The Weight of Duty.

The first time that he said it, we were standing on the balcony beside our bedroom too far away from the inner door for the palace guards to overhear. I laughed and considered his attempt at humour as a good sign. But his eyes were still hooded and weary. His shoulders still curled forward with the weight of what was on them. I sighed internally and took a slow drink from my wineglass, savouring the dry burn as the liquid slid down my throat. Then, turned my back on him and looked out over the city of Marion. It hugged the base of the mountain into which the palace was nestled and stretched all the way to the black rocky shores of the Basille Ocean. To the east, there were endless plains of grass, and sunflowers, and wheat. To the west, the mountains built into towers of ice and snow that trickled down to feed the streams and rivers that sustained everything else.

The second time, he whispered it quietly in the night. I pretended to be asleep and continued turning over “if onlys” behind my closed eyelids.

If only we had answered Aurelio’s pleas, instead of sticking our heads in the sand… If only we had accepted the danger lurking in Galandria, we may have had a plan or an ally as the greedy eyes of the Gorgons turned towards our small planet.

A century ago, the Gorgons, large dark grey creatures that needed four legs to support their hulking bodies, had been only one of the tribes on Galandria. But soon they had wiped out the other tribes and taken the planet’s spoils for themselves. Those who thought themselves lucky to make it through the slaughter were sent to work and die in the mines on the moons of Ester III. Then, their eyes hungrily set on the stars, the Gorgons took their ships and conquered three more planets in our region of the galaxy.

We never thought their eyes would linger here.

We had nothing they would want.

Marlax wasn’t resource rich like its neighbours. We had more than enough to eat and be content with life, but the ground held no great cache of raw minerals that could be exported and used to fill the treasury. In fact, we had to import fuel for the only 2 space transport stations on the planet.

Andrei’s family had been given this planet as an outpost for Earth five hundred years ago in order to represent the human race and its interests in this galaxy. However, the species on the nearest planet had found us odd. To them our ideas about life were ludicrous.

We believed in kindness. They saw it as a means to an end. We believed in open dialogue. They did things through a multitude of decrees and committees. So instead of building bonds, Andrei’s family had spent lifetimes building roads and cities, so their people could thrive here.

The third time, he found my hand under the warm sheet in the stillness of dawn, and stated it clearly as the sun started rising over Marion Bay, “What if I toss a coin? Heads and I’ll stay here to face the coming storm without you. Tails and I’ll ferry out all I can from the treasury and board the ship with you.”

“You would leave your people to face this threat alone?” I questioned, hope and outrage warring in my chest.

“I would give myself a chance at a life with the woman I love, with the family that we have built,” he answered quietly. “I would give myself a chance to see our sons grow up and see us grow old.”

“It isn’t right.” I squeezed his hand and turned on my side to look at him. New lines had sprung up on his face as the weight of responsibility constricted his every waking breath. Still, his amber eyes were set in a handsome face framed with the short black hair of the Van Wyk line.

The message from the Gorgons had arrived a week earlier. They asked for a summit to discuss how peace could be restored to this region of space. At first, we thought that after their long-fought battle with Planet Flair, their bloodlust and greed had both been satisfied. We made plans and rejoiced that finally we were being given a chance to step into our place amongst the other species. Finally, we would begin to fulfil the expectations that were placed on the heads of our forefathers long ago.

Then, a spy had arrived short on the heels of the message and forced us to confront our arrogance.

Planet Flair was dry.

Aurelio had set lose a machine of some sort that had vaporized the planet’s entire water supply before the Gorgons could take his palace to stop him. This made Marlax the only viable planet in the region that could supply them with the mammoth amount of water that they needed to keep their mines going.

“Do you think the spies are right?” I asked.

“Do I think that when all hope was lost Aurelio obliterated the one thing that the Gorgons needed from Flair?” he sighed, but kept his eyes locked with mine when he answered, “Yes, I think so. I think if I had the schematics, I would do the same now and keep the water from them too. With no water supply to take, perhaps they would leave us alone.”

“And in doing so, the entire planet would die with us,” I said.

Rap

A quick knock sounded at the door. “Sire, I need to speak with you,” Marvin, the head of the palace guard, stated in his dry raspy voice.

“Coming,” Andrei answered.

I stood with him and dressed quickly. By the time we met Marvin in the quiet hallway, he had sent the other guards away – an ill omen that had me leaning into Andrei.

“Sire, our scanners have picked up 5 Gorgon ships entering our region of space.”

“Which type of ships?” Andrei asked.

“Four transport ships and a command vessel,” Marvin replied.

I held onto Andrei’s and let him steady me as Marvin’s words washed over us. The words struck me at my core and whispered of the horrors of the coming carnage. My legs shook before I could lock my knees into place and stand firm.

A queen must not show weakness. 

“So, it is war then,” I said when I managed to drag my voice from my stomach.

Marvin didn’t respond; no response was necessary. There could only be one reason for them to bring the transport ships. They were filled with their brutal war machines.

“Perhaps we can negotiate with them,” Marvin stated, meeting his king’s gaze.

“The Gorgons know nothing of diplomacy. They don’t come to conquer. They come to exterminate and take,” Andrei answered. “Send a message to transport station 1. The queen and young princes will be leaving Marlax within the hour. Find someone you trust to fly the ship and load it for a long journey. Send most of the intergalactic credits with them too.”

Marvin nodded and began to turn when Andrei stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “You have served me and my father before me for near thirty years. If you and your family were aboard the ship when it took off, I am sure the queen would not object… Neither would I.” He added after a moment.

“But sire, you need me here,” Marvin said as he eyes grew larger.

“Alert the war commanders that we have incoming Gorgon ships. Call an immediate meeting with them and the best engineers and scientist this side of Marlax. Dismissed,” Andrei responded turning towards me. Then, he stepped into my space, took my face in his large hands, and kissed me for all the world to see. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear movement and commands being issued as Marvin started speaking into the communication device fixed to his wrist.

“Andrei, this is not appropriate-” He kissed me again.

“You should hurry, darling. The longer the ship takes to leave, the further the Gorgons will be able to track it on their radar screens.”

“Will you come with us?” I asked. My soul defiant as my carefully cultivated image met my true selfish nature.

His eyes were soft when he answered, “Go now. The children will be frightened if they wake up in all of this commotion without you.” His one hand lingered a moment longer on my cheek, the other now in his coat pocket before he started down the hallway.

I moved in the opposite direction as if through heavy mud, every step a hurdle, every breath a crushing blow.

Yet, I couldn’t help myself from looking over my shoulder before I turned the corner. There was a glint of light off the coin in the rising sun. My eyes followed its ascent and slow tumble. While it arched, a change seemed to flow over Andrei’s body. His shoulders rolled back. His spine straightened. The coin toppled past his hands which were no longer extended and landed on the soft carpet without a sound.