It was not quite the ninth period of the very next day, 4th Augur, when Sabra Boon walked into the palace, somewhat earlier than her usual time. There was determination in her steps and she had a mission on her mind. Since the meeting with Prince Viacumb on the 23rd Dolmas, she had been unsettled. It wasn’t just the surprise that was she connected to the royal house of Findus and that they knew it, but it was the connection which that she had never known existed, the one to the Dark Lord, the Ladies, the Palace and the world destroyed by the Dark Lord.

Searches about Ti Lepus made through the usual channels had revealed little that was not common knowledge. Inquiries to the great library of Tihab had not revealed much more. Neither did a search of records in the historical records of the University of Galactic history. Nowhere could she find any mention of Cami sis Nep. Sabra found it very frustrating but she was determined to learn about her ancestry, so if that meant confronting the Dark Lord, then that is what she had to do.

Her pass checked; Sabra went directly to Anis Le Brackels’ office. Arriving, Sabra stepped in. Anis looked up in surprise at the unannounced entrance. Before she could speak, Sabra did.

“I want to see Him.”

Rocked back in her chair by the vehemence with which the bald statement was given, Anis temporised with, “And good morning to you.” While she didn’t know precisely what the cause of Sabra’s mood was, she had heard from the ushers who had been in the room during the princes’ visit that there had been revelations of a private sort. They had declined to say any more, the palace rule of absolute discretion prevailing.

“I want to see Him,” Sabra insisted, “and good morning.” The smile that accompanied the greeting was clearly forced.

Anis stared for a fraction at the newswoman. As Sabra was clearly determined Anis replied slowly. “I don’t know if He will see you, why don’t you go to the room you use and I will see what I can find out.”

Leaving, Sabra stopped and looked back. “There are many things I need to know. Tell Him that. Please.” With that parting statement, she left.

After sitting and reflecting for a fraction, Anis walked the short distance to Garda Karkarts office, already present were Madla and Ferni, the Deputy Steward and the Security Chief. Assistant Steward Lea Cania was still in the galaxy where the war with the Kingdom was winding down.

“Good, take a seat Anis, we were wondering where you were.” Garda briskly got their morning meeting going. “Since you were last here, you can start!”

Anis smiled then relayed in brief her meeting with Sabra. The other three sat stunned at the newswoman’s demand.

“Well this has got the morning of to a great start, and I thought that we might have a quiet day for once, my mistake!” Garda sat back and pondered. “If it was anyone else …” His sentence trailed off. They all had seen that the Dark Lord held Sabra Boon in a special light for some reason.

“I agree Head Steward, I will go to see our Master.”

“If you think so, Anis,” the Head Steward gave his assistant a sympathetic look, “She did come to you.”

With a nod and a roll of her eyes, Anis turned to leave, and almost collided with the Dark Lord who was now occupying the doorway. Surprised, she stepped back against the wall.

“You may relax Miss Brackel, I will collect Miss Boon and we will have our little talk.” The Dark Lord was wearing a smile and appeared, to Garda’s relief, relaxed. “Head Steward, if you have need of me for a matter that is urgent, speak to the Ladies, they will know where to find me.”

“Thank you my Lord.” The Head Steward spoke for the group who were all now standing. Anis in particular, still up against the wall was looking stunned.

Still smiling the Dark Lord left, hands in His pockets in His characteristic way.

*********

In her sparse office, it had no personal touches, Sabra was lounging in her chair with her back to the door, deep in thought. Never before had she felt so disconnected in her life. Her parents back on Findus had given her and her siblings, she had two brothers and a sister, a warm and stable upbringing. Married late in life, as many in the Empire who lived long lives tended to do, her parents were comfortably retired. Both her brothers were working on Findus, one brother in the government and one in the Findus military, an officer on a battleship, she was sure that he had done well. Her sister had gone into business, and was working for a company that specialised in space flight handling both passengers and cargo between the planets of the Findus Kingdom.

With a sigh, still slumped in her chair she wondered if her parents knew about the connections. There had been nothing special in any of their upbringings that would have indicated their royal connection, indeed it was remote and there were many other families with similar connections. No, it was the other link, the one that dated back a thousand years that bothered her. She had thought about making inquiries on Findus but would have had to return there to carry that out and the prospect of having to explain to her family why, daunted her. Especially as it would mean having to reveal the strange relationship she had developed with the palace and its main occupant.

A sound disturbed her, “Yes, who is it?” She muttered.

“There’s nobody here but us chickens,” came in a sing song voice that was horribly familiar. A chuckle followed.

Spinning the chair around almost tipped it over. Sabra had to grab the desk to steady herself and prevent an already undignified exit from the chair from getting worse.

“Sire,” Came somewhat breathlessly.

The Dark Lord stood lounging in the doorway, a slight smile hovered on His pale lips then disappeared. For a fraction they regarded each other, then Sabra shook her head to clear it.

“What did you say?” Sabra continued, startled.

“Not important, come.” With a wave of His hand, He indicated that she was to follow Him.

Together they walked down the corridor to a doorway that Sabra did not remember. As others had, she wondered about the palace and how it seemed to change when the Dark Lord and the Ladies of the Circle needed it to. At the door they stopped, the Dark Lord turning to the newswoman and examining her closely at her for a space.

“Are you certain that you want to do this?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“It’s not what I want, it’s what I need to do. To know.” At Sabra’s answer, the Dark Lord nodded and turned to the door,

“We step through together,” He said.

*********

Sabra found herself on a strange world, disoriented, she looked around finding a rustic wooden building behind her, its door standing open with windows on each side staring sightlessly out. A green lawn spread itself in front of her leading to a slope that ended in a cheerfully bubbling brook running into a nearby forest. Tall trees of a type Sabra did not recognise waved their branches softly in a gentle breeze. The blue sky showed scattered clouds flirting with a warm sun.

Insect’s whirled and birds flitted backwards and forwards chasing them. The breeze rustled leaves in the forest and flowers on nearby shrubs, bringing the pleasant sound to Sabra’s ears and moving the sparse clouds in the sky. To either side of the valley the cottage was standing in, grey mountains topped with traces of snow and covered with the green forest on their flanks, loomed.

Spinning around, Sabra tried to take it all in. “Where are we?” She asked breathlessly.

“A planet as yet undiscovered by the empire and anyone else,” The Dark Lord answered, “I come here to refresh myself from time to time.”

A thought occurred to Sabra. “Is this Tantalus?” She asked, an icicle of fear forming inside her. All the stories that she had heard about Tantalus finished with the warning that anyone who went there, stayed forever. Legends perhaps but Sabra knew that many such stories held a grain of truth in their depths.

“It is good, when I leave, you will leave with me.” He laughed as another look crossed Sabra’s face. “Your expression said it all!” He looked towards the forest. “Ah good, those I asked for are here.”

Again surprised, Sabra looked in the same direction. A man and a women were walking towards them from the forest. The woman she recognised, it was Lady Sydney. The man was a stranger yet he seemed oddly familiar. Like Lady Sydney and all the other Ladies Sabra had met, the man seemed both young and old. A crackling sound drew her attention back to the Dark Lord, turning around she saw that He had started a fire in a well-established fire pit.

“We will eat before returning you to Tihab. Steak at least, barbequed the old fashioned way!” It seemed to Sabra that the Dark Lord was more relaxed then she had ever seen him before. A sound from behind diverted her attention, a beautiful, blonde haired woman with a checkered top and tight blue pants of a design Sabra didn’t know, was bringing two chairs out of the hut.

“Let me help you, Jura.” The Dark Lord moved to assist the woman.

“I have it,” Jura replied with a smile. She opened one of the folding chairs and motioned to Sabra to sit. Wordlessly, Sabra sank into the chair. Jura? Once a prominent member of the circle she had not been seen or heard of for several thousand years. The Dark Lord had brought out more chairs and was busily setting them up. At the same time, He was having an animated conversation with Jura. Sabra listened, equally fascinated by the discussion and Juras strange accent.

“I’ll do it, you’ll just burn the steaks!” Jura snorted.

“Nonsense, I have the touch!” The Dark Lord insisted, “in any case, this is a men’s job.”

This was met with derision and the comment that if that was true, they all would have starved to death a long time ago. “Now leave me to get on with this and I will get the vegetables going!” Then, as the Dark Lord walked away she added in a loud voice, “And what’s with giving away my sword?”

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Protesting as He retreated that presenting the sword hadn’t been his idea and for the time being apparently defeated, the Dark Lord walked to where the pair were now close by.

Sabras watched in some shock as the Dark Lord greeted Lady Sydney with a kiss on the cheek and the man with a handshake that turned into a hug. The three exchanged a few words but they were too far away for Sabra to hear what was said. A glance at Jura showed that she was concentrating on her job at the fire pit. Her instincts as a reporter rose out of the clouds of confusion that was her brain and she opened her mouth to ask a question of Jura. A voice interrupted her.

“Indeed amazing, a remarkable resemblance.” The slim young/old man was gazing at Sabra. “You are right Syd, she has a lot of Cami in her.” The three had now arrived at the cabin.

“Indeed, remarkable.” The Dark Lord murmured.

“I never saw it until she went almost nose to nose with you.” Sydney was standing arms akimbo. To Sabras surprise, Lady Sydney had not taken offence at the shortening of her name.

“You both knew Cami sis Nep?” The obvious question left Sabras lips.

“They did, Sydney was one of those who helped to treat the mental trauma that Cami had suffered while Nathan was working in the Legion and was in the right place to see in review what had happened.” The Dark Lord replied, “Of course we couldn’t let on who he really was. So to everyone else, he was Captain Rickard Dule, at the time adjutant of 3rd Battalion, then transferred to General Major Dennus of Hosta, who I called on to be the guardian of the ambassadors I sent to Ti Lepus.”

Getting up of her chair, Sabra took several steps away, stopped then turned and walked back. She sat, took a deep breath and then turned facing the three now sitting with her. Watching from the fire pit, Jura’s face held a sympathetic look.

“You are telling me all this? What do you expect me to do with it?” Sabra realised that she had spoken with more anger than she had ever done before.

“I cannot from my own experience answer all your questions. I minimised all my contacts with Cami sis Nep for several reasons. One being that she was terrified of me as all the young women rescued were, also some of the men. Sydney and Nathan had the most contact with her story and are best able to answer most of your questions. I leave you in their hands.” The Dark Lord stood, took a couple of steps away, then stopped and turned.

“One thing, I ask that you say nothing of what you have learned and will learn here.”

“Will there be a consequence if I don’t and what sacred object do I have to swear on to satisfy you?” Sabra was feeling rather put out at all the shocks that she had been getting lately. She also was surprised when she heard the off handed comment regarding the young women rescued. Who were they and what happened to them? She wondered.

“Your word will suffice.” Was the brief response.

There was silence as the four waited for Sabra.

The struggle was obvious but her thirst for knowledge was almost a drug. Having learnt so much, she now needed to know the rest. “I will say nothing.” The Dark Lord nodded without a smile and walked over to where the fire was turning to hot coals. He sat and, as Sabra watched, picked up a stick and poked at the fire.

“Where are the steaks?” He called.

Shaking her head as she returned to her chair, Sabra looked at Lady Sydney and Nathan. She suddenly realised something. Looking at Nathan, she saw the blue eyes, the dark brown hair and the friendly face and knew now why he had seemed familiar. In her research she had found an image of Captain Rickard Dule, taken when he was promoted for his service in the crisis. “What do I call you?” She said to him.

“Call me Nathan.” He replied with a smile. “It’s my name.”

“Oh, I don’t think that I could do that!” Sabra replied, opening her eyes wide at the suggestion. “I could never call Lady Sydney by her name.”

They both laughed “I call her Syd,” Nathan chuckled, “and she calls me Nate!”

Taking a breath, Sabra decided to plug on and find out what she could. “Was it planed? That you were with General Dennus when he was called to the palace?”

“No, it was one of those coincidences that happen. I was actually looking forward to action with the battalion. The summons was a surprise, however the call to be his adjutant was no surprise.”

“I know that there was an attack but I don’t know why or how.” Sabra asked. Nathan nodded.

“I will tell you what I can. Please understand that I wasn’t there but in Tihab when it occurred. I do not have the powers that le seigneur noir has, none of the rest of us do.” Nathan glanced at Sydney, than continued. “I learned much from Cami as well as others, and I did review the recording of the attack but there are gaps.”

Although confused by the name given to the Dark Lord, Sabra decided to just listen and asked for Nathan to continue, silently noting that Nathan had referred to ‘the rest of us’ and wondering what that meant. She also wondered about Nathan, never had there been any record of men with the powers that the Ladies or the Dark Lord exhibited. Who, where and why were these other men like Nathan hiding, Sabra wondered?

Nathan recited the sad story of Ti Lepus, it’s collision with the Dark Lord. He explained about the club where Cami was when Cheaine Dressler found her. About her living with the Dressilers when the murderous attack took place and much of what happened after.

“Cami was really scared, it took a considerable effort for her just to stay in the palace and when she learned what she had to do, that was another shock for her to absorb.” He sighed, “I never saw her after that. She stayed at the palace for some time, but Syd call tell you more about that.”

Turning to Sydney who had sat quietly through his tale, Nathan handed over to her. “Your turn in the ring now Syd!”

Lady Sydney laughed, “You are quite the storyteller, Nate. You have left me with a big task! How can I compare with you?”

About to respond, Nathan was interrupted by Jura, carrying a bowl of steaming vegetables. Behind her was that Dark Lord with plates, serving utensils and cutlery.

“Food is ready.” Jura called, “Take plenty, we have lots,” she told Sabra as the Dark Lord passed out plates.

Dubiously, Sabra accepted her plate which Jura loaded high with assorted greens and other vegetables. “I am not sure that I can eat all this.” She protested.

“Nonsense,” Jura countered, placing a jar of clear water on a low table that had been produced from somewhere. The four of them ate while the Dark Lord tended the meat. All sorts of questions were swirling in Sabras head about the relationship between the Ladies, Jura and the Dark Lord. Jura had been one of the more prominent Ladies in the Circle. Yet she was here and obviously happy about it. And what about Nathan, a man who had referred to us when speaking of the powers the Dark Lord possessed?

She looked over at the Dark Lord who was happily turning the steaks over as they cooked.

“We never tell Him, but He does a pretty good job cooking those steaks!” Jura leaned over and confided to Sabra. “Don’t want to give Him a swelled head!”

“No.” Sabra felt safe in replying. She took some more bites of the vegetables and was about to ask a question of Jura when the Dark Lord dropped a large and still sizzling steak onto her plate. Dazed she stared at the largest cut of meat she had ever seen in her life and watched as similar cuts were distributed around the small group.

“You expect me to eat all this?” Sabra already felt rather full.

“Eat as much as you wish to. I will not feel insulted if you don’t finish it.” The Dark Lord smiled. Sabra did her best but was overwhelmed by the size of the meal.

Eating done, Jura and the Dark Lord cleared away the debris and took the plates to the brook to clean them. Sabra started when Lady Sydney spoke. She had been running through her mind everything that she had seen and heard up till now.

“I was in the palace when Cami and her contract family were attacked.” Sydney began. “And where Nathan and the rest were assembled for the trip to Ti Lepus.”

“I resent being called ‘the rest’” Nathan interrupted.

“Hush,” Sydney shot back, “you were just one of the group. Now let me go on or we will be here all night!”

“Probably will be anyway!” Nathan muttered.

Ignoring him, Sydney explained about meeting the group in the palace and Cami having her memories repaired. How she was treated and nursed back to health by Nurse Carli Janist with help from the Ladies of the Circle. Then, after a few weeks, she was transferred to the center where the rest were being prepared for their integration into the empire.

“I never saw her after that, it would not have been possible and it was best for Cami that she be treated just like the rest of those who had escaped.” Lady Sydney gave a sad smile, “We have learned with pain that it is better that we keep our interactions with the rest of the empire’s citizens limited as much as possible.”

Nathan stirred and seemed to be about to say something but Lady Sydney shot him a look and he subsided.

They sat in silence for a little time, then Lady Sydney spoke. “Have we answered your questions?” There was a note of concern in her voice.

After a fractions hesitation, Sabra replied. “I don’t know, just meeting you here like this has… I’m not sure how to say it.” Sabra stopped for a fraction. “I glad I did it, I feel more grounded now.” She laughed, a real laugh. “I never thought much about my ancestors before. Mum and Dad didn’t say much but if I was surprised that the Royal House was keeping tabs on us, I was shocked when I learned about Cami and the connection to … the palace.”

“And you will keep that connection. Come, it is time for us to return and you have much to think about. Jura, Nathan, it is a pleasure to see both of you again.” The Dark Lord was smiling, but again Sabra sensed the control he held. “Sabra, if you need to speak to me again, and I think that you will, you only need to ask.”

Sabra gave a weak smile. “I will but I need to think things over first.” She got sympathetic looks from Sydney, Jura and Nathan. “Thank you for everything.” She said to them all.

“It is time,” the Dark Lord spoke, “Sydney, will you come with us?”

“I would like to speak with Jura, if you don’t mind.” The words were innocuous enough, but Sabra felt that there was more behind the words then was on the surface.

The Dark Lord smiled. “Of course you do.” He turned to Sabra, and said, “Come, we will return to the palace where you will find all unchanged.”

With one last look, Sabra followed the Dark Lord back to Tihab. Sydney, Jura and Nathan watched them leave.

Sydney had a frown on her face, “I am worried.” She didn’t need to say about whom.

“So am I. I haven’t seen Him so involved for a really long time. I hope that she doesn’t do something to hurt Him, that would be a disaster!” Nathan shuddered and so did Sydney.

Jura smiled. “Do you know who we talked about while you two were spinning your tales of such woe?” Jura then answered her own question. “Phil!” She snickered. “Of course I inquired, in a careful and courteous fashion of course!” That last was met with friendly derision.

Ignoring the responses of the other two, Jura continued. “He is agonising over Phil. I don’t know what He intends to do, but it is going to be bad, for Phil anyway.” She was quiet for a fraction, then continued. “I think that He wants some of us there, I don’t know how many of us or when it’s going to happen or where. He told me that He is waiting for the Kingdom to settle down somewhat more first, then we’ll know.” Jura ended with a shrug, then smiled. “I think that He is happy to have Sabra as a distraction; a relief and a distraction from what is really troubling Him!”

Nathan looked thoughtful but Sydney was not surprised. She had discussed this already quite thoroughly with other Ladies of the Circle. She had something else on her mind.

“Are you still happy with your decision, dear Jura, sister?” Sydney’s expressive face showed her concern.

“Quite happy moy milyy drug, quite happy/” The smile that Jura’s face held spoke of contentment. “You know, He, and others drop in once in a while and I go to stay with some in the south during winter.” The smile grew. “I always take gifts!”

The three laughed. After giving each other a hug, the two left, going their separate ways and Jura turned to her cottage. A small smile of remembrance played on her face which vanished as her eyes turned to the darkening sky.