Greetings Readers!
We are creeping ever closer to the end of the year, so I thought it was time to end Saita's fear of going to the Saith Planet. Please note that you may have to read the supplementary Introduction chapters to figure out some of the aspects discussed in this chapter. Other than that, please enjoy!
Once they had made it to the planet’s surface the fighters were asked to remain on the ship awaiting the medical crew who would be in charge of their health while on the planet. Bolx decided to wait with Saita as she started to get somewhat nervous to be on the planet of warriors her father had attacked less than two years ago. One by one the names were called until only Saita and Bolx were left. Bolx could see the nervousness in her eyes, but he only put a hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was there for her. Yet when Bolx’s nephew stepped foot on the ship he paled. He had not expected that at all.
“Well, then, Mother was telling the truth. Uncle Bolx.” the red and black-haired individual grinned broadly and shook a thin braid from his face.
Saita knew immediately that this man was one of power and he clearly wanted to include her in the conversation because he was using a trade language she had picked up while training with Bruno. He looked her up and down a few times as if trying to get a read on her. He was a lithe Saith and at least as tall as Bolx but not as bulky. He was dressed in long black pants and a red shirt that seemed to be a part of a military dress code.
“General Larden.” greeted Bolx. “I take it Saasha wants me to see her immediately.”
“What Mother wants is somewhat immaterial right now.” Larden looked at Saita, nodded his head once and said. “Princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” she growled.
Larden was taken aback but said nothing in favour of looking at Bolx. “This is Saita?”
“Yes.”
“Daughter to the human rules Karesh and Myla?”
“Not anymore,” said Saita.
“Larden it is a long story, and she still needs to go through quarantine and a medical check-up for her fitness.”
“Oh, I am well aware of that. I’m just looking to see if she was worth all the deaths caused.”
Saita felt the colour drain from her face and she cast her gaze to the floor. She knew that this would be the reaction. She was not welcome here. This man was going to send her back and Bolx would have to stay, and she would be all alone again. She gritted her teeth hard and forced her tongue against the roof of her mouth to prevent any tears of frustration from welling up in her eyes. This wasn’t fair.
“Hey now, I’m not going to send you back.” the soldier’s voice became more soothing as if speaking to a child.
Startled that her inner feelings had been so exposed, she looked up at him in shock. He was grinning broadly, to the point that his eyes were partially closed.
“I’m not really a bad guy, honest.” he smiled lopsidedly. “There has just been a really, really challenging time on our planet because of you. But not really because of you but rather... Danna is gonna kill me.”
He looked to Bolx and rattled something off in Saith that was too fast for Saita to understand. The soldier’s face was glowing red now and Bolx chuckled before answering. He then turned to Saita and said. “What he meant to say was times have been tough since the war where your name was used without you knowing about it. He would very much like to start again because he feels he has embarrassed himself, his station, as well as his wife’s trust in being the one to welcome you.”
“Welcome me?” Saita was very confused.
“Each member of the castle guard, not that’s not the right word…”
“Royal Guard,” suggested Bolx.
“That’s it! Each member was asked if they would like to host one of the ten entrants which were not from Saith and well, Danna volunteered me.” he grinned. “That is why the names were read out. The families were coming to fetch their guests.”
“Oh. That’s like an exchange program and really nice, considering.” Saita frowned a little.
“Well Bahn no longer uses his room, so it was a perfect opportunity to have it used. Come on.”
Larden indicated out the door and allowed Saita to go ahead of him. He pointed to something outside of the ship and Saita seemed quite content to follow his instructions. Bolx waited patiently because he knew his nephew wanted some words with him. Once Saita was free of the ship Larden turned to Bolx with a look of absolute pain written on his face.
“Uncle,” he whispered as he tried to embrace the man.
“Did your mother tell you who I really am?” said Bolx as he held his hand up to stop him.
“I know and I don’t care.” Larden slapped the hand out of the way and embraced the younger man. “Family is everything, you know that.”
Bolx resigned himself to hugging his nephew back. “How much of you coming to get the girl is to protect her?”
“More than what we can talk about here. We will let the girl settle and then we need to see Mother. She has something especially important to bring to your attention.” Larden released Bolx. “Come.”
Saita had not expected the warm welcome she received from Larden’s family. As soon as she had stepped foot into their large house she had been made to feel like part of the family. Larden’s youngest, a young man that looked remarkably like his father, right down to the same-coloured tail, was a translator fresh out of school and knew a vast array of languages. He had immediately taken Saita to the room where she would be staying and then dragged her outside to talk to her at length to practice his human language. Saita marvelled at his accent and could barely tell that he was Saith at all. She immediately took to him and had full-length conversations well after the sun was setting and the sky blazed red.
The rest of the family spoke a little of one of the dialects of humans but all of them could speak the trading language with little difficulty and it was decided that this would be the language that would be used while Saita was with them. Watching the Saith move around and work with each other to make dinner saddened her, but she tried her best to hide it. It wasn’t until they all sat down to dinner that she realised that she had never told them that she doesn’t eat.
Larden noticed her hesitance and smiled. “You don’t need to eat any of this if you don’t want. Mother is still waiting to receive food from Earth for you.”
“Earth?” Saita looked at him in confusion.
“Isn’t that where humans come from?” Larden asked his son Truhan.
“Yes, a few hundred years ago, Dad. Humans haven’t lived on Earth since it blew up. I don’t think Saita even identifies as an Earthling, right?”
“Uhm…”
“Both of you are being rude.” said a woman with red hair.
Saita had assumed that this was the older sister of Truhan, but she had yet to introduce herself. She looked up from a file and gazed at Saita with such an intensity that the young woman felt uncomfortable immediately.
“And you shouldn’t be reading patient files at the table dear.” Danna took the file away and set it aside on another table. “This is the first time most of the family is home, the least you can do is introduce yourself to our guest.”
“I already know who she is. It was all over the news since she made it into the Games.” the girl continued to stare at Saita. “Your right eye?”
“Full questions, Sash,” said Larden as he started dishing food to everyone gathered. “Unlike your family that knows what you want to say Saita cannot guess.”
The girl, Sash, tapped her right eye and pointed to Saita’s. “Fully mechanical or is it biomechanical?”
“Is it that obvious?” Saita asked as she blushed heavily.
“Well, I assume with the mass of scars on your face that you must have lost it.” Sash got up from her chair to come to take a closer look. “It is beautiful.”
“It’s biomechanical,” said Saita suddenly shy from all the attention. “I lost it when I was about 14 years old.”
“Fascinating!”
“Sash!” Larden said sharply.
It was clear who the authoritarian in the family was. Sash barely moved until her mother lifted the salad spoon from the dish. The woman retreated to her seat with a frown. Instead of getting upset, Larden only laughed and leaned over to kiss his wife. Saita grinned a little.
“You get used to having a heavy hand when your husband is out fighting for most of your children’s lives,” said Danna as she dropped the spoon. “Sash is old enough to start her practice but reach for a spoon and that tail is tightly wrapped around her waist.”
“I don’t mind, really, this has been interesting.” Saita smiled. “Reminds me of home.”
“What of home?” asked Truhan. “Which of the three main human planets did you grow up on? Or were you a child of the colonies?”
“Truhan, I thought we agreed on no personal questions at the table,” said Danna as she passed around the plates as Larden dished the meal.
“There isn’t much to tell,” said Saita. “I only have about five or six years of memory. I don’t know where I am from originally. I grew up on Queen Myla’s planet for a few years and for another few years I was on a different planet.”
“And family?” asked Danna.
Larden dropped the spoon he had been dishing with, which made Saita’s silence so much worse. She squirmed a little in her seat. “I... I don’t really have a family. Bolx is pretty much my only friend and then there is Aidan. He would be about six now. I haven’t seen him in almost two years.”
The table went silent, and Danna reached over to clutch Saita’s hand. “I didn’t mean to pry, Dear.”
“You wouldn’t have known.” Saita shrugged her shoulders.
Then she turned to Larden. “Where is Bolx? He seemed to have vanished as soon as we arrived.”
“He had family issues to deal with.” Larden dished one more plate before handing it to Saita. “I will not take offence if you do not want to eat.”
Saita took the bowl. She took one bite of what appeared to be some kind of meat and vegetable stew before the Saith family dug into the meal with so much gusto, she finally understood why the kitchen staff had mocked Bolx. The food didn’t have its usual ash-like taste, but it wasn’t what she was used to either. She ate it to show her thanks to the hosts, but she was sure Larden was well aware of it because he kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
“You can read minds, right?” she asked after some time.
Larden almost choked on his stew and had to cough a few times into a serviette before he could answer. “It’s not that simple.”
“How did you know how I felt on the ship?”
Larden looked to Sash and asked. “I am not sure how to explain, could you?”
“My grandmother and my great-grandmother are called Truth Seekers,” said Sash as she set her spoon down. “Father inherited the gift but sadly neither of my brothers nor I got the skills. It isn’t telepathy but rather the ability to scan surface thoughts. So, you were not having your mind read but rather the thoughts you were projecting. Some talented Truth Seekers can be trained for interrogation, but it is a dangerous occupation and can cause mental damage if overused.”
“Thank you Sash-O-Pedia.” mocked Truhan.
“No!” said Danna sharply. “You will not embarrass me in front of a guest.”
The table echoed the silence once more before Saita half smiled. “That’s good.”
“Oh?” queried Larden as he set his bowl aside. “How so?”
“There is a reason I only remember one-third of my life,” said Saita sadly.
I am particularly fond of Saasha's family. This particular branch is her eldest son, his wife, and two of their four children. When I have time, I'll do an Introduction Chapter on each of the characters that make up this unique family. You're going to need it, because the family is not only extensive, but most of the characters you'll end up meeting as book 3 starts to wrap up.
For those of you just joining us, please note that this the third book in the Fell Dragon series. Follow this link to read the two earlier books:
Fell Dragon Book 1
Fell Dragon Book 2
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
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Part 13>>You are Here>>Part 15