SWNOVELS Chapter 35
"Your mother was forced out of office because I refused to continue playing along with this charade if she was left in charge of Booravia. We set up for your uncle to be left in charge as he was the next in line, but without him knowing that we were involved." He is trying to put his clothes out by slapping the sparks of my angry burst.
"And what you have done, all the lies and deceit how are you any better?" Another ball of flames form in my hand and a gentle glow came from my entire body as I form it. My rage grows with each word that comes out of his mouth.
"No," he sees the flames and his shoulders drop in preparation for my attack, "How can I make it up to you? How can I make you see?"
"You are responsible for his death, the only one who ever cared or truly loved me is dead because of you." I say through tears as the realization hit me, if he has planned this then it is his fault. The Raspites are responsible just as much as my mother is.
"Yes, in a way. It was a plan that my father informed me of, but I never should have gone along with it. Go ahead I won't block it and I won't order you to stop." He looks defeated at this point and I stir with so many emotions.
"You deserve to lay in the grave with your father." I scream at him as my temper flared so did the flames that hover only around my body.
"Computer play back Laoonica file 113t4." He says and to the side of my vision there is a square screen that activates on the wall next to the bookshelf. It now shows Patrick and the captain in his office. On a split screen in front of them is my mother and his father.
"What is this another trick trying to get me too willing be under your control?" I say as I turn slightly to look at him then back at the video hovering in the open space. He just looks at me not moving from where he is.
His father speaks first, "how do I push her further into your arms Patrick?" He asks as I watch the video. I feel the anger drop but only a small amount.
"Fake the destruction of her home planet after all she believes all of this is to protect us. Let's make her think that she failed and has no alternative other than to stay with him or be alone." My mother says without even a thought as to what it would do to me. The captain remains silent in the back ground while the other three talked.
"I don't think we should do this. She has already lost so much this could send her over the edge." Patrick protests to their idea and the look on his face as he glares at my mother is filled with disdain for her.
"Why are you going soft now you just met the girl? You have a duty to your people and you need to follow the orders given to you." His father says but his speech is broken up a bit by a horrific cough.
"Just do it she's a child, a foolish child, and at this point she is slowly becoming an object for sale to the highest bidder." The look on my mother's face is so cold and vacant of any love towards me. A shiver ran up me as I look at it.
"She is not an object and she isn't for sale." Patrick slams his fist against the desk as he circles it during the conversation between the three.
"I suggest that you tell your son to get his act together or I will find a new better offer." I drop the flame from my hand as I hear my mother's words come out. I have never done anything to this woman and the pain of what she has done to me causes all my emotions to come flooding back into me and I tear up even more. The flame around me completely pull back in.
"She is a beautiful creature that deserves better than you for a mother." I don't notice Patrick coming toward me but it is him that spoke so horribly to my mother.
"Son please control your temper." His father says.
"No father, if you saw her. If you saw the way she reacts to everything around her, to the guilt of the destruction of that ship, to the innocent lives lost. If you saw the passion the wandering the desire in her eyes as I do you would know that this is wrong." Had he really fought for me or is it something that he had faith to win me back?
"Your son seems to be an even bigger fool than her. As it seems he is now in love with her perhaps we should call this off. After all I would expect the king of the Raspites to have more control over his children." She scoffs at the King. About this time Patrick touch my arm and I flinch, but I do not pull away I keep watching the video as he now rubs up and down the side of my arm.
"That is enough from your son the destruction will be fake good day Queen of Booravia." The screen with my mother's face on it went dark and she is no longer included in the conversation.
"Father if you want to continue with this trade we have going on, with this scheme to make her fall in love with me, then find a way to remove that woman from the throne. If you don't I will come out and I will tell Laoonica everything." Patrick sounds as angry as he talks to his father and his gesture suggest the same.
"Now that you have spoken like the true next king of our people, I will take you more seriously. So be it if you want her to throne and we will find a way." There is a strange look on his father's face of pride and pain from whatever sickness he is suffering from. He says his final words the screen went black.
"Your Majesty how do I stop her from exploding us?" The captain looks a bit frightened at the proposal of faking the death of my planet.
"I can handle that and she's not as dangerous as you think she is." Patrick says in my defense. By this time Patrick is standing behind me with his hands on my waist. I just watch more confused than ever.
"Shouldn't we have a tranquilizer guns or something on her or for her?" The captain asks still terrified.
"There will be no need of that I can bring her back from that point I promise." Patrick turn toward the center of the desk and push the button and the screen goes black.
"You still lied to me, you still did all this to gain control over me, over my powers." I turn to face him, but this time I am looking in his eyes, but it isn't with anger. There is something about him that makes my anger seem to melt into confusion.
"I will spend however long it takes to make this up to you, to make you see that I do love you." He places his hands on either side of my cheek and holds me in his gaze. I want to turn away; I want to hate him.
"And how do I know that this is not all some sort of trick in and of itself?" I place my hands on his biceps, but don't push him away as I am now caught in his hypnotic gaze.
"You don't. But I promise it isn't and one day I will earn your trust back." He leans in and kisses me, I try to resist at first it doesn't work. I give into him as his other hand moves from my face and wraps around my waist holding me in place. I don't know why I can't just stop loving him, despite the hell and the flowing fountains of lies that has surrounded our union for some reason I still love him. I do wonder if there is anything at all that would or can actually make my love for him fade. I guess there is nothing to do now but to wait and see. If this is actually just another lie. Suddenly the doors open. It is a guard. He stood in the doorway for a moment then he clears his throat to get our attention.
"The captain wants to speak to you Queen Laoonica." I look over at him for a second and pull away from Patrick.
"What is it?" I ask the guard as he stands looking at me then at Patrick.
"Here you can use this com since the one in this room doesn't seem to be working." He hands me the small com off of his uniform.
"Yes captain you needed me?" I ask shaking a bit as I ask the question.
"Queen Laoonica, your uncle is ready" the captain's voice comes back to me.
"We will be there in a few minutes' captain. I had turned them off for us to talk." Patrick says as he presses a button on the wall just below the screen to turn it off and then turns the coms back on. We left the room together and enter the elevator. The guard returns to his position outside of our door as Patrick hands the pin com back to him. I realize that I didn't have to fall in love with him. I did that on my own. The elevator stops and opens on to the deck. The captain directs us into the conference room again. My uncle is waiting patiently on the screen. This time I sit down at the head of the table in the room the captain leaves the room but Patrick takes his seat at my request.
"Ah my niece, how are you?" His familiar uplift voice greets me. I look up at the screen and see the resemblance between him and my father and it lifts my heart up.
"I am well Uncle I am afraid I bare tidings of bad news." I say.
"So I have heard my queen." He responds. The thought of those very words coming from Patrick's mouth not too long ago hit and I had to take a minute to regain my composure.
"You have heard the news of my mother's betrayal then?" I ask.
"Yes my sweet Laoonica and I am so sorry. I am sorry for the loss of your father as well. I will miss my brother greatly." He is sincere as I have only seen him from the protection of my room he always waved and smiled at me every time he was coming to or leaving my home.
"I am married and he is in rights the ruler of his own planet which leaves us to a very strange predicament." I say looking at him. Flashes of my father ran through my head as I sit there preparing to tell him that he would have to take my place. The turmoil that rages inside my head causes me to pause. Did I really want to continue with this conversation? Did I want to truly give up my planet and follow the man who has done nothing but lie to me from the first moment I met him? Did I really have a choice? I look at the table and then back up at my uncle I can't get the words to come out of my mouth. Patrick had once told me that he would let me go if I so choose I can't help but wonder if that was a lie too. Something pulls inside me as though telling me I should go, even though every ounce of me wants to run in the other direction.