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Chapter 2

2

“I

’ve never seen anyone so thrilled to see a disk. I wonder what’s on it,” Lu said as they walked away from the client’s home in Tero-Joro.

“That’s not for us to know. Let’s keep it that way.” Rasha pulled out a palm-sized square disk and pressed her thumb to it.

“Rasha Jenchat, fetch and delivery complete, record one hundred percent, rating ten, payment complete.”

“What’s it like to be seventeen and have a two-year perfect run?” Lu asked as he pulled out his own square communicator.

“I enjoy my work.”

“I suppose so.” Lu looked down at his own communicator and frowned.

“What’s wrong? Was there a problem with your payment?”

“No, nothing, I just have to go take care of something. I’ll meet up with you later.”

“You know where to find me.”

“Yes, of course.” Lu stopped short and turned to her. “Why do you go to places like that? They won’t give you drink.”

“I’m not there for the drink,” Rasha said and turned to go.

Rasha sat

in a dark corner of the tavern with one foot on a chair in front of her. She caught bits of conversation as the other couriers from on and off world sat and discussed their latest fetches and deliveries. Mixed in were a few travelers and locals who sat at the bar in their usual seats. The lighting was at twenty percent and they were nowhere near capacity. Many of the tables sat empty since it was midweek. There were a few seats open at the bar, but she ignored them. Rasha had made the mistake once of sitting at the bar. Those seats were for people taking drink only, not for someone her age. She’d been tossed out on her backside and told to mind her manners in all things concerning the bar.

The barmaid, wearing less than the imagination required, came over and put a glass mug in front of Rasha.

“Rash.”

“Silae.”

Silae sat across from Rash in the empty chair and stared at Rasha’s boot on the other. Rasha glanced over at her boot with a grin in challenge. Silae had reddish-brown skin and long, dark, wavy hair. Her eyes were as black as night. She was part Karmirian and part human, a unique mix. Her almond eyes and full mouth always seemed to smile. Rasha enjoyed their banter even more than the non-fermented juice she drank.

“What’s a nice young girl like you doing in a ruffian’s drinking hole like this one?” Silae asked.

“Minding my own business, which is what you should be doing,” Rasha said.

“I’ll take note of that, just before I ignore it. Sorry I can’t offer you ferm or something stronger.”

Rasha smiled at her brazen attitude and ignored the comment about the drink.

“Where’s that adorable green partner of yours, with the big ears?”

“He has somewhere else to be.”

“What a shame. He’s got such a nice way with people, unlike his traveling companion. Before I go, I thought you should know The Choosing has begun.”

Rasha kept her face and features still as her stomach flipped. It took too long for her next words to come out.

“Why should that concern me?”

“I didn’t say it did. I thought you’d want to be informed.” Silae, always the sly one, slipped out of the seat with a toss of her hair and returned to the bar to get more drinks served.

Rasha’s heart raced as she pulled out her communicator and watched the feed. It was true. The eligible princesses in the realm were making their way to Adalu, the first kingdom. The current prince would choose one of the pure-born princesses to be his bride. Her hand shook when she reached for her juice and she pulled it back again. She raised her eyes to the bar and saw Silae watching her with a knowing smile. She wanted to pull out Cutter and Blade to slice that smile right off of her face. Silae turned to another customer before Rasha let her imagination go wild.

“Ruins is what it is. I can’t get to my trade routes for the all the parading around these princesses do,” she overheard a tradesman the next table over complain.

“Like a bunch of pikos, strutting around for the crowned prince. The whole thing is ridiculous,” his companion replied. “It’ll be tough getting anything on or off this planet for a while. I’m thinking of taking work in the far reaches.”

“I’m not that desperate. Besides, the princesses aren’t half bad to look at, not like this lot,” the tradesman said, waving a hand at the room.

Rasha only felt a tinge of shame being lumped in with the rest. She’d been considered a beauty once. Her grey eyes in contrast to her purple skin often caught people’s attention. That was another time, another life, where she dressed and performed for the approval of others. Few noticed her in the clothing she wore now. She kept her hands and arms covered and a hood concealed most of her head and hair. No one here would even recognize her. Besides, why would anyone look at her? A princess wouldn’t be seen in a tradesmen’s bar drinking unfermented juice. She stroked the amulet around her neck and whispered a prayer under her breath.

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