The Talamute Prince
Chapter 4

The transports come to a stop at the top of a slight hill with microphones and a podium at the very edge of it. The guard holds the queen's hand to help her down as I look around for a second at all the faces. My heart drops into my stomach at the thought of being in front of all these people. At the thought of what she has asked of me. How am I supposed to fake anything? With no control over my powers anything could set them off, including the anger and hatred felt from trying to fake emotions towards someone.

"May I?" I hear Patrick's voice from behind me and I turn around to face him.

"Of course." I say as I place my hand in his to aid in my decent from the hovering bowl.

"How brutal was it?" He asks smiling at me. This made me a bit angry at him. I have every right to be. I'm positive he had put her up to this, but the irritation sounds clearly in my voice upon response to the question.

"She knows that there is something wrong between us. She basically just told me it was my duty to fake being in love with you because I married you. Apparently, I'm supposed to put your well-being and feelings above my own even in the event it causes me to explode and kill your entire people." The hostility in my voice wipes the smile from his face.

"Please don't. I don't want you to fake your love for me." I turn toward him. "That isn't my mother's choice to make. If you hate me, then hate me, if you fall back in love with me so be it, but if your fake affections for me how will I know to try harder to win back your real love?" He looks deep into my eyes as I stare back into his trying desperately to read him. Maybe he really is trying to fix what he has broken by his lies.

"I promise you'll never have to guess if I love you or not. I won't lie to you about my feelings toward you." Escaping the hold his eyes have over my thoughts I look forward. His mother approaches the podium and microphones as a huge cheer carries through the wind to my ears. It's overpowering to be in such a position as before now I only watched such things from the comfort and safety of my room. A strange feeling grips my chest as I watch his mother raise her hands to calm the crowd. An indication she is ready to start her speech. I'm still holding his arm as we walk up behind her, Patrick looks at me.

"Are you okay?" I glance at Patrick, stunned back to reality by his voice.

"No, not really. You didn't say anything about speaking in front of so many people. I have, I don't know how to or what to say. I can't." He stares at me for a moment. He places his hand over mine gripping my fingers from their intrusion into his muscle. It would be a waste of breath to explain my past to him again, so I simply look forward at the crowd still shaking nervously.

"I won't force you to. I would like for you to, but if it bothers you that much you can simply smile and wave when you are introduced as the new queen of the people." I watch his mother begin her speech with a strong, unwavering voice. Even in her cold distance I must admit she is a very strong woman. The crowd is clinging to every word that flows from her mouth as she speaks of the loss of her husband and the entrance into a new error. To be honest I'm not paying attention. I scan the crowd as I notice the stranger again. Focused on the person that stood out from the rest I was thrown off when his mother introduces us.

"My son and your future king Patrick Wolf, and his queen Laoonica Wolf." She holds out her hand as Patrick tugs mine slightly. I lower my head to watch my step as we come to stand behind the podium. I look out at the crowd and back at his Mother. She seemed none the wiser that I hadn't been paying attention.

"Breath, I will go first." He whispers. "My people, mother, thank you all for your attendance here today. I know that you all adored the efforts of my father to rebuild our poor reputation amongst the..." His speech seems to be a longer winded one. My attention darts back to the man in the brown cloak. The man stands slightly above the height of even the tallest of the rest gathered before us. He appears more mundane then the others due to the fact he is not dressed in a brightly colored outfit. No one else seems to notice him at all. The brown, dull, hooded cloak covers the upper part of his face. At this distance I can make out most of the features below that point as his skin is different than what I'm accustomed to. It is a light purple and his lips are dark red as if stained by blood. He smiles baring his sharpened teeth. The jagged edges resemble those of a predatorily animal ready to clamp down into its prey's throat. I look at the guards beside me. They don't seem to see this individual or I'm hallucinating from my anxiety over being trapped in this strange place. I'm creeped out by the fact no one else sees him. I return my gaze toward him to see him raise his right hand and point to the left of the platform. I follow his direction shocked to see another I had missed. There on the other side of the platform was another man dressed the same, but he is not smiling. The hood to his coat is tuck just behind a tuff of black hair on his head and allows me to see his entire face. I look back to the other man. However, the man has vanished.

When I turn back to the second man he is still there. I found myself captivated by this man. His skin is only slightly lighter than the other mans and his face as well as his head is covered with thick black hair. He looks directly at me showing no emotion but even from this distance I can feel something more than just fear building. This one is slightly different as the first had a cleanly shaven chin this one does not. He is not smiling as he looks directly at me, I get the feeling I had when we were below, as well as when I was about to get out of the personal transport. He is the one who has been watching me giving me a feeling of unease. At this distance I can't make out the color of his eyes. He shows no emotion as he looks me over while I do the same to him. I should be afraid of this strange man, yet I am not, he holds my mind captivated as I can't pull away.

"Your new queen Laoonica." Patrick's words catch my attention pulling it away from the seemingly invisible intruders. I look back to the position where he was standing, and he has vanished from my sight. I grip the out reached hand of Patrick. I'm shaking a bit at the thought of having to speak. "Just a simple hello, or a wave and smile. You do not have to talk as long as my mother and I did." He whispers to where the microphones cannot pick up his voice. Perhaps my eyes are playing tricks on me. I haven't had much sleep since the fight and the light stung my eyes. Nevertheless, I scan the crowd looking to see if I can replace him again.

"I'm not use to being so forwardly presented. I apologize ahead of time for this and I promise to keep it short." A small hint of laughter spreads through the crowd that I'm still scanning. "My planet is so much different than your civilization, but I look forward to learning your ways. I'll do my very best to live up to the expectations and strength of my predecessor. Thank you for your kind, and warm welcome." I step back and a huge cheer spreads once more across the mass of people. I don't understand how they can be happy to have someone who has no clue to their customs leading them. I look out scanning to stop my gaze suddenly when the two hooded figures appear on the very ledge of the platform straight ahead of us. The one whose face I could not see taps the other on the arm pointing toward me, then smiles at me before jumping off the ledge. I must have jerked when he did as Patrick grips my hand.

"You did wonderfully, relax it's over." I Pear out of the corner of my eye to see Patrick is oblivious to what I'm Looking at. My eyes return focus on the other man still eyeing me. He finally smiles at me showing off his straight teeth. I can't help but wonder why his are not sharp like the other one's were. From this angle I can tell his eyes are black. He stretches his arms to the side and falls backwards from the side just like the first one. I look down as best as I can but can't follow him down. It's such a long way to the planet surface how can anyone survive that fall. I look at that spot for more than a few moments as the crowds disperse slowly. It seems I might be having some sort of vivid dream. Perhaps I had fallen asleep waiting for Patrick to come get me. 'No that can't be it.' I thought to myself. 'This is very much real.' The image of his face sticks in my mind. Why would he come up here to just see me then jump to his death? There must be something I am not able to see from here. Maybe some rope or method of falling that they use to survive such an action. Either way something tells me this won't be the last experience I have with the purple skinned people.

My attention turns back to Patrick as he guides me toward his mother. She has a gentle smile on her face as we step closer to her.

"I'll admit knowing how you were raised I was a bit skeptical of your ability to speak so well under pressure. Your words were sweet, simple, and to the point. Very well done." His mother says as we are directed back to the transports.

"Thank you, your majesty." I say softly. Patrick lifts my hand to his mouth placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. I stifle a cringing expression as to not upset anyone else given I was alone here.

"I told you she'd be fine mother." Patrick smiles at his mother who seems to scold him in return. She then turns back to me.

"Indeed. Patrick, my dearest son, walk me to my transport." I'm secretly enjoying his mother's attitude toward him. Her face is smiling but you can see it in her eyes. I wonder what his talk will consist of. Deep down I hope she lays into him, but I will never know. I try to keep my distance as I think I will be riding with Patrick this trip.

"Yes mother, of course." The way he looks at her makes me smile a bit as he seems to act like a kid in trouble. "I'll be right back my love. Then we'll go see your new home." It's a bit nice to see a childish light pop into the corner of his eye as he says the last part. A little more than distracted I only respond with a simple smile that fades faster than it appeared. All I can think about at this point was the two men who obviously didn't belong here.