“Whatever caused her to become so suspicious?” Marie asked.
I straightened, fighting off the fear as memories of Kakoda flooded my mind. If I felt too much negativity, my emotions would shut down, and I didn’t want to go grey before the princess. “Tilly’s Intelligence emerged in a rough situation. We don’t talk about it in front of her. It makes her anxious.” It made me anxious, too.
Princess Marie’s eyes grew wide again. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know…”
“It’s all right,” I assured her. Then an idea came to me, a way to distract myself as much as my steed. “Tilly, if you don’t come out, I can’t install any of your upgrades.”
One of Tilly’s rear aerovanes twitched in interest.
“I can’t install these myself. I’ll need help. Come out, and the nice princess will help me upgrade your repulsor plate. Won’t that be nice?” Tilly didn’t move. Damn. She always liked flying high. I would have thought the lift upgrade would have done it. “No? How about your power cells? I have a nice quad-RTG cell I could install, give you a big boost in power and speed?”
Tilly made a deploring warble. “Ah, right. We’ve already maxed out your current speed. So…” I went over to the stack of crates sitting next to Tilly’s stall, selected one, turned on its anti-grav sled, and towed it out. “How about the princess and I install a nice new 18-plug rotary thrust coil?”
Tilly’s docking clamp disengaged with a clunk, and she drifted backwards so her rear sensors could get a better look. I pushed the lid off the crate so Tilly could see inside.
Princess Marie stepped behind me, putting her lips to my ear and whispering, “But I don’t know anything about your hoversteed’s mechanics. I’ve never done anything more than basic maintenance before.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t really need the help,” I whispered back. “I need to socialize Tilly with other people more, show her they’re not all bad. Since you’re willing, I figure she can socialize with you.”
A few minutes later, Tilly’s front cowl was off and I was elbow-deep in her engine, removing her old thrust coil. Marie sat next to me, handing me tools and engaging in polite conversation with my hoversteed. I plugged Tilly’s computer into a monitor readout so she could communicate even after I isolated her primary processor from her engine. Unfortunately, that meant I only got half the conversation, and judging from the princess’s bemused follow-up questions, the stories Tilly told did not paint me in the most flattering light.
“Really? How incoherent? Not an intelligible word? Draped over your saddle? How did you get him home without him falling off? I didn’t think your docking clamps had that much manual dexterity.”
“They don’t normally,” I chimed in. “I replaced the front clamp with a pair of fine-manipulator arms so Tilly could have a bit more freedom to explore the world.”
“That was kind of you,” Marie said.
“Yes, it was. You hear that, Tilly?”
I couldn’t see the holoscreen where Tilly’s response was displayed, but Marie laughed.
“Captain Boylan, your hoversteed is simply delightful,” the princess exclaimed.
“Are you certain we’re talking about the same hoversteed?” I replied, twisting an electrical connector into place. Marie laughed again, but her comment elicited a twinge of guilt. “I would have brought you to see her earlier. It’s just, everything’s been so hectic since I came here.”
“I understand. We all have our commitments,” the princess replied, and when I slid out from under Tilly, she was smiling warmly at me. “Do you have any for tonight’s dinner?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said, standing up and wiping my hands clean.
“Then you must join me at my table tonight to discuss developments with the Emperor.”
Despite her continued smile, I was suddenly apprehensive. How much did she know? How closely was she keeping tabs on me? Had she figured out my secret, or was this an innocent continuation of our agreement four nights ago?
“It would be my pleasure,” I replied, not able to think of a viable excuse to stay away. Besides, a dinner with the princess might keep me away from demon princes for a day, and Marie was pleasant company.
“All right, Tilly. Let’s get you reconnected and see how it works.” I pulled the bypass from Tilly’s communication monitor and flipped the switch to reconnect her brain with her body. “How’s it feel?”
Immediately, Tilly revved, a loud, powerful, snarling roar of her engine. Her aerovanes twitched excitedly. I could tell she wanted to go for a fly.
Turning to the princess, I explained. “I think I need to take Tilly for a test flight, but this was good. I think she really took to you.”
“And I to her. She is a magnificent machine,” Princess Marie said, stroking Tilly’s cowling with affection. In response, Tilly quieted her engine to a pleased purr.
“If this keeps up, Tilly might let you ride her,” I said, indicating the space on the saddle where a second rider could sit behind me. Tilly grew quiet, but did not immediately give a negative reaction – a very good sign.
Possibly even better was how Princess Marie leaned forwards and, still smiling, said, “That would be nice.”
I smiled back, rosy warmth spilling from my heart. It was nice to feel valued by someone I respected.
