Chapter 1

The queen was not happy. The king thought it was funny, but he was getting up in years and thought a lot of things that used to be important no longer were. Anything short of a war was trivial. Most of the elders appreciated his outlook and were in agreement. I was in agreement, too, this time, but for a different reason altogether.

Princess Gwyneth, the only possible mother to the future heir of the Thordast Kingdom, was asking to not be wed to me, a temporary stay, she said, for reasons she could not explain now, but that she needed time to work through.

My best friend, my first love, my soulmate, and my reason for living, Lady Clarise, explained it to me in straight language. Gwyneth was in love with her.

“Seriously, hon? I knew you two were good friends, even physical friends, but lovers?”

“Lovers yes, my dear, but I love you. She loves me. She told me she needs to talk with both of us, and The Seer, before any promises, vows, or bonds are made. It seemed very reasonable to me.”

“The Seer? I’ve heard about her, and you have to be kidding! What would that old lady know about love and wedlock?”

“Nothing? Everything? It doesn’t really matter, my lord. She sees, she does not cause. Gwyneth wants to know if you will be kind to her for all her years with us and whether you will keep me in your life, to be with her. She doesn’t want you so much, Charles, as she wants me, but she will go with you, and love you, and be with you, and bear your children if she can be with me.”

“That seems pretty simple. NOT! I think we need to speak to her father and mother. You and I cannot be wed, and we know that. The Chancellor of the Regency and the daughter of government officials just won’t cut it this time. We need to do that whole royalty thing. Ackkk. I wish life were easier to travel. Thankfully your mother has allowed this and even found that ancient book of Cojourn law that laid out the rules and laws concerning just this ‘thing’. Thank the Goddesses Beyond for that.

“The original books of the Cojourn, from well before my bloodline was installed into the chancellorship, explain the problem and the solution. I just hope you can handle it, because I need you in my life far more than I need her impetuous bratty little royal ass waking up next to me in the morning. And if she is my wife, she will. She needs to know that. Do you think she realizes that?”

“Yes, she does. She will. I’ll see to it. She needs to understand that if she wants me, you will be there. My heart, my soul, my body ... All of me ... belong to you, not to her. Hers will not be an unrequited love, but I belong to another. Enough of this. I will set an appointment to see the royals this evening, my love. We need to get this out in the open. Rena will not be overjoyed, but at least she will see her daughter married to the leader of the Cojourn, the Chancellor of the Regency, and that is what needs to happen for our worlds to endure and prosper. The stars relate so, and no man can dispute the need for our two civilizations to join. So, it must be.”

“That seems to be the path we must follow. I love you, Clarise. I really do. What’s she like?”

“Who, the impetuous little brat? Hah! Charles, you will be astounded by her beauty. She’s about my size, but her long blonde hair is full and gorgeous. Her pictures don’t really do her justice at all. She’s a bit flighty, but fun to be around. She is considerate and caring, and very attentive romantically. I’m just glad you allowed us to be together while you were away. She was sure she wanted to know me better that second time we met. That was at the consulate party we had when we found that you were going to be successful in ending that mess in the Plassen System. Anyway, she wasn’t pushy, but as soon as she said that, I messaged you.”

“I would deny you nothing, Clarise. Well, not exactly true. It would probably kill me, but I would let you go, should you find another man you would rather be with, or even like to be with. There could be no coexistence. You understand though, don’t you?”

“That would never happen, my lord, and I would not even consider, let alone ever attempt to have any man but you in my life. You’ll never have to deal with that possibility, Charlie. Never. It’s not just that men don’t share as well. I just wouldn’t want another man to touch me as you touch me. No one else ever has, and no one else ever will. We’ve been together since we were just infants and that will not change. No, Charlie, that wouldn’t happen.” She put her arms around my neck and kissed me.

After letting me go, she tapped away at her personal comm for a couple of minutes, then smiled and put it away.

“What are you grinning about, sweetheart?”

“I need to call Georgia. The king would like to see us as soon as we can get there.” She stepped over to my desk, picked up the ship’s comm and requested the consulate’s shuttle pilot, who was also Lady Clarise’s personal security detail, to ready her craft for deployment to the royal palace on Fairland Proper. “Let’s go, Charlie, if you’re ready. We might as well let you get this behind us. We can explain your position and if all concerned are in acceptance, you can have a wedding. Should they dispute the betrothal, the existence of humanity will come to a screeching halt and fall into the void of nothingness.”

“Honey, that’s a bit dire. I don’t think it will happen that fast. It’ll take a couple of generations for the idiots and greed to take over and ruin our way of life. Even that won’t happen until I’m gone, so it’ll be a bit. Our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be in for a rude awakening, though.”

“I thought it would sound convincing, my lord!”

“Oh, yes. I get your intention. I’ll try something like that. Maybe Rena will comprehend her daughter’s issue with me if you help me explain it. Or maybe you should just be the one to explain it. I don’t know what I’d say. The part about the universe falling apart and humanity fading into nothingness is a concept many don’t understand. It took twelve hundred years for us to throw the shackles of greed and we’ve been doing great for another fifteen hundred. If my bloodline and that of King Jaren die now, that would basically mean all that is written is unenforceable, since...”

“I know, my lord. The power, the gift, dies with you as well, and the King’s people will revolt without his heir taking the throne. It’s a sad story, but one that we must accept ... or prevent. I say you should prevent it. Let’s go convince Rena that her daughter’s penchant toward the ancient art of Sapphic delights is something we can somehow live with.”

“The ancient art of Sapphic delights? Good grief, Reecy, you read too much.” I patted her bottom, causing a bit of a squealing laugh as she ran to the door and out into the hallway.

“Come, my lord. You need to save the universe. If you happen to find me a girlfriend in the process, so much more the better.” She giggled and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the hangar deck and the waiting shuttle.

Once we were seated and secure, Georgia let us know how long the flight would be, the route we’d be taking, and all those little details required of the spacecraft commander on any flight, regardless of how long it is. This was a short flight from high planetary orbit down to their capital city. Normally, people, passengers, don’t hear all those details, but I was in the copilot’s seat, and Clarise was in the jump seat, so we got to hear the mission briefing. There was a reason for it, being if Georgia was incapacitated, either I or Clarise would have to take command of the vehicle. Either of us could, depending on the circumstances.

Clarise would be able to fly the shuttle, as she qualified as a spacecraft pilot in the academy. Her major was political science, but you just can’t have enough pilots around an embassy, so ... She did the deed. It was hard work, but someone had to do it. My major was astrophysical engineering, but my goal in the academy was to become the best fighter pilot in the entire universe. FAIL! I did OK, and I’ve been in battle a couple of times and lived through it with several kills and a LOT of attributable damage, but not my name, nor my background, and not even my ‘gift’ made me the best pilot ever. As hard as I tried, there were always a couple of blokes out there with a bit faster reflexes. Thankfully, they were on our side and just barely showed me up each time. The two best, or maybe just a bit better, pilots are still keeping the universe a safer place to be. Good thing for the Free Universe, too, because I was called back to take my father’s place as Chancellor of the United Alliance Regency. The chancellorship has been in our family for well over a millennium and a half, based solely on our ‘gift’, our ability to bring peoples, in the broader sense of the word, together. Without fail, we have an inherent ability to do just that.

The alliance is just what it implies. It is made up of many different civilizations that have chosen to live their lives as peace-loving peoples. It’s that easy. Trade fairly and prosper. Internal disputes, those between members of the alliance, are settled peacefully, most generally by the Chancellor, if not already worked out by the Board of Regents.

Disputes brought from outside the alliance are resolved in whatever manner necessary, at any cost, to ensure that the member civilization is protected, if they were in fact NOT the aggressor in the dispute. Unprovoked aggression against the alliance members is met with the might of the most technologically advanced and deadliest military force the universe has ever held. That we know of, that is. If they were the aggressor, as found by a Board of Regents Tribunal, they were on their own.

We landed at the shuttle port just outside the palace of King Jaren and Queen Rena, Princess Gwyneth’s parents, where we were greeted by one of the King’s advisors and escorted to their quarters. On the way, Robert, our escort, advised us that there would be a snack and refreshments served, informally, and that the King wanted this conversation conducted and kept private, since it was, in all actuality, at least for now, a private matter. All I could do was nod. I was glad. I looked at Clarise and got a smile and a nod. She was glad, too.

Upon entering their chambers, I approached the King and shook his hand. We were equals in the rules of etiquette, and therefore it was the proper greeting. Clarise curtsied slightly. She was considered a minor royalty in her home world, but after all, there was a real king and queen in front of her.

“King Jaren, Queen Rena, it’s nice to finally meet you in person. As I am sure you were expecting, I am Charles Chase, Charles the Third, Prime Leader of the Cojourn Worlds, and Chancellor of the United Alliance Regency. Accompanying me is my foremost advisor and part time conscience, as well as my full-time dearest friend, Lady Clarise Allison. She has been, is now, and will be with me at all times, save combat deployment. I understand she was stationed here as Alliance Ambassador during my absence while I was off giving aid to the Plassen. Before anyone says anything else about relationships, or the future, Lady Clarise and I have known each other for all but about six months of our lives, the first six months, and are probably closer than most brothers and sisters. We were thrown together in a crib when our parents met, and we’ve been together since. That is something we need to keep in mind while we talk. Queen Rena, I understand you have issues with your daughter’s desires toward us and our betrothal?”

“No, I have no issues. We just assumed that she was to marry you, give my husband an heir, and all would be well. Then this ... this woman, comes into her life, turns it upside down, and all hell breaks loose. You just need to fix the problem, Chancellor. She needs to just go away so that you and Gwyneth, our Princess, can be bonded to you and mated. Your ‘lady’ there, is redundant at this point.”

“May I speak to your daughter, Jaren? I think this might be of interest to her, and to you as well. I hate to be rude, sir, but your Queen’s request that Lady Clarise ‘hit the bricks’, as they used to say, is a non-starter. Before she leaves my side, of my doing, I will watch humanity be flushed down the toilet of greed and despair. That is just not happening.”

“Robert, go get the Princess. Tell her we need her to help us clear this mess up,” Jaren said, dispatching his aide.

“Yes, sir.” Robert left down the hallway, with his head down and shaking it back and forth.

Jaren then went on. “Charles, Rena is upset, and I understand her views, although I don’t totally agree with her, since your embassy has provided documentation stating you have flexibility along those lines. We are a society believing in absolute monogamy. One man with one woman, period. Infidelity is reason for scorn, if not cause for legal action. Carnal adultery is illegal. The thought of a man being with more than one woman is inappropriate in our society. The thought of a woman being with more than one man would be an abhorrence, of course. We have no qualms with homosexuality, but only between single persons, or it would be cause for adultery charges, and we do not allow for like gender marriages or bonding, since mating for the purpose of procreation would be impossible and that is the prime reason for marriage and bonding to begin with.”

“That adultery thing doesn’t fly with me either, Jaren. Especially the two-men and one-woman thing. We do, however, have laws in the Cojourn, my civilization, that allow for polygamy, but only in the case of polyamory, and then, only when circumstances allow, financial and otherwise, and all parties agree to the union and take the vows to honor it. If I were already married, for example, I could not just take Gwyneth on as a wife like I would take home a new hovercraft, for example. I need to mention, though, before this gets out of hand, that Lady Clarise and I are not married. Our relationship is actually much deeper than that. You have heard of divorce, and I think I remember reading that your world allows for a version of that. Obviously, you must, if you don’t allow for infidelity or polyamory nor do you impose the death penalty for falling out of love. Lady Clarise and I could not divorce. We are bonded that strongly. It would kill the other should one of us part for any reason short of the other’s death, and maybe even then so.”

As the princess entered the room, I saw what Clarise had tried to explain to me just hours earlier when I asked her what she was like. She was a stunningly beautiful girl. She was more a young woman than girl, though, with long shiny full blonde locks, a cute, yet beautiful, face with a cute little nose and perfect blue eyes. Her rosy cheeks shone of the joy she could have in her life should she be able to be in Lady Clarise’s presence. I took her hand in mine when I requested it, then as she offered it, I kissed the knuckle behind the family ring on her finger. I took a good look at her, top to bottom, and felt there was no downside to us having her in our lives, should she not be an impetuous whiny little brat. When she opened her mouth, I knew that was not going to be a problem. She was quite mature, although quite smitten.