“I expect there will be some duels then?” Rea smiled thinking about how cross those men would be when they realized Dru lied to them.
“I’m sure Kol is well-aware of this and he will be long gone before anyone challenges him,” Dru said thinking about her brother in-law who under different circumstances she might have liked.
“I still wouldn’t want to be him right now,” Rea said picking up the discarded bag that had contained Jane’s clothing. “Now that this is done, what will you focus on in your spare time? Joining Captain Kara?”
“No, I will stay here and pray for the Empire,” Dru answered resolutely.
“Good,” Rea said thinking Dru was a truly a dangerous woman. “May the gods guide your way.”
“Continue to walk in their light, Doctor Rea.”
When Jane and Jei exited the Capital City Hospital surrounded by several of his guards, the Capital City Gossip Column drones swarmed and Jei’s IC began receiving message after message from the High Council and the Grand City Temple. He ignored them all and they walked towards his transport, “As long as they can see we are married, we don’t need to deal with any of this now. We can go to Alba and sort it from there,” Jei explained as they got in the Kzi’s military transport. “To House Rega, Alba. Now.” It would take a few hours in the transport, but no one would stop them.
The transport was silent except for Jei’s IC.
“Are you going to look at those?” Jane asked.
“No. I’ve a good guess what they are all about. Besides there’s something I need to tell you before we reach Alba.”
“What?” Jane asked worried thinking a million bad things had happened in the minutes between being a goddess and becoming mortal again.
“Ellie is not there. She’s invoked an ancient practice of husband stealing and run off, only for two weeks though, with a young man who is an Outcast.”
“Jei, could you fail anymore? Here I was worried that you would try to marry her off to the most boring man you could find in your fleet, but no you let her just run off with an Outcast? Where are they? Let’s find her and bring her home.”
Jei began to get a headache from the binding tattoo but he pushed through, “Listen, it’s an ancient tradition and still bound by law. She wanted to leave with him, and she is an adult. She isn’t in any danger. He is a remarkably successful man despite his heritage.” Jei left out the scrimmage with the Octopods.
Jane hit him.
“Calm down barbarian. I only mean it as what kind of people leave the Empire for a feeling of lust?”
Jane hit him again, “You just broke a lot of laws. What makes you any different than this young man’s parents?”
“I know that I won’t be asked to leave. I still have done everything within the law. Even bringing you back which is a spiritual matter,” he explained.
“Who is this young man if you aren’t worried and where are they?”
“At his home which he signed over to Ellie to make the whole husband stealing thing work.”
“Where? Not in the Empire? Not on a ship?” Jane asked worried he would have a little apartment or something on a random station like a vagabond.
“Reima Two. He’s One, Jane.”
Jane couldn’t believe it, “I thought One was an old man.”
“That man died and even before he did, Val of the Nage Horde had already taken his place. Now he is One and wants to marry Ellie. I tried to dissuade her,” Jei defended himself a little. It was always hit or miss whether people thought Val was a good match or not. He didn’t think so as Val had an unstable life and he was an Outcast.
“If he’s One, why does he want my Ellie?” Jane asked, she was suspicious. Of course, her daughter was everything to her, but she wasn’t stunningly beautiful or rich. What could such a powerful man want from her daughter, “Is he overly religious?”
“Not religious at all I don’t think.”
“Where did they meet?”
“The Yoli victor’s reception. He was the victor. He charmed her before she was even of age there. I don’t think he has any other intentions but marriage. When I dug into his past a little, I discovered that it was one of his captains that sold the women she traveled over with on the Diablo into slavery and the rumor is he also had his captain and the women killed before they could be tortured. Maybe he sees Ellie as his redemption? The one that he could save,” Jei said more to himself than to Jane.
“That’s not a good reason to marry,” Jane said quickly. “Why would he feel so beholden to humans anyway. It doesn’t’ make sense.”
“He’s half-human himself,” Jei said.
“Oh,” Jane understood now. “Which half?”
“Father’s.”
“Let’s go to Reima Two and stop this.”
Jei put his hand on his head to nurse a headache that wouldn’t stop, “Ellie is an adult. Unless she asks for help, we wait.” His head was pounding. But then it stopped.
Jane realized that with the binding tattoos even simple conversations would be difficult if she didn’t control her strong emotions and opened her mind to different possibilities. “I don’t like it. Can I RVM her I’m back?”
“I’m sure she knows by now, but now she is in the Marriage Pause, her IC will be shut off from RVMs. You could send a message. It will be there the minute the two weeks has officially ended,” Jei said helpfully.
“Give me your IC,” Jane held out her hand and Jei gave it to her unlocked. “And you will override whatever stupid Marriage Pause thing is on it because I know you can as Admiral of the Fleet.”
Jei nodded acquiesce.
She hooted looking at his IC, “You have over one-hundred fifty fines from the High Council.”
“I can’t wait for you to open your GC account,” Jei retorted, knowing her fines would be just as great. “By the way, I have an IC for you, but it’s at the Main House. If I had brought it then I could never say, ‘the gods called to me to return and marry you in the moment.’ But it’s all worth it. I’m thankful you chose to come back.”
Jane looked into his grey eyes, “I’m glad you brought me back.” She didn’t want to tell him that she had been coaxed into staying by the gods. It was a memory she needed to think about herself before she told anyone about it.
“I’m grateful you’re starting to say that now too, rather than, ‘you killed me.’”
“You did do both.”
“I did,” Jei said pulling Jane close to him contently, as she wrote a message to Ellie, intermittently asking him questions about the situation.
The sun had set a long time ago on the on Reima Two, but Ellie and Valentin had remained drinking wine and talking about their pasts, presents and hopes for the future late into the evening on the Left Terrace. Any person from One’s staff would have told you that they were a couple bound to be together for the rest of their lives. So, when an urgent message came from the Capital Planet about the resurrection of Elloisa’s mother, they decided to leave it. As that didn’t change her situation now. But when a message came directly from the goddess of humanity herself, they had to interrupt Valentin and Ellie’s tête-à-tête.