Jacinda's Challenge (Imperial 3)

  "This is absolutely amazing, Brett."

  "Really?" He looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "You like it?"

  "Oh, yes. Do your mom and dad know you can draw like this?"

  Brett just shrugged his shoulders. "I used to do it a lot in the bunker. The dust always seemed to get in, so I'd use whatever was on hand and draw something. Usually something from one of the books we had, but sometimes I'd draw Mom or Dad. They'd last for a while, but then more dust would get in and cover it. I'd just do another one. They seemed to make Mom happy."

  "I'm sure they did." Her gaze went to his bag. "Do you have more?"

  "You want to see my other drawings?"

  "If you are willing to show them to me. It's up to you."

  Slowly, Brett reached into his bag and pulled out a thick tablet, running his hand over its cover. "Tori gave me this when she discovered I liked to draw. She told me I didn't have to worry about them disappearing, that I could draw whatever I wanted and I could always have more paper. She also gave me 'pencils'. Did you know they come in different colors?"

  Jacinda had to force back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes at this young boy’s pure astonishment that a simple pencil could come in colors. "I actually did. Have you used them much?"

  "Not much. I thought I should save them and only use them when really necessary."

  "Brett."

  "Yeah."

  "On Carina, colored pencils are like paper. You can get more."

  "Honest?"

  "Honest, so if you want to 'color' something in you can."

  "Okay."

  Slowly, Brett opened the tablet and began to show her his work. There were landscapes, black and white of course, but most of the tablet was filled with drawings of his life since arriving on Carina. Drawings of Cassandra and William, with their heads close as if they were discussing something. Of his parents holding hands. Of his newly discovered cousins, each doing something she knew they shouldn't be. There were guards and flowers, and what she knew were statues. There was even one of Fudge Torta. It was as if everything he saw he had to put down on paper and he did it beautifully.

  Brett said nothing as he closed the tablet and she knew he was waiting for her to tell him she hated what he had poured his heart into.

  "Brett, I told you how terrible I was at drawing."

  "I understand." His chin dropped to his chest.

  Jacinda put a gentle but firm finger under his chin and raised it until he looked her in the eye.

  "You don't. What I'm saying is that just because I can't draw and create anything as amazing as what you have here, it doesn't mean I can't recognize beauty and talent when I see it. What you've drawn here is beyond amazing and you are only nine. You may not like what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it."

  "What?" Brett asked in a scared little voice.

  "You will never go to the Academy."

  "But..."

  "You, Brett Chamberlain, are meant for the Art Academy at Montreux."

  "What? What's that?"

  "It's a very important school, your sister Tori graduated from there. They only take the very best in that field of study."

  "But I could never do what Tori does."

  "You don't have to, all you have to do is what you do."

  "What's that?"

  "Draw, Brett." She carefully took the tablet from his small hands and opened it to its first page, the landscape that she somehow knew was his first glimpse of the new world he had been brought to. "Let them see the beauty of this world through your eyes. Color our world, Brett, and it will never be the same."

  "Do you really think I can?"

  "I really do, and if your Grandpa Jacob were here, he'd tell you that too."

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  "What do you mean you didn't escort her to our Wing?!!" Jotham demanded of his guards.

  "Majesty, she never left the Queen's Wing." One of his guards told him.

  "You're telling me she never came out these doors?"

  "No, Majesty."

  Jotham looked to Cassandra's guards and they nodded that she hadn't passed them. "Stay here!" he ordered. "Notify me immediately if she passes."

  "Yes, Majesty." All the guards nodded.

  Jotham's mind was racing. Where could she have gone? He knew she was upset, but Jacinda wouldn't try to circumvent Royal Guards. She knew better.

  A slight breeze caused a curtain to billow inward and Jotham realized behind it was the door that led to the Queen's Garden. Knowing that's where she would have gone, he followed.

  Jotham let his instincts and the Carina moon guide him and found he was outside the Memory Garden. He was about to enter when he heard a voice, a very young voice.

  Jotham unashamedly eavesdropped as Brett and Jacinda spoke. He shared her anger at how the teacher was treating Brett, and he would bring it up to Will. His heart also ached for the little boy trying so hard to be like his father. Jotham remembered doing the same thing. Gaining his father's attention and acknowledgement had been a driving force in his young life. It was only after he went to the Academy that he'd begun to find his own path, starting with Lata. But still, that desire had been in him, it had driven him to prove himself in the Academy, in the Coalition, and to the Assembly. He had no doubt his father would frown on his relationship with Jacinda, just as he had with Lata. It made him smile because he knew it meant it was right.

  Hearing Jacinda's reaction to the drawings made him want to see them for himself. He’d heard Jacinda give out 'polite' truths before, you couldn't be in politics without knowing how to give them, but all he heard in Jacinda's voice was awe and sincerity. No matter what Jacinda had said about not being able to draw, he knew she had an amazing eye for style and beauty. If she thought Brett belonged in Montreux, then he must. He may be just as big a prodigy as Victoria had been.

  Hearing the crunch of gravel along the path, Jotham turned to find Peter walking toward him and he headed down the path so they could speak without being overheard.

  "What are you doing here, Jotham?" Peter asked frowning.

  "I was searching for Jacinda. It seems she decided to take a walk before returning to our Wing."

  "I was looking for Brett. He likes to come out here before bed."

  "They found each other in the Memory Garden."

  "Really." Peter crossed his arms over his chest. "So why are we standing here talking instead of in the Memory Garden?"

  "You know, I never met your father, but from what Tori and Cassandra have told me he was truly an amazing man."

  "He was."

  "He served in your military too, I understand."

  "Yes."

  "And that had an influence on you. After all, every little boy wants to do what their father does. To connect with him on that level."

  "I suppose so, yes." Peter frowned at Jotham. "Where are you going with this?"

  "You were very successful, emulating your father, and those skills are sought after here."

  "Yes."

  "Yet you never would have qualified for the Academy here. You don’t meet the minimum height requirement."

  "I realize that."

  "Brett doesn't."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I took a page from your daughter's book and accidentally overheard Jacinda and Brett talking."

  "You mean you blatantly eavesdropped." Peter openly acknowledged he knew of his daughter’s habit.

  "Yes, and Brett thinks he has to get into the Academy, not only because you and your father served, but because all his cousins will be going."

  "Shit!" Peter swore softly. "I just want my son to be healthy and happy. I could care less if he follows in my footsteps."

  "I'm glad to hear that because from what I heard I believe your son is going to be more like Cyndy than you."

  "Like Cyndy? You mean a singer?"

  "No, but an artist just the same. He has been showing Jacinda the drawings he's done."

  "Tori got him that tab
let. He takes it with him everywhere. The look of awe on his face, when she told him his drawings wouldn't 'disappear' anymore, is something I'll never forget."

  "Jacinda was truly impressed with his work, something hard to do because she has a discriminating eye. She even mentioned Montreux."

  "The school Tori graduated from?"

  "Yes."

  "Brett doesn't want to be a doctor, Jotham."

  "Of course not, but Montreux is the premier art school on the planet. If Brett's as good as Jacinda thinks he is, then that's where he needs to go."

  "We've got years... cycles before we have to worry about that."

  "Not if he's a prodigy like his sister is, like his mother is." Jotham started to chuckle. "I don't envy you, Peter. Here you are the most sought after security trainer on the planet, already a legend. Yet your wife and two children are going to overshadow you. Some men might have a problem with that."

  "Some might," Peter agreed. "But not me."

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Jacinda silently walked beside Jotham as Deffand and the other guards escorted them to the Royal Wing. She and Brett had left the Memory Garden and found Jotham and Peter talking further up the path. After a few words, Peter had taken Brett's hand and led him away. Jotham had taken her arm and done the same.

  Now they entered the Royal Wing and the guards fell away except for Deffand.

  "Majesty, your request has been taken care of. It will be here by morning."

  "Thank you, Deffand. Go get some rest. We are secure here."

  "Majesty?"

  "The guards have been doubled patrolling the walls and they have been made aware of Jacinda's status. You haven't taken a break since we've arrived. Go. Rest. Or you're no good to me."

  "Yes, Majesty." He gave Jotham a stiff bow. "Madame Michelakakis." He gave Jacinda another one, then turning on his heel, he left.

  "My status?" Jacinda asked raising her eyebrow.

  "That of being a Royal."

  "I'm not a Royal, Jotham," she corrected him.

  "You are." He ran a light finger over her birthmark, hidden under the bodice of her dress. "Because of this and because you are with me."

  "I've had the birthmark my entire life. It means nothing, and Royal companions are never considered Royal."

  "You are more than a 'companion,' Jacinda and you know it. I love you."

  "I know." She put a gentle hand on his cheek before stepping away. "But that still doesn't change my status, Jotham."

  "It does if I say it does."

  "Jotham, there are things that even you can't just decree."

  "That may be, but when it comes to your protection I can." Jotham held up his hand. "We can argue about what you will accept at home once we return there. But here, you are with me, and you will be protected as a Royal because you are that important to me."

  Jacinda opened her mouth to argue, but Jotham put a finger across her lips, silencing her.

  "I owe you an apology," he continued.

  "You owe me nothing, Jotham."

  "I do," he gave her a sad smile. "I have no excuse for why I didn't tell you about the birthmarks except for the fact that I have kept my own counsel for so long that I forget I no longer have to."

  "You are the King, Jotham. Of course, you are going to keep your own counsel.

  "Did Stephan?"

  "That was different."

  "How? Stephan did important work. He affected lives. Are you going to tell me he never asked you your opinion? Your counsel?"

  Jacinda remained silent, knowing she'd be lying if she denied it.

  "You trusted me with your secret, Jacinda." Again, he touched her hidden birthmark. "Yet I've trusted you with none of mine."

  "My birthmark has never been an issue before, Jotham. I was eighteen before it ever even appeared. It was so light that I never even worried about someone noticing it. It's only been in the last few cycles that it has darkened to the point that I make an effort to conceal it."

  "It's darkening?" Jotham frowned.

  "Yes."

  Jotham shook his head, it was something to consider but not right now, right now he had more important things to discuss.

  "You have always been honest with me, Jacinda. Sometimes brutally so, but I haven't done the same with you. There are things about me you don't know. Things that I've done that I'm not proud of. Lies I have allowed because they benefited me. I would like to tell you about them. If you would allow me to. They might change the way you feel about me and I couldn't fault you if they did. But I want a real relationship with you. One where we share... everything. The triumphs and the defeats, the beautiful and the horrible. I want it all. With you."

  "I can't imagine anything you could tell me that would change my feelings for you, Jotham, but I agree, we can't have a real relationship if we're not honest with one another."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "I need to start by telling you about Rani." Jotham looked at her as she sat facing him on the couch he led her to. "I know it was... surprising to many."

  "Shocking is more like it." Jacinda wouldn't lie to him, not if they were going to build a relationship. "No one even suspected you were involved."

  "That's because we weren't."

  "Excuse me?"

  "We weren't involved. Not in any way, shape, or form."

  "But, I don't understand. She had your son, Jotham!"

  "I know, and I can't explain how it happened." Jotham surged to his feet, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I mean I know 'how' it happened, but I don't 'remember' it happening. I was blind drunk."

  "What? You don't remember?"

  "No." Jotham took a deep breath and forced himself to reveal to the woman he loved, how he created a child with a woman he barely knew.

  "Rani and I had met several times in my office to discuss a program she was trying to start for the orphans of Coalition members."

  "There was already a program for that," Jacinda informed him. She had sat on the committee herself.

  "Yes, but Rani wanted to expand it."

  "I see." But she didn't.

  "It started storming during one of our meetings and I couldn't, in good conscience, send her out into it. So I invited her to join me for a last meal."

  "I'm sure she jumped all over that." Jacinda couldn't stop herself from spitting out the words. While she hadn't personally known Rani before she had conceived Dadrian, her sister Palma had and Palma hated her. A telling statement for her normally kind-hearted sister. Rani had been in Lata and Palma's class at the Academy. She had tried to get Palma to change room assignments as soon as they'd arrived at the Academy. Stating that the daughter of an Assemblyman shouldn't be forced to room with a commoner. It didn't matter that Rani’s family could be considered 'common' as her father only worked for an Assemblyman, but somewhere in the distant past she claimed a 'Royal' ancestor.

  "She accepted and we moved our meeting to my private rooms."

  "You took her into your bed chamber?" Jacinda felt slightly sick at the thought that Rani had once been in the same bed she had.

  "No! Of course not. We ate in the outer chamber." Jotham forced himself not to pace. He needed to face this. "I really don't remember much after that. I drank so much wine that the next day Chesney had to remind me that I called him from my private office comm to schedule a meeting for the next day."

  "Wait! What?" Jacinda's fingers dug into the fabric of the couch. "You left the room?"

  "I must have, but I don't remember it. All I remember is waking up on the couch with a terrible headache."

  "So why do you believe you drank too much wine?" Jacinda demanded.

  "Because the bottle was empty and I had a hangover."

  Jacinda's mind was flying. That wasn't like Jotham, not even in those terrible cycles immediately following Lata's death. He never over-drank.

  "You had the wine tested. Right?" she challenged.

  Her words had Jotham frowning at her. "There was no wine to t
est. I told you. The bottle was empty. Rani told me what happened later. I drank too much wine and things... got out of hand."

  "She claimed you attacked her?"

  "No. She said it was consensual. I apologized and we both agreed to never discuss it again."

  "At least not until Rani ended up pregnant. At least tell me you checked to make sure Dadrian was yours."

  "Of course I did! Dadrian was mine."

  "Alright."

  "Rani was just as upset about it as I was, Jacinda."

  "Oh, I'm sure she was." Jacinda's tone was filled with scorn and disbelief. She remembered how smug Rani had been every time Jacinda had seen her after it had been announced. She lost that look when Jotham refused to make her his Queen.

  "Why don't you believe she was?" Jotham frowned.

  "Because you never drink so much wine that you black out, Jotham. The only possible way that could ever happen is if the wine was drugged."

  "What!!?" Jotham's eyes widened at her in shock.

  "Think about it, Jotham," she leaned forward on the couch, her elbows resting on her knees as she spoke. "You left Rani alone with the wine, that you remember. You remember nothing after you returned. You woke up with a terrible headache. If I told you that had happened to Will, what would your first reaction be?"

  "That he'd been drugged..." Jotham whispered.

  "Yes."

  "But why? Why would she do it?"

  "Because she believed if she were to conceive your child, you would be forced to make her your Queen. Something she'd been promised by..." Jacinda trailed off.

  "Finish," Jotham ordered.

  "She was promised by your mother that she was her choice for your bride since she had a 'royal' ancestor somewhere."

  "Rani told you this?"

  "Me?" Jacinda scoffed in disbelief. "No. Palma. When she tried to get her to help break the two of you up."

  "My mother supported her." Jotham was shocked.

  "Especially after you left for the Coalition. Without you there to witness it, Rani upped her attacks on Lata." Jacinda tipped her head slightly to the side. "You never noticed how Rani wasn't allowed in the Palace when Lata was alive?"