Jack's Snow Day

"There are inner doors between the rooms. Do you need these unlocked?"

"No-" Jack began.

"Yes," Gee and Bal insisted.

"I will take the first room and Bal will take the third. Jack will take the middle," Gee explained.

"OK," Tanz replied and opened the middle room's door. "There are mechanical locking mechanisms on each front door which can be locked from the inside at night if that makes you feel more secure. The palace is the safest place on the planet and the planet is a very safe place."

She went to the inner access doors and unlocked one on either side of the room. She pointed to the sliding panels at the far end of the room. "The bed is behind the privacy screens. The cleansing facilities are behind the first door inside the room. You can press that button on the wall by the door to summon any kind of assistance you may need."

She looked at them with a smile. "Is there anything you need right now?"

Jack looked at the two Altarians who looked back at him and they all shook their heads.

"Ok, good! I will come pick you up in a few hours. You are welcome to explore the palace if you like. The only off limits area is the royal apartments but doormen are there to prevent uninvited guests. You will get to meet the royal couple tonight."

"Thank you so much Tanz!" Jack said and she smiled as she leaned forward. He suddenly realized what she was doing and moved to gently touch his forehead to hers." She repeated this with the Altarians then left the room.

Gee and Bal immediately pulled Jack over to a wide couch and sat him down on the center of it. Then Bal rushed off to the bedroom while Gee settled herself on the couch next to Jack, lifting his arm to squeeze herself against his side. Bal returned with a blanket. Jack lifted his other arm as Bal tucked herself against him. The two agents pulled the blanket up to cover all of them.

Jack felt them shivering against him so he put his arms around them and pulled them closer. They rested their faces against his chest to get the warmth radiating from him.

"How can you be so warm?!?" Gee grumbled.

"Do not complain! He is the only heat source we have right now," Bal grumbled back.

"I would have thought you two would have wanted to explore the palace right away, learn all the nooks and crannies," he teased.

"We have memorized the layout of Elleltris," Gee said cuddling in closer. "Now hush. You should get some sleep as the party is likely to run late and you should be sharp when you meet with the royal couple."

Jack snorted quietly as he was sure they just wanted their heater to be still. So he was still and warm and soon they all dozed off.

Chapter 4

As royal parties went, this one sucked.

After the friendly welcome he'd received from Tanz and seeing how friendly everyone was, he was surprised by how stiff the royal couple behaved.

The Queen was a beauty! Tall, with dark grey long fur on her reverse side and brilliant white fur with dark grey rosettes and stripes on her front side. Light grey eyes and a grace about her that commanded respect. Jack thought she was also sad and hiding it poorly.

The King was almost the polar opposite in coloration. His long fur was white and the short dense fur on his front was dark grey with white rosettes and stripes. His eyes were deep blue which was apparently a new color for the Shreen since coming to Chrystan. Their environment and diet had changed and these changes were manifesting in new coloration in eyes and fur in some cases. Exciting times ahead!

At the head table he was seated next to the King and Tanz was on the other side of the Queen. The royal couple wasn't speaking much to each other and the head table was drawing anxious looks from the other tables.

The food had been unique and he'd enjoyed it after being assured it was safe for human and Altarian physiologies.

Jack was tempted to leap to his feet and break out his amazing disappearing napkin trick to try to pump some life into the party. He caught Gee's eye at the first table where she was sitting with some of the senior council members and their spouses. He pantomimed the beginning of his magic trick and she shook her head vigorously with wide anxious eyes so he slumped back in his chair and pouted.

The servers came by and cleared away the plates. Music began to play and there was an almost palpable sense of relief as this appeared to indicate the meal was over. The Queen rose and walked away with Tanz in her wake. They seemed to be making their way over to a group of older females on the far side of the room.

Jack heard the King sigh heavily and he caught him watching the Queen walking away.

He couldn't take it anymore and leaned his head forward to catch the King's eye which swung back to him.

"I'm sorry your majesty if I'm intruding but you seem a little sad. Would you like to talk about it?" Jack asked.

"Your majesty? I haven't heard that one yet. People just use the title. Since we're both... consorts of Queens, could you just use my name? It's Tyg."

Jack's hand twitched as he stopped himself from reaching to shake Tyg's hand. "Yes, of course Tyg. Please call me Jack."

Tyg pushed his chair back and stood. "I need a drink, Jack. Join me?"

Jack stood as well. "Lead the way."

They made their way down from the table towards a counter where guests were getting sweets and drinks. Tyg looked at the selection of bottles and frowned. "Lars, where is the local brew?"

A male standing beside the table gave the King a pained look. "I was asked not to bring it."

Tyg glanced over to the table the Queen was standing before with her back to them. He looked back to Lars. "The Hra Council?"

Lars nodded unhappily. "I was forbidden to bring it in... so I left a bottle outside the dining hall in the access way cooling in a chiller," he said with a rebellious little smile.

"You are salt!" Tyg cheered quietly and Lars worked to hide his grin, turning his back towards the table of elder females. The so called Hra Council Jack guessed.

Tyg looked desperately at Jack. "I cannot leave the dining hall before the Queen but you... you could slip out and bring back that lovely bottle for us."

"Certainly! Which door?" Jack said with a smile.

Without being obvious, Lars gestured to the servant's entrance in the corner over his shoulder.

Jack nodded and nonchalantly wandered away and felt eyes on him as he approached the door. He turned and saw Bal staring at him sternly.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Ah! So good of you to join me. Come with me for a second," he said scooping her up against his side. She wanted to protest but his heat felt good. She and Gee were wearing their thermal undergarments but it still wasn't enough. They wanted to go back to the room and hide under the blankets.

Jack positioned her in front of the door and pushed it open. "Keep this open just a little, ok?" then he slipped out into the hall before she could protest. He spotted the chiller and lifted the bottle out of it. There was no label but this had to be it as he saw no other bottles. He slipped back through the door to see Bal glaring at him. "Hey! I'm on a diplomatic mission here!" he scolded her playfully and moved away before she could interfere.

The King's expression was priceless as Jack arrived. He scooped up two very small glasses and led Jack to a small sitting area for two at the back of the dining hall. He sat and gestured for Jack to take the other chair. He put the glasses on the table and Jack put the bottle on the table between them. Tyg twisted the top oddly and the bottle was open. He poured a small amount in both of their glasses and Jack's eyebrows went up with how little was in his glass. He was a little worried at its strength.

"This is Lussht. You have to start small. Introduce your body to it gradually," Tyg explained.

They picked up their glasses but before Tyg could drink Jack caught his attention.

"We should toast."

Tyg looked at him. "What's that?"

"When people share a beverage like this we traditionally say something we are honoring by sharing the drink. We say something like 'to a successful endeavor' and then we drink. This shows we honor the person or thing we're toasting," Jack explained.

Tyg smiled. "I like that tradition! Let's do it! You're the guest so you do it first!"

"Ok, for my first toast I'd like to honor something that makes life so much better. To love," Jack said and raised his glass.

Tyg froze and looked at Jack's honest gaze. He looked like he might argue but he glanced across the room at the profile of the Queen and the protest died on his lips. "Yes... to love." They drank.

Jack felt the cool liquid slipping down his throat until it landed in his stomach. The cool sensation remained in his throat but his stomach bloomed into warmth which slowly ebbed.

Jack was trying to grasp the flavor but it eluded him. It was good but he just couldn't place it. He smiled across the table into the twinkling eyes of the King. "I like it!" Tyg grinned and poured two more. Just a tiny bit more this time.

"My turn." He paused and thought about it. "To freedom," he finally said.

Jack raised his glass and nodded. "To freedom." They drank.

The liquid felt like it rushed down his throat, this time on what felt like the slick patch of ice left by the first drink and the bloom of heat was larger. The flavor... damn. He couldn't catch it yet but he really liked it! "Oh, that's nice!" he sighed.

Tyg poured two more with a little more. He nodded to Jack indicating it was his turn.

Jack thought about his next move carefully. Then it came to him. "To second chances."

Tyg paused to think about that. His eyes were drawn across the room and he nodded slowly before looking back at Jack. "To second chances." They drank.

Jack held himself very still as the third shot seemed to skip his throat entirely and hit his stomach in record time, the heat bloom exploded and went right to his brain stem. The room went soft focus for just a moment and then settled down into a calm, happy hum.

Tyg's eyes kept tracking back to the Queen and he bit his lip.

"Should... should we do one more?" Jack asked carefully as his lips seemed to be moving on their own like they had something to say.

"Yes... but just the one."

Tyg poured and Jack tried to focus on how much he'd added to the glasses and if it was more than the last time. He shrugged as it was too hard to recall.

"My turn," the sad King said. "To regret."

"No! I won't drink to that thief!" Jack growled. He tried to calm himself but his mouth had something to say. "Regret sucks the joy out of life. The remedy for regret is Action! Perseverance! Honesty! Commun- Comm- Communic- Talking! Give me one of those and I'll drink!"

Tyg stared at the glowering Human with the frightening horns and nodded. "All of them!"

"Aye!" Jack grinned widely. "Now you're talking!"

They drank one last time.

Jack could feel the planet moving under his feet and heard the heart beats of everyone in the room. He wasn't sure what had been in his glass but he was pretty sure it was pretty FUCKING FANTASTIC! He felt like he could do anything! His emotions swelled.

He smiled at Tyg who was looking across the room at the Queen once more. "Talk to me Tyg!" he said leaning forward... or the room did.

"I'm going to miss my wife," the King said quietly.

"Why would you have to miss her?" Jack asked, confused.

"When I leave. I will miss her so much."

"Who is forcing you to leave?" Jack asked looking around the room for the bastards who would do such an awful thing.

"She's a young Queen. Youngest ever they say. The Hra Council are 'assisting her' but they just make her follow old rules. I can't do anything to help her. I'm not allowed to do anything!"

Tyg's incredible sadness swept over Jack and he struggled to keep from crying. He- he couldn't just stand by and see love destroyed! He took some deep breaths as the King looked in his eyes. "Do you love her?" Eyes flared and Tyg nodded emphatically. "Do you remember when you fell in love with her? Do you remember why you fell in love with her?" Jack asked.

Tyg gasped a deep breath of his own. "Yes! She was so young, we both were, and she was so brave when they named her Queen!"

"Is she still that woman?" Jack asked, the answer seeming so clear to him.

"She's losing her nerve, they are taking it from her."

"Who is?" Jack gasped.

"The Hra Council. They never liked me. I wasn't like them. I'm not from their class."

Jack reached across the table and grabbed the King's forearm in a tight grip. The male froze looking across the table.

Jack's blood was suddenly boiling. "What is your wife?" he growled.

Tyg's mouth moved then he was able to speak. "The Queen."

"What are you?"

"The King?"

"Are you asking me?" Jack said quietly.

"No! I am the King!" Tyg blurted.

"What does a King do for his Queen?" Jack stared deeply into Tyg's eyes and the male froze once more as some intimate things popped into his head. Jack frowned. "She's under attack. What do you do?"

"Oh! Defend her!" Tyg gasped in sudden comprehension.

"But you just told me you were running away!" Jack growled.

"She- she doesn't listen to me!" Tyg tried to explain.

"Has she lost faith that you will defend her? Stand by her? Who is more intimidated by this council?" Jack asked with wide eyes. He released his grip on the King's arm.

"Oh! Oh. But- I said some awful things," Tyg said.

"And you've forgotten how to apologize? What matters most here? Ask yourself that, ask yourself how you should have acted, then ACT!" Jack thumped the table with a fist and the bottle and glasses jumped as did the King.

"You're right. I- I have to act!" Tyg leapt to his feet and rushed off across the room.

Gee and Bal were suddenly by Jack's side. "What have you done?!? What did you do?!? Are you drunk? Did you grab the King? What did I tell you about keeping your hands to yourself?" Gee hissed rapidly but quietly at him.

He grinned happily and shushed her, pointing to the King and Queen.

They were standing off to the side with their foreheads pressed together. The King was speaking quietly but quickly to his Queen. Then he was speaking earnestly but forcefully to her but the Queen's reaction was just to smile wider and wider. Finally he got down on his knees and bowed deeply to her. She said something and he quickly climbed back to his feet and they rubbed their faces. The room erupted into cheers. The royal couple smiled bashfully and nodded to the council members and their partners.

Looking lovingly into the eyes of her husband she pulled her shoulders back and walked back to the Council of Hra. She bowed slightly and said something they really didn't seem to like. Some began to argue but froze when the Queen snapped her teeth together. She tilted her head and each of the old women got up and bowed to her. She said something else and they slowly walked from the room followed by a very happy Tanz.

"What did you do?" Gee asked again but softly this time as she watched the royal couple approaching with wide smiles on their faces. Jack stood and his smile matched theirs.

"If I might have a moment with Ambassador Danner?" the Queen said to the two Altarians. Gee and Bal nodded and slipped away to give them privacy.

"May I join you for a drink?" the Queen asked.

"Yes! Please!" Jack gushed as the King added a chair to the small table. Lars handed the King an extra glass with a huge smile on his face.

Once they were sitting Jack wondered how he'd managed the whole standing and sitting thing with his head so far up in the clouds. Tyg poured for the three of them, the Queen getting the smallest amount. She frowned at him but he whispered something to her and she smiled once more.

"I need to make a toast, to honor the most important thing in life. To love," Tyg said holding his glass up. The Queen matched his gesture and when Jack said 'To love' she said it as well. They drank.

Jack held the edge of the small table as the room began to accelerate. When he caught up with the room he smiled at the couple. "My goodness this is strong stuff!" he laughed.

They laughed with him.

"I cannot tell you how grateful I am you talked me out of my madness!" Tyg said to Jack sincerely.

"I am eternally grateful as well!" the Queen chimed in.

"There is no battle more noble of purpose than the one to protect love," Jack said with a wistful smile.

"That's lovely! Who said that?" the Queen asked.

Jack looked around in surprise. "I thought I just did." He looked at his glass. "This is strong stuff!"

The royal couple burst into laughter and Jack joined in without knowing why. It just felt really, really good!

Another toast was raised and this time the Queen insisted on toasting to Jack. He found that to be extraordinarily funny and they only stopped giggling to toss back the next shot.

The Queen was now up to a full glass like they were but still well behind on becoming drunk. She still had her daunting intellect front and center. "Jack, would you join us for one more last drink in our apartment. We have the most extraordinary view we'd like to share with you."

The King looked at the Queen with a big grin and nodded to Jack.

Jack certainly didn't see anything wrong with having just one more then he'd head off to his own apartment and that lovely bed he'd glanced at earlier. He nodded and they all stood. He couldn't get over how stable his body felt. No swaying, no overly loose muscles, he was able to move around with no sign of the whirling his brain was going through. Neat trick!

Gee and Bal approached seemingly ready to 'help him' walk back to their room. The Queen intervened.

"Jack will be joining us for just one more drink in our apartment," she said gently but it was the Queen speaking. Her tone brooked no argument.

The agents glanced at each other and looked to Jack who smiled happily.

"I'll be a long shortly. You two should head off to bed now. I'll see you in the morning," he said.

Knowing Jack was as safe in the palace as he was at home and seeing no alternative they bowed to the royal couple. With a final glance at Jack they moved off.

"This way!" Tyg said playfully and moved quickly towards the side door where the Lussht had been stashed. The bottle in question was clutched in his left hand.

The Queen moved after him and Jack felt himself being swept along after them like a bit of fluff caught in the turbulence of a passing skimmer.

Tyg took them down the service way, past the kitchen, up a hidden staircase and through two other corridors to get to a lift that brought them up two more levels. As they stepped out of the elevator Jack saw two larger Shreen standing on either side of double doors. They stood taller as the royal couple approached and Jack saw them smile slightly when they saw the happy smiles on their Queen and King.

"Good night!" the Queen said to them and they nodded. Jack and the King nodded to them in return and then they were inside the apartment, the doors closed behind them.

The wide foyer led into a sunken living room with cushions everywhere! Beyond that though was a window. An actual window! They must have been at ground level! Jack felt his legs moving him across the living room and up to the window where he looked out at a valley which was currently being swept by winds and snow.

The view took Jack's breath away and his mouth hung open in awe. Again, his emotions felt swollen beyond his ability to contain them.

He felt a brief touch on his shoulder and turned. The Queen was standing very close to him with a glass in each hand. She lifted one for him and Jack took it. "May I make a toast?" he asked.

She nodded and he noted how incredibly lovely and soft her light grey eyes were now that they no longer held such sadness. He looked to the King who was reclining back on some cushions in the living room... pit. Well, that's what it looked like to Jack. Tyg nodded emphatically with a smile.