The Uprising (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 2) (11 page)

I smiled and looked them over with great pride.
Together, we will rise.

I
was at the Caregivers Academy with Giedre. We were overseeing the new graduates as they came forth and gave thanks to Giedre and me. It was their final rite of passage before they could officially be considered caregivers. When Isabella came up, my heart filled with joy and I flashed a warm smile.

Normally she would be required to kneel in this situation, but because of her baby bump she only bowed her head. “Giedre. My Ruler.”

Giedre kindly held her hand out. “You were my finest student, Isabella. One day you will take my place as the central caregiver on Earth.”

Isabella looked up and gave her another bow. “I am honored, Giedre.”

Still smiling, I looked down and carefully checked her stomach. “That baby is going to come out any day now.”

She let out a shy giggle and rubbed her belly. “Yes. I’m very excited.”

I glanced at Giedre. “How about that? First she’s going to take your place, then she’s going to take mine.”

Giedre nodded. “Indeed. An illustrious career awaits you, Isabella.”

She gave us both a kind smile. ‘Thank you.”

After the ceremony, I met up with Isabella and we flew back to my building. She was planning on meeting with Juozas, and I was scheduled to meet with London. When the ship landed, we said goodbye and went our separate ways.

As I headed to the conference room, London sent me a private message, letting me know he was already inside. Since giving him the assignment of spying on Juozas, he hadn’t come up with much, but this time, I had a feeling things would be different.

I arrived and found him waiting by the table. I walked over and took a seat. “What do you have?”

London turned on his
sija
and pulled up a series of holographic photos. “At last I’ve discovered his ploy.” I watched closely as he clicked through the photos. “Every so often, during the middle of the night, he leaves and takes a trip to the North. Then he returns shortly after and goes back to bed. Now, for a while, I didn’t realize he was leaving—that is until I saw this.” London stopped at an image of Juozas sleeping.

I shrugged a bit. “I don’t see anything.”

He quickly increased the view. “Look harder, My Ruler.”

I bent forward and narrowed my eyes. Finally, I saw it. “A hologram?”

London nodded and grew an enthusiastic smile. “Yes. He’s been staging his sleep so that it would appear he never left.”

I exhaled as I leaned back. “What about the tracking device in his ship? Why didn’t you just follow that?”

“He’s probably been using another ship. And when this all began, he told me that he would be frequently sending soldiers to the North to continue the search for runaway slaves. But after all this time, still nothing. Obviously, he wasn’t sending anyone. He’s been going up there himself.”

I nodded. “Good work, London.”

He turned off the hologram and stood up straight. “I fear he’s aiding the slaves at some kind of refugee camp.”

“That’s exactly what’s happening.”

“Shall we bring him to justice?”

I sighed deeply and folded my hands in my lap. “No. Not until his spawn is born.”

London stepped closer. “Forgive me, My Ruler, but I suggest we act now. There might be more going on than we think.”

He was right. But even so, I had to make him understand. “It saddens me to say this, but I’ve finally realized the truth: Juozas has abandoned us for good this time.” I stood up and exhaled. “I will do what is necessary to protect our heritage. That is why we must secure his spawn—and it will be much easier to achieve with Juozas close by.”

London released a somber groan. “I suppose this means you plan to remove him as Champion.”

I gravely nodded. “I have no choice. He’s become a threat to us all.” My heart was broken. I closed my eyes and shed a few tears.

You swore to protect me, Juozas. Why, Son? Why have you betrayed us?

I
was in the security room going over a few standard procedures when Isabella walked inside. So far it had been a long, stressful day, and it was nice to finally see her. I turned in my chair as she came close. Isabella reached out to me and slid her hands onto my shoulders. I closed my eyes for a moment and rested my head on her belly. The sweet scent coming from her body made me sigh with pleasure. 

Isabella carefully moved her hand up to my head and rubbed softly. I smiled and kissed her soft fingers, then I kissed her belly.
I love you, too.
I looked up at Isabella and saw her smiling as I felt her stomach. I smiled back as I went on. A few moments later, I felt the baby move, and Isabella quickly shifted my hand to the spot.

She laughed merrily as she gently pressed down on my hand. “Can you feel it?”

“Yeah, he’s really moving.”

Isabella gave me a playful, testy stare. “It’s a girl, Juozas.”

I firmly shook my head. “No. It’s a boy.” Lately, this had been a silly battle between us. I
really
wanted a son, and Isabella sternly stood by her belief that we were having a daughter. Still, I knew that when the baby was born it wouldn’t matter. Even so, it was fun to debate.

Isabella smiled. “We shall see. And very soon.” She turned away and headed towards the entryway. But before she could step into the corridor, she quickly staggered back into the room and put her hand over her heart. “My Ruler, you startled me.”

I leaned my head and saw Mother walk inside.

“Sorry about that, Dear. I was just stopping by to say hello.”

I stood up and walked forward. “Hello, Mother.”

She smiled. “Hello, Sweetheart. How is everything?”

I stopped alongside Isabella and put my arm around her waist. “Splendid.”

Mother glanced at the control board with dithering eyes. “Very good.” She looked back at me. “What do you two have planned for this evening?”

“We’re having dinner with Isabella’s parents.”

Mother’s face burst into excitement. “That sounds great. I’ll stop by and join you.”

I shifted my eyes. Something was different about her.
Has she discovered our ploy?
“Certainly, My Ruler. Isabella’s parents would be honored.”

“Yes, they surely would. As would I, Great Emily.”

Mother grinned. “My anticipation is sky-high.” She turned and headed out. “I’ll see you there.”

Isabella and I glanced at each with great concern as we listened to her walk down the hall. 
She has discovered our ploy.

Later on, I arrived at Isabella’s building and headed inside to the dining hall. Mother was already there, sitting at the table, talking to Zydrunas and Susan. Their servant was setting the table, playing along. Right away, I made sure to remember not to be kind to the servant in any way.

Mother saw me and smiled. “Hello, My Dear.”

“Welcome, Juozas,” Susan said.

I smiled at them and took a seat. “Hello, Mother. Thank you, Susan.” As I got comfortable in my chair, I studied Zydrunas and Susan. They were clearly on edge—and rightfully so. Mother was surely up to something, and I knew they sensed it, too.

“Susan and Zydrunas tell me you’ve had dinner here regularly since meeting them.” Mother gave me a sly look. “Why haven’t you ever told me?”

I shrugged slightly. “Forgive me, My Ruler. Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed, and I often forget to mention these sorts of things.” Honestly, I hadn’t wanted Mother around them. She was a cruel monster.

Shortly after, Isabella came downstairs and joined us at the table. She was wearing a beautiful green dress that matched her eyes. “I apologize if I’ve kept you waiting. I was washing up and changing into something more appropriate.”

Mother smiled. “Not at all, Sweetheart. You look stunning.”

Isabella gave her a bow. “Thank you, My Ruler.”

The servant brought our food into the room and began to fill our plates. I glanced at Mother and saw her watching Isabella and her parents. Then it finally hit me. She had come here to test them
and
me.

I became deeply troubled as we carried on. Isabella and her parents were putting on an act to please Mother. Even though it was necessary; I hated seeing it in this setting. Their home had become my sanctuary, a place where I could be myself. Now Mother had taken that from me, too.

Zydrunas and Susan had been doing most of the talking, so Isabella eagerly tried to change the conversation, and I was thrilled with what she came up with. “Tell us about your upbringing, Great Emily. I’ve always been curious to know the history of our Ruler.”

I grinned because I knew she was trying to expose her.
Very nice, My Love.
I straightened my face and stared at Mother.

She glanced at me with cunning eyes, then she looked at Isabella. “Well, I was quite reserved as a youngster. You know, always doing what I was told.”

Isabella nodded. “I would expect such from a Ruler with great wisdom.”

Mother flashed a charmed smile.

Then, much to my delight, Susan caught on and hit her with another probing question. “And what about your family, Your Greatness?”

Mother and Susan locked eyes, and their faces became stern. Naturally, Susan knew she was from the previous civilization, but I knew Mother wouldn’t speak about her past. True to form, she appeared to be rather upset with the question.

Still, she gave a vague answer like before. “My family was terrific.” Finally, after dinner, Mother said goodbye and left.

I stayed behind with Isabella and her parents to digest the situation. We waited a moment and listened to her ship take off.

Susan gasped. “That was appalling. I don’t understand how anyone could be so devious.” 

I let out a sad groan. “Trust me; I’ve seen her behave worse.” We paused for a moment and shared an unnerving silence. “She knows we’re up to something.” I looked on and heard a few sighs and grumbles around the table.

A moment later, Susan started things up again. “What should we do?”

Zydrunas gave her a bold stare. “We must reach out to the community and look for support.” 

Isabella’s eyes became petrified. She fretfully reached down and touched her stomach. “Perhaps we should wait until the baby is born.” 

Susan shook her head. “No. We have to act now.  Emily could know more than we think.”

I sternly nodded. “I agree. Our chance at a rebellion could be slipping away.”

The next night, before taking another trip to the North, I used my
sija
to create a hologram of myself sleeping in bed. Since my first expedition to the snowy region, I’d had a feeling that someone was spying on me, and I needed to cover myself whenever I left to visit the humans.

When I arrived and landed, I headed into the cave and found Robert and the others practicing with the human-sized
sija
s I had brought them.

Bill saw me and came over. “Hey, Juozas. How are you?”

I reached out and shook his hand. “I’m doing well, My Friend.” We turned and watched the others. “How has the training been?”

Bill flashed a toothless smile. “We’re ready to kick some ass.”

I laughed and glanced at him. “You use such interesting language.”

He nodded and tapped me on the arm. “It’s called
talking shit
, and it’s a lot of fun. But don’t worry, you’ll catch on sooner or later.” 

We headed to the group and stood by. Moments later, Robert and Elos came over and joined us. I greeted them with a hand shake before looking back at the group.

I saw a young woman aiming the wrong way with her
sija
and hurried to her. “Let me help with that.” First, I took her arm and lifted it higher. “Always keep your defenses up.” Then I demonstrated the proper fighting stance. “And keep your feet spread apart like this.”

She looked up at me with a smile and gave me a speedy nod. I smiled back and stepped away to watch. The young woman aimed much better and her movements were more fluid.

“Very good.”

After helping a few others, I went back to Bill, Robert and Elos. We stood in a circle as I explained my concerns about Mother. “The time has come to prepare our first strike.”

Bill gave me an eager stare. “That’s music to my ears, buddy.”

“I think we’re ready, Juozas,” Robert added.

I looked them over and nodded. “I believe so as well. However, we
will
need support from other Mamluks. The issue is finding the ones who oppose Mother’s law.” 

I
was completely naked, sitting in the front row of the theater at my building, looking up at the finished painting of
Birth Here on Earth
. I had taken my
sija
off, too, and placed it in the seat next to me.

In the background, I was playing some of Kamile’s private recordings. A servant had brought me a thin, sleek, metal bottle of wine. I drank it like a bottle of beer as I listened to the music and leaned back. Edita, the artist who had done the paintings, had done a magnificent job on me. I studied it carefully with a giddy smile.
That’s one badass chick right there. How dare anyone try to disrupt my reign —especially my own son.

The song that was playing picked up. I closed my eyes and imagined I was on stage singing it. Then I heard someone enter the theater, and I lost my train of thought. I opened my eyes and turned my head. A soldier came marching down the walkway at the center of the seats.

“Forgive me for disturbing you, My Ruler.” When he got close and realized I was naked, he quickly looked away in fear. “And I apologize for invading your space. I was unaware of you being undressed.”

I laughed. “It’s OK. We’re all friends here.”

The soldier shyly looked back at me.

I studied him in the dimly-lit room. “What is it, Soldier?”

“A woman from our region has come to the building and requested to see you. She seems rather troubled.”

I released a long sigh. “Well, I really don’t feel like dealing with this right now.” I quickly took a gulp from the bottle of wine. “But it may be something important, so stand by and have the guards bring her before me.”