The emperor was followed by two guards in togas. Behind them was Toro.
The Count released me and straightened the stool, keeping his head down. Not so cool and collected now. He gave a low bow towards the emperor and stormed out without looking back. The guards fidgeted aside to let him pass.
There wasn't much room around to accommodate them and the Emperor in his gigantic furry gown. His hair was like a puffy, white cloud that rested on his head and his red gown made him look larger than he was. His clothes made it hard for me to take him seriously. I had never spoken to him, and from what I knew, he never meddled in petty political affairs. Just like the deity he pretended to be, he ruled by remote control.
For him to come down here, this had to be good.
I took deep breaths and rubbed my neck as I stood beside the bed, my legs shaking. I faced the Emperor who examined me with his yellow eyes. I wasn't going to bow, if that was what he expected me to do.
"Please, sit down," he said. "I won't hurt you, there's no need to take that stance," he said, and extended a bony hand towards the stool.
I hadn't noticed I raised my wings. I relaxed them and did as I was told without leaving his eyes. The guards left the room, and Toro moved to the Emperor's left. The contrast between the two men was stark. Toro wearing his austere toga, and the Emperor in his tent-like red gown.
"I apologize for my nephew's enthusiasm. He was here to discuss important matters with you, but alas, he got carried away. Toro warned me it could happen."
I glanced at Toro, whose look was fixed on the floor. Did he always report to the emperor?
"You've been here long enough to realize that our planet isn't what you'd call welcoming, have you?" he said. "We are right at the end of Kira's hospitable zone. Did you know that the Utanians left fifty emissaries here during their conquering expeditions? My ancestors, who built our empire out of rock and ice and plutonium. Why would the Utanians leave them here?"
He began to stroll around the room, his gown sliding over the floor.
"Science. They wanted to test how your race could adapt to the climate," I said, since he didn't continue speaking.
"Yes, they did like to play God, didn't they?" he said.
"God? I still don't understand what that is."
"You don't have to," he said. "But I'm not here to discuss our beliefs with you. I'm here to offer you your freedom."
Ah, such a beautiful word spoken by someone who had enslaved children on another planet.
"In exchange for?" I asked. Balians never did anything without expecting something in return.
"Utania."
"What?"
"The real reason behind our little expedition to Pagua was to harvest it for materials to build ships. We want to go back to the planet that claims to have created us," he said.
I tried to hold back a laugh. "You want me to help you conquer Utania? Are you serious?"
"I never said conquer. We want to migrate, and I want you to help us to convince your government to take us in, peacefully of course. There is no need for more violence in this universe. But, if they don't agree, we will have to take more aggressive measures," he said.
I pictured the Balians among the Utanians and I couldn't hold the laughter back. It came out as a snort and my stomach growled. The conservative, square-minded Balians would be appalled at how the common Utanians lived.
The Emperor smiled. "You think it's impossible, but you forget that your beloved planet has given up warfare for a long time now. They've grown complacent, so sure of their power. They ignore the fact that their former colonies are just as strong as they once were. And, you know, if Solano had been more open to receiving us, the war with Pagua could have been avoided."
"Oh come on, you never gave him a choice," I said.
"I did. We wanted to buy that big, uninhabited continent they call Moisin and Solano refused," said the Emperor. He stopped near Toro, who moved aside to avoid the Emperor's gown. "Our offer was more than sufficient: a continent in Pagua in exchange for our technology, energy and peace. His refusal set our plan back several years and you know what happened to Pagua, you were there. We even offered my eldest daughter's hand in exchange. But he also refused her. Who knows why?" He fixed his gaze on me.
Some things started to make sense. I had always thought the Balians called me Solano's whore because of their strange beliefs in what they called God, but this revelation meant something else. Solano must have rejected the emperor's daughter, in lieu of me. And I had to agree with the emperor, that ceding Moisin to the Balians would have been the sensible thing to do. But you can't sell a chunk of a planet to a tyrant and expect that to go well.
"I would have done the same in Solano's place. He loved Pagua more than he loved me, or himself. Your offer was a disguised ultimatum, like the one you're giving me now," I said.
"You're just a girl, and he was a madman. If he really loved that horrid, infernal planet, he wouldn't have let the war go on for as long as it did. He destroyed Pagua with his arrogance."
"You want to conquer the planet that created you, and you call Solano arrogant," I said.
"We were created by God! Your stupid scientists played with things that were beyond their control. Now they will see why no one in this universe can pretend to be creators or makers," he yelled, losing his composure. He didn't startle me. No one in a ridiculous dress like his could intimidate me.
He lowered his head, and continued. "Alysia, you will go to Utania with my nephew and negotiate with Emperor Bonart. He will let us through, and welcome us home, unless they want to end up like Pagua."
"I was no one in Utania," I said. "I am no one. Why would they listen to me?"
"You've been away from your true home for far too long. You're a star among your fellow noblemen: the audacious Utanian courtesan who helped Balia bring civilization to Pagua and saved them from their tyrannical President. They seem to be very interested in you. You may thank Toro for that. He has been recording your vacations in Balia throughout the years. They've seen you enjoying our parades and extending your pleasant stay for years now. "
Vacations?
"The Utanians believe I helped you?" I asked. I looked at Toro, who hadn't withdrawn his eyes from the floor. He was just like all of them. I felt my face growing hot and I wondered if it was visible to the man who stared at me.
"When Eu captured and killed Solano, he said it was you who alerted him to your position."
"To exchange prisoners. Eu murdered Solano after the Count agreed to a peaceful negotiation."
"That's not what everyone believes," he said.
So now the universe thought I was a traitor.
I was nothing but a pawn in the plans of empires. I should have stayed home and married a nobleman. Or had children. I could have waited to be of age and become a geneticist. Maybe even an artist. How can a silly girl's thirst for adventure go so horribly wrong?
"To show the Utanians we bare no ill will, I told Count Eu to ask you, or inform you, that you'll marry him. Two races joined in matrimony, to begin a new era of cooperation. But that didn't go as planned."
"I will die before I help you," I said, defeated and depleted of energy. I knew what the ifs were if I didn't help them. Stay here and die.
The Emperor clearly didn't understand how Utania functioned. Marriage meant little to them, to us. The Utanian empire had prospered and thrived because of lax laws and the liberty the citizens had to do what they wanted. Happy people don't revolt or destroy, but comply and create. I had only understood this after leaving. The years I spent in Pagua before the war gave me a different, clearer perspective of my home planet.
"You're their last chance, Alysia. Madame Lynch, if you will. Convince them, enchant them, do what you must. You have a day to think about it, and then you leave for Utania with Count Eu. If you decide to help us, you'll have everything anyone could wish for. You'll enjoy the rest of your days in your home planet. If you don't, we will conquer Utania and you'll stay here to waste away."
The Emperor gave me a last, stern look.
"It's the way of the universe, girl. Always has been, and always will be. Everything comes to an end. There will always be those who oppose. But senseless opposition against things you can't change, is just that- senseless and futile. "
He turned, the door slid open and he walked out. Had the bombs been planted by those who oppose?
Toro raised his head and faced me. "Madame, I recommend that-"
"I recommend you leave before I kill you," I said. I couldn't look at him.
Toro remained motionless near the door.
"GET OUT!" I yelled, and lay down on the bed to bawl.