The Pursuit of Happiness

Before Gwendolyn left her residence, she contacted Rex' attendant and asked him to convey a message to the Emperor to meet her at her home.

"Stay here and wait. If he does not show up within the hour, go see him and make him listen to you." She advised him.

"You asked him to come. Why would he not come?" Slate asked.

Truth be told. If Candace called on him, any time of day or night, he would come to her if he had to drag himself on his hands and knees.

"This is the Emperor we're talking about." Gwendolyn sighed. "He stood me up last night. There is a chance he won't show up today."

Slate narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that.'

As he sat in his mother's boudoir waiting for his father to arrive, Slate contacted the shipbuilding factory.

As luck would have it, the latest ship, the Raptor 880 was being outfitted at that very moment.

"Pull out all the stops, Eddie. Turn it into a traveling hotel with all the luxurious amenities so my mother and sister can travel in style."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." The shipyard engineer responded.

"Get a good designer for the interior. My mother's favorite colors are gold and blue. Also, find the highest caliber staff. There will only be two resident travelers and their entourage."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Eddie said with deference. This was for the Royal Consort and the Princess. Everything had to be absolutely perfect.

"I also want a small fleet of guards within the ship to protect them, as well as a small armada of four patrol ships following them everywhere to protect them from space pirates and the likes."

"That is a given, Sir. We will ensure highest possible levels of protection for them."

He was still chatting with the shipyard builders when, from the corner of his eyes, he saw his father enter the boudoir.

"Get back to me if you need anything." Slate said and disconnected the call.

Time for someone to face some serious music.

"Slate!" The Emperor eyed his son. "I didn't know you were back, Son. Your mother called me so I came as soon as I could."

Slate turned his frosty blue eyes at his father.

"You're quite a bit late though, aren't you Father?"

The Emperor quaked. How much did his son know of this?

"I just got the word that she wanted to talk to me ten minutes ago."

"Oh that." Slate waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "That was a delayed message she sent last night because you didn't show up to have dinner with her."

"Well, Son. I was dressed and ready to leave when there was a bit of an emergency that cropped up."

"You could have called to let her know, Father. She waited for you all night long."

"Why? She should have just eaten dinner and gone to bed. It's not as if I'll never see her again. Just a one-time situation—"

"Are you forgetting who you're talking to, Father?" Slate interrupted his words.

"Do you know how many times I have seen you stood her up and she had to eat dinner alone? Do you know how many times I've had to console her as she cried?"

"Well, I'm a busy man. Emergencies crop up…"

"Fair enough. What was the emergency last night that you couldn't call to let her know not to wait?"

"I—you—" The Emperor flicked his hand with irritation. "It is none of your business. I need to talk to my wife. Where is she?"

"Your wife has made it my business when she asked me to tell you something that she wanted to tell you herself, except she's too busy at the moment." Slate scowled as he felt a sudden anger erupt from his heart.

"What could it possibly be that she couldn't tell me herself?" Emperor Rex asked.

"She is making arrangements to leave you, Father. She no longer wants to live with you."

"She can't do that!!!"

"Why not? Is she a prisoner? Are you going to throw her into the dungeon, Father?"

Emperor Rex sputtered. "Of—of course not! How preposterous! But she can't just leave without talking it through. We're legally married!"

He turned away. "She and I need to talk!"

"Wasn't that what was suppose to have occurred last night?"

"Yes, but I couldn't make it last night. I'm here now!" Emperor Rex clenched his fists. "Tell her I want to talk to her NOW!!!"

Slate shook his head and heaved a sigh.

"Are you willing to wait all night in hopes that she will come to your side?"

"Are you an idiot? I don't have time for that nonsense!"

"And yet, you made her wait all night because you think she has the time for that nonsense?"

"That's different."

"How is that different, Father?"

"She only has one husband to wait for. I have five wives to have to take care of!" He shouted.

"Then would it be more fair if she took a handful of husbands herself. That should even things out a bit, don't you agree?"

Emperor Rex scowled and gave a thunderous roar.

"Your mother is a Royal Consort. Consorts don't have 'a handful of husbands'! They only have one husband, the Emperor!"

"Interesting. Then why does Candace have seven husbands?"

"Who says she has seven husbands???" The Emperor roared. "I only put three names down as her husband."

"Father, all seven of us have agreed to be her husband." Slate smiled at him with a tinge of mockery.

"You can't. You must pick from one of the other Avgo Females—"

"I picked Candace."

"Someone other than Candace!"

"There is no other woman. Candace is my entire world. My only light. She is my wife."

"That's ridiculous!" The Emperor raged

"No more ridiculous than you, snagging all the Avgo Females for yourself."

"They needed a husband. There were no others, so I did them all a favor and married them."

"A favor? Really? A beautiful talented woman such as my mother, and you think she was so pathetic that she couldn't find a man who would be head-over-heels in love with her?"

"She was the first of the Avgo Contestants to drop out."

"She was attacked by Clarissa and got injured, which was why she was disqualified!" Slate spat out.

"Yes, but I still married her anyway. That's how we got you!"

"Leaving me aside, are you trying to tell me that you married her to keep her from being a spinster?"

It was so ridiculous that they both stood there, not saying anything.

"Father." Slate sighed. "We tend to judge others by their behavior, and ourselves by our intentions. Your intentions are good, but your behavior towards my mother is not honorable. My mother deserves better, and frankly, I hope she finds someone better than you, Father."

"You!!!" The Emperor sputtered, pulling his hand back to give Slate a good punch.

Slate stood there in all his 6'3" muscular glory. He did not even bother to move his rock hard body that had been honed to perfection.

He was a warrior. What could the Emperor do to him at this point in his life?

Punching Slate would only result in painful knuckles for the Emperor.

Rex realized that at the last minute and pulled his hand back. His son was Prime Warrior after all—the big hunk of muscle-bound male that was the result of his mother's purple Avgo gemstone and his own mother's Avgo-chosen genetics.

"Go call your Mother out. I want to speak with her."

Slate shook his head.

"Sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Father, but Mother has left Erenveil."

That wasn't strictly true, but he wasn't going to pull Mother out just to give his Father a chance to brow-beat her into staying.

"What??? Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I gave her my ship and she took off. I didn't ask her where she was going."

"What kind of a son are you???" The Emperor shouted.

"The kind who respects my mother's need to find happiness. She has spent twenty-five years giving you and me happiness. Why is she not allowed to be happy as well?"

The Emperor stared at his son, unable to respond.