by Gabby Dark
I peaked out the small window next to the door. It was foggy outside, so I couldn’t see further than a few feet. My clothes still hadn’t been delivered. I had very few belongings. I paid for the stuff myself with my allowance on days when Meriuam and I visited the market together. And when I wasn’t shopping or helping out in the dorms or at the orphanage, I wrote. Writing down my daily thoughts in my journals helped me process my memories and feelings. As for clothes…I didn’t know how much longer I could wear this clingy, barely-there tunic.
Curious about what type of man Zark really was, I got up and walked around the room. I made sure not to leave anything out of place. With the way his podhouse was spotless and without clutter, he seemed like the type of man that would notice if I moved something.
Aside from the prisoner collars, which sort of gave me the creeps, he also kept a trunk full of other weapons near the front door. Since he was a warrior, I figured he’d have some axes and swords. He had a whole bunch of them.
On his bedside table, there was a glass sphere sitting on top of an iron disc. The object reminded me of a snow globe. We had them on Earth, but I’d seen someone carrying one of them around the market the other day. I wondered where Zark had gotten his. Was it something made on Zunator to be sold at the market or had one of the raiders brought it from Earth? Inside the globe was a silver stone. I touched the glass and immediately shrunk back when I felt an tiny electric jolt shoot through my fingers. Strange. Meriuam had said that the crystals in their caves contained powers, but that seemed surreal. But then again…I was here on a planet with tribrids and a world that fascinated me.
I wanted to learn more and I couldn’t do it if I stayed here in this podhouse. I was tired of waiting. Waiting for Zark.
I pushed the door open and peeked outside. “Zark?” I whispered. “Are you out here?”
I hoped that nothing bad had happened to him. I wondered if he had even slept in the podhouse at all.
I was halfway out the door when the chill in the air hit me. I reached back inside and grabbed a thick shawl from the door rack and hung it over my shoulder. The garment smelled just like him, of exotic wilderness and a hint of cinnamon.
“Zark?” I whispered again, looking to the left and right. I thought I saw a shadow move near some trees so I headed toward it.
Sure enough, Zark was sitting on the ground with his back leaned against the tree. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell evenly. He was sleeping. So the rumors were true; he did sleep outside.
I tiptoed up to him, careful not to make a sound. He looked so peaceful. The morning light gleamed on his body, illuminating all of his perfections. Most of the alien warriors I’d seen were built like Zark but they weren’t Zark. Not only was he pleasing to look at, every time I thought of him or came near him, I felt compelled know him.
I came to a halt about one foot in front of him. Just as I parted my lips to call his name again, he grasped my ankle with his hand. I let out a squeal and stumbled back from the shock of it. Just before I landed on the ground, Zark broke my fall, capturing me in his arms.
“I thought I told you to stay inside,” he rasped, covering my body with his solid torso.
“You never came back,” I said.
“I did. You were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You didn’t have to sleep outside, you know.”
“I didn’t,” he said.
“What?”
“I slept in the chair. I rise early. I checked on my posts and came back and you were still snoring.”
“I don’t snore.”
A grin twitched at his lips. He searched my face with his gaze and his attention lingered on my lips. My gaze dropped to his parted mouth. I brought my hand up to trace a small scar starting from one corner of his mouth to his chin. “What happened?” I asked.
He lifted himself upward and placed some distance between us. “You’ve forgotten the rules already.”
“What rules?”
“The one about not leaving the podhouse unaccompanied.”
“But you were right outside,” I countered.
“And if I wasn’t?”
“I only want to know what type of man you truly are. We’re supposed to breed, but you’re avoiding me,” I said.
He lifted a eyebrow. “Must you know who I really am? Let me remind you. I am Hvit’zark Ruavu, son of Braddlk. Skilled scout, trained assassin, Zunatorian warrior. My King wants to make more of me.”
She huffed. “Of course, you’ll use me to make a son and get rid of me after it happens. Do you really care if anything happens to me out here?”
“Of course, I do. You’re under my protection. This isn’t Earth. You’ll have to learn where you can and can’t go out here. You can’t just roam around freely until you truly know the land.”
“I never roamed freely on Earth either,” I said, crossing my arms.
“What do you mean? Weren’t you a royal? What were you anyway? Something like a princess?”
I swallowed. “Something like that. My father was the governor of our settlement. I was illegitimate. My mother and North weren’t married. I was treated differently.”
“And you still don’t know who took your memories and why they did it?”
I shook my head. “According to the other girls, my family was hated. Maybe something happened on the night your people came to Earth. Maybe someone poisoned us all.”
“You mean your family?”
“Yes. Someone might have poisoned us all. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think my father and I were close. I feel nothing when I think of Earth now. Even if I could find my way back, I don’t think I would go now that I know there are other places. Other planets.”
“Zunator is different. Life is not made to be easy here. Each must pull their weight,” he said.
“I know that. You want me to give you a baby. That’s why I’m here. I know that’s all you want from me.”
A wave of silence rushed between us when he turned to look at me. “Is that what you think?”
“Zunatorian Warriors are programmed to fight and breed. It’s in your DNA.”
“You’re right. Let me ask you this, if I were to let you go by telling my King that our attempts to be breed were unsuccessful, what would you do?”
“I would go back to the orphanage. There are children there who don’t have parents. I know they are being looked after and given the best care, but there are some who could benefit from a stable home environment, don’t you think?” I asked.
“The children whose parents have perished prematurely are sent to new podhouses all the time. It’s just a matter of matching them with someone who will receive them. Although pushy and bossy at times, my King isn’t cruel. In fact, the current presiding Queen demands this. These children aren’t forgotten. And when the orphaned children can’t be placed with families who have their best interests in mind, they have been placed on other colonies—sometimes even with other species. Many are even sent to the intergalactic university, paid for by the King himself.”
“But would you do that? If I wanted to pull my weight by working at the dorms, would you let me leave here?”
He was silent for more than minute, and then he got up, bringing himself to a standing position. “It’s time for brunch. Come. I’ll show you how I rotate my food storage.”
He reached up and helped me to stand.
“But you didn’t give an answer. Would you really let me leave?”
“No. If I didn’t want you here, I would have left you at the dorms,” he replied, then turned around and began walking toward the podhouse.
“Then why did you ask me that question?” I demanded. “Why did you give me false hope?”
“It was never my intention to offer false hope. I only wish to know what type of woman you truly are.”
I pouted my lips, straightened my back, and looked after him, wondering what his true intentions for me really were.
Chapter Ten
>
Zark
* * *
There were days when I didn’t return home until late into the night. I was committed to my duties as a scout, especially during times when we needed tighter border controls. But today, I felt myself returning home earlier—much earlier than I was used to.
As I walked up the path to my podhouse, I noticed that all the lights were on. I could see them shining through every single window. I shook my head, amused by human nature. My ancestors who came before me always joked about the humans and how wasteful they had become in the decades leading up to the disaster and about the diseases that began wiping them out by the thousands. Maybe things had not changed on Earth. Or maybe it was just me. I had learned to see in the dark since the day I could walk.
I left my muddy boots at the door and brought in the fish that I caught from the river.
Freya looked up from her chest of things when I came inside. She looked surprised to see me.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “It looks like you took a dive in the lake.”
I chuckled. “It was raining in parts of the outer lands. The rain will soon be here.”
Her nurse, Meriuam, had come shortly after brunch with two guards in tow with the chest of things she’d collected while here. It appeared that my intended loved going shopping. She seemed to love the small trinkets she acquired from the market, but if this continued I’d be begging for more posts to fund her rich tastes.
I wasn’t the type to splurge on myself. I even had reservations about buying new armor whenever I was called to battle, opting for repairs to my old armor instead. I kept my coins tucked away, hoarding them for absolutely no reason at all. I could always cash in for a much bigger podhouse in the future, but for now, this one bedroom, one bath shelter suited me just fine.
“You said you wouldn’t be back until night fall,” Freya said.
“I finished my rounds.” I held up the fish. “I also caught us supper.” When her gaze trailed down to the fresh fish, I said, “Don’t look so disgusted. They’ve been gutted already.”
“I wasn’t…disgusted. I’ve never seen fish like that before. It’s head…”
“Ah…I see. We call this one placoperderme. It’s a meaty fish, best seared in the iron pan. Served over cold greens and beans. It’s very filling.”
She blinked. “Hmm, I’ve learned something new every day.”
“Did they teach you how to cook at the dorms?”
She shrugged. “Some stuff…yes.” She picked a book up from the chest. “And I bought cooking books.”
I chuckled and placed the fish on a cutting board. I grabbed the biggest knife and severed the head in one slice. Freya gasped behind me.
“There. The head is gone.” I tossed it in the compost bin and washed my hands. “I left you with your nurse. Did things go well?”
“Yes.”
The nurses were assigned to our mates for their benefit, but also acted as messengers of the King—to bring them news of conception and progress of matings. It probably wouldn’t take long for the King to learn that I had not yet consummated our union.
“What did she say?” I turned around and folded my arms across my chest.
“That you’re probably just shy,” she said, and then fixed her gaze on me.
Warmth spread up the back of my neck and face. I looked down at the floor and collected myself before saying. “I meant about you. Are you well?”
“Yes, I’m well. Why would I not be well?”
“Humans must transition slowly to our way of life. We’ve had some whose body did not respond well to being out in the elements so soon after arrival.”
“Is that why you wanted me to stay inside?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that my transition and stay at the dorms were lengthy.”
She’d probably remind me every day that I waited two months to come collect her.
“That’s not the only reason why I ask you to stay inside.”
“Then for what other reason do you treat me like a prisoner?”
“You don’t need to worry if you do as I ask,” I told her, watching as my statement made her chest rise and fall against her top. She’d changed clothes since I left her after brunch. She was wearing a shorter tunic which came to mid-thigh. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and some tendrils were stuck to her temples which told me she’d been moving around a bit. The chest had been moved from one corner of the room to the other. “And while we’re on the subject of my rules, don’t ever attempt to move the chest again by yourself,” I said.
“I’m not a child,” she replied.
“I can see that. I have to shower,” I said, pulling my belt from the loops. “From this night forward, you will make supper. Everything you need to make tonight’s meal is in the icebox.”
She propped her hand on her hips. “Will I be eating supper alone tonight too?”
“No.” My loincloth dropped to the ground.
Her eyes widened as I stood there in front of her in the nude. Her attention went directly to my cock, which was already half-erect, animated by her doing.
“God…” she breathed. Her gaze followed the length of my manhood.
“We do learn something new every day, don’t we?” I asked.
She seemed to be tongue-tied, so I said, “I’ll only be a few minutes in the shower. Think you can manage until I come out?”
“Y-yes.” With her face flushed a rosy shade, she backed up toward the counter where I left the fish.
Grinning, I turned around and headed behind the glass partition to have a cold shower. Because I certainly needed it.
Chapter Eleven
Freya
* * *
By the time Zark and I sat down to eat supper, all I could think about was how well-endowed he was. Provided I’d never seen a man’s cock before, I was under the impression that the average cock was well under eight inches in length. Zark’s was well over that.
My visual measurement occurred when he wasn’t even erect, so I could only imagine what he would look like aroused—if we even got to that point. He was a huge guy, standing at over seven feet tall, so I expected the huge difference. And he wasn’t a hu-man. He’d already made that clear.
“This is really good. For your first time cooking here on our planet, I’m impressed,” Zark said, wiping his lips with a linen napkin.
I felt a blush rising to my cheeks. “Are you just saying that?”
“Just so you know, I’m not a very good liar. It’s the truth,” he said.
“I helped in the kitchen at the orphanage. I didn’t actually cook. Just helped. But it’s nice cooking for myself for a change. I can’t take all the credit though. We were given a cookbook. I follow recipe instructions well,” I said.
“Hmmm.” He grinned. “It’s promising to know that you can follow directions.”
I dropped my fork on the table. “What are you trying to say?”
“Just trying to keep you safe is all. At least until you’ve learned the land here.”
“Well, if I’m inside all the time, I can’t learn now, can I?”
“That will change. The weather hasn’t been particularly nice these days,” he said.
“I’m not afraid of a little rain.”
“What of lightning?” he asked. He must have deliberately activated the ǔre beneath his skin. Silver hues lit up his veins, reminding me of what he was.
“Nope,” I said. “If I survived my memories being wiped and abducted by aliens, I’m sure I can survive that too and anything else you dish at me.”
He sat back in his chair and tilted his chin. “Have you always been this defiant?”
I looked down at the stone table when my mind came up blank.
“You don’t have to answer that.”
I looked up at him. “I wish I could. I do know one thing, though. I’m not as organized as you are. I took all of your spices out trying to find just the right ones. I hope I put t
hem back correctly.”
“Don’t worry, but if you really want to know, they’re organized by color from light to dark. It’s just something I remembered, something my mother taught me.”
“Oh.” I said meekly and bit my bottom lip. Logically, I thought to put them back in the English alphabet order, but I guess I screwed that up. “Where is your mother now?” I asked, effectively changing the subject.
“She was a nurse like Meriuam. She was very brave. Fearless almost. She traveled aboard the spaceships with the other raiders to aid the injured. That was back when they went out frequently before King Crencik ascended to power. Their ship was brought down by pirates. Everything was destroyed. They found nothing in the wreckage. No bodies. Not even a crystal.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“I lost my mother too when I was little,” I said.
“I know. I’ve heard.”
“How?”
“It appears that humen women love to talk amongst themselves extensively about their time on Earth. We also have many here that can read minds. Rumors spread in the market very quickly. Your name came up many times.”
“Then you must of heard about how much they hate me because of who my father was.”
“But are you your father?”
“No. But, he was archaic, selfish, and abusive of his power. I am connected, guilty by association. Yet, I could never treat people the way they say he did,” I replied. “He preyed on the weak. He knew they’d believe anything or do anything to survive and he fed them bullshit. I believed him for the longest and then his stories began to not add up. Apparently, there are other settlements on Earth where people can live freely under no ruler. I think that’s where my aunt lives. That’s why she left me when my mother died.”
“How do you know those aren’t rumors made up about your father?” he asked.
