Amelia and Shi Lang followed the queen of Neomon, Nexalia Neytiri to a garden, where the latter invited them both to sit down under a pavilion and have tea with her. A couple of youngsters noted how heavily the palace was guarded, however, the guards did not have a single male within their ranks.
Amelia did not say anything verbally but the grip of her hand hooked with Shi Lang’s elbow was constantly fluctuating. The boy replied to her with the depth of his breath. When they sat under the pavilion Nexalia Neytiri asked, “Shusha(Mr. in native Neomonian) Ace, your breathing is irregular. Are you comfortable?”
Shi Lang replied with a faint smile, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have a habit of breathing like this to get myself familiar with the air of a new planet.”
Nexalia commented, “Quiet is a unique habit you have.”
Shi Lang said, “Everyone in the universe is unique in their own way, Your Majesty. Just like how you are.”
“Oh, I suppose that you are trying to compliment me, otherwise I can have you imprisoned for insulting me.” her tone was playful but the guards surrounding the garden all became alert and took attacking positions.
Shi Lang acted a bit startled and then with a bitter smile said, “I apologize for any misunderstanding my vague comment created, Your Majesty. What I meant by unique was a compliment to your elegant self.”
Nexalia chuckled and said, “Elegance is a requirement in royalty. I would like to ask you, why do you find my elegance unique? Your fiancee is not elegant enough for you?”
“Surely you jest, You Majesty. Amelia is the most elegant lady I have seen, and I love her dearly, however, I called your elegance unique because we have never met a royal personage,” replied Shi Lang.
Nexalia nodded and at this moment, a maid brought over a trolley with a tea set and some snacked. She did not say anything but served the tea. The three people stopped communicating, and Amelia, who was gazing around found a bird that was similar to a peacock in the garden.
The queen noticed her gaze and said, “That bird is called Ignica. The feathers on the back look like a blazing trail of flames.”
Amelia replied in a composed manner, “On my home planet there is a species of birds similar to this one, but the color of the feathers is royal blue and green. It is called a peacock.”
The two women began to talk. The timing of sipping tea and talking again was so on the dot that the conversation was seamless. Shi Lang learned a lot of trivia. He was aware that the Queen was not interested in him but Amelia. Earlier he disclosed her identity which made the Queen look at Amelia in a new light, she was the daughter of a female general.
Nexalia Neytiri had a soft spot for women. Suddenly, the queen asked, “Shushi(Miss) Amelia, you are so young and I am sure a lot of men would be after you. Why did you get settle so early?”
While she said this the lady was gazing at Shi Lang from the corner of her eyes. Amelia replied in her soft voice, “Your Majesty, Ace is a student of my mother, the best she could have ever trained, he does not come from a high background, yet today he can stand in front of our team as the leader because of his skills and hardwork.
My mother decided that he should be my companion, at first I had my reservations, but he won my trust. So, I gave him my heart. It is just that simple.”
The queen nodded and asked, “What makes you think that he will maintain this trust even in the future?”
Amelia raised her head to lock eyes with the queen and said, “If he can stay indifferent to your charm, Your Majesty, then I believe he will never break my trust.”
Nexalia Neytiri was surprised. Zysha had followed them here and she had been noticing the moves of the queen. The lady has been doing subtle actions that may seem normal to people, but given her seductive figure, those moves could make a man go mad for a glimpse of her.
Shi Lang did not say anything but smiled when Zysha said this to him and used his breathing to convey the same to Amelia. Do not underestimate this young lady, she was a wild cat. The veil on the queens face was a digital one, it did not obstruct the cup. Just hid her face.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the Queen said, “As I expected, you youngsters are not really easy.”
Amelia nodded and said, “I shall take that as a compliment, Your Majesty.”
“What is it that your civilization seek from us?” asked the queen.
Shi Lang replied, “We hope for an alliance. War may suffice the desire to expand territories, but no piece of land or amount of resources are not worth lives. Whether they may be Neomonians or Terrans.” in a calm manner.
Nexalia Neytiri nodded and said, “The truth is that our population is declining, the men in our world have low to no desire to mate. At this point in time, Neomons cannot afford a war.”
Shi Lang nodded, “What do you need from us, Your Majesty?”
“Why do you think that I would ask something of you, Young Terran.” asked Nexalia Neytiri.
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Then why would you divulge such secrets to us, Your Majesty? A ruler never does anything without benefit, even the charity for people is done to keep up the pretense of a generous leader.”
Nexalia Neytiri was amused and could not help but chuckle. She said, “Indeed you are correct, but I did not expect you all to see through my motive so soon. Since the cat is out of the bag, I might as well come clean about it.
I would like you and your fellow male Terrans to help us breed as much as possible. Of course, you can name any price.”
This comment of her surprised Amelia while Shi Lang looked at the queen as if she was an idiot. After a few seconds, she did not find Shi Lang answering to her thoughts, she asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Shi Lang asked, “Do you really not know the reason behind the decline in population of your empire, or are you just going to pretend like you do not know anything?”
Nexalia Neytiri raised her eyebrow but the boy continued, “Without women their is not life, yet without men their is no life either. The royal court, the palace guards, are all handled by women, while men are not even qualified to have a decent job. As a male with a considerable self esteem, I would like to tell you, do not push men to the point where they stop caring for your existence. A male’s ego will be as small as an atom, until someone points it out.
That is when you face a mountain you cannot climb. Your Majesty, can you tell me how you came to being?”
Nexalia replied with a cold gaze, “I was given birth to, by my mother, how else?”
Shi Lang asked, “Are you sure it was not done from a breeding camp?”
His words made the queen shiver in anger but he continued, “If you are so angry from such an assumption, they think about the future generation that will be born from a breeding camp. What about the male children born in the breeding camp? Will you have them all killed, or abandoned? Believe me, you will only get yourself surrounded by men who could not wait to see the fall of the royal family, and women who could not wait but to ascend the throne and create a new Neomon, because they will hate how they were given birth in a breeding center as if they were some slaughter animal.”
His words, shook the Queen’s resolve. She could not help but calm down a bit. She said, “Well, we shall take a leave for now, the banquet will start in the evening, you will need to rest and freshen up before that. We shall talk about this some other time.”
That said, she stood up, and left the pavilion. The two youngsters stood there watching her departure. Zysha said, “You two sure know how to rattle the snake.”
Shi Lang narrowed his eyes and thought, “She was not the queen.”
Zysha was shocked, and when Shi Lang gazed at Amelia the girl also understood the same. She nodded to him in affirmation. A guard came over and said, “Two guests, please follow me, I will be leading you back to your room.”
The two nodded and were about to follow the lady in the armor when Shi Lang said, “Madam, may I ask you to convey a message to her majesty?”
The guard was unsure what he was up to, and Amelia shared her emotions. After some hesitation the guard lady nodded and Shi Lang said, “The tea was an excellently blended. I liked it very much.”