by T. J. Quinn
“I’m just a bit depressed, alright? Talking with you this afternoon, stirred up all my emotions, that’s all.” Why did he seem to be everywhere she went? Putting her hands over his, trying to pull him away, to no avail.
“I want you to be happy,” he said, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs.
His touch felt so good, she wanted to surrender to it, but she couldn’t.
“I don’t think there’s much you can do, to make that happen,” she protested, “Isn’t it thought that I will find my so called soulmate?” there was so much cynicism oozing out of her words, he understood she didn’t believe that was even possible. “He should be the one in charge of making me happy.”
“Of course, and we all want you to find your mate,” he assured her.
“Listen, I’m sure your intentions are noble and that you have the greater good of your people in mind,” she started, “But, don’t expect me to believe that silly story of soulmates and other halves. That’s nothing more than rubbish, and I really don’t buy it,” she continued. “If I’m supposed to mate one of your men, just tell me who he is, and I’m sure we’ll give it our best try. It’s not as I can reject him,” she pulled his hands off her face and tried to leave, but he grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back to where he was.
“Please, have a bit more faith,” he asked her. “Open up your heart and your mind to the possibility…” he tried to explain, but she cut him off.
“I won’t get hurt again. You can have my body, but you won’t have my heart,” she assured him in an ice-cold tone.
Desperate to break her walls, he cradled her face once more and, leaning towards her, he claimed her lips in a hot, deep kiss, assailing her mouth, taking advantage of her gasp to invade it and delve every inch of it, igniting the fire between them.
The moment she felt his lips on hers, her whole body felt as if set on fire. Passion swirled through her entire body making her feel dizzy and completely out of control.
When he finally allowed her to breathe, she pulled herself away from his embrace and ran away from him, heading back to her room.
What the hell had he tried to prove with that kiss? She was sure he wasn’t her so called soulmate. He had never shown her the interest she had seen on Fritjof’s face each time he looked at Erin. So what were his intentions?
By the time she reached her room, she was more confused than ever, so she decided to avoid him as much as he could. Nothing good could come out of a situation like that one, she was sure of that.
For the next days, she was successful avoiding him. She asked the king for some software that would help her learn to read and write their language. He had suggested that Haakon could teach her, but she rejected the idea, firmly. She wanted to learn on her own.
After insisting a little more, he had finally agreed to give her what she asked. That gave her a legitimate excuse to stay in her room as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Erin was helping the genetic labs to find new ways to solve the problem causing their lack of female births. So, Rosalind hadn’t seen her much either.
“Can you believe they never considered assisted fertilization?” she asked her one time they had met in the hallway that led to their bedrooms.
“Considering where that took the human race, perhaps they were right,” Rosalind commented. “We denatured the whole conception methods, turning it into some sort of custom order.”
“Well, yes, I know what you mean,” she let out a sigh. Her story wasn’t much different from Rosalind’s. “But in this case, it could mean the salvation of their species.”
“They should trace their boundaries before they even start. I’m sure you can help them with that.”
“Yes, of course. And I’m sure you’ll be of great help as well,” she pointed out. “We’ll need to sell the idea to their people. They aren’t very fond of anything that isn’t natural.”
“You know you can count on all my help.”
“Either way, this is something it will take some time to investigate. Their DNA is quite different from ours, though there are enough similarities. I guess that’s what makes us such good mates for them.”
“I’m sure you can do this,” Rosalind encouraged her.
“Let’s hope so.”
She had seen Haakon at the palace, but she hadn’t talked to him alone again, not after that night he had kissed her. She was sure that it was best to avoid him. She had nothing to do at his side.
Chapter Four
Haakon watched Rosalind walking around the gardens, and as always, he had to fight the urgency to meet her and talk to her.
“You never told me what happened between the two of you,” his brother’s voice sounded behind him.
“I rushed things,” he let out a deep sigh. “She doesn’t believe in soulmates,” he added, turning to look at his brother.
“Could it be possible you’re confusing attraction with it?” the king asked, with a deep frown.
“Of course not,” he shook his head, vehemently. “I’ve been attracted to a lot of females before, and you know that. What I feel for her has nothing to do with that. She just refuses to believe it could be possible. She hasn’t had much love in her life, and when she did, she ended up alone and hurting.”
“You’ll have to work harder to convince her it’s real.”
“And how the hell to I do that without telling her I’m the man?” he grumbled. “I should simply take her up to my mountains. She wouldn’t be able to hide from me there.”
The king shook his head. “Give her a few more days.”
News of the arrival of a new cargo with human females spread through the palace like fire. Asgar and his crew left to meet the Slythonians and Rosalind couldn’t help feeling sorry for those women. She knew what they were going through hell in the hands of the damned lizards.
She knew she was a bit selfish, but she was actually looking forward to the arrival of the new women. She needed someone to talk to, and unfortunately, Erin was so busy working with Fritjof she barely had time for anything else.
Walking through the gardens, one afternoon, she was trying to memorize the characters that formed the Zuvrakian alphabet, when she saw Haakon at a distance. They hadn’t talked ever since that night, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to him again.
She had been making a conscious effort to forget him and forget all the things he made her feel.
With a deep sigh, she sat on the ground, under a tall bush and focused on the sheets she had in her hands.
“I heard you were trying to learn our language,” his voice startled her, and she looked up, just in time to see him kneeling in front of her.
“Yes, I really hate not being able to read or write,” she explained, not looking at him, her eyes fixed on the sheets she was squeezing in her hands.
“It would be faster with someone helping you,” he said.
“Perhaps, but for now I’m sure I can cover the basics by myself.”
“I don’t doubt your abilities; I just said it would be faster,” he explained. “Have I offended you in any way?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
Surprised, she tilted her head back to look at him. “No, why would you think that?”
“You have been avoiding me.” It wasn’t a question.
“I just thought I was better this way. I really don’t need a tutor, since I’m not having any kind of contact with other people than the ones at the palace,” she explained, looking back at her papers.
“Even so, there is a lot I could be teaching you,” he insisted.
Suddenly, she got up and took a step away from him. “You should wait for the new women Asgar will bring. Perhaps, you’ll find your soulmate amongst them.” She suggested, running away from him.
The simple idea of what she had just outed, caused her so much pain she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide it from him.
She didn’t want to see that happen. She couldn’t. It would kill her. And that meant she had t
o stay away from him, as much as possible.
But he clearly did not intend to let that happen.
He went after her, and it only took him a few seconds to stand in her way. “Wait. You’re not making any sense. I’m not expecting the arrival of my soulmate,” he stated, holding her by her shoulders.
“Why not? Aren’t you all supposed to be in the search?” she asked, oozing sarcasm, to hide the tightness in her heart.
“Asgar, with luck, will bring back four or five more women. The probabilities of finding my soulmate amongst them are next to zero. Besides, I’m not looking,” he assured her. “Allow me to show you my planet. Don’t push me away.”
“This is useless. If someone has already claimed me, as you say, then why not allowing him to show me everything?” she asked, feeling frustrated and cornered.
“Why do you discard the possibility I’m that man?” he asked, frowning.
She was so startled by his question, she gasped. Could it be possible?
No… of course, not… she was sure he wasn’t. He hadn’t shown her any signs… except for that kiss…
“Are you telling me you are?” she finally managed to ask.
“No, I’m not saying that, but I’m not saying the opposite either. It just puzzles me the fact you don’t even consider it possible,” he explained, cursing his brother for not letting him be honest with her.
“You… I don’t know… I’m too confused right now. I don’t know anything else,” she mumbled, trying to escape his grip.
“I know you have been through a lot, I’m aware of that, but hiding away won’t make things easier,” he said, tightening his grasp on her shoulders, without hurting her. “Allow me to be with you, to show you this place, to help you find your place, here with us.”
She shook her head. What he said made sense, of course, if it wasn’t for the attraction she felt for him. But she couldn’t tell him that.
“There’s no hurry with that.”
“Don’t hide from me. Let me help you, please,” he asked again.
She tilted her head to look at him. Perhaps, he was right. Being away from him hadn’t helped her feel any better, so why not enjoy his company as much as she could. Even if she were destined to lose him in the near future, she would have those moments to comfort her.
“Alright, you have convinced me,” she nodded.
He smiled, pleased. “Thank you. Now, would you like to visit the local market with me?”
“That sounds fun. What do they sell there?” she asked, curious.
“All sorts of things, from food to clothing and so much more,” he explained, taking her hand in his and guiding her back to the palace.
Rosalind felt his natural warmth spreading through her whole body and smiled, confirming her decision. She was going to enjoy his company and forget about the future.
The market wasn’t as she had imagined it. Markets or supermarkets back on Earth were huge department stores, almost entirely automatized with more robots than people, helping the buyers to get what they wanted.
This one was more like a horizontal department store, but each department had a couple of people there to help you get what you need and show you the new things that might interest you, considering what you were looking for. She really enjoyed the personalized attention.
People at the market had shown some curiosity for her presence there, but they had all welcomed her with wide smiles and kind words.
Everybody knew Haakon, apparently respected, and cared for him, and that made the whole experience a lot better. They walked around the place, tasting the food and looking at works of art, mostly sculptures in a material she wasn’t able to identify, but according to his description, she guessed it was some sort of stone. They also had what she would call painting, though it looked more like photography than painting, or perhaps, graphic design. It didn’t look handmade, but even so, they were amazing.
“I don’t understand why the palace is so empty, so bare if you have such amazing artists amongst your people,” she commented as they were leaving another small gallery.
He shrugged. “My father never cared about that, and my mother died when I was born, of a strange disease the doctors weren’t able to identify. It destroyed her immune system, and she wasn’t able to cure herself, like we all do, with most diseases or wounds.”
“Oh, it must have been terrible.”
“Yes, it was, especially for my father and my mother.”
“For you too.”
“You can’t really miss what you never had. My father and my brother raised me. I don’t remember having been taken cared by a woman, during my whole childhood.”
“What about your father? Is he still alive?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, he is. He handed the kingdom to my brother on his two-hundredth birthday. He said it was time for him to get some rest and enjoy the rest of his life,” he replied, with a smile. “That was ten rotations ago.”
“Two hundred? How long do you live?” she was in shock.
“Around two hundred and fifty rotations, more or less. That’s when our immune system starts to fail, and we can succumb to the silliest disease or injury.”
“How old are you right now?” she asked, still amazed. People on Earth were barely able to reach one hundred years.
“I’m seventy years old,” he frowned at her amazement. “You look surprised. How old are you?”
“I am. My people don’t live that long. I’m just twenty-five,” she explained.
“How long do you live?” he asked, and now his frown was deeper.
“One hundred, with luck. People your age don’t look like you; they’re old, weak, and not as agile as they were. At least, the majority of them.”
“We never age, I guess because of our self-healing systems,” he explained.
Now, she was the one frowning. Growing old, next to a partner that didn’t… that felt terrible, it would destroy any woman’s self-esteem.
“Lucky you,” she muttered and entered another store.
This one was of women’s clothes, but the sizes were so big, nothing she looked at, would ever fit her. Another thing she noticed was the clothes all looked like uniforms. Colors varied, and even the fabrics, but they were all basically like a jumpsuit, with long sleeves.
“Didn’t you like anything?” he asked her, as he strolled after her.
“Yes, I did, but most of it wouldn’t fit me,” she explained the obvious.
“Oh, yes, I guess we need to look into it.”
“Yes, that would be a great idea,” she retorted, moving to the next store.
By the time they finished traversing the whole market, the sun was setting on the horizon. They had eaten so much, tasting all the place had to offer, she felt she was about to burst. But she had loved the experience. She knew part of her enjoyment was due to his presence next to her, but she tried not to think much about it.
They returned to the palace, and he walked her to her bedroom door.
“I had a lovely day, thank you,” she admitted, smiling.
“I enjoyed it as well, believe me. Seeing things through your eyes certainly changed some of my perspectives,” he smiled back at her.
“Will I see you tomorrow at breakfast? We could go hiking on one of the parks,” he suggested, smiling.
“That sounds good. Perhaps we could take some food and do a picnic.”
“Picnic?”
“You know when you take some sandwiches and juice and eat it outdoors,” she explained.
“Oh, yes, of course, a picnic. That would only make things better. There’s a waterfall in this park, I’m sure you would love to see.”
“Yes, that sounds perfect.”
“Then, we can leave right after breakfast. I’ll have the kitchen prepare us some snacks for the picnic.”
“Perfect,” she opened the door to her room. “Once more, thank you. I really enjoyed it,” she added, stepping inside.
He stepped closer and
traced her cheek before he cupped it.
Instinctively, she tilted her head to meet his palm, and he leaned to brush his lips against hers.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he murmured, his lips still over hers, just before he kissed her once more. This time, his tongue slid inside her mouth, deepening the kiss, stealing her breath away, setting her whole body on fire. She wanted to resist, her mind told her to resist, but her body simply ignored it and reveled in the way his tongue swirled around hers and delved every inch of her mouth.
Someone cleared the throat next to them, and they jumped back.
Erin was standing a few feet away from them. “Hi, guys, having fun?” she asked, with a broad smile.
Rosalind cursed the heat that flooded her cheeks, especially when Haakon looked as if nothing had happened.
“Yes… we were… just saying good night,” she mumbled.
“Of course,” she giggled and walked by them towards her own room, closing the door behind her.
“Well, I better get some rest, if we’re going out hiking tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night Rosalind,” he nodded and walked away, still smiling.
Sighing, she closed her room’s door and let herself fall onto one of the big cushions that acted as chairs, not sure, how she felt, though confusion was certainly one of the predominant feelings.
After a few minutes, she decided to get a warm shower and go to bed. She really was looking forward to going hiking with him.
The following morning, Rosalind put on another one of those adaptive suits and her cape wishing she had something more adequate for hiking on an unknown terrain. She was about to leave her room when she heard some knocking on her door.
She opened up, puzzled, just to find Haakon at the door.
“Good morning,” he entered the room. “It occurred to me you wouldn’t have the appropriate clothing for hiking, so I went looking for something a bit more suitable,” he explained, handing her a bag.
“What is it?” she asked, peeking inside the bag.
