Alien Chronicles 1 - The Golden One Read Online Free PDF Page B

always Gaveid’s suggestions made excellent sense. The Kaa was tempted, but he remembered a pair of pleading eyes and the irresistible entwining of tender arms about his neck.
    “We gave our promise to the chune,” he said. “We shall take her to the marketplace as she has requested.”
    “Very well, sire,” the chancellor said, frowning. “But should the sri-Kaa not learn that the duties of high office must take precedence over personal wishes?”
    The Kaa returned his frown. For a moment he felt the crushing weight of his duties, his responsibilities, the fact that he had yet to find the time or opportunity to visit the far-flung corners of his empire, the slowness of building projects that he might not live to see completed, the constant pressure from his subjects and courtiers, each with dozens of requests, petitions, and intrigues. He lived enmeshed in duties and obligations. No matter how early he rose or how late he retired, the work was never done, the demands were never satisfied. Dispatches, reports, petitions, and audiences were pushed aside, only to multiply like the repulsive little Skeks teeming in the city’s sewers.
    This was Festival, a time of rejoicing and rebirth, a time of hope and renewal. The whole empire was at play for these few short days. Here, in his own capital, the Father of the Empire would also have a few moments of play with his daughter before Festival ended for another year of toil.
    “Let the emissaries wait,” the Kaa said. “We shall please our daughter today.”
    “The Imperial Father indulges her greatly,” Gaveid replied. “Is it wise, I wonder, to spoil the character of one so lovely and graceful in physical form?”
    “Israi is perfect,” the Kaa said to him, thinking his worries foolish. “And perfection cannot be spoiled.”
    Gaveid’s yellow eyes betrayed rare consternation. “Surely an unwise—”
    “Let there be nothing more said on this matter.”
    At that sharp command, the chancellor closed his mouth tightly and bowed low. He stood in silence, his air sacs inflated, his old eyes disapproving, while the Kaa finished his preparations.
    The Kaa ignored the disapproval and ordered the sri-Kaa brought to him. While his chancellor was wily and shrewd, never making mistakes, never steering him toward unwise decisions, the Kaa also disagreed with Gaveid in three key areas. One had to do with his restoration work. Another concerned certain policies regarding the outer worlds of the empire, especially the trouble spot of galactic border nine. The third revolved around the sri-Kaa, her training as a future ruler and Sahmrahd’s successor, and the Kaa’s own indulgence of the chune’s whims and fancies.
    Let the old one stand in sour judgment, the Kaa thought derisively. Gaveid did not quite know everything.
    “Father! Father!”
    The exuberant shouting came as music to the Kaa’s ears. Seconds later, the door burst open faster than the attendants could move it and a small figure came hurtling through. She barreled into the Kaa’s legs, nearly knocking him off-balance, and gripped him tightly in a hug.
    “Father!” she squealed. “I have been waiting forever .”
    Although the Kaa’s heart swelled with love, he put on an expression of mock disapproval and glared down at her. “Is this the way the sri-Kaa greets the Imperial Father?”
    Israi’s beaming smile faltered. Her eyes widened for a moment as she recollected etiquette. Swiftly she backed up, nearly bumping into her attendants, who had just now caught up with her.
    One of them gripped her shoulders to steady her and bent down to murmur encouragement into her ear dimple. The sri-Kaa nodded and lifted her gaze to her father.
    He stared down at her as though unmoved, although inside he was melting with adoration. Never had he seen a more perfect chune. Her soft, pebbly skin glowed a pure golden hue without flaw or blemish. Her eyes were as brilliant a green as the Kaa’s own Gaza stones. That green