Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

When Candy opened her eyes, she could see a green and blue world beyond the horizon of the glass window.

It was so beautiful. It looked like Earth from above, but the continental shapes were different. It was most definitely not Earth.

Slate was sitting on his egg-shaped seat staring out the window, his long black hair flowing all around him, glinting in the light of the world before him and spilling onto the arm rest.

Candi sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Are we there already?"

Slate swung his seat around. His eyes were bright and sparkling as he took in her disheveled sleep-tousled honey blonde hair.

"We reached Erenveil a short time ago. Since we still had plenty of time, I let you sleep for awhile longer.

"You didn\'t sleep at all." It was not a question. She could see the weariness in the cast of his shoulders.

"I had to make sure we got to Erenveil. For some reason, there was a starship that kept trailing us from one space hop to the next."

Candi looked at him with startled hazel eyes.

"From where?"

"Earth."

Candi gasped.

"Was it the same one that was able to see through your cloaking and shot at us?"

"No." He shook his head. "This one was different. A much more advanced technology."

"How could you tell it was from Earth? We don\'t have the kind of technology that can follow you all the way to Erenveil." She scratched her head. "Do we?"

Slate gave her a strange look and shook his head. His dazzling blue eyes stared through her, as if he was thinking about something.

"You shouldn\'t, but it has your world\'s flag colors on the side of the starship. There was no mistake."

He stood up.

"We don\'t have a lot of time. Let\'s get you fed and dressed, and then I take you down to join everyone. You are the last Avgo female and nothing can start until you arrive."

As large as dinner was the night before, breakfast was only a few slices of toast and some eggs, piping hot. Then she was given a few minutes to wash and dress in a stark white bodysuit with some boots of the same color.

Candi threw it on with the same familiarity that she did with the black bodysuit she normally wore to do her cat burglar heists. It was as if it had been created especially for her body.

As she was getting ready, the transport pod was taking them down to the planet below.

As she took her seat, Slate strapped her in and the transport pod flew through the atmosphere, spiraling downward in a curve that took advantage of the natural shape of the planet.

In no time at all, it approached a large flat expanse that looked suspiciously like one of the tabletop mountains on Earth.

"Wow. This looks like Table Mountain in Africa!" She gasped as she looked down at the vista below.

"It\'s made in a similar way." Slate laughed. "We sliced the top off the mountain so we could have a flat place to land."

"So this is like a spaceport for you?"

Slate shook his head. "No. It\'s just a landing field for small transport vehicles like this one."

Suddenly, he leaned forward.

"Oh you gotta be shitting me!"

He began hammering on the panel, pulling back up into the sky, even as the transport pod was starting to land.

"What\'s wrong? What\'s going on?" Candi clutched at her armrest with alarm.

"That starship from your world is on the landing field ahead of us. How it got here I have no idea."

As the pod sailed back up into the azure sky, Slate was hammering at the panel.

"Father." He called out. "Are you there?"

The familiar face of the Emperor of Erenveil appeared in front of them.

"Son. I just saw you coming in for a landing and suddenly you changed trajectory. What\'s going on?"

"Father, what is that Earth starship doing on the landing field?"

"I\'m not certain, Son. The Earth Viceroy said you had picked up the wrong Avgo female, so he had to transport the real one to Erenveil."

"Father. You know as well as I do that we do not actually choose the Avgo female. It is impossible to have a fake Avgo female."

Slate\'s Father raised an eyebrow.

"Are you telling me to doubt my own Viceroy on Earth? Does the female in your pod have the Avgo?"

Slate turned to Candi.

"Where is the Avgo?"

She blinked for a moment trying to remember where it was.

"I think it\'s in the pocket of my summer dress but I don\'t know where the dress is."

Slate shook his head.

"The Avgo will follow you wherever you go. It will not be in the summer dress. Call out to it."

"Call out? Does it have a name or do I just say something like: \'Hey Avgo! Show yourself!\'"

In the blink of an eye, the pink egg shaped sapphire appeared in front of her, twirling in midair, catching the light and reflecting it around like a mini disco ball.

Slate turned back to his Father.

"Do you see the Avgo, Father? Do you see her calling to Avgo and it obeys her command?"

"Hmmm. Yes. I\'m just telling you that the Viceroy is here demanding to meet up with you. He says the female with you is the thief who stole the Avgo from the real female who is supposed to be the Earth Avgo female."

"Father, the Avgo cannot be stolen."

The Emperor of Erenveil harrumphed.

"You know that and I know that, but try telling that to the Viceroy. He is adamant that the thief must be caught and persecuted. Meanwhile, he has brought what he considers the real Avgo woman to our world."

"I don\'t care." Slate grounded. "Send him back to Earth. He does not deserve to be here. He was the one who sent that first ship to fire at me."

"He said those were warning shots, fired to stop you from taking a high level and dangerous criminal out of Sol System."

Slate narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

"What, pray tell, is her crime?"

The Emperor\'s eyes grew cold.

"Theft of the Avgo and Earth\'s only copy of \'Ellipsoidal Macrocosm\'." He sniffed. "They even have an image of her with the book and the gem."

He raised a finger and the image of Candi\'s pale face showed up next to the pink Avgo egg sitting proudly on top of the ancient bound book.

Slate started laughing as Candi lowered her head into her hands.

It was the image that Slate had taken of her and sent to her boss.