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3: The Princess
"Adrianna, it's only a birthday party – and one that I'm not really looking forward to at that." Starsha, second born of the three princesses of Iscandar said, casting her leafy friend a reluctant glance. "You know how I hate these events..."
"Yes, mistress, I know." the semi-sentient plant laughed. "But it is necessary for you and your sister to have some experience interacting with those who will one day look up to you and your sister as their rulers."
"Of course, Adrianna. It's just that there are so... many... of them."
The plant made a tittering sound. "I think it isn't the number of people that bothers you, so much as the thought of having to make conversation with them all."
"Yes..." Starsha sighed. Today was her and her twin sister Astra's fourteenth birthday and the dreaded party was for them. Unfortunately such things were a part of their lives, as the royal family. Everyone thought that the lives of the king and queen and their children were meant to be fodder for dinner conversations.
Ever since she could remember, her mother, Queen Kara, had told her that people are often unforgiving of the faults of others, even though the problems they publicly despise in other people are often the very faults they themselves have.
"It will not last forever, Starsha. This too shall pass, and you will be the better for it." If the plant could have smiled, she would have, but in lieu of that, she rustled her leaves a bit.
The princess nodded reluctantly and smiled at Adrianna, who was hanging from a hook embedded in the ceiling of Starsha's living area.
For all the unwanted attention it often brought, living in the palace did have its benefits – her own suite of rooms for example. Most girls her age would have had their own room – but not their own apartment or servants to clean it for her. Though sometimes she wished that they would let her take care of her own space herself.
A gigantic window overlooked the Sea of Iscandar down below. She walked over to the clear pane for one last look at the bay and the sea beyond it before she went down to the dreaded gathering.
A few sailing ships docked in the harbor and several others were heading out into the open sea for a day of fishing. Gulls swooped down on the fishermen that were just arriving, hoping to get some of their catch for themselves. The men swatted the birds off and the animals swooped away squawking in protest.
Several space vessels had also docked: visitors from other parts of the Continent, the southern island, and the other outlying islands, no doubt.
Starsha let out one last sigh before stepping away from the window and walking back over to door. It spiraled open for her.
"If I don't come back, send one of the servants to come get me. I may have died from being stared at too long." she called back to Adrianna.
The plant made her tittering sound again, "I will, mistress. Enjoy your party anyway."
Starsha could feel her face starting to flush as she entered the already-crowded room. She wished for the thousandth time that some natural disaster had decided to happen today so that she would be spared this agony.
"Good morning, princess." her first assailant came up to her. It was a pleasant-looking old woman, perhaps approaching a hundred and seventy. Her teeth – remarkably all still there – were neat and white; her bright white hair shone with radiance in the light of the room. Happy eyes looked at the young teenager with curiosity.
"L'chaim tovim u-le-shalom, kha-khahm.*" she replied respectfully to the woman.
"And to you, young one." the old woman replied. "I wish you and your sister the best."
"Thank you." the princess nodded graciously to the woman, and with that the first of several hundred conversations was over.
Starsha made her way slowly over to her sister Astra, wading through the attendees, sending "Shaloms*" and "Barukh tihyehs*" in every direction as she went and receiving countless hugs, good wishes and token gifts as she went. By the time she made it to Astra she was ready to unload the armful of tiny packages she held.
"Here, let me help you with that." said her elder twin, holding out a hand to relieve some of the load her sister was carrying.
"Thank you." the younger princess said, "I was just about to drop something I think." she laughed quietly, "I don't even know why half of these people are here, Astra. We don't even know most of them."
"Just wait until we're sixteen. We won't know ninety percent of the people who show up for that celebration." replied her sister.
"How did Sasha get out of coming anyway?" the younger twin asked the elder.
"She's only eleven, that's how." Astra said clandestinely.
"I wish I were eleven right now." Starsha replied in kind.
"It's not really so bad. At least you don't have to make a speech." Astra rolled her hazel eyes. "As the eldest, I'm expected to say something that sounds intelligent."
"I don't envy you." said Starsha.
"You two seem to be getting along with the guests well." the voice startled the pair.
"Oh! Mother. Yes, they're very... pleasant... people." Astra said, looking a bit less than thrilled.
Queen Kara looked down at her two oldest daughters with a smile. Placing one arm around the shoulders of each girl, she hugged them both. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but this really isn't that terrible. All of these people will one day look to you, Astra as their queen and you, Starsha as their crown princess in the event of your sister's death. They come today because they see you as the future of Iscandar."
The girls looked up at their mother, seeing again the light that was always in her eyes and the gentleness that ever-flooded up from her heart and into her face.
"Yahweh* has been gracious to me in giving me two wonderful daughters whom I can trust to someday take mine and your father's place and lead these people," she looked out over the increasing crowd, "wisely and lovingly – as Yeshua would have you to."
"Has anyone ever tried to discredit our predecessors who were also of the Christian faith?" Starsha asked quietly enough so as not to be heard by the nearest knot of visitors slowly drifting their way.
"Oh, sometimes." the Queen replied, letting her arms drop to her sides again and brushing lightly at her long, deep magenta dress, "But it was the will of Yahweh that the dissenters failed to overthrow them. God protects His own, Starsha. Never doubt Him, even when what He is doing doesn't seem to make sense to you, know that He has a purpose in it – 'to give you an expected end'*. The ways of Yahweh are not our ways. Do you remember the story of my grandmother, Ilya of Iscandar*?"
"The one that great-great-grandmother Janina told us before she died?" Astra asked.
"Yes." said the Queen.
"I remember," said Starsha. "A woman came to the palace one night during a rain storm. She brought a baby to Great-great-grandmother but she wouldn't say who its parents were. Grandmother Janina accepted the baby and made her her son's future bride right then and there. Did they ever discover who Grandmother Ilya's parents were?"
"No," said their mother, "the only thing they were able to discover was that she was not born to Iscandari parents. Her gene-markers were slightly different from that of an Iscandarian, though not so different as to imply that she was born to one of the Cometine people for example."
"But how can they be entirely sure of that?" Astra interjected. "Didn't they discover later that she had been genetically altered somehow?"
"Genetically engineered, not altered. Some of her physical characteristics were determined by her parent or parents. But, even genetically engineered individuals still retain the same gene-markers that they would have had if they hadn't been engineered." said Kara.
Starsha thought about this, wondering what other undiscovered traits might have been passed down from her great-great-grandmother.
"But the reason I asked if you remembered that story wasn't to discuss genetics. Grandmother Janina took a risk in accepting that little girl. She didn't know where the child had come from – what kind of birth parents she had. She didn't even know that the baby had been genetically engineered. She saw a child in need of help and she took a step of faith, trusting that Yahweh would honor her decision to do the right thing and offer protection to the girl... And that girl, Queen Ilya of Iscandar is remembered as the wisest of all queens in the history of our world. Her husband King Jaton never neglected an opportunity to praise her.
"The undaunted faith of Queen Ilya is still lauded. She and her husband trusted in Yahweh to see Iscandar through a time of great trouble: a time many thought would destroy the Iscandari people and the entire planet with them."
Astra interrupted, "And that was when they built the Rophi Shamayim* with the help of Gamilon."
"Yes, to reverse the damage the Cometine war fleets had inflicted on Iscandar. The planet went from a scarred husk to a world of oceans and islands once again. That was when the Gamilon-Iscandari Alliance was born." Kara looked up at the domed ceiling of the hall that had been chosen for the gathering.
Starsha, seeing her mother's gaze shift, looked upward too and she let out a quiet gasp of wonder. "I've never seen that before..." she whispered to her mother.
"Isn't it beautiful? I've often come here just to look at this painting..." said Queen Kara softly.
"Is that Grandmother Ilya?" Starsha asked quietly as Astra, who had missed the shift in conversation, stepped away from her mother and sister to talk with some more visitors.
Queen Kara smiled, "No, dear. It isn't."
"But that woman reaching out across the stars – she – she looks like..."
"Yes, I know she looks like Queen Ilya, and also like my mother and like me, and like you and Astra and Sasha."
"Mother..." Starsha looked at the queen strangely, "Who is the man reaching back towards her?"
"I'm afraid I don't know... He is of Gamilon descent, that is unmistakeable, but I have only ever seen one person from our sister planet who bore that color hair... and she has been dead these past seven and a half years..."
"That's a strange uniform he wears," Starsha continued, "Have you ever seen it before?"
"Indeed I have... once... the day the woman I just mentioned was buried. It is the formal uniform that the Leader of Gamilon wears for ceremonies or special events."
"Who was the woman?" Starsha asked, getting more curious as the conversation progressed.
"Queen Talonka, Leader Deun's wife."
There was silence between the mother and daughter for a moment before Starsha said, "But... if that happened seven and a half years ago, why didn't you take Astra and I with you to the funeral?"
"I did take Astra, and I would have taken you as well, but you were fighting off a bad infection at the time, so I had to leave you and Sasha in the good hands of your grandmother while your father, sister and I went to Gamilon for the burial."
Starsha continued to stare up at the ceiling mural, "Yes... I remember that now... People kept talking about what a great tragedy it was... What happened to her?"
Kara momentarily shifted her gaze away from the ceiling and on to some of the guests milling about, then her eyes were drawn back to the celestial picture, "She... was betrayed... and her ship sabotaged. They were forced to land on the nearest planet – a Bolar colony world. Many of the crew were captured... most of the others were killed... only a few escaped. The queen was brought to the homeworld where the Premier pronounced her death sentence. That is all I know – all that Leader Deun would tell me..." the Iscandari queen took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, "She was my friend, Starsha... one of the best I've ever had..."
"I'm sorry..." her daughter said, looking at the queen again. "I didn't realize..."
"No, it's alright... I'll see her again one day, just as I'll see Grandmother Janina and Grandmother Ilya again either after my death or when Mashiach* summons his church to Himself, before the End* comes." she paused for a moment, "I'm glad that you haven't had to know that particular sorrow as of yet."
"You mean losing a friend...?"
Queen Kara nodded, her gaze still sweeping over the ceiling, "Yes..."
Starsha nodded back thoughtfully as she too continued to study the masterpiece that had been unfolded above them. "When was this painted?" she asked quietly, suddenly returning to the previous subject.
"It was done to commemorate the beginning of the hundredth year of the Alliance, twenty years ago today. It was jointly commissioned by Leader Deun, your grandfather King Enoch, and your grandmother Queen Starsha, for whom you are named." replied her mother.
The younger princess stared silently at the face of the woman above her for a moment. "Then... that is my grandmother, Queen Starsha...?"
Her mother smiled again, "I do not know, Starsha... I'm not sure that anyone really knows..." she sighed a sigh full of tranquility, "There has always been something about this picture that speaks peace to me whenever I come to look at it... as though Yahweh is trying to impart some piece of comforting knowledge to my soul. I don't know that I can explain it fully to you." she finally looked at her daughter again and Starsha returned her mother's gaze. "Well, now that we've been staring at the ceiling for the past ten minutes I suppose we should see to more of the guests."
Starsha nodded, a bit less uncomfortable among these strangers after hearing her mother's words but also still trying to puzzle out this new mystery she had been presented with.
Before she let her gaze drop though, something, a minute detail about the woman in the picture above her, caught her attentive eye. There, hanging around the woman's neck was a gold, heart-shaped necklace studded with sapphires.
"Your father will be here in a few minutes." Queen Kara said, drawing her daughter's eyes away from the ceiling, "Perhaps if you stay with him for the duration of the party you'll be able to shift your conversational responsibilities off to him." Kara and her daughter smiled conspiratorially as King Alexander of Iscandar walked through the entrance and started towards his wife and twin teenager daughters.
The rest of the gathering wasn't as awful as Starsha had thought it would be. Traversing the crowd with her father was indeed much easier than doing it by herself.
King Alexander was quite tall, over six and a half feet tall, and thin – lithe, not skinny. His blonde hair, like his daughter's shone brightly in the light of the sun coming in through the many windows that were on either side of the spacious room. His short blonde beard was well-kept and his blue eyes were lively as ever today and his usual charisma was still in top form.
The King's apparel was not quite like anything else represented in the room. He wore a loose shirt of deep forest green tucked into dark black pants which were in turn tucked into dark grey boots, the tops of which were gilded with intricate, golden designs that incorporated elements of nature – leaves, vines, blooms, even a few feathers. The shirt's sleeves were long. Its cuffs were also golden, sprouting similar designs as the boots. The collar came up almost to his jawline on either side and came down to a narrow square end just below his collarbone.
He was every inch a king and the guests were happy to let him take command of the conversation indefinitely.
Once the guests had all left, the king and queen and their daughters were about to return to their normal affairs, but just before they left the room they were greeted by a messenger.
"Majesties," she nodded to the king and queen, "Princesses," she nodded to Astra and Starsha, "There is a call for your daughters from our sister world." the messenger addressed the rulers.
"Thank you, Elke." the king said to the servant woman, then he looked at the twins. His daughters had a look of surprise and excitement on their faces. They had not heard anything from Gamilon for much too long, though in light of Leader Deun's depression since the death of his wife, not surprising. "They will take the call in Astra's quarters as soon as they can get there."
"Yes, Sire." the messenger nodded, relayed the instructions to the waiting communications tech and left the royals to their business.
The twins hurried to the elder's quarters, eager to find out who would be calling them from Gamilon.
"Receive the call." said Astra as she and Starsha walked into the living area of her apartment.
The door closed behind them and the teenagers watched as a man they had never seen before materialized before them.
"Greetings, princesses." said the tall Gamilon. "I am sure that you have heard the terrible news of Leader Deun's failing health..."
Both princesses eyes widened a bit, but they caught themselves before the Gamilon noticed their surprise. No such news had been communicated to them...
"We offer our condolences to the Leader's family." said Astra, and Starsha bowed in respect to the unknown man.
"Our new Leader, who will soon be crowned, wishes to offer his congratulations to you."
"Thank you, sir." said Astra. "And what may we call you?"
"I am Yeshin, Regent for the new Leader until his coronation."
"Regent Yeshin." Astra repeated. "We thank you for your call."
The man nodded to the princesses and surrendered the floor to a much younger man.
If the appearance of the Regent had shocked Starsha, the face that she now beheld surprised her even more. At first, her excitement felt as though it would spill over the brim of her heart, but as she looked into the eyes of the young man, his face sent a wave of strange foreboding through her. Before her stood the the very image of the man in the ceiling mural.
His auburn hair was a bit longer than it had been in the picture and his face was harder, but it was definitely his face... or at the very least, the face of someone who looked exactly like him. Green eyes searched first Astra's pleasant face, and then her own. His gaze rested on her just a bit longer than she was comfortable with and something in her urged her to tread carefully with this young ruler-to-be.
"I send my congratulations to you both on surviving another year of palace life." a wry smirk spread across his face and he bowed charmingly to them both.
"Thank you, Leader." Astra said, nonplussed.
"Yes, our thanks to you." Starsha added after a half-second of uncomfortable hesitation.
"I am – or rather, I will be Leader Deun II when I finally reach the appropriate age, five months from now." he rolled his eyes, "It does seem an eternity when you're waiting for it, does it not?"
"I suppose so." Astra replied politely.
Starsha could tell that her sister was starting to dislike this young man. He seemed proud and brash – not at all the way his people would need him to be in light of the imminent passing of his father.
"You must have a number of duties to attend to now that your father is unable to fulfill his role as Leader." Astra offered in an attempt to get rid of this pompous oaf.
The young man looked back and forth from one twin to the other again. His gaze was just as disarming this time as it had been a couple of moments before. Astra met his unseemly gaze with eyes full of intolerant fire.
The Leader-to-be, upon seeing the elder princess's outright rejection, looked to the younger twin instead. His eyes met hers with an unveiled suggestive look.
"When I'm appointed Leader, I will, of course, need a queen to stand at my side. I had considered finding a suitable... companion... from among my own people, but perhaps... in light of the Alliance we have with you, our sister world..." he let the sentence trail off, but his meaning was entirely clear.
Starsha just stared back at the face that would have been quite handsome had it not been twisted by a black heart. This very brazen prince had a way of taking her off her guard, but once again, her sister came to her rescue.
"We appreciate your... offer... Leader Deun, but we are not the ones with whom you should speak if you wish to make a... proposal of this kind. You will need to speak with our father and mother, the King and Queen." said the elder girl.
"Perhaps I will." he said, still gazing at Starsha with a desirous look in his eyes. "Good afternoon to you, Princesses. I look forward to speaking with you again sometime."
With that he disappeared, leaving waves of his sour presence behind.
The door to Starsha's quarters whooshed open, coalescing shut behind her once she had entered.
The princess stopped momentarily in her living area, looking out over the peaceful Sea of Iscandar again, trying to reconcile her thoughts and feelings with what she knew.
But, as she stood there, something in her – was it... fear? – began to seep in. She was not afraid that her parents would accept a marriage proposal from this new conceited prince. That was entirely unlikely. But there remained something about what had just happened that was just so... wrong. Something was out of place. It just didn't make any sense.
"What troubles you, mistress?" came the bubbly voice of Adrianna whispering through her leaves.
Starsha sighed, "Do you know about the painting on the ceiling – the one in the room the party was held in today..."
"I do indeed. I was there when it was painted twenty years ago. It is marvelous, is it not?" said the plant.
"It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen..." said Starsha softly. "When I looked at it, something in my heart felt like it was... full – as though I had found something that I didn't know I had been searching for..."
There was a thoughtful silence, then Adrianna's leaves rustled, "Be careful of listening to your heart, mistress. It will not lead you rightly. Depend instead upon the guidance of the Spirit of Yahweh that lives within you."
"I know, Adrianna... It was not just a feeling that captivated me... It was as if... something in my very spirit was stirred by it. I don't know how to explain it..." she replied. "I saw the face of that young man in the picture..."
"Ah, the Gamilon." whispered the plant.
"Yes." said Starsha, then hope began to rise in her, "Do you know who he is?
"I am afraid I do not, Mistress. His identity has been debated since the painting of the picture, as has the identity of the woman... No one has ever been able to positively identify either one of them. As a result, it has always been thought that these two were merely a symbol of the unity of the two worlds."
A deathly silence fell between the princess and her leafy friend.
"Do you have reason to believe that they are not merely symbolic?" Adrianna's voice transformed from her normal happy tone to something different. In a way, it was now full of some sort of hope that Starsha could not explain.
"I think I might..." she said, fingering the heart-shaped pendant that hung around her neck, the deep blue sapphires shining in the light of the warm afternoon sun.
* L'chaim tovim u-le-shalom, kha-khahm - "Good life and peace to you, wise one"
* Shalom - "Peace"; a greeting
* Barukh tihyeh - "Be you blessed"; a greeting
* Yahweh – Jehovah; God
* To give you an expected end – a reference to Jeremiah 29:11
* Ilya of Iscandar – a reference to the previous book The Guardiana; the daughter of a woman named Kyren who did not want her child because she lacked certain physical characteristics
* Rophi Shamayim – literally, "healing of the heavens,"; a machine that cleansed the planet of the damage that the Cometine war fleets had inflicted and rejuvenated the little bit of life that was still left in the planet of Iscandar
* Mashiach – Messiah
* The End – The final judgement of the world; the followers of Yeshua (Jesus) will be taken out of the world before the judgment begins