The Princess and the Human

31st day after my arrival

Dear Diary,

it is now going by Earth’s calendar, I now would’ve spent an entire month on Hohmiy. Although, the days here are slightly longer, so I guess it’s actually a bit more than that. Either way, it certainly was an eventful month “month”. Over the last “week”, things have finally calmed down a bit. The princess Sil has recovered enough to get back to work, even if not at full capacity. She also can’t stand for long yet, but considering she almost died

She also started to prepare delegations to the other species to see if any of them met the rest of the colony. They will depart soon. I’m not sure if I should hope for or fear getting an answer. I want nothing more than to hear that the rest is alright, but what if they are all that’s not the only reply that could come back. Either way, it will take a while.

I swear if I hear the phrase “word travels slowly beyond the hyperlanes” one more time, I’m gonna lose it.

Today in the evening is the trial. Which also means it is time for me to step out of the shadows. Honestly, my heart hasn’t calmed down at all yet. Thankfully, longer days also mean longer nights, otherwise, I wouldn’t nearly have gotten enough sleep. I have my speech ready, and both Doc and the Baron did their best to prepare me. I know it word by word. All that’s left is to not embarrass myself and Sil while literally the entire planet is watching me. No biggie. Part of me wants to ask if not broadcasting everything is an option, at least not live. I know it is not, but still. At least I don’t have to be near anybody, and Osiyn promised he would finish the protective suit today, so that will probably also help.

To think that this shady guy from the Tystrie had so many spies on the planet… good thing they managed to decrypt his datapad. Captain Kessga has been able to discreetly arrest most of them without it being made public.

For their trial itself, it’s more or less a clean case. And once the opener is done, I won’t have to do anything except keep my rage down when I see the ambassador. Honestly, I didn’t even know I could get this angry. In hindsight, it is scary. But I have to keep it down, I must be better than that.

The sun rose over the walls of the Sky Palace as Queen Mirvani started her day. Today, it would be her turn again to visit Kiyrtin at the hospital, something she was looking forward to. She knew that she and her partner, King Kiyrta, would get informed immediately should his condition take a turn for the worse, but it still was a relief each time she saw him being fine. Well, as fine as he could be given the circumstances. He was still a nursing case until his first molting, and if the doctor’s estimates were correct, he would be on the verge of adulthood by the time he made a full recovery. She was still seething from anger whenever she thought about it. This First Ones-dammed saliyc had almost killed her precious son and robbed him of his childhood in the process, and for nothing else than his stupid company. And while she could find some satisfaction in the knowledge that she had brought him to justice, that didn’t change his situation.

She shook her head and entered the audience hall, which was currently fairly empty. Only the King and the palace’s steward were here for now.

“… and for the rest, he can just ask Rigiy. You know, the one who always does this weird thing when she talks, like-“

“I assume you are talking about Duchess Rigiyrion of clan Jarion?” the steward was quick to interpret the king’s words. “Who has a birth defect that sometimes causes her throat to act up, slightly impairing her speech pattern?”

Kiyrta tilted his head.

“Ah, is that’s how it’s called? I mean the thing Sil often did as a kid, especially when she was angry, that was really adorable. It at least sounds similar to what Rigiy does, it’s of course not really adorable when an adult does it. And she’s just doing it randomly, not just when she’s angry, so it can get a bit weird.”

For a tigg, Mirvani thought she could see the steward wincing, though she probably just imagined that. After all, why should he?

“You Majesty, I’m sure you have a lot else to do, how about I formulate the answer and you just sign it?”

Good to see that his job is not just a mere duty to him, the queen mentally noted the steward’s eagerness as she went over to her partner, who merely shrugged and dismissed him.

“Unification Day?”

Kiyrta nodded at his partner’s assumption.

“You’d think they would know what to do for something that happens every cycle. Did you hear anything new from the building yard?”

“Yes, “We apologize for the delay; the plans should be finished in a few days”. They apparently had to reschedule because of an unexpected shortage of manpower.”

Adjusting her yellow cape, she sat down.

“And still no news about Sil finally finding a partner? Or at least that she's looking for one?”

The king just shook his head. Then, he started to chuckle.

“You know, maybe we should give her the throne a bit sooner to motivate her! Even she can’t rule the planet alone.”

“She would try anyway!” Mirvani joined him in his laughter. “But jokes aside, we’re not that old yet. Maybe in five cycles, we can do that. Though we should have at least a grandchild when-“

A frantic knocking at the door interrupted her, and upon being called in, a stressed-looking servant hurried to the king and queen.

“Y-your Majesties! We received an urgent message from the Star Palace!”

“What happened?”

“Um,” the servant fidgeted slightly. “Before I can relay the message, and I’m quoting Her Highness, Princess Silgvani on this: "Make both, my father and my mother, promise to listen to the end before they do anything". Apologies, but again, her orders.”

Kiyrta cocked his head and looked at his partner.

“Why does she always do that?”

“No idea. Anyway, I promise.”

“Me too.”

The servant nodded.

“Okay, then: There was an attempt on Her Highness’s life. She was poisoned, but-“

“WHAT?!” both screamed in unison.

“Sh-she survived.” the servant hurriedly reassured them.

“Who did it?!” the king demanded. “Are the suspects?!”

“How did it occur?!” the queen added.

“Th-the culprit was already caught.”

“Then have them brought here immediately, prepare the trial ASAP!”

“I-I quote Her Highness again: ”Since you entirely relinquished all authority relating to foreign matters to me, due to the specific circumstances of this case, I outrank you in this. Since I myself was the wronged party, by the laws of our ancestors, you do not qualify to hold the trial. As the highest authority on Hohmiy in all foreign matters, I hereby invoke the rule of impossibility for a judge of higher rank, and declare myself judge in this matter”.”

The two went silent for a moment until the king spoke again.

“But… has she already recovered enough for that?”

“By her own testimony, yes. The trial will start in one inva. And yes, it will be broadcast live.”

Mirvani nodded.

“Cancel all of our appointments for today,” she ordered the servant and activated the big screen at the end of the audience hall.

Once the news got out, the palace was in turmoil. Accidents and endangerments born from incompetency were one thing. But an active assassination attempt on the royal family, that had never happened during the lifetime of anyone still alive today.

Finally, the broadcast started. Mirvani could see her daughter on the screen, and she couldn’t help but notice how weak she looked. Still, her expression was one of pure determination. Across from her, cuffed to a chair, sat a Tystrie, a matriarch judging by the size. Could it be…

“The trial in the case of Kykla, ambassador of planet Eroas and representative of the Tystrie, is hereby open,” she could hear her daughter's voice from the speakers. “As there is more than one wronged party, the word is first with the one wronged last, as it is our tradition.”

More than one? What was she talking about? The message hadn’t said anything about that.

“Who is that?” Kiyrta inquired as a strange creature came into the picture, bowing before Silgvani before turning to the audience. “Or what?”

Mirvani could only agree. If it was an alien, she had never seen it before. It didn’t even look close to any of the species in the alliance. A pale body with neither scale nor fur, except for one rather large patch on its head, so long it almost reached her hips. The face had a reddish hue, with eyes that shimmered blue in the light of the headlamps. Its body was quite small with a delicate frame, which made it difficult to believe that such a frail species could even survive until reaching civilization. The clothes it wore were rather excessive; a white… something covered almost its entire body from the neck down, but as this was seemingly not enough for it, it also wore a green top and a blue skirt over it, the latter being similar in style to the current fashion of Hohmiy's nobility.

It didn’t speak at first. Instead, its hands rose to its neck, and almost demonstratively slowly, it took off its translator.

“Eye am Nadine Valentina Esmeralda Anastasia von Klot of House Haydenfeldt, ambassadorr of planet Earth and representatif of the humans,” it said in a soft voice. Its accent was quite notable, but besides that, it surprisingly spoke perfect Vanaery. Few people bothered learning the language of another species, as it took a good portion of one’s life to master it. And before mastering it, translators were more reliable, even if they weren’t perfect. And what definitely never happened was a noble learning another language, they would at best fund it for one of their servants. And all that was assuming it was a language they could physically speak.

“For the sake of a more fluid proceedure, I hereby declare that humanity relinkvishes its right of the prosecution to the Vanaery for this case only.”

***************************

The day before

“Are you sure you don’t want to prosecute her yourself as well?” Silgvani asked as the small alien rehearsed her speech for a final time, her gloved hands holding the notes and shaking in nervousness. “You would have every right to do so.”

“Not by our laws,” Nadine refuted, putting her translator back on. “And I really don’t want to do something that could cause issues later on. Calling myself the ambassador of humanity is already more than stretching it.”

“You literally represent every human known to the Vanaery,” the princess shrugged.

“Sil, we both know that that’s a technicality and that I don’t have any real power. I get that I have to say it so this doesn’t turn into a massive political clusterfuck, but anything beyond that could mean serious trouble at some point. Besides, it’s not like it would change anything. I mean, is there any way this will end without you ordering her execution?”

“Well, we have to inform her home planet about the verdict and they could theoretically appeal it, but considering how clear-cut the case is I doubt they will.”

“Then it makes no difference.”

After a short knock on the door, Mhita entered with a box in her hands.

“Lady Nadine, a package arrived for you.”

With a thankful nod, the small alien took the box and left for the adjacent room.

“What the hell?!” she suddenly shouted from behind the door.

“Did something happen?”

“Look at this!”

Nadine re-entered, her face having taken on a more reddish color – “blushing”, as Silgvani now knew it was called. Instead of it just being long-sleeved gloves, her new protective suit covered everything from the neck down. It was a single piece with no visible seams, even the gloves weren’t separate. The only things not covered were her face and feet. This would hopefully alleviate her fear of touching someone. Her reaction was strange though.

“What is the problem? Isn’t this exactly what you ordered? Covering everything, white so it can be easily combined with other articles of clothing, and a bit tighter fitting so you can wear other things over it.”

Nadine’s expression on the princess's statement was one of complete bewilderment.

“There is a difference between “a bit tighter fitting” and a FREAKIN’ SPANDEX!”

“A what?”

“I can’t wear this! This is worse than being naked!”

Silgvani tilted her head in confusion.

“… how so? I get that your kind has a different attitude to clothing than we have, but I really don’t see the issue here.”

“B-but… I…”

“Look, if it is that bad, no one forces you to wear it. You could just wear your normal clothes, but considering what happened, I also understand that you don’t want to risk your sweat getting on someone. There is no established connection yet, so no one will judge you for your clothes, but you not making an appearance today is sadly no longer an option. Wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable, but if you want a protective suit, that’s the only one we have. And as I said, it was designed with you wearing something else over it in mind anyway.”

For a while, it seemed like Nadine wanted to say something, but in the end, she sighed.

“Please promise me that no human will ever see the recording of this trial. At least not the part where I am visible.”

“If it is important to you, that can be arranged.”

Githaiy gave Nadine a nod as the small alien sat down next to her and visibly deflated before putting on her translator again.

“It was good,” she reassured her. “Your pronunciation could still use some work, but each word was correct. Even for a rehearsed speech, it was impressive considering how little time you had.”

Nadine just nodded and turned her gaze back to the center of the hall, where a vassal started to announce the accusation.

“On the 87th day of the cycle, the defendant coerced the maid Kaiyla, who at the time was temporarily stationed at the Star Palace, to administer Her Highness, Princess Silgvani, a lethal dose of calcium that would have killed her had it not been for the immediate and heroic actions of Lady Nadine of the Humans. The defendant then had Kaiyla killed, making it look like suicide to blame the crime entirely on her. On the 90th day of the cycle, when Lady Nadine uncovered the ruse, the defendant used a network of spies within our own people - which is currently being dealt with - to administer her the highly restricted and dangerous neurotoxin ethanol, which she only survived due to her unique physique which the defendant had no knowledge of. The defendant finally attempted to blame Githaiy of clan Trocu, royal physician at the Star Palace, for the deed.”

Nervous muttering could be heard among the audience, even more than after Nadine’s speech. Both Githaiy and the princess had agreed to not put emphasis on the doctor’s role in saving the princess’s life, one because it was her job, and two because all of this had the secondary purpose of giving Nadine a good image right from the get-go. Therefore, they made sure to highlight Nadine’s feats during the accusation.

Once the princess raised her voice, the muttering quickly died down.

“Kykla, ambassador of planet Eroas and representative of the Tytrie. You are accused of attempted regicide, attempted homicide, murder of a commoner, conspiring, and defamation in multiple cases. What do you have to say?”

The ambassador cocked her head in a way that looked almost mockingly.

“I was just following orders! The high council were the ones who decided that Princess Silgvani needed to be removed, all I did was in service of my people, as all of you would have done for your own!”

She made a dramatic pause in which the entire hall fell absolutely silent.

“Is that what you want to hear from me? That’s what you hope I would say, give you a reason to punish all of my kind for the acts of one individual, right?”

“I “hope” that you just make your statement already,” the princess answered with a sinister voice.

“What is there to state? Your servant already said everything. I did as is written in the accusation, and I did so on my own accord. No one on Eroas knew I would do that, I myself made the decision only after arriving here. A decision that almost got me killed thanks to that thing over there. My only accomplices were Qeylo, if whatever your little monster left of him can still be identified, and whoever on this planet worked for him. I never met any of his “friends” as he called them, but you seem to have that topic already covered anyway.”

With that, she leaned back in her chair, making it clear that she had said her piece. The rest of the trial was standard procedure, some guards and servants gave their statements, and Githaiy explained a bit about the poisonous substances and their effects until it was time for the verdict.

“Kykla of the Tystrie. For your crimes, I hereby sentence you to death. The sentence will be put on hold and you will be imprisoned until the high council of Eroas confirms the verdict. By the First Ones, I, Silgvani of clan Kiyron, princess of the Vanaery, have spoken.”

Outraged chatter filled the hall as the audience left, while Nadine and Githaiy rushed over to the princess.

“Your Highness, how are you feeling?”

“I’ll manage. But I should go to rest.”

As they escorted the princess to her private chambers, they noticed some servants muttering hastily.

“Is there an issue?” she asked, as always not being able to leave it to others.

“N-no, Your Highness,” one of them quickly assured her. “There was a short power outage a bit after the start of the trial, and we’re currently trying to find out how it happened. But you don’t need to worry, Your Highness. It was just for a few tiggs, and we managed to get the broadcast up again immediately.”

“So, everyone saw the verdict?”

“Yes, I can guarantee that.”

“Alright then. Carry on.”

Finally, they reached the chambers and Silgvani sank into her chair with an exhausted groan.

“What happens next?” Nadine wanted to know.

“Now we send a delegation to Eroas to tell them what happened. Since Kykla is not a citizen and a representative, her own people must confirm the verdict before we can enact it. But as I said, with all the evidence and her own confession, they won’t try to appeal it. It’s just a formality at this point, but considering the travel time and the fact that they will likely be in turmoil when they hear it, it can take up to thirty days until we have the confirmation. We likely won’t hear from them till then since word tra-“

“Travels slowly beyond the hyperlanes, I know.”