“I suppose I should begin,” Gaston said, dabbing his lips with a napkin. “It all started in childhood, you see…”
The inn chimed. Another return visitor from Baha-char.
“Hold that thought.” I got up and stepped away.
I walked outside the dining room, folded space to save time, and reached for the door leading to the galactic bazaar. It swung open revealing a terminally cute creature. He was just under four feet tall, with sandy fur, a fluffy tail, and the jeweled apron of a Merchant. He stood on his hind legs, holding his paw hands in front of him. He twitched his lynx ears, making the two golden hoops in his left ear clink, opened his blue eyes wide, and held out his arms.
“Dina!”
“Nuan Couki!” I bent down and hugged him. It was like squishing the world’s fluffiest fox.
“So formal,” he said.
“Well, I can’t call you Cookie now. You have two hoops in your ear.”
Cookie’s rise through the ranks of the Nuan Clan was nothing short of meteoric.
“You can always call me Cookie,” he said. “I like it.”
“What can I do for you?”
Cookie narrowed his eyes into sly slits. “I have not seen you for so long. I miss my dear friends. I have come to spend time with you.”
“So Clan Nuan wants to expand its business to the Seven Star Dominion.”
Cookie’s eyes widened in shock. He clasped his hands to his furry chest. “How could we possibly, even if we wanted to? That’s Clan Sai territory. I am simply here on vacation. I work too hard. So hard.”
I leaned toward him and kept my voice low. “You’re turning into your uncle.”
He tapped his nose with one clawed finger. “You flatter me so. It’s no wonder I want to come and stay with you.”
I almost died of cuteness. That’s why other species underestimated the lees. They knew they were adorable, and they made the most of it. But no matter how cuddly Cookie looked, inside his furry chest beat a ruthless heart. Their species were assassins and poisoners, and when it suited their interests, they killed with unparalleled viciousness.
“No harm can come to the Sovereign. If any unfortunate incident occurs, not even the bonds of friendship would save the guilty party. I mean it. If the Sovereign comes to any harm, I will lose my inn.”
Cookie’s face turned solemn. “I swear to you on my Grandmother’s heart that Clan Nuan will not harm the Sovereign.”
It was the strongest oath a Merchant could make. They revered their elderly and prayed to their ancestors.
The rules of hospitality dictated that I accept any guest that had not been banned. Furthermore, Clan Nuan and our family were bound by more than business. My sister was engaged to Arland, the Marshall of House Krahr. She and Helen, my niece, were now on the planet belonging to House Krahr, and a few months ago, during an attempted invasion, Helen had been poisoned. She lived because Nuan Cee gave her the antidote. Our family owed Clan Nuan a debt we could never hope to repay. Although I was sure that sooner or later Clan Nuan would put a price tag on it.
“Gertrude Hunt welcomes you, Honored Merchant.”
I bowed my head and invited him in with a sweep of my hand.
“We have been invited!” Cookie called out.
A pack of lees came running around the corner. They came in all shapes and sizes, decorated with veils, carrying things, and pushing a massive antigravity cart loaded to the brim with chests and bundles. One, two, three…seven, not including Cookie.
The lees danced about me, waving their paws.
“Greeting, Honored Innkeeper!”
“You smell like delicious duck, Honored Innkeeper!”
“Thank you for having us!”
Cookie grinned at me.
Well, I suppose that was to be expected. Cookie had moved up in the world, and in Merchant Clans promotions came with bigger budgets and larger staff.
I widened the entrance and pulled the Merchant Rooms I had made for the summit out of storage.
“It all started in childhood, you see.” Gaston sipped his wine.
We were back in the Ocean Dining Room at the same table in the same seats, with the addition of Cookie, who was treated to his own serving of the “delicious duck.” His posse was settling in their rooms and would come to dine later. Like all Merchants, Cookie loved gossip, and Arbitrator gossip was simply too delicious to ignore.
“All of us come from the world where the division between nobility and commoners is very stark. George and Jack are brothers born into a commoner family. They lost their parents when they were young, and they were raised by their older sister, Rose. The three of them tasted true poverty, the kind when you know the exact balance in your bank account down to a dollar and can tell exactly how much change is in your pocket without checking.”
That was not something I had ever experienced. My parents’ inn was prosperous, and while Gertrude Hunt and I had seen some lean times, we were never truly poor.
“Rose eventually married a man from a noble family, handsome, rich, and very stable, and the two brothers acquired a new and illustrious last name, Camarine. George and Jack received an education appropriate to someone of their new status. Their personalities are very different, but as brothers they share certain traits and being a chameleon is one of them. They adjusted to their new roles perfectly. Unless you knew their history, you would never suspect that those two are anything but noble princes, one elegant and beautiful, and the other fashionably jaded and rebellious. This is important.”
Cookie blinked. “Fascinating.”
He was clearly committing every drop of information to memory.
“Sophie was born into an aristocratic family. Her grandfather was a noble of a rival country who was exiled to the Mire, this horrible swamp, which I love.”
Sean frowned. “You love the swamp?”
“It’s home. You should see it when the moon slips from the clouds on a quiet night. The night flowers glow, the poisonous worms fluoresce in every color, and the giant alligator-like reptiles sing to the sky. It is peaceful.”
“You are a strange man,” Sean told him.
“I’m only ¾ man,” Gaston corrected. “But I digress. Sophie is actually my cousin, once removed. Her aunt is my grandmother, which doesn’t seem right since I’m older than Sophie, but it is true.”
“That’s nothing,” Cookie said. “I’m my uncle’s thrice-removed cousin’s seventh son.”
Gaston nodded in appreciation. “Family ties are important. We come from a very large family, land-rich, money-poor. The Mire is not a nice place. There was an incident when Sophie was young. She was kidnapped by slavers and put in a hole for a week. In Sophie’s head, a little girl went into the hole and a monster came out.”
I had no idea. When we met, I could sense there was something there, something dark and painful, but I didn’t imagine that.
“The thing is, Sophie’s grandfather did his best to raise her and her sister as nobles. They had the education, and they knew the legacy of their family, yet they also understood that they would be stuck rotting in the Mire forever. It had all the makings of one of those potent tragedies. But!”
Gaston waved his glass with a flourish.