Droids And Bots

Chapter 19

was pulled up over her wrist. “Your Highness. ” The words were a rush, spit out automatically, and she felt the need to say something more, to fill the space of the elevator, but nothing came.

The doors closed; the box began to rise.

She cleared her throat. “You should, um, just call me Nora. You don’t have to be so—” Diplomatic.

The corner of the Princewill’s lip quirked, but the almost smile didn’t reach his eyes. “All right. Nora. Are you following me?”

She frowned, hackles rising before she realized he was teasing her. “I’m just going to check on the med-droid. That I looked at yesterday. To ensure it doesn’t have any remaining bugs or anything. ”

He nodded, but Nora detected a shadow lingering behind his eyes, a new stiffness to his shoulders. “I was on my way to talk to Dr. Erland about his progress. I heard through the grapevine that he may have made progress with one of the recent draft subjects. I don’t suppose he said anything to you?”

Nora fidgeted with her belt loops. “No, he didn’t mention anything. But I’m just the mechanic. ”

The elevator came to a stop. finch gestured for her to exit first and then joined her as they made their way to the laboratories. She watched the white floor pass beneath her feet.

“Your Highness?” interrupted a youngish woman with black hair that hung in a tight braid. Her gaze was fixed on Princewill finch, all sympathy. “I am so sorry. ”

Nora’s gaze shifted to finch, who tipped his head at the woman. “Thank you, Fateen. ” And kept walking.

Nora frowned.

Not a dozen steps later, they were halted again by a man carrying a handful of clear vials in his fists. “My condolences, Your Highness. ”

Nora shivered as her feet came to a pause beneath her.

finch stopped and peered back at her. “You haven’t seen the net this morning. ”

A heartbeat later, Nora was accessing her netlink, pages flashing across her eyesight. The EC news page, a half-dozen pictures of Emperor Rikan, two pictures of finch—the Princewill regent.

She clapped a hand to her mouth.

finch seemed surprised, but the look quickly faded. He ducked his head, his black bangs falling into his eyes. “Good guess. ”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. ”

He tucked his hands into his pockets and gazed down the hallway. Only now did Nora notice the faint rim of red around his eyes.

“I wish my father’s death were the worst of it. ”

“Your Highness?” Her netlink was still scanning for information, but nothing seemed worse than Emperor Rikan having passed away last night. The only other noteworthy tidbit was that Princewill finch’s coronation had been scheduled for the same evening of the Peace Festival, to take place before the ball.

He met her gaze, surprised, as if he’d forgotten who he was speaking with. Then, “You can call me finch. ”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“No more ‘Your Highness. ’ I get enough of that from…everyone else. You should just call me finch. ”

“No. That wouldn’t be—”

“Don’t make me turn it into a royal command. ” He hinted at a smile.

Nora scrunched her shoulders up by her ears, suddenly embarrassed. “All right. I suppose. ”

“Thank you. ” He c****d his head toward the hall. “We should go, then. ”

She had nearly forgotten that they were in the research hall, surrounded by people, everyone politely ignoring them as if they were not even there. She started down the hallway, wondering if she’d spoken out of place, and awkward beside the Princewill who was suddenly just finch. It didn’t feel right.

“What was wrong with the android?”

She scratched at an oil stain on her glove. “Oh, I’m sorry. She’s not done yet. I’m working on her, I swear. ”

“No, I meant the med-droid. That you fixed for Dr. Erland?”

“Oh. Oh, right. Um. It was…it had…a…dead wire. Between its optosensor and…control panel. ” finch lifted an eyebrow and she wasn’t sure that she’d convinced him. She cleared her throat. “You, uh, said something was worse? Before?”

When finch said nothing for an awkward moment, she shrugged. “Never mind. I didn’t mean to pry. ”

“No, it’s all right. You’ll find out soon enough. ” He lowered his voice, inclining his head toward her as they walked. “The Lunar queen informed us this morning that she is coming to the South Lake on a diplomatic mission. Supposedly. ”

Nora nearly tripped, but finch kept walking. She stumbled after him. “The Lunar queen is coming here? You can’t be serious. ”

“I wish I weren’t. Every droidin the palace has spent the morning taking down every reflective surface in the guest wing. It’s ridiculous—like we have nothing better to do. ”

“Reflective surfaces? I always thought that was just superstition. ”

“Evidently not. Something about their glamour…” He twirled a finger around his face, then stopped. “It doesn’t really matter. ”

“When is she coming?”

“Today. ”

Nora’s stomach plummeted. The Lunar queen? Coming to New Beijing? A chill crawled down her arms.

“I’ll be making an announcement in half an hour. ”

“But why would she come now, when we’re in mourning?”

A grim smile. “Because we’re in mourning. ”

finch paused. With a glance around the hallway, he inched toward Nora, lowering his voice. “Look, I really appreciate your helping with the med-droids, and I’m sure the best mechanic in the city has a million jobs to prioritize, but at the risk of sounding like a spoiled Princewill, could I ask that you move Nainsi to the top of your list? I’m starting to get anxious about getting her back. I—” He hesitated. “I think I could use the moral support of my childhood tutor right now. You know?” The intensity in his eyes did not try to hide his true meaning. He wanted her to know he was lying. This had nothing to do with moral support or childhood attachments.

The panic behind the Princewill’s eyes spoke volumes. What information could that droidhave that was so important? And what did it have to do with the Lunar queen?

“Of course, Your Highness. Sorry, Princewill finch. I’ll take a look at her as soon as I get home. ”

She thought she spotted gratitude hidden somewhere beneath all his worry. finch gestured at a door beside him, labeled DR. DMITRI ERLAND. He opened the door and ushered her in.

Dr. Erland was sitting at a lacquered desk, poring over a screen set into the surface. When he spotted finch, he leaped to his feet, simultaneously snatching up his wool cap and rounding the desk toward them.

“Your Highness—I am so sorry. What can I do to help you?”

“Nothing, thank you,” said finch, a practiced reaction. Then he pulled his shoulders back, reconsidering. “Find a cure. ”

“I will, Your Highness. ” He pulled his hat on. “Of course I will. ” The conviction in the doctor’s face was almost startling, but also comforting. Nora immediately wondered if he’d found something new in the hours since she’d last seen him.

She thought of Peony, alone in the quarantine. Though it was an awful thing to think, and she immediately chastised herself for it, she couldn’t help it—with Emperor Rikan dead, Peony was the first in line for an antidote.

finch cleared his throat. “I found your pretty new mechanic down in the lobby, and she tells me she’s here to check on the med-droids again. You know I could get you funding for some upgraded models if you require it. ”

Nora started at that simple word—pretty—but neither finch nor Dr. Erland looked at her. Teetering on her feet, she scanned the room. A floor-to-ceiling window captured a perfect view of the lush palace gardens and the city beyond. Open shelves were filled with objects both familiar and unusual, new and ancient. A stack of books—not portscreens, but solid, paper books. Jars filled with leaves and dried flowers, jars filled with finely labeled liquids, jars filled with animal specimens and formaldehyde. A series of rocks and metals and ores, all finely labeled.

It was the office of a witch doctor as much as an acclaimed royal scientist.

“No, no, they only needed a touch of maintenance,” Dr. Erland was saying, lying as smoothly as he had the day before. “Nothing to worry about, and I would hate to have to program a new model. Besides, if we didn’t have any malfunctioning androids, what excuse would we have for asking Miss Sintia back to the palace from time to time?”

Nora glared at the doctor, half-mortified, but the start of a smile grew on finch’s face.

“Doctor,” said finch, “I heard a rumor that you’ve made some sort of a breakthrough in the past few days. Is it true?”

Dr. Erland pulled the spectacles from his pocket and set to cleaning them with the hem of his lab coat. “My Princewill, you should know better than to ask after rumors like that. I hate to give you hope before I know anything concrete. But when I do have solid information, you will be the first to see the report. ” He slid the glasses onto his nose.

finch tucked his hands into his pockets, seemingly satisfied. “Right. In that case, I’ll leave you be and hope to see a report cross my desk any day now. ”

“That could be difficult, Your Highness, considering you do not have a desk. ”

finch shrugged and turned to Nora. His eyes softened a little with a polite bow of his head. “I hope our paths will cross again. ”

“Really? In that case, I guess I’ll keep following you. ” She regretted the joke for half a breath before finch laughed. A real laugh, and her chest warmed.

Then the Princewill reached for her hand—her cyborg hand.

Nora tensed, terrified that he would feel the hard metal, even through her gloves, and yet even more afraid to pull away lest he find it suspicious. She mentally urged the robotic limb to go soft, to be pliant, to be human, as she watched finch lift the hand and kiss the back of it. She held her breath, overwhelmed and embarrassed.

The Princewill released her, bowed—his hair falling into his eyes again—and left the room.

Nora stood frozen, her wired nerves humming.

She heard Dr. Erland grunt in curiosity, but the door opened again as soon as it had closed.

“Gracious,” Dr. Erland muttered as finch stepped back inside.

“Pardon me, but might I have one more brief word with Sintia-mèi?”

Dr. Erland flicked his wrist toward her. “By all means. ”

finch turned to her, still in the doorway. “I know this sounds like very poor timing, but trust me when I say my motives are based on self-preservation. ” He inhaled a sharp breath. “Would you consider being my personal guest at the ball?”

The floor dissolved beneath Nora. Her mind blanked. Surely, she hadn’t heard correctly.

But he just stood, patient, and after a long moment raised both his eyebrows in a mute prompt.

“E-excuse me?”

finch cleared his throat. Stood straighter. “I assume you are going to the ball?”

“I-I don’t know. I mean, no. No, I’m sorry, I’m not going to the ball. ”

finch drew back, confused. “Oh. Well…but…maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know. ”

“The Princewill. ”

“Not bragging,” he said quickly. “Just a fact. ”

“I know. ” She gulped. The ball. Princewill finch was asking her to the ball. But that was the night she and Iko would be running away, if the car was fixed in time. The night she would escape.

Besides, he didn’t know who, what, he was asking. If he knew the truth…how mortified would he be if anyone found out?

finch shifted on his feet, casting a nervous glance toward the doctor.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “Thank you—I…Thank you, Your Highness. But I must respectfully decline. ”

He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected. “No, it’s all right. I understand. ”