Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Merchant And The Fighter
Rei stood in her room, checking over herself in the mirror for the fifth time, again patting down her dark green dress and straightening her purple coat to get rid of any creases. She then leaned in to check the makeup around her emerald green eyes, smiling and nodding to herself to see there were no smudges.
Perfect. Her makeup was neatly applied, her clothes were in appropriate condition and the new jewelry on her antenna was polished to bright shine. As expected, she was looking her best for tonight.
Rei stood back and took a deep breath in and out, picking up her white purse before exiting her room. Her sister was in the living room talking on the phone, her back turned to her.
“Okay, sure. Yeah, I’ll tell her.” Creis said before hanging up and putting her phone in her purse.
“Who was that?” Rei asked and the younger sister turned to face her.
Creis sighed, looking a little peeved “Sprine called. He said that we need to leave now and take the long route to the party. Some construction is being done on one of the roads.”
Rei frowned, but nodded and crossed her hands over “No matter. If we leave now, we can make good time. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, but I hate long car rides.” Creis said, rolling her light green eyes and walking over to the door of their apartment. “Let’s go, Sprine is outside waiting for us.”
Rei smiled a little at her sister’s complaint, but as she followed her towards the door, a thought came to her mind. If they needed to leave early, does that mean the third passenger is still getting ready? Or isn’t even that process of getting ready?
Now sharing Creis frustration, for a different reason, she took her phone out and sent a text to the Irken her chauffeur was to collect along the way. Both Rei and Creis sped walked down the hall to the elevator and exited the lift just as quick before entering the parking lot of the building.
Sprine was standing at the car, holding that friendly smile as he held the door open for the both of them.
“Good afternoon, you two.” the chauffeur greeted.
“Hello, Sprine.” Rei said as she and Creis slipped into the car and fixed at her dress again “Thank you for warning us about the traffic. Last we need is to arrive late to the party.”
Sprine chuckled as closed the door and got into the driver’s seat, starting the car and pulling out. “No need to thank me. I know this one is important. Do you think your family could go on holiday?”
“Ooh, that sounds nice.” Creis said “What about Vort? I heard they have nice beaches.”
Rei smiled a little at the thought and gave a small shrug “That they are. The new profit we have turned means we could afford to close for a few days or longer.” she then shook her head and waved her hand “But with our family’s company rising, it is better to keep it humming along, don’t you think?”
Creis' visible enthusiasm dwindled and she rolled her eyes. She faced away and pouted “I could just go. And geez, you really sound like mom.”
The elder sibling smiled again and Sprine let out a laugh. As they drove down the streets of Goyyan’s city centre, Fetteck, Rei noticed there were some roads built up with traffic. She was lucky her family had a competent Chauffeur.
“Did you get anything back from Jai yet?” Creis asked.
Rei looked at her phone and felt a small frown form. “I haven’t.”
“Oh, I tried to call earlier as well and I got nothing.” Sprine spoke up, glancing at the rear view mirror to them “They must still be in the middle of training.”
Her frown deepened and she felt that familiar annoyance rise in her chest. Great, just when she thought they could still get to the party on time and not keep her parents waiting, Jai had to complicate things. Always a damn headache, that big brute.
“He better not slow us down any further.” Rei remarked, trying to keep herself calm, earning a small huff of amusement from Sprine.
“Come on, he has a fight coming up, right? Not like he is being intentionally mean about this.” Creis commented.
Rei glanced at her for a moment before looking off into the city, her mild frustration subsiding briefly. “I’m aware. But the Alnon and Primel family have partook in this arrangement for many generations. He should know by now this is important.”
“I’m sure he does.” Creis said and Rei suppressed an ironic laugh.
“Maybe, but he only cares to show one thing in his life. Fighting.”
Her sister hummed and looked forward, her own eyes drifting to the window on her side of the car. After a short while, the car pulled in at the side of the road and Rei practically leapt out as Sprine opened the door for her, earning a small ‘oh’ of surprise. Her green eyes trailed up to the small gymnasium, reading the sign across it. ‘PRIMEL GYM’.
With a sigh, she briskly walked over to the door and entered the building, the smell of sweat and the heat of the place causing her to flinch. She hated coming here. It always smelt bad and it was hotter than the sun. How anyone could exercise here, she didn’t know.
There were some trainees up here, either on the bags, skipping or shadowboxing. A loud bang made her jump, and she spun to one of the bags close to the door. There were two big fighters training together, with a tall and muscular man with purple eyes striking the bag with fearsome kicks, whilst another man with red eyes and a similar height and build was holding it still. Rei recognised them as Nair and Chiv, the twin younger brothers of Jai.
Rei relaxed, stepped over to them and cleared her throat to get their attention. They both looked over to her and Chiv greeted first with a friendly smile as he looked past the bag.
“Oh hey, Rei.”
“You’re early.” Nair remarked as he wiped sweat from his brow with his arm.
Rei nodded once and spoke quickly and clearly “Yes, and excuse me, but we are in a bit of a rush. Do you know where Jai is?”
Nair nodded towards the ring that sat at one side of the gym, to where Rei spotted Jai and two others, one of which was sparing her bodyguard-to-be. She nodded to the twins and made her way over.
Standing at ringside was Kron, the Primel boy’s father. He was tall and rugged, with purple eyes and a mangled right antenna, looking practically like an older version of Nair.
And in the ring was Jai.
He was like most members of the Primel family, but even more so. He was tall and heavily muscled, with long arms, skin a dark green and his eyes were a deep red. Even among other fighters, his brothers and father, Jai was a giant. Especially standing next to Rei’s own slim form and not even reaching his shoulder.
Jai was in his training gear, wearing only black shorts, training gloves and shin guards, and heavy sweat ran down his body. His sparring partner shot out a straight kick with his lead leg, but Jai caught the kick and held it, and the shorter fighter attempted to punch his way out. But Jai slipped the punch and landed a right hook to the head, sending his sparring partner down to the canvas.
Rei flinched, but also knew Jai was pulling his punches and that just knocked the other man off balance. The bell of the round ended and Jai helped the other Chúktoíste practitioner off the ground and patted his shoulder before turning to his father, who gave a short nod of approval.
He then glanced down and noticed her.
“Oh, you’re here.” Jai said bluntly.
Rei fought the urge to scoff at his ‘greeting’ “Yes, and you best get ready. We need to take the longer way to the event. There is a lot of traffic.”
Jai sniffed deeply, not seeming to care that much “Oh, that. Yeah, was there construction or something.”
Kron spoke up then, looking down at her “Are you parents outside?”
“They’re not.” Rei shook her head “Just Creis and our Chauffeur, Sprine. They’re already in the room we’ve rented for the night. I don’t wish to keep them waiting.”
Kron grunted and tapped Jai’s shoulder “Get ready to leave. As soon as you get back, head to bed. We’re training early tomorrow.”
Jai nodded and let out a sigh “Fine, okay.”
Kron hopped off the ringside, nodded to Rei in acknowledgment, and walked off with the sparring partner, who was rubbing his sore rear from falling down.
Now alone with him, Rei turned her head up to Jai, her brow growing heavy “Sprine and I have both messaged you to get ready. And no reply from you.”
Jai’s own brow raised and crossed his arms over the top rope of the ring.“Oh, you did? Must’ve not noticed it.”
“Obviously.” she replied, taking a cautious step back as sweat dripped down from his chin. He was sweating a lot. His body was sinewy.
Jai shrugged his broad shoulders “What do you want me to say? Oops?”
“Don’t you-.” Rei grew agitated before she paused to calm herself “Would you just get ready so we can leave? My sister and I cannot be late for this.”
Jai rolled his eyes and got down from the ring before making his way to the changing room, mumbling a ‘fine, fine’ as he did. Rei watched him leave, clenching her fists tightly in anger.
“Careless brute.” she muttered.
“Oi.” a voice cut in sharply.
She turned to the source to see Nair and Chiv were also on their way to the changing room within antenna shot, the former's eyes showing hints of a warning glare.
“I know you two had a falling out, but watch what you say. That’s my brother.”
Though Chiv didn’t speak, it was clear he thought the same thing. Rei felt embarrassed that her insult was heard, but she didn’t try to argue with them. Her face softened and her hands relaxed.
“I apologise.” she said quietly, feeling a little bad for her comment.
The twins both shared a glance before they stalked off. From where she was, she could hear Chiv inquire on what exactly occurred between herself and their brother, but it wasn’t some singular event. It just happened.
With a huff, Rei walked over to the door and stepped outside, welcoming the colder breeze that pleasantly met her face. Last thing she needed was the smell of that place lingering on her for the social gathering. It wouldn’t be proper.
Sprine was still standing at the car still with the passenger door open and he spoke up.
“Is he getting ready?”
“He was just finishing training, so we must wait a few minutes.” Rei said.
Sprine checked his watch and tutted “I’m sure we can still make time. I can drop you three off and just run in.”
Rei hummed and felt herself relax. “I said it before, but I appreciate your consideration of all of this.”
The older man smiled, his pink eyes sparkling “It’s what you pay me for.”
A soft chuckle passed her lips. At least there was someone she could rely on.
After a couple of minutes, the gym doors opened and Jai stepped out, now wearing a red coat, trousers and boots with a black shirt. The formal attire looked awkward on his frame, clearly uncomfortable in it.
He tugged at his collar and looked down at Rei “Okay, I’m here.”
Rei sighed and rushed over into the car, her sister now in the middle. “Good, now let’s go.”
“Hey, Jai. Training hard?” Sprine greeted.
Jai chuckled and let out a strained huff, ducking into the car at the other side. “Yeah, just cutting some weight. Haven’t seen you at the gym for a few days.”
Sprine closed the door before getting into the driver’s seat “I’ve been busy. Does the gym miss me?”
“No.” Jai snorted and shared a laugh with the driver, Creis herself chuckling shortly.
Rei felt the corner of her lips pull, but she didn’t want to show any amusement just yet. With her sister in between them, Rei tapped her finger on her leg in impatience as the car started down the road.
The hall that was rented for this occasion wasn’t the biggest, but it was nice looking in jai’s opinion. Just enough to hold a few dozen people, and it did have a small balcony with some potted plants for some breathing room. A balcony he wished he was at, but unfortunately, he was stuck with the know-it-all.
The way here was unnecessarily hectic. They made it on time, Rei’s parents didn’t seem annoyed in any way and everything looked fine. There were a bunch of people here, either business associates with their family or any investors the hosts wanted to impress and guarantee the most flawless gemstone they could mine.
Right now, he was shadowing Rei wherever she strolled, which was ironic considering he was two heads taller. He didn’t really listen to what she was saying, only about general political gossip or whatever future plans the Alnon family were going to take.
He stifled a yawn, tensing up suddenly at the smell of the edibles being carried around by the caterers and the…..occasional drone passing by with a table on their head. He peeled his eyes away from the bite-sized treats. Every fight, his weight cut gets harder each time.
Why did he need to lose weight just so the matches can be a ‘litter fairer’? Can’t they just get bigger for him? Not his fault he was born with an unusually large body like his brothers, father and uncle. Especially his uncle.
“-wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Primel?”
Jai’s antennae perked up at being called to and his head snapped down, the source of the voice coming from a smaller, who himself, Rei and a few others looked up at him expectedly.
Oh, fuck, why did they want to hear his opinion? When did he direct his concentration from Rei to him? What did he even say?
His eyes flicked to Rei, who started to look a little annoyed, and back to the man.
“Oh, sorry. I…didn’t hear you from down there.”
‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ his inner voice said.
The man flinched and stammered, and Rei seemed ready to smash her champagne glass and stab him in the thigh.
“I-I beg your pardon?” he said as someone choked on their drink whilst another hid a laugh into their fist with a cough.
Jai gulped “I-I said, I didn’t hear you, uh, I was looking at paintings from down there.” he then pointed to one of the portraits of Tallest Elakh, who used to frequent this place when he was still in good health. And alive.
The man followed his finger and relaxed and fixed at his collar “Oh, I see. But my question was, the Alnon’s gemstones are of particular high quality. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Oh, thank Irk, and easy one. Kinda.
“They are, yeah. They have a knack of being…heavy.” he said slowly.
The group collectively chickled and Rei smiled with hints of pride in her eyes “No just that, but my House still holds the title of discovering the largest gemstone in history. It is what put us on the map of course.”
An older woman with calm pink eyes nodded in understanding “Ah, yes. The ‘Eye of the Emperor’. And it was given personally to Tallest Ertik. Quite the audacious gift for our great leader.”
Rei nodded and smiled confidently, but softly “And I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Earning another chuckle from the three, Jai had to admit it; she was damn good at getting the right reactions from these people. Despite them being in higher Height Brackets, she knew how to appeal to them. Be rich as fuck and be proud of it.
Just then, Rei looked up and past the group, spotting someone before bowing her head to the three “Excuse me, but I believe my mother is calling me for. Pleasure to speak to you all.”
She left with another polite bow and Jai was quick to follow towards the balcony. As they stepped out, Jai felt himself relax. Being surrounded by those people was suffocating, and he still needed some fresh air after training. Plus the suit was tight around his neck.
Waiting for them was her mother. Dryel Alnon. She wore a pink and red dress, with a large amber gemstone necklace and many rings on her long antenna that curled inwards. Essentially, not unlike what everyone else was wearing. Expensive and bright.
She smiled and spoke softly.
“Are you enjoying the party, dear?”
Rei nodded and smiled, standing tall with her hands clasped over each other “I was just entertaining some of our guests.”
“I could tell.” Dryel said “You are following your father and I’s footsteps better than I hoped. Not unlike when you managed our store for two weeks without any help.”
Looking even more pleased than before, Rei’s eyes lit up and Jai could tell she was fighting to hide her excitement. She let out a short giggle and walked over.
“But of course. I am heir to our company, it would be wrong if I wasn’t even the least bit prepared.”
Dryel inclined her head with a thoughtful look in her yellow eyes before gesturing to the other people in the room with her arm, her movements graceful like a dancer.
“Do you know who attended this gathering?”
Rei gave her mother a nod “I do. Our investors, business associates and their many plus ones, who we wish to join alliances with.”
Dryel hummed “And the Sbrenqire family.”
Jai didn’t know who they were, but Rei definitely did recognise them. Her antenna raised and her eye’s widened.
“They’re here as well? I don’t remember seeing them on the guest list.”
“Last minute invitation, dear.” Dryel said “Your father is speaking to them now.”
Rei and Jai looked back into the room to see the head of House Alnon, Kled, speaking to two other shorter Irkens. They both had blue eyes, quite striking in fact, and they seemed both pleased with whatever conversation they were having.
“Do they wish to support us, or become regular patrons?” Rei asked.
Dryel chuckled softly “Oh, more than that. I believe we have just sealed a very important deal with the family.”
“Aren’t they known for having many members in the field of medicine? What deal is this, mom?” Rei inquired.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Dryel answered simply before moving to stand under the architrave of the window doors.
“As the heir, it is not just our company you are destined to manage. Our relations, our allies, our rivals. Navigating them is just as crucial to maintain our status within the Empire.” she spoke with a calm, yet assertive tone before regarding Rei with a questioning look “But I’m sure none of that detours you?”
Jai looked down at Rei, the latter’s shoulder tensing up for the briefest of moments before she masked her anxiety with a look of relaxed determination, like she was told to merely fetch the mail “I wouldn’t be a true member of our House if I couldn't, mother. I can assure that I will raise our family above all others and it shall stay that way for as long as the Empire lives.”
Dryel looked more than pleased and a hint of pride was visible from her. She then nodded to Jai and left the two on the balcony, walking just as graceful as before. Once she was out of sight, Rei let her shoulder’s drop.
Jai let out a chuckle at the shorter woman allowing herself to relax, but it died down when she glared up at him. He wondered why she was giving him that look until.....
“ ‘I couldn’t hear you from down there’?” she echoed.
Jai rolled his eyes and sighed “You’re still on that?”
“Still on- you need to get your heads out of the clouds and pay attention to what’s around you!” Rei chided him, turning her body to his.
“Why should I care about what’s going on in that room?” Jai responded, finding it amusing he was having this conversation again “Business and politics are so boring.”
“Business and politics are a part of our lives whether you like it or not.” Rei said, sounding in disbelief “That’s not to mention you are one of the most well known people in that room. Surely you would know someone would speak to you.”
Jai paused and tugged at his collar again “Fair enough. But it’s still boring. Not a way to live.”
Rei scoffed and rolled her eyes and turned to face into the social gathering again. Her father was giving some speech on how great the business was and any future goals they were aiming for. He also looked enthusiastic about something, but Jai couldn’t tell what it was.
“It is the life I choose.” she said tersely.
An ironic smirk pulled at Jai’s lips “That’s a laugh. You’re just living the life your parents want you to.”
Rei didn’t respond for a couple of moments. Her eyes flicked to his for a second. “And you’re not?”
Jai tensed up like he was jabbed in the chest and his antenna drooped. That struck a nerve.
He frowned and turned the other way to look over the balcony towards the city, his arms crossed over his chest.
“That’s different. Plus, fighting isn’t my entire life.”
The rest of the event passed by quickly, the two not exchanging another word as the number of attendees dwindled until it was just a few guests, Rei’s family, including her aunt, uncle and three younger cousins. They conversed amongst each other for another while longer grouping up at the entrance of the building.
Jai watched as everyone said their goodbyes and the extended family left just as Rei’s family slid into Sprine’s car, the chauffeur holding the door open for her, but she didn’t get in straight away.
Instead, she turned and looked up at Jai.
“Well, this is goodbye then. Until your security is needed.”
Jai nodded once, stuffing his hands in his pockets “Sure.”
Rei hummed for a moment and looked the fighter up and down, glancing back at the car for a second before facing Jai again.
“Despite what I said before, you do fit the whole as a bodyguard for me.” she then said.
Jai smirked a little “You always say that.”
A smile crept on Rei’s face “It is true. I do feel safe around you.”
A small huff of amusement escaped his lips before he paused. Despite himself, Jai couldn’t help but feel the beginning of a frown form on his brow, a sense of longing in his chest.
“Well, goodnight then.” he said.
Rei’s face softened, a look of her own regret barely visible “Goodnight.”
Without another word, she turned back and walked over to sit down in the car next to her waiting sister. Sprine shut the door before waving to Jai and slipped in his driver’s seat and the fighter watched the car drive away.
He stood alone at the face of the property until the last of attendees left, the gathering officially coming to a close as the hosts disappeared into the city. Jai had few regrets in his life. It was something he was ironically grateful for.
But losing his friend was one of the bigger ones. And he knew Rei shared it, and what was worse, he thought there was nothing much they could do about it.
Now it was only the cold and quiet evening keeping him company.
“Shit, I don’t have a ride.”