By Birthright: Duty
By TerraMGP
The Queen Grace was, in many ways, a testament to the love of anachronism held by the people of New Avalon. The size was perhaps the most obvious aspect of this. While there were still Kilometer-long behemoths plying their way though the stars, it was a size usually reserved for things like supertankers or war ships. Indeed, the massive luxury cruiser was so big that her route had to be carefully calculated in order to ensure that the various gates between systems would be clear of smaller traffic ahead of time.
Over a kilometer from the tip of the bow to the thruster banks. A city in its own right, resting on a carefully engineered skeleton which in turn was used as a blank canvas by an era’s most revered architects and designers. 20,000 passengers to a trip, never mind the crew. With supplies and emergency facilities to satisfy any need which may arise. The thing easily had the size to resemble the old generation ships used by the strange and outlandish Vaga. Fitting, considering its months-long circuits along various trade lanes. Though where those ancient generation ships were Spartan and efficient, the Queen Grace spared no expense. A wide array of lavish architecture in every style housing all manner of worldly entertainment and even spiritual retreats.
It was, odd as it perhaps felt, the ideal place to hide a princess.
Natty smiled to herself as she made her way though one of the many gardens set around the ship. She moved with dainty steps. Her eyes carefully darting this way and that as she examined each specimen carefully. A small wicker basket hung from her hooked forearm. It was already filled with a few choice cuts. Juniper and Holly, naturally. Along with a small bundle of honeysuckles. She passed over some irises and lilies after a few moments of careful consideration, along with a pawful of the designer gene-engineered flowers that had been mixed in even though the garden itself was supposedly more traditional heritage plants.
“You’d think people could leave some room left for evolution.” The squirrel maid muttered to herself. A part of her admittedly felt wrong criticizing the height of luxury. A ship most could never dream of exploring and here she was complaining about it like some spoiled little… well, she had to stop herself at ‘princess’. God only knew her own Mistress would probably have been fine to prance around the garden and soak in whatever offerings it had. She probably would have even asked to help out one of the gardeners. Never mind that most of them were very well paid to do work easily done by a drone simply for the sake of saying it was done by hand.
Natty wondered if she should have words with the little Miss. Such an action was not the maid’s place. In fact it might get her punished. Natty also had to wonder if that was what her mind was trying to prod her towards, and she fought hard to keep her composure though a small blush.
She had one last stop to make as she tread along the carefully manicured pathways between circular sitting areas and around the occasional isolated tree. It was the main reason she’d bothered coming out this far in the morning, and it was the one thing she simply couldn’t go back without. In the exact middle of the garden, surrounding a statue of the ships namesake in crown and scepter, there was a rose bush. A thick and well loved hedge of blue rose vines curling and twisting around each other, presenting their cobalt offerings out to all who could view them. Some had bloomed already. Most were still buds hovering on the cusp of new life. It felt almost a shame to her as Natty reached down into her basket and withdrew the simple cutters she’d brought with her. Fortunately she had special dispensation to take a few flowers. After all, who would refuse the beloved Princess Katherine? Especially when her family owned the ship.
Natty took a careful eye to the flowers. Three of them would work. Straight-stemmed. Flowers that might well die out sooner. Ones that would not be missed amid the sea of blue and green. Deftly the maid snipped each selection and placed it into her basket. Just like that the regret passed, and a sense of satisfaction from a job well done washed over her.
She was just about to head back when a small glint of something familiar caught her eye. Natty walked her way around the statue slowly. Her head craning past the bronze pillar of a noble chipmunk woman and her kindly gaze out upon the garden. The figure on the other side was lost in her own little world. A pink skinned frog with head bowed in silent prayer and hands folded. Her body clad in a simple soft blue flight suit, the kind one generally wore when meant to be ready for a scramble at any given moment. It looked new, and it fit wrong on the girl. Her lanky limbs swam in the fabric while she kept the magnetic buttons open down almost to the point where one could see her chest, or near enough to be scandalous for a knight.
The maid waited a few moments and observed the scene. Not moving. Not making a sound. Only when she was sure the other woman was about done did she chime in with a steady sing song. “Ah, Ser DeCruze, wasn’t it?”
The frog nearly fell flat on her rear. She also went for a weapon which wasn’t there at the moment. Admirable training even if welded to some questionable nerves. Upon seeing Natty, the frog relaxed a bit and inclined her head. Natty watched as the knight shoved a wad of gum into one cheek with what was surely supposed to be some sort of subtlety.
“Squire, actually. You’re the Princess’ maid. Right?” The frog asked
“Head maid.” Natty clarified. She also took a quick moment to mentally note the proper rank for this girl. “Though I do ask that we not discuss that too much out in the open. I’m sure you understand.”
Joan, the squire, nodded and slumped back into a posture quite unbefitting a future knight. Loose and tight in all the wrong places. Her digits still squirming a bit for want of a sidearm. Still she gave Natty a very sweet smile and took a few calming breaths before forcing a nice big smile on her lips. “Sorry. I’m not used to this sort of thing. All the maids and pleasantries and… whatever it is you’re doing with those. What are those, anyways?”
Natty followed the frog’s gaze down to the basket of flowers and snickered softly. “Mistress’ morning bouquet. She’s been spending time trying to figure out what to do with one of her gifts. Contemplating how to use it to teach herself a new skill set, as it were. Then she got bored and had the new slave play holo games with her and eat junk food until they passed out on the couch. I imagine the little miss will be out until the afternoon at least.” The maid held up the basket of flowers so that the frog could get a better look, holding it up in case she wanted to get a good sniff. When she didn’t accept the unspoken invitation Natty let the basket slump to her side.
“So you decided to make her a bouquets?” Joan asked.
Natty nodded. “Well yes. I do so every morning. I have since she was little.”
The frog squire pursed her lips a few moments and resisted the urge to push the gum from between her lips. Natty was smart enough to know a nervous habit when she saw one. Especially with someone that bad at hiding it. She almost considered mentioning it to the squire. But then Joan seemed to be relaxing, and Natty would be damned if she spoiled that bit of ease.
“So the pri- so your Mistress” Joan corrected herself “just pulled an all neither with her new slave like it’s some kind of sleep over? While on the god damn Queen Grace? Man, I don’t know if I should be impressed or shocked.”
Natty’s brow quirked. “Why would you be either?” She asked
Joan blinked and took a half step back. “I didn’t mean nothing, er, anything by it. It’s just that she’s on the Queen Grace. Hell I didn’t think I’d ever be on this ship until I got this assignment. Yet here she is having a sleepover like any other normal girl.”
Something about that felt very wrong to Natty. It was tempting to correct the frog. But correct her for what? It was annoyingly hard to be upset when you didn’t know what to be upset over.
“I don’t know that it’s really as appropriate as you make it out to be.” the maid muttered.
“Why not?” Joan shrugged “My own preconceptions aside I’m guessing most of her siblings pull that too, right? It’s not like there are that many ways to have fun while blowing all the money anyone could ever hope to have and more.”
Natty flicked her tail almost dismissively. She then glanced back at the path, at the place she’d come down from. The path which eventually led up to the room where her little Miss slept. A small something clicked in Natty’s mind “So what you are trying to say, if I understand you correctly, is that you expect someone cannot lean on simple pleasures if they have a good deal of money?”
“I mean… why would you?” Joan shrugged “I figured either there was some kind of class expectations or just a ton of ways that those with more money could enjoy themselves. I’d never have gotten to be a knight, or at the very least a squire, without my family coming up in the world.”
That seemed to strike something in the squirrel. She looked the squire over again. She was fit enough, at least as much as one could tell from the uniform. She was obviously skilled enough to be placed on a detail to protect the Princess. Natty found herself almost giving voice to her confusion at the utter lack of confidence the woman showed. Almost, but not quite. Not yet. It would be utterly rude to dare asking such a thing of a stranger after all.
“Katie has her roles to play as anyone in her family does, Squire. I can understand the confusion. Looking up at ones betters I think it’s perhaps easy to objectify them somewhat. To ‘other’ them in a way. Duty of station often forces them to accept that role anyways. For the good of the people, you understand. It’s why many of our most noble and lauded rulers and executives are utterly terrible people behind closed doors. It’s also why honor is so important to keep them behaving when it comes to the general population.”
The comments struck home. Joan looked utterly terrified and at least a touch disgusted. So much so that she almost swallowed her gum. “That sounds absolutely sinister.” She spat “Shouldn’t people be all up in arms over that sort of thing?”
“Why?” Natty’s tone as cool and even as ever. Offering only the slightest shrug of her shoulders “It is, after all, God who puts us in our places. It is the systems which have been set down that allow us to function. If we hold out for perfect people, just wait around for some noble hero who always knows what is best, we’d never get anywhere would we?”
A small bitter scoff left Joan’s lips. “So you’re saying ‘it’s corrupt, but it’s better than the alternative?” She sighed.
Natty looked at Joan a long moment. Then she turned her attention to the flowers. Gently, her gloved hand cupped one of the blooms and guided it up towards them while being careful to not damage the stem. “Do you see this, Squire DeCruz?” Natty asked.
“Yeah.” Joan said flatly.
“No matter what bouquet I make the little miss, it always has at least one of these. It’s the symbol for the House of Bran. It has been since the corp was founded. It’s on her fathers armor. Her brother’s swords have always born it on them somewhere. A whole floor of the palace is dedicated to a garden built around blue roses. They’re beautiful. They’re unique. But they have an interesting history. Back when Mars was first being Terraformed, there were actually worries about the process and the damage it would cause. Particulate of still decaying Iron Cobalt from some equipment’s power supplies was among the big concerns. Someone would drive a huge aeration rig over a swathe of land and because of how cheap the equipment was you’d wind up with soil that sometimes had heavy traces of the stuff.”
Natty let the flower fall and turned to the squire. The young knight-to-be lost, as she expected. “You see, the original blue roses were used to help absorb and neutralize the chemical when it came up. White roses that grew in thick heavy bushes with relatively little care. If they turned blue, you knew you were cleaning up from bad waste products. You could then build around the danger until it was safe. After a while the pigments just kind of stuck in the genetic structure of some of the plants. Natural selection and all that.”
“Wow, uh. That’s real interesting Miss Natty.” Joan laughed nervously.
Natty turned to the squire and stifled a giggle. “The blue rose is the symbol of the Bran family because of what they represent. They show us where to build. They help us avoid danger. They provide protection in thick walls and sharp barbs against our foes. It’s honestly rather fitting. Not every Bran lives up to this legacy. Those that do often find a way for it to happen on their own terms. Prince Tristan will be our king some day. God willing some day far in the future when the king is ready to abdicate and not though anything more tragic. But it isn’t just something that ‘happens’. Even if Katie is never to be queen, she still has her part in all of this. Yes?”
“I… uh… guess so?” Joan muttered.
“The point is.” Natty sighed “That house Bran is like these flowers. A creation. An artificial construct designed to help draw out the worst of our society. To preserve it. To give the people what they need. King Bran is our strength, our purpose. He is the fire that warms us and the shield which guards us. He is a grim man, but he loves his people. Prince Tristan? He’s our future. He is the hope for tomorrow our people hold. The hope that God has granted us a noble and benevolent leader to carry us when his father’s time has passed. If the Drassi’s could be likened to a tree, then New Avalon is a grand estate. Those roses are at the heart of that estate. Cared for by all, providing protection against unseen dangers in return.”
The squire’s smile seemed to indicate she understood. Or at least she was comfortable enough to humor Natty rather than dig deeper. Joan looked down at the flower and sighed then turned her attention back to Natty. “So what does that make your Mistress?” She asked bluntly.
“The heart.” Natty affirmed, rather simply. “Not a role chosen for her. None of them are save for the king and queen. But I think you’ll find she’s hardly the stuck up pleasure seeker or aloof heiress you perhaps considered her and her siblings. She’s just as much one of these flowers as the rest of her family. We need that innocence as much as we need her father’s strength or her brother’s courage. Yes, she knows how to play her part in court. But in the end she is always herself at heart. No duplicity. No deviousness. I will fight like hell to ensure that never changes.”
“So It’s about purpose, huh?” Joan looked up at the statue and sighed. Up until that moment she’d been more emboldened. Yet just as quickly her mood crashed again as she grew even more listless than before.
“So, do you mind if I ask what you are doing here, squire?” Natty smiled to the frog and quirked her brow a bit. Her rigid stance relaxed just a touch.
Joan seemed to notice, and grew a bit more rigid in response. Her thick tongue licked nervously along her lips for just a moment. “I don’t really know what to say, Ma’am.” She finally muttered.
“I’m no Ma’am, dear.” Natty corrected “I’m a maid. You are a squire. I presume one with at least some sort of title to your name, or else they wouldn’t even consider you for this kind of position.”
The comment was said in a soothing tone with clear hopes of loosening the squire up a bit. Instead she braced. Her body so rigid that it looked like she may pass out. Only remembering to keep her knees from locking saved her from what might have been a nasty fall.
Little by little, Joan’s anxiety subsided. She turned and leaned herself up against the rail that provided some idea of where the rosebushes were supposed to end and the well cared for path should start. “A title, sure. Bought and paid for by my papa. Up until about seven years ago we were simply a normal family. Class 2, I guess. Though it was an independent world so technically there was no legal class system.”
Joan paused and looked listlessly up towards the high vaulted ceiling. A carefully laid mosaic of some far off field with a castle on a hill hovered over them with small pinpricks of light seeping though the minute tiles. Joan traced those lights with her eyes. Her tongue darting a quick bubble that she blew until it snapped, then deftly reeled back into her mouth. “Would you mind if I asked you something? Ma-, er…”
“Maid Natty, if you don’t mind.” Natty reassured her.
“Right, Natty. I-”
“Maid Natty.” Natty corrected.
“Right. ‘Maid’ Natty. Let me ask you. How’d your friends take it? You know, when you became one of the Princess’ maids. How exactly did they react? Were any of them. Ya know… pissed?”
The squirrel found herself stifling a very inappropriate laugh. It took embarrassingly long for her to regain her composure. She looked to the frog squire, who was clearly hurt by the outburst. Natty sighed and gave a small bow of apology. “Forgive me. I just… I have not really had any ‘friends’. Not in that sense at any rate. I was always going to be a maid for the Bran household. Mother is one of the queen’s handmaidens. I’ve been in service or training to be in service to our princess since she was born. I’d even help the queen when she read to her at night.”
“She needed help reading to her daughter?” Joan blinked
“Well yes. I’m guessing you’re the youngest among your family? But when holding a baby it’s generally difficult to get up and get a fresh bottle without upsetting them from near slumber. Sure the printer may be close at hand or one may keep a few warming nearby. But it’s about like what you see from Holos when someone is trying to disarm a bomb. Plus it was always fun to be in the room and attend to them. Our Majesty is quite good at doing voices for books.”
Just like that Natty realized she’d probably gotten way too familiar, and quickly straightened up her posture “Regardless, it was a fitting job for a girl of five. And it’s still what I do now, more or less. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Must be nice.” Joan sighed. The door that was slowly opening with the squire seemed about ready to shut. All the growing signs of trust evaporating in an instant. Natty shook her head and turned back the way she had come down the path, nodding to Joan. “Would you care to accompany me back to the lift? I’m fairly sure it’s on your way, isn’t it?”
“On my way to what?” Joan muttered halfheartedly “I didn’t, I mean I’m not… I suppose I can join you, sure. May as well do something to justify my spurs while I’m on this tub.”
Natty smiled sweetly at the squire and took the woman’s arm. There was no flirtation to it. If the squirrel was good at anything then it was projecting her chastity. Perhaps too good, considering how the little miss was dealing with things at the moment. Joan still looked nervous at this and began escorting her along the pathway towards the grand hall running fore towards one of the lavish ballrooms resting against the prow.
“Let me ask you something, Squire Joan. Did you wish to become a knight?” Natty asked casually.
“Just laying it all out there, huh?” Joan scoffed. She paused for a long moment. Her big frog grin plastering over otherwise obvious worry. “Before we had money, it wasn‘t really an issue. I‘m low born. No title growing up. No expectations of some long forgotten blood tie that lets me even try and get accepted by someone to train. I played Knight when I was young. Sure. I was a tomboy. I also played detective, and spent some time on a cricket team. I never actually ‘planned‘ to be any of them. Though with cricket I would have at least had a shot at it back then.”
“I‘m sure you‘d have made a fine bowler.” Natty offered politely “But then what made you choose this path?”
Joan pursed her lips for a moment and blew a large bubble. She then quickly pulled the gum in upon realizing how uncouth and vulgar it was. “Sorry.” She sighed “I, well as for being a Knight? Someone in the family had to, sim? A title practically demands it. None of my siblings really wanted to. They weren‘t up for it. The most you‘d see from them is probably spending a few office hours slacking off playing some realm building simulator instead of doing real work.”
There should have been some resentment in the words. Natty listened for it. Instead they were flat. Not even so much resigned as ‘matter of fact‘. The maid glanced up at her escort a moment, then looked down the hallway as it branched out towards several of the various lifts. “I know I‘ve spoken quite a bit about obligation. But I hope you realize that it is different for the rest of the galaxy than it is for those such as the Brans, yes?”
“What do you mean?” Joan asked
For the Brans, and those who serve them, for the old money and a few others, there‘s really little choice about how life works for them. The path is set. By God. By family. Even just by the risk of attempting to abandon it. They belong to the people. Such people can never fully live for themselves. When we arrive, you‘ll be a knight. Some of those obligations will fall on you as well. But you‘ll still have the choice to largely shirk if you wish. There are countless title-holders who do little more than the occasional honor duel or show-mission while playing politics in the court.”
“So you‘re telling me I should just be some lazy sponge?” An edge crept into Joan‘s voice as she asked. Her eyes narrowed a touch gazing down at the squirrel girl.
Natty smiled wide and kept her eyes straight ahead. “You can. But I don‘t think you will. Not from that reaction.” She could feel the frog shrink a touch from the words. Almost feel the shame from the outburst radiate off of the squire. It was almost cute. “I think you are where you need to be, Squire. I think you were ‘meant‘ to be a knight. I also think it‘s clearly in your heart. You just second guess yourself. Which, I suppose, isn‘t a bad thing. If you didn‘t then one could say your sincerity would be in question. You worry you can do this, which shows you care. Many don‘t care.”
They both fell silent for the last few dozen yards to their stop. The doors to the private lifts were almost eerily quiet. One might even be forgiven to mistake them for unguarded, though anyone who knew better would recognize the signs of hidden security turrets and observation equipment.
In the back of her mind Natty did as well. It was just something that came with wealth. Something to be expected when you live at the top. Even as a servant. Joan likewise seemed to tense as her training made her quite aware of the weapons. Natty smiled at that, kissing the frog on the cheek and then pulling away to stand perfectly centered in the lift.
“Before you go.” Joan sighed. “Would it be alright if I confided something in you, miss.”
The request stunned the squirrel. It took quite a few seconds before she even realized she was nodding. “I did not think I’d done anything to earn any particular trust, Squire Joan. But do go on.”
“Ok, but, you gotta promise me you won’t have me dragged out and burned for heresy or anything.” The frog laughed nervously as she said it.
Natty’s smile grew and she put a paw on the frogs shoulder. “Dear, heresy itself hasn’t been an issue for generations. I doubt anyone is going to treat you as they did your namesake. But please, go on. Trust me. I’m here to listen.”
Joan nodded nervously. She tried like hell to return the other woman’s smile while shifting her weight away from the touch. “It’s just… I had a dream, last night. I know that already sounds stupid. A knight shouldn’t be afraid of dreams. Even if I’m not one yet I know it’d probably ensure I never got my spurs.” The frog clinched her pink fleshed fists. Her eyes slipping shut as she danced around the words she needed to say. “Back before he took the cloth, my cousin would always tell us kids all the things he was learning in his theology classes. Especially all the things he thought would scare us. What angels are supposed to really look like. All the scary things other gods in other myths would do. One thing always stood out to me though. He talked about how many faiths or myths would end up having talk of three different sisters. Sometimes all of them being the same person, kind of like the godhead. Only not, I guess?”
The squire pulled away from the squirrel maid entirely now and rubbed the spot where her shoulder had been touched. Gripping into it with her fingers as she drew a few anxious breaths. “I don’t know why that one always stayed with me. But last night… I was in a grove of trees. It was dark and misty. Kinda looked like when historical dramas try to portray old Albion. I was lost. I knew that much. These three sisters were there, sitting around a massive pot. They weren’t the same species. A skunk, a fox, even a chipmunk. That part makes it feel a bit uncomfortable, considering…” she gestured at the lift towards the princess’ suite.
“Well it’s not like you can control your dreams, Squire.” Natty chuckled “Plus it’s not like the Brans are the only ones with Chipmunks in their line. They are a very common folk on most worlds.”
“Right.” Joan nodded. “But these girls. They all dressed in hooded robes and were gathered around a big pot. I was in old timey armor. Like really real old timey armor. The stuff historians agree it probably looked like in the earliest days. A sword on my hip. A scarf around my neck. The lot. They bid me come closer and then…”
“An Ill omen?” Natty offered.
Joan blinked and gazed in shock at the maid. “How did you…”
“Those types of stories almost always have some ill omen. Like I said, I was around often when the Queen would read to our Princess. There’s quite a few like that.”
“Yeah but I didn’t know that.” Joan muttered. “So how did I…”
“I bet you did.” Natty cut in “You may not realize it, but I bet your cousin told you. I bet it’s somewhere lost in the jumble of thoughts. You’re nervous. You have a bad feeling. It’s not a rational one all things considered. But given your position I can understand it. I hardly think it is anything prophetic. Certainly not foreign gods coming to warn you about some great disaster for their own amusement.”
“Am I that obvious?” Joan sighed. I admit, I have been on edge of late. The whole thing has been a terrifying experience. This may be my last chance after all, and something simply doesn’t sit right.”
The lift door opened and Natty took a step in, turning and bowing to the frog squire. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad. Not that I suspect anything is afoul. But I’d rather our security escort be on edge and nothing happen, than be lax when the worst comes. I’m no nun. Obviously so.” she sighed with a stifled chuckle “but I bet if you talked to one they’d tell you to pray on it. Sometimes stress is just stress. Speaking of which, I must now go induce some on our beloved Princess. Lest she spend the whole day sleeping with that new toy as a body pillow.”
She gave a small bow, and then the lift began to raise up. Joan watched the lift indicator rise for a few moments before turning and making her way down the hall. She had a lot to think about.
