Rise of A Queen: Aster's Story

Chapter 6

Aster entered the orphanage without an introduction. She wanted to see everything from a relaxed perspective. It wasn't far from the Royal District, which made her feel better about Lyra volunteering there. While the Canis Station was small compared to many other civilizations in the galaxy, it houses about 300,000 people. She didn't want Lyra so far from her that she couldn't respond in an emergency. The main room was large, lined with chairs like a hospital lobby, and decorated in bright kid-friendly colors. There were also pictures of children playing hung neatly on one wall. She noticed it was very quiet, which seemed unusual for a suite that was home to about 300 children. Offices with glass walls separating them from the lobby were located on the right side. On the left side was a door that she assumed opened to the rest of the suite, and where she would find the children. She ignored the offices and went in search of her wife. She found herself in a vegetable garden surrounded by a small group of teenagers. She stood at the entrance unnoticed, listening to her wife teaching the children about caring for the plants. It was nice seeing her relaxed and being herself, even taking charge instead of being so quiet and docile. After a while, she sat on a bench, content for the moment to just watch her and learn more about her wife from a distance. Lyra had her long hair twisted up into a bun and her lavender dress was long and flowing like a Greek goddess. She didn't wear any jewelry, and Aster contemplated giving her a ring, which was common for a human wedding. If she had been given more time, she would have bought one as a gift after the binding ceremony.

Lyra finally noticed her as she left the garden and joined her on the bench. She gave a slight bow of her head in recognition, "good afternoon my Queen." Aster returned the gesture, "hello wife, how has your day been?" "It's been a great distraction from thinking about the funeral. I don't know how I will make it through the day. Saying goodbye to the only parent I have ever known will not be easy. I mean it hasn't really set in yet. There have been so many changes lately and it's like a strange dream." Lyra fidgeted with her hands as she spoke. Aster was happy that she was sharing her actual thoughts instead of simple pleasantries. She took her hand and gave it a quick kiss. "I won't lie, it isn't easy, but you are stronger than you think and will make it through the day. I will be there with you. After the funeral we will have a week and a half before anything new hits us, so I think it will be a great time for us to settle into our new normal. Or at least start establishing it, I know when Rigel gets here things will change a little more. Now, how about you spend the afternoon showing me around the station? Of course, I'm familiar with parts of it, but show me the areas that you enjoy. I have a feeling I may never get to know all of it." Aster pulled her up to leave but took a minute to place a little kiss on her forehead before making their way to the exit.

After spending most of the day visiting the merchant district, the fabric mill, the farming district, and the Royal kitchens, Aster felt like she had learned a lot about Lyra and the Canis People. She was surprised to learn that there were no schools. The children were taught at home primarily by their mothers. The Canis diet had originally been vegetarian but had expanded to include meat as different cultures merged with their own. However, vegetables were still a huge part of their diet and one entire floor of the space center was designated for farming. Their largest import was meat, while their most profitable export was luxury fabrics. During their private moments, she learned that the Canis People were almost identical to humans, except they moved faster and walked with a gracefully long stride. Typically, they have longer life spans, living an average of 150 years, but technology could assist humans in living almost as long. The Canis were able to reproduce with many alien species, while humans could not. Aster knew that there were only a handful of species that could bear children with humans, and the Sagittarius clan was luckily one of them. She did want to have her children with Rigel one day. She hadn't crossed that bridge with Lyra yet. She knew she would probably want children of her own, which was one hurdle, but addressing Aster having children with Rigel would be another. That was a conversation best left for later when their roles in their marriage were more established.

Aster startled from her place on the couch when she heard the door between her and Lyra's room close loudly. She looked up to see Lyra with her nose in a book, making her way to the sitting area. "If you keep up the ruckus I'm going to have to start calling you Grace." She joked. Lyra gave her a confused look. She laughed and explained, "It's an old saying, usually someone clumsy is called Grace as a joke. I've noticed you get zoned into something and don't realize how loud you are clanging around the place." She gave Lyra a grin, "what are you reading?" Lyra sat next to her, "oh it's a recipe book. I have decided to host a series of dinners to introduce you to some of the important people of the Canis Station. After the funeral and our mourning period, we will be officially introduced to the station as the new monarchy. We will also be expected to attend parties at other stations, planets, moons...you know the drill." Aster's grin fell, "Oh for the love...I am not looking forward to that part. How long can we put it off? I mean, we barely know each other, I need to figure out what I'm doing as Queen, I need to figure out how I will be running the merchant company from here while running the space station, and Rigel and I need to figure out what is going on between us. Like, how much more do I possibly need on my plate? This is too much. I will talk to Jase and see if we can't get it all pushed back for at least 3 or 4 months. I mean a year would be better...but I'm sure that is too much." Aster's rambling stopped but her mind was still racing, kind of panicked at the thought of how real this was and how hard this whole thing was going to be. Throwing her head back across the arm of the couch, she covered her eyes with her arm. Lyra didn't bother to answer her wife's rant as she was lost in thoughts of party planning. Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and the intercom announced, "Your Highness, Jase is here to speak to you. Should we let him in?" Aster sat up and wondered what was so important that he would come to her suite to tell her. Lyra put her book on the table and glanced at Aster from the corner of her eye, " Should I leave you to it then?" Aster shook her head, "No wife, we should always deal with things together, there will be no secrets remember." "Send him in please", she answered the guards. Jase entered the room and gave a deep bow, seeming at ease, which made Aster feel a little better about his visit. "I am sorry to bother you at this hour, but there are a few things I wanted to discuss with you. First, everything is ready for the king's final departure. The only thing I need is for Queen Lyra to give the final approval. It felt too impersonal to simply send a message regarding this matter. Second, there is a video message waiting for you my Queen. It seems you haven't been wearing your communicator, and missed several calls. There is no emergency. I believe it is more of a private matter but I will await any instructions should you need anything."

Aster gave a slight bow of her head in recognition, "very well, you and Lyra can finalize the details while I handle the message. Just give me a few minutes." Aster walked to the larger family room shared between her and Lyra and started the message on the screen located on the far wall. She was surprised to see Rigel appear. Her gaze softened and she felt a little sad, she missed him so much and it would be comforting to have him here with her as she figured out exactly what she had gotten them into. She felt like she could almost touch him, he seemed so real in the video. His long black hair was down to his waist, with little beads and braids scattered throughout. His solid black eyes looked right at her as he spoke, and his pale blue, muscled skin was covered in tattoos that she had memorized over their years together. She snapped out of her thoughts and had to replay the message. She listened to his words and the sadness, or was it loneliness, really set in, "My love, it seems that it will be a little longer than expected before I can join you. Lance's ship was attacked by pirates before he could complete his last round. He wasn't even halfway through picking up the orders, which is a blessing because they didn't get much, but it also means there is a lot of work to be done and his ship is being repaired. Since your crew is home, and you were unreachable, I decided to take the crew myself to finish their rounds. I will be running his trip in reverse and restocking the items that were taken. I estimate it will be about two months before I will make it to the Canis Station to join you. I will try tomorrow evening to reach you. Please don't forget your communicator. I want to see your beautiful face. I miss you so much...I love you Aster." With those final words, he disconnected the message. Aster felt tears in her eyes and almost let them fall. She took a shaky deep breath and blinked them away. It felt like so long since they had been together, and she had gone and made their life so much more complicated than they could have ever expected. Now she would have to wait even longer to see him and be in his arms again. It would be nice to have someone here that knew her. Someone to just support her and make her feel confident that she could handle this huge responsibility that she had taken on. At that moment she felt more alone than she ever had. More alone than when her father had died, when she had taken over his business, or even when she and her crew had been stuck on a disabled ship on an empty moon for two weeks. At least then she had known there were people to support her, who empathized with her. Here she felt like an imposter, going through the motions of being Queen. Like it was all some crazy dream she would wake up from, but it wasn't a dream and she had to keep going even if she didn't feel confident in her decisions.

Shaking her head to clear it of her depressing thoughts, she stood to go back to her private suite. Jase would be waiting for her return. She walked to her sitting area where Lyra was seated with her nose back in the recipe book, and Jase was left waiting at the door. "Thank you, Jase, for your patience. I will not be requiring anything from you this evening. I appreciate you handling delicate matters so sensitively. Please let the staff know that I won't require dinner tonight. I think I will just grab a snack and head to bed." With that, she gave a small nod to dismiss Jase from the room. Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood to entertain even Lyra's company and left to take a shower.