| Chapter 46 Anthony took a drink of his water, glancing around the table. It'd been several minutes and no one had said anything. Each person staring down at the papers in front of them, including Nick. Over the last two weeks the proceedings had been somewhat better, more talking and less arguing. Nick's outburst had made a difference. Both ambassadors seeing they were about to lose the one thing they both wanted. Now they had a new deal on the table. Anthony watched as Nick read over the pages. He admired his cousin in more ways than he could ever say. Nick had come here and stepped into his role like he'd had years of experience. Anthony knew that being king wasn't what Nick wanted, he could see it, but Nick did it anyway. Nick also didn't let tradition get in his way, and Anthony admired that. He was glad Nick was there, bucking the system and shaking things up. That's what this planet needed, someone to ask why. He smiled to himself, thinking of all the times in school he'd asked that question. Why they did things the way they did, and his teachers looking at him, not knowing the answers. Seems noone had bothered to ask why in so long, everyone had forgotten the real reasons things were done. Nick cleared his throat and set the papers on the table, "Gentlemen, you've looked over the deal in front of you. I must say that personally, I don't like it, but my say is not the one that matters here. I want to dismiss for a few days, give you both time to look over it in private and consider it. Call your councils and discuss it with them. I want you to have an answer when we reconvene. If you accept it, fine. If not, I want valid reasons and possible solutions. With that being said, my best friends wedding is tomorrow. You are both invited to the reception, as the wedding will be family and close friends only." Nick stood up, "I hope to see you both there." Tunk nodded, taking his things and leaving the room. Kelah hesitated, wanting to say something but decided against it. He too nodded and left. Anthony looked over at Nick, "Why don't you like it?" "It's to one sided," Nick said, turning to walk out of the room. "My king, may I have a word with you?" Mason asked, coming around the councils table. Nick stopped, Anthony by his side. "In private," Mason said, glancing at Anthony. Nick could see just how much that hurt his cousin. He didn't know why, but Anthony still wanted a father/son relationship with Mason. And each time Mason treated him like a servant crushed the young man. Nick handed Anthony his papers, "Can you take these to my room? Look over them and we can discuss what's wrong with it when I get there." Anthony nodded, taking the papers and leaving the room. Mason gestured towards the round table, and Nick walked over and took a seat, waiting for whatever his uncle had to say. Mason sat down and sighed dramatically, looking at the young man, "Nickolas, you shouldn't have said that." "Said what?" Nick asked. "That you didn't like the deal. That sours it," he replied. "But I don't like it. It's way to one sided," Nick defended. "That is for the ambassadors to decide, not you. You can't be doing this all the time," Mason warned. "Doing what?" Nick asked. "Going against tradition," Mason answered, "You've been doing it since you got here. It's about time someone told you." Nick sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Listen, I don't know what the tradition is here, but if it doesn't suit me, I'm gonna do what does. And not you or anyone else can tell me different." Mason held his hands up, "I'm just trying to help Nickolas. Tradition has been our staple for hundreds of years. It has helped this planet become what it is today. It's something that Frederick upheld to the fullest." Nick glared at Mason when he mentioned his father, but stayed quiet. "I know you are trying, and you are doing a good job," Mason went on, "But consider the ramifications here. Tradition is all this world knows. When you go against it, you throw our society into chaos. We can't allow that." Nick stared at his uncle in shock. The man actually was giving him advice? Ok, who was this man, and what happened to the real Mason? "Thank you for the warning, but I made a promise to the people of this planet that I would rule with my heart. If my heart tells me to do something that's against our traditions, that's what I'm gonna do," Nick said. Mason nodded, "I understand. Is that why you've taken Anthony under your wing? Or do you just feel sorry for him?" Nick looked at the older man, wondering where that came from. "I think Anthony has a lot to offer. He knows the politics around here, and he's a big help. My father saw the same thing in him. I'm just continuing in his steps," he answered. Mason laughed, shaking his head, "Your father," he muttered. "Excuse me?" Nick said, not quite catching what he'd said. Mason shook his head, standing up, "Nothing, sorry to keep you." Nick stood up, studying the man. He knew there was no love lost between him and his brother, but somehow, looking at Mason now, he could tell that the wounds ran deeper than he ever thought. "Mason, what happened?" he asked before he even knew it. Mason looked confused, "What?" "What happened between you and my father?" Nick asked. Mason stared at his nephew for a moment. Here was his opportunity, but somehow he couldn't take it. He shook his head, turning to leave, "I can't talk about it." Nick hurried after him, "Why? What happened?" "Ask your mother," was all he said before he headed down the hall at a brisk pace, leaving Nick even more confused. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marie ran her hands over her dress, looking at herself in the mirror. Ana smiled, walking over to her, "Do you want your hair up or down?" Marie bit her lip, thinking, "Um, I think down. Brian likes it that way." Ana laughed, taking the veil and placing it on Marie's head, "You look absolutely beautiful." Marie grinned, "I can't wait until tomorrow." "I know," Ana said, straightening the lace veil. Marie turned and looked at her friend, seeing tears in her eyes, "Ana, don't." "I can't help it," she said, "I'm so happy for you." Marie sighed, "You and I both know that's not the only reason you're crying." Ana looked down at the floor, closing her eyes against the tears. Marie pulled her into a hug, "Someday, somehow, you guys will work this out. You just have to have faith." Ana nodded, "I know, but ...." "Shhh, no buts," Marie said, smiling at her, "It will happen." Ana nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, "When is your mom and dad getting here?" "In the morning," Marie said, "Dad had some last minute work thing, but they should be here a few hours before the wedding." "That's good," Ana said, looking through the royal jewels the queen let them borrow. "Ohh this is perfect," she said, holding up a stunning necklace. Marie stared at it, "Ana, that's the necklace the queen wore when she got married." Ana looked at it for a moment, "It is, isn't it. Well, it's still perfect." She walked over and put it around Marie's neck, "See." Marie looked at it, a sparkle in her eyes, "It is perfect." Both girls jumped when the door swooshed open and Brian, A.J., and Howie walked in laughing. Ana quickly moved in front of Maire, "Get out!" A.J. and Howie quickly turned Brian around so he couldn't see Marie. "What?" Brian asked, trying to turn back around. "Marie's in her dress," Howie answered, a smile plastered over his face. "She is? I wanna see," Brian said, again trying to look over his shoulder. A.J. put his hand over Brian's eyes and pulled him to the door, "Sorry ladies," he smiled. "But I wanna see...." Brian whined as the door shut. Marie and Ana looked at each other, then burst out laughing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick made it to his room, still confused over his uncles behavior. When he walked in Anthony was at the desk, thumbing through the papers. "So what did dad have to say?" he asked rather sarcastically. Nick kicked his boots off, and plopped down on the bed, "Oh the same ole stuff. You can't do this, you can't do that... it's against tradition, yadda, yadda, yadda." Anthony laughed, turning back to the papers as Nick got up and changed into his jeans and t-shirt. He favored them over any of the �king's' attire. After he was dressed, Nick walked over and pulled up a chair, "So what do you think?" "I think you're right. There's no way they'll agree to this," Anthony replied. Nick nodded, "So why did they suggest it?" Anthony thought for a few minutes, "To stall?" "That's what I think, but why are they stalling? And which one is doing it? Or are they both?" Nick asked. Anthony shrugged, turning in this chair to look out the balcony doors. It was a beautiful day. He stared at the mountains for a moment, thinking. "Which one does this favor?" he asked. "Tunk," Nick said. "So lets look at this from Kelah's point of view then. Why would he put this deal on paper, knowing Tunk was going to reap the benefits?" Anthony asked. Nick shook his head, "I'm not sure. He's the one that was adamant about getting the mines. Unless ....." "Unless what?" Anthony asked. Nick looked at his cousin, "Unless he's the one stalling. Then he comes back and rejects the deal, saying it's not fair, and we end up starting over again. But why?" Anthony thought for a moment, "Nick, do you know what's in the mines? What it is they're after?" "Some minerals, I can't remember which ones," he answered. Anthony sighed, "Let me look into this. See exactly what it is they both want. Maybe that'll shed some light on what's going on." "Alright, how long do you need?" Nick asked. "Shouldn't take to long. I should be done by the time we resume talks," he said, standing up. "OK cuz, knock yourself out," Nick said, smiling. Anthony nodded, grinning, "Don't mind if I do." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LaDonna stood in the banquet hall, looking over the decorations. Everything looked perfect. She wanted the wedding to be something special. Something that Brian and Maire would remember the rest of their lives. She smiled, thinking that she had accomplished that. The palace hadn't seen a wedding since her own, so long ago. She sighed, the memories coming back. She had been so nervous and scared. Things had been so different then. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force the memories back down. There were some things she didn't want to relive, and that memory was one of them. She felt someone come into the room, thinking it was one of the servants. "Everything looks good," she said. "Yes it does," Mason said, startling her. She turned around, staring at him. "Reminds me of your wedding," he said, looking around. "Mason, I ..." she started. He held his hand up, "I didn't come here to fight. I wanted to warn you." "Warn me? Of what?" she asked, as he came closer to her. "Nickolas just asked me what happened between Frederick and I," he said in a hushed tone. LaDonna sucked in a breath, "What? Please Mason, please tell me you didn't say anything." He gently put his hand on her shoulder, facing her, "I didn't. I wanted to so much, but ..... I couldn't. I told him to ask you." LaDonna stared at him in disbelief, "You did?" He nodded, "You can tell him as little or as much as you want. I'll go along with whatever you say." LaDonna stared at him for a moment, shocked. Then she became suspicious, "Why are you doing this?" "Doing what?" he asked. She slipped out from under his touch, "Acting like you care. You haven't cared since ........" "Since I lost you," he finished for her. "I didn't mean it like that," she said. He shook his head, "I don't blame you for being suspicious. If I were you, I would be too. It's just that I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. All this time, the anger and resentment over what happened has ruled my life, to the point that I only exist. I haven't lived for a very long time. And I realized that all it was doing was hurting the one person I loved. I'm sorry Donna. I promise to make it up to you, and to Nickolas." The queen stared at him, speechless. She honestly didn't know what to say, whether to believe he'd changed or not. In that moment he was the person she remembered, the man she loved so long ago. "Please Donna, just give me a chance to prove myself," he asked, staring deep into her eyes. LaDonna turned from his gaze, giving him a slight nod, "Alright. Thank you for the warning." Mason nodded, reaching down and taking her hand in his. She watched as he lifted it to his lips, and gently kissed the back of it, "Whatever you decide to tell him is OK. Thank you for giving me another chance." All she could do was nod as he turned and left the room. She looked at her hand, in shock, wondering what just happened. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian walked into the parlor, "Devon, glad you could come." Devon stood up and smiled, "Thanks for inviting me. So tomorrow is the big day, huh?" Brian nodded, his smile lighting up the room, "Yup, I can't wait!" Devon laughed, as they walked down the hall to the room they were having the party in. "So Marie is doing alright then?" he asked. Brian nodded, "The docs check her everyday." "Everyday? Is something wrong?" Devon asked concerned. "No, they just aren't sure how the baby will develop, since Angels develop much faster than humans. They just wanna keep an eye on her," Brian explained. "That's good, you can't be to careful," Devon said, as they entered the room. He looked around. The room was set up with a table and chairs, and a large white sheet hanging on the wall. "Everyone, this is Devon, Marie's brother," Brian announced. All the guys walked over, shaking hands and introducing themselves. Devon dropped to his knees when Nick walked over. Nick laughed, "Please get up. You're about to become family, so you can dispense with the kneeling." Devon smiled, standing up and nodded, "So what are we doing?" "Pizza and movie night," Brian said. Devon raised his eyebrows, "For a bachelor party?" Brian laughed, "Well, it's about as wild as I wanna get." Everyone laughed as the servants brought out the food. All the guys dug right in. Devon looked at the food for a moment before taking a small bite. "This is pretty good," he noted. Howie grinned, "We had to substitute some ingredients, but it's pretty hard to mess up pizza." The guys ate, joking around and laughing. Despite Devon's best efforts not to, he was having a good time. The group of guys Brian surrounded himself with, seemed like good people, even though they were Earthlings. He sighed, as they all settled down for the movie. He couldn't let himself get emotionally involved, it would screw up everything. But try as he might, Brian was growing on him. They had spent a lot of time together the last few weeks, and as much as Devon wanted to hate him, as he got to know him, he found that becoming harder and harder to do. He looked over at Brian, "What movie is this?" "It's Star Wars, my all time favorite," Brian said. Devon shrugged as the movie started. He glanced around, seeing Nick's body guard sitting behind them all. He seemed very interested in the movie. He panned around to each of the guys, landing on Anthony last. The young man seemed more interested in him than the movie. Devon smiled at him, Anthony nodding. Devon looked back at the screen, still feeling Anthony's eyes on him. There was something about the boys stare he didn't like. Like the kid knew him from somewhere, but couldn't place where. Devon thought back, trying to remember if he'd ever met Anthony. Anthony walked over and sat down next to Devon, "How do you like the movie?" "It's good," Devon said. "Sorry for staring at you, but you look so familiar to me. Have we met before?" Anthony asked. Devon shrugged, "I'm not sure. Do you go to university?" Anthony nodded, "I started last fall." "That's it then. I took a few classes last fall," Devon said. Anthony nodded, "Small world huh?" Devon laughed, "Yeah. Whoa, what is that?" Brian laughed, "That's Darth Vader. He's the bad guy. Well in this one he is, see he was a good guy before, then something happened and he turned bad." Devon grinned, "Sounds like someone I know," he muttered. "... but in the end, he turns good again," Brian finished. Devon nodded, doubting very seriously that would ever happen. Chapter 47 |