Our Darkest Days: Echoes

[Elaine Alastor]

Elaine did not doubt that a speck of dust hitting the polished perfection of the floor would have sounded off like fire from a cannon in the horrible silence that followed such a sentencing.

Perhaps her own mind was too small to grasp the complexities of her great mother. It could be that she was not bestowed with the same intellect as the incomparable Ishara, however Elaine could not fathom for her own life, or the life of the ill-fated younger Belargic brother why this made any sense now, of all times? Surely, if he were truly any threat to her, the Queen Mother could have dealt with him sooner, not left him to devote his life to her service, to find his loyalty rewarded with this level of malice?

Did no one else see?

No.. They did not.

Even she was not so stupid as to utter one syllable in defense of the poor man. Who knew what fate might befall her for daring to question her mother before the gathered noblesse. Even as much as she would have enjoyed giving Mister Belargic a piece of her mind for his backward thinking, she could not truly blame him for it. That was just the way things were done here..

Eyes locked to the floor in defeat, she hid her feelings deep.

He did not deserve this..

[Aaron Belargic]

When he didn't reach out immediately to take the pistol, the woman – who seemed to tower over him, tall, lithe and panther-like – took a rough hold of Aaron's wrist and forced the weapon into his hand. His fingertips closed over the grip, feeling the unfamiliar texture and weight of the weapon. He was a naval officer, a commander of starships – it had never been fitting of his position or purpose to carry such a crude weapon. It was of Hapan design, that much he could see from the sleek design, but it lacked settings or functions; it's singular purpose was to kill.

“Y-yes, your majesty.” His voice failed him for the first time, as Aaron found himself unable to look away from the gun in his hands for a long time. Gradually, he became aware that no one else was speaking or moving anywhere around him. They were waiting for him to leave, to slink away into a darkened corner and do what they thought too dirty to do themselves. Yes, he realized bitterly, that was it. His final act of loyalty...

Execution was not uncommon in the Consortium, but it was most always done by the gun of command. Another ingenious Hapan creation, anyone shot with the gun of command would no longer be able to tell the difference between their own thoughts and impulses, and orders given by others. Many men had taken their own lives thanks to that weapon – and yet the Queen Mother had spared Aaron Belargic the same fate... or perhaps spared wasn't the right word. Then, he would have blindly followed the order to end his own life, but now he had to contend with his innate sense of self-preservation. He wondered, with a sickness churning in his gut, whether he had the conviction to do that which the Queen Mother had deigned necessary.

[Ishara Alastor]

As Belargic struggled with the realization of what fate lay ahead, the Hapan Queen moved back towards her throne, turning her back on Aaron both physically and metaphorically. Once again seated, she examined the former Commodore with a fleeting interest.

For all the Consortium, it would appear that the grief-stricken Commodore had taken his own life, unable to find peace over his brothers passing by any other means. It was a graceless way to die, but it saved him the indignity of dying before his peers. There would have been honor in a public execution, certainly, but it would also have brought into question whether Ishara had been right to allow a man of his heritage to live as long as she had. The Queen Mother had her reasons of course, yet she knew they would not be contested. None of it would be.

“Leave us. Now,” she said suddenly, only a trace of vexation in her voice, as if the matter had been little more than a minor irritation to her. When Belargic did not move, two sets of hands took hold of his upper arms and began to force him towards the throne rooms exit.

[Aaron Belargic]

It took only a few steps before he struggled against them, shrugged free of the hands on him. For a moment he met each of their eyes with a defiant stare, but the pain and sadness was too plain in him for it to seem any real kind of challenge. Nonetheless, they relented and watched as he turned away.

Beyond the throne room, the long hallway awaited him. The guards who lined the hallway were as impassive as ever. As before, they did not acknowledge his passing, yet now he was aware of it, how he was like a specter passing by.

No one questioned the fact that he was armed. Had they been forewarned of his sentence, he wondered? No guard had been assigned to him, no one to make sure that he carried out the punishment for his crimes. Was the Queen Mother so certain of his loyalty? Aaron looked at the pistol and knew, with grim finality, how fruitless it would have been to use it on anyone other than himself. What could he do, after all? Shoot a handful of guards, perhaps a civilian of importance, before they gunned him down in turn. It would be pointless and whats more he had no desire to see any other Hapan suffer such a senseless end.

Where to do it, then? Where in the city would he meet his end? The Arbitrator had been his only home for so long, but there were barracks within the city, however small they might be. The officer classes of the Navy were permitted to stay there, whilst on shore leave. There was a bar there too, he thought bitterly, wondering if he would need the extra courage.

It wouldn't take long to get there on foot – less than an hour, if he went by the scenic route that crossed the canals and waterways of the western quarter. The city was as beautiful as ever, but just as it failed to notice him, so he was unaware of it, walking with head down and mind focused on a finite point ahead...

[Elaine Alastor]

After the condemned left Chume Ishara's hallowed presence, business returned to a state of normal, as if nothing of an significance had just occurred. Out with one Commodore and in with a new one, just like they had changed shifts. The name Aaron Belargic had seemingly been erased from their silver-gilt tongues, the moment he passed from their sight.

Only one of the assembled seemed disturbed by this, the Princess Elaine. She hadn't moved at all since the proclamation. She was both horrified and sickened by the careless way loyal service was being discarded, to make a point about bloodlines and old insecurities.

She remained as a statue, still and silent until her presence was all but forgotten as everyone else seemed inclined to inch forward slowly, intent upon currying favor with the Queen Mother. Each desirious of being the one to soothe her and flatter. Disgusted, Elaine slowly shrank backward, ducking out of the presence chambers, following in the footsteps of the doomed..

[Aaron Belargic]

To his credit, Belargic put a fair bit of distance between himself and the castle before he faltered. He found himself in the middle of a bridge, his legs feeling like two columns of stone, rooted to the ground beneath them. With a sigh, he leaned his arms against the railing that overlooked the artificial waterway beneath it. A gondola was passing under the arch, the pilot whistling a maudlin tune as he dipped his oar in and our of the placid rivers surface.

Nausea stirred in the pit of his stomach. Twenty-four hours...

[Elaine Alastor]

"You are leaving the reception early, Chume Ta' Elaine.", a voice intoned behind her as she passed. Elaine had thought her departure had gone unnoticed, but her mother's eyes were always upon her, always.

"Yes. I am.", she replied quietly. Her own station as Chume Ishara's daughter, and heiress, had not corrupted her. Even if she was walked over and maneuvered around as a pawn now, someday she would rule and it would be with a gentle touch, rather than with the crack of a whip. Her people's slavish devotion to their Queen Mother would no longer be misplaced, given to a cruel and bitter woman.

Turning, she fixed the woman in her aqua gaze, a guard comprised of lethal grace concealed beneath firm, muscled flesh. One that had the ear of the Queen herself.

"I go to make sure that my future remains intact, as my mother would have it. You may report that I took a sudden interest in the finality of the situation.", she did not explain herself further, but turned back the way she had formerly been heading, and left.

It did not take her long to deduce the direction he'd gone and once she had that figured out, it was only moments later that she spotted him, leaning dejectedly over the hand rails, as if he were willing himself to tumble headfirst into the artificial waterway and be swallowed by the current..

She had no real plans once she had found him. No idea of what she would say to him or of what comfort she could offer. She was just following instinct now. Instinct that led her to his side. Her slender arms folded atop the rail as she stopped beside him, silently joining him in observing the flow of the water.

[Aaron Belargic]

With his head hung forward, Aaron scarcely noticed that he was no longer alone. It wasn't until another gondola vanished beneath the bridge, leaving the water clear once again, that he saw the reflection of someone beside him. What was she doing here?

It took only seconds for him to snap to attention and execute a martial salute, striking his right fist to the left-side of his chest. Years of routine and discipline had conditioned him to respond to the Hapan Princess as such, regardless of his emotional disposition at the time. Still, there was something ragged about the salute and the man who gave it, his once pristine appearance now disordered. His royal blue uniform jacket hung untidily open at the throat and his usually slick hair was unkempt, having been touched and tousled too many times by restless hands.

“Chume Ta.”

[Elaine Alastor]

At the acknowledgement, Elaine smiled sadly, wishing she were anything but her mother's daughter, at that moment. For the first time, she felt truly ashamed of her lineage. Still, she offered a silent nod, returning to looking at the water, still not really knowing what she had come to say, or do.

She knew what had been implied. What they all expected, even anticipated he would do sooner rather than later. She did not want him to do it. The senseless death of a valiant and honorable man would not benefit the Consortium, no matter the petty whims of her mother.

Her smooth brow furrowed for a moment, even as she remained still, watching another boat pass. "What will you do?", she asked, finally.

[Aaron Belargic]

For a time, Aaron did not move. His fist pressed to his breast, he stared level at some point in the mid-distance beyond where the Princess had stood. This kind of informal meeting with the royalty of the Consortium was unheard of, and that she had come to him without guards at her side was all the more astounding. When his salute fell away, his hand instinctively sought out the pistol tucked away at his hip, prepared to defend her life she any attempt be made against it.

When she spoke, however, her question brought a frown of confusion to his brow. There was only one thing he could do.

“I will execute the orders I have been given.”

[Elaine Alastor]

Her gaze drifted to the movement at his hip, and the blaster which rested there, as he spoke. When her eyes fell upon the weapon, the look of displeasure returned to her features. Her bare fingertips ran along the railing, as she considered this, and her next words carefully.

"I see..", she sounded almost thoughtful.

"Banishment.", she said the word softly, gently, not wishing to flaunt his underserved punishment in his face, so much as she was pondering the word itself.

"I have never seen you be anything but faithful to the Alastor dynasty, despite your own heritage.", which apparently was enough of a heritage to kill a man over.

"I wonder then if, before you carry on with your orders, you might see fit to honor a last request.", she looked up at him directly.

"From me...", she clarified.

[Aaron Belargic]

It stung, a little, to hear Elaine speak his fate. That the Princess believed Belargic to be a worthy asset went unheard. The Queen Mother had pronounced otherwise, and Aaron had sworn an oath to her above all others. Yet, he had twenty-four hours. It was not much time, but if it was enough to complete whatever request the Princess had...

“What would you have me do?”

[Elaine Alastor]

Her fingertips ceased their idle roaming along the railing. She paused, pushed away from the rail and faced the man before her, wishing that he would meet her eyes, because what she was about to ask him was personal. So personal, in fact, that she dared only whisper the request, leaning forward as she did so, so that her softly uttered words barely reached his ear, her breath warm, but her manner shy.

"Leave here. Leave this place and take me with you.", her heart slammed against her chest because she could not believe she had uttered such a scandalous and damning request, but still.. she was not backing down now.

"Take me with you, please..", she corrected herself. It was a request after all, not a command.

Elaine had just set herself down a path that was as dangerous to herself as were the circumstances that Aaron found himself in at present.

[Aaron Belargic]

It was not his place to question her, yet he could not bring to mind any reason why Elaine should desire to leave the Consortium. Unless, of course, she believed herself to be the target of some threat. Some boyishly naive part of him dreamed, if only for a moment, of how he might redeem himself by saving the life of the Princess in peril – but it was a ridiculous notion and one that he dismissed seconds later as the stuff of fairy-tales.

“Forgive my intrusion into your private affairs, Chume Ta – but I do not understand why you would willingly... abandon Hapes and your mothers side.”

[Elaine Alastor]

It did not astound her, the level of conditioning apparent even now, that this poor sentenced man's first thought was not of the cost to himself, but of why she would want to leave the incomparable and revered presence of her great mother. Even after what Ishara had just put him through, such was his dedication that he still could not fathom why anyone, especially her own flesh and blood, would want to leave her side.

That was why it had to be him. She would be safe with Aaron Belargic.

However, Elaine did not think he was capable of grasping her motivations at this point. "Does it truly matter what reason I put to words? I need to leave. You have no reason to stay."

She considered that he might say no, and a feeling started to twist inside her stomach. Fear. Fear that this was her one chance to get out of here, to have a life that was her own, and she was going to lose it by not saying the right things. Fear that she would be left behind, and that Aaron would be found dead somewhere in the morning, his memory blotted from the history of the Consortium, like the blemish her mother thought he was. Both outcomes pained and haunted her.

Unwilling to let it happen, if she was capable of stopping it, Elaine moved forward, her soft hands lifted to curl around one of his own gently, claiming his attention more earnestly.

"Please. Help me..", there was a catch in her voice, speaking of the turbulent emotions lurking beneath her calm facade.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron tried to ignore the fact that the Hapan Princess was holding his hand. It was not something easily ignored, however. Many men would have killed for a chance to be in her presence - many probably had - let alone the chance to touch her. He could not think of what the proper protocol would be for such an encounter and so deferred to her to lead, in the hope that he would not cause her any offense.

“Where would you have me take you?”

A day was not long, but it could be long enough to accomplish a great deal with sufficient motivation and persistence. Already, cogs had begun to turn in Belargic's mind...

[Elaine Alastor]

The question made her a little more at ease, it seemed at least now he was listening. Where? A destination had not been the first of her thoughts. It seemed a secondary concern to actually getting Aaron's cooperation. Where - did not concern here so long as it was...

"Beyond the Transitory Mists.", her voice lowered to near silence. Such thoughts should not be spoken of, let alone entertained. What she was proposing was forbidden.

"It is the only place we will be out of her reach.", she clutched his hand tighter, mindful of the fact that her mother's gaze would not stay off of her for long. If they were not already being observed, they soon would be.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron thought of his brother, and the final words they'd shared. Gently, with a stern expression, he removed his hand from Elaine's grasp.

“If you betray Her, She will never allow you to return... never.”

[Elaine Alastor]

When he pulled his hand free from her soft, but insistent grip, Elaine thought her cause lost. Her hopeful expression turned forlorn and her own gaze dropped to the ground.

He would not help her.

Even were she allowed to return, which was unlikely, her life would be irrevocably altered from the scarce amount of freedom she enjoyed now. Ishara would know that her daughter could not be trusted, and if Elaine were not physically incarcerated, it would be the same as if she were.

Her only choice, if she went through with this, would be to remain away from her beautiful, beloved home until such a time as the present Queen Mother was gone. Either expired of natural causes, or assassinated by one who thought her rule too harsh. The later seemed more likely..

Awareness prickled at the tender skin along her nape. She had been observed long enough to know when she was being watched. Her time alone, to try and convince Aaron that she needed his help was over. She had failed.

Lifting her head proudly, she stepped back away from him, clearing her emotionally choked throat. She inclined her head slightly in farewell, wishing things had been different.

"Thank you for your time and counsel, Commodore.", her use of the title that had been stripped from him was not used as any disrespect or mockery. That was simply who he would always be, to her.

"I wish you only the best, in whatever you choose to do.." Again she stepped away putting more distance between them. Her eyes locked on some distant point, bravely, as she began to walk away.

[Aaron Belargic]

He watched in silence as she walked away. His limbs felt too stiff and heavy to salute. More than that, he had no enthusiasm for it. He loved the Consortium – a man would have to, to remain in a place where he was considered a disgraceful – but... but what? Nothing had changed. His dedication was strong as ever; that much was clear from his willingness to obey Ishara's command.

“Wait!” Elaine froze and Aaron took a step towards her, wondering just what he thought he was doing. “Princess, I...” he sighed. “If it is within my power to help you, I will.”