Blue Alien Prince's Obedient Mate

by Zara Zenia

  “Hello,” Margot said. “Do you want to get dressed for the dinner?”

  Milinna looked at the clock, surprised.

  “It's three o'clock?” she said, looking down at her lab attire. “I only need . . .”

  “Why don't you go?” Pralmav said kindly. “You two can spend some time together before we are due to enter the Grand Hall.”

  “But we aren't done,” Milinna replied. “I want to help you.”

  “I appreciate that,” Pralmav said. “But I think I can figure it out from here. It'll only be another half hour or so, and Margot is here now. Go on.”

  Milinna looked torn but nodded. “All right,” she said. “I'll see you in an hour or two.”

  They shared a look, and Margot thought with any normal couple, they would have kissed. But these two were shy and uncertain of each other. She took off her lab covering and threw away her gloves after another moment and joined Margot on the walk out.

  “I didn't mean to interrupt,” Margot said. “My apologies.”

  “No, it's all right,” she said. “We were almost finished. He is so much smarter than I am. I can only assist.”

  “Don't say that,” Margot said. “He . . .”

  “No, I don't say it for pity,” Milinna said. “It's the truth. I'm trying to learn as much as I can, just to make sure I can help whenever he needs it.”

  “That's sweet of you,” Margot said. “I've tried to help Draklan, but he seems to want to shoulder the burden all by himself.”

  “So you two are getting along?” Milinna asked as they walked through the palace.

  “We are,” Margot said. “But sometimes, I think getting along is all we are ever going to do.”

  “Give it time,” Milinna said. “That's what people tell me.”

  “Well . . .” Margot wanted to say that it was different, but she decided to leave it. They had dresses chosen for them already which were laid out and waiting for them. There were several maids to help them get dressed, something that Margot hadn't gotten used to yet. Even though she knew that she needed to let the maids do their job, she couldn't help but squirm a bit as they helped her get dressed.

  “Have you thought about going away?” Milinna asked her, blind to the maids.

  “I would love to,” Margot said. “But Draklan is so busy and there is so much effort that seems to affect our going into town.”

  “It is complicated,” Milinna said. “But you get used to it. However, that clearance that you speak of is just for in the main cities.”

  “What?” Margot asked, confused.

  “You can go somewhere else, a small unpopulated place, on or off planet, and it doesn't require that much clearance.”

  “Really?” Margot said, surprised. “I thought . . .”

  “I think you have been so focused on the cities,” Milinna said with a smile, “that you haven't explored the other possibilities.”

  “I feel like I just need to ask you everything,” Margot commented. “You always seem to know the answer.”

  “Practice,” Milinna answered with a smile. “Is everything all right, though? You have seemed a little . . . distracted today.”

  “Everything’s fine,” Margot replied, not knowing whether she should share the secret of her invalid marriage with her sister-in-law.

  Eventually, they were dressed and crowned. Margot was clad in a green gown that hugged her curves and brought out her eyes, where Milinna had on a pale yellow gown of lace that covered her from collarbone to toe, delicate and beautiful. Their tiaras matched their gowns, woven into their hair and accompanied by matching jewels. Margot took a moment to look into the mirror.

  “Wow,” she said. “I don't think I've ever been this done up, not even at my prom or when I had a gallery opening.”

  “I think you look lovely,” Milinna said and shifted her gown to accommodate the implanted medical device that Margot had glimpsed earlier.

  “Does it hurt?” she asked her sister-in-law gently.

  “No,” Milinna said. “At least, not any worse than the consequences of not having it.”

  “You are brave,” Margot replied.

  “I'm not brave,” Milinna said. “My husband is brave. I just want to survive.”

  “You are brave,” Margot assured her as they were told to head to the Grand Hall.

  “Were you briefed?” she asked. “About what we do?”

  “When?” Margot asked. “Don't we just walk in?”

  Milinna smiled. “Not quite. We have to be announced in order of rank, and then we enter slowly to give the entire ballroom time to greet us.”

  “In order of rank or backward order of rank?”

  “In order,” Milinna said. “When you enter by formality, you must bow to Bhatraz and Rabbina, and then Pralmav and myself.”

  “Okay,” Margot said. “Got it. And Joronna, yes?”

  “If she comes,” Milinna answered. “Joronna sometimes shows up and sometimes she says that she trusts her sons to do it.”

  “Got it,” Margot said as they rounded the corner.

  In the small anteroom, the rest of the family was waiting. They were all decked out to the nines, and Margot thought her husband looked particularly handsome with a black dress suit and a golden crown. She had eyes for no one else, as if her eyes were pulled to him by a string.

  It was because of her tunnel vision that she noticed Rabbina leaning over so her chest was practically spilling out of her low-cut gown and flirting with Draklan. Bhatraz seemed to be paying no attention to what his wife was doing, making some joke to Pralmav, who only responded with raised eyebrows.

  “Sorry,” Margot said, trying to get to Draklan and annoyed that Rabbina was so close. As soon as she got close to her sister-in-law, she realized she was drunker than she'd ever seen her.

  “Am I bothering you?” Rabbina said with a sickly sweet smile. “My apologies. You shouldn't leave your handsome husband unattended. Somebody might steal him away from your gold-digging ways.”

  “Excuse me?” Margot's jaw dropped.

  Draklan's face turned bright red. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me,” Rabbina said. “We're all thinking it. I'm just saying it. You couldn't find a suitable match so you found an alien whore who isn't even making you an heir.”

  Draklan looked like he wanted to slap her.

  Margot, however, had had enough. “This may come as a surprise to you,” Margot said. “But I'm pretty sure it's you who is the whore for lusting after other men, and right in front of your husband as well. What kind of lack of confidence must you have to go after everyone you see?”

  Her voice was a lot louder than she intended it to be, and Bhatraz turned around in shock. However, instead of expressing anger, he turned bright red with embarrassment and grabbed his wife by the arm. “Come with me,” he said and practically dragged her away.

  The remaining group stood in silence, looking at each other.

  “I'm sorry,” Margot started.

  Draklan was quick to respond. “You've done nothing wrong,” he said. “You were brave, and you dealt with it much better than I would have.”

  “I just . . .” Margot glanced at Milinna. “I guess all the princesses are brave, in some way.”

  “As much as I agree with the assessment,” Pralmav said, “I don't think we've heard the last of this.”

  “No,” Draklan replied. “We most certainly haven't. But I think we need to just get in there. We can make excuses for them.”

  “What excuse?” Pralmav replied. “So we are all on the same page?”

  “We can say that they are caught up in business, as the crown prince and princess,” Draklan replied. “That's a believable enough excuse. Mother doesn't seem to be here.”

  “Yet,” Pralmav said. “All right, then. We'll go first, shall we, dear?”

  Milinna took his arm, looking absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to do so. Margot copied her, taking Draklan's arm. She was still shaking, and she
leaned over to her husband.

  “I really am very sorry,” she said.

  Draklan shrugged. “Welcome to palace life,” he said with a smile. The doors opened then, and everyone stood a bit straighter. It was time to put on a mask and act as royalty, perfect and with no issues whatsoever.

  Chapter 10

  Draklan

  “If you don't learn to control your wife—” Bhatraz said to him the next day.

  “If I don't learn to control my wife?” Draklan practically exploded. He hadn't even had his coffee yet and his older brother was already yelling at him. “Because it was my wife who decided to lean over and behave like I was candy?”

  “Don't even start with me, Draklan,” Bhatraz replied. “Or—”

  “Or what?” Draklan asked. “You know I'm in the right. Even in your ridiculously irrational state—”

  “Brother, I am in charge of this kingdom and—”

  “You’re not,” Draklan replied. “Not yet.”

  He turned and left the room before Bhatraz continued to threaten him. He wasn't going to stand there at the crack of dawn and listen to insults when he knew that he had done nothing wrong.

  He felt like he had been on the verge of arguing with everyone. He wished for a marriage where he could express his true feelings, but he and Margot only had very surface conversations, at the risk of fighting with each other. They claimed to each other that they were glad they were getting along, but Draklan didn't really feel like they were getting along. He felt like they were speaking about trivial things. And even when the matter wasn't trivial, he felt like they were only speaking in the politest terms.

  It was frustrating, given that he’d had a lot on his mind and no one he could really talk to.

  Draklan decided then and there that he wanted to change that. He wanted to be able to have open and honest conversations with his wife, polite or not. The fight that they had on their wedding night was fresh in his mind. He didn't want anything like that to happen again.

  “Margot,” he said once he finally got ahold of her. She was sitting by the windowsill in his room, her favorite place. However, this time, she didn't have a sketchpad in her hand. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, and he could see by how her fists were clenched at her side that she was frustrated. She hadn't been herself since last night, and he knew that she was bothered by the confrontation that happened last night. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “With you?” she asked him.

  “Yes,” he said with a small smile. “With me.”

  “I suppose,” she replied.

  He paused. “I would like you to come with me, but please only say yes if you would like to. I would like you to be happy and will take no offense if you say no.”

  Margot seemed surprised by this kindness and put her feet on the floor. “I would like to go for a walk,” she said.

  “Good,” Draklan replied and waited until she got up and fixed her dress. “How are you this morning?”

  “I'm all right,” she said. “Although last night was quite the adventure.”

  “I did think that the dinner itself went quite well,” Draklan said. “If that's any condolence.”

  “A little bit,” Margot said as they headed outside. The sun was warm, and she turned her face to it like a flower.

  Draklan thought she looked stunning in that light, but he didn't say anything. “I have gotten all caught up on my paperwork,” he said. “So I thought perhaps today, you could let me know if there was something that you wanted to do.”

  “Really?” She looked at him in surprise. “I thought that you were busy. I've just accepted that you'll always be busy.”

  “It shouldn’t always be like that,” Draklan said. “Some days are busier than others. It's the life of a prince, but not always.”

  “I understand that,” she said. “Which is why I just said . . .”

  She glanced at him and he sighed.

  “Margot, I don't want to fight,” he said. “Really.”

  “I know,” she relented. “And it seems like we often end up talking around each other so we won’t.”

  He took a deep breath and tried again. “I’m glad that you said what you did,” he said. “I find Rabbina so . . . annoying. Annoying is the nicest word I can think of. I feel like she is . . . aggressively obsessive. And it's not just when she's drunk, but it's more often when she is.”

  “She is often drunk too,” Margot said quietly.

  Draklan chuckled with dark humor. “She is,” he replied. “But being married to my brother isn't the easiest situation.”

  “Milinna said she had a good time,” Margot said. “At least.”

  “She and Pralmav always have a good time when they are together,” Draklan said. “A greater match has never been made, even if they can't find it within themselves to tell each other.”

  “Why is that?” Margot asked. “I mean . . .”

  “Because sometimes, all Pralmav sees is a test tube,” Draklan replied. “And I want to smack him over the head with one.”

  “I mean . . . that's cute,” she said.

  “It's something,” Draklan replied as they continued to walk. “Anyway, thank you for doing what you did.”

  “Oh,” Margot said. “It was nothing. I didn't even think about it. Which may have been part of the problem.”

  “Well, since you intervened for me,” Draklan said, “Is there something I can do to return the favor?”

  “What do you mean?” Margot asked.

  “I know that David has been a problem for you,” Draklan said. “Is he still persisting?”

  Margot paused and then decided to be truthful since Draklan had been so truthful with her.

  “Yes,” she said. “I accidentally answered his call the other day.”

  “Oh?” Draklan said.

  “I thought he was my mom calling back,” Margot said. “So I answered without looking, and it was David.”

  “What did he want?”

  “What he always wants,” Margot said with a sigh. “He doesn't seem to understand that I'm not available. And even if I were available, I'm not interested.”

  “Except . . .” Draklan said. “You know you technically are available.”

  “He doesn't need to know that,” Margot answered “Ever. Literally ever.”

  “Don’t you have quite the history with him?” Draklan replied.

  “I spent my whole adult life with him,” Margot said. “So being away from him is like growing up.”

  “So you were young when you got together with him?”

  “Yes,” Margot said. “And I think I stayed with him for so long because I didn't know how to be apart from him.”

  “Which you regret?” Draklan asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “Without a doubt. Even if I wasn't in this situation, I'd hopefully be far away from him by now.”

  “You couldn't get any farther away than Tamarax,” Draklan said with a chuckle. “Not without circling back in the other direction.”

  “I wouldn't put it past David to try and show up,” Margot said. “Did I tell you that he almost got on the ship with me?”

  “The ship?” Draklan asked in surprise. “How? We made sure that security was tight for that.”

  “He can be very convincing,” Margot said. “And he was trying to convince them that I had no idea what I was doing and that I could possibly be going against my will.”

  “Where, exactly, would he get the impression that you could be made to do anything against your will?” Draklan asked.

  She smiled at him. “You think very highly of me,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I'm just telling the truth,” he replied. “You can be very . . .”

  “Stubborn?” she asked.

  “Strong,” he replied as they walked. “And I'm sorry that has made us butt heads so far.”

  “I'm sorry too,” Margot said. “It's not like there is a manual to tell us exactly how to navigate all of this.” />
  “That is true,” Draklan said. “I wish there were, because it would take up a lot less time.”

  “Even David’s not calling me every five seconds would take up a lot less time,” Margot answered.

  “Would you like me to call him for you?” Draklan asked.

  Margot turned to him in surprise. “For me?” she said.

  “As in, I will talk to him and if he doesn't think that's enough, I will talk to him in person, if you understand my drift.”

  “Oh, my,” Margot said. “That would be . . . yes, thank you! That's so kind.”

  “It's only fitting,” Draklan replied, delighted that they were getting along on more than just a surface level. “Next time he calls, forward the call to me.”

  “I will,” she said. “Thank you again.”

  They had made a lap around the footpath, and Draklan didn't want to push his luck for the day. He bade Margot goodbye, knowing that there was other business to attend to. His mother had requested his presence in the throne room, and he knew that it was never a good day when she did that. He put on his best neutral face, trying to act as if nothing was wrong as he went to see Queen Joronna.

  Luckily, the throne room was empty except for the queen. She was sitting regally, and the second Draklan walked in, she indicated that she wanted him to bow to her, which he didn't frequently do. Generally, they only respected such formalities when they were in public or when she wanted the rules to be enforced. Draklan had a feeling that the rules were about to be enforced by her glare.

  “Mother,” he said. “How can I be of assistance today?”

  “Son,” she said. “Information has reached my ears about last night, which does not thrill me. Please give me your version of events.”

  “My version of events?” Draklan said. “Rabbina was acting like a nightmare and Margot defended herself.”

  “My understanding,” she said, “was that Princess Rabbina was merely pointing out, as I was, that you and Margot have not produced an heir, and Margot accused her of—”

  “That is what happened!” Draklan growled. “Rabbina was, as usual, expressing her desire to be with me rather than Bhatraz, and she decided that Margot was not good enough.”