The Mutant World (35 page)

Actually, it was not Bella’s intention to knock Queen Bal completely out of the picture. Princess Bellasaris was Bellasarian through and through. Bal had bonded. Even Bella wouldn’t be so callous as to completely get in her way now, no matter how irritating it was. It would be incredibly cruel and heartless…and the law forbade it anyway. However, in every family with plural mates there is a pecking order. There could only be
one
that stood foremost in the heart of the man (or woman) and therefore the only
true
wife or husband. Naturally, Bella intended that to be her.

Prince Pantherus was also a product of his culture. The Illyrian Princess desired him, and although Bal was becoming more and more in his thoughts, a little harmless fun with Bella wouldn’t hurt, such things were common when people of his class mingled. Indeed, under the Bellasarian concepts of courtesy, he would be seen as very rude to refuse her, even if she didn’t appeal to him. Unfortunately for Bal though, she did appeal to him…very much so.

Bella knew that if and when Pantherus agreed to enjoy favors with her it would be all over for the Mavie woman. She would use the women of her line’s secret weapon. The boy would be hers and the helpless Mavie woman would kneel in submission and accept her place as a subordinate mate. After all, what could she do about it?

******

Akinlana Town, The Present

It was late in the evening and Queen Bal sat expectantly in her private accommodations. The dimensional portal opened and a tall beauty with long white hair and a veil emerged. Queen Bal dropped to her knees before the elder. The older woman smiled.

“Queen Bal, it is very late. I am a little surprised to be contacted and asked to visit at this hour.”

“My apologies, great elder,” said Bal, still unaware of the woman’s true identity.

“Well, what can I do for you?” asked Bellasaris motioning the woman to rise. She had her suspicions. The battle between Bal and her descendant, Princess Bellasaris, for the Barattian boy must be heating up.

“Honored mother, I have need of your skill. Please…heal my face.”

“I thought you intended to fight for your potential mate as you are?” said Bellasaris in amusement. “Can it be that your opponent is…?”

“I won the battle,” said Bal in irritation. “The boy is mine and I am his! Now I must fight to keep him! The women of Illyria always get their way somehow. Even now, the prince is with Princess Bellasaris.”

“So?” asked the elder Bellasaris in amusement. “It is her right to ask the boy for a little pleasure. You are not his official mate. She need not ask your permission. Besides, it’s only for fun. If the boy is truly yours you need not worry.”

“That would be true with most, elder,” said Bal desperately, “but Princess Bellasaris is of the high Illyrian nobility. They and the other women of the Catonian royal clans ALWAYS get what they want where men are concerned! I will not be second in the heart of my man!”

“I thought you would only remove the scars once you’d achieved peace and restored honor to your people,” said Bellasaris, now toying with Bal.

“I don’t give a shit!” snarled Bal. “I’ve sacrificed much for these people, but Pantherus is MINE!!”

Bellasaris knew that once Bella had the boy in the sack she would try to bind him almost irrevocably to her. However, this would only occur if she was truly bonded to the boy. If she merely desired him sexually, with no deeper meaning, her salivary glands would not produce the chemicals needed to hold the boy as her mate. Because of his own bloodline, the bite would not be fatal, but he’d still be a bit ill (not to mention pissed off) and Bal’s worries would be over. But Bellasaris doubted that this would be the case. Bella had hungered for the Barattian prince the moment she saw his image. Naturally, she’d had lovers before, but she had been rumored to have foresworn all of them once she set her mind on Pantherus. The boy was almost certainly her destined mate. However, it would take more than love venom to overcome
true
love. Bella may claim the boy to a degree, but that didn’t necessarily mean she would be first wife. If he bonded with Bal she would be the one to lose and Bal was now pulling out all the stops. Bellasaris loved it! Besides…as a future leader in the empire and possible empress, it would be good for Bella to learn that she couldn’t always have things just the way
she
wanted them. She would have to learn the art of compromise sooner or later, so why not now.

“Alright, I shall do as you ask. There will be pain and blood. I must reopen those wounds, but I promise your face will be whole again.”

“Th…Thank you, honored elder!” said Bal gratefully, but then she swallowed. Something had been eating at her from the moment she first met this old woman. “Great Mother, I…I must know. Who
are
you?”

Bellasaris chuckled. “I am one who wishes to see your people, the Barratians and the empire one. That is all you need know for now. Besides…you have your suspicions already, don’t you? But enough of that, your face and that boy are the immediate issue, no?” Bal nodded, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. “Now, shall we begin?”

******

President Beverly Chambers never thought she’d be witnessing a romantic triangle of this sort when she and the others arranged for this trip. The twist and turns were more surprising and entertaining than her favorite soap operas back home.

When the morning came and Chieftess Akanke summoned her and the others to breakfast, Beverly was shocked to see the young Barratian prince with the empress’s roughneck daughter. She had a look on her face that confirmed what many of them suspected when neither of the two young people could be found after dinner. Obviously she had not been disappointed. Indeed, she was locked onto Pantherus like a leech and he wasn’t complaining. In fact, the boy seemed to be in a dreamlike daze. Then the Mavie arrived and the boy woke from his daze rather abruptly. Actually, everyone else, mostly the men, but some of the women as well suddenly found themselves in a daze. Everyone was shocked. Queen Bal walk into Akanke’s great hall dressed only a little more than a Melmorian woman, but her incredible figure wasn’t what now had everyone spellbound and amazed. The vicious scar disfiguring the side of her face was gone!

“I always suspected that the girl…er…woman was once very attractive before half her face was clawed off,” said President Chambers to her husband, “but my god! She’s…She’s…” The First Man could only nod speechlessly in agreement.

Queen Bal sauntered over to her people’s reserved place after paying her respects to their host and smoothly sat down. She looked casually at Prince Pantherus and smiled. The youth stood up without a word and left Princess Bellasaris, still sitting there slack-jawed, and seated himself right next to Bal. Slyly she looked at Bella and made a tiny face. The Illyrian girl stood up and ran crying from the hall.

Now as entertaining and shocking as these people were, Beverly felt that behind the scenes there were serious,
real
, social and political agendas at stake here and that people very high up were getting irritated…and she was right.

******

Angrily, Empress Beral III stormed to her private chambers. The news she had received from Melmoria was not good. It had nothing to do with the Earth people, but rather, her own political and personal agendas being derailed by a certain old fossil that just couldn’t mind her own business.

When she arrived she saw Bellasaris and Gorgo sitting and conversing with Lord Talos. The servants were serving them refreshments and the mood was very relaxed.

“Ah, Beral child,” said Bellasaris smiling. “I received your message and came right over. My, how popular I’ve become these days!”

The empress controlled her rage and calmly looking at the servants said, “Leave us.”

As soon as the door was closed Beral’s face lost its composure and her mind shot forth in fury.
“What games are you playing…you…you…old FART?!”

Bellasaris and Gorgo jumped to their feet as did Talos. That the empress should speak to this woman, her own ancestor in such a way was shocking. Talos was appalled.

“What is the meaning of this disgraceful behavior?! These women are our ancestors!”

“You stay out of this!”
said Beral III.

“Well it seems someone is forgetting herself,”
said Bellasaris, looking at Gorgo out of the corner of her eye.
“Do I have to give this impudent child a spanking to remind her of exactly who she is speaking to?”

Gorgo said nothing, but moved into a semi-defensive stance. Beral III wasn’t backing down and she was easily a match for Bellasaris. In fact, Gorgo wasn’t sure that even she was strong enough to handle Beral III. She looked at the High Lord, she knew that
he
was most definitely capable of restraining his wife, but she doubted very seriously that he would physically intervene if things turned violent. Men on Bellasaria rarely involve themselves in personal disputes among women.

“You dare to interfere in my affairs, old woman?”
snarled the empress mentally.
“Why are you trying to sabotage my daughter’s attempts to claim a mate? Not to mention my attempts to bring the Barratians fully into the empire?!”

“I don’t know exactly what you mean?”
said Bellasaris.

“You have been secretly aiding the Mavie queen in her efforts to claim Prince Pantherus, the boy that Bella, your own namesake is after! Need I remind you that a mating between our house and that of King Roc’s will exponentially help in completely bringing his people peacefully into the empire?!”

“Silly girl,”
said Bellasaris.
“I help Bal because it would be pointless to help Bella. Or have you completely ignored the fact that the woman has not only bonded with Prince Pantherus, but she has found favor in his eyes as well? It is even likely that he has now bonded with her too. Besides…you and your daughter are behaving like humans, Bal too. It is our way to share rather than fight. Bella has bound the boy to some degree, but she will just have to learn that she can’t have everything her way! If they compromise, we will have it all, especially Bella. Have you forgotten that Bal is half human with inferior regeneration ability? In perhaps a hundred years or so Bella may have Pantherus all to herself anyway.”

Beral, thought about this and began to calm down. As usual, Mother Bellasaris was well ahead of the game. If Pantherus became the mate of both girls two birds would be killed with one stone.

“I’m sorry I insulted you, honored ancestor,”
said Beral.
“I should not have called you such names. However, I am empress here, not you. I respect your age and wisdom, but these machinations behind my back, I don’t like it. Your advice and suggestions are valued, but I rule! If you would share your intentions with me this sort of thing will not happen again.”

“You are right, of course,” said Bellasaris verbally after a moment. “I apologize, but at my age…Well I tend to…”

It’s alright,” said Beral with a sigh. “But although mating both women to the prince is the best choice, there are still problems, honored one. One is that Bella resents Bal. The Mavie queen has nothing personal against Bella, or at least she didn’t, but they are rivals and the rest goes without saying. But even if the women did get along. King Roc favors Bella, but he sees Bal as an enemy. The Mavie killed his mother. He wants to kill her and crush her people. He knows he is on the verge of total victory. He has no interest in a political marriage for the sake of peace.”

“He’ll come around,” said Bellasaris. “If he wants what the empire has to offer and a better life for his people he’ll come around.”

******

Later, after teleporting from Illia, Gorgo looked at Bellasaris. “Hypocrite,” she said with a grin.

“What?”

“I said you’re a hypocrite. Telling that baby they were all acting like humans for not wanting to share
knowing
that we were just as bad! Do you forget what we did to Cato to keep him close to home and out of reach of other females? We barely could stand sharing among ourselves. None of us really wanted to share Cato, and sad and even shameful to say, we were even relieved when some of our sisters began to finally look and feel their age and eventually drop out of the picture. Don’t deny it! Yes, we loved our co-wives, but deep down inside we were all pleased as our rivals became fewer.”

“Yes, it’s true. But we
still
sacrificed for the greater good. And as far as what we did to Cato goes, I do believe we paid a high price for that. And in the end it was all for nothing anyway! Some of these little new nations, the Barratians among them, wouldn’t even be around now if we hadn’t done that. Those mistakes will not be repeated. Bella and Bal will share. King Roc will swallow his hate and make peace! The Mavie and Barratian issue
will
be brought to a close before it becomes an empire-wide issue!”

“Agreed,” said Gorgo. Then she looked at Bellasaris and said. “Bellasaris, what I said about being relieved that our rivals were becoming fewer. I do not feel the same about you. I would not wish to live now without you or Cato. You and he are…are…Well we three make a whole. And you and I…we’ve…”