“You spoke to her.” Ull’s face darkened in rage as he shrugged off his manno’s restraining hand, taking another step towards Ynyr. “You tampered with the Joining Ceremony! You know that breaks the Law!”
“Enough!” The sound of breaking crystal had everyone turning to look at Abby in shock.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Abby couldn’t believe what she was watching and hearing. She had been through so much this day. They all had and she knew they were all still adjusting, but enough was enough. If it hadn’t been for Isis and Lisa, she never would have had the courage to approach Ynyr. They had made her see that if she wanted Ynyr she would have to make the first move if she did want him. So, she had stood in that fish bowl that was the Assembly of Lords and exposed her greatest desire, to belong to Ynyr. She wanted to be his female because he was the only male that seemed to truly care about what she was feeling and had tried to make her feel better and prepare her for what was to come. He had listened to her, something she had learned few Tornian males did.
Now, because he had done the right thing, something that he had known could have consequences, his own brother was attacking him.
Abby was never more thankful that she had not chosen Ull during that Joining Ceremony. If this was how he treated his brother, how would he treat a female?
She was now Ynyr’s Lady and no one… brother… manno…. mother or Emperor talked to him like that, threatened him, not when she was around.
“Enough!” She shouted, sending her glass crashing to the floor before stepping between the two large males. “Just who the hell do you think you are?!!” She demanded jabbing her finger into Ull’s chest.
“I am Warrior…” Ull began, but Abby cut him off.
“I know who you are!” She said dismissively, jabbing him even harder, causing him to wince. “What makes you think you have any right to question Ynyr?!!”
“I…” Ull stood there stunned, he couldn’t believe this little female was speaking to him like this. He was a first male.
“Do you have any idea what we went through because of your damn Joining Ceremony?!!” She demanded. “Did you even once give it a thought, as you stood across that damn Assembly floor looking us over like we were a bunch of cattle, as to what we were feeling?!! You didn’t even care which one of us you got,” she accused. “You only cared that you got one!” Abby hadn’t realized how much rage, how much anger and fear had built up inside her until she had started to speak.
“Did you ever once consider that we were scared?” She demanded. “We were stolen, kidnapped and brought to an alien place so you could ‘Join’. No one asked us if we wanted to go, you just took. No one would talk to us. No one tried to help us. Not even you, Isis.” Abby’s eyes shot to Ynyr’s mother. “You just sat there with every other Tornian female and silently watched as Risa tormented us, as she threatened us and said terrible things to us. You never once tried to help, tried to stop it.”
“No, I didn’t.” Isis whispered, tears of regret filling her eyes.
“Ynyr,” Abby’s blazing eyes returned to Ull, “was the only one who tried to help. He heard me crying in the gardens and through a hedge, talked to me. He tried to reassure me that everything would be okay, that the males chosen were worthy and fit. Never once did he give me his name and I never gave him mine. What was the point? One female is just as good as the next to you Tornians.”
“That’s not true Abby.” Ynyr said, placing a tentative hand on the small of her back.
“Not for you,” Abby said, her eyes swinging up to meet his. “I know that Ynyr, because you are like your parents, but still you didn’t try to stop the ceremony either.” Hurt filled her eyes and she had to blink away her tears. “You would have let another, possibly your own brother claim me if Lisa hadn’t found a way to stop it. Does that make you any better than them?” She asked then turned her eyes to Oryon.
“You stood in that Assembly and even though you voted against sending the Searcher you still presented a male from your House, your first male to be at the Joining Ceremony.” Abby’s eyes dried as she looked at her manno-in-law. “If you had truly believed that what was being done was so wrong, that the abducting of females, that the drugging and brain washing of them was so wrong, then you should never have presented your male.”
Oryon’s eyes widened at her accusation, his mouth moving to argue when he snapped it shut since she spoke a truth. A truth he did not want to hear, but one that he could not refute.
“You were not protected on your Earth.” Ull told her.
“I didn’t need protection until you showed up!” Abby fired back. “I was safe! I was in my third year of college. I was studying to be a teacher. I wanted to teach children. I wanted to be there to help them learn and grow and to have just a small part in helping them reach their dreams. You took that away from me! And that doesn’t even bother you does it Ull.” Abby could see in his eyes that it didn’t. “Because what I want. What I need doesn’t matter to you at all. It’s all about you, about your wants and your needs. Do you really think that makes you a fit and worthy warrior? That it makes you any different than Bertos who wanted to be Emperor and didn’t care what he had to do to get it?”
Ull found himself paling at her accusation.
“Ynyr was the only one who at least tried to do the right thing. Even though it apparently ‘broke’ your Law he did the right thing. He knew it would never benefit him and you want to punish him for it? Shame on you! Shame on all of you.” Abby’s voice broke as she finished.
Abby had never liked to draw attention to herself. She had learned at a young age that if she did bad things happened. Her parents had tried to help her overcome her shyness and her desire to be ‘small’ with their love and unwavering support. And with their help, her confidence had slowly grown and she had been able to overcome that painful part of her life, but there were times, like now, where it would rise back up and all she wanted was to disappear. Suddenly she was surrounded by the warmth and protection of Ynyr’s arms. Turning, she let herself sink into his embrace and cried.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Oryon watched as the brave little female who had claimed his third male seemed to crumble as Ynyr’s arms wrapped around her and then she disappeared into his embrace. She was powerful, for such a little thing. She had stood up to them all and told them they were wrong.
Stood up to him, a Lord.
To Ull, his first male and future Lord.
She even stood up to Ynyr, her chosen male and Lord.
She had even confronted Isis, another female. She had confronted them all and made them face their poor decisions, made them face how it had affected others. It was something none of them had truly done. Oh, they had been outraged at some of the things that happened, but at the heart of it, they were all as guilty as Bertos and Risa had been. It would take time for them to get over that, but for now there was something more to take care of and that was Abby.
“Ynyr, take your Lady to your chamber and calm her. I will deal with the rest.”
Nodding to his manno Ynyr swept Abby up into his arms and with one last angry glare at Ull, carried Abby out of the room and to the resting chamber he had been using since his parents' arrival.
Oryon waited until Ynyr and Abby were gone before turning to his first male.
“What could you have possibly been thinking?!!” He roared at Ull. “To accuse your own brother!”
Ull stiffened before his manno. “Because it is truth!” Ull fired back. “What he did broke the Law! No male was to speak to the females! If not for what he did….”
“What did he do Ull?” Isis’ soft question had both males pausing. “That you see as so wrong? That he was able to calm a female that he never saw or touched? That he stepped aside. Allowing her to go through the Joining Ceremony when he wanted to claim her for himself? Or was it that he tried to make sure that you, his brother, had the chance of obtaining a female? Tell me offspring of mine, just what did h
e do that was so wrong.”
Ull felt the weight of his mother’s words and saw their truth but still his anger would not calm. “There has to be more. She knew who he was. Recognized him. She chose him.”
“And not you.” Isis knew that was what was really bothering him. “You. The first male of Lord Oryon. You. Who has more than proven yourself not only to your manno and Lord, but to the Warriors you will one day rule. You are a fit and worthy male Ull and one day you will rule House Rigel and Betelgeuse. You have worked hard amassing the necessary wealth to attract a female yet not one Earth female chose you. Abby actually refused you twice and that is what you are angry about.”
“No.” Ull began, his mother’s words, making him sound small and spiteful.
“Yes, my offspring.” Isis contradicted him. “It is. Your pride has you lashing out at your brother. I saw you when Ynyr was named Lord. You sat up straighter, were filled with pride that only a brother can have. You knew Ynyr was more than capable of the task assigned to him by the Emperor just as he has always known you would be when it was your time to rule Betelgeuse. All of you compete against each other,” Isis’ eyes traveled over her other two males, “but you have always supported each other, stood together. Now, because Ynyr was the first to be chosen by a female you would withdrawal that support? When he needs you most?”
“She knew who he was.”
“Yes, she did. Are you saying a female shouldn’t know the male she is Joining with?”
“No, but they…”
“Weren’t supposed to… is that right Ull? Is that fair or even what the Law intended?” When Ull didn’t answer, Isis continued. “I will tell you truth Ull, but whether you believe it or not is up to you. I only learned of what had happened between Abby and Ynyr earlier today when we found Abby crying in the garden. She had seen Ynyr earlier in the week when he had gone to meet with King Grim. She recognized his voice but did not know his name. She had planned to return to Luda with the other females and hoped that he would submit his name so they could ‘officially’ meet. She only learned his name when he was named Lord.”
“So that is why she chose him” Ull had known he had been right all along.
“No!” Isis instantly denied. The sharpness of his mother’s tone shocked Ull, she had never spoken to him like that before. “That was why she was crying, because she believed that now she could never claim him.”
“What?” Ull wasn’t the only one looking at her in confusion.
“Abby believed that because Ynyr had been named Lord that he would not have the time for a female, at least not one like her. She believed he would look elsewhere for one that would be brave and strong like the Queen and the Empress.”
Oryon found himself snorting at that. Abby may be lacking in height, but bravery was not something she lacked. She had just stood up to five Tornian warriors and not batted an eye.
“I agree.” Isis said understanding her male’s thoughts perfectly. “But Abby does not see herself that way so she was crying because she thought she had lost Ynyr. I convinced her that any male would willingly accept her. It was only then that she revealed his name.”
“Ynyr did not know?” Vali questioned his dark eyes intense as he listened intently to everything his mother had said.
“No, he did not.” Isis told him. “I had not even told your manno about it. There wasn’t time.”
All eyes turned to Oryon. “Your mother speaks truth. I did not know until the request was made.”
“He still should not have spoken to her.” Ull claimed, but with less anger now.
“As Queen Lisa has said, ‘there are Laws and there is justice’ and sometimes they are two very different things. Would you punish your brother for doing the right thing Ull?”
Ull looked from his mother to his brothers and finally to his manno and saw they all believed Ynyr had done the right thing. Turning, he walked out of the room.
Chapter Three
Ynyr kicked the door shut behind him as he carried the still sobbing Abby across his resting chamber to sit on its lone couch. The room was the one he had only started using since his family had arrived for the Joining Ceremony. Before that, he had rested with the Emperor’s guard on the other side of Tornio, near the female gardens.
His family had arrived the day after he had first spoken to Abby, the day before the original Joining Ceremony would have occurred, if Queen Lisa had been with the group. They had planned to arrive earlier, but a problem with their ship had delayed them.
Had they arrived a day early Ynyr never would have been walking past the garden wall. He never would have heard his Abby crying. That small problem on the Hunter had changed Ynyr’s life and he thanked the Goddess for it because without it he would not be holding his Abby now.
“Please calm hunaja. I vow you are safe. No harm will come to you here.”
Abby struggled to get herself under control. She knew her crying solved nothing. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she pushed back against Ynyr’s chest and looked up at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked.
“Tell you what?” He asked in confusion as he took in her tear-streaked cheeks.
“That talking to me could get you in trouble. What happens if Ull tells the Emperor? Will you be punished?” The questions rolled off Abby’s lips.
“Shhhh, it will be fine Abby,” he told her.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because it is always the female’s choice to whom she will Join with and you have chosen me.” Something Ynyr still found hard to believe. “It was witnessed not only by the Emperor, but by your protector King Grim who gave his permission. There is nothing that anyone else can say now that can change it, only you have that power.”
“Me?” Abby asked, looking up at him confused.
“You can request to be removed from a male’s protection, if you find it lacking. You must claim that, Abby.” He stressed to her. “No male can claim it for you.”
“But Luuken did, with Lisa.”
“Because it was outside the Joining Ceremony.” Ynyr saw she still didn’t understand. “It will be fine Abby, trust me.”
“And Ull?”
Ynyr sighed heavily. “My brother will calm. Right now he is just….”
“Hurt.” Abby finished for him.
“Yes.” Ynyr nodded in agreement. “You have to understand, Abby. Ull is a strong and powerful warrior. Brave. Loyal. Everything a first male should be, especially the first male of a Lord. One day he will rule House Rigel and he will rule well for he truly cares about our people. To be passed over….”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him. None of us did. We just didn’t want to be forced to Join with males we didn’t know.”
“I know this hunaja and he will come to understand that too. It will just take time.”
“What does that mean?”
“What?”
“Hun… hunaja, that’s the second time you’ve called me it.”
“Hunaja?” Ynyr frowned slightly, trying to explain. “It is a very rare substance on my home planet of Betelgeuse.”
“The Hunter’s Planet right?” Abby asked.
“Yes.” A smile broke across Ynyr’s face. “You know about it?”
“It was part of the information in the educators they put on us after we were drugged.” Abby told him and Ynyr lost his smile.
Drugged…
They had drugged these females, had incapacitated them. What could one such as Luuken have done to them when they were in that state? Ynyr’s shame grew.
“Why is it so rare?” Abby prompted softly, not knowing where Ynyr’s thoughts had gone.
“Because it takes many mehilainen to make it.”
“Mehilainen?”
“Yes,” Ynyr paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it. “They are small flying creatures that live only in the most remote areas of Betelgeuse. They gather the nectar from blooming plants and make Hunaja, which they guard fier
cely. When harvested it is a thick, golden, sticky substance that is very sweet and reserved for only the most important of occasions. It is highly sought after… it is the color of your hair.” He said reverently touching the darker strands of her hair, amazed at how silky it was.
“Honey?” Abby asked, frowning at him. “You are talking about honey?”
“I do not know this word.” Ynyr admitted.
“It is something on Earth that is made by bees, little flying creatures.” Abby put a space between her finger and thumb indicating the size and Ynyr nodded his understanding. “It too is sweet and the bees defend it. Some call my darker hair ‘honey blonde’ I just call it brown.” Abby told him touching where his hand still lingered.
“It is beautiful,” Ynyr whispered, his gaze moving over along the streaks before returning to her blue eyes. “It was what first caught my attention when you entered the Assembly. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.”
“But you didn’t know it was me,” Abby whispered.
“I did not and it shamed me that I could find another so desirable when all I wanted was the one I spoke to.”
“But we are one and the same.”
“I know that now.” Carefully, he ran a knuckle along her cheek, searching for the slightest sign that she feared him, instead she pressed her cheek against him. “I searched for you. Did you know that?” He whispered. “I would find the smallest of reasons to go to King Grim’s Chambers and speak to him, hoping to hear your sweet voice.”
“I heard yours,” Abby admitted. “One day when I was walking towards the gardens I heard you. You were talking to Grim. I hid behind a plant.” She gave him a sheepish look.
“Why?” Ynyr asked to find it hurt to think that she would hide from him. “Why did you hide Abby? Do I frighten you?”
“No!” She immediately denied.
“Then it is because you learned who I was… about my family…” Abby didn’t understand the sadness that filled his eyes. “That I am a third male.”