Saturna and the Secrets of the Kingdom

By DP Scott

"Saturna and the Secrets of the Kingdom" is the second book which follows "Saturna and the Battle for Zard". Saturna has won the war, but the battle continues. With conflict on the planet Veectors, security issues on Jattee, and a major political situation on Mevot, Saturna must deal with each challenge to maintain control of the Zardian Empire. On route to the ice planet Mevot, a solar storm forces the royal spaceship to seek refuge on Turnti, an advanced planet where the inhabitants communicate by telepathy. Here, Saturna discovers secrets about her mother's past and learns to harness her telepathic abilities. A second unscheduled stop on Thespa, a planet well known for its great beasts and dragons, proves to be valuable when Saturna uncovers a long forgotten secret.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DP Scott
• Release date: Mar 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9780993684135

DP Scott

DP Scott lives in Kelowna, BC with her husband, Roy and their cocker spaniel, Sophie. She is well traveled and has been to over thirty-five countries. Much of her inspiration comes from her travel experiences. Although she has always written, after years of working in the medical field, she finally retired and began to take her passion of writing seriously.

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Saturna and the Secrets of the Kingdom

D. P. Scott

Published by D. P. Scott at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 D. P. Scott

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Chapter One

A sliver of early morning light shone on the large double receiving gates on the eastern side of the castle and a small hole beside them in the stone wall. The hole originally created when one of the bricks had fallen away had been somewhat enlarged by the little creature that was presently inside it, curled into a ball and sleeping soundly. It was difficult to tell from its sleeping position where the head started and the tail ended because the color of its fur was so similar to the beige color of the brick.

As the receiving doors of the kitchen creaked slowly open, the aroma of the newly baked miana bread escaped into the courtyard and drifted invitingly towards the creature’s living quarters. When the little furry ball yawned and took in the smell, it was almost more than its hungry stomach could handle. Cautiously looking to the right and left before leaving its protected home, the creature, which had every appearance of a miniature lemur, began to sniff its way carefully towards breakfast. Although the small, odd-looking ball of fur was confident that it had not been noticed by the Urite servants unloading a trailer of supplies, it was mistaken. The Urite servants had instantly picked up its movement through their auries, and had already begun to bring down the kitchen doors.

Increasing his gait to a scamper the beige ball of fur skidded under the closing gate into the kitchen, but was forced to an abrupt stop when one of the doors slammed down, catching the wispy tip of its tail. Trapped by the door and now cornered by the kitchen servants, who slowly began to approach him on all sides, the nervous creature grabbed onto his tail and gave a tremendous yank. The force of this vigorous movement did not just release his tail, but propelled him forward and the lemur quickly found himself rolling uncontrollably towards the feet of one of the Urites.

Just as the Urite stooped down to snatch up the invader the creature darted gracefully away and leapt onto the top of the long marble kitchen counter where the miana cooled. Now, only a trifle out of the reach of the servants, who again attempted to catch him, the lemur casually picked up two steaming buns and sprinted to the summit of a tall, neatly stacked pile of clean dishes.

The red light began to blink on and off and triggered the alarm, which quickly became so loud that the bed Hete occupied began to vibrate. Startled awake, Hete covered his ears. This was the first time in his eighteen months as the Head of Castle Security that his executive alarm had gone off, and it was too early in the morning! Taking the official security cap he always kept beside him, he placed it on his head, got out of bed and rushed to the monitor. The attractive navy and gold cap did nothing to enhance the appearance of his gray rumpled pajamas and the messy fur atop his head, but wearing the cap always made Hete feel quite knowledgeable and official.

Smiling as he pushed the button to shut off the alarm, Hete recognized the trouble was in the castle kitchen. I must hurry, he said with authority, feeling quite excited about being called. The thought that he would have to handle the problem on his own, as his only other Kievil helper that lived in the castle was wee Wete, did not enter his mind. He was just thrilled to be needed. And so, within minutes of the signal he was off towards the source of the trouble using the travel-time to fasten the shiny buttons on his uniform. Stopping only once to bang on his assistance’s door, Hete grunted and then quickly proceeded towards his destination.

Before he even reached the kitchen entrance, he could hear a commotion. There was the sound of breaking dishes instantly followed by a high-pitched giggle. Although Hete, being a Kievil, did not completely understand the kitchen Urites, he knew they abhorred arguing and violence. So if the noise was not coming from the Urites, then who? As Hete entered the room his question was quickly answered. Atop a dwindling stack of dishes was an unusual creature, who was having the time of his life winging plate after plate at the Urite servants attempting to capture him.

Everyone, back slowly away and give the troublemaker a bit of room, said Hete, puffing out his chest in authority.

As the Urites followed Hete’s advice and moved away from the creature, the lemur paused for a moment, but still retained the round dinner plate in his hand. He held it high ready to throw it at Hete, his new potential target. Pretending this event was an everyday occurrence Hete casually frowned at the unbelievable mess of broken china fragments littering the room, and then with one Humph, made his way slowly towards the critter to get a better look. He squinted and stared having never actually seen such a creature, and although he had no inkling of an idea of what to do, he wasn’t about to ask. After all, wasn’t he the Head of Castle Security?

I’m here to help Hete, yelled wee Wete, as he slid across the floor to Hete’s side. Wow, what a mess! he said, surveying the room. Looking up, he saw the lemur watching him. What’s that thing? he asked, pointing to the creature in awe.

When Hete did not reply, Jatom, the Urite kitchen supervisor said, It appears to be a Pan. It is not from our Solar System. We will have to find a way to trap it.

Yes Wete, piped up Hete, pretending to be annoyed. The creature is a Pan. Go and get a net from the office and bring it to me.

Without a word Wete spun around and hurried off in the direction from where he had come, returning in minutes dragging an apparatus twice his size. As he briskly approached the stack of dishes where Hete stood watching the creature, who was watching him, something changed. Suddenly, a plate was hurled through the air towards their heads. Ducking out of the way, the ammunition flew past its mark and smashed onto the floor sending slivers of porcelain flying. The lemur delighted in the noise he had made, and as he had done before, he threw back his head laughing an infectious giggle that echoed out of the kitchen and down the hall. Wete laughed with him and clapped his hands in amusement.

Stop it Wete! You’ll only encourage him. Look he’s already picking up another plate, called Hete.

Grabbing the snare from Wete, Hete began to swing the net in the air towards the creature, who as one would expect, threw the plate he was holding. Laughing again while the Kievils took cover under a table, the lemur bent down to get his next projectile.

Wete move back with the Urites. There is too much commotion here. I’m going to try and sneak up behind him, whispered Hete.

The wee Kievil nodded slowly and moved back towards the kitchen counter where the smell of the cooling bread was irresistible. Reaching up on tippy toes he was able to grab the side of one of the buns and pull it towards him. Leaning against the counter, Wete watched the drama while snacking on his miana.

Now on a shorter stack of dishes the lemur, still holding a plate, focused his attention on Wete. As Wete casually lifted the bun to his mouth, bit into it and then returned his hand with the remains of the bun to his side, the creature’s eyes followed every movement. Taking advantage of the creature’s distraction, Hete crawled to the side of the pile of dishes and carefully brought the net behind the critter. Swinging quickly he placed the net over the lemur. When Hete pulled all of the plates started to sway. Unable to stop the impending disaster, Hete rolled to the side. The unstable pile tottered once and then fell, carrying the creature to the floor. When the dust finally settled, Hete found himself sitting in a field of broken china holding an empty snare.

Why that horrible little thing, where did he get to? asked a confused Hete, shaking bits of glass from his hair.

Don’t worry, I have Pan, called Wete.

Sure enough when Hete turned around there was the lemur standing very nicely beside Wete, holding his hand and eating a bun.

A gust of wind ruffled the curtains and blew the scent of the chata blossoms through the open window into the room. Saturna inhaled the sweet spring air and patiently watched Gondee pace back and forth in front of her desk with his hands clenched tightly behind his back. She knew better than to interrupt his train of thought and wisely guarded her tongue. Although she was the Queen, Gondee was still her teacher and as he respected her, she must respect him.

The several months of Gondee’s illness following the siege had been very difficult for her. At that time while Gondee lay in bed, Oron and Yuko had assumed her daily instruction of the Solar System, but the actual ruling of the kingdom had been left for Saturna to work out on her own. She had done her best, but mistakes had been made, and now these mistakes had come to haunt her.

Now Your Majesty, when you refused the marriage invitation from Mevot, do you remember exactly how you worded it? asked Gondee. I am trying to understand how the Mevot representative misinterpreted what you said.

Well, I thought I made it clear that I was not interested. I said something to the effect that I was thrilled with the offer, but was unable to accept it at this time.

And then you dismissed him?

Yes, I found the meeting uncomfortable, and so I met with him, said what I said and dismissed him. Can’t we just let them know they have misunderstood? replied Saturna with a sigh.

Of course, My Queen, but it must be done properly and diplomatically. We cannot risk offending them. According to this official letter, at a great expense an ice palace has been erected on Mevot for the wedding. They must have assumed you were thrilled to marry Prince Byl, but not at that particular time. Apparently, they have spent months preparing for the event and now graciously ask for the date of the wedding.

Saturna bit her lip and turned to look out the window. What had gone wrong? Every other planet had accepted her refusal of their marriage invitation without question. She remembered her audience with Mevot’s Prince Byl. He was vain, arrogant, and overbearing, and she would never marry him even if he was the last male in the Solar System.

I will draft a letter today and send your regrets to Mevot’s King Lik. It will be interesting to get his reply. Next we must discuss the uprisings on the planet Veectors. The inhabitants have calmed somewhat since the arrival of Commander Anton, General Thor and the two hundred Zardite sentries, but the underlying problem is still there. When we imposed the stricter sanctions on the planet because of their involvement in the siege, the number of uprisings increased.

Do the inhabitants have to suffer these sanctions because of what a handful of officials tried to do? asked Saturna, perking up when she heard Gondee mention Anton’s name.

I understand your empathy, Your Majesty, but the Veectoreze need to learn their lesson. This is not the first time that the planet has tried to usurp the throne. Overtime the sanctions will be removed. However Yuko feels a military presence on Veectors will still be necessary for a long time.

When will Anton and Thor return to Zard? asked Saturna.

We will discuss this with Yuko at tomorrow’s meeting. I believe the plan is to eventually leave Thor to take charge on Veectors, which as you know is his birth planet. Anton will remain as long as he is needed, answered a worried Gondee when he saw the dreamy look on Saturna’s face.

When Anton had volunteered to go to Veectors with Thor, Gondee was pleased. He had growing concerns about the developing friendship between the Queen and Anton. It was a friendship that could only end in disaster. If Saturna thought she could marry Anton when she came of age next year, she was mistaken. It was written that her chosen husband must be of royal blood--a decree that could not be changed. Preferring to switch the subject than to dwell on Saturna’s expression, Gondee began to discuss the computer problem Peep was addressing on the planet Jattee. Just as he started to explain the issue, the gold door slowly opened producing Hete and Wete dragging the tiny kitchen intruder wrapped in heavy chains.

Hete, what is the meaning of this? exclaimed Saturna, standing up so abruptly she almost knocked her chair to the floor. She was horrified at the scene. A beautiful little creature with huge liquid black eyes had chains binding its neck, hands and feet and was being pulled into the room behind the Kievils. Quickly rounding her desk, she met the group with her hands on her hips.

Oh sorry, Saturna. Is this a bad time to talk with you? Hete was surprised at Saturna’s angry tone because the Queen was usually glad to see him.

No, it is not a bad time to see me. Why is this tiny inhabitant in chains? Remove them at once!

If you saw the mess in the kitchen, you wouldn’t tell me to take off the chains, Hete whined. It was hard enough to get them on him.

Hete, start at the beginning and explain to me what happened!

Hete shuffled his feet and hummed and hawed. He was upset that Saturna had yelled at him. He had never heard her scream that loudly before and he didn’t like it one bit. It reminded him of Detis and that thought made him shiver. Looking up, his lip began to tremble and although he tried to start at the beginning, he couldn’t seem to say a word. Gondee came to his rescue.

This is not an inhabitant from our Solar System, Your Majesty. It appears to be a Pan.

That’s what I am trying to tell you! Hete finally voiced. It is a Pan and it’s caused a lot of mischief in the kitchen. There are broken dishes everywhere. I brought it to you because we have to send it back to its planet right away.

Noooo, we’re not sending it anywhere! I won’t let you, said wee Wete hugging the small lemur protectively. He’s my pet and I’m keeping him.

Good grief, let’s remove these chains and have a look at the Pan before we decide what has to be done with him, said Saturna, calming down as she knelt and carefully lifted the chains over the Pan’s head. I understand why you did what you did Hete, and thank you for dealing with this situation. It is the use of the chains that upset me. You poor little thing, how did you ever get to Zard?

Once