Red Sun Rising

"Aurora, Mr. Moko can't eat in the kitchen. You can take him outside to the garden if you want to toss bread at him."

Calli tried not to grimace as Aurora threw another piece of toast that landed on the floor of the kitchen. She'd taken over supervision of Aurora after she'd tried some sort of experiment that ended up exploding and spattering poor Rose with gelatinous green and purple ooze.

The cooks didn't seem to mind cleaning up after the little Centauri princess but Calli wanted to make a good impression as a queen and a mother. It didn't matter that she'd been wearing the crown and sitting at Julian's side for four years; she still felt like an imposter. She had never been trained to be a noblewoman. She had grown up on a poor outer planet until her home was destroyed, and then she'd spent her life fighting in the Centauri Army.

The lavish parties, elegant ball gowns and visits with ambassadors and dignitaries from other planets were a far cry from her humble, and violent, upbringing. Calli knew not everyone was thrilled with Julian's decision to make her his queen, and she wanted to prove herself worthy of the role. If she could convince everyone else in the galaxy, then maybe she could convince herself too.

Aurora announced that Mr. Moko wasn't hungry anymore but liked the idea of going to the garden, so Calli packed them a picnic and ushered Aurora outside before she made an even bigger mess of the kitchen. She laid out a quilt on the ground and watched as Aurora tore around the garden trying to "tag" her imaginary griffin. It never ceased to amaze Calli that the castle staff all went along with Aurora's creative antics; she didn't know if they felt they had to because she was the princess, or if they simply couldn't help humoring her because she was so irresistibly adorable.

Calli still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she had a daughter. She had never pictured herself being a mother, let alone to a perfect little princess. Ever since she'd taken the assignment to guard Julian back when he was still a prince, her life had unfolded nothing like she'd ever imagined. As Aurora ran past her, Calli reached out with lightning speed and caught her, pulling the squirming girl into her lap.

"Mama! Mr. Moko is going to catch me!" Aurora exclaimed, twisting to try and get free.

"Mr. Moko wouldn't be foolish enough to take on the queen," Calli informed her.

"But he's sneaking up on you right now!" Aurora protested. Calli turned around like she was facing down the griffin, baring her fangs menacingly. Aurora giggled.

"Your mother is scarier than any beast or monster or eagle-headed lion," Calli said, picking Aurora up and spinning her around in wild circles.

"You're stronger than Rose," Aurora said, clinging to Calli's neck. "Did you eat more vegetables than her when you were little?"

Calli laughed. "Not exactly, my little sunbeam. I got very sick when I was little, and the cure made me a little different from everyone else."

"I wanna get sick!" Aurora declared. "Will it make me strong and fast too?"

"Princesses can't get sick," Calli replied, tapping her on the nose. "Kingdoms need their princesses to be healthy. You're already going to grow up to be strong and brave and beautiful."

"You promise?"

"Of course. You come from a long line of distinguished royals. But you should also eat your vegetables."

"Was your mama a queen too?"

"In her own way. Now come on, it's time for your studies with Garvin."

Garvin was a Chenteeri; a race of aliens that had eidetic memories and an incredible knack for learning languages. Despite that, it could be difficult to take them seriously sometimes because they looked very much like giant frogs in nice clothes. Aurora had once asked Garvin if he ate flies and the look of affronted disgust on his face had been so amusing Calli had had to excuse herself for a moment before she laughed and offended him even more.

Today he was waiting in the library dressed in a suit of dark green and muted copper, arranging books and maps across the table.

"Good morning, Your Majesties," he said, bowing politely.

"Hello, Garvin. What will you be teaching our young princess today?"

"Centauri history," Garvin said, springing forward in alarm as Aurora nearly knocked over a carefully detailed model of the galaxy he had set up. He rearranged it carefully as Calli tugged Aurora away and sat her down in a chair.

"Now, then, Your Little Highness, do you remember what we went over in your last lesson?" Garvin asked, flipping open one of the huge books and slipping on a pair of glasses that made his already rather large eyes look twice as big. Calli clamped her lips tightly together to keep from snickering. Garvin was odd, but he was a wonderful teacher.

"The forming of the Centauri Alliance," Aurora said, in answer to his question. "All the planets were fighting and didn't like each other and they almost had a big war, and then Ventio Azadi; my super great great grandfather; arranged a meeting and got most of the other planets to sign the Centauri Accords so they could all be friends and trade with each other. And he became the king because he stopped the war. But some of the more distant planets didn't like that, because he was human. And they felt they didn't have equal reprementation because their numbers were smaller."

"Representation," Garvin corrected calmly.

"That's what I said." Aurora scowled and Calli could sense Garvin trying not to huff.

"Why do other species hate us?" Aurora asked. Garvin took off his glasses and cleaned them on his jacket. It was a long moment before he answered.

"There are those who believe humans to be weak, because they're not as physically strong as other species and don't live as long. They don't think a human should be running things."

"Mama is really strong," Aurora pointed out.

"Indeed, she is," Garvin agreed, shooting Calli a small smile. "It's a complex situation, my dear. Greed is not something reserved solely for humanity. It runs throughout many species in the universe. Everyone wants the power to control the galaxy."

"But we share the power," Aurora insisted. "Mama and Daddy have ambassadons and the council and all sorts of people and aliens who help them run things."

"Ambassadors, sweetie," Calli said gently. "And unfortunately that doesn't matter to those who want to overthrow us. It's a complex situation, Rory."

"Will they hurt you and Daddy? Like they did to Grandpa Gerald and Uncle Kaleb and Uncle Joshua?" Aurora looked up at Calli with wide, worried green eyes. Calli wanted to tell her she was too young to know and worry about those kind of things, but Calli knew better than anyone that even little girls could lose their homes and families. The pragmatic, direct soldier in her wouldn't let her sugar coat her answer.

"They might try," she told Aurora. "But your mom and dad fight back. And you know we'd never let anything happen to you."

Rose arrived then, looking clean and scrubbed, every hair back in place. Garvin tactfully changed the subject from rebellions and dead kings and had Aurora practice her penmanship and writing in several different alphabets and languages. Calli kissed the top of Aurora's head and left her in the care of Rose and Garvin while she went to find Julian. He was just emerging from the council room, looking disgruntled and exhausted.

"Rough meeting?" Calli asked.

"They argue like children," Julian muttered. "I don't know how my father put up with them."

"Endless patience," Calli said, linking her arm with his and steering him away.

"Where's Aurora?"

"Tormenting Garvin. Sometimes I worry she's too perceptive for her own good."

"More like for our own good," Julian said, grinning. Then he winced slightly. "The council also reminded me that we have that party coming up, because Ambassador Frazier is visiting from Pallavia, and you know the rules about Pallavians."

Calli groaned. "Every time they visit a foreign planet or are visited, it has to be a big, formal thing. Great. That's just what I want to do; play queen at another party."

Julian caught her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "You don't need to play, Calli. It's not pretend; you are the queen."

"I appreciate your faith in me, Jules. But you're a little biased, don't you think?"

Julian squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. Calli spent the next week trying to oversee preparations for the Pallavian welcome party without seeming to hover and fuss too much. On the night the Pallavian ambassador and his family were arriving, she forced herself to sit still until Julian fetched her to greet them. She didn't want to ruin the white dress and gloves the seamstresses had designed for her. It was bedecked in small glittering crystals and had delicate lace sleeves. She hoped she didn't spill anything on it.

Rose appeared with Aurora in tow, her hair done in a silver-blond plait down her back and wearing a pale blue gown. She marched in proudly, doing a dramatic twirl.

"Now who could this beautiful young lady be?" Calli asked and Aurora giggled.

"It's me, Mama!"

"You're much too grown up to be my little Aurora," Calli protested, picking Aurora up and spinning her around. Julian appeared next, looking harried until he saw Calli and Aurora standing there. A sort of dopey smile spread across his face.

"You both look beautiful," he said. Calli set Aurora down and held her hand as they made their way to the ballroom to greet their guests. Calli stood at the head of the room on the raised dais with Julian as people trickled in. Many were from the court here in the capital, though there was a horde of friends and family of the Pallavian ambassador. He and his wife and twin children were the last to arrive, bowing deeply and gushing about how lovely everything looked. Aurora tugged on Julian's arm and demanded he dance with her. Calli did her best to slink unnoticed through the crowd of bodies, but she came to a halt when she heard two women mention her name.

"You can still tell she was born a peasant," one of them said, fluttering her fan. "She may have the best gowns and a pretty face, but she's not fooling anyone. I honestly can't imagine what King Julian was thinking, marrying a girl like her."

"Maybe he loves her," the other woman suggested and was met with a scoff, the scoffer's lips turning down in disapproval. Neither of them had noticed her yet and Calli took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down before she threw a punch.

"It just seems like terribly poor judgment, marrying a foot soldier from some forgotten little planet out in the dregs of the galaxy," the fanning scoffer said, sipping her wine. Her friend finally spotted Calli standing there and she went pale. The loud mouthed one turned to see what she was gaping at and Calli felt a wicked twinge of pleasure when the woman jumped and spilled wine on herself. Calli turned away, trying to tell herself the woman's words didn't bother her. But she couldn't stop the knot of frustration and humiliation from forming in her chest. She did her best to paste a bright smile on her face and went in search of Julian and Aurora.