More Then Hair

Posted on Sat Jul 19th, 2025 @ 9:57pm by Lieutenant Commander Sabastian Walker & Lieutenant JG Zai Walker

1,828 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: Starbase 6 Holosuite
Timeline: Day Before Crew Recall

ON:

Sabastian finished making the rounds with Zai's people, now the people that his sister and her husband would be leading in their new home on Betazed. He'd seen Vance and Adri off and now he was looking for his husband. He'd been worried about Zai the entire day. Zai was a passionate man. His emotions were steady, when he was sad, he was sad, when happy, happy; today, today had been different. All day Zai had been numb. Sabastian felt the lack of emotions like a vice on his heart. Zaid had gone through the motions, his face a mask of calm. He'd said the words, moved through the ceremony. Even Zai's sister had noticed whispering to Sabastian that something was off.

Nevertheless, as a signal that he'd passed the throne Zai had braided his hair in a pony tail that swept the curve of his lower back. Adri had held the ceremonial dagger and sliced the hair to just above the shoulder. In that instant, Sabastian had nearly staggered from the pain that went through his husband. His eyes had instantly watered. He knew that cutting the hair didn't hurt but to Zai, this was more then hair. It had been his identity since he was young and after the bonding ceremony, it had become his identity more so. Even though they had been married for a while, since before the last mission started they had slept in the same bed, cuddled on the sofa they had never been intimate. The first night, after the bonding they had made love and in the morning the metamorphosis that Zai's people underwent had turned them both. It left Sabastian's sandy hair raven black, made his grey eyes a molten silver and for Zai, his already lavender eyes had been a shining deep amethyst and his raven hair had turned white overnight. Sab remembered walking to the mirror and seeing Zai combing his long white hair happy. He'd been so full of joy that day. Sabastian had known, from the bonding, that Zai had dreamed of finding his soulmate, dreamed of braiding his long hair in the style of the Married Capellans of his clan.

Today, that dream had been shattered a little, Zai's heart broke, a lot. The cutting of his beautiful hair, something he'd taken pride in, had shattered something in him and Sabastian had felt every crack, as if Zai was screaming but his face was neutral and nobody but Sabastian could hear or feel it. Even now as he looked for his husband he rubbed the area where his heart was. He shook his head shaking away the tears. It took a good three hours to find Zai. He'd learned that Zai had slipped out of the celebration after the hair had been cut and presented to the new monarch.

Sabastian had some final duties as the Consort of the former king but now he stood outside the doors of the Holosuite and clenched his fists. He could sense Zai through their link, the bond that held their minds together. Zai was not okay. He took a shaky breath and entered the holosuite. His heart shattered a thousand times as he watched his husband sitting on the floor his face in his hands crying. The holosuite was running a program that was unfamiliar. It was a planet that looked quite alien.

Sabastian's voice, horse with emotions carried to Zai. "Darling." He walked over and dropped to his knees pulling Zai into his arms. "Darling I'm sorry." He kissed the top of Zai's head. "Please don't cry. Tell me how to make things right."

It took a long time for Zai to calm. "You can't," he whispered. "It's all gone."

Sabastian pulled back cupping Zai's face in his hands. "Your hair? Darling it's shoulder length, it's shorter and I know how much long hair meant to you but it will grow back."

Zai shook his head. "Can you get my sister and the council of elders for me. Have them meet me in one of the station's conference rooms. I need...I need to be alone."

"Darling please, don't shut me out."

Zai shook his head. "Please Sabastian."

Sab nodded. He kissed Zai's forehead and left.

Several minutes later Zai wiped his eyes and headed out shutting the program down. "Computer. Delete personal program, Capella night sky. Eject Holo disk."

The computer beeped and soon the blank holo program disk popped out. He broke it in half and on the way out threw it out. Zai headed to the promenade and found the small shop he had been looking for. He entered and looked up at the Bolian woman there. "I would like a haircut."

The woman smiled. "Sure thing. What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Can I see a sample of what you have. Something short."

She smiled and handed him a Data PADD with images. "This one." He said pointing to the the middle of the screen.

Zai watched in the mirror as his hair fell and as it grew shorter. When she was done she dried it and he looked at himself. The hair was short. A little longer on top where it fell in a side part. It was not him, but it would have to be the new him. He sighed, paid, thanked her and left. Sabastian had called to give him the conference details and Zai arrived. He took a breath and walked in.

As he entered he heard a few gasps. Zai's sister stood up. "Zai! Your hair! It was shoulder length what did you do?"

Zai held up his hand. This was a slap in the face to his people but so was what they did. "I have something to say, as the former king of our tribe, as the former general who led our people off Capella and found us a home on Betazed."

The elders quieted. "This ceremony was me choosing to hand my role over to my sister as she lives on Betazed, is there with our people, and has always taken care of them. She is the best monarch to lead our tribe now that I am in Starfleet. I have done my part. I have led our troops on Capella, saved our people by pulling them off the planet and by working with several different organizations both Starfleet and none Starfleet. I have sacrificed enough to where we now have a home and are comfortable. I have ensured a powerful marriage for my sister." His eyes cut to her.

"When this ceremonial shunning was to be done so the throne could pass I agreed. We all agreed it was ceremonial. As per our laws the hair could have been cut slightly, it would have been enough. The elders chose to cut my hair to above the shoulder not touching or just below or to half the back but just above it not even brushing the shoulder. That was, I assume, a punishment. The blindfold during the hair cutting ensured I did not see what was done."

Zai's sister stood. "Wait isn't that what was suppose to happen?"

Zai sneered. "You, little sister, while you are a Queen now need to read the laws of our people again of these elders will do many things behind your back. Take that a lesson. The length of the cut is a direct insult, a retaliation of kind is it not Elder Selper?"

The elder along with the others lowered their heads. "You...gave up on us."

"I did not!"

Sab flinched. Zai had never raised his voice like that. "I brought you all out of Capella, gave you a home, security and you decided that in addition to my title, which I freely gave, you would show me how displeased you are by the length of the ceremonial cut. I allowed it to see if you were really that petty. Very well you wish a lesson, I give you a lesson. My last act as your prince."

He heard the gasps of the elders and the guards and his sister.

"I have cut my hair, it will grow, it will once again be long. I cut it now as I cut ties with this clan." He pulled his hands from his back and emptied the bag he had been holding at his back. His silver hair fell to the table, the hair that had been cut by the Bolian hairdresser. "Here is my hair, I am no longer your prince, I am no longer a member of the eleventh tribe of Capella, you have your new world, your new home. I no longer bind myself to our traditions, our family our tribe. My path now diverges. I am an entity without home, without people. I have my ship, my husband and that is all. I walked into this room your prince once your king who gave so much for his people even when his people and his own parents stood against him. I walk out a free man with no familiar ties or Capellan origin."

There were more gasps. His sister launched to her feet. "Xingtian I didn't know....I should have..."

He held up a hand. "Save it. These are you people now, their safety, their life no longer concerns me. My final suggestion to you little sister is that you read our laws because as you see they can be used against you by elders throwing temper tantrums. This is about more then hair. My hair, as you all knew was my pride, my identity. When you chose the level of cut you took those things from me. Now I must rebuild. This is my final word." He pulled out something else from that bag, something he'd gone back to the ship for and tossed it on the table, his crown, the one worn by his family for generations. "Take it. It is a trinket I no longer need."

He turned and walked away to calls from the elders and his sister.

Sabastian, tears in his eyes, hurried after him. "Zai! Zai wait!" He caught up to him by the turbo lift. "Darling...I...I'm sorry I didn't know, if I'd known I would have...I would have stopped them."

Zai turned to him. Eyes red and bloodshot. "I know. I knew what they were planning I had hoped they would not go through with it. They did and so this is my response to them." He held out his hand. "Let's go back to the ship. I'm tired and I...do not think I can keep on my feel any longer."

Sabastian stepped on the lift with him and pulled him into his arms. "When you cannot stand anymore I will hold you up."

Zai let his husband hold him and help him to their quarters. There was packing left to do but he needed to shut down, let his emotions rest.

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