Chapter 3

SPARTA

"Handmaiden?" Anja snapped. "I don't need a babysitter! I've gotten along quite well these last few years without a nursemaid. I'm not going to stop now! You didn't say anything about this at breakfast two days Tezu!"

Tezu nodded his head slowly. "Given what was happening, it didn't seem appropriate."

"I'm sorry ... what was happening? We were having breakfast!" Anja spoke as she leaned forward on the couch. "Everyone has breakfast!"

This morning had not begun well and it was getting even worse. She had spent the previous two days tied to the hospital in Eden City, breaking away only to go with Aricia to the LEONIDAS I for some sort of medical checkup. The rest of her time had been spent organizing things for when she left. The young Hadarian woman had accompanied her wherever she went, and though she was very pleasant and friendly, extremely curious and very easy on the eyes to look at, Anja had hoped to get one full day of being with Martin, Aricia and Dysea before they left.

She had awoken this morning to find all three of them gone, Martin to the LEONIDAS I, Aricia into the market in Sparta, and Dysea to say her goodbyes to Tarifa and Aihola. Tezu and Seanna had arrived only thirty minutes ago while she was talking with Helen and feeling lonely, and now they were telling her she had to have a Hadarian babysitter. Anja was finding out that Seanna was going to be her constant shadow now, more so than she had even in the last two days.

"I had hoped to pull you away from the others before we left but it did not work out as I would have liked." Tezu spoke.

"Pull me away why? Whatever you have to tell me I will share with Martin and the others anyway." Anja spoke. "So why waste the time?"

Seanna looked at her, her stunning dark green eyes widening just a bit. "You tell them everything?" She asked.

"Of course I tell them everything," Anja spoke. "I don't keep secrets from them, and they don't keep secrets from me. That surprises you?"

"Milady ... you are ... you are the daughter of King Yelu. You are the Hadarian Queen." Tezu spoke.

Anja nodded. "Yes ... so you and Seanna have told me continuously for the last two days. I understand that." Anja had about as much patience as Martin when it came to being pampered and fawned over because of her new found status. "I don't see why you needed to see me alone? Whatever you tell me I will tell Martin and the others."

"You can not My Queen." Tezu spoke.

Anja's jade green eyes flared at this information and she got slowly to her feet. Helen had been sitting in the kitchen listening in the background. It was something Martin and his Queens expected her from her. Not many knew who she really was, and her position gave her a unique opportunity to be able to give them objective information and advice at a later time. They had agreed that whenever they were in Sparta Helen was going to share in their lives. When Helen heard Tezu say, that she looked up quickly knowing Anja was about to "blow a gasket" as Martin had once described to her. When it came to secrecy and things of this nature Anja had the shortest patience and fuse in dealing with it than either Aricia or Dysea.

[Mindvoice Shielded] Your people have always been secretive in regards to your talents Anja. Helen told her quickly. The Metaphysical radiation that allows your people to have their healing skills they do is a sacred thing to them. No outsider to my knowledge is even allowed to attend the ceremonies.

Anja looked at Tezu then, and returned to her spot on the couch. "I will listen to what you have to say Ambassador." Anja told him. "But let's get something straight ... unless it is a matter of grave importance, I will hold nothing back from those that I love. Are we clear on that?"

Tezu nodded. "Yes Milady ... I understand perfectly." He looked at Seanna. "Perhaps it would be better if I showed you so that you have a better understanding."

Anja watched him reach down and pick up the thin tea saucer he had been using. It was empty now and he held it in the palm of his hand and closed his fingers around it, exerting his full strength and crushing the saucer in his fist. It popped loudly and the large pieces sliced into his skin deeply, his blood beginning to leak around his closed fist.

"Ambassador!" Anja exclaimed reaching for the cloth napkins on the table between them. "What are you doing?"

"No!" Tezu spoke looking at her. He turned to Seanna and held out his hand nodding.

Anja watched in amazement as Seanna covered Tezu's rough hand with her delicate ones. She closed her eyes briefly and Anja watched the soft white light illuminate his injured palm. Seanna drew her hands back and Tezu turned to Anja again, opening his hand to reveal the broken pieces of the tea saucer and his completely healed hand.

Anja's bright eyes were wide in wonderment and she reached out to touch his skin and palm. "How ... what ... how did you do that?" She finally managed to stammer.

"My Queen ... my intentions are not in any way devious or ill mannered. Our people have been with the Lycavorians, side-by-side since King Resumar first started the inklings of a rebellion. We have only grown closer as those years passed." Tezu spoke. "This is our gift my Queen ... your gift. Our planet is surrounded by a nebula that emits a metaphysical radiation. This radiation bombards a certain part of our planet every six months. It enhances our molecular structure and allows us to retain the healing properties of this nebula. It allows us to do what Seanna has just done with my hand. It allows us to do so much more. It is one of the reasons why the rebellion and now the Lycavorian Union that we both now serve have survived for so long. King Resumar ... the King's grandfather ... he knew what we represented and he honored us in many ways. The largest way was to allow our people to keep secret how this process occurs within our bodies. Only our people possess this skill, only our people can manipulate the nebula's healing properties."

"Wait ... you mean I have this skill as well?" Anja asked.

Tezu nodded. "It is within your body's molecular structure yes. You have simply not been exposed to the nebula's radiation for the process to fully become active within you. King Resumar allowed us to keep this secret ... it is our most sacred ritual to have this gift bestowed on us. It is a weeklong ceremony really, culminating with the zenith of the nebula's radiation bombardment. We have built a temple of sorts on this spot, and all of our healers go there when their time is called. You will notice that most of the healers within the ranks of the Union are female. That is because the Hadarian female body absorbs more of the radiation and is a better conduit. That is why most of our females have varying shades of green eyes, such as you and Seanna. There are males who have been able to absorb the properties and use them almost as well, but our females are the strongest healers. It is why the Coven so desired to conquer our world. Our skills work on all species ... and we ... we do not like taking life. There have been some that ... that chose to go over to the Coven, but even they have not revealed our secrets."

"I don't think anyone likes taking a life Ambassador." Anja spoke. "Sometimes however it must be done to protect yourself and others."

Tezu nodded. "That is where Seanna comes in. We have a small sect of our people, again mainly females, which are trained as Healers and fighters. Our Mage warriors we call them. Seanna has not yet completed all of her training, but she is one of the more accomplished at both tasks." Tezu spoke. "She was assigned to help you discover this part of yourself, using her own powers as a conduit of sorts. Seanna is one of the more powerful Healers as she began her training very early. She can teach you the basic principles of using this gift; allow you to practice and grow using her as the conduit, until you return to Hadaria and take part in your own Ascension Ceremony."

"I sense a "but" coming." Anja spoke.

"In all our time with the Union, there has never been ... there has never been a Hadarian King or Queen that is also wolf." Tezu spoke. "Your Mindvoice connection with the King and the others is not something we have ever had to deal with. What you know he will know. What he knows you will know."

Anja nodded as understanding came over her. "And Martin will witness my Ascension Ceremony regardless of whether he is there or not."

Tezu nodded slowly. "He will also become knowledgeable of the principles of the nebula and its properties. As King of the Union ... this is knowledge that would be inappropriate for him to know."

Seanna looked at her. "We assume you have a similar connection with Queen Aricia and Queen Dysea Milady. Is this true?"

Anja nodded without hesitation. "Yes. More so with Aricia ... but all of us are joined in this manner."

"Now you see our dilemma Milady." Tezu spoke.

"And you don't trust Martin to honor what his grandfather started?" Anja asked him somewhat defensively.

Tezu looked at her. "He is young and passionate Milady. And from what we have seen ... a warrior unequaled, even more so than his grandfather and father were. He is taking power, as King, of a vast empire in the grips of a war that has been going on since long before he was born. Our Older Ones are ... concerned."

"Concerned about what?" Anja asked.

"That perhaps because you are now wolf and mated to him, he will not be as open to the secrecy surrounding this that you will ... that you must adhere to in this. And neither will you." Tezu spoke evenly. "It is a difficult situation as you can no doubt understand."

Anja got up and went to the table where Helen always laid out breakfast items. Seanna watched her with great interest and something else she had never felt before. Anja wore a similar robe to two days ago, but that one was not as sheer in its fabric as the one she wore today. They could see the outline of the white panties she wore, as well as the bra that held her large, firm breasts, but this robe did very little to hide anything else on her body. Seanna found herself wanting to see Anja wearing this robe much more instead of the other one and that thought surprised her greatly.

Anja added more of her coffee and the flavored creamer and turned back to look at them as she sipped the hot brew. "I want to know about my father and mother." Anja asked them.

"What would you like to know Milady?" Tezu asked sitting back further on the couch.

"What were they like?" Anja asked softly. "How did I end up here on earth?"

"You already know most of the background information Milady, because your history is so interwoven with that of the King. We are one of four founding members of the Union. We had fought and lived beside the Lycavorians for thousands of years before that. The year 2036, the year that you were brought here, the year King Leonidas was given to the Guardian of the Line, the High Coven sought to destabilize the Union by conducting a mass assassination of the Hadarian Royal Family. They succeeded in assassinating your parents, and most of your family, but not before you were taken from your mother's womb and brought here to earth. We knew only that the descendant of Leonidas had been brought to the Guardian; we did not know it would turn out to be his unborn son. It was determined that you would be safer here on Earth than any other location because he was here and you might one day come together as comrades. It was arranged by the Hadarian couple that returned the King to the Oracle and had been his caretaker for years, for you to be switched at birth with a child of similar age and physical proportions and similar background to the King. We ... we did not foresee that you would..."

"That Martin would make me a wolf and take me as his mate?" Anja finished as she returned to her seat on the couch.

Tezu nodded. Yes." He spoke. "That did not factor into our equations."

"You said most of my family?" Anja spoke her jade green eyes glittering in the light.

Tezu nodded with a smile. "Your great grandfather still lives, as well as two of your father's siblings; a brother and a sister. Your Aunt resides on Hadaria, our homeworld, and your Uncle remains on Apo Prime. They are extremely happy that you are found once more Milady, your grandfather most of all."

Anja was quiet as she sipped her coffee. "I ... I have family." She spoke softly.

"How did you meet him Milady? Meet her?" Seanna asked excitement in her voice. "The King I mean and Queen Aricia?"

"That is not important" Tezu spoke before Anja could reply, killing the smile that was forming on her face.

Anja looked at him perturbed once more with this man and his attitude. "It is important to me Ambassador." She spoke. "I waited a long time to find Martin Leonidas ... I almost lost him ... I do not intend to lose him again. Nor do I intend to lose Aricia or Dysea for that matter. Especially Aricia."

"I understand that Milady but..." Tezu spoke.

"No ... there is no but." Anja spoke firmly. "I will do as you ask and not tell Martin or the others about everything we have talked about. I will need to share with them why ... but I won't go into details. I will not leave them in the dark. Martin might surprise you Ambassador ... wild and passionate he may be ... reckless even ... but he is not a fool." Anja got to her feet. "If you are moving this along to the point where you will eventually ask me to leave Martin and Aricia ... I can tell you flat out right now, that is not something I will ever do. Ever! I don't care what I will miss out on!"

"My Queen you..." Tezu spoke, rising to his feet as well.

"No ... you will listen to me now!" Anja barked. "Seanna is welcome here ... she can teach me what you want her to teach me ... but you better get back to these Old Ones you spoke of and tell them I will not be forced down a road not of my choosing." Anja said. "I love Martin Leonidas ... and I will have his children one day. And they will play with Aricia's children and Dysea's children, all of his children together. Nothing you can promise me or give to me will ever come close to replacing that. If things can be worked out ... fine ... if not ... I'm not at all unhappy about the way they are now." Anja placed her mug of coffee on the table. "I'm going to go running now and we are done here. Seanna there is a spare room down the corridor to the right. Feel free to make yourself at home. I will return in about an hour."

They watched as in a silver/white flash of light Anja was gone and the wolf with Persian red hair stood before them in the room. She glanced at them with jade green eyes and then they watched her pad out of the room silently before beginning to run and leaping the villa wall gracefully.

Tezu and Seanna turned when Helen walked slowly into the room.

"I believe you will find Tezu ... this Queen as well as Aricia and Dysea ... are quite different from any you have ever known." Helen spoke softly.

Tezu nodded. "I'm beginning to see that Oracle." He spoke in reply. "The Old Ones ... they worry for the hatred the young King has in his heart."

Helen smiled gently. "I know that is what they worried about. Tell them something for me Tezu..."

He turned to face her fully and bowed his head, "Always Oracle."

"Tell the Old Ones that the hatred in Martin Leonidas's heart ... that hatred died when he destroyed the man who killed his father, and took his mother from him." Helen spoke. "All that remains now is a young man with the heart of his grandfather, and the skills of his father. He has already been forged and shaped in the "Fires of Combat" as we Spartans say here. Now all that remains is for those like you and I to guide his heart. He has a pretty good start with those he has chosen to share his life don't you think?"

Tezu nodded his head. "That I do Oracle."

"Have no worries Tezu ... Martin Leonidas will honor what his grandfather started. You may tell the Old Ones the Oracle guarantees that." Helen spoke.

Tezu met her dark eyes and smiled. "And that is what I will tell them Oracle. They will be most pleased hearing those answers come from you."

"Not from me Tezu. I just happen to know what me King will say." Helen spoke.

"I'm sure they will invite you to Hadaria soon. Can I tell them you will entertain a visit with them?" Tezu asked.

Helen nodded with a smile, "A visit perhaps. But like my King ... and his father before him ... Sparta has become my home in more than just name. I have bonded with these people, and after so many years of having to hide who I was, it is very refreshing to just be myself." She walked up to him and touched her hand to his chest. "I would like them to come here as well, if for nothing else, then to see where Martin's heart truly is."

Tezu bowed his head and turned to Seanna. "I will leave you to your duties Seanna." He spoke looking at her. "After seeing our Queen and speaking with her; perhaps it is a good thing that you were chosen for her and not another. I will relay this to the Old Ones as well."

Seanna bowed her head as Tezu walked around her and headed for the front door. She waited until the door had closed behind him before turning back to Helen.

"I have found in my old age," Helen spoke with a smile. "That there are far too many who cling to old traditions and cultures. I believe our young King and Queens will begin to change that."

"So do I Oracle." Seanna said.

Helen took her arm. "Come child ... let me tell you what your mind craves. Let me tell you of the King and Queens you now serve."

Seanna smiled and gripped her hand tightly. "I would like that very much."

LEONIDAS I

Danny settled into the chair next to where Yuriko sat as she was prepping the Coven Runner. He looked at the controls and shook his head.

"You sure you know what all these things mean and do right?" Dan asked.

Yuriko looked at him and smiled. "Yes Daniel I do." She spoke. "I am an accomplished pilot."

Dan nodded. "Ok ... guess I'll have to take your word on that."

Yuriko turned and saw Anuk and Nayeca sitting on the short couch in the rear of the ship, Filrian opposite them going over the list of medical supplies Anja had given to him. When he had seen what she authorized him to take, his eyes had lit up like a child in a store full of Hadarian Sweet Drops. He had spent the better part of the last day compiling as much as he thought they would ever need. Not to mention some equipment he didn't think they would need at all. Her eyes moved back to Anuk and Nayeca and she saw them laughing softly and then they shared a kiss.

"May I ask you something Daniel Simpson?" Yuriko asked.

"Sure ... as long as you just call me Dan or Danny. Only Nayeca calls me Daniel ... and it kind of sounds better coming from her if you know what I mean." Dan said looking at her smiling.

Yuriko smiled in understanding. "Very well Danny." She spoke.

"So what's the question?" Dan asked.

"Did ... did he ever asked about me?" Yuriko asked softly.

Dan met her eyes for a long moment. "There was a moment before we attack Cedar City." Dan said. "It was just the two of us ... before we knew what we know now. He remembered that you liked the mountains and the smell of fresh fallen pine needles. He said you would have liked to see that area."

"Then he ... he didn't forget me?" Yuriko spoke looking out at the landing bay outside the cockpit window.

"There's very little that the Skipper forgets Yuriko." Dan replied.

"Then that makes what I am about to do even more important." She said softly. "I do not remember my childhood, and Lisisa had hers torn from her by that vile witch Yuri." Yuriko spoke. "Now that I know ... with him behind me ... I will not fail now."

"How old will she be?" Dan asked.

"She is four hundred and eighty years old, but she will appear very young, perhaps twenty or twenty-one in human years. The combination of her blood has given her amazing regeneration power. If she has not changed her appearance then she will have long dark hair. Yuri sent her away when she was only a hundred and two years old, and I have only gotten close enough to actually see her twice, twenty years ago and just last year before father returned to earth." Yuriko explained. "She looked more like father ... deeply tanned skin and very shapely, but her eyes are what set her apart from others."

"How so?"

"They ... they are dark brown like father's, but when she shifted ... they were the most beautiful shade of brownish green." Yuriko said with a smile.

"That description could be any millions of people Yuriko, you know that." Dan spoke.

Yuriko nodded. "Yes ... but I will know her when I see her. The planet we will go to first is called Uryias Two. It is on the border of the Wilds, a haven for pirates and smugglers and unsavory individuals of every species. Some of the finest pilots work out of that planet. I will spread some Riyal and Ducat around as I ask questions. Someone will have the answers to where this Commander For'mya is, and possibly my sister as well."

"Sounds like a rough place." Dan said.

Yuriko looked back at Nayeca and Anuk. "Will they ... will they be up to it?" She asked.

Dan grinned. "Oh I wouldn't worry about them. They're more vicious that I am." He said as he leaned back in the chair.

ENURRUA

Tablina followed Isheeni's huge bulk as they moved down the cave's tunnel. The light was very dim down here, though her wolf eyes had no trouble adjusting. The mountains of this part of the planet were honeycombed with deep tunnels and caves, and were in part responsible for Isheeni and her kind surviving this long.

To say she had been frightened when she first came here would have been the single biggest gross misstatement anyone could make. Tablina had been terrified. Not for what she was walking into, but for the small creature she had held in her arms that day. Tablina was nearly as old as Chetak and had come here shortly after the High Coven had killed her mate. She deducted that the High Coven would not come to this planet because Chetak had worked for them in the past. It was she who had discovered the history of the species that Chetak and the other families had been hunting ever since they came to this world. That small creature in her arms that day was now walking in front of her, and that act alone had started the pact they now shared.

It was something she had heard as a child, but it was something she had never believed until she came here.

Isheeni's kind was called EonuaEquz in their native tongue. They were known by everyone else across the stars as something else.

Dragons.

Tablina rescuing Isheeni from one of Chetak's hunting parties when she was only four days old had forged an unbreakable pact between her and the Dragons. And over the centuries they had worked at cultivating this relationship to the point of complete and utter trust. That was the reason Tablina followed Isheeni without question deep in to the mountain. Isheeni had flown her here in only an hour and they had remained silent, content to enjoy the company of each other. Isheeni had been her constant companion and friend since that day, never very far from her and always with wise advice and council.

As they entered the massive cave Tablina's eyes searched for who she knew occupied this liar. The cave was enormous ... easily five hundred meters across and four hundred meters high at its peak. It would easily allow the smaller youngling dragons to test their wings and flying skills without exposing them to Chetak's hunting parties. Dragon eggs of any kind were worth a fortune on dozens of worlds in the area because of their youthful properties and intoxicating effects. The juices inside the eggs were used for lotions and liquids to slow aging, while the lining was used to create one of the most addictive drugs in the universe. Dragon bones were next to invulnerable, and prized for the making of bladed weapons, while their skin could be made into any number of expensive items. Chetak had become rich beyond his dreams by slaughtering another race of beings, and he showed no signs of slowing down until the Dragons were extinct.

The massive Dragon appeared under the thin ray of sunlight that shone from the top of the mountain four hundred meters above and Tablina reverently dropped to one knee and bowed her head.

Arzoal; it is good to see you once more Elder One. She spoke.

This dragon's plate-like scales were crimson red shading to lighter red towards the front of its body. She was the oldest of the Dragons in terms of years and it showed with the number of scars and gouges on her body. Her scales were like plates of armor and could not be penetrated by most small hand weapons, but it could be penetrated by larger weapons as her age old wounds showed. She had broad body with a long, thick tail and neck. Her limbs had four digits on each foot that ended in very sharp razor like claws. Her wings were elegantly folder along her shoulders running all the way to her hips. Arzoal's head was almost wedged shaped with tiny slit nostrils and wide eyes that were the color of burning flames. Her ears were large, and pointed with a series of tendrils extending hair-like, down the back of her head. Two horns extended backwards from her forehead adding a fearsome visage to her twenty five foot length and twelve foot high Height when she stood tall.

Tablina child, you do not need to bow to me. You have always been a friend of my people and protected us when you could. For that we will always be in your debt. The dragon moved closer lowering her body to the floor of the cave and staring at her with her flame colored eyes.

Tablina reached up and allowed her hand to rest on the dragon's snout. I have not done enough. She spoke. Chetak still hunts your kind Arzoal, with increasing violence and with tools we can not match.

Arzoal nodded her massive head. The day you rescued my daughter Isheeni, you and I became tied together Tablina of the Wolf Tribe. Never doubt our complete trust in you and those that follow you. Arzoal brought her head closer and with a gentleness that always surprised Tablina she touched her snout to her warm skin. I have done as you asked of me.

Tablina looked at her, dark eyes wide, "Truly?" She asked in her own voice now.

Arzoal nodded. I have touched the she-elf as you asked. The one captured by the Coven as your people reported. The distance was great but I was able to enhance her mental shields to a degree that the Vampire witch will need help to breach them. Why did you have me do this?

"She will play a role in the future of things Arzoal." Tablina replied. "I'm sure of it. She is the last in the elven royal bloodline and if we can do anything to help her we must."

As the distance grows shorter I may be able to do more for her and I will attempt to do so at a later time. We can not leave this planet physically just yet, but we can do other things. Arzoal told her. Tablina ... I was able to sense him. Arzoal's voice held awe in it and she saw Tablina look at her. I probed into the system they are in, where this planet is. It taxed my abilities, but I was able to reach that far. I wanted to see for myself what you feel is happening.

"What ... what did you sense? Tell me please." Tablina asked.

I sensed power like I haven't tasted since King Resumar. Arzoal spoke softly. He has touched that power already, though he has not learned how to use it as the High Lord does. He felt remorse Tablina ... something that I have felt from none of your people save those that follow you. It is remorse for this she-elf that was captured. He feels responsible. I did not probe far as he would have undoubtedly detected me.

Tablina got to her feet slowly. "Arzoal ... you are the most powerful of Mindvoicers that I have ever encountered. Your skill surpasses mine by a hundred fold. He is that skilled already?

As I said ... he has tasted his full potential already. He simply lacks the proper training to use it. He will need this training to reach that potential.

"Who could give him this training?" Tablina asked. "If he is truly as powerful as you say, who could teach him what he needs to know?"