Runaways & Liars
1568 Words
“Are you sure, Envoy? I can wait for as long as you want me to.”
Vira smiled down at him, taking a step down on the stairs to put a hand on his shoulder. He had been especially kind to her today. She couldn't understand the reason, but she felt that he was more vigilant today than the days before. He had come to her residence in a strange mood that morning. He talked as usual and they had breakfast.
She understood what was different. From this angle she could see it. There was softness in his eyes.
“Rafel, I truly appreciate your concern,” she said, wanting to cradle his face, “There’s an Ona here.”
“Pervel is not here to protect you,” Rafel said, “Her sole duty is to protect the Ambassador and that is what she will do. If you and the ambassador were to be in any danger, Pervel would help the Ambassador.”
“Well, that’s what I would do too.”
“Envoy, please,” Rafel said, frowning, “You must save yourself in such a situation.”
“Alright, alright, Gods,” Vira said. “You need to get a life, Rafel. This is what we humans call unhealthy work-life balance. Don’t you have friends to go drink with or something?”
“Drinking is forbidden in Inios after an incident some decades back,” he said bluntly. “And my work is life. It has been so since- for a long time.”
Vira looked at him with pity in her eyes and pressed her lips. She patted his shoulder. “I get it all now. You need a drink. That’s why you’re so jagged. You just need some oil in your machine to smooth things out.”
Rafel tilted his head, trying to understand what she was trying to say. “Alcohol is not a lubricant. That is a bad analogy.”
“Are you a machine?” Vira asked, twisting her lips in frustration. “Alcohol is the lubricant of life, for living beings who make a living.”
“That sounds like something alcoholics would say.”
Vira put her hands on her hips as she scoffed, “Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“Is there a reason why I have to delay my dinner?” Ambassador Parker said, stepping out of the house with his Ona, Pervel of Naryos, behind him.
She dropped her hands as she turned around, looking apologetic. “I’ll be right there, sir. I was just discussing some security details with Ona Rafel.”
“He can stay the night too, if he’s so concerned,” Parker said, walking closer while eyeing the Ona.
Rafel turned to him and said, “Thank you for your offer, Ambassador, but I cannot. I must visit the Yipor when I return to Inios.”
Parker folded his hands in front of him, tipping his head back as he looked at him. “I understand. You may leave, Ona Rafel of Vasil. I assure you that Vira is safe under my roof. You need not worry about failing in your duty.”
Rafel stood in his place for several moments, still considering the risk of staying at the Ambassador’s house. The security was a lot more relaxed here than it was at the Palace and if not there, then someone could plant something in the Envoy’s room while she was gone. But that could’ve happened all the time they were touring the Palace, so the possibility was low.
The Ambassador was a well-known military leader turned diplomat, and so he was trained enough to defend against attacks. They seemed to be comfortable around each other, so they were familiar. In what way? Couldn’t be sure. But he looked protective of the Envoy with the way he was observing him.
Rafel nodded. “Then I shall take my leave, Ambassador. Thank you for your assistance.”
He turned to Pervel before bowing as she was his senior. She nodded in response.
Finally, he turned to Vira, who stood with her hands behind her back. “Have a good night, Envoy.”
“Have Martev to take you back,” Vira said, waving at him and the driver of the hover car.
“The Inios is only a short distance away from here. I will be walking back,” Rafel said, giving her a final look before turning around to walk to the street.
“Ah, okay. Have a good night, Rafel,” Vira said.
Rafel walked down to the street, talking to Martev briefly before turning left and walking away. Martev turned the car around and headed in the other direction, towards the Palace.
Ambassador Parker observed his student as she waited for the Ona to walk out of sight. Vira had always resembled him in ways that he found curious. She was his reflection but in a light he never saw himself in. The daughter he was blessed with. And Jordan Parker was only human. He hated his reflection sometimes but he could never hate her.
Still, he wanted her to be better than him.
Vira turned to him, lifting her veil, and huffed, “I don’t know why we need to wear a veil. That’s such an absurd rule. Like what even is the point? No offence, Ona Pervel.”
She walked up the steps, past Jordan Parker and Pervel, cracking her neck. Vira noticed that the two didn’t follow her, and looked back.
“What? I thought you were late for your dinner,” she said.
Parker sighed and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go and eat.”
Connections were extremely helpful when one had to transport native food ingredients from one part of the Galaxy to another. Parker’s stock of Earth food was depleting faster since Vira had arrived on Avtos. He even ordered an additional shipment as soon as he heard the news that she would be joining him for the negotiations.
“Sir, you really know how to choose your meat, I swear,” Vira said before biting into her steak. She looked at the door, outside which stood Pervel, before leaning closer.
She whispered, “I can’t believe they let you ship the vodka. I thought the Royal Court was strict about the alcohol trade.”
Parker smiled softly before leaning in as well. He whispered back, “They are. I smuggled this bottle.”
Vira chuckled and said, “I brought some rum. You should come to my residence to try it. It’s from Ora.”
Parker grimaced at the mention of the woman. “How is the old crone?”
“She’s well,” Vira replied, “She’s thinking of retiring.”
He scoffed, “Ora Goode has been thinking of retiring since before you were born. She’s going to work herself into the next life.”
Vira shrugged. “What’s wrong with that? I mean, I hope she rests well and everything, but if she likes working so much, it’s better to work. Why retire?”
“This is what I was scared of,” Parker said, putting his spoon down. “Look at yourself, you’re turning into her. I leave for six months and this is what happens.”
She smiled, filling her glass with vodka. “I’ve already told you. I’m going to stay in defense a couple more years and then start working with Ora in her restaurant. Isn’t it better than being sent to die every 2 months?”
She laughed at her own words. She mumbled to herself, “Not that I ever die.”
She drank the vodka in one go, the glass hitting the table with a loud thud.
“I have to ask, sir,” she said, leaning back, “What did you accept coming here? It’s not like you take on a task without a thought.”
Parker coughed at the sudden question. He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Why did you?”
“Well, I returned from a mission again, and they couldn’t promote me because I was promoted not long ago, so they were like take a vacation and handle this really sensitive negotiation with the Fervens while you’re at it,” Vira said, shrugging at the end, “And I didn’t have anything better to do. Your turn.”
“The options weren’t that many,” Parker said, hoping that he sounded genuine. “They were going to send Richard of all the people. You know how he is.”
“Yeah, but he knows when to shut his mouth, so there’s that.”
Parker raised an eyebrow at her. “He knows how to please people, not build relations.”
“If he wasn’t good at his job, they would’ve fired him already,” she said, pointing at him. “You have a tendency to want to…educate people. I mean, I’m not saying you can’t build relations—that’s literally your job—but you know your flaws. You like a fight and you seek it.”
“Well, I have had to let go of such habits since becoming a diplomat,” Parker said, raising his glass towards her, “The things we do for our planet.”
She raised her glass, clinking it with his. “The things we do.”
- Writer
