Chapter 3

Talia

The countdown ended as Talia lingered in the hallway alone. The suite doors slid open in succession all the way down the corridor and nine other women stepped out to join her. Each wore a grand outfit crafted from their own closets. The tradition of using a participant's wardrobe was supposed to be a way of representing the contestant as they were and dissuade any misrepresentation, but more truthfully, clothing and other textiles were scarce among the space colonies and even some of the planetside ones. The testament to a stylist's skill was how they worked with what they had.

Talia saw that the other stylists had chosen more delicate looks for their contestants. Less extravagant, flowy gowns and softened makeup. They all looked like fairies or angels. The other women took turns looking at her, too, only to glance away quickly. She stood out and it terrified her. What if the men thought that she looked as awkward and out of place as she felt? They wouldn't approach her. There was a certain appeal to that thought because participating in the masquerade was never her wish, but regardless, she was there. The opportunity couldn't be wasted.

Commit to the path that's already been set.

All Talia could do now was hope that her stylist was right. Standing out was the bold move that was needed and would be worth the reward. That when the lights dimmed, she wouldn't disappear into the shadows. Her daughter's future depended on it.

"All right, all right, ladies!" An unnaturally tall woman wearing a red blazer waved her hand in the air. "You can follow me to the stage. Remember what we practiced. The spotlights will be even brighter tonight, and I don't want any one of you beauties to fall off that stage."

A couple of hushed gasps came from the crowd but most remained silent and statuesque, only moving when their guide began leading the way.

This decennials' masquerade was hosted on the Heaven's Pearl, a large-scale cruise liner which specialized in multi-year trips travelling between the galaxy's quadrants. Talia had seen the insides of other ships before, but none as grand as this. The floors were swept and mopped spotless, calling attention to the large stone tiles of varying shades of white and beige. It was the first time she'd walked on floors made of anything other than metal or carpet. The click of her slippers was dull yet overpowering at the same time. She didn't know what to make of the sound. The doors to the lifts were cleaned and shined, void of the dents and scuffs of most lifts on New Horizon. Inside, the walls were lined corner to corner with mirrored panels.

The women all had the same response. They turned toward one of the walls and stared at themselves. Those crowded into the center shifted side to side and stood on tiptoe for a glimpse as they descended.

They stepped out into the next ornate hallway, met by four other groups like themselves. Among them, Talia spotted only three other women wearing large, showy skirts and heavy makeup that stood out sharply from beneath their veils. One she recognized as an ambassador from the planet New Earth-9.

Ambassador Maria Lovelett was a frequent face across the news vids as an outspoken supporter of developing a collective galactic government, going beyond sectors and quadrants. The news of her husband's passing was still fresh; Talia could remember watching the memorial highlights sometime within the past year.

"She moved on quickly, huh?" The distinctly feminine voice, speaking in long exaggerated vowels, was hushed before Talia's translator implant interpreted the words.

Talia started as she registered the woman's unveiled face very close to her own.

"I am so sorry." A woman with golden eyes smiled and straightened, now standing two heads taller than Talia. "But it looked as though we were thinking the same thing."

She was stunning. Elegantly tall and lithe, with a slight pebbling to her olive skin that was more reminiscent of scales than of flesh. A distinctively Vipraaen trademark, Talia realized. She was the first non-human contestant Talia had noticed, there were so few of them. She wondered how she missed her during last night's rehearsal as they were assigned to the same wing. On top of the woman's bald head was a golden headpiece adorned with hanging jewels that danced with her every movement. Attached to the headpiece was a veil like Talia's, which the woman had tucked out of the way for the time being, but it would need to be lowered across her face prior to their presentation across the stage and then into the ballroom.

Talia returned the smile, only responding after the group proceeded forward following their guides so that they could speak privately at the back.

"Well, it seems fast, but then I remembered her political agenda," Talia said quietly. "Do you think he would understand?"

The woman waved a hand and made a hissing noise, dismissing the concern. "He would probably commend her for it. Didn't you study the dossier? Some of those geezers haven't had a break from their political campaigning since last decennial's ball. Imagine what she could do allied with one of them. Imagine the progress that could be made for their cause, and his name would be at the forefront. He'd live forever in history."

"It's just that, I lost my husband almost six years ago and this still feels too soon. I don't know how she can . . ." Talia was unable to say move on.

"Ah." Her new acquaintance tilted her head in sympathy. "You may be a leader, Chancellor Steele, but you are no politician."

Talia's eyebrows wrinkled at the woman's assessment of her.

"Don't look at me like that, it is a compliment." She laughed lightly. "Ambassador Lovelett's aspirations are grander than any love she may possess, and that's the problem with politicians."

"It's my turn to apologize. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"I studied both sides of the dossier. Thought it would help to familiarize myself with my competition, as well." The woman winked. "I am Princess Aloeyse of Vipra. Fourth of four daughters and to inherit Vipra's smallest planet."

Talia's cheeks burned with embarrassment. How had she not realized who she was speaking with sooner? The Vipraaens led a four-planet empire, always to be inherited by the eldest son. For the first time in recorded history, though, there was no son. King Uushor's decision to divvy up the planets among his daughters had been covered consistently by the news vids for years.

"I really should've spent more time on the dossier, huh?"

The princess laughed. "You were probably looking at the more important half."

"Dreading it, is more like it," Talia admitted, "Our resources are dwindling so my council voted for me to come here and give it a shot. I owe it to my colony to try." Her explanation was bland, like talking business with a colleague.

"I noticed a couple of old geezers on the dossier. Oh, it sounds dreadful now, but it wouldn't be for very long." She laughed gently and tapped a finger to her temple, jokingly indicating that Talia should think about it.

Talia laughed, too, but it faded when an image of Dawn's incubator crossed her mind. She'd spent most of her final days in New Horizon's medical wing before leaving for the masquerade. It felt odd and disconnecting to watch her tiny baby girl through the clear glass of the cocoon-like chamber, like an outside observer instead of a nourishing mother. Everything was so sterile and quiet in there, and it gave her pause to reflect upon what New Horizon's first generation of mothers must've felt like, carrying an orphanage of unborn children who marked the beginnings of life to far distant corner of the galaxy. They must've been so apprehensive not knowing where their journey would lead, yet so ready to watch the next generation children flourish outside of their incubators.

Talia was ready to meet her daughter and she wanted to talk about Dawn to anyone other than the doctors. The princess seemed like someone she could share her thoughts with. It'd all come into the light soon enough, anyway.

"Also, I have a daughter in stasis. I didn't know I was pregnant until after Ryker left. I had her removed in my second trimester, thinking that one day he'd return with news of a planet where we could live, and I'd resume the pregnancy. That never happened, though." She fidgeted with the clasp of her bracelet and took a deep breath. "I owe it to her, too. I want her to have a future to look forward to."

The lighthearted Aloeyse sobered at that, raising an eyebrow and letting her gaze slide unfocused over Talia's shoulder. "I begged to be here. Cried and pleaded like a kitlet. There's an undesirable arrangement waiting for me should I return unmarried. After all, I am my father's last hand, and he wishes to play me well."

They finally passed through the threshold which led backstage and watched in silence as more eager women inched toward the front of the line, trying to be among the first to cross the stage. Ambassador Lovelett found her way to the foremost spot.

The rest of them, though, the women who were there out of duty only, clung to the backstage shadows for dear life. Until slowly, one by one, it would be their turn to disappear through that sliver of light between the curtains.

Aloeyse pulled the veil down over her face. "How do I look?" The piercing glow of her golden eyes wasn't dimmed a bit by the thin fabric, and the dangling jewels of her headpiece sparkled like a sky full of falling stars.

"Like a princess."