Voices by M J Marlow (uplifting novels txt) 📕

/> “Your home will be with your husband now, my dear
Princess,” Tal informed me. “Once we have concluded the talks
with the Emperor, and your union is confirmed, you both will be
sent to Romulan space. Your union will be confirmed by the
Emperor himself!” He said this as if it was of great importance.
“And then you will take up residence among my household.”
“No,” I said simply. “I am not remaining Aden’s wife
under these circumstances,” I said as I got to my feet. “I will not be
used to force the Hazri to do what your Emperor wants,” I
continued as I backed away from the table, “and I will not be going
to Romulan space!”
I heard his delighted laughter as I closed and locked the
door to the bedroom behind me. I had expected anger, not humor.
Something in that reaction made me even angrier. I went to the
windows and saw that a force shield had been placed over the
opening. I was not getting out of my prison cell that way again. I
sat down on the bed and fought the despair trying to take over my
thoughts. He was still waiting for me when I came back out to get
something to drink.
“Your meal grew cold,” he explained the lack of dishes on
the table. “The woman can get you another…”
“I’m not hungry,” I said softly, as I approached the
replicator; “and I am used to doing things for myself.” I got my
drink and sat down by the windows. He started to join me on the
couch and Aden cut him off and took the spot. I looked at Aden in
surprise. “Why are you doing this to us?”
“Do you know how lovely you are, my princess,” Aden
said as his hand moved up to my cheek and cupped it gently. He
could feel me trembling and watched the fear and uncertainty in
my eyes. “I promise you,” he said as he leaned down, “I shall be
quite gentle with you.” His lips pressed against mine and I
whimpered in protest. He had no right to take this from me! I tried
to pull away and found his arms around me, holding me in place.
“You have no need to be afraid of me, Melaura. We Hazri treasure
what is ours!”
“I am not yours,” I protested and tried to break free of his
hold. He was not budging and I was terrified now. “Let me go!” I
sobbed as he began to trail kisses down the side of my throat.
“Please let me go.”
He did and I ran for my room and locked the door again. I
missed the knowing look on his lean face, and the outright joy as
he realized that I had been a virgin when he had married me. He
was going to enjoy teaching me how to please him. He would have
to remember to thank the Lord Iago for this gift. He had something
far better here than he had first seen in our meeting on Jarusian and
he meant to treasure it.
I needed to do something to take my mind off of that kiss. I
decided that I would practice some of the dances Shelah had taught
me that accompanied the Hazri folk songs used in the wielding. It
was not long before I lost myself to the movement and the song. I
had no idea that I was under surveillance as I moved; this was my
way of finding calm. Nagus Wesh smiled as he watched me on one
of the cameras that had been hidden in my rooms.
“Kur was right, Leno,” the man practically purred as his
eyes followed my every move. “She is exquisite.” He was seated in
his office on a space station near the Ferengi home world. “You
will tell him to bring her to me immediately.” He had another
thought. “As well as the traitor Durn. We will have the matter there
resolved as well.” He dismissed Leno and sat back with a goblet of
wine to watch me as I moved around my room. “Such a graceful
female; she will make an excellent addition to my collection.” He
hit the button that connected him to his assistant. “Lurg,” he said
without taking his eyes off me; “we will be receiving a new animal
soon. You will make certain that a medic is on call to see to her
chaining.” He nodded and ran his finger along my arm, smiling
lasciviously. “Ah, sweet, sweet princess. Soon you and I shall
enjoy pleasure such as you have never imagined possible.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I
called in the guard and he listened as I explained what I was
feeling. I listened as the guard called Security to report the
situation and they sent over a team. They swept the room and
found five surveillance devices. I hadn’t been wrong; someone had
been watching me. They found that every room I had reason to be
in was filled with the devices. Even the wedding bracelets I was
wearing contained such devices. I watched them go with joy.
“Why would anyone do such a hateful thing,” I asked Aden
after the team was gone with thirty-seven devices in a bag. He
handed me a glass of juice and sat down next to me. I looked up at
Tal in dismay. “Please tell me you got all of them.”
“The security team made a very thorough sweep, Princess,”
Tal said from his place at the door. “I’m certain they found them
all.” He thought about it. “I will let you both know when they
figure out who is responsible.”
“You think it was the Ferengi,” I said to him. He looked at
me in shock. “Your mind is practically screaming out in anger…”
He was angry with me now. “I am sorry to eavesdrop, Your
Highness…”
“You are within your rights, Princess,” Aden broke in;
before Tal could vent his anger at me. He laid his hand on mine;
his expression gentle. “It is your privacy that was intruded upon.”
He raised my hand to his lips. “It shall not happen again.”
David had been expecting something, but what his contact
sent him regarding the Ferengi chatter turned his blood to ice. He
went to the Captain immediately and followed her into the Ready
Room. He told her exactly what his contacts on Ferenginar had
passed along the channel; Daimon Kur had been employed to
abduct me. She was not pleased by what he had to report. She went
to look out the windows of her Ready Room for a moment.
“We were expecting them to take note,” Elaine finally said.
“This Daimon Kur; you know him?”
“He is an Eliminator,” David spat. “His employer of choice
is Wesh…”
“The Ferengi who raised you?”
“Wesh is the Ferengi who bought me from Kur after I was
found.” David replied. For a moment he was a terrified four year
old again facing the monster with his whip. He shook his head to
clear it of the image. It was not his life that was in jeopardy now.
“If the princess falls to him, her life will be over.”
“He wouldn’t hurt her, David…”
“There are all sorts of ways to hurt a person,” David broke
in coldly; “and keep them alive. Wesh is a master at all of them.”
He looked at the woman seriously. “We can not let this happen,
Captain. We have to intercept Kur before he can get her to
Ferenginar.”
“Don’t worry, David,” Elaine nodded. “We will.” There
was a chime and a face appeared on the communications screen.
“Admiral Wainwright?”
“I see my grandson is with you, Captain,” Wainwright
smiled at her warmly. “That’s good. He needs to hear this.” He
turned another terminal their direction and they saw a Ferengi
there. “This is Captain Danel Noris of the Jarusian Security Force.
Tell them what you told me, Captain.”
“Daimon Kur is here on Chandras,” Danel told them
briefly. He nodded as he saw their looks. “He is a piece of work,
that’s true. He is preparing to take the prince and princess
tomorrow. I will be with him.”
“He’s actually going to move on them while they are in
Romulan custody?” David was impressed; despite his hatred for
the little toad.
“He is quite confident that they will not put up a fight,”
Danel frowned. He looked over his shoulder and frowned. “I had
better get back. I talked my way onto this vessel pretending to be a
representative of their employer and I need to keep up
appearances.” He smiled at David. “Don’t worry about this, boy.
After they have the children, they mean to go after someone named
Durn. Seems you and he have been making a lot of trouble for his
employer.”
“Seemed only right after what he put us through,” David
smiled tightly. “We’ll be expecting your signal, Captain.” Danel
closed his channel and David looked at his grandfather. “Can we
trust him, Grandfather?”
“Of course,” Wainwright nodded. “You’ve just met one of
the princess’ human relatives; her mother’s bastard brother.” He
saw their disbelief and he understood it. Seeing a human who had
the ability to blend in so completely with the people he was spying
on was unnerving. “He is a very gifted spy. He will do everything
he can to see that the his niece and her husband find their way to
you.”
“Then we had best make our way towards Chandras to help
the young couple,” Elaine nodded. “Lieutenant,” she turned to
David. “I need to speak to the Admiral a moment. Return to your
duties.”
“Yes, ma’am,” David nodded. “Grandfather.”
Once they were alone, Elaine’s face softened. She locked
the door and sat down to simply smile at Wainwright. He was
looking very uneasy all of the sudden and she knew she should
make him squirm. After all, he had been keeping her waiting for
twenty years. But she could not punish him. She held her hand to
the screen and he followed suit.
“Do I need to ask?” Wainwright said softly as he saw the
look in her eyes.
“It is expected,” Elaine nearly laughed as the joy flooded
through her. “But you know my answer already.”
“I need to hear it from you, my love,” Wainwright nearly
choked. He stiffened slightly. “Elaine Harrison. You would make
me the happiest man in this galaxy if you would agree to be my
wife.”
“Promise me one thing, Benjamin,” Elaine said as she
nodded.
“What’s that, my dear?”
“That it won’t be a long engagement,” she smiled at him
warmly. “We’ve wasted enough time, don’t you agree?”
The next morning, I came out of my bedroom to find Aden
waiting for me. He didn’t say a word as I joined him for the
morning meal. He left me to begin a conversation and since I was
in no mood to speak to him, we shared the meal in silence. He
waited for me to dress and then took me out of my cell. We left the
prison and headed down the hill with Tal and his two men behind
us. Obviously, he had not forgotten about his promise to buy me a
trinket the other day. This day, he was far more watchful and
attentive. He found excuses to lay his hand on my arm, at the small
of my back, or along my cheek. I started to relax and forget why I
was here with him. What he did next brought it all back to me.
“Here we go,” he smiled as he saw an object he wanted in
the next booth. He pulled me to him and showed me a set of
bracelets of gold metal set with blue gems and green inlays that
looked like vines and foliage. One of the bracelets was attached