Space Cadets
nine
Eliza bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet as Colin swiped the card that granted them access to the restricted section of the archives. She practically bolted into the room as the ominous metal door slid open. A little melodramatic, in her opinion. Zenians really liked to do things with flair. There was an assortment of hard books and holofiles in the restricted area, and Eliza flitted from section to section.
“This is so amazing,” she said, spinning around so much she made herself dizzy, grinning at all the forbidden knowledge around her. She wound up pulling random books off the shelves, finding things like crooked ledgers for mob fronts, a couple of files detailing scandalous behavior that had been covered up for past royals, and one shockingly explicit and erotic memoir by the sister of the former queen. Eliza flushed to the roots of her hair and quickly put that back on the shelf.
She tucked her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit when she became flustered. She noticed Colin watching her and realized she’d almost forgotten he was there in all her excitement. She cleared her throat, a little embarrassed by her reckless enthusiasm for being places she wasn’t supposed to, and more than a little embarrassed by what she’d just read in that memoir.
“Hour’s almost up,” Colin said. “We should be getting back or you’ll miss tea.”
Eliza made a face. “I didn’t come all the way here to have tea,” she grumbled. “I hate tea.”
“You could have hot water and lemon,” Colin suggested. Eliza ignored him, running her fingers lightly along the shelves as she begrudgingly trudged back to the door. As she stopped through it a hooded figure nearly collided with her.
“Excuse me,” Eliza said and the person just made a scoffing noise at her. Colin came up beside her and nudged her away. The hooded stranger pushed by them and went slinking up the aisles of the restricted section.
“Let’s get out of here,” Colin muttered. Eliza shrugged, following him out of the archives. She dragged her feet going back to the palace, her mood deteriorating with every step closer to teatime with the queen and her ladies in waiting and her daughters-in-law. Colin had to practically push her into the tea room before he went to stand with the other guards. Eliza’s family was already there, their guards lined up in a crisp row against the wall. One of her sister’s guards leaned over to talk to Colin in a hushed tone.
Eliza flopped unceremoniously into a chair, earning a look of exasperation from Gabriella. Bianca tilted her head toward Eliza.
“Your guard is cute,” she whispered. “Are you having fun?”
“How can you have fun when someone is following you around all day?”
“I kind of like it,” Bianca replied. “It’s rather glamorous.”
“You’re also used to men following you around everywhere,” Eliza muttered. “This is probably a real treat for your guards. I’m just a job.”
Bianca frowned slightly. “I’m not sure that’s-“
She broke off as Korinne entered and everyone offered a polite bow. Eliza forced herself to sit still and choke down a few gulps of some strong smelling, too-minty tea.
“They’ve almost finished constructing everything in the city square to begin the festival celebration,” Korinne said. “They’ll be finishing the decorating tonight and lighting off a first batch of fireworks. Perhaps you’d all like to have dinner in the square and watch? We have excellent views from the palace of course, but you really feel the excitement in the city.”
Eliza perked up at once, eager for an opportunity to get out of the palace without making up excuses or dodging her parents’ plans. When tea was over she went in search of coffee, dumping in a ton of cream and gulping it down to get the taste of that awful tea out of her mouth. As she was leaving the kitchens, she once again almost collided with someone. But this time it wasn’t a robed figure, it was the queen’s younger cousin that Eliza had seen at dinner the first night. She couldn’t remember his name, but she recognized the slicked back dark hair and the sullen, moody air he gave off. He was glaring at her now, a slight sneer on his face.
“You’re one of the daughters,” he said, sounding remarkably unimpressed. “The small one with the bad manners.”
Eliza bristled. “Worried about my manners, are you? I’ll tell you exactly where you can stick your etiquette lesson.”
He sneered again, drawing himself up haughtily and then giving Colin a snide once-over.
“And you must be the guard dog,” he said. “Ironic, since your charge seems like the one who needs a muzzle.”
“Ugly says what?” Colin replied.
“What?” The cousin looked baffled for a moment and Eliza couldn’t stop her lips from twitching this time. She snickered and he finally seemed to realize what had happened and he glared daggers at Colin, who just looked innocently back. The cousin started to shove past Colin, finding that he couldn’t budge him much. Korinne’s cousin was tall, but lanky. Colin could probably flick him in the forehead and knock him over.
“Get out of my way,” he snapped at Colin.
“A thousand apologies, my liege,” Colin said with melodramatic volume, bowing absurdly as he moved aside. The cousin stormed off and Eliza had to scrunch her face up to keep from bursting out laughing.
“You can just smile, it’s okay to think I’m funny,” Colin said as they walked toward the square. She was going to meet her family and the queen there for dinner and the first of many firework shows.
“You’re not funny,” Eliza said, but then she started laughing. They found the spot designated for the queen and her guests and waited for everyone else to arrive. Instead of fancy palace food they had an assorted feast from the various food vendors that were set up for the festival, and Eliza picked out a little of everything to try, nibbling on her small mountain of food until the fireworks lit up the sky and she was distracted from everything else.
The fireworks were huge and each one was a different shape in an assortment of shimmering colors. Even her sisters forgot to be dignified and gasped delightedly, leaning over to gush with Eliza about how pretty it was. Eliza temporarily forgot about the queen’s rude cousin and the gross tea and being irritated about having a guard and just watched the fireworks, her elbow linked with Bianca’s.
“This is so amazing,” she said, spinning around so much she made herself dizzy, grinning at all the forbidden knowledge around her. She wound up pulling random books off the shelves, finding things like crooked ledgers for mob fronts, a couple of files detailing scandalous behavior that had been covered up for past royals, and one shockingly explicit and erotic memoir by the sister of the former queen. Eliza flushed to the roots of her hair and quickly put that back on the shelf.
She tucked her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit when she became flustered. She noticed Colin watching her and realized she’d almost forgotten he was there in all her excitement. She cleared her throat, a little embarrassed by her reckless enthusiasm for being places she wasn’t supposed to, and more than a little embarrassed by what she’d just read in that memoir.
“Hour’s almost up,” Colin said. “We should be getting back or you’ll miss tea.”
Eliza made a face. “I didn’t come all the way here to have tea,” she grumbled. “I hate tea.”
“You could have hot water and lemon,” Colin suggested. Eliza ignored him, running her fingers lightly along the shelves as she begrudgingly trudged back to the door. As she stopped through it a hooded figure nearly collided with her.
“Excuse me,” Eliza said and the person just made a scoffing noise at her. Colin came up beside her and nudged her away. The hooded stranger pushed by them and went slinking up the aisles of the restricted section.
“Let’s get out of here,” Colin muttered. Eliza shrugged, following him out of the archives. She dragged her feet going back to the palace, her mood deteriorating with every step closer to teatime with the queen and her ladies in waiting and her daughters-in-law. Colin had to practically push her into the tea room before he went to stand with the other guards. Eliza’s family was already there, their guards lined up in a crisp row against the wall. One of her sister’s guards leaned over to talk to Colin in a hushed tone.
Eliza flopped unceremoniously into a chair, earning a look of exasperation from Gabriella. Bianca tilted her head toward Eliza.
“Your guard is cute,” she whispered. “Are you having fun?”
“How can you have fun when someone is following you around all day?”
“I kind of like it,” Bianca replied. “It’s rather glamorous.”
“You’re also used to men following you around everywhere,” Eliza muttered. “This is probably a real treat for your guards. I’m just a job.”
Bianca frowned slightly. “I’m not sure that’s-“
She broke off as Korinne entered and everyone offered a polite bow. Eliza forced herself to sit still and choke down a few gulps of some strong smelling, too-minty tea.
“They’ve almost finished constructing everything in the city square to begin the festival celebration,” Korinne said. “They’ll be finishing the decorating tonight and lighting off a first batch of fireworks. Perhaps you’d all like to have dinner in the square and watch? We have excellent views from the palace of course, but you really feel the excitement in the city.”
Eliza perked up at once, eager for an opportunity to get out of the palace without making up excuses or dodging her parents’ plans. When tea was over she went in search of coffee, dumping in a ton of cream and gulping it down to get the taste of that awful tea out of her mouth. As she was leaving the kitchens, she once again almost collided with someone. But this time it wasn’t a robed figure, it was the queen’s younger cousin that Eliza had seen at dinner the first night. She couldn’t remember his name, but she recognized the slicked back dark hair and the sullen, moody air he gave off. He was glaring at her now, a slight sneer on his face.
“You’re one of the daughters,” he said, sounding remarkably unimpressed. “The small one with the bad manners.”
Eliza bristled. “Worried about my manners, are you? I’ll tell you exactly where you can stick your etiquette lesson.”
He sneered again, drawing himself up haughtily and then giving Colin a snide once-over.
“And you must be the guard dog,” he said. “Ironic, since your charge seems like the one who needs a muzzle.”
“Ugly says what?” Colin replied.
“What?” The cousin looked baffled for a moment and Eliza couldn’t stop her lips from twitching this time. She snickered and he finally seemed to realize what had happened and he glared daggers at Colin, who just looked innocently back. The cousin started to shove past Colin, finding that he couldn’t budge him much. Korinne’s cousin was tall, but lanky. Colin could probably flick him in the forehead and knock him over.
“Get out of my way,” he snapped at Colin.
“A thousand apologies, my liege,” Colin said with melodramatic volume, bowing absurdly as he moved aside. The cousin stormed off and Eliza had to scrunch her face up to keep from bursting out laughing.
“You can just smile, it’s okay to think I’m funny,” Colin said as they walked toward the square. She was going to meet her family and the queen there for dinner and the first of many firework shows.
“You’re not funny,” Eliza said, but then she started laughing. They found the spot designated for the queen and her guests and waited for everyone else to arrive. Instead of fancy palace food they had an assorted feast from the various food vendors that were set up for the festival, and Eliza picked out a little of everything to try, nibbling on her small mountain of food until the fireworks lit up the sky and she was distracted from everything else.
The fireworks were huge and each one was a different shape in an assortment of shimmering colors. Even her sisters forgot to be dignified and gasped delightedly, leaning over to gush with Eliza about how pretty it was. Eliza temporarily forgot about the queen’s rude cousin and the gross tea and being irritated about having a guard and just watched the fireworks, her elbow linked with Bianca’s.