Chloë (21 page)

“Can
you stand?” blubbered Chloë back.

“Give
me a minute and I’ll be able to stand.  Who do you need me to take out
first?”

Chloë
laughed as she watched the count take a step back.  Apparently
he
had studied the Old Tongue well enough!  “We are at an impasse for
now.  Get your strength and we’ll all just be civil.”

Heather
offered a feeble grin as she looked across at Raymond, “Gold chain, they
knighted you, didn’t they?  Chloë said they probably would…”

“He
did resign his commission, by the way, or at least tried to.  That was
moot because of the knighting.”

“It’s
the thought that counts,” grinned Heather.  “Okay Chloë, I’m going to need
help
to stand.”

Chloë
beamed, that was the first time she had ever heard Heather
admit
she
needed help, “Good girl!  Work with me!”  It took several minutes,
but soon they were both standing.  Heather was doing far better than
Raymond, he just seemed to be a wet noodle!

“Just
sit!”  Heather grinned to Raymond.  “No one is going anywhere
fast.”  She smiled and faced Chloë, “He is joining us for lunch, isn’t
he?”

Chloë
laughed and hugged Heather tight, “Is food all you ever think of?”

“It
is good to see you smiling, your Highness,” offered the count in the Old Tongue
as he and his attendants escorted Chloë, wobbly Heather and gracious Liz back
to Chloë’s quarters.

“When
you have your best friend at your side, smiling comes much more naturally,”
grinned Chloë.

“Is
Reinhardt on this thing?  I think it’s about time he learned to sing
soprano,” asked Heather with a broad grin.

“No,
Lady Heather, he is not,” replied the count with an honest smile. 
“Princess Chloë has already called for an arrest warrant on some very serious
charges.”

“When
your people are done with him, ship him to Afon, there is a line forming of
people that want a piece of his hide.”

“I
must confess, things are diplomatically tense between our lands and Afon right
now.  However, if that could help smooth over some ruffled fur…”

“There
is one thing you could do,” interjected Heather.  “Not for me, but for
dear Chloë here.  Can we stop at Bervik VI on the way by?”

“Sir
Raymond did correspond earlier of Princess Chloë’s strong desire to meet her
mother.  I think that meeting at Bervik VI may offer a proper neutral
ground for all parties involved.”

Chloë
nodded, “It is a start… How is Prince Philip?”

 The
count recoiled slightly, “Your father misses your dearly and does realize that
he acted in haste.”

“He
may have sired me, but he is
not
my father,” snarled Chloë.

The
count’s eyes went wide but he held his tongue.  He quite obviously fought
to change the subject, “We can have a room prepared for Lady Heather later this
afternoon.  How many attendants will she require?”

“None,”
replied Chloë.  “Find a good seamstress and have her fit.  But any
help Heather needs, I shall offer myself.”

“But,
your Highness… she…”

“She
is my best friend and you people have already done enough!  I,
I
,
will tend to her until she returns home!”

“Well,
I could do with a cook…” grinned Heather.

Heather
giggled as the swarm of attendants laid out the prepared luncheon, “Okay, I see
what I’m eating.  But were they going to feed you?”

Chloë
laughed, “Part of me wishes to sit here idly and watch you
try
to eat
all of that!”

“They
look nervous,” suddenly frowned Heather as she pointed to the mob.  “I
didn’t do anything wrong that I know of.”

“They
are waiting to see if we like it.  If we don’t, they could get in
trouble,” sighed Chloë.

“Oh! 
That isn’t right!” snarled Heather.  “They tried hard, isn’t that good
enough?” Suddenly her face melted, “Please don’t also tell me this isn’t
something stupid like they eat our left-overs is it?”

Chloë
grinned, “If that was the case, they would surely starve!  No, things are
strict, but not barbaric.”

“Have
they eaten yet?”

“No. 
Not until we are done.”

“I’m
done.”

Chloë
blinked, “You haven’t eaten a thing.”

“I’m
not going to eat in front of them if they haven’t eaten.  You can go stuff
your protocol, that is just rude.”

Chloë
grinned, “Yes, you would have given my tutors an ulcer!  And it would have
been a fun show in the process!  If you leave the table having not touched
a thing, they will certainly get in trouble!  Now if…”

“That’s
terrible!  Is there no way to win?” blurted a thoroughly flustered
Heather.

Chloë
laughed, “Hush! dear Heather, and let me finish!”

Heather
giggled and bit her lip.

Chloë
turned to the group and addressed them in her native tongue, “All of you but
Liz are dismissed.  Go eat!  If you return before we reach desert, I
will be annoyed!”  The mob blinked twice and then quickly scurried
away.  “Liz, sit, eat.”

Liz
stood their shaking, “Your Highness!  I cannot eat at your table!”

“Then
grab a plate, load it up and eat on the coffee table!  Move it girl!”

Liz
stared at Chloë and then bobbed politely and quickly loaded a small plate with
a very few items.

Chloë
growled, “You can’t live off of that!  Get more!  I’m going to get
mad if Heather has to serve you food…”

Liz
scurried back for more food and then retreated to the coffee table as directed.

Heather
laughed, “Even with the language divide, I think I caught the meaning of all
that!”

“Does
the situation now meet with Lady Heather’s approval?” asked Chloë with mock
formality.

“No
Raymond?” pouted Heather.

“Sir
Raymond will not be joining us for lunch.  His…” began Chloë, continuing
with the mock formality before breaking out laughing!  “Oh!   I
can’t do that!  Raymond is hard pressed to hold down water right
now.  Not good lunch company!  He should be joining us in the great
hall afterward.”

“Well
then!  We’d best get after lunch!”

Chloë
smiled as she watched Heather start to dig in and then she melted, “I’m so very
sorry, Heather.  I didn’t even
try
to defend myself.  When we
were surrounded without the Shukurae and then…”

“Hush!
Silly girl!  Hush!  This is just like when Reinhardt grabbed
us.  We keep our cool and then move when things are in our favor.”

Chloë
cocked an eyebrow at Heather, “You realize we are on board a cruiser commanded
by the head of the Amsterval House Guard?”

“Yeah,
and?”

Chloë
just gave up and laughed, “Okay, you win!  I’ve seen you depressed: this
isn’t that!  You have a plan, don’t you?”

Heather
just grinned, “Of course!  And part one of that plan is to eat lunch!”

The
Great Hall was actually quite large for being on a starship.  It was
lavishly decorated and embellished with a library off a wing, elegant furniture
all around and even a fireplace.  That had to be a nightmare for
safety!  Chloë had enjoyed her lunch and now they were waiting for Raymond
to show.  Chloë took some hidden satisfaction in watching Heather be
fitted for her dress.  Not that it made Heather uncomfortable but rather
knowing for all that the attendants were doing, the dress’s fit was still going
to be inferior to what Heather could have gotten at home.

Home. 
Where was home now?  Was she going to hide out on Bervik VI with her
mother?  That was no way to live.  It was a given they were going to
let Heather leave, they were going to be happy when she was gone.  But
letting Chloë leave?  She knew that was a fight waiting to happen. 
She desperately wanted to return with Heather to the Highlands, but…

“Do
you play?” interrupted Heather.

Chloë
had to strain to figure out what Heather was talking about.  Oh!  The
musical instruments!  How did she not see that coming!  “Um, harp,
not really.  I can do a few things on piano.”

“Ah! 
Your tutors weren’t a complete waste then!  Come!  It’ll be fun!”

Chloë
laughed; Heather’s enthusiasm was contagious.  As always!  “Okay, but
I only am good at a very few things.”

“Fire
away, I’ll follow along,” grinned Heather as she tilted the harp back to her
shoulder and extended her claws.  She fired of a quick riff, checking the
feel and tone of the instrument.

The
few other nobles in the room looked on with confusion, Chloë wasn’t going to
perform for them, that wasn’t right.  But suddenly leaving the room would
be an even worse
faux pas
!

“Sit,
please!” called Chloë as she sat at the keyboard.  “We are just having
fun!”

That
did little to settle the nervous herd…

Chloë
quickly launched into playing what few pieces she still knew well.  She
laughed and smiled as Heather dexterously followed along either knowing every
piece played, or just simply adding fill and flourishes to pieces that were
new.  Chloë was fascinated by Heather’s skill: claws on the strings
without buzzing, soft touches of her pads to silence strings as needed.  
Every other harp player Chloë had seen had always trimmed their fur so as not
to interfere with the strings.  Heather needed not such aids, she was
perfection in motion.  After a thoroughly enjoyable quarter of an hour,
Chloë finally laughingly yielded the piano to Heather, “Please!  Your
turn!  I want to hear you play without me messing you up!”

Raspberry! 
Oh, Chloë had forgotten how much she had enjoyed those from Heather!

“Um,
you were doing fine.  I was just doodling…”

“Now
I want to hear you ‘doodle’ on the piano!  Please!” grinned Chloë.

Heather
offered a sheepish grin as she sat down at the piano, “Okay, but don’t expect
too much.” 
Don’t expect too much… 
Everyone in the hall for
the next half hour was floored at Heather’s performance.  More and more
minor nobles filed into the room to listen to Heather play.  Attendants
waiting in the wings, stretched and listened in as well.  All were
captivated by Heather’s extensive repertoire and fantastic skill.  When
she finally stopped she was greeted by a thunderous applause from the entire
hall!

Heather’s
fur stood on end from the reply and her ears flushed painfully.

“That
was wonderful!” beamed Chloë as she hugged the shocked Highlander.

“All
I could hear was my First Mother over my shoulder telling me what I was doing
wrong…”

“Did
she ever tell you what you were doing right?” asked Chloë.

“Well
yeah.  Parents always hand out positive fluff…”

“Heather! 
You sweet, wonderful, talented girl, did you ever consider that it wasn’t
‘fluff’ and was instead honest praise?”

Heather
seemed even more uncomfortable with that thought than all the applause. 
But a smile quickly crept back on her face as they watched the Count Alfonso
and Raymond approach, both full of smiles. 

“That
was wonderful, Lady Heather!  I’ve not heard piano of such mastery since I
heard the illustrious Ivy Stratford play, oh some twenty years ago while
visiting Garsivale!” beamed the count.

“Well,
Ivy Stratford is my First Mother…” offered Heather sheepishly.

“That
explains much!  Like mother like daughter!” grinned the count.  “Too
bad she stopped performing, she was…”

“First
Mother still performs, she just doesn’t tour.  If you would like to hear
her play in person, just aim this tin can at Afon,” offered Heather with a
grin.

The
count laughed, “Good try, Lady Heather.  But our first stop is Bervik VI.”

“So,
your grace, we are going to see the Crown Princess?” asked Raymond.

The
count nodded, “It is close to neutral ground and I have to concur: it is not an
unreasonable request to see one’s mother…”

That
was as close to a living, breathing,
feeling
, response Chloë had heard
yet from the count.  “How long until we reach there?”

“Less
than three days, your Highness.  We are still thirty hours from a safe
point to execute a clean jump, and then it will take some time once again to
safely approach the planet itself.”

“So
this rig has a jump drive?” asked Heather with a little apprehension in her
voice.

“Of
course, lady Heather!  This is a top of the line vessel!”

Raymond
grinned as he leaned forward and kissed Heather on the cheek, “Don’t worry,
there is plenty of time.”

Heather
grinned and then, to the astonishment of everyone in the hall, pulled Raymond
closer and gave him a
proper
kiss!

“Um,
I guess that answers the other questions…” murmured the count with a bit of a
smirk.