The Queen of Tentacles: Part 6

 

 "Unload all of it. And do it fast!"

The Duke barked out the order to the guards, who were already struggling  crates and bags off the deck of the ruined ship. Someone had been sent up to the guardhouse for more helpers, and now drunken guards were stumbling around and falling down, helpfully.

One of them dropped a crate. It cracked open, and a small, golden red fur rolled out onto the ground.  The Duke was incensed. "Stuff that in a bag, NOW!"  He roared. "It's important."  The guard hastialy snatched  it up, and fumbled it into a bag. "Give that to me!" snapped the Duke.  I don't trust any  of you fools."

There was grumbling all around, but the guards were used to  the Duke's mistreatment. Besides, those who pledged loyalty to him got an extra ration of swill with their dinner, and he only charged them 2%, instead of the usual 5%  which was taken out of a guard's meagre pay, for  a guard's meagre meals. 

It didn't take long for the guards to unload the ship. They trooped down the hill. As they passed the landing pad, one of them pointed at Silver's ship. " Leave it for now. It's empty. We'll  take it later." snapped the Duke. "  The heavily laden guards trudged by.   They reached the transport platform,  and down into the depths they went.

"Breathe, Yillia. They are gone".  Glob's thought came suddenly. Yillia realised that she hadn't been doing that. She gasped, and sucked in a fresh breath of air. She felt dizzy. "You can stand up now, it's safe." came the thought.  "And thank you again, you saved me." A different, fainter thought.  Yillia smiled.  She stood up, and her gaze went to the portal window. She needed  to see the stars.  She gasped as some of those stars grew closer, and she heard the  quiet hum of a starship. Someone else was landing.  She tried to hide once more, but Glob's thought was strong. " Silver. The representatives of the Ursan  Merchant Collective have arrived. Their ship is landing now. I am in communication with their navigator.  There  is a Senior Vice President,  their top legal team, and also, an Arach." 

"Was I supposed to hear that, Glob?" Yillia sent the thought.

"Yes." Came the reply. "You will be speaking with them first. When they land, you must leave our ship, and go with them. You must tell them all of the details concerning this incident that you know. Leave nothing out.  Our new friend has been relating its side of the story to their navigator, but only you  can provide the missing pieces. Do not be afraid. No one will hurt you. You are very brave, Yillia, and are blameless. You  have saved an important person's life."  Yillia wasn't comforted. "Glob?" She asked. "What's an Arach?"   Something about the word struck fear into her soul. Glob's reply confirmed her instinctive terror. " The Ursans employ Arachs  as security operatives. They are Humanoid, but are colloqually known as "The Spider People". 

Yillia asked no more questions. She looked out the portal in dread, as the Ursan ship  glided to the ground.    

 "Ow! Amathea! You're dragging me!" I had been preoccupied with the goings on outside, and had forgotten about the banquet.  The Queen had grabbed me by the arm, and was towing me out of the ballroom.       "There are things we need to attend to, Dragon dear." she said. Her  tone was firm.  She was right, of course, but  Glob had informed me that the Duke's entourage was on the way down, the Ursans were topside, with an Arach, by the Gods, and things were going to get very weird, very fast. " Does the lift automatically return to the surface after people come down?" I asked. 

"It can,  but as a rule it's set  to stay down here, so it can bring people back up without delay.  The setting can be overridden, so returns it to the top immediately. I've had this done already, for the convenience of arriving guests."  She replied, and smiled.   I tried to.  The Duke wouldn't want that lift to be going up and down, bringing  party guests.   I was sure he would override the override. "Who else knows how to operate it?" I asked.  "The guards, of course.  Oh, and the kitchen staff." Amathea said. 

It made perfect sense to me. The kitchen staff would need  fresh ingredients from the surface. They would have to be knowledgeable about the workings of the lift.  We were passing the kitchens now. A great clanging  of pots and pans could be heard, and wonderful smells wafted out into the hallway. My stomach growled. I  hadn't realised I was so hungry. I was glad that no one was paying attention to me at the moment.

 

  The Royal Chef  looked up. He  stopped stirring a bubbling pot of soup, and  rushed to the doorway, still clutching the soup spoon. "My Queen!" he exclaimed.  A deep blue blush rose on Amathea's lovely face.  "My Chef." She said, and beamed at him. Something about the way she said "My Chef"  made me blush as well. 

 The chef bowed deeply, then rose to face her. "It has come to my attention, through palace gossip, that you may need your kitchen staff to operate in an unorthodox capacity. Please be aware that we will rise to the occasion, and are ready to defend you, with our very lives, if necessary. Each and every one of us."  He clamped  seven of his arms over his chest, and saluted with  the  tentacle which still held the spoon.   The Queen was taken aback. "What?" she exclaimed, as she looked further into the kitchen. On one of the back shelves,  many  large spoons, steel pot lids, and even a few  knives had been laid out in a long row. Thick wooden stirring paddles were lined up and ready to go. The chef stood, and looked the Queen in the eye. "Palace gossip is usually  nothing more than  foolishness." he said. "Idle tongues are the bane of productive accomplishment. But in this case,  I believe there is something to it. If so, we are ready. If not, we have  many clean utensils."   "Thank you."  the Queen replied quietly. " You are practical and courageous. I know that I shall always be able to depend on you." Now the chef was blushing. "You have my  most sincere assurances, M'lady,  that your trust in me is well founded."  The chef  leaned closer, and whispered, "My  heart, and my life, are yours."  And then, he took one of her tentacles in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.

"Oh yes, there it is, the cards  never lie,  they're in love!"  I thought joyfully. I  almost cheered!  And then felt like an intruder. 

"Of course they are."  Glob. Who never felt like an intruder.

"Hey, you were eavesdropping!" I shot back.

" Did you know that romantic  films  and stories are very popular among Jellians? Love songs. Poetry.  We love love." 

"Ok, lover goo, where's the Ursan delegation?" Glob, in particular, also loved snarky conversational banter. I didn't know if other Jellians did too, but Glob did, and they "got" me.  I hit the jackpot when Glob chose to ride with me.

"Standing at the top of the lift platform, trying to get the lift to work. They're having trouble with it. Yillia is with them."  

Drat that Duke. Of course he messed with the mechanism.  And the lift was more than likely down here now. But the Duke had not appeared. And there were fewer guards around. Many of them had vanished. The ones who remained, proudly wore the Queen's livery, and carried her banners, but there were too few of them. I didn't like it.   

"Your Majesty." I said, my voice quiet. "It appears that something has gone wrong with  the lift. Guests above are stranded." My discretion was warranted. A guard wearing the Duke's colours was silently coming up behind us. The Queen whirled around, and spotting the guard, commanded, "Get back to your post. You are not supposed to be lurking here." The startled guard  tried to speak, but the chef approached, and menaced him with the soup spoon. "You heard your Queen." He said, waving the sturdy spoon. The guard stepped back, turned, and marched back down the hall.  Amathea sighed. She looked at me, then at the chef, who was  still staring at the departing guard, a grim expression on his face. "My Chef." she said. "Please have one of  the kitchen staff repair the lift. It appears that it has malfunctioned, and needs to be sent to the surface immediately. Have you anyone with mechanical ability as well as culinary talent, whom you can send?"  The chef bowed again.  Dashing back into the kitchen, he took one of the youngest apprentice cooks aside, and spoke close to her ear. She  nodded, and, grabbing a tool kit from a  wooden cabinet, swiftly headed down one of the kitchen passageways  towards the lift, as fast as she could go. 

 I was impressed. Amathea  carried herself with quiet calm, and impeccable dignity.  The Queen of Swords, now.  Transformed from the loving Queen of Cups I saw a moment  ago. 

"It's starting." I said.

"I know." She replied.