The Galactic Bride

They arrived at Planet Oclantis within a few days. During that travel time, Lani and the others outside the box took turns taking care of the hiding passengers. They'd let Anura and Aki out at night so they could stretch their legs, use the bathroom, and eat. Along with that, they took that time to clean out the box, as they had to use containers for emergency toilets. It also was the only time Aki and Anura had a chance to talk to someone else other than themselves.

"Noble women should not be hiding away in a box like that." Kahwool told them with an air of sympathy.

"Sometimes a noble woman's fate is not her own. For the good of others she must do what's right, regardless of personal happiness." Anura said wisely. A bit too wisely for Amuri.

"Like going into a political marriage?" Kahwool narrowed her eyes cooly at Anura. To this Anura had no reply.

"I still don't get this multiple wives thing." Hana brought up out of no where. "On Earth it's just a two people getting married… mostly."

"It's not a common thing to do for oridenary people." Lani explained to Hana. "Nobles usually are the ones to marry other wives. The idea is that one married is for political reasons, and the other is for love. It also helps spread the line, as Noble seeds are rare.""I still think it stinks." Hana wrinkled her nose. "Don't you Lani-chan?"

Lani didn't answer. She just glanced at Aki, clearly wishing she had him for herself.

"I don't understand why we're sneaking into the Oclantis system." Pono changed the subject, once again reading the situation and the tension building before Lani, Hana, and Anura. "We're turning ourselves in to the Wahco anyway..."

"We have to turn ourselves to the right Wahco. Just allowing any Wahconese officer take us in might get us sent right back to Sheplam without any explanation." Anura was quick to notice the subject change and took it.. "We have to find a noble house, and explain the situation."

"So we tell them what's going on, then what?" Hana crossed her arms under her chest. "The Nimbonians still have the army. Aki-chan and Kahwool-"Lady Kahwool" Pono corrected for the 30th time.

Hana ignored her. "-the two of them are already married… so the alliance between Mari and Nimba is done. We're too late."

Anura shrugged. "We can still warn them, and maybe get a safe refuge.""There's nothing we can do about a war." Lani agreed. "But we can't try to prevent a sneak attack."

Aki wondered about that for the rest of the time he was hiding in a box. Somehow in this whole mess, he and Kahwool were the center pieces. Throughout the trip comments here and there that Anura had made got his mind working overtime. The first idea he had was a divorce. That would break off the alliance. But Anura had never heard of such a thing, so that was out. Then the idea of broadcasting the truth of how they were married to the Galactic Confederation came up, mainly the point of them doing so at gun point. Anura saw more promise in this, but didn't see how that would change anything other than letting the others know that arrangement was forced. They still had to live with the marriage.

But as they arrived on the Wahco homeworld and snuck their way into the capital city of Landale, Anura unknowingly told Aki what he had to do. It was a plan that he couldn't have thought of on his own, yet Anura had no clue she had helped him come up with it. He tried to think of another solution, but this plan was the only way. He didn't want to tell the others until they were in the presence of a Noble. It would be too easy for them to talk him out of it.

Sneaking into a noble's house wasn't a simple task. Anura's skills as a military tactician came into play here. He could tell that Lani questioned how a Sergeant could come up with strategy like this, but it was actually Kahwool who came up with a believable excuse: Genetics. He could have kissed her for covering for Anura, even if she didn't know she was doing so. Regardless of how they did it, the group had managed to sneaking into the most propionate noble house in Landale, and hide away in her office. All they had to do was wait for the woman to arrive.

"My ears hurt." Hana rubbed the side of his head once she had gotten comfortable enough to talk. "This underwater pressure keeps making them pop."

Aki couldn't blame her for saying so. His ears were hurting too. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should have gone to Tyro instead."

"That would have been worse. They like to live near volcanos, remember?" Anura reminded him.

"Plus they are brutal savages." Kahwool pointed out.

Aki's stomach turned. He didn't like the generalization the Confederated people seemed to have towards other races. But he especially didn't like it from someone he was stuck with as a wife for the rest of his life. "They're not savages… they're just… tough."

"Say what you want, I'm just glad you won the contest." Kahwool went on.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hana asked defensively.

"Aki was the sweetest girl in there. Of course I wanted her to win." Kahwool gave Hana a look that clearly indicated she was above explaining of herself to a concubine, but was only doing so because Aki valued her.

This look was not lost on Hana. Aki could see her blood boiling. He didn't know how often they fought when Anura and him were in the box, but he would guess that it was often, judging by the looks Pono and Lani were exchanging. What a nightmare. He knew that sooner or later the two would not be able to co-exist together. But that was a problem for another time.

It was midnight before the office door opened. A women in what looked to be in her 40s, by Earth's standards, came into the room, holding a tablet like devise under her arm. She looked worn out from the days work until she spotted the 6 girls sitting inside her office. She looked panicked for a brief moment, then she saw Aki and Anura. Her panic turned to curiosity.

"You wouldn't be Lady Kezri of Grajin would you?" The Noble woman asked.

Aki nodded quickly, then introduced the others. "I'm sorry to barge in like this, but we really didn't have a choice. I'm Kezri, this is Sergeant Amuri from House Lima, and this… this is Lady Kahwool of House Rola… the Minister's daughter and heir."

Aki looked at Hana, Lani, and Pono, intending to introduce them, but the Noble woman dropped her tablet on hearing that the Minister's daughter was standing in front of her. "I'm Lady Sekh of Wumbi House." Sekh introduced herself, almost breathlessly. "Please. Why are you here?"

So as calmly as he could, he explained everything. He had gone over the speech a million times in his mind, and it flowed out perfectly. It was so good, that Kahwool didn't even try to interrupt, nor did Anura attempt to add anything else. He explained the complete situation to her, and why they had come to Sekh's house, though in his version he had picked her specifically to boost her ego.

Sekh then behind her desk and sat down taking in all the information. There was a lot to absorb, Aki knew, but the worst was to come. He knew that once she understood the situation, she'd be searching for a solution, and Aki had one. The problem was that the group around him didn't know it yet, and every part of him wished he had come up with a better plan than the one he did.

"I've got to warn everyone…" Sehk spoke after a moment, rubbing her forehead in clear stress. "A Mari/Nimba alliance…"

"If you have some more time to spare, I have a suggestion." Aki's stomach felt sick. He glanced at Hana first, then at Lani. They would be the biggest casualties of this plan.

"If you have a way out of war, I'd love to hear it." Sehk spoke in a shaking voice.

"All of this came about because of my wedding to Lady Kahwool. But… but we're both allowed to marry lower-wives."

Everyone in the room got what he meant immediately. Hana was the first to voice her concerns, but a watery eyed Lani cut her off with a gentle touch of the arm. It was sad to watch her heart break right in front of him. Aki couldn't do anything about that now, so he went on.

"We'll marry a noble girls from Tyro and Wahco… Lady Kahwool will marry a Wahconese girl, and I'll marry a Tyrian. Then all four of us will live on the Tarfulles home planet to make it neutral. This way balance is restored. We broadcast the wedding on the feeds and explain to everyone why were doing this. Maybe this marriage will be a symbol to Parliament on how corrupt the current system is, and they'll elect a new Minister. And with any hope, no war…"

Sehk was shaking her head in disbelief. "Such an alliance as never been done… we've never had to do this before. Lower-wives are meant to be the true wives…."

Aki looked down then repeated what had caused him to come up with this plan. "Sometimes a noble woman's fate is not her own. For the good of others she must do what's right, regardless of personal happiness."

Anura gasped audibly. So did Kahwool and Lani.

"Of course, Lady Kahwool should agree to this plan before we continue…" Aki said, partly hoping she wouldn't, but knowing she would. "… and I should hope the representatives of Tyro and Wahco wouldn't mind marrying girls like us-."

"It's not about a matter of agreement…" Sehk was shaking her head. "This could save us all!"

"I'll do my part." Kahwool was looking at Pono with disappointment in her eyes. It wasn't until that look that Aki understood that Kahwool had planned on making the concubine her lower-wife. It wasn't just him that was giving up something he wanted. He glanced again at Lani who's eyes were on her feet, cheeks wet with tears.

"I'll… I'll wake up my daughter. If you find her agreeable then perhaps she can be the Wahconese candidate?"

She left the room and the rest of the five stared a hole into Aki, except for Lani. He felt unnerved now. His stomach still felt sick from saying it. He glanced at Hana and Lani, their chances of being Lower-wives ruined within seconds. If his planned worked, he'd be the savior of the galaxy… but to the ones he loved he was garbage.

"Aki-chan… how could you?" Hana whispered.

"I know I promised Lani that I'd marry her and-"

"I know why you're doing this, but aren't you giving up your life for this as well?" Hana shook her head furiously. "The plan was that I was going to marry Lani, you were to marry her, and we were all going to be together. But now… it's all so messed up."

"If me giving up being Aki's bride will save the galaxy from going to war, I'll gladly step down." Lani spoke in a choked voice. He knew she'd say that, as she had offered to step down before. However, she still wouldn't meet his eye. He had broken her heart.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before now." Aki apologized to them. "I know this it's not right that everyone was dragged into this, but I can't think of any other way to stop all this nonsense."

"You're going to be a hero, Princess." Anura muttered, dropping her guard for a moment. No one noticed, they were all to busy thinking about their own positions in all of this. "No one has proposed a four-way alliance like this before, and no one has come this close to stopping a war."

Kahwool sniffed loudly, wiping her tears away with her arm. "I hate my life. I hate being an object to be-"

But she didn't finish. Sehk returned with a very sleepy faced girl. She was still in pajamas, but looked as if her mother must have ran a brush through her short hair quickly before for pushing her out the room. She barely looked awake until she saw Aki sitting on the side of Sehk's desk.

Aki correctly assumed that the situation was explained to her, but she probably didn't understand it until she saw the winner of the contest sitting in her home. The young Wahconese girl's mouth dropped open and she pointed at Aki, then she saw Kahwool and correctly guessed who that was too. Her legs visibly shook from seeing such two popular figures yards away from her.

"This is my daughter Maat. Though she is young, she has reached the age of seeding, so she can get married if you find her desirable. I know she's doesn't look that attractive now, but she just woke up and-"

Kahwool interrupted her. "Hello Lady Maat, I'm Kahwool and this is Lady Kezri."

Maat nodded, clearly not being able to speak just yet.

"I know how you feel. I was told who I had to marry as well." Kahwool said, then looked at Aki for a moment. "You understand what everyone is asking for you to do, right?"

"Y-Yes. Olma wants me to get a political marriage…."

"I don't think the Tyrian girl will mind who she marries. So I think that just once a Noble's bride should choose who she wants to marry. I'll let you decide. You can choose me or Lady Kezri."

Aki looked at Kahwool, surprised at this. He purposely picked the Tyro bride because he knew how much Kahwool disliked the race. But this seemed important to her. She wanted someone in the marriage to actually marry who they wanted. Maat was looking quite overwhelmed by all this. She was asked to choose the fate for the rest of her life right then and there.

"I… I…"

Aki stepped forward. "Regardless of who you choose, both of us will treat you with respect. Lady Kahwool and I have both been down the same path you have. You should know I'm an outsider. I'm a beast who won the Contest. Kahwool has been raised just as you have. You might find more in common with her."

"But Aki… I mean Kezri… isn't as terrible as all that. She's very kindhearted and thinks of others more than herself." Kahwool looked at Lani and Hana when she said this. She wanted them to know that while they were more or less getting dumped, he was the one making the bigger sacrifice. He was willing giving up happiness for everyone in the galaxy.

Maat turned around to see who she was looking at. Lani and Hana averted their eyes. Then she looked from one possible bride to the other. She clearly had no idea what to do, and her Olma wasn't helping with the decision either.

She swallowed somewhat and asked meekly. "Which one of you thinks I'm pretty?"

Aki smirked, wondering how that was at all important in a time like this. His smirk must have stood out, as while Kahwool was considering her answer, Maat's eyes went to his smile.

"You're laughing at me!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean too."

"Well it's important, you know." She gave the pout of that of a teenaged girl. "We have to get along and be attracted to each other, right?"

"If that's the case, you should pick who you think is prettiest." Aki said jokingly.

"Don't listen to her, she likes to joke around." Kahwool shook her head, giving him a warning look.

"I-I think I know who I want to marry."