“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

Pierce sat on the edge of Daz’s desk and watched as she hefted the strap of her bag onto her shoulder. The dark haired titan turned to him with what was obviously a sardonic expression on her face. One which quite clearly gave Pierce the answer to his question.

“Okay, okay.” Pierce chuckled, throwing his hands up defensively. “I was just asking.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you around, Pierce.” Daz said with a sigh. “It’s, well, it’s difficult enough as it is just dealing with my sister. I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of that. Plus… well, my sister’s attitude towards humans is not…” Her sentence trailed off and Daz bit her lip helplessly.

“No, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that.” Pierce said with a shrug. “Living here… it’s been really easy to forget how I’m seen outside the walls of this house.”

Daz softly stroked his hair with her finger. “I know. But that’s why I think you should stay with Tylum. I don’t know how the Emperor and Empress feel about the subject of humans, but if nothing else you’ll have plenty of other people around who see you as a person.”

Pierce smiled contentedly. He wasn’t entirely certain just what to call whatever his and Daz’s relationship had turned into. He was really hesitant to claim that they were ‘dating’ now; but whatever it actually was, he and Daz were spending much more time together. That’s not to say that he wasn’t still hanging out with Tylum or Rhionne, (or any of the others, really,) but there was a clear difference in the time he spent with them and the time he was with Daz.

There was significantly more physical contact with Daz, for one.

“Besides, this is an opportunity for you to see the palace!” Daz continued, crossing the room to where her other bag was waiting. “Not many titans ever get the chance to see it, even. I’d hate for you to miss something like that on my account.”

Pierce shrugged. “It’s not exactly something on my bucket list anyway.”

Daz rolled her eyes and leaned down. She hesitated only for a second before planting a small kiss on the top of Pierce’s head.

“Look, just trust me on this.” She said with a small grin. “You’ll have a nice time at the palace with everybody, and I’ll see you after the break. You probably won’t even miss me that much.”

Now it was Pierce’s turn to give her the sardonic look.

Daz didn’t take the bait, though. She merely scooped Pierce into her hand, walked across the bedroom and dropped him by the slightly opened door.

“Now come on, let me finish packing in peace.” Daz said, though with a small grin on her face. “Go see what Tylum is up to, or something.”

Pierce looked up at the young titan with eyes narrowed in suspicion. But, after a moment, he shrugged and walked out the door. “All right Daz. I’ll leave you to it then. See you later, okay?”

“I Promise.”

After he left, Daz closed the door behind him with a weary sigh, grateful not to have to dodge any more questions she didn’t want to answer.

*.*.*.*

“All right is everybody here?” Rhionne looked around at the assembled group of her friends. Myona, with Shaar in her shirt pocket, was busily trying to elicit a laugh from Reevah, but not really having much luck with it. Fara was struggling to heft her bag into the cargo compartment of the shuttle. And Tylum was sitting in the rear passenger seat with Pierce, showing him pictures of the palatial architecture.

Well, that’s everybody. Rhionne thought evenly as she stepped forward to help Fara with her bag. Everybody who’s coming, anyway.

“Wait for me!”

Rhionne turned just in time to see a tall blonde haired streak thundering towards them from the doorway of their house. Aezhay was busily stuffing a few last minute articles of clothing into her pouch.

“Not that I’m not happy to have you along, Aezhay.” Rhionne said as she helped the taller woman stow her luggage. “But I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to make it?”

“Well, I was thinking about it last night and I figure I can spare a night or two. The real heavy lifting of the harvest hasn’t quite begun just yet and, well, how often does one get the chance to spend a night at the palace?”

“That’s fantastic.” Rhionne smiled as she shut the luggage compartment. “I’m glad to have you come too, for however long that ends up being.”

“Like I said, it probably won’t be any more than a day or two. I don’t think I could keep my guilty conscience at bay any longer than that.” Aezhay said with a grin.

The girls, and Pierce, clambered into the shuttle while Reevah hopped into the pilot’s chair. Everybody was afraid Myona would make a dash for the controls, but she was being distracted by Tylum’s book, much to the relief of everyone else.

“It’s too bad Daz couldn’t make it.” Fara said wistfully. “I’m sure she would have enjoyed seeing the palace as well.”

“I can understand having family obligations.” Rhionne replied with a shrug. “I know I have to deal with them often enough. It’s all part of being…” Her sentence cut off as the princess bit her lip.

“Part of what?” Myona asked curiously.

“Uh, part… part of a family…” Rhionne completed hastily. “I…I mean, Aezhay has to help her sisters with the harvest, right?”

“Don’t remind me just yet.” Aezhay grimaced guiltily. “I’ll still probably catch it from Lezah.”

“Sorry.” Rhionne grinned. “I’m sure everything will be fine, Zhay.”

“All right, is everybody loaded up and strapped in?” Reevah asked from the pilot’s chair, ending further conversation. “Good. Then let’s get going, r we’ll be late.”

“We wouldn’t want to keep an Emperor waiting.” Pierce muttered to himself.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Daz stood at the gates which lead onto the grounds of her childhood home. Previously belonging to her parents, Zakrov Manor had been taken over by her sister Vasha when the later had assumed primacy of the Zakrov clan, which had occurred shortly before her father had retired and her parents had moved to Grelau.

Vasha, of course, didn’t spend much time there either, what with their corporate headquarters being located on Grelau as well. Still, the manor was always ready for the family to use. One of the benefits of wealth.

Funnily enough, at the moment, the large mansion fell far more like a prison than a home, and Daz would have given anything to have been able to go with Rhionne and the others to visit the palace, even if the likelihood of someone recognizing Daz was fairly high.

Still, there was no use wishing for something that couldn’t be. With a sigh, Daz hoisted her bag up onto her shoulder and began the rather long trek up the walkway, through the grounds and to the main house.

She arrived at the entrance to her home several minutes later. She pushed open the door and threw her bags onto the floor of the entryway.

“Sister, dear!” An enthusiastic voice called out to her. “How absolutely marvelous to see you!” Vasha appeared at the top of the grand staircase directly in front of Daz. Inwardly, Daz cringed. She’d really been hoping she could have a few minutes more to prepare herself before being confronted by her sister.

However, there was no stopping Vasha as the elder Zakrov sister descended the staircase in a cloud of perfume and expensive fabric. Her heels clicked on the wood floor as she advanced on Daz before pulling her into a tight yet insincere embrace.

“It’s good to see you, too.” Daz muttered as Vasha released her.

“My dear, how was your trip?” Vasha asked, but continued before Daz could even hope to formulate a response. “I’m sure it was absolutely dreadful, dear. Why you insisted on traveling in Public class, I’ll never know, it’s as if you don’t seem to understand you’re made for finer things than that.”

“I didn’t mind it.” Daz muttered.

“Still, darling, there’s a certain amount of decorum one must uphold. Just think if someone had recognized you!” Vasha gasped, apparently scandalized by the very idea of someone seeing her sister associating with… common people.

Daz rolled her eyes.

“Although, I suppose that would be difficult given your current appearance. Just what have you done to your hair?”

“Look, Vasha,” Daz cut off her sister’s appraisal before it could gain any momentum. “Regardless of how I made it, it was a very long trip and I’d rather like to go get a shower in. So, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course darling, how silly of me!” Vasha smiled in a way that almost appeared congenial. “I’ll have your bags sent to your room.”

“Vasha, no that’s-” It was too late. Before Daz could voice her protest, a man in a crisp looking uniform had appeared as if by magic and whisked her bags up the stairs at a speed that seemed to approach the light barrier.

“There you are dear.” Vasha said airily, turning to walk towards the sitting room. “I’ll meet you soon for lunch, shall we say in an hour? I still have that bit of news that you and I need to discuss. We’ll see you then!”

And as fast as she arrived, Vasha vanished down the corridor, leaving a very irritated Daz in her wake.

*.*.*.*

The flight to Tuaut had been fairly uneventful, possibly because Myona had been allowed nowhere near the controls.

When they’d landed at the Palace, the group had waited only long enough to stow their belongings in their guest rooms before Rhionne had taken them on a tour of her home. She’d shown them everything; the gardens, the stables… even the lake.

Throughout it all, Rhionne had done her best to remain modest, but it was incredibly difficult when, well, one lived in a palace.

Still, her friends were just as gracious, and very appreciative of the beauty of her home.

Eventually, they came to the final stop on the tour, the throne room.

To say the Imperial throne room was big would be an exercise in understatement, at least from Pierce’s point of view. The floors were marble, or something analogous to it and the ceilings had to have been at least five hundred meters high. The room was bordered by floor to ceiling windows, and the fading light of the setting sun still managed to illuminate one side of the room, while the other was lit by wall sconces that Pierce suspected had replaced actual torches at some point in the Palace’s history.

Between every pair of windows hung a flag, which, as Rhionne pointed out to him, were each from an Imperial province or colony. The green and black banner of the Empire proper hung behind the thrones of the Emperor and Empress.

Though, of course, the thrones themselves were empty.

The only sound in the room was the girls’ footsteps as they entered, and the entire set up gave off an impression of intimidation. Which Pierce suspected was largely the point behind it.

“Wow…” Pierce heard Myona mutter quietly as she walked behind Tylum. “You really can’t tell how big it is from the pictures.”

Rhionne shrugged. “It is rather excessive. Some of my ancestors were a tad… bombastic. Truth be told, my parents don’t really spend a lot of time in here, and most of their day-to-day business is conducted in their much smaller offices. This place is mostly used for official functions and when my parents want to keep someone off guard.”

“Does that mean you’re trying to keep us off guard?” Aezhay teased.

“Possibly.” Rhionne replied with a grin. “Actually, this is just a good place to end the tour. The throne room tends to leave a lasting impression. Plus, you know, it’s in all the publicity photos.

There was a sudden concussive sound that echoed through the throne room. As one, the entire group turned towards the back of the room where the large double-doors that were behind the actual thrones opened with a loud groan.

From the doorway emerged two people, both clothed in fine garments. Pierce heard Tylum gasp and had only a split second to grab ahold of her hair for balance before she fell to her knees. As soon as he’d regained his bearings from the sudden drop in altitude, Pierce noticed that the rest of the girls, with the exception of Rhionne, had behaved likewise.

As they drew closer, Pierce was able to get a better look at the two of them. The man was tall, with dark skin and hair that was shaved close to his scalp and just barely showing a few hints of grey at the temples. The woman was near equal to her companion in height. Her skin was much paler and her hair fell past her shoulders in long, dark tresses, save for single small braid of hair that hung near her right temple, much the same as Rhionne’s did.

The pair of them strode forward, ignoring the kneeling onlookers for the moment while they greeted and embraced their oldest daughter.

After a few moments, the three of them broke away and the royal couple noticed- as if for the first time- the other people in the room.

“That is enough of that.” His Imperial Highness chuckled good naturedly. “In fact it is far more than enough. Please stand, friends of our daughter.”

With a muted sigh, Tylum rose back to her feet, causing Pierce to grab hold of her hair again.

“Mother, Father, allow me to introduce my friends.” Rhionne spoke to her parents as she pointed to each of them in turn. “Aezhay, Fara, Myona, Tylum, Shaar and Pierce.”

Pierce noticed a small twitch from the Emperor as Rhionne pointed to himself and Shaar, but neither he nor his wife seemed willing to comment on it. Instead, the Emperor’s smile widened.

“Welcome. Please, make yourselves at home while you are here. Our palace is at your disposal.” The Empress said, her voice low and pleasant.

“That you, your majesty.” Tylum replied.

“By the way, Rhionne…” Her father intoned. “Your brother is also going to be on leave from his tour of duty and I’m sure he would love to see you and meet your friends when he arrives tomorrow.”

“That’s fantastic!” Rhionne cried happily. “I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“Well, he should be returning tomorrow.” The Empress said softly. “However, in the meantime, I’m sure you and your friends are hungry. How about some supper?”