Chapter 13: Interlude 1

A/N: The point of view of other characters beside Komand'r will be switched to 3rd pov.

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Interlude 1

(Koriand'r)

 

Tamaran
Capital, Tamarus
Hearth Palace
Komand’r's exile

 

“Daughter, it pains me to do this after what you’ve done for us… but I must; effective immediately… Give you the position of Ambassador at Large, for an indefinite amount of time. You shall receive a suitable number of helpers to do your duty, an honor guard shall be dispatched for your protection and a crew shall direct your prize warships that you seized from the Citadelians.” King Myand’r announced.

Koriand’r sucked in air in shock. The soft light and warm climate in the Hearth palace belied the current events happening. It was as if the world went cold and gray all of a sudden. After hearing that the reward to successfully win the war with the Citadel was her exile, Komand’r’s shoulders fell. 

"Father! How could you…!?" The redhead called out to her father in a reproachful tone.

There were tears falling down Komand’r’s cheeks, it was with a cracked voice that she said, “I've had enough of this, all this hate, those cold eyes directed at me.”

Koriand'r couldn't believe that her father and mother had banished her sister from the Hearth palace. Koriand'r loved everyone in her family and she couldn't think of a time she hadn't been spoiled by everyone. She has grown a bit selfish, but wanting to have all your siblings and parents with you forever is something a daughter of Tamaran should aspire to? No?

But what had she done? She just contributed to her elder sister's banishment. She certainly hadn't liked her methods in the war but the high casualties toll and the weapons of terror she used were too frightening in scope. Koriand'r knew that her sister might get a bounty on her head or be arrested by the extra-galactic council if her people didn't shelter her.

“Sister?” It wasn’t the first time that she saw Komand’r cry, usually it was done in private. Koriand’r remembered how often she had been used as a shoulder to cry on or a helped Komand’r by cooking the pudding of sadness to clear her mind.

Komand’r said in a sad tone, “I gave you peace and a future with no one having to wear chains; all I ever wanted was your respect and your attention, father, mother. But I see that when it concerns me, your hearts are as cold as ice. I am tired, really tired of pining for feelings that I will never receive.”

King Myand’r and his Queen, Luand’r were somewhat surprised that Komand’r thought of them this way, but Koriand’r could understand, they were often too strict or cold with their eldest daughter. Myand’r and their mother were too shocked by what Komand’r said to deny her allegations of not having loved their first daughter enough.

Komand’r looked at the King and Queen. “I’m leaving.” She turned on her heels and flapped her cape dramatically. As she walked out, she pushed the belt buckles on her anti-gravity belt and began to fly away.

Her sister’s forlorn form was already midway in the throne room; the courtiers all started gossipping about what just happened. Some were not happy by what just happened, others who hated Koriand’r’s sister couldn’t hide their glee. The King finally realized what he’d done by not consulting his eldest about his decision and may have shattered their familial bond forever.

"Komand'r, wait we need to tell you why…" King Myand’r called out.

But she didn't stop walking, this was the first time that her sister disobeyed their father so blatantly. Koriand'r flew after her elder sister who was already out of the purple and gold throne room. Koriand’r followed her at super speed calling out, “Sister wait.”

Komand’r was already out of the palace and floating toward the landing pad in the garden. They were surrounded by the rare and priceless Romanax jungle flower bushes that glowed blue white as they absorbed the sunlight.

"Wait for me!" Cried out Koriand’r. She felt that if she didn't catch her, she would lose her forever. When she landed at her side she caught her sister’s right arm. 

Komand’r took her arm back. “Leave me alone, Kori. I'm not in the mood for your antics. I need to go pack...”

It was with a lot of distress that Koriand’r whined, "But I don't want you to leave!"

She wanted to fix this or to have the power to go back in time to shut her big mouth; she has caused this. Komand’r knew it and said with sarcasm, "It’s too late for regrets Kori, Father gave me a decree, wasn't it what you wanted? You wanted me to be punished for my actions, didn't you say it when we started the audience?"

Koriand’r stomped her foot on the ground and angrily said, "This isn't what I wanted! I expected you to be put in house arrest or be put out of the public's eyes!"

Her sister stared at her with lukewarm eyes. "You don't approve of my actions, this is what pushed you into doing this."

Freezing at her sister’s words, Koriand’r became more serious; she remembered all the dead bodies she had seen being ushered in the cities, the crying widows and the orphans who are now sponsored by the welfare groups that the royals had created as the war kept going on. "I don't, this war was costly to us, sister. So many died."

The elder princess pushed her belt buckle and gained altitude as she floated in the air; Koriand’r was on her tail flying after her. When they were high enough in the sky to look at the city around the palace, Komand’r started her rant. "Yes, many died. Our enemies were relentless and determined, so death was inevitable. Why do you think I did what I did? The Citadel spans multiple worlds, through their sheer superior population and massive resources they would have broken Tamaran eventually and we would have many more dead and been enslaved. What you wanted was an outlet to your sense of guilt, you turned on me because you want to make yourself feel better. You are obviously still a child, Kori; this anger and guilt that ate at you should have been directed upon those who created the suffering of our people. The Citadel and their allies."

Pushing a command on her gauntlet and using augmented reality to connect her implants managing her vision, Komand’r activated her telescope app. "Look around you, sister. Look."

Koriand’r networked her com-bracer to her sister’s and multiple holographic windows showing kids running about and people smiling and dancing appeared. “Don't you see the relief on everyone's face? The tension of war has bled away from our people. The orphans and street urchins are no longer hungry, the slums are being taken care of since our resources are slowly being shifted down to peace time instead of war footing like it had been for one hundred years. This was my gift to them and to you, even though now, I think that they don't deserve it.”

The red haired princess was shocked by her sister's words, but she calmed herself down, not wanting to get angry at Komand’r. She was hurting and she was lashing out. “You don't mean that, sister. You are the kindest soul I’ve ever met, you know what pain and suffering is, you love our people so much. That is why you decided that if you were so hated already that you had to dirty your hands, heaping a bit more of hate on you wouldn’t change much, wouldn't it? That’s why I did what I did! I want to protect you from your self-destructive ways!”

“You assume an awful lot about me, Kori. How naive of you. We did you a disservice by sheltering you this much. This isn't your fault, I-I still love you.” Komand’r approached her and placed a hand on Koriand’r’s cheek.

The youngest princess closed her eyes and enjoyed the physical contact and purred; it reminded her of the time when her mother was too busy to take care of her and that Komand’r read stories to her and slept next to her. Those were blessed days.

Komand’r’s next words were like plunging into the cold water of the Zoriss’ falls. “I regret not teaching you that part of being a noble, that the hardest choices require the strongest wills or sacrifices. Though, I won’t lie to you Kori, but… I am quite disillusioned with you and the rest of the family, right now.”

Her sister then slapped her, enough to hurt her hand. If Komand’r felt pain, she didn’t show it; Koriand’r looked surprised by her sister’s action. She had never been treated like this before. Her sister’s eyes blazed with anger and betrayal. "Still, I need to say it; I thought that you had my back, Kori. But I guess it made it easy for you to stab me there thoughtlessly because you are still holding onto the childish notion that there can't be casualties in a war."

Komand’r left after that, leaving the youngest princess aloft in the air and in her stupor. Deep inside herself, Koriand’r thought, *This wasn't supposed to be like this! I didn’t want  to have my sister exiled!*

The way Komand’r had handled the war had scared her, she had asked herself, where was her playful and beautiful sister at? She felt like a glempork* for doing this. It was until night fell that she sought Komand’r out to beg for forgiveness; she was about to reach her sister’s tower when she saw her on the balcony leading to her bedroom. Komand’r was crying and she took her anti-gravity belt and threw it inside her bedroom.

Koriand’r had a bad feeling about her action and sped at super speed toward her sister’s tower, only to see her jump from her balcony. The redheaded princess who once again became shocked, sped with desperation and alacrity to save her sister from the hundred meters long fall. She was almost to her sister who was about to go splat on the ground; she was about to touch her arm and save her when a blue light covered Komand’r and she disappeared into motes of light.

“SISTER!!”

 

~/.\~

 

2 months later
Star Tower
Morning

She hasn’t left her tower since she saw her sister disappear. Koriand’r felt so wretched about how the audience went two months ago. She hovered over her bed and took a bite of the slice of Stewed grunthmek*, taking care to not spill her food on her red colored sheet lest the maids get angry at her again.

Having shut herself out in her tower, Koriand’r only got sparse information about what was going on outside. The Queen had tried to get her out of her tower with different levels of success; Koriand’r didn't go beyond the gardens around her tower, so Luand’r charged her daughter to make her tower as attractive as the palace's. Channeling her feelings into a hobby such as landscaping was a good escape from the pain and guilt the youngest princess felt.

Tamaranean shut-ins tended to not be well thought off, the way they sequestered themselves showed weakness. Koriand’r didn't mind being thought of as weak, her sister had lived this way all her life and showed why she wasn't helpless by mastering the art of war of their people to an unprecedented degree.

The princess roamed the Extranet, going through the virtual chat room with her internet friends and joining them in war simulation or role playing games. She particularly loved Last Fantasy 24, an online game she played as Thanagarian normally but had chosen to reroll by being a Thunderian, a humanoid cat warrior. In it you could incarnate in a different alien species and use different types of powers and learn how to do jobs or learn strategy and fight on the planet’s server.  

The ringing chimes of the notifications that someone was at the door of her bedchambers rang, then the heavy vault-like door unlocked opened to show a tall beautiful Tamaranean with a bob of  ocean blue hair and an elfin face gracefully striding inside the room. She wore a high-necked sunset red leotard that reached her hands with integrated gloves that seemed to boost her dexterity. She had on thigh high boots of the same color, the color of her uniform didn’t clash with her hair; she had on modest golden jewelry made of three dimensional geometric forms that seemed to move when you paid attention to it.

The flame like symbol on the right breast of her uniform clearly announced her to be a maid in the service of the royal family, the red of the outfit also told to anyone versed in etiquette and knew Tamaran royals that the color showed that she worked for the youngest princess.

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The pretty maid swiftly genuflected. "Your Highness." Her voice was soft and a bit cold.

Koriand’r landed on her bed, turning to her subordinate. "Arend'r, my friend, you seem to be in a hurry, what’s gotten into you?"

Arend’r took a small datacard from somewhere, it always baffled everyone how the Tamaranean maids could take something seemingly out of nowhere; rumors said that they learned some form of magic. Still kneeling on the ground, Arend’r was holding the card in her open palm. "Prince Ryand'r commanded me to give you this, your Highness."

Walking out the bed, Koriand’r floated toward her maid and took the card from her hand; the princess then placed it into her com-bracer. The card was automatically read by the device and a holographic window appeared with advertising pop ups for different news organizations and e-zine. Koriand’r frowned, not liking what she was seeing. "The newsreel? I'm not in the mood to follow any of this stuff."

The maid looked up and said with a cold tone, yet a sadistic smile on her face, "Unfortunately, the prince gave me the order to… insist. He specifically said: 'This should stop you from moping in your tower like a caged torblek.'"

Picturing the image of a big feline with the power to camouflage with its environment pace up and down in a cage. The princess’ cheeks darkened in humiliation. "Why is he so mean!?"

Click! Koriand’r heard the sound of a shutter coming from… Arend’r. “Huh, what was that?”

With a glint in her eyes, Arend’r said stoically, “Nothing, your highness.”

Koriand’r returned to consult the newsreel collated for her by her brother. She perused through the news of the last two months, there was some useless info about the slum having been refurbished and food made available for everyone. Obviously, reconstruction was happening in all the city states on the planet. The space-navy was patrolling the Vega star system and outside it; plans for colonization and to gather more resources and territory were talked about in the court…

The young princess was getting bored until she finally found some news pertaining to Komand’r.

Return of the Princess!

• Contact with pre-FTL civilization: Earth
• Asgard’s involvement
• Contact with Asgard established!
• Warrior Princess Komand’r, the raider’s bane!
• Crisis on Thanagar!

 

Koriand’r quickly tapped on the first link; she saw the picture of her meeting with a humanoid alien reminding her of a wingless Thanagarian with dark skin and signing something. There were also videos of her battling against a giant made of metal. The redhead was surprised to see her sister fly and shoot starbolts.

Her sister was healed! She could fly on her own and fire her own starbolt! She was beautiful and powerful. Thanks to the haptic interface on her com-bracer, Koriand’r opened all the links and videos and took in the information displayed. Komand’r has gone to the legendary Asgard and entered in contact with them by helping the crown prince it seems.

"Sister is back… and she's been doing her job." Koriand’r smiled like a loon at finally seeing that her sister was still alive. She was so happy that she didn’t even feel herself hovering in the air; it was as if a weight that had been burdening her was lifted.

Arend’r stood up and placed her hands before her, in a prim and proper pose. As the princess looked at a video of her elder sister using a crystalline sword and cutting a ship in two, the maid began explaining what had been happening while she played shut-in. "For two months, the ambassadorial division has been swamped with work. Asgard entered in contact with us and their envoy team has been sent out. Princess Komand’r chartered them to the Vega star system to dispatch them in the embassy before leaving."

Koriand’r stiffened, let her arms fall along her sides and with a cracking voice asked, "She was here, why did no one tell me?"

The maid sniffed haughtily at Koriand’r. "I’d like to remind you that you were called but refused to come out to do your duty to welcome them, princess."

"Oh." Ashamed, Koriand’r lowered her eyes.

Once again her bratty attitude and her breaking of the rules and the abandonment of her duty as a royal was biting her in the ass. Arend’r walked up to the princess and patted her shoulder, after being Koriand’r’s maid she was her friend as well. "Forgive me from expressing this impertinent opinion of mine, your Highness. But you have been acting like a child, so of course your parents and siblings treated you like one. Do you wish to change this current state of affairs?" 

Koriand’r soft eyes hardened as she heard Arend’r proposition. "Yes, I don't want to be a child forever."

Arend’r and her charge then sat on the bed, looking at the articles and videos and discussing how it influenced the political climate; seeing as Komand’r was healed, now all the previous noble houses and warriors who opposed her were now seeing the public opinion turn against them. The public was fickle, but they still loved their heroes; Komand’r was someone who brought back peace.

Koriand’r couldn’t stop herself from asking, "How did father take it when sister was back?"

Arend’r sighed. "She ignored any familial overtures from King Myand’r, Princess Komand’r treated him like her monarch and a stranger. Oddly, she tried to mend fences with Queen Luand’r instead."

Widening her eyes, Koriand’r couldn’t believe this. This was momentous news! Queen Luand’r had normally been distant with her first daughter, feeling deep shame and guilt over Komand’r’s illness. If they could at least talk to each other without Komand’r being rude to her, then their relationship might be fixed.

But as for Koriand’r’s father, he must have been the subject of her ire. "Father must be devastated." The Princess found herself saying.

"Rumor is that he took to drinking and hunting more often because of this." Idly commented Arend’r.

Koriand’r looked up, staring at the golden vaulted ceiling and made a beatific smile, dismissing the holographic windows from her com-bracer. "Mother must have been happy. She always thought that it was her fault that sister was…"

"Flightless?" Arend’r continued.

The redhead glared at her maid. "Don't use that word, I don't care for it. I never used it because my sister was hurt by it so much."

Being ‘Flightless’ was a taboo in Tamaranean society, their culture and tradition reflect on how the gift of flight is a gift from X’hal; not having been blessed by their Goddess’ grace makes Koriand’r’s people think that the person afflicted has been forgotten by her and is a sinner.

Lowering her eyes, Arend’r quickly apologized. "Forgive me, princess."

Koriand’r stood up, trying to cool off. "It’s time for me to go look for Komand’r, I want my sister back."

"So you chose to pursue her?" Arend’r asked, after standing up herself. She smiled and was quick to point out, "Then you'll be happy to hear that prince Ryand'r anticipated your choice. Do you remember the diplomatic task force that the King had assembled for Princess Komand’r?"

The youngest princess nodded; those were made of all the ships Komand’r captured or commanded. They were crewed by the warriors who followed her in battle and actually respected her.

"It is now going to be your and brother's duty to hand it over to her." Arend’r informed Koriand’r who raised an eyebrow at this. 

With a calculating glint in her eyes, Koriand’r asked, "Father doesn't know that I am going, right?" Her eyes focused on the door of her walk-in wardrobe and about everything she needed to take with her.

She floated toward the door, avoiding the pillars between the bed and the walk-in wardrobe. Arend’r flew after her and answered, "No he doesn't and your mother expects you to proceed to run away from home, she has prepared this way of egress with your brother."

Koriand’r chuckled. "Mother knows me best."

The door opened on a room the size of a warehouse, with a lot of metal shelves and hangers containing clothes, jewelry and footwear.

“You are coming?” Koriand’r asked Arend’r as she ordered some containers to be delivered to her tower.

Putting a fist on her left breast, Arend’r bowed. “I am your servant, Princess Koriand’r.”

The princess patted her friend’s shoulder. “Good answer.”

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A/N: Here's something to tide you over guys! It's important information.

Glempork: It means Bitch in Tamaranean

Stewed grunthmek: It is a pie with a purple filling that has tasty green worms/bugs inside of it.

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