Chapter 4
Planning
“How do we manage that?”
“You’ll have to find a way to let them know the isolated country is on another planet. Earth has talked about starting colonies in space for years, you could make it sound like a new colony. You might even come to an understanding with our government and tell the truth. Eventually, you’ll have to deal with them.”
“I know, but I’d hoped to put off meeting with politicians.” He admitted.
“Aren’t you a politician of a sort?”
“No, I’m a leader. I give back to my people and do my best to ensure no one takes advantage of them.”
“Excuse me. I had no idea the term was offensive to you.”
“I’m sorry. People often feel royalty sits around all day sipping tea. I get a bit touchy.” He admitted.
Tomi giggled. “I never really knew much about royalty, but on Earth they are political. They support charity and some run their countries.”
“Some run their countries?”
“Yes, some are only figure heads.”
“Why is this?” He asked.
“I believe it is because the people wanted elected officials. I never really studied the situation. My country always had elected officials, since it became a country.”
“So if I spoke to someone in your country, it would be an elected official?”
“I expect it would be the president. He would have enough authority to get things started.”
“I’ll have my people check into it and see what they say about the possibility.” He declared. “It would help to bring more people especially females here, but maybe even a few families.”
“That would be good for everyone. Earth is over populated.”
“I’ve heard that it is. It’s amazing that your planet can feed so many people.”
“You’ve seen what my mom can do.”
“That’s true. She’s an amazing female. Are all your women like the ones in your family?”
“No, our people are unique. Not all good, not all bad, and some that are a mix of both. There’s a saying that it takes all kinds and there are none missing.” Tomi admitted.
“An odd saying.”
“We have a lot of odd sayings.”
A knock on the door signaled lunch was over. They quickly finished the last of their food so they could continue with what they’d been doing. The tray of empty dishes was taken away.
“It’s time to get back to work.” He grinned. “Your mother is coming to see us in a little while, but she asked for a closed room. I wonder what requires privacy?”
“I had no idea she was coming here. I hope it’s nothing serious.” Tomi declared as she wrung her hands. Apparently she was concerned.
They moved to the thrones sitting on them. The line of people coming to see them had thinned out greatly. Maybe it was the lack of young females looking for his attention. He was glad they were gone. At least Tomi hadn’t been too upset by them.
It was toward the end of the two hours set aside for meeting with his people that Dori showed up. Bree and Betty were with her. He signaled the guards to let no one else in. When Dori got to them, the room was empty.
“What brings you ladies here?” He asked.
“I need a favor.” Dori admitted.
“Anything I can do, I will.” His brows knit together as he tried to figure out what they could possibly need.
“I’ve spoken to Kitty. She’s through with her training and would like to come here if she can.” Dori explained.
He sighed heavily. “That is beyond my power to grant because she had a choice before. All I can do is asked the emperor and point out the potential benefits of having her here. She’s an Earth healer, isn’t she?”
“Yes, we call them doctors. She’s very good and she only stayed to complete her training. Surely the emperor would understand that.” Betty mentioned.
“The emperor will be here for Lord Toreen’s birthday. We can all approach him then.”
“Thank you. It would make my world perfect to have my baby here too.” Dori’s eyes were shiny but she didn’t cry.
Betty and Bree also thanked him before they all said goodbye and left. “Do you think he’ll agree?” Tomi asked.
“She’s young, single, and educated. I have hope that he will. Every female in your family has become a valuable part of the community. That should also help convince him. That said, there is no guarantee.”
“If he doesn’t, it will break my mom’s heart.”
“I’ll do all I can. Meanwhile let me show you the castle. There are parts I’m sure you’ve never seen. Where do you want to start?”
“What about the gardens? Betty tells me about them all the time.”
“The gardens it is.” Holding out his arm she placed her hand on it. He escorted her out of the room and to the stairs.
He was glad she was in good shape from working so hard and she kept up just fine. There were several stories of stairs to go down and back up when they returned. Once to the bottom, they exited through doors that were barely noticeable. The scent of flowers hit them immediately. There was a riot of color all over the garden. Red was directly outside the door and the vines were thick that the flowers grew on. These flowers looked similar to Earth roses.
There were bushes nearby with yellow flowers on one side and purple on the other. Flowers resembling Earth tulips lined the path in colors of blue, pink, and light green. It was like a wonderland of beautiful plants. He was sure she enjoyed them, but she stilled with a look of concentration on her face.
“What are you thinking about with so much concentration?” He asked.
“Kitty loves plants. These would impress her.”
“We’ll do all we can. Your mom is a very convincing female. Maybe she should show the emperor a picture of Kitty? It might help convince him.”
“Because she’s lovely?”
“That couldn’t hurt. It might also make him feel more like he knows her. Making him feel a bond makes it harder to say no.” He explained.
“I’m sure you’re right. It’s been hard to leave everything behind, but especially Kitty.” Tomi admitted.
“Let’s walk to the fountain.” He took her hand and led her there.
“Oh, my God! That’s gorgeous. What is it?”
“It’s a torkesh. They no longer live on our world. Their feathers were so beautiful, rogues hunted them to extinction even though it was against the law.”
“They look like black and purple swans.” Tomi observed.
“Maybe we need to look more closely at your plant and animal life. Something resembling a torkesh would give my people much hope.”
“Why?”
“It is said when they return, our world will prosper as it did in the old days. My kind is a bit superstitious.”
“My kind is too, in some ways.”
“Perhaps our people are much alike when we look at the right things?” He’d stepped closer and wrapped her in his arms.
She felt heavenly to him. His lips moved down and he softly pressed them to hers. Her lips opened to him on a soft sigh. That’s when his tongue slipped in to explore her sweet mouth. He consumed her goodness wishing he could take her here in the garden, but he knew he could not. Running his hands all over her, he scented her desire and felt her body heat. It was so hard to hold back.
Stepping away from her, he took her hand and led her away. “Let’s look at more of the garden then return to see more of the castle.” Tomi nodded looking confused.
They toured the hidden parts of the garden, it was beautiful. Now they returned to the castle starting on the bottom and working up the floors. It was obvious she was tired by the time they hit the floor her cafeteria was on.
“There’s so much unused room.” She commented.
“That’s true. There was a time when many more people lived in the castle. Rooms have been shut off and go unused. See here is a large room that was once a kitchen with only a small part used. The dining room and ballroom are still used a few times a year. Maybe a fourth of the living spaces have people living in them.”
“The castle needs remodeled. An updated laundry room would ease the work of the employees. My cafeteria needs more space and a bigger dining room. This needs to be done before you bring in large numbers of people. You also need to give preference to those that have certain needed skills or those fleeing harm.” Tomi observed.
“Fleeing harm? I don’t understand this.”
“You’ve never taken in refugees?”
“No, I’ve never heard that term.”
“On Earth, sometimes a ruler is bad and will abuse a certain group of people. Sometimes those that believe in one god or religion will try to destroy those that believe differently. Also there are times people are victims of floods, earthquakes, or volcanoes.”
“I understand victims of nature. Like the planet we used to get females from. They fled to other planets mostly. So they would be refugees?”
“Yes, but nature isn’t the only danger on Earth people run from the most.”
“Okay. I’m beginning to understand.” He said.
“It would be like if your rebels got control. They would hurt many people. You’ll have to make concessions so the government will want to make a deal with you.”
“What kind of concessions should we consider?”
“I would take a percentage of females they don’t want.”
“Who would they not want? And would we want them?”
“Petty criminals, those with sickness you can cure, and those on welfare like single mothers. You might want to consider some of the male criminals too for the meteor.”
“I think I am beginning to see what you mean. Your government is not kind to their people.”
“Sometimes they aren’t. They also will be giving up some of their best workers and they need something in return. They want the best deal, but so do you. Those who are ill and may even die will get a second chance. You’ll have to check them out carefully. It won’t help them if they come here just to die away from family and friends.”
“Perhaps Kitty could set up the medical program for finding those we can help and come with the first group? I bet the emperor could see the value of that.” He asked.
“I’m sure she would. My sister is kind. This would give some hopeless patients a chance to be healed.”
“I will send him a proposal for this program. It will be wonderful if we can get it going.”
He felt good about it. When he and Tomi were together, solutions just presented themselves. She would be the perfect queen and partner. Now when Earth was going to play such an important part in the lives of his people, she could be an enormous help. Even without that consideration, he knew deep inside she was his.
“Maybe you should find a marketer?”
“A marketer?”
“It’s someone that helps sell something. They come up with a slogan and in this case you need a video. The person would know how to do all that. You’ll be turning females away if this is done right.”
“How do I find this person?” He asked.
“You have people on Earth. Have them look for a good commercial on TV and find out who did it. You’ll want something sexy. They’ll need to tape some of your males.”
“We have many on your planet at any given time. That should be no problem.”
“I guess I should go now. It’s supper time and I need to lock up the cafeteria and make sure everything is cleaned up. This is much longer than I intended to stay but I enjoyed today.” She admitted as her cheeks turned pink.
“Okay. I will walk you there.” He offered. Taking Tomi’s arm, he led her back to the cafeteria. “Should anyone be here?”
“No, but they could have gotten behind and stayed to clean up. It’s just unlikely.” Tomi said.
“I’ll go in first. You stay until my guard and I come back.” He motioned and the guard that had followed him the whole time moved up with him.
They entered and were immediately attacked by two males and a female. He and his guard quickly took them out. None of them were strong or good fighters. Rebels, he would bet on it. Looking up, he saw Tomi had come in.
“That’s Dala. The female I fired who threatened me.”
“She’s more than that. This female is a rebel. I believe she was using the job to spy in the castle. That’s why she was so angry when you fired her.” He explained.
“I thought she was looking for a mate. It never occurred to me she was spying. Why didn’t she try to get a job as a secretary?”
“We run background checks on them. She must have connections to known rebels. Her only way in was in a job like this or cleaning rooms. We’ll be running background checks on all employees in the castle now. Thank goodness you fired her. She could have caused so much trouble.” He observed.
“I should never have hired her. I was just so desperate for help.”
“When so many are looking for work I can’t understand any job being overlooked.”
“You won’t get any help. I told them all about Earth women.” Dala cackled like a witch from a fairy tale.
“That explains that. She’s an evil creature.” Tomi observed.
“She’ll get what she deserves. I’ll be sending her to one of the mines far away.” He promised. “Call some guards to deal with her.” The guard nodded.
“At least it looks like everything has been cleaned and put up. I really wouldn’t feel like dealing with it.” Tomi admitted.
“You could stay in a spare room in my wing for the night.” He offered.
“I don’t have any spare clothes.”
“I can get you something to wear. I’d feel better if you were where you could be protected until we get to the bottom of this.” He could see she was thinking about it.
“Maybe I should.”
“You need to. I have plenty of room.”
“Okay, if you’re sure I won’t be a bother.”
“You could never be a bother.”
Tomi moved to lock things up and that’s when he heard a moan. “Wait!” He whispered and he went to the storage room where dry foods were stored. There on the floor lay one of Tomi’s employees. A large knot was on her head with some blood dripping from it.
“Oh my God! Lushia, are you alright?”
“Tomi?” The female asked.
“Yes, Lushia. It’s me and King Erak. Looks like they knocked you on the head hard. Let’s get you up and to the healer.” Tomi advised.
Lushia had trouble getting up so he just picked her up and carried her there. If no one was on duty, the healer lived in rooms next to the clinic. When they got there, Betty, Tomi’s sister was still there.
“Lushia? Goodness, what happened to her?” Betty asked.
“She was attacked in the cafeteria as she tried to lock up. It was Dala and she had two males with her.”
“Wasn’t she that nasty women that you fired?” Betty asked as she examined Lushia’s head.
“Good news is it will heal and shouldn’t cause any lasting damage.”
“Bad news?”
“She needs to rest at home for a day or two and she shouldn’t be alone.” Betty said.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Her husband is home right now.”
“No, he’s not. He got a job at one of the places you told me about.”
“I’ll send her home with a guard who will stay until her husband gets home. Then we’ll find a young person to hire to stay with her until she’s better.” He insisted. Tomi immediately began to protest. “It happened at the castle. I will take charge of everything dealing with this.”
Surprisingly, she gave in. It made him realize just how tired she was. “Let me get your sister settled in a guest suite and I’ll send a guard back to help Lushia. Will that be alright?”
“Sure. I’m here for a few hours. It’s like a second shift. If Kitty gets here, we will cover more time.” Betty explained.
He nodded then he led Tomi out of the healer’s room and down to his rooms. “Everything will be alright. You’ll see.” He certainly hoped it would be.
Once he got Tomi to his guest room and she was settled in, he left her and called his guard giving him instructions. The pull he felt to join his reluctant mate in her room was overwhelming. It was good that he was a strong dragon and he fought the need because he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it.
Sometimes he wondered exactly what Tomi wanted. Her family insisted she was interested in him but a hard woman to win over. He would agree she was difficult to woo. Every once in a while he saw her soften only to toughen up again. She’d let him kiss her which thrilled him, but he wanted so much more. Always before, he’d thought of himself as a patient male.
Now he had his fated mate just two doors down from him and it wasn’t helping him to win her over. He needed her desperately, but he couldn’t seem to seal the deal. Earthers had some sayings he liked. Now he sat down at his computer and put together a proposal based on what his mate had suggested.
In it, he also suggested they research all the possibilities. Once that was done, they would know the best way to handle it. His suggestions were good. The email was sent and now all he could do was wait.
It was time to go see the prisoners. Jarel had been called in to do the questioning since he was now captain of the guard. The promotions that many of his soldiers had gotten recently had lifted their spirits and given them hope that they might rise in the ranks. One problem was they needed more soldiers.
He headed down to the dungeon. It was not a place he liked to spend time. Of course a criminal shouldn’t be pampered. Traitors were the worst of the criminals. The dank smell hit his nose the second he opened the door to the prison.
“My king. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“How goes the questioning?”
“The female Dala is a terrible person. She works with the rebels for pay. Her intention was to mate a high ranking male and sell information to the rebels while living a good comfortable life. She hates Tomi and informed the rebels that she was your intended and the best way to hurt you was through her.”
“I suspected as much.” He replied.
“The two males are low ranking but we got a little information. We’ll be making a raid on a local noble tomorrow. I would send them anywhere but the meteor mines. They want to go there too much. I would also recommend sending a few undercovers in there. Something is definitely going on.” Jarel completed his report.
“Tomi must have a guard at all times.”
“Consider it done.”
He felt better now that Tomi would be protected. The meteor mines had worried him for some time. It was best that they would be investigated. Soon he hoped to have answers. That all people in the castle would now have a background search was also good. Dala had slipped through without question. Others may have too. Tomi was almost a victim of poor security. No one had liked the female but no one had thought she might be a rebel spy.
Thankfully the air was better the second he stepped out of the dungeon. The rebels were feeding them prisoners to work the mines. It was not work most would do willingly although free males who chose to work there were paid well. The mines were getting plenty of help these days. It was sad how misled these rebels were. Few knew the true goals their leaders had. He feared more would be coming for his mate.
Tired, he decided to go to bed and rest until morning. Here in his rooms, Tomi should be safer than anywhere. She was his biggest concern regardless of all his other worries. He dropped into his bed asleep right away. It seemed like moments later that he woke. A cool shower helped clear his mind. Once he was dressed, he called for breakfast for two.
Out in the main room, he saw Tomi was awake and drinking a mug of coffee. He’d gotten a coffee maker and kept coffee stocked when he’d found out how much she liked it. The taste appealed to him and he drank it often too now.
“I ordered breakfast for us.”
“Thank you. I feel really hungry.”
“You’ve already been to work?” He asked.
“I had to go in to see if everything was in order. Lushia usually takes charge in an emergency but she needs to stay home and heal for now.”
“I assume everything was in order.”
“It was. The extra help I hired the other day has really come in handy. A few more wouldn’t hurt, but not like Dala. I should have known better.” Tomi admitted.
“Sometimes, there is no way to know. We’ll be checking your employees out as well as other castle workers we never checked before. This is something we should have done all along. Davy will be in charge.”
The food came and Tomi just nodded. They began to eat the marvelous foods on the platters. He was finding he liked Earth dishes which most of these were. The platters were larger than the usual plates. Once he was done, he finished Tomi’s food since she was full. Now he was sated.
“That’s more than we usually get.” He observed.
“They are supposed to fill the plate, but they got the wrong plates. These are platters used for serving. Perhaps they are aware your dragon has a big appetite.” She grinned.
He liked that she wasn’t greedy. His males said she often threw in extras or had them try new dishes she cooked up. The only other time he’d tried to let someone run the cafeteria, they’d not been the best cook and had charged a lot for a little bit of food. After trying out their food, most of his males had stopped eating there. Tomi couldn’t keep enough food cooked for the long line of customers. People even came from town to eat there.
Jary might find her more help. He needed her to have more time and be with him where it was safer. In a short while, he’d see Jary and asked him. Leaning over, he gave Tomi a kiss which seemed to surprise her.
“I hope your day goes well. If you find the time I’d love to see you for lunch.”
“If I can, I’ll deliver.” Her face turned a lovely pink shade. Tomi got up and hurried toward the cafeteria. It was a shame they were both so busy.
Now that she was gone, he felt alone. He needed her even more than he thought. All those years alone had been hard on him. The mantle of leadership was a hard thing to carry. He chuckled. At least he wasn’t the emperor. His burden as even harder and he too was alone.
It wasn’t long before his com went off. His brows drew together as he wondered what was going on now. “Erak.”
“My king. This is Jarel and another attempt was made on Tomi. We caught them before they made it into the cafeteria so she doesn’t know.”
“Where are they?”
“In the dungeon.”
“I’ll meet you there.” He rushed from the second highest floor to the lowest. An elevator would be nice but not because he was tired. It was for the sake of speed. That was something he might consider.
Now he was at the bottom of the castle and opening the door to his dirty dungeon. He wanted to punish them for attempting to harm his mate. Even if they hadn’t planned harm, just making him come down here was reason enough to punish them.
One cell was full of messy looking males. “Did they come here looking like that?”
“Yes. That caught the guard’s attention immediately. When challenged, they attempted to fight their way in.” Jarel explained.
“Clearly it didn’t work. So what did they say to explain their actions?”
“You won’t like this. They say they aren’t rebels, just poor males who can’t find a job. There’s reward on your mate. A million vesters, dead or alive. The poster says she’s taking work away from the local residents which is causing the shortage of jobs. Betty has a reward poster too. She’s only worth half that. I bet the rebels wouldn’t have the money to pay if they brought her to them.”
“The gods save us from fools. They’re playing right into the rebel’s hands.”
“Davy says in her country they have an office that helps connect people with those needing help. The government runs it. She said if someone ran an office like that privately, maybe they could make money from those looking to hire help. Tomi would pay to get help, Davy said.”
“But who would do this?”
“It would have to be someone from Earth. No one here would have a clue. I never heard of such a thing before. Here you see a sign in a window or your cousin tells you about his neighbor looking for help.”
“It’s not the Earth women taking our jobs, but they may help us with our problems. Honestly, I have no idea what has happened except no one seems to want the jobs that are available. Davy spoke to Dori yesterday. One of Tomi’s workers had a mate out of work. Tomi sent him to Dori and she put him to work right away. They had given up on getting him work. It makes no sense. The work is there even if you go to the meteor for a while.”
“I agree. Something is stopping people from going after the available jobs.”
“Or someone.”
“Get some males working undercover. Have them move around the town and see what’s being said.”
“Right away, my king.” Jarel said then he turned and rushed away.
He didn’t even want to think about what was going on. If Tomi were already his mate, he’d hurry home to rest in her arms. Instead, he would work things out alone. It seemed there was more to work out all the time. Was there trouble like this in other kingdoms? Just asking could make it seem he couldn’t handle his land or his people. As soon as Toreen’s party was over, things would begin to happen.
It couldn’t be soon enough for him. A buzz came from his com. The emperor had read his proposal and he was intrigued. These things were strange to their kind. Advertising here was word of mouth. Videos were only used by government and military. Regular folk had no use for such things. Being the emperor, he’d had access to the same videos as most kings and the military officers.
They were entertaining and some were educational. Even though they couldn’t begin to imagine the affect they would have, they knew they would have one. It was hard to imagine a mate for every male. The other planet they’d gotten females from simply didn’t have enough to spare for that. Earth did, and they had others that could come here to swell their ranks.
The emperor had not approved it and he’d not expected him to. But he had agreed to learn more. That was the first step to take in something as important as this was. He commed Garulto.
“Yes, my king?”
“I have some things I need done on Earth. I’m sending you the email I sent the emperor. It explains the plan. Right now we just want more information. I added a small part at the bottom. That is from me to you only.”
“I’ll get you whatever you need.” Garulto said.
He could only hope so. Now he sent Garulto that same email he’d sent the emperor hoping he’d hear the requested information soon. At that point, he’d send the new information onto the emperor. Making his way to the throne room, he was there just in time to open the door for Tomi It was now lunch time. She’d made a large lunch like he’d had yesterday. Didn’t that show she cared?
Following her in as she set the tray on the table she put the plates where they belonged. “I’m glad you were able to get away.”
“I can’t stay long.”
“This help shortage is odd with so many unemployed.” He commented.
“I agree. Few people apply even with a help wanted sign at the counter. There is little to do to get the word out beyond that.”
“If there was another way, would you pay someone to find you help?”
“Are you looking for a part time job?”
His face flushed. “Not me but a business that matches workers with employers.”
“We have that on Earth at least in the US.”