Zac
The sound of his boots echoed on the polished marble floor of the Taurean palace as Zac strode towards the Supreme Commander's office. The building was vast. As a child, when he had visited here with his father, he was terrified of getting lost in the maze-like corridors that led in so many directions. The main hallway was cavernous, with tall pillars of marble running its length, and carved scenes from Taurean mythology dancing across the walls and doorways. It was cold, even in the middle of summer, and Zac mused that it must require an exorbitant amount of energy to keep it heated.
Zac shook his head, feeling conspicuous in his formal uniform, the fabric stiff from lack of use. The request to attend a meeting with Karik Za’Rell was a request, but Zac had been around long enough to know that was merely a courtesy. One did not ignore a request for a meeting with the leader of the Taurean people.
Zac reached the suite of rooms which housed the Supreme Commander’s own personal offices. These were even more ostentatious in appearance. The entrance was heavily guarded and, although he was expected, Zac had to proffer his wrist to yet another of the palace’s security staff for identity confirmation.
Once he had removed all his weapons, he was gestured through the doorway into a waiting room by yet another guard. “The Supreme Commander is expecting you, Commander Qu'Rell.”
Zac nodded, entering the opulent room and sitting in the offered seat, hands braced on his knees as he forced his breathing to calm.
He felt naked and jumpy without his weapons. The irony of being uncomfortablewitha weapon until just recently was not lost on him, and he gave a low chuckle. He felt more his old self than he had in a long time, and he knew where the credit for that was due.
Laila.
Would she be awake now? Was she alright?
Zac hadn't wanted to attend this meeting in person. He had sent his post-battle report the previous day, and almost immediately his presence had been ‘requested’. He had not wanted to leave Laila before she regained consciousness, but there had been no question of refusal. He had delayed as long as he could until he was certain she was going to be ok.
Ever since his injuries, he had existed in a strange limbo, but the mission on Elthea had changed everything. Zac could, once again, handle weapons. He knew he was ready for active military service.
It was what he had wanted for so long, so why did he feel so uneasy?
Zac wasn’t a fool. He felt like his entire future depended on what happened in this meeting. Perhaps it would determine not only his fate, but that of the woman he loved?
He shifted and wiped his palms on his pants, the heavy fabric of his dress uniform uncomfortably stiff. He sighed and forced himself to breathe in and out. Get this over with. Return to Laila. That was what he needed to do.
The inner door opened and Zac stood, expecting yet another guard, but Karik Za’Rell himself greeted him with a smile and a wave of his hand, gesturing for Zac to precede him into the inner sanctum. Zac started, surprised, and the other man grinned in amusement at his reaction.
The young Supreme Commander wore clothes of the latest fashion, not a military uniform. His hair was a touch too long to be practical, and he walked with a proud swagger. In short, Zac's impression was that of a pompous dandy, and not a competent military commander.
Zac sighed quietly, wondering if this was a complete waste of time. His gaze narrowed, and he decided, in that moment, to not make a judgment just yet. Karik threw open a second set of doors, this time opening to an office that was larger than any Zac had ever seen. The Supreme Commander walked into the room and flopped into an overstuffed armchair, and waved his hand for Zac to take the seat next to him.
Wary of such informality, Zac entered the room, pausing inside the door. The room itself was a contradiction: hand-woven rugs were scattered haphazardly on the polished stone floor. A large meeting table took up much of the room, and it was covered in tablets, charts and... a stack of books? Actual paper books? He looked at the Supreme Commander in surprise.
He sat in the proffered seat, considering the man opposite him. The sloppy posture and scruffy appearance could lead the unobservant to assume he was a weak leader, a man accustomed to comfort. Not someone accustomed to hard work.
He took in the muscular hands, with their short nails, and calluses that no-one who was desk-bound would have. Hands like those came from manual labor, or, more likely, from considerable field training with all manner of weapons. Zac noticed a faint scar that split one eyebrow, partly obscured by the wavy hair that flopped over his brow. The icy-blue eyes were calculating, and the smile on the lips did not reach them.
“Supreme Commander, Sir--”
“Oh, call me Karik. We are cousins after all, you being a Qu'Rell and me a Za'Rell, yes?”
Zac considered the man in front of him and took a risk, “You aren't like your father.”
Karik's posture changed, leaning forward in his seat, no longer slumping in an affectation of the spoiled elite. The effect was remarkable. The Supreme Commander now exuded the calm menace of a very dangerous man. “Why do you say that?”
Zac replied slowly, “For one, he would never have met me at the door.”
Karik smiled, the grin feline and predatory on his handsome face. “Most people see what they want to see. Call it a.... test of sorts.” He laughed, pushing his hair back from his face and leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees. “So, what else do you see?”
Zac tilted his head in thought, “You take great pains to cultivate a facade of a spoiled little rich boy, but that’s not even close to who you are, is it?”
Karik laughed, head thrown back, though this time the amusement reached his eyes. “Oh, you and I are going to get along just fine.”
“I'm just glad to see that the man who holds my life in his hands is not a pampered puppet.”
“Alright then, Qu'Rell, tell me why you declined my offer to become an advisor? And why your father insisted on me seeing you to discuss this report of yours.” He waved a tablet at Zac dismissively.
