weapon.” The boy needed it more than she did. “Trade it for some nourishment.”
Truth didn’t release him. “You might need the dagger. No planet is 100.0000 percent safe.”
“You’ll protect me.” She smiled, confident he would do that. “And I have other daggers. The boy needs to eat.”
Her cyborg’s head dipped. “I will protect you.” He narrowed his eyes at the boy, her rarely serious warrior uncharacteristically stern. “The next being who steals from us won’t be as fortunate as you are, little human. Relay that warning to your brethren.”
“Yes, sir.” The child wiggled out of his grip and sprinted forward, disappearing into the crowd.
“He’ll trade that story for nourishment.” Truth’s laughter returned. “You do have a kind soul, my female.” He hugged her to his side.
The queen had viewed her sympathy for others as a fault. “Kind beings are taken advantage of,” the ruler had often told her. The queen had tried to drum that characteristic out of her daughter.
She had been unsuccessful.
Nancy couldn’t look at beings with the coolness a princess should. “The boy was likely born to his station, as I was born to mine. He has little choice but to steal.”
“He has choices…as you do.” Truth sounded certain about that. “Our fate is only set if we allow it to be that way.”
They walked. Customers haggled with merchants. Beings cooked various meats and plants.
“Container fabricators needed.” A female yelled that request into the crowd. “We’re willing to train beings.”
A huge blue male with a brand on his chest stopped at that structure. “I’ve always wanted to fabricate containers, but I might not have the skill for it.”
“You might not have a skill for it.” The female nodded. “But you won’t know that until you try it.” She waved him into the structure.
“The brand relays he was a slave.” Truth shared that information with Nancy. “He once had no choice about the tasks he completed. Now, with proper training and effort, he can be anything he wants.”
She didn’t have that same opportunity. “I was born to serve Royaume.”
“There are many ways to serve Royaume.” He bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose. She blinked, surprised by that display of affection. “Come. Try this fruit.” He pulled her toward a merchant’s stall. “I love it.”
He claimed to love many things, herself included. She followed him, bemused, swept up into his enthusiasm.
They nibbled on treats, drank fermented beverage, perused the goods offered for sale. Every so often, Truth would leave her with Marthe, Claude, and Valentin, and speak with beings.
His smile would slip from his handsome face during those discussions. Sometimes those beings would return, conveying devices he placed in a pack they’d purchased.
Nancy overheard snippets of the conversations. The words included Humanoid Alliance, prison, high security, systems. She suspected he was gathering supplies and information for her brother’s rescue. He was working to fulfil the many promises he’d made to her. She valued that.
As he met with another rough-looking being, she sorted through an assortment of necklaces, neck decorations as the locals called them, displayed on a merchant’s stall.
The simulated stones caught the light, drawing her gaze. And the merchant appeared kind. She watched Nancy with a smile on her spotted face.
“This suits you.” Nancy held up a necklace for Marthe to inspect. “The pink stone in the center represents you.” That was the female’s favorite color. “The brown stone represents Claude. The purple stone represents Valentin.”
“The style will look lovely on your mother.” The merchant nodded. “And if you wish it, I could add a smaller clear stone, dangle it from the center stone to represent you.”
Marthe’s eyes widened. “I’m not her—”
“My mother would love that.” Nancy hugged Marthe. The older female stiffened. Hugging one’s royal dresser was not done. Nancy grinned. “Should we return for it?”
“It will only take a moment to add the stone, miss.” The merchant hustled to the side with the necklace and a hand tool. She worked quickly, must not have wanted to lose the sale.
“She thinks I’m your mother, Princess.” Marthe’s whispered words were edged with panic.
“You are my mother…this planet rotation.” Nancy would bring all her fantasies to life. “And Claude and Valentin are my fathers. I’ve always thought of you that way and here, no one knows that isn’t the truth.”
“Princess.” Marthe didn’t say more. Her eyes glistened with tears.
“I’m a normal female on this planet.” Nancy hugged her again, and this time, Marthe hugged her back. “I have parents whom I love and a warrior who