“Is the King sure he’ll have enough protection?” Reigndale asked.

            “I think there’ll be enough men to watch over him and the other Federation members.”

            “King agrees?” Helshred’s voice always sounded like a gravelly growl, low and coarse, “He thinks murder?” He slightly fidgeted two sets of his blades together to make a low scraping noise. This was the thing he did that disturbed people the most. Falconer figured it was because of his head injury. A long light red scar decorated the right side of the Teri-Moor’s head to evidence the idea.

            “I think so,” Falconer responded.

            “When do we go?” Reigndale asked, always ready to be on the move and active.

            “Soon. We will leave on the King’s word, but he already called for the meeting. Is Shira in the Princess’s room?”

With a nod from the soldier, Falconer went into the room. Shira served as the House Mother whose job it was to simply care for any royal children. When news broke of the Queen’s pregnancy, much excitement spread through the castle and the staff. The news had long been awaited with great suspense. Shira was especially pleased. She inherited her position and feared there wouldn’t be any children before she would have to pass on the mantle to her own child or some successor. She sat beside the crib with a small cloth in her hand. Falconer thought he caught glimpse of a tear, but he knew Shira’s pride. He dare not mention it. The Queen’s death hit everyone hard. Shira looked up, smiled at him and put a finger to her lips.

            “How are you doing?” he asked quietly.

            “I’m alright,” she said sitting up straight. She was a stocky woman but certainly not unpleasant to look at. She kept her long golden brown hair tied back from her round friendly face. Her eyes always seemed to smile, even in spite of sorrow.

            “We are going on an outing,” Falconer explained the King’s order.

            “But we are due for the naming ceremony,” she protested, “His Majesty must give her a name.”

            “None the less, we have our orders. Perhaps we will see to it when we return.”

            “Oh I hope so. I will gather some things. You tell me when it’s time.” She moved around the room collecting pieces of clothing and odd bits of baby supplies that Falconer didn’t understand. He left her to it and went back into the hall.

“Helshred, before we go, I want you to patrol the grounds and make sure everything looks secure. Nothing out of hand.”

            “Nothing out of hand,” Helshred repeated, staring at his reflection in the metal blades.

            “And I’ll want you to check over the airship before anyone gets on board,” he said to Reigndale who nodded sharply in response.  Falconer decided to go to the landing zone where the Federation shuttles would arrive. He wanted to see who came before leaving with the Princess. Even with all the extra guard on the King, he could not shake his sense of duty. He would take the time to make sure all appeared as it was supposed to be.

At the landing zone he and Sersi watched the shuttles land with fiery roars. The broad plateau used for this lay high above the castle on the mountain side. The mountain itself still reached far above where watch towers looked out over the open sky. The leaders of each planet in their solar system, called Kael, formed the Federation. They unified in trade and decisions affecting each of their governments and people. The peace wasn’t always perfect, but it was consistent. They had a stable alliance and didn’t interfere with each other. The other planets used far more technology than Chyssia and sometimes considered them “behind”. An impression always dismissed by King Stymus. He knew the other worlds didn’t have the rich metal and mineral deposits like his world. Many of which were required for the other worlds technology to work it’s best. He rejected excessive use of technology, believing it would bring about only chaos.

            Falconer watched each of the five leaders exit their crafts and counted their security details. Three men and two women made up the group and each were allowed no more than two staff with them when visiting another world. One person could be an assistant and double as security, the other a bodyguard. No weapons were allowed.

            The Duke of Amnath ruled the world with the most military force. He wore a blue uniform covered with medals and decorations. The Duke’s chiseled and muscular features made him appear intimidating, but he had a friendly smile and hearty laugh. He could often break the ice of any occasion. His star fleets patrolled and protected the other planets and space routes. Amnath was the only space military of the Federation. He had one assistant with him, carrying a notebook.

            Queen Margel ruled Geskut with fairness and grace. She carried herself with pride always and generally came up with peaceful resolutions where no one else thought there could be one. She served well as the voice of reason. Her slender beauty only enhanced the effect. It was often said that her smile could pacify the rage of any beast. One of her own guard captains was with her.

Madame Yhulla governed Oqowa. She demonstrated the opposite of Queen Margel in many ways. She was obese, grim and held little regard the feelings of others. If it weren’t for being outvoted on most occasions, the Federation would suffer many and impasse in decisions. Her way of ruling made her a borderline dictator, and she knew it. To most things she responded with only a huff or a snort of some kind. It was seldom that she said more than a few words to anything, unless she disagreed. Her servant stumbled after her with an armload of papers and books. He was always following with such things, though he never seemed to be called upon for them.

            Lord Nofu ruled Umseth as the oldest and likely wisest of them all. He often said every one of his wrinkles carried with it a story and a lesson. He had many of those stories ready to tell at any time. Often enough he would annoy Yhulla with what she called ‘a waste of time’. He always wore bright white clothing to represent the light of truth. Lord Nofu was the only person who had hair was as white as Falconer’s. A young woman came with him as an assistant.

Lord Vyrnon ruled Xaltia, the furthest planet from their sun. For a man from such a cold place, he always had a warm demeanor. His dashing smile and debonair poise could also be very disarming. Some thought, perhaps he was too friendly. He always came wearing a mountain of furs that he had to shed in layers. Lord Vyrnon was the youngest of the Federation leaders and something of a novice in political affairs. His assistant seemed only to serve in holding clothing.

            The King was there and they all paused to smile and greet each other. Well, Yhulla didn’t smile or greet anyone past the usual nod or snorting noise. Once all had been gathered, they made their way into the palace.

            Seeing them all arrive and noting nothing that seemed amiss, Falconer left them all to their business and headed for the royal airship. Sersi flew off to check the watch towers. He didn’t see the Chancellor glaring after him, but Sersi did. She began to loathe the old man. Why couldn’t he just accept that Falconer did his duty?

            Airships are moored at another location so they won’t get in the way of star craft or risk being burned by rocket boosters. They had their own special port off the front of the castle. The royal craft was the largest with two high masts and great white sails. It carried all the comforts you might expect from a royal chamber, with soft seats and a banquet room. The ship held several rooms and enough provisions for a week long outing. It and other ships, were moored much like you would see any water faring crafts. Heavy ropes, held it in place with the sails tied up tight to prevent it from being lost. The stones in the ships are never stopped from rotation, in order to keep them hovering up high near the castle. Even the rudder is made of a stiff sail material that is almost as large as one of the secondary sails.

            “Everything is in order, sir,” Reigndale reported, “The crew was all handpicked by the Chancellor, though.”

            “I know. The fact that you verified that is what I needed. Are we all here?” By ‘all here’, Falconer meant Shira, the Princess, and the four out of eight Royal Guard available. The Chancellor had sent three of them away from the planet on missions. One was on a personal retreat.

            “Yes, Helshred reports all clear on the grounds and is on board.”

            Sersi landed on a railing and looked to Falconer, “All secure at the watch towers.”

“And the Princess is secure?”

            “Yes, sir.”

            “Excellent, let us be on our way.”

            The crewmen pulled in the mooring ropes and the ship floated way from its port. The sails unfurled and caught the afternoon wind. When a floating stone is put into a special lathe-like machine and spun at high speed, it creates a field of energy that allows the ship to defy gravity. Chyssia is not without greater space faring technology, but such devices are forbidden for the civilian use and are only for the royal house. With a clear sky and plenty of warm sun, the venture looked promising. As the ship veered away from the palace, Falconer walked over to the man at the wheel.

            “I trust you were given directions? Where did the Chancellor choose for our destination today?”

            “He suggested a view of the floating islands, sir.”

            “Interesting, but don’t get too close. Stay on the outer borders. I don’t want us getting caught between them.”

            The man nodded and they steered out over a wide green valley between red mountains. They sailed high for over an hour and passed over one of the main villages. The village was nestled in the edge of a broad forest. Out in that forest they saw a wide clearing, meant for ships to land, but they wouldn’t be landing today. Shira pushed the infant Princess in a carriage on deck and stared quietly out at the clouds. She seemed to be feeling better away from the confines of the castle. It did good to get out and be in the breeze. Falconer could agree with that. Falconer looked in on the peaceful baby who smiled up at him with bright blue eyes.  He wished everything could be so innocent. The baby knew a blissful peace that none of them could at the time. Her little smile lifted their spirits as they sailed. Sersi flew up above the ship, watching over the movements of all the crew and for other ships. So far, they were the only one in the air that day.  Helshred crouched by the center mast. The crewmen kept their distance from him and sometimes stared. Helshred didn’t care, he stared right back and clicked his blades to remind them of his purpose.  Reigndale stood at the far front and bow with his rifle, steadfast and on guard. With Falconer’s worries, Reigndale didn’t trust any of the crew. She sharpshooter picked his watch position carefully. From where Reigndale stood, he shoot anyone all the way to the back end of the ship. When the floating islands came into sight, the wheel man steered them to the right and made for the cliffs near the ocean. Many of the floating islands were formed by land breaking away from the cliffs thousands of years ago. Sharp formations of rock stood out along there like giant teeth, ready to gnash and skewer anything that fell on them. With the exception of such danger, the view of the islands out over the ocean was breathtaking. So long as the wheel man didn’t take them out over the jagged maw of the cliffs or too close to the sides of the islands themselves, Falconer felt okay about it. When the ship lurched suddenly to the left he spun to the driver.

“What are you doing? Keep us up past the cliffs, you’re getting too close!”

            The wheel man smiled.

            “Look out!” Sersi’s voice shouted in his head and he barely evaded a lunge from a crewman with a wicked curved knife.

            Shira screamed and snatched up the baby from the carriage as two crewmen moved in on her. Up front, three crewmen jumped on Reigndale, knocking his rifle from his hands. He could be seen struggling for his life. One of the attackers immediately caught a boot in the mouth and fell over the side. He screamed to his death on the rocks below.

            “Helshred!” The Teri-Moor growled as he moved in on a crewman who approached Shira. “Hellllshrreeed!” he clicked his blades together and brandished them in a single warning.

            Falconer held a hand out to the man who tried to stab him. A centralized blast of wind threw the man out over the railing. There could be no forgiveness for attacking the Royal Guard in such a way. Falconer was not about to allow any harm to befall the Princess either.  Falconer was a powerful class of elemental, but had to be careful with his powers here or risk crashing the ship. Another man threw and arm around his neck from behind and brought a knife up with his other hand. Falconer caught it and held it at bay. The screech of a falcon was heard and the man screamed, falling to the deck. Sersi tore open the attacker’s back with her talons. In her dive she glowed fierce red as her limited sorcery took effect, making her dive more powerful. In that kind of dive, her talons could cut through stone.

            “Help Reigndale,” Falconer ordered.

Sersi flew up front quickly to comply. A man’s laughter caught Falconer’s attention next. He stood near the railing and in his arms was the infant Princess. Helshred took down two crewmen, but a third knocked down Shira and took the baby.

            “You are making a grave mistake. Give her to me now and I’ll suggest you aren’t killed for treason.” Falconer said sternly.

            The crewman laughed, “The job is done and there’s nothing you can do about it!” In a single motion he dropped the baby over the side of the ship.