Raife: An Aquadomina Novel (3 page)

Whatever they had done to her mind must be starting to work because
instead of feeling panic or continued disbelief all she felt was a sense of
calm.

“So where
exactly
am I?”

“Would The Chosen like a lesson on the history of
Aquadomina? Or just the great Kingdom of Aquarian?” The Three asked together.

Sophie had thought that this whole situation
couldn’t get any stranger. Now she realized she was wrong…It could. First, she
was told she had been chosen to bring peace to the Three Kingdoms. What
Kingdoms those were she had no idea. Shaking her head, she paced around the
room. “You call this city an aquarium?”

“No Chosen.” One tried to keep up with her pacing,
“Not Aquarium...Aqua-ria-n.” She enunciated the last sound so that Sophie knew
the difference. “We are in the main city of all Aquadomina, though you will
rule over all of the people of the Three Kingdoms.”

“Wait just a second!” Sophie stopped short, “What
exactly do you mean by ‘rule over’?”

“You are to be the leader of Aquadomina.” The Three intoned, “The
foretelling has come true, and—”

“I don’t mean to be rude.” Sophie was getting a great headache and this
conversation was going nowhere. “I know you think that I am this ‘Chosen’
person. I just don’t know how that is possible. I never get chosen for
anything. In a political election year, I don’t even get calls for my opinion.
I’m nobody special.” She realized she was in front of the guard with the
prismatic eyes and couldn’t resist looking at him. “I am just Sophie.”

“The Chosen needs to be shown her quarters in the city.” Two got her
attention when she suggested, “After a good meal and some time to rest perhaps
all will be clear.”

Sophie turned to Two, but was prevented from asking any more questions
when the doors slid open. A crowd of men swept in and parted in a wave to
reveal another male at the center of their group.
 
He wasn’t as tall as the guard already in the
room. He was about her height which put him at about five foot five, maybe five
foot six. He had blond hair, fair skin, a pointed chin and pale blue eyes. Some
women might find him attractive, but she had always preferred dark haired men.
He was wearing normal enough clothing she supposed. Some type of pants, a
billowing top, military type boots and a cape. She had to do a double take on
the cape. Did anyone even really wear one of those anymore?

His eyes darted around the room and landed on her. With a cold smile, he
rushed over and tried to hug her. She did not know this man and was not about
to let him touch her. As he was reaching out, she used his momentum to push him
past her, at the same time tucked herself under his outstretched arms to end up
away from him. He turned around and she almost laughed at his astonished
expression. Then he regained his composure and pasted a smile on his face. It
did not reach his eyes, and looking into them left her feeling cold.

“My love —”

“Now is not the time.” The Three tried to stop him but he rushed toward
her again.

Sophie put her fists up, “Stop.” She wanted to give him a verbal warning
since her raised fists didn’t seem to impress him. That word was all it took
before all hell broke loose. One second she was standing there with Mr. Mystery
Man bearing down on her, the next she was wrapped in what felt like a steel
grip. Whoever was holding her used one hand to knock blondie away from her to
slide across the floor. Then she was tucked into a leathered chest plate. From
the sounds behind the back of the male holding her, there was quite a fight
going on. Not that she could see any it, the guard in front of her was so large
he effectively had her blocked in.

When she heard a whined, “I
 
dink
–e-
 
boke my dose.” She couldn’t help
herself she started laughing.

“You will be okay Chosen.” The male obviously thought her shaking was
from fright or tears. He was trying to reassure her and it felt good. His voice
was like smoked whiskey with a smooth velvet lining and she could drink it in
all day.

“Stop! That is enough.” The Three tried to get control of the room.

“Commander Raife, explain yourself!” One issued the demand.

When he just ignored One, the male she assumed was the blond began
yelling. “I -ill -ave
 
you
 
-emoved
 
fom yor
 
pos-d-ition.” As he
yelled, his voice got shriller and Sophie thought her head might explode. “I
-ill –av-
 
-ou
  
-punishd—”

Sophie looked up at the guard holding her, fighting back the laughter at
the other male’s antics. It was the guard that had captivated her from earlier.
To her surprise, he was actually looking down at her, not staring off into
space like before. He was enthralling. His eyes were framed with black
eyelashes and arched brows. They were the amazing blue, but up close, you could
count the flecks of light in them. His face wasn’t soft or sharp it was just
blatantly masculine and golden tan. His mouth was full and luscious and she
could see his perfectly white even teeth.
 
When he saw her studying him, he jerked back to attention. The encounter
had lasted a mere couple of seconds but she knew it was imprinted on her brain.
With a sigh, she pushed back away from the guard and stepped to the side. He
was still close, but wasn’t blocking her view of the room.

The male guards that had been here from the beginning had disarmed the blond
male’s guards and had them face down on the floor. The blonde-haired male was
holding his nose and was yelling at The Three about being shown the proper
respect.

“Enough.” Sophie called across the room and everyone went still. If there
was anything to this Chosen stuff she was about to find out. Facing the
annoying blonde-haired male, she said quietly, “If you do anything against the
guards in this room, either yours and or mine, I will be unhappy.” Let him
wonder about what that might mean.

“Commander Raife, we need to know why you felt the need to protect The
Chosen from Arbiter Ri’Carn.” The Three were furious.

“I am honor bound to protect The Chosen from all threats.” Sophie was
lulled in by his voice and almost missed when One stated.

“You are not bound to protect her from The Chosen Consort.” She hissed in
irritation.

 
“Now hold on.” Sophie was at the
end of her rope, “What do you mean by ‘
The
Chosen Consort’
? That better be a term for friend or something other than
what I think it does stand for!”

“All will be explained.” The Three were frustrated, and they obviously
hadn’t expected to have to explain this part to her so soon. “The Chosen needs
to go to her quarters for food and rest.” When they saw the stubborn look on
her face, they added desperately, “Please.”

“Okay. I will go where you ask, but someone needs to give me some
answers...and soon.” She looked around helplessly, “Who is taking me to these
quarters?” When the blonde-haired male looked excited, she hurried to point at
him, “Not you.”

“The Protectorate are to be your constant guard. They will be the ones to
take you to your quarters.” The Three assured her. “They are Commander Raife.”
At those words, the guard that had grabbed her put his fist against his chest
and bowed. “Protectorate Garritt.” Another guard stepped to stand next Raife.
He was very handsome with a dark complexion, sandy colored hair and incredible
blue eyes. He did the salute and bow thing also, and then The Three introduced
the next male. “Protectorate Ramsey.” The guard from the window moved to stand
next to Garritt. This guard had black hair, a fair complexion, of course the
blue eyes and a faint scar across his right eye. “Protectorate Willem.” One of
the guards at the door moved over, saluted and bowed. “And Protectorate
Connor.”
 
He was the twin of Willem. They
both had light brown hair and she hadn’t gotten a chance to see Willem’s, but
Connor had brown eyes. She did a double take over that fact. Everyone she had
met so far had blue eyes. Well, besides Raife and his prismatic ones anyway.
“There are two others, Stefan and Thomas. They are to be your night guard and
have not arrived yet. They are coming from Kingdom Three and will arrive some
time tomorrow. Commander Raife, take the chosen to Castrum and see her settled.”

Raife stood from his bent position and gestured for Sophie to follow him.

“Before I go, I meant what I said about punishment against the guards.”
Sophie stressed.

Everyone in the room except her guard did the salute and bow thing
staying bent over. Commander Raife moved to stand in front of her and gestured
to the arched doorway. “This way please.” He spoke softly and moved to walk in
front of her. The other four guards made a male box around her and they left
the medical room. She reluctantly followed the male shoulders in front of her.
Since she couldn’t see anything around her, it was a surprise to suddenly feel
the warm light on her face. Taking a deep breath, she could almost taste the
water on her tongue. It was salty and heavy in the air with a hint of something
earthy and floral.

Shielding her eyes and looking up, she let out a yell and stopped short.
This was a mistake apparently. It caused her guard to press
shoulder-to-shoulder, and front-to-back with her. They must have thought she
had yelled because of a threat and she was now the inside of her guard
sandwich.

After a few claustrophobic moments, she heard a male voice say, “There is
no threat.” Commander Raife moved the guard away from in front of her so he
could see her face, “Why did The Chosen yell out?”

 
She looked helplessly at the sky
then back at him. “That!” She pointed up, “I see six different planets, and one
of them has rings around it like Saturn. How are they so close?” Trying to gain
some perspective, she asked again, “Where
exactly
am I?”

Commander Raife looked at the sky, “There are only four planets. Two of
them are a reflection off the atmosphere. I do not know how to explain where
you are except to say Aquadomina. After you have rested, we can take you to the
Halls of Science. Maybe the answers you seek are there.” He looked around at
the path they were on, his gaze going around to the people on the walkway. “We
need to keep moving. News of your arrival is sure to have spread and we need to
get you off the streets.” As soon as he strode away, the guard he had moved
aside took his position again. Sighing Sophie followed keeping her head down.
The headache that had threatened earlier was starting to pound. She just wanted
to get somewhere she could put a cold compress on her eyes and think in peace
and quiet.

“We are going to take your personal craft to your quarters.” She heard
Commander Raife say somewhere ahead of her. The guard in front of her moved
aside to allow her to see what was ahead. She wanted to stop but knew she would
end up sandwiched again so she kept walking, but it was an effort. In front of
her, at the end of what she could only describe as a multiple parking dock, was
some type of “vehicle”. It was a teardrop shaped, liquid mercury colored large
speedboat/yacht looking hybrid. There were others in the water on either side
of the dock, but the one they were moving towards was much larger.

“What are these called?” She asked no one in particular. She wasn’t
surprised when Commander Raife answered. The other guards didn’t seem to speak.

“They are just water craft. Your personal one is named the Aquavi.” He
put his hand on her elbow to help her into the vehicle. Both doors had slid
opened and with his help, she took the two steps down. She tried to get her
bearings but was pressed forward by the four males entering behind her. She was
getting irritated by the constant press of bodies and was about to say
something when the doors behind her closed. The inside of the Aquavi got her
attention and she could only look around openmouthed. There were two rows of
six single seats forward and back to each other against the sides with walking
room in the middle of the boat. Each seat looked like it was extremely
comfortable. The sides were raised and the backs tall, with extra cushioning.
At the back of the boat was a double door with two smaller doors at each side.
Before she could ask what was in the back Raife had moved to stand in front of
her.

“I need you to put your palm on the control panel. May I?” When she
nodded, he took her hand and led her to a console at the front of the boat.

Since she was standing with him and she wasn’t sure what she was doing,
to fill the awkward silence she asked, “What should I call you? Commander Raife
or Raife?”

Placing her hand against the console he said, “The Chosen may call me
whatever she wishes.” He was standing very close against her back, and she had
the sudden urge to lean back into him, which she fought.

“Since you don’t mind, I will call you Raife.” She looked to where he had
her hand pressed and felt the warmth of his skin against hers. Suddenly there
was a flash of light and a small pinching feeing in her fingers, and then the
computer began talking.

“Programming settings. Voice recognition protocol initialized,
repeat:
 
Testing.”

She looked over her shoulder at Raife and he nodded his head for her to
proceed. Sophie sighed and called out, “Testing.”

The computer requested again, “Repeat:
 
Aquavi.”

“Aquavi.” Sophie intoned.

The computer flashed, “Repeat:
 
I
am The Chosen.”

Sophie felt her irritation building, “I am The Chosen, and my name is
Sophie.”

She was sure that the computer would beep at her that she had done it
wrong. To her delight it just intoned, “Confirmed. Please state preference male
or female modulation.”

Sophie paused. She might like this after all. “I prefer male.” She called
out.

“State preference for color.” The computer asked again. This time the
voice that came out of the system was distinctly masculine.