The Alliance - 25. The Burden of Rule

“I do not believe it will be that difficult to switch the currency over as long as we keep a balance. Our standard unit is a silver. If we can keep a base of ten, making ten credits equal to a silver, perhaps the biggest issue facing us in joining will be resolved.”

Mateio listened to the elf tiredly, nodding along. He was here to give a middle ground between Aaron’s financial advisor and the Alliance officer, but he had honestly lost the conversation long ago.

Five days of meetings, of discussing political fallout. Aaron did this all the time? It was no wonder he was willing to give this up. Mateio wanted to run away and bury his head in the snow somewhere.

A figure caught his attention, his mate, walking past the open door to the room.

“Perhaps we should take a short break,” he suggested, turning back to the negotiations.

The Xanar officer nodded.

“I think Lady Mira and I can continue without you from here,” he said.

“Thank you. I will meet with you again tomorrow morning.”

The Faro hurried from the room, chasing silently after Aaron. His mate led him out of the palace, to a guardhouse nearby. The guard on duty nodded him in, Mateio following a minute later.

“Is everything okay Ser Faro?” the guard asked, stopping the alien.

“Yes, I just wanted a moment with my bonded- my mate.”

Nodding, the guard let Mateio through. Spotting Aaron going around a corner, Mateio hurried after him, finding the werewolf kneeling in a small chamber.

Around the room, hanging on the fresh painted wooden walls, brass plaques listed the names of the guards who had fallen in the Empire’s assault. A memorial for the dead, for those who had no bodies to grieve over.

Smoke rose from a small bowl in the centre of the room, the smell of burning plant filling the air.

“The royals of Astara traditionally do not bow to any one god,” Aaron said quietly. “It makes it rather difficult to ask Zasar to bless the fallen when you cannot show favouritism to him.”

Mateio watched from the door, unsure if he was interrupting a ritual. The elf stood slowly, walking to a plaque bearing a single name. Gently he traced the name with a finger, tears dripping from his eyes.

“People always said he was like my father, and they were right. Darren spent many nights with me when Mother couldn’t, comforting me and building me up. In some ways, he was responsible for making me who I am today.”

“Making you into the elf that I love,” Mateio said.

He stepped forward, approaching Aaron. Wrapping an arm around the elf’s waist, the Faro rested his head on his Bonded.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Aaron’s hand fell on Mateio’s head, scratching the Faro’s ear slightly.

“Actually, would you like to take a run with me?”

The werewolf walked through the woods. He focused on each step, his back rolling with the weight of his mate on his back. This was a new experience for them both, and Aaron had to admit he was enjoying it.

“You know, I like it up here. Can we do this more often?” Mateio called.

Aaron let out a snort, stopping. He shook his body, the weight falling off him.

“Hey!”

Turning, the werewolf licked his nose and stuffed it into Mateio’s stomach, the fox giggling. Aaron sniffed long and hard, inhaling the scent of his mate, the smell of home, of love.

Mateio’s hands dug deep into his fur, his face buried in Aaron’s side.

He should be at the palace, discussing the Alliance with his advisors. Or assisting the restoration of his planet. But here he was, taking time for himself. And it felt so wrong.

Aaron layed down, head in Mateio’s lap. Was it even possible to have a relationship as king? He and Mateio rarely got any time alone in the last month. Sometimes he thought back to the week they had spent on the run with fondness. At least they had been together.

“What’s going on? You’re very quiet.”

Mateio’s hand stroked the wolf’s head, gazing down at his mate.

“You aren’t upset about bonding with me, are you?”

Aaron shook his head, scoffing at the notion. He loved his mate. They were perfect for each other. He just felt stressed.

They could run away. Mateio could fly them off the planet and they could escape into the inky void of space, never to be seen again…

No they couldn’t. Astara needed a king. But he didn’t know if Astara needed him. At the moment, Lady Mira was next in line for the throne. But she wasn’t prepared to take on the planet, and he knew it. He was stuck in his position, with all its stressful trials.

“You know I’ll never leave you again, right? I don’t care how hard it is to live with the ruler of a planet, you and I are bonded, and I would not change that for the universe.”

That was right, he had Mateio. He would always have Mateio. His rock, his support. And when they were older and he passed the throne on, they would travel, and live the relationship he had always wanted but never expected.

It was hard. Hard to remember Adara, and Darren, and… and Itumak. All friends he had lost since meeting Mateio. But the Faro said he would stay beside Aaron, no matter what. He could do the same for the fox. He would do the same for the fox. For his mate.

Aaron licked Mateio, getting onto his knees. He looked pointedly at his back, the Faro getting the unspoken message. Climbing onto the wolf, Mateio wrapped his arms around Aaron’s chest, holding tightly as the wolf stood up.

Aaron threw back his head, letting out a howl. He rarely howled, fearing it would disrupt the Astaran packs that occasionally hunted the woods, but today he had too much emotion and he needed the release.

No wolves responded, and he cut his howl short, the lone sound echoing through the woods. Mateio’s hand stroked the side of his head, and Aaron leapt forward, startling the fox.

Mateio let out a loud yelp as the wolf sprinted forward. Tightening his grip, the fox lay against the wolf, Aaron adjusting each step to keep his mate on his back. He would not let Mateio fall.

Itumak watched as a ship was wheeled into what Artemis referred to as the “chop shop”. A Faro was barking commands to the Xanar guiding the ship in, his tiny body trembling with the force of his yells.

“Stuck up little jerks, aren’t they,” Artemis said beside him.

“Some of them,” Itumak shrugged, turning back to his work.

Artemis had asked him to help the Egaro strip the engine down again and rebuild it. The part still wasn’t working correctly, and until it was fixed, Artemis was going nowhere.

“Most of them in my experience. For some reason, the privates always end up on Gaia and the cadets have to help them wipe their arses between shits. You’d think they’d have that covered.”

Itumak shook his head, loosening a bolt. He caught the small object, setting it aside with a myriad of other bolts to be saved for later. Yawning, he glanced over at the Faro, catching the brown bangle on the fox’s wrist.

“Why aren’t there any military or science people here?”

“Well, Military cadets usually get sent to Ulthrin to deal with the mind readers. From what I’ve heard, you don’t want to visit their planet. It’s like, orbiting a pulsar or something, so the place gets baked by radiation constantly. Everyone has to live in stations within the outer clouds of a gas giant, and shields are set to go up every few hours, creating a cycle of energy shortages until batteries can replenish. The science cadets get sent either to Gaia or Ulthrin to learn about different biomes or something. Occasionally one will be sent out here to catch a lesson on society, but that seems to be more of an Egaro thing I guess.”

Itumak frowned, pulling out a large filter full of a strange substance.

“Uh… Artemis, these ships run on hydrogen, right?”

“Basically, yeah. Why?”

“What is this stuff?”

“Ah, that was stupid,” Artemis frowned. “That’s waste from the last fuel run. An easy fix, if a long process. I should have checked there first.”

“Oh… Oh yeah, because a scoop wouldn’t pick up just pure hydrogen, right?”

“Right. I’ll get to work on the filter. Why don’t you finish tearing the engine apart and clean it?”

“Sticking me with the harder job?” Itumak asked.

“That depends on how tight these Xanar are with their filters,” Artemis shrugged. “Besides, you need to learn how to do this yourself.”

He had a point, not that Itumak liked it. Glancing up at the sky, Itumak sighed. It looked like he wouldn’t be making it to dinner that night.

The door opened loudly, startling Lian. Itumak stumbled through the door, grease staining his shirt and his face.

“Master?”

“I need a shower,” Itumak yawned, passing the Daknar.

He bent over, giving Lian a good view of his ass. Lian stared silently as the two-soul picked up a set of clothes from the dresser.

“Can I go with you?” the Daknar asked.

“Sure.”

They walked out into the black night, the lack of a moon unnerving Lian. He was afraid of the dark, but as long as his master was there, he’d be okay. A light turned on, flooding the area around them, and Lian flinched at the sudden change, hurrying after Itumak.

Entering a shed-like structure, the two found themselves in a narrow hall, stalls taking up half of the building.

“Do you want a stall?” Itumak asked tiredly.

Lian shrugged, and his master led him down the hall, through a small doorway that led into an open room full of showerheads. Removing his shirt, Itumak stepped out of his pants, hanging them from a nearby hook. Lian followed his lead as Itumak turned on the water, and the two huddled under the showerhead.

“You know you can use your own, right?”

Nodding silently, Lian stepped back, trying to figure out how to turn on another showerhead.

“Have you not showered since we got here? And how am I just now noticing this?” Itumak frowned.

Lian shrugged, hot water spraying down on him. He let out a hiss, stumbling out of the spray. Itumak sighed, reaching over to adjust the water for him.

“I’m sorry,” Lian whispered.

“It’s fine. Just shower,” his master said, scrubbing at his own body.

Lian stood under the water, the liquid trailing between his scales. He had been hoping Itumak would take him, or at least hold him. But his master seemed too tired to want anything to do with him. So he washed, watching Itumak scrub at the stains on his body.

“Damn spot…” Itumak muttered, his eyes closing wearily.

His hands continued their work, the skin of his left arm reddening as he attacked it. The grease was gone and still he worked at his skin.

“Master…?” Lian asked quietly.

His hand reached for the two-soul, Itumak slumping against the wall.

“Master?!”

Itumak let out a tired moan, waving Lian’s hand away.

“Lemme sleep…”

“No Master, you can’t sleep here,” Lian said, shaking the two-soul gently.

He reached up and shut off the water. Itumak climbed to his feet, reaching for his clothes. Five minutes later, they left the building, Lian helping his master back to their room.

Itumak fell on the bed, and Lian tugged at the two-soul’s shirt, pulling it off before the bed got stained.

“Thanks…” Itumak muttered, curling up.

Lian laid beside him, pulling the covers over them both. Wrapping a wing over the two-soul, the Daknar settled in close, Itumak already snoring. He had missed his master.