Amber Waves - 19. Chapter 19

AMBER

It had been nearly six years since she’d last been able to run. Now, three years after her surgery, Amber was jogging on the treadmill. She would have been elated, if she wasn’t fuming.
Aaron stepped onto the treadmill beside Amber silently. He began a brisk walk, not quite matching Amber’s speed. Not that she expected him to — they each had their own ways to deal with the situation. It was a credit to the prince that he didn’t ask if she was okay. She was not.
“The only historical precedent ended in a public hanging,” Aaron said after a few minutes of silent walking. “No one has dared repeat it. To be fair, it was Queen Erin the First and a neko child. Incidentally, that was also the last state execution in Astaran history.”
“As much as I wish I could, I can not order anyone to hang.” Amber slowed her treadmill, joining Aaron’s walk. “I’m sorry I interrupted your ruling yesterday.”
“No, you did the right thing. Whatever I ruled, they would have appealed to you. Will appeal to you,” Aaron corrected.
Amber sighed, stepping off the treadmill. She wiped her face with a towel before grabbing a water bottle. The run solved nothing. She was still seeing red. And they had court in an hour’s time. She could already see the light of dawn growing in the sky.
“I will uphold your judgement, whatever that may be,” Amber said. “I fear I cannot trust myself to pass an unbiased and fair ruling.” The queen set a hand on Aaron’s shoulder as he stepped off his treadmill. “I truly am sorry to put you in this position.”
Aaron smiled wanly.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I can handle it. Why else have I been practising for the last three years?”
Amber sighed deeply, folding her towel. She was tired, but they’d be going for another run when Connor showed up later that day — queen or not, that man was merciless in his workouts. Maybe it would be just the distraction she needed, but by the time he got here, it wouldn’t matter. Judgement would have been passed.
“I’ll see you in the throne room after breakfast,” she said, stepping from the room.
Breakfast passed quickly, and soon enough, Amber was seated in the golden throne, feeling the spikes of pain shooting through her spine as she sat back. Beside her, Aaron took his seat.
There was only one hearing today. Amber took a deep breath before nodding to Captain Darren.
A pair of guards opened the doors to the room, allowing two elves to enter, accompanied by another quartet of guards. They approached slowly… or was the hall really that long? It had never seemed so long before.
It gave Amber plenty of time to glower at the two defendants. They stopped at the bottom of the dais, and their captors pushed them into kneeling positions.
Beside Amber, Aaron cleared his throat quietly.
“Cecil, Joren, you stand accused of desecrating a royal memorial. You carved the words “Cat” and “Wolf Fucker” into the trunk of King Finley’s memorial tree, and in doing so, you snapped the trunk in half, killing the tree. You have stolen away a piece of Astaran history. If not for the Hall of the Dead, King Finley would be forgotten, his reign vanished as though it never occurred.” The prince leaned forward, mirroring Amber’s glower. “We do not care how you feel about a ruler. We do not care if you curse our names in private or public. But when you desecrate the dead in such a way, we cannot turn a blind eye.”
The elves stared up at the prince. If Amber didn’t know better, she’d say they were challenging him. He was an elf, they were elves, and Finley was just a neko. A cat. Surely Aaron would side with them. This was all bluster for the public eye.
“There has only been one case of desecration this egregious in Astaran history, and indeed the history of the prior kingdoms. In that case, the desecrator was publicly hanged.”
Their eyes widened. Cecil and Joren glanced at each other, and Amber felt a surge of satisfaction as the reality of their situation dawned on them.
“You have visited upon King Finley a fate worse than death. You should consider yourself lucky that we are more lenient than our predecessors. We will give you one last opportunity to plead your case before we hand down judgement.”
“It was a harmless prank, your Highness,” Joren blurted. “We didn’t mean to destroy the tree!”
“Your harmless prank would consign King Finley to oblivion.” Amber couldn’t hold back any more. She was nearly shaking with rage. “Even were the tree able to survive having such vile words carved into it, you would forever mar King Finley’s legacy. That is not a prank. That is sacrilege in the eyes of Zasar.”
“We are lenient,” Aaron said quickly, cutting Amber off before she could continue. “You will replant King Finley’s tree, under the guidance of the Royal Gardener. You will then plant an additional fifty trees each in a plot north of Astara, that you might remember that all life is sacred. This is in addition to any punishment Zasar’s church sees fit to hand out.”
“But that’ll take us forever!”
“A hundred trees,” Amber growled before Cecil could protest further. “Be grateful we do not extend your punishment further. Captain Darren, make sure these two are delivered to Master Allen. They will remain in his care until they have completed their service. Then they may be handed over to Zasar’s Head Priest. This court is adjourned.”
Standing up, Amber stalked from the throne room. She leaned against the wall, finally allowing the snarl to break free. Fire burned in her eyes as Aaron joined her.
“You let them off easy.”
“I did what I thought best,” Aaron said evenly. “They will restore King Finley’s tree, and beyond that, they will better the city.” He set a hand on Amber’s arm. “Mother, what they did was despicable. But we cannot let our emotions get the better of us. If the public can’t trust us to pass impartial judgement, how can they trust the laws we pass?”
Amber blew out a slow breath. He was right. She knew he was right. It didn’t make her feel any better.
“I’m proud of you, Aaron,” she said quietly. “But I’m going to need some time to deal with this.”
“Of course,” Aaron replied. “I’ll be at the North Astaran Charity Cook-off for the rest of the day.”
“Right, that was today.” Amber fought the urge to rub her eyes. She did not need the headache from getting makeup in them. “Itumak will be with you, right?”
“Yes. He seemed rather excited. He probably thinks he’ll get to taste whatever everyone cooks.”
“Well, I’ll pass word to the kitchen that masala might be a good idea for dinner. It should ease the sting.” Amber smiled wanly. “Get going; you’ll need to get changed before Captain Darren takes you.”
She watched Aaron leave, with the characteristic aire of someone hurrying without ever appearing to hurry. He really was shaping up to be a great ruler.

AARON

He had never set foot in a pack school before. Aaron looked around with a bit of disappointment. Quarian Academy just looked like any other school. The only difference was the giant sign draped across the school entrance.
“It looks just like Jasper High,” Itumak scowled, stepping out of the car.
“Guard Renshin, secure the area with Guard Duncan,” Captain Darren snapped.
“Yes sir,” the other neko said, heading toward the school with the human in tow.
“Guard Itumak, locate the room the event is in.”
Itumak hurried inside, leaving Captain Darren and Aaron alone. Aaron fought the urge to lean against the car. He was a prince; he couldn’t be seen lazing around.
He wasn’t too worried about the low number of guards. Captain Darren had sent guards to keep an eye on the school the night before. Aaron thought he could see one of them in the distance, watching them. Their stares no longer creeped him out. At least, not as much as they had before.
Besides, this would be a much needed release after dealing with those elves. Court was definitely his least favourite responsibility, though council meetings came close.
“Your Highness!” An elf hurried from the school, Itumak following close behind. “We didn’t know you arrived!”
“I like to be discreet,” Aaron smiled. “It keeps me from being swamped with reporters.”
“I’m afraid we weren’t expecting you until later, your Highness,” the elf said.
“If you’re still setting up, perhaps I can help? Honestly, just treat me like you would any other set of hands.”
“Of course, your Highness. I’m Janet. I’m in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly. If you’ll please follow me, I’ll take you to the cooking area. We’re using one of the classrooms; it’s the only place with multiple stations.”
Aaron glanced at Captain Darren. The man nodded subtly, and Aaron followed Janet into the school.
“I’m not sure how this works. Can you explain it to me?” he asked.
“Of course, your Highness. We start advertising the event about a month in advance. Anyone who wants to participate has to pay an entrance fee of one silver. The event itself takes place over the course of four hours, and the goal is to be the person who cooks the most edible food. All of the food is then donated to local orphanages and homeless shelters.” Janet paused, taking a deep breath. “Gods, I hope I’m making sense.”
“Absolutely,” Aaron said. “I remember you petitioned for funds. You got enough then?”
“Oh yes, thank you for that, your Highness,” Janet beamed. “Every participant will be well stocked, and any excess ingredients will go to Quarian Academy’s Home Ec class, where they will be used as meal prep for any student unfortunate enough to not have food.”
“I’m ecstatic to hear it,” Aaron smiled. “Where do I come into this?”
“Just having you present is a huge honour. It will get the word out, and more people will hear about what we do. The more people hear, the more donations we get, both for the school and the pack.”
“Janet, please. I’m not here for the photo opportunities. I actually want to help,” Aaron explained patiently.
“Prince Aaron has never been one to sit idly by when there’s work to be done,” Itumak added.
“Oh! Um, if you’re sure…” Janet said hesitantly as they stopped outside an open door. “Right now we’re cleaning out the stations. Sometimes students forget to clean up after themselves, and we want to make sure nothing will interfere with the quality of the food being made.”
There were only four people working in the room. Including a certain grey tailed neko scrubbing out an oven.
“Good morning Jason,” Aaron said brightly as they entered the room.
The neko startled, nearly whacking his head on the oven. A red haired man rushed over to him, checking his head as Jason waved him off.
“You know Jason?” Janet asked.
“Yes, he’s the royal librarian,” Aaron said. “And this must be your mate.”
“His name is Devyn,” Itumak murmured beside Aaron.
Jason dipped into a bow. He elbowed his mate, who blinked in confusion before awkwardly copying the neko.
“You’re… Aaron, right?” Jason elbowed him again, signing frantically. “Oh… I’m sorry, your Majesty.”
Close enough. Aaron chuckled as Jason smacked his own forehead.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“And this is Dr. Oliver Marin, and his ward, Blake,” Janet added quickly, motioning to the other two.
“It’s an honour to meet you, your Highness.” Dr. Marin stressed the title with a look at Jason’s mate. “I’m the school counsellor, specialising in werewolf-related issues.”
“I believe we’ve communicated before,” Aaron said. “I remember you headed the petition for more break time for students.”
“Ah, yes, your Highness. I was concerned that some people were expecting students to forego their exercise,” Dr. Marin corrected gently.
“Yes, that was it,” Aaron smiled. “I’m glad things were settled in favour of the students. I remember my days at Jasper High; being trapped in a desk for hours at a time would be torture.”
“I cannot begin to tell you what your reforms mean to my students,” Dr. Marin added. “People who have only ever seen the negatives of lycanthropy are now seeing a brighter future thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Aaron said. “But I didn’t come here just to talk. Point me at whatever needs to be cleaned, and Itumak and I will get to work.”
“We will? I thought I was just here for the taste testing,” Itumak pouted.
“Gods save me from bratty nekos….”

ITUMAK

It was all over. Everyone could go home now. Devyn Farin was cooking masala.
Itumak had heard the werewolf was entering the competition, but he hadn’t expected him to be good at cooking. The man weaved around Jason and a calico neko like one born to the kitchen. And he did it in heels too. Itumak was starting to think Devyn had missed his calling in life.
The neko wasn’t able to watch the whole time. Word quickly got out that Prince Aaron was in attendance, and soon the school was swarmed with reporters and people just trying to catch a glimpse of the elf. Fifteen minutes into the event, Itumak was relegated to beating observers off so Aaron had some breathing space as they exited the school. And not even the fun kind of beating off.
He could see Captain Darren, Ren, and Duncan all watching the crowd of people closely, looking for any sign of trouble. Itumak doubted anyone would try to attack the prince, but Captain Darren was insistent. Aaron’s policies had already marked him as a problem for certain groups, and his guards would do anything and everything to keep him safe.
Aaron spent his time talking to several of the organisers, helping them set up tents on the football pitch, making sure there were plenty of plates for anyone who wanted to try the contestants’ cooking. He blatantly ignored the flashing cameras and microphones Itumak couldn’t bat away, and Itumak had to bite back laughter at how pissed some of the reporters were looking.
It wasn’t all work, though. Aaron was made a judge of the competition, and he insisted Itumak join him. The neko could have cried. He wouldn’t have to watch someone else eat the masala without him.
And oh the masala. It was like the gods had personally blessed the food. Hot, fragrant, with bits of some kind of meat inside, it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. Itumak almost wept when his bowl was clean. The curry that came after paled in comparison to Devyn’s cooking. Nothing else came even close for the neko.
“Are you sure you can’t order him to be a chef in the kitchen?” Itumak asked as the judges started on another plate of fish.
“Unfortunately, no,” Aaron chuckled quietly. “I feel like Jason would have my head if I tried.”
“Well you have to at least extend an open invitation,” Itumak insisted. “He can be my personal cook.”
Aaron just smiled.
By the time the tasting was finished, Itumak was stuffed. He looked around warily as the other judges came toward Aaron and himself. No one was reaching for hidden weapons. They all looked nervous, some to the point of being terrified, but Itumak couldn’t see any malice in them.
“Before we start,” Aaron said, “I want to make it clear my vote is not to sway any opinions. For this reason, I will be voting last.”
“Yes, your Highness,” a woman nearly squeaked. “Um… well, Ruby’s team made the most food; there’s no contest there. But on taste, I think I have to go with Silas’ team with the ribs.”
Around they went, casting their votes. Itumak voted for Devyn — how could he do otherwise? The power of the bean demanded it!
“I think that settles it,” Aaron announced. “Between Ruby’s curry and Devyn’s masala, I have to give my vote to Devyn. But all of the food was delicious.” He leaned toward Itumak. “See if you can plant some suggestions. We should get some wolf cooks on the staff.”
“Absolutely,” Itumak grinned. “I’ll see who Masia needs in the kitchen and bend Aime’s ear for recommendations.”
The reporters hovered long after the tents were torn down. Itumak followed Aaron back into the school, where they joined the cooks in cleaning their stations. Aaron took to the task with obvious relish — he hadn’t done any physical labour since he’d begun living in the palace. It made Itumak smile. Even after several years as royalty, he was still the same Aaron the neko had known in the orphanage.
Aaron delayed the inevitable as long as he could. But all things must come to an end. Every countertop sparkled, every oven shined as though it were new. And Darren approached the prince.
“We do need to head back to the palace, your Highness. Queen Amber would be quite upset if you were to remain in the city.”
“I suppose she would,” Aaron agreed with a sigh. “I guess it’s time to give my fans the thumb.”
“That’s the spirit.” Itumak grinned. “Prince bites thumb at reporters, more at eleven.”
“Don’t tempt me more than I already am.”
“Guard Duncan and Guard Renshin are already clearing a path for us,” Captain Darren added.
Reluctantly, Aaron turned toward the classroom door. Itumak could feel his pain. Goodbye taste of real life. Back to fighting tooth and nail in the palace.
“Was I imagining things, or did Duncan have an amulet?” Aaron added as they walked toward the school entrance.
“You didn’t hear? Ren asked him to accept his claim the other day.” Itumak pushed open the school door for Aaron. “It’s been the talk of the barracks. Greg and Aime are already taking bets on how long Ren will hold out before turning Duncan.”
“I got a gold on ten years,” Aaron grinned as he followed Captain Darren to the car.
Ren and Duncan closed in behind them, glowering at any member of the press who dared get too close. Following Aaron into the back seat, Itumak leaned back with a groan.
“Fuck, we should do this again some time. Sans the heavy lifting,” he added with a smirk.
“I’ll see if I can make room for it. I could always blow off lunch with Lord Sarin. That would go over really well.” Aaron laughed, shaking his head. “Tonight, all I want to do is sleep.”
“Well, I’ll just have to make sure no neko comes in to wake you up too early,” Itumak said.
“Gods, I’ll never get to sleep again….”