Star Hopper Chapter 9
#9 of Star Hopper
Chapter nine of my furry book Star Hopper! Two years of writing and it's done. Now keep in mind that I'm not an expert in editing so there are some typo so please look past those and enjoy the book!
Oh, btw the format is not what it's actually written in, in the real document there is no spacing.
Also, for those intrested I am making a secret chapter between chapters five and six (if you read it you might be able to figure out what it is.)
9
The Queen sat at her chair in her room. In her paws lay a data reader, about the size of a large book only it was about a quarter inch thick. The touch screen displayed different medical information, including a pregnancy. She moved a paw to her stomach, and continued reading.
_ The least I can say for this offspring is that she's going to surpass all expectations large and small. Her coat will be a luxurious sparkling white, an approximate one in seven hundred thousand chance of that happening again. She will be super smart, super agile and strong. Of course this is just the pre-examination, more will be known in a couple months but all I can say is that this kit will surpass even the king, enough to be Queen._
A smile emerged from the corners of her muzzle and she rubbed her stomach. Her new kit would surpass everyone and everything. Suddenly a knock at her door made her look up, "Yes?"
"Ma' lady, we've returned."
The door opened a hair and it revealed one of the two servants that had washed Princess Colleen. The queen motioned them in and the two vixens came in and closed the door behind them.
"Did you get what I asked for?"
The two foxes looked at each other, then one extended a paw out, "Yes we did, but are you sure about this? I mean, she didn't look it to me."
In her paw law a hypodermic needle, inside was a clear liquid that had a liking to water. There wasn't much in the needle, barely enough to call it a sample.
"Trust me, I know. Call it a mothers intuition, besides there's an easy way to check. The doctor should be here soon, I called him not to long ago."
She held up the needle to her eyes, "I just wonder what you are?"
Then as if on cue the door opened and the "royal" doctor stepped in holding a bag. "Sorry for intruding, but you said I could just come in."
The Queen batted her paw, "nah it's ok, but this is what I want you to look at." She handed the doctor the needle. He sighed, as if this wasn't the first time.
"I told you, you're not going to find anything more, you're going to have to wait a couple months!"
"True, true" the queen said, "only, this isn't from me." The doctor realized his mistake and apologized, he took the needle without hesitation.
He moved to a chair and sat in it studying the vile, "Yeah, this does look different, who's is it?"
"That's not important right now, just do your thing."
The doctor reached into his bag and pulled out a small computer, he opened it and hit the on button. While the computer booted up, the doctor also took out a component that had the resemblance of a touchpad. He plugged it into the side of the computer.
"Ok, let's do this."
He took the needle and pushed some of the liquid out onto the pad, it sank into it.
After a couple seconds of quick computing, the results showed.
"Well, whoever this is, she's pregnant."
The two servants couldn't believe it there muzzle's gapped, "Princess Colleen is pregnant!"
The doctor coughed and almost fell out of the chair, almost dropping the computer out of his lap, "This is Colleen! Oh shit. Seriously?"
The shock didn't hit the queen because she already knew, due to her "mothers intuition."
"Yes, it's Colleen ok, now continue with it. What's the pre-birth like?"
"Well, based on this, the offspring is...female and uh...um..." He stopped, his muzzle dropped, "Eh, This...um."
The queen was getting impatient, "What is it? Tell me!"
The doctor took a deep breath,
"Well according to this, Colleen's offspring is a mix-breed. Impure. Fox and wolf. More fox then wolf though, but mixed still the same."
He tried clicking around to get the full work up but the computer beeped and an error message popped up saying not enough solution.
"I'm sorry but it looks like I don't have enough of this," he held up the needle and shook it, "to get the full pre-birth."
The doctor stood up and closed his computer. He turned and placed it back into his bag that he'd brought.
"Sorry I couldn't be more helpful." The queen stared off into the distance, contemplating, thinking. "Your highness?"
She finally broke her trace and swirled around in her chair, laying her head down on the desk behind her. "I just don't know what to do."
The doctor and the servants looked at each other in confusion and looked back at the hunched queen.
"You don't know what to do about what?" The doctor asked. "If you want no one to know, that's fine. I won't say a word. We all won't." He glanced back at the two vixens who nodded their heads in agreement.
"Oh I'm not worried about you guys talking," The queen lifted her head and swirled around again to reveal a plasma pistol in her paw. "Because I'm pretty sure you can't talk when you're dead."
Without a second thought, she shot three times in quick succession hitting all three of them in the head with concentrated plasma.
"After all you know what they say, the only way to keep a secret between two people is If one is dead. You've fit the bill nicely."
The queen knelt down next to the dead doctor, the look in his eyes was for his life. She paced a paw under his muzzle and stroked it, "You were a good doctor, you really were. Your information was always spot on."
She moved her paw to her stomach, still talking to the dead body, "You see, I want my daughters to be the best they can be, I want them all to rule, but problems arise. The king started to get a little too close to Colleen. She spent more time with him then me." The tone of her voice changed to anger, "Plus this excursion with that pirate! She is not of pure blood anymore, her offspring isn't going to be pure
She paused for a second almost expecting a response from the three dead bodies, when it didn't come she continued.
"Don't get me wrong, I do love her, but imagine what that would do?" She fiddled with the pistol, looking at every nook and cranny of it. "It would not only make her lose the title of queen but also, it would give me a bad name. Imagine if the Queen was a grandmother to a bastard kit"
She rose to her feet and sat back down in the chair leaning all the way back, "I can't have that happen, after all. The king may be the head, but I'm the neck, twisting it, and I can't give that up, too much power."
Again she waited for them to respond, but obviously it didn't come, she acted like it had though.
"AH! I didn't know that this would happen when we conceived this kit, it was almost a backup in case Colleen had been killed, and everybody thought she had been. As you know."
A bright flash filled the window outside.
"Then when I saw Colleen for the first time, I could tell something was wrong. She'd done something that made her guilty, made her think twice."
The thunderclap shook the room, a storm was on the approach.
Rain started to collect on the window, The queen looked out as the rain intensified. "She'd ruin everything I've worked for, she can be replaced."
The guard kicked Ian in the gut, forcing him to hunch over and to cough up blood. He stumbled and fell onto the cold steel floor of the prison, which was covered by dirt and grime that looked like it'd been there for centuries. The guard began to get impatient, "Hey get up! I'm not paid to let you lie down!"
Reluctantly, Ian got to his knees and tried to stand but like a broken machine his legs wouldn't work. He was just too weak to move himself. The guard grunted and grabbed Ian by the neck.
The large, burly guard dragged Ian through the grime, with other prisoners watching and laughing at the mix-breed, covered in blood and filth. The guard stopped in front of a cell with two other prisoners,
"the laughing stock of the lowest of the low. Heh, I almost feel sorry. Almost. Open number 316!"
The light blue screen that covered the door to the cell changed to green. The guard threw Ian into the cell, making him roll along the filth covered floor and hitting the back wall. His head slammed against the concrete wall. Blackness obscured his vision.
"Close 316!"
The other two watched as the door changed back to blue, "have fun!" The guard burst into laughter.
"Who do you think he is?" The first prisoner asked.
"I have no idea. I wonder what he did." The second one said.
The first one knelt down next to their new company. He placed his paw on his shoulder and shook him.
"Yeah, he's out cold. Help me with this."
The first one motioned for the second one to help him move him. They moved him to their filth free zone as they called it and sat him against the wall. Both of them studied him, searching for anything that might give them a clue to who he was.
"Wait," the first one said, unknowingly holding up his paw. "Look at his fur pattern. Whoever this is, they're a half-breed."
While they were trying to figure that out, a low hum from the front of their cell alerted them. A small portion of the door changed to green and in slid a fairly large portion of rancid meat, rotten bread, and three cups of warm, dirty water. Both of them dove for the food, trying to grab as much of the meat as they could. One of them reached for a cup of water to gulp, but instead of two, what he was used to, three sat on the floor. He looked back at the new prisoner and looked down at his paws. In them was food, the life force and part of it was his. He tapped the other prisoners shoulder.
"Don't you think we should, you know, save it?"
The other one made a face, "Save it for what! We barely get enough food as it is, and when we do it's moldy. Might as well eat it when it's as least moldy as possible."
"I'm not talking about us," he said with compassion in his voice, "he needs to eat too."
"Why should I give a fuck about that, he's not even going to eat it now. It looks as though he's not going to wake up anytime soon."
The other one stood, took his own cup and marched over to the new guy. He looked at the water.
"What are you doing?"
He splashed the water in the face of the mix-breed, who suddenly awoke with a quick breath and wild eyes. Before anything he covered his nose with his paws trying to block out the smell.
"Yeah, you'll get used to that."
The other one dropped his food in disappointment, he wanted more but now that he was awake they'd have to share.
"Who are you guys?" He said still covering his nose. The one standing turned his head and stole a quick glance at the other prisoner kneeling by the food. "My name is Luyi," he stuck a thumb out at the other, "that's Erit. What about yourself, who are you?"
"Ian." He said informally
Luyi sat and crossed his arms, "Ian, hm. Welcome to hell." Ian's eyes shifted, "what am I dead?"
Erit scoffed at him, "No you idiot, that's just what us prisoners call it. This is actually Nuimi Prison."
A spear just stabbed Ian's heart in the form of a word, Nuimi. Nuimi is a cumulative non-segregated prison on the outskirts of Ridlyyn's Capitol, Juriet. People call it Hell, purgatory, the abyss, but most of the time just "death." Because most of the people who go there are either sentenced to death or it's somebody who they want dead.
Ian looked over Luyi and Erit, both were foxes with what used to be orange fur. But the prolonged exposure to grime and waste has made them go to an almost permanent dark brown and black. Erit nibbled at some meat behind Luyi, Ian's stomach called for it and unknowingly he placed a paw over his stomach. Luyi noticed it and reached back behind him at the food that Erit was hogging. He gave him a nasty look and stole away the rest, then with a kind face, placed it in Ian's paw.
Ian took one look at the meat and his hunger disappeared, it was the most disgusting piece of trash that he'd ever laid his eyes upon. The red color of freshness had given way to nasty grey and green colors and maggots wormed in and out of it. Even when he'd had to scrounge around for food, it was never this bad. His face made Erit laugh, which brought another face from Luyi.
"You'd better get used to it," he said in his laughter, "'cuse that's all your getting from now on!"
Ian brought it to his nose and sniffed it, again more reinforcement that it was spoiled. "I suggest that you don't do that, you'll just make it worse." Luyi said with a smile.
Ian took the advice, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of rancid air. He counted down from three and on one let it slide into his mouth and down his throat. It was almost a surprise when the gag reflex didn't kick in.
"We foxes have pretty strong stomachs when it comes right down to it, but a wolf's is still stronger." He eyed Ian suspiciously, "I'm I right, Ian?"
Ian nodded his head, Luyi quickly followed up. "Speaking of that, your fur pattern, it's not what you would call... natural."
A low growl echoed through the cell, "Yeah, I'm a half-breed. What of it?"
Luyi held up his paws in defense, " Hey, we're not characterizers here, neither are we racist. Isn't that right Erit?"
Erit crawled from where he was over next to Luyi, "that's what some think." An angry eye dove into Ian's forehead. "Some people are and they don't appreciate half-breeds. In fact they downright despise them..."
Ian cut him off, "yeah, like most others." He turned to where the side of his head rested on the cold, dirty steel and didn't say anymore.
Both Erit and Luyi looked at each other, arguing silently. They decided that it'd be best to leave the newcomer alone.
Ian blankly stared at the wall, his thoughts back with Colleen and their adventures. The already memories of her brought his heart to long for her touch. His eyes still studied the wall and in the dirty steel an image materialized in front of him. Colleen stood in front of him, her orange luscious fur obscured by the grime covering the walls. Her paw beckoned him like the food beckoned the prisoners, she made a faint smile. But it turned sour, her teeth growled at him. Her red eyes narrowed at him, and as they did, they changed to silver. Her claws reached out to grab him and tear him up but nothing was there. The image disappeared, it was gone. For a few quick seconds Ian cowered in fear, then he completely shut in going back to what he was like on the Apex.
Erit watched the newcomer as he quarreled with his own head.
"There's something not right in that guy's head. I mean look at him," he tapped Luyi's shoulder and made him look at Ian. "Crawling up in a ball and murmuring to himself."
Luyi just looked back at him, an annoyed look on his face, "you do realize that he basically just found out that he's going to rot in this god forsaken place and there's nothing that he can do about it? Or at least I hope you do." His eyes switched to Ian, "but if there was something else bothering him I don't really want to know what it is."
The life Colleen had now compared to her old one was indescribable; everything was just given to her. Even though she'd just lived the space life for a little less than a week, she didn't remember what her life was before. A knock from the door turned her attention to whoever was there,
"Come in!"
The door opened up and a cart pushed by a small, slender wolf wheeled in. "How we doing today Princess? Ok I presume?"
The wolf's name was displayed on his servants jacket, "Rilph" it said. His amber eyes looked at her with concern. "Yeah, I guess I can't complain."
He smiled and patted the small wheeled cart with gold platters on them. "I got your order right here." He paused and with a little concern said, "you seem to be eating a lot lately." He chuckled, "you've asked for four different orders just today, what's wrong?"
Colleen pulled the cart towards where she sat on the bed and began to snack at the different dishes that littered the cart. Rilph stood back with his arms crossed, he sighed with a slight smile and a hint of laughter. She looked him down, Rilph had been there as a friend for the past four days. He was nice, sweet and respectful. The fact that he was a wolf at first seemed kind of ridiculous, a wolf doing a foxes job. His body was built for a fox along with his attitude. At first Colleen thought that he was a half-breed, when she approached him about it he just about laughed in her face. But he couldn't because she was the princess.
He went on to explain how he'd grown up around mostly foxes, he acted like them, ate like them, and learned with them. He also explained how he wouldn't be frightened in pursuing a relationship with a fox. These factors reacted on his life to be more fox then wolf,
"I'm a fox stuck in a wolf's body." He said.
After they talked that day Colleen requested him to be her personal servant so they could talk more. Colleen patted the space next to her with her paw telling him to sit down. He obliged and sat next to her. At first it made him a little nervous sitting next to a princess like that but she was unlike what he thought royalty was.
"You know Rilph, I just have to say it, you remind me of someone. Well the good parts that is."
Rilph sat a bit higher, "Why thank you, I don't get that a lot. Can I ask who?" Colleen dodged the question. "You have the same body build, although he's a half-breed. But he has a similar fur pattern and that's one that's not very common."
"Just who is it?"
"Ian" Colleen replied keeping her eyes trained on the plate that lay in front of her on the cart.
"Who is this Ian?"
Colleen licked her paws still staring at the one point, "Uh, princess?" Colleen shook her head, "Oh, I'm sorry. What were we talking about?"
Rilph realized that she had been just talking and not paying attention to what she'd been saying. Although this Ian character intrigued him, who was he?
"Uh, we were talking about some half-breed named Ian. Who is he?"
Colleen turned to Rilph, "Who told you that name?"
"You did, just now." He said quite confused at the princess. She kept staring at him, "Princess?"
Colleen stared directly into Rilph's eyes, and they began to morph. A paw extended to her, it was Ian, but how'd he get here? His smile dug right through her, taunting her, provoking her to dive right into his arms.
The paw came forward and touched her shoulder, it was real. But how? Ian wasn't here, he's gone, he can't be here! Ian's face dissolved to Rilph, who had his paw resting on her shoulder to bring her back to reality. Colleen sat there stunned, emotions overflowed within her.
"Are you ok Colleen? You seem odd today."
He watched her eyes as they found themselves staring at his own, "Rilph, can you do something for me?"
"Anything Princess, after all I am here to serve you."
She twiddled with her thumbs, "This isn't exactly that type of request. Uh, I was wondering if you would want to go out..."
Rilph almost filled in the rest of the sentence, he could figure it out. How could he resist, this was the princess, regarded as the most beautiful on the planet, maybe in the galaxy. He grabbed her paw and brought it up to his chest, she felt his beating heart. "I would be honored."
The only thing Colleen could muster was a faint smile.