Page 93 of Ahelno
The next few weeks were the happiest of my life. Dakleth was everything I would ever want in a partner - kind, intelligent, caring, protective, commanding, curious, devoted. Honestly, the devotion could be a little scary sometimes. It was no secret he was obsessed with me. It was common fodder for gossip throughout the city and the village. And, yes, I’d say I had a mild obsession with him, too, but King Akapa cornered me and asked me to remind Dakleth that he had duties to the kingdom other than pleasing his mate. I was so embarrassed, I could die.
I told Dakleth I wanted us to take a few days away from each other so he could get back on track. He grumbled, but agreed he had been “distracted” by me. We still messaged each other, but I stayed away from the palace. Honestly, it was good for me. I had been neglecting my friends and duties as well. I spent the free time visiting with Camavel and Miravel, planting the new seeds for the garden, brushing M’Pak after dinner, dancing with Malvonik and Robnar, and continuing my Ptekari language lessons. I was pleased with my progress. The villagers were kind when it came to my fledgling language skills. They spoke slowly and patiently, never laughing at mybrutal attempts at the new tongue. They were good people. I really loved them.
I even finished the afghan I wove for Miravel and Canticor, to match the baby blanket Camavel had made. Their egg was scheduled to hatch in a few days. The whole village was excited.
We didn’t quite make it a week, though. Dakleth showed up on my doorstep two nights ago and essentially ravaged me against the wall in the living room. Then he picked me up and fucked me again in my bed. The man was relentless, not that I was complaining.
I glanced dreamy eyed at the door. I knew he wouldn’t come today, although I certainly thought about it. Camavel should be here soon for her morning Oonag and gossip. I turned my attention back to Dakleth as I waited. We were going to have to come to an agreement soon about our living arrangements. I wasn’t opposed to giving up my cottage, although I would miss it. It was too small for the both of us. However, I didn’t want to live at the palace or Dakleth’s estate. Maybe we could find a new place together.
I glanced at the door again. I would have expected Camavel by now. Concerned, I sent her a message to ask if she was coming by today. I waited anxiously for her reply. She said she didn’t feel well and hoped to come tomorrow. Poor thing. She was getting up there in age. I would bring her some kovak stew later.
I was deep on the network researching Ptexari traditional remedies when an alert popped up. “Request for meeting: Gildnarian Prime Minister.”
I was confused and asked to open the request. It was addressed to King Akapa. “This has been misdirected,” I toldthe AI assistant. “Why is it coming to me?”
“Response requested within two days,” the robot voice intoned. “Reminders to King Akapa remain unacknowledged. Messages to Prince Dakleth and Princess Kashtinela also remain unacknowledged. Princess Andrea is next in line, according to succession protocol.”
“Wait, what?” I said. “Please connect me to Prince Dakleth.”
The call wouldn’t go through. He didn’t pick up. I tried Kashtinela, King Akapa, Andovar, Finetta, anyone I could think of at the palace, and no one answered my message request. This was bad. Very bad. I switched to a news channel, and there was dead air. Holy shit.
“M’Pak!!” I called.
“Yes?” he responded.
“I need to get to the palace right now. Can you take me?”
He could tell I was panicked and came in the back door right away. “Hop on, Andie.”
M’Pak raced through the streets as quickly as he could without throwing me off. I didn’t ride him often, well, at all really, since I did have a vehicle. But he was faster and my protector, so this was the best option. I wondered how he would feel about me getting a saddle for emergencies like this.
The streets of the capital city were eerily empty. No one - not one solitary being - was on the street. The shops were all closed. There were a few animals, birds, and lizard-type animals, and some domesticated pets here and there, but I didn’t see a single Ptexari. I was terrified.
“Something’s wrong,” I said to M’Pak. He gave a grunt of agreement.
I got to the palace and hopped off of M’Pak. The two guards at the gate were slumped over. Oh no. Nononononono… “Are they…?”
“They’re still breathing, but it’s labored. They smell bad. Sickness,” M’Pak said.
I let out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t facing a military coup or something. A sickness. Ok, that we could handle. I hoped.
I went inside. I saw a guard or two lying still outside a couple of doors, but otherwise, the halls were completely empty. I found a comms panel. Shit. I didn’t know where to start.
“Computer, what illness do the Ptexari have?” I asked.
“Unknown. Diagnostic required,” it replied. Ugh. I didn’t know how to do that.
“I heard a voice! Thank the stars!” I heard. Selica, the chef, came gliding towards me from around the corner. She enveloped me in her tentacles. “Selica, what happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know!” she said. “A few of the staff said they were feeling poorly yesterday afternoon. The King and his family yesterday evening. They all went to bed, and they haven’t woken up. I got up about an hour ago, and everything was just like you see it now. They’re all so deep asleep, I think they’re unconscious. I was just about to call for help! What do we do?”
“The computer says we need to do a diagnostic. Do you know how to do that?” I asked.
“There are medscanners in the medical wing. I think they have portable ones,” she said.
“Ok, let’s go.”
We ran to the medical wing. I saw Lanicar and his assistantlying on cots in one of the rooms. I looked around at all the equipment. None of it was recognizable to me. “Which one is a scanner?” I asked.
