Epilogue

Careful she got up, facing her latest nemesis, all of her moves slow and calculated as if she was in the presence of the royalty of Mars, always trying to claw each other eyes out with gossips and rumors.

His voice was dark, almost growling, and yet he spoke with dignity and appreciation for who she was. The forked tongue of a snake in a rat’s mouth, she thought as he introduced her as the last survivor of the house of era.

‘I thank thee, milord, for welcoming me in thy house.’ Careful she made a curtsy, her head bowed to let him think she was an easy target or a puppet to play with.

He got up from his darkened throne, and for the first time she got to see her capturer: a rat dressed up in robes in dark red colours, she recognized him as the Lord of the House Nereides Montes.

‘My dear, dear lady!’ terrified he came over to her, ‘I am so terribly sorry for the lack of knowledge of my men. They should have recognized a lady when they see one.’

‘Perhaps you should not speak of your men like that sir. I drove a motorcycle, alone in a desert storm.’

‘What would a lady do in a desert storm, on a motorcycle, so far away from home? Please tell me that you did escape from those treacherous traitors of Mars, those so-called freedom fighters? Quick! A bath, a room and a good meal for the lady!’ he ordered his men, ‘and fifty lashes for the man who hurt her and the baby! Find a nurse to take care for the little boy!’

‘You’re kindness exceeds you milord.’ Again she made a curtsy for him, her eyes lowered onto the floor, yet he interrupted her before she could speak further.

‘Milady, you have been through terrible ordeals, I do not wish you to deny my hospitality. I hope you enjoy your stay here milady Oriana.’ i For this time you will remain within my grasp, and mine alone… /i

The ratlord watched her leave in the safety of a rat woman, who would become the nursemaid of the baby boy. ‘Don’t you think that Lord Stilton would want to have this price?’

‘Lord Stilton shall not know this, for we are not going to tell him.’ Both a General and a manipulator, Rook knew when he held a price worth fighting for within his rat claws, ‘She will grant us access to the lost people of Era, so they can become slaves to us. And when she did gave us these people and their lands; she’ll live long enough to see them die. Than, death will be a release, a gift, and not an escape.’

Silent she walked with her baby Hondey through the large corridors of the military complex. From what she could see this compound was well defended; soldiers with guns everywhere, safety doors with probably traps that had to be opened before she and her guide could go into another corridor or room. Light of day was absent here; only the hard lights of electric lamps lit their way and threw eerie shadows on the walls.

Her guide was as silent as she was, casting a horrific glance from time to time over his shoulder onto the lady, sometimes he grinned at her; in such a way that it sent shivers down her spine.

i Max… where are you when I need you the most? Please give me your strength, let our love help me to be strong, let me be strong for our daughter… where is our son? Are you alive at all? Rex… Maximus… my beloved husband and son, I love you! /i

--

Graceful she rose from the bench in the cell, like a queen of the old days, her voice dark and low when Lord Rook presented himself before her in her new environment.

‘You promised a room, a bath and a meal. Now you have taken my son somewhere I cannot reach him. You placed me in this cell like a murderer or thief and gave me this bowl of rotten stuff you call food. I demand an answer from you, you Rat!’

His fist collided with her jaw, sending her into the wall with so much force she heard the vertebrae in her neck crack and shake, ‘Never! Never call me a Rat again!’

‘Thus I apologize milord.’ She rose to her feet again, her eyes and body filled with arrogance and slander.

‘I guess that you wish to have your baby, you son of a lesser king. But off course, milady Oriana, I lack a maid to take care for him.’ He drew his gun and shot the nursing maid in the head right between the eyes, ‘She just died.’

Shocked to see this all Oriana rushed over to her baby girl and took her from the dead woman’s body, hushing the crying girl, soothing her with soft words and little noises, ‘calm down…Rex, please hush my little…boy’. She didn’t have the heart to tell the rat that the child she had in her arms was a girl. She new that they were a sexist race and if the lord knew that the child was a girl, he would give the order to be sacrifice her immediately.

‘I have an idea… since you won’t give me the key to the castle and it’s riches.’ Slowly he moved around her, tracing her features with the still smoking gun, ‘I have a wonderful idea…’

‘Perhaps you could share this idea with me, milord.’ She meant nothing with the empty words as she spat them out.

With a soft chuckle he stood before her again, face to face, ‘you will see your son suffer at my hands, the tests I succumb him to, the pain and the horror as my doctors take care for him, making him both suffer and heal him. What do you think, how long will he hold on? Will he last a week? A month? Or just a day? For my tests aren’t made for babies and children.’ He enjoyed the pain and horror he saw written in her eyes, her defeat as she gave in, ‘Or do you wish to take his place? I’ll give you a night to think it over, milady.’

‘No!’ her voice broken, he enjoyed her fear and fright, ‘I’ll take his place!’ Oriana sank through her knees onto the floor, tears streaming over her face, ‘I’ll take his place… don’t hurt my son… please don’t hurt him!’

Rook smiled, ‘But off course. Someone has to change him diapers and feed him, not to mention raise him to be the future king of the House Era. Until the day you die, neither my people nor I will lay a hand upon him. So better not die soon… if you wish to spare your son your suffering…’

--

Books, hundreds of books in closets, a four-poster-bed with veils as curtains, dozens of most beautiful dresses, oak and cherry wooden furniture, vases, candles and chandeliers and other beautiful romantic and gothic stuff to decorate the room; Hondey stopped for a moment to look at her mothers things and almost wished to be able to stop pretending to be a boy like she was forced to be for now thirteen years… just once she wished to be a girl in public…

The only thing that mismatched her dreamy life were the stories of her mother about how evil Lord Rook was, never to trust him, and the ugly pain-giving necklace around her mother’s delicate throat.

Her mother’s room looked just like a princess room from one of the fairy tales her mother had taught her. Every week both had dinner with Lord Rook, and he enjoyed the little “prince” with stories about his victories over mice, whilst her mother later told her about what really happened. Much to Rook’s enjoyment “Rex” became a handsome well-educated replica of Oriana’s father. Would he endure the same pain as his mother, or would he outlive the beautiful woman?

There was something about Rex that disturbed Rook; he had battled one of his soldiers once, just for sport as the man tried to teach him some hand-to-hand combat and gave him a mean lefty. His mother hadn’t taught him that. It made him think, and when he “experimented” on the lady Oriana once more, he found the answer, buried deep within her mind, only to be extracted by a talented ripper.

‘She was married,’ the ripper let go of the woman’s hair and threw her on the floor as if she was a dirty cloth, something used to wipe hands clean after repairing motorcycles, ‘she wouldn’t tell me, so I took it out the hard way.’ Barely alive Oriana lay on the floor, faintly hearing the words as if a mist shrouded her, ‘his name is Maximus…’

‘That freedom fighter…’ Fray, the rat lord’s high ranked general hissed angry, clenching his fists, ‘he demolished the compounds of the Elysium Mons along with Stoker and his band!’

‘There is something else milord. Their son… the young prince isn’t what he say he is. How old is “he” now?’

‘Thirteen years of age, exactly but say what it is before I have you’re kidney for dinner.’

‘The prince is a girl.’

‘…no…’

‘Should I tell the lord…?’

‘No, just take the lady to her ”son”, and speak this to no one.’

--

Angered he threw a glass of wine into the wall. She was gone! Gone forever! After thirteen years he still mourned for the loss of the woman he wanted to have so dearly.

‘Milord?’ Stilton turned around, angry he drew his rapier and nearly killed the one who addressed him. Scared the soldier dodged and took a fair step back.

‘He flinched. Kill him when he has said what he came to say.’ It would bring a little bit of joy into his life.

‘Milord, Oriana has been found. She’s in the hands of your ally Lord Rook.’

Stilton raised a brow at the soldier, ‘Oh? So… my companion lied to me?’ there was a lighter tone of voice, ‘you won’t die today. You will raise an army worthy of claiming the woman and bring her to me, alive.’

‘There is something else. We’ve captured a pest, a young mouse-boy.’

Widening his eyes Stilton watched the soldiers do their best to retain the struggling boy; his eyes red on black and a tail that was definitely shortened. ‘Strange, he look slightly familiar. How did you capture him?!’

‘He blew up several military compounds in the same time, at several locations. Unfortunately, for him, a piece of rock knocked his lights out sir!’

‘A weapon’s specialist, especially in explosives? I do see resemblance with the fairest female mouse I ever met, could there be a slight chance that you might be related to the House of Era, boy? The well known son of hers.’ Stilton trailed off for a brief moment. ‘She too was a weapon’s specialist, in sword and shield.’ he tried with soothing voice, ‘I do see her families legacy in you. Her grandfather’s eyes were the same as yours.’

‘And I will break your neck if you don’t let me go soon!’ the boy hissed at him, struggling even more as now five soldiers had to retain him.

Stilton knew that he would die if he let the kid go; ‘and yet I see a resemblance with your father. You are the same as he is. Unmannered, wild and untamed. I bet my dearest doctor Karbunkle will have the pleasure to experiment on you. My dearest doctor Karbunkle is a beginning expert in cybernetic enhancements for your kind… perhaps he can make you a pair of new antennas… Because, I think, the son of Oriana of Era, son of Maximus of Tharsis Mons, Prince to a lost house… you need new antennas…and let’s also cut that annoying shortened tail off too…’

Rex went silent as Stilton grabbed his antennas and ripped them out of his head, one by one; a scream of pain and terror and trickling blood over his face followed before the boy fell into a welcome darkness of unconsciousness…

--

A world away Maximus sat silently at the slopes of Valley Marineris, watching the burning fields below. Behind him, in a cave of the volcano, the last survivor blew out her last breath. For thirteen years she had manage to stay hidden from everyone until now. She had been dying for so long and now she will finally rest in peace. From her dying breath Max gained word that the rat lord Rook’s men had captured his wife and son.

‘I need to find them.’ Maximus got up from where he sat, facing Stoker, ‘I need to find them…’

‘How many men do you need?’

‘None. I will go alone.’

‘Why?’ Sighing Stoker faced him, ‘why do you throw your life away, now that you’ve become my right hand and friend in both life and battle?’

‘I failed to be a husband; I failed to be a father. I couldn’t protect them. Therefore I am not worthy of being called your right hand and friend.’

‘Than go in the morning. Let the mechanics upgrade your motorcycle for this rescue mission, for your revenge. You need food and water, ammunition and guns, maps of the territories and the best AI processors available. Sleep now and wake up tomorrow with your motorcycle functioning as a squadron. Let your revenge and love for your family become the terror of the Plutarkians and Rats alike.’

‘Ay! And when I have found my family and saved them, come with me and let us both destroy Rook and his army!’ With renewed strength and willpower, Maximus had found everything he needed to fight for.

‘Let them run at only the sight of us, let them suffer in their sleep as they dream about us, let them die at the stand when we charge!’ Stoker growled smiling and enjoyed himself with the idea alone, ‘when you and I charge and freed your wife and son, than we will have our revenge and a free Mars!’

--

i Sometimes, when love is most strong, you can touch it. Like a dream, it can vanish if you grasp it too hard. And when you’ve dipped your fingers in that faint silvery liquid called love, you can lock a bit away in an item, such as a locket or perhaps a piece of cloth you wear every day.

When you do so, you carry that person’s love with you forever, until the end of your days and beyond.

Let that love become your reason to live, let that love become your reason to fight, for love and love itself… /i