s back. If that sea-faring tribe weren’t located so far north, he could’ve taken the train and be back today.”

I spent the next two days keeping my little secret from Amos, Luna, and especially Merlyn. I wanted Alvin to be the first to know. The only thing I revealed was that I had spent the time on Mr. Randall’s ship, where he was giving me further instructions.

“Why has he chosen you to be his closest confidant and agent?” mused Merlyn. “You would think he’d choose someone with more…experience…more maturity…perhaps more wisdom—”

“Like you, Merlyn?” cracked Luna.

“Well, it’s a thought. Age before beauty goes the old bromide. I think Mr. Randall has a thing for you, Rani.” Merlyn playfully pinched my cheek.

“Nonsense,” I replied. “I’m just in the right place at the right time. He finds me…useful.”

“I’ll buy that for a dollar,” Merlyn snickered.

Alvin rushed into the unit I shared with Merlyn. Breathlessly, he took hold of my shoulders.

“Where did you go? I went looking for you! I was afraid you’d met some horrible fate—”

“Well, hello to you too. I spent some time on Mr. Randall’s ship and—”

“What did he want?”

“I know we’ve been mostly apart for the better part of a year. You’ve been busy. I’ve been crisscrossing the continent. Well, you proposed to me a year ago. Do you still feel the same…about me?”

“Yes, of course I do. What does this have to do with anything?”

“Remember, I accepted.”

“You didn’t want to be the wife of a farmer.”

“You’re not a farmer, you’re the president of the entire planet.”

“For the time being. I still want to be a gentleman farmer. Maybe after my term is over.”

“My nails will never forgive me but I’m willing to overlook that…in your case. Do you want a boy or girl as our first-born?”

“It doesn’t matter…what? What do you mean?”

“Mr. Randall transformed me into a real woman.”

“I don’t believe you. That’s impossible! Isn’t it?”

“Let’s find out…together.”

©2025 SammyC

It wasn’t often that Percival Randall requested my physical presence in his spaceship. Over the twenty years since his arrival on the planet named after him, he usually appeared before me and others as a life-size hologram in the chambers of the Capitol in The Underground City or held private meetings in a neural space which our minds could share.

He had also requested that Alvin, my husband, and our 12-year-old twins, Georgie and Harry, accompany me.

“Is that our great grandfather, mother?” Georgie asked as we entered the shadow of the hulking spaceship nestled in the vast white sand beach leading to the great ocean off the west coast of our continent. She was pointing at the figure of Percival Randall standing beside the aperture rapidly growing into a doorway. Mr. Randall was dressed in his customary three-piece, double-breasted pinstripe suit, the very model of the modern, by 23rd century standards, billionaire industrialist. He was puffing on his customary briarwood pipe and winking at the twins as we approached.

“Well, well, such cherubic children. I can see the Randall lineage in their sunny faces. How are you Rani? And Alvin.”

“We are fine, grandfather. As you well know from keeping watch over us for twenty years.”

He ushered us into the tube that lifted us to the main deck of the ship.

“You may wonder why I’ve asked you to meet with me person to person, or should I say, person to hologram. I’ve made some lemonade for the children.” A tray with two tall glasses of lemonade floated in the air in front of the twins. “Yes, they’re real and substantial, kids. They possess the verisimilitude that unfortunately my hologram lacks.” The twins eagerly drank the sweet, refreshing liquid. “And you two, coffee, tea, or wine?”

“Milk tea if you have it,” Alvin replied. Seconds later, a tray with a tea service, complete with a teapot, two chinaware teacups and saucers, a creamer, and two spoons hovered in front of us.

“Please. Now, why are you here…”

Grandfather turned away from us and he cleared his throat. It was a minute or two before he continued, his expression impassive again.

“I wanted to say goodbye to my beloved acolyte and her family before—”

“Grandfather, what are you saying?”

“Rani, Alvin, children. The time has come for me to leave you. You and the people of this planet, the descendants of the colonists I dispatched into the great unknown so many centuries ago. I have fulfilled my moral obligation to you. Although I could not bring you all home, I have uploaded to you the bounty of all the knowledge that 28th century Earth has accumulated. You have reverse-engineered all the systems that this ship, my new body, holds. Two decades on, you have built highways, connected the continent from coast to coast, achieved amazing scientific and technological breakthroughs, raised the mode of life of your people from a medieval, feudal state to a jet-setting cosmopolis. All in a cosmically brief twenty years—”

“Thanks to you, grandfather,” I said, proud that I had been the primary agent, unwitting at the outset, of his mission of uplift.

“No, the greater credit should go to your cousin Lesley, who had the silly idea of accessing my slumbering uploaded brain emulation, four hundred years after my physical demise. It’s a pity that you two never met, Rani. I’m afraid she is most likely beyond the pale now.”

“But why are you saying goodbye, great grandfather,” Harry asked.

“I would like nothing more than to witness you and Georgie grow up to be brilliant, productive adults as I’m certain you will become but…my fuel cells are almost empty and your civilization has neither the resources nor the technology to synthesize the fuel this ship needs to operate. So, I’m going to submerge myself in the depths of the ocean where I will cease to function. Perhaps I will become the subject of myth like the sunken city of Atlantis, millennia from today…”

“No, there must be a way to save you!” I exclaimed.

“It’s alright, Rani. Everything must die, sooner or later. It’s the natural order of all things. I will have died twice. Quite an achievement, I must say. Finish your tea, children. The hour of farewell has arrived. My final wish is that I could actually touch you all, embrace you, be human one last time.”

We stood at a safe distance from the beach, shielded by our van and the foot of the low ridge rising behind us. Grandfather’s ship lifted noisily into the air, climbing as it neared the horizon. About three or four kilometers from shore, the ship executed an acute bank turn and slow-dived into the water, just short of generating a tidal wave that would have crashed into the coast. We waited an indeterminate period of time before turning away from the ocean and climbing back into our van. Alvin and the twins were stunned into silence but I let loose a torrent of tears. Alvin had to help me into my seat.

Percival Randall had rescued our civilization from the Dark Ages. For that, as long as humans exist on this planet, his memory will always be honored and revered. I’m sure there will be statues and monuments commemorated in his name. Perhaps, a few centuries from now, if we can traverse the stars, we can provide testament to his staggering achievements by returning to our home planet, Earth.

But, to me, Percival Randall was the person who freed me from the error of my birth gender and gifted me the opportunity to live as a woman, not someone trapped by the wrong physiology. I owe him the life I lead as Alvin’s lover and partner, the blessed mother of two beautiful children, and his esteemed ambassador among the diverse communities of our humanity.

Grandfather had miscalculated. Somehow power had drained more quickly from the ship’s batteries than he had foreseen. The plan had been that I would relieve his watch when I reached the doorstep of death, perhaps in my seventies or eighties. My mind would be mapped and uploaded into the ship’s operating system. Sometime in the second decade after his arrival, grandfather realized the situation but chose not to inform me.

I believe he thought we had progressed to the point where the presence of an over mind wasn’t necessary. That we could attain the highest technological levels at an unexpected speed. Well within another two centuries, we would be able to cross the ten light years between here and Earth. Of course, I won’t be around to witness that amazing denouement.

Seven years later, I was the one consoling Alvin, my arms around him as we stood on a hill overlooking the vast soybean fields of our farm. His mother, Georgia, had just passed on. She went peacefully at the age of 82, surrounded by her family and close friends. To her dying day, she could not understand why her son preferred being a “gentleman” farmer to being the president of a whole planet.

In recent years, I had occupied my time with building a preserve for my beloved Rumperdons and campaigned to dissuade people from raising them for the dinner table. Emma, the Rumperdon I had ridden since childhood, had died ten years ago. But her children roamed my preserve now, free and protected.

“We’re truly orphans now, Rani,” Alvin stated solemnly.

Both sets of parents were gone now. My father, King Harold, and mother, Queen Hortense, had died a year apart, five years ago. Eric, Alvin’s stepfather and Luna’s father, had passed away last summer.

“What was it Percival Randall said? ‘Everything must die, sooner or later. It’s the natural order of things’,” I remarked, gripping Alvin’s arm tighter.

Ten years after that, Alvin and I were sitting at home, watching the live broadcast of the successful salvage mission of grandfather’s submerged spaceship, on the video screen that filled the wall of our living room. We were intensely interested in this, not only because of its historical significance, but also because Georgie, our daughter, was the leader of the salvage team.

The mission had been undertaken so that the spaceship could be the centerpiece in our new national museum. Millions in donations had sponsored the mission with even more millions projected to come from the tourism that would result. There was a debate over the site of the planned national museum. Neither Alvin nor I had been consulted but I preferred a site in the old Eastern Kingdom while Alvin strongly suggested a location near the Underground City.

We hugged each other when Georgie answered questions from the media at her press conference. At that moment, my phone rang. It was a video call from our son, Harry, who was now Director of the Science Academy at the tender age of 29. Alvin and I were very proud of him. We were proud of both our children.

“Mother, we have some disturbing news…”

“What could possibly be so bad that you’d call me in the middle of your sister’s press conference?”

“Remember those stories you told me about The Dagger of Heaven?”

“Oh, Harry, it turned out to be your great grandfather’s spaceship. We were a superstitious lot back then.”

“Our observatory in Randall City has spotted a fleet of six ships decelerating at the edge of our system. We calculate an ETA of four weeks—”

“Are you sure? Could they be meteors or a cluster of comets?”

“No, all visible characteristics correspond to intelligently directed spacecraft, not natural objects.”

“Perhaps it’s a convoy from Earth. They’ve finally come to take us home!”

There was silence from Harry. Finally, he said in a trembling voice, “They’re not coming from the direction of Earth’s solar system…”

I dropped the phone onto the floor and Alvin turned toward me in alarm.

“They’ve returned—”

“Who?”

“The miners. The alien miners.”