Timur- Raspberries

"Where have you been for the past two hours?" Karolek demands when Timur enters the room. "You didn't even show up on the scanner." Karolek holds up his tab to emphasize that fact.

"I was with the Princess, relax," Timur tells him, flopping onto the bed.

"You can't trust anyone. Not even the royal family."

"Please, she's only one meter and sixty-three centimeters tall and maybe forty-five kilograms wet. What could she do to me?" Timur sits up and looks at his guard. "Don't tell me you still believe those stupid rumors." Timur grimaces, and Karolek gives him a disapproving glare. "They are not telepathic, Karolek; how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Whatever you say, Your Highness, but I'll keep an eye out all the same." Timur gets dressed for bed as Karolek checks the room. Timur doesn't sleep well that night. Between the unfamiliar surrounding and odd dreams, he was lucky to have gotten any sleep. Although it seemed to him, Karolek wasn't having any trouble as he was snoring up a storm.

When morning comes, Timur had gotten maybe five hours of sleep. A servant comes in to tell the two the morning meal is served. After they get dressed and ready for the day, Karolek accompanies Timur down to the dining hall.

"Good morning," Belia says as they enter.

"Good morning," Timur repeats, Karolek giving her a head nod. Timur notices as Belia gets her food, she looks much different than she did last night. Her hair is in a simple braid, and her clothing less grand; she also didn't have a lot, if any, makeup on.

"You should try the chipiwi." Belia holds up a plate of brightly colored fruit. "It's very similar to your um," Belia pauses. "Well, it's a cross between a peach and rasp berries."

"It's raspberries," Timur says, calling out Belia's mispronunciation, "the 'p' is silent, and the first 's' makes an a 'z' sound."

"Razberries," Belia replies, struggling a little with the corrected pronunciation. Timur takes a few pieces of the pink and green fruit. Karolek gives Timur a warning glance.

"I'll be fine," Timur whispers to him.

"Your cousin said that, and his food was poisoned."

"Karolek," Timur reprimands.

"Highness." Timur sits across the table from Belia.

"I don't believe we've met," Belia says politely to Karolek. "I'm Belia." Karolek tenses and clenches his jaw.

"This is Karolek, my personal guard," Timur tells her.

"I see."

"Do you have guards?" Timur asks, seeing as they are the only ones in the room. Belia nods.

"We do, but only when visitors come or we leave the palace. Rin is my guard, I'll introduce you at the ball tomorrow."

"Ball, what ball?" Timur asks. "No one mentioned anything about a ball."

"I'm sorry, I thought you had been told. As is custom, we have balls for royal guests. It's so our people have the opportunity to get to know them and they get to know the people. I can have Alexei make something for you if you don't have anything to wear."

"That won't be necessary." While they eat, Timur notices Karolek doesn't take his eyes off Belia. "Where are the King and Queen?"

"My parents? They've already left the palace to attend to business with the council."

"Council?"

"Right, your monarchy is all-powerful… The council is comprised of leaders from each bio-dome. My father, as King, is the head of the council. The council is who really governs the planet."

"Isn't that a flawed system?" Timur asks, finding the idea of multiple people running the government idiotic.

"It isn't ideal, especially for quick and decisive decisions, but it makes it so one person isn't making decisions for a mass amount of people. It also allows the people some say in what the government does."

"So then, if the people vote for these council members, how do you trust the man they elect will follow your king?"

"We don't. However, if the majority of the council objects to the elected, then they are not allowed to join and another official is chosen. It's a system of checks and balances." Timur can see the logic but finds it flawed not to mention complicated. He doesn't bring it back up as you do not talk politics in a public setting. Timur assumes Belia was taught the same as she didn't say any more on the topic. As they finish eating, a woman comes in and goes over to Belia. The woman whispers something into her ear and Belia looks at her with wide eyes. "Excuse me, something has happened which requires my immediate attention." Belia gets up from the table and practically runs out of the room, the woman following closely.

"What was that about?" Timur asks no one in particular.

After the morning meal, Timur pulls up all he can on the Krystaliv language. He'd be damned if he had to rely on a translator. The rest of the day Timur spends attempting to learn how to read the Krystaliv glyphs. "Why can't they just use Standard like every other moon?"

"Because these people don't care about anyone but themselves. They have no honor." Karolek counters as he polishes his electrostaff. He activates it and the ends light up with a red electric charge causing a deep buzzing noise with it, a noise Timur hated.

"Do you really need to clean your staff?"

"Yes, if I don't check it the power source could quit or backfire."

"But do you have to do it now?" Timur looks back at his guard, who reflects his expression. Karolek turns the charge off and puts the staff back into its holder. "Thank you."

"Why are you even learning their written language?"

"So I can read signs and tabs. I don't want to look inferior."

"But you aren't inferior, Highness, they are."

"Yeah, you tell them that."